Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Reality and Illusion

Shen Hao felt that he must have left home on an unlucky day; if he managed to survive this, he’d definitely learn some divination skills once he got out.

He had come here with a sense of duty, but Wu Changhe showed him no respect at all, even suppressing him with pure force, which left Shen Hao fuming. But that wasn’t the end—just as he was preparing to leave, he happened to stumble right into the second wave of expansion from the restriction array.

The worst part was that Shen Hao watched as Wu Changhe dragged Luo Rencheng and shot away from behind him, while even though he was further out, he still couldn’t outrun the surging wave of the restriction from behind.

If he had to say, there was at least some good news: Shen Hao was still in one piece and hadn’t been killed on the spot despite being caught up in the restriction.

Looking around, he found that while he was still "in the same place," there was not a soul in sight—the chaos and the crowd from just before had all vanished. Everything was silent, as if it was a quiet and deserted wilderness.

"Is this... an illusion array?"

Shen Hao tried to reach for his storage bag, but found that the spot where he normally kept it was "empty"; then he tried using earth escape, but could only circle on the spot, completely unable to get more than a few yards away.

Shen Hao clearly understood that none of this was real—whether he couldn’t touch his storage bag or his earth escape could only get him a few miserable yards. All of it was fake; he was trapped inside a false world built on his own mind.

The Xuanqing Guard had done plenty of exercises against illusion arrays, so Shen Hao wasn’t completely thrown by his current predicament.

He took a deep breath, expanded his perception to its fullest, closed his eyes, and carefully searched for traces of reality within the illusion. Illusions build fakes on your thoughts, but they can’t change what’s actually there in the real world. It’s like wearing sunglasses—they change how you see the world, but only by fooling your eyes.

And at this moment, Shen Hao was especially thankful he had chosen soul suppressing skill as his third spell. In an illusion realm, soul suppressing skills, which work directly on the soul, are completely unaffected. After activating it, he immediately noticed faint soul fluctuations all around in what had seemed an "empty" wilderness.

Indeed, everyone else was still here in reality.

The best way to shatter this environment was to find the real among the false, and then use the real to burst the mask of the illusion.

Shen Hao carefully followed the guidance of those soul fluctuations in his perception, slowly moving forward with his eyes shut, ignoring all the visual trickery "in front" of him. Before long, the hand stretched out in front of him suddenly bumped into some obstruction; though he couldn’t see it, Shen Hao instantly knew he had reached a person.

He curled his fingers, gripping tightly onto that tiny sliver of real tactile sensation in his perception, then with a low shout, sent his true qi bursting outward, yanking the person back with all his strength.

"Crash!"

A figure was "pulled out of thin air" by Shen Hao, and instantly it was like a pane of glass being smashed—the environment around them transformed in a moment, or rather, returned to what it had been.

"Whoof!"

Shen Hao exhaled deeply, looking around and realizing he’d broken the illusion array. Although it might have looked easy just now, if not for his practice with soul suppressing skill and a soul strength far above others in his realm, he would never have gotten out. Seventy percent luck, thirty percent brains.

Looking down, he saw that the person he’d just pulled over, who’d broken the balance of the illusion array, was none other than Yang Ming. No wonder this guy had been closest to him; at the time, Yang Ming had been walking outward with him.

Yang Ming was still unconscious, but his breathing was steady, so he had no immediate danger to his life. The only problem was that his soul was quiet and still, as if he was still stuck inside his own illusion and couldn’t get out. You could only blame Yang Ming’s soul strength for being way too low—otherwise, he could have ridden Shen Hao’s momentum to break free just now.

Now Shen Hao’s vision showed him reality at last.

Dusk had already fallen around them, but a few scattered torches cast flickering shadows. All around were Xuanqing Guard members in black brocade robes, each frozen in the position they’d been caught in, motionless, their faces each showing something different.

Some looked terrified, breathing in short gasps; others’ eyes were bloodshot with rage; still others were actually grinning, as if they’d seen something delightful.

All these people were trapped inside the illusion realm.

By Shen Hao’s quick count, there were more than thirty right around him.

He didn’t think for long—Shen Hao wasn’t about to let his comrades struggle in the illusion. Even if no one seemed to be in mortal danger for now, the longer anyone spent stuck in an illusion, the more likely their soul would be damaged. Plus, right now Shen Hao thought having a crowd was a lot better than working alone.

Helping others escape an illusion was much harder than getting out yourself, but it wasn’t impossible. He could use true qi to stimulate the other’s soul and meridians, making them feel the reality around them, and thus boost their chances of breaking free.

There were risks, but right now Shen Hao could only choose the lesser evil.

His first priority, of course, was the one closest to him—Yang Ming. This guy’s illusion had already weakened a bit when Shen Hao yanked him, so if helped again, his odds of escaping were much higher than the others.

But just as Shen Hao was about to send his true qi into Yang Ming, a voice suddenly sounded behind him, making him leap forward several yards and draw his blade on guard.

"You’d better not do that."

"You?!"

"Heh, didn’t expect fate would have us meet in a place like this again. By the way, got any more wine on you? I’ve been dry for days, it’s killing me."

Shen Hao’s blade lowered a little, but he didn’t sheath it, nor did he move his feet—keeping the distance between him and the speaker, just as before. Indeed, it was unexpected for them to meet again in a place like this.

This was none other than Nie Yun, a Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute disciple whom Shen Hao had met in Pingjiang City.

"I’ve still got a jug in my storage bag, Nie, and it’s no problem to share it, but aren’t you going to explain how you ended up here too?"

Nie Yun grinned. "I actually came to Tu Kui City for this place in the first place. Lucky you helped get the teleportation array running overnight, or I’d have missed it altogether."

"So Nie, you knew something would happen here?"

Nie Yun quickly waved his hands. "Don’t say that kind of thing! I just happened to stumble into it, rotten luck, that’s all! Anyway, it’s a long story—hurry up and bring the wine over, let’s have a drink while we talk." freёwebnovel.com

Seeing Nie Yun rubbing his hands impatiently, Shen Hao didn’t hesitate. He took out his last jug of Wuliangye from the storage bag and tossed it over. Neither of them showed any desire to move closer, keeping five or six yards between them as they spoke.

Shen Hao was much more relaxed than before. He knew Nie Yun’s cultivation was well above his own. If it really came to a fight, he probably couldn’t withstand even a single strike, but Nie Yun hadn’t made a move. That at least showed, for now, Nie Yun meant no harm.

Nie Yun popped the seal off the wine jar, took several big gulps, exhaled with a boozy laugh, and said, "Ah, Shen, with your wine in my belly, I’ll guarantee you get out of here alive."