Chapter 37 Illusion

Jiang Chen looked at the owner of the hand he was holding.

It was a creature the size of a five-inch nail, with grayish-white skin, resembling a young child. However, its strange skin color, a pair of grayish-white vertical pupils, and the faint Demonic Qi let Jiang Chen know:

"It is absolutely not human!"

This was the mountain goblin that made the people down the mountain turn pale at the mere mention of its name!

After being caught by Jiang Chen, this mountain goblin was clearly somewhat panicked.

Clearly, Jiang Chen was not the ordinary person it had initially thought him to be.

Jiang Chen identified this mountain goblin's cultivation level at a single glance.

It was very shallow, only at the second level of the Qi Induction Stage. Coupled with the mountain goblin's Innate frailty, even a slightly robust tiger could prey upon it.

Jiang Chen was slightly puzzled.

Could such a demon really create this dense fog that filled most of the mountain, and make other mountain spirits and ghosts afraid?

But what puzzled Jiang Chen even more was that this mountain goblin did not seem to have any intention of harming him.

After the initial shock, it calmed down, then pulled Jiang Chen's hand and shook it, pointing down the mountain with its other hand.

Jiang Chen's gaze narrowed slightly as he tried to understand its meaning.

"Are you trying to tell me to go down the mountain?" Jiang Chen asked softly.

A trace of human-like anxiety seemed to appear on the mountain goblin's face. Hearing Jiang Chen's words, it nodded abruptly, indicating that this was indeed its meaning.

Jiang Chen's expression grew strange. Could he have really misunderstood? Was the strange dense fog on Qibu Mountain truly unrelated to the mountain goblin?

On the contrary, the mountain goblin seemed to be stopping people from going deeper into the mountain.

"You want me to go down the mountain—is there some danger in the mountain?" Jiang Chen continued to ask.

The mountain goblin understood Jiang Chen's words and nodded again. At the same time, it turned its head and glanced anxiously into the depths of the mountain forest, as if there was some great terror inside.

Jiang Chen looked in the direction of its gaze, but could only see a thick gray fog. Further in, even he could not see what the scene was.

The gray fog surged, as if some monster was stirring in the darkness, making one's blood run cold.

"Since that's the case, can you take me over to take a look?" Jiang Chen asked again.

A look of refusal and struggle clearly appeared on the mountain goblin's face.

After speaking, Jiang Chen suddenly remembered that after a mountain goblin touches a person's hand, it can no longer move from its position, or else its soul will dissipate and it will die.

This was a type of Divine Ability related to rules and Karma, belonging to the mountain goblin's own Innate talent.

It was powerful, but restricted by the mountain goblin's own strength and the harsh requirements, which meant that the mountain goblin was not considered a great demon in the Records of Hundred Demons and the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Thus, Jiang Chen voluntarily let go of its hand. After he let go, the look of struggle on the mountain goblin's face lessened slightly.

However, it still shook its head in resistance, then spread its five fingers, which were like palm-leaf fans, and gestured continuously.

It first made a huge gesture, then pointed to the sky, then pointed to the surrounding gray fog, and immediately after, made a series of various gestures.

Jiang Chen watched, half-understanding, but he could generally grasp the meaning.

"Are you saying that the thing is currently at a critical moment of Breakthrough, which is why it released such dense fog?"

The mountain goblin nodded abruptly, then reached out to push Jiang Chen down the mountain, but with its small arms and legs, pushing Jiang Chen was like a mayfly shaking a giant tree.

After pushing for a long time, Jiang Chen still stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

"This demon is greedy and takes from nature without limit. Since I, a Daoist, have encountered it, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch."

As Jiang Chen said this, he prepared to walk into the mountain, while the mountain goblin stood quietly in place, looking at Jiang Chen's back with a strange gaze.

As soon as Jiang Chen took a step, suddenly, the Huangting Dao Scripture within his body began to circulate autonomously, and a layer of protective True Qi glowing with golden light was automatically triggered.

Intense spiritual perception surged in Jiang Chen's heart, and a strong sense of crisis permeated his mind.

The Soul-Calming Talisman and Tai Sui Talisman on his chest were both automatically triggered, turning into ash.

Jiang Chen discovered that the scene before his eyes had suddenly changed; his consciousness was constantly rising, as if it were about to detach from his physical body.

At this critical moment, Jiang Chen directly activated the Three Souls Restraint Technique to stabilize his Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits.

His consciousness, which had been continuously rising, suddenly returned to his body, giving him a grounded feeling.

In an instant, his consciousness returned to normal.

The Three Souls Restraint Technique can not only restrain a person's soul but also stabilize and Cultivate one's own Divine Soul; it is one of the main Spells of Maoshan.

"Screech!"

And after Jiang Chen stabilized his Divine Soul, a sharp, miserable scream rang out behind him.

Jiang Chen only then realized that his hand was, unbeknownst to him, still resting on the mountain goblin's hand.

The mountain goblin now had a ferocious and malevolent appearance, with blood flowing from its seven orifices; it was no longer the kind-looking creature it had been before.

It looked miserable, and its aura was rapidly falling. The look in its vertical pupils as it stared at Jiang Chen was full of unwillingness and venom.

Clearly, this was because of the backlash from its Divine Ability, leading the mountain goblin to its current near-death state.

Jiang Chen's heart gave a slight jolt; he had unknowingly fallen into an illusion.

This mountain goblin was absolutely no match for him, but this bizarre illusion had almost caused him to lose his Divine Soul.

Jiang Chen looked expressionlessly at the mountain goblin lying on the ground, devoid of any aura, and could not help but feel some doubt in his heart.

In the materials and records he had read, there was no mention that a mountain goblin possessed the ability to create illusions.

Jiang Chen believed that with the abilities of ancient practitioners, they would not make mistakes on such small matters.

Coupled with the gestures the mountain goblin had made to him in the illusion just now, Jiang Chen believed that most of them should be true.

These bizarre gray fog and the illusion must have been created by that demon deep in the mountain.

It was simply to fend off enemies while preparing for a Breakthrough.

Whether intentional or unintentional, this gray fog had cost many lives, and Jiang Chen would not stand idly by.

Moreover, although this illusion was powerful, Jiang Chen could resist it as long as he was slightly vigilant.

This also showed that the demon was likely not particularly powerful, and its main talent was the power to create illusions.

He activated the Golden Light Divine Incantation to protect his body, and a layer of pale golden light shrouded his entire body.

The Golden Light Divine Incantation could kill demons and ward off evil, but its most powerful aspect was its protective function.

After the golden light shrouded his body, the gray fog filling the mountain forest seemed to have consciousness, actively moving away from Jiang Chen one after another.

Jiang Chen continued to walk inward; he wanted to see exactly what kind of sacred being this demon was.

【Experience required for Golden Light Incantation upgrade: 996 / 1000】

As Jiang Chen drove the Golden Light Incantation to protect his body, his experience points were constantly increasing.

The further in he went, he was surprised to find that the fog inside the mountain forest became thinner and thinner.

The fog at the foot of the mountain was the thickest layer.

This further indicated that this demon was not particularly powerful.

【Experience required for Golden Light Incantation upgrade: 1000 / 1000】

Jiang Chen did not hesitate and upgraded directly.

In an instant, the True Qi that had been consumed due to the continuous activation of the Golden Light Incantation began to be replenished continuously.

And the Golden Light Incantation shrouding Jiang Chen's body also suddenly shone with brilliant golden light.

The gray fog within dozens of zhang rapidly dissipated and retreated, like accumulated snow meeting fire.

Jiang Chen's cultivation also suddenly rose, and his aura gradually grew stronger. His cultivation rose to the Peak of the Dao Entry Realm, just half a step away from stepping into the Mystic Light Realm.

...Brothers, because the author has been busy with many things recently, there will be one update per day. After the 10th, I will resume two updates per day, with occasional burst updates!