As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, everyone looked closely and saw the Qilin beast lying among a pile of rubble, its breath faint. Its once majestic body was now covered in wounds, and the eerie blue flames had dimmed, flickering on its surface as if they might be extinguished at any moment.

Lin Feng and the others approached cautiously, lest the Qilin beast suddenly attack. As they drew near, the Qilin beast merely raised its head weakly, letting out a faint roar before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

"Finally, we've dealt with this troublesome fellow." The Blood Shadow Sect woman sheathed her Blood Spirit Curved Blade and breathed a sigh of relief, but her face still held a wary expression. After all, being in this Illusory Sea Abyss, danger could strike again at any moment.

Su Ran nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the corpse of the Qilin beast. "This Qilin beast is so powerful, I'm afraid there will be even more troublesome beings to come."

Xuanfeng looked at the huge gap at the end of the corridor caused by the Qilin beast's impact and said thoughtfully, "Perhaps our path is still ahead, and there might be new clues hidden behind this gap."

Lin Feng remained silent. He crouched down, carefully examining the Qilin beast's corpse, trying to find something related to the secrets of the Illusionary Sea Abyss. Under the Qilin beast's claws, Lin Feng discovered a fragment emitting a faint light. Strange symbols, resembling both characters and patterns, were engraved on the fragment, exuding a mysterious aura.

"Look at this." Lin Feng held up the fragments and gestured to the crowd.

Xuanfeng took the fragment and examined it carefully. After a moment, he frowned. "I have never seen this symbol before, but judging from the spiritual energy fluctuations it emits, it should be closely related to the secrets of the Illusionary Sea Abyss."

The woman from the Blood Shadow Sect leaned closer and glanced at the fragment. "No matter what, it might come in handy if we keep it."

After discussing it for a while, the group decided to continue through the gap at the end of the corridor. Passing through the gap, they arrived at a huge cave. Countless enormous stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, each shimmering with multicolored light, making the entire cave appear dreamlike. On the cave floor flowed a river that emitted a faint glow; the water was clear and transparent, yet it also exuded a strange, powerful energy.

"This river doesn't look simple." Su Ran squatted down and reached out to touch the water, but as soon as she got close, she felt a strong suction force, as if it was trying to pull her hand in. Su Ran quickly pulled her hand back, her expression changing slightly.

Seeing this, Lin Feng took out a stone and threw it into the river. The moment the stone touched the water, it instantly broke down into countless tiny particles and disappeared without a trace.

"Such powerful corrosive force!" the Blood Shadow Sect woman exclaimed. "It seems we must be careful to avoid this river."

Just as everyone was searching for a way to bypass the river, a melodious flute tune suddenly drifted from the depths of the cave. The flute music was gentle and captivating, seemingly possessing a magical power that enchanted listeners. However, Lin Feng and the others knew that the Abyss of the Illusory Sea was fraught with danger, and that the flute music might conceal immense peril.

"Everyone be careful, something's wrong with this flute music," Lin Feng warned, while simultaneously channeling his spiritual energy to resist the effects of the flute music.

Xuanfeng waved his staff, and a beam of light enveloped the group, helping them stay conscious. "This flute music seems to be able to disturb one's mind; we cannot be careless."

The group cautiously made their way along the edge of the cave toward the sound of the flute. As they drew closer, the sound grew clearer, and they spotted a blurry figure standing on a boulder in the middle of the river, playing a flute.

The figure appeared to be a woman dressed in white, with a graceful figure, and bathed in multicolored light, she seemed like a fairy descending to earth. However, Lin Feng and the others dared not relax their guard in the slightest, and cautiously approached.

When they were still dozens of meters away from the figure, the woman in white seemed to sense their arrival and stopped playing. She slowly turned around, revealing a stunningly beautiful face, but her eyes were empty and lifeless, exuding an indescribable eeriness.

"You shouldn't have come here." The white-clad woman's voice was ethereal and distant, as if it came from a faraway place.

Lin Feng gripped the Ice Spirit Spear tightly. "We came here to explore the secrets of the Illusionary Sea Abyss. Young lady, why are you here?"

The woman in white did not answer Lin Feng's question, but said to herself, "This place is full of danger. You should leave, otherwise none of you will get out."

The woman from the Blood Shadow Sect sneered, "We've gone through countless hardships to get here. Do you think you can make us leave with just a few words? Who exactly are you, and what is your connection to this Illusionary Sea Abyss?"

The woman in white sighed softly, "I am a descendant of the guardians of this Illusory Sea Abyss, but now I am trapped here, unable to escape."

"A descendant of the Guardians?" A hint of surprise flashed in Xuanfeng's eyes. "If that's the case, why..."

The woman in white nodded slightly, a hint of pain and helplessness in her eyes, and slowly began to recount her past.

“Long, long ago, my family was tasked with guarding the Abyss of the Illusionary Sea. A powerful and evil force is sealed here, and if it breaks free, the world will be plunged into utter ruin. My ancestors have guarded this place for generations to prevent any mishaps in the seal. However, a sudden change shattered this peace.”

The woman in white paused, a hint of hatred flashing in her eyes, before continuing, "At some point, a mysterious force appeared within the Abyss of the Illusionary Sea. They are powerful and cunning, secretly colluding with external forces in an attempt to break the seal and release that evil power to achieve their ulterior motives. Although my family fought desperately, they were ultimately outnumbered, and most of my clansmen perished in that fierce battle. I was still young at the time, and I survived only thanks to my parents' desperate protection."

"And then what happened?" Su Ran couldn't help but ask, her eyes full of sympathy.

The woman in white gave a bitter smile. "Later, I was brought here by an elder of my family. The elder used his last strength to set up layers of restrictions, temporarily halting the advance of that mysterious force. But the elder also exhausted all his strength in the process. Before he died, he entrusted me with the responsibility of protecting this place and told me that only by finding the long-lost Heart of the Illusionary Sea could the seal be strengthened again and the resurgence of that evil force be completely prevented."

"The Heart of the Illusory Sea? What is that?" Lin Feng frowned; he had never heard of it before.

"The Heart of the Illusionary Sea is the core power of the Abyss of the Illusionary Sea. It is said to possess boundless spiritual power and is the key to sealing that evil force. But since that incident, the Heart of the Illusionary Sea has vanished without a trace, and its whereabouts are unknown," the woman in white said.

Just as everyone was engrossed in the white-clad woman's narration, a violent tremor suddenly resounded through the cave. The once calm river instantly surged into a raging torrent, its waters churning wildly and radiating an even more powerful corrosive force.

"Not good, something's about to come out!" the Blood Shadow Sect woman shouted, quickly drawing her Blood Spirit Curved Blade and warily scanning her surroundings.

A massive black whirlpool slowly rose from the center of the river, emanating a chilling aura. As the whirlpool expanded, a gigantic black claw emerged from it, covered in sharp barbs that gleamed with a dark light, seemingly capable of tearing anything apart.

Immediately afterwards, a colossal figure slowly emerged from the vortex. It was a monster resembling an octopus, with eight thick tentacles, each covered in countless eyes that glared menacingly at the group. The monster's body was covered in a layer of hard, black scales that shimmered eerily under the multicolored light.

"What kind of monster is this!" Xuanfeng's expression turned solemn, his staff flashing with light, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

"It must be a guardian beast secretly raised by that mysterious force. It seems they've sensed our arrival and want this monster to deal with us," the woman in white said, a hint of worry in her eyes.

The monster let out a low roar, and then eight tentacles struck the group like lightning. Lin Feng reacted quickly, immediately casting "Ice Shield," and a huge ice shield instantly appeared in front of them. The tentacles struck the ice shield with loud "bangs," and cracks appeared in the ice shield under the powerful impact.

"Everyone be careful, this monster is very powerful!" Lin Feng shouted, while simultaneously channeling his ice spirit power into his ice spirit spear, preparing to launch a counterattack.

The Blood Shadow Sect woman flashed forward, charging towards the monster like a ghost. Her Blood Spirit Curved Blade gleamed eerily in the reflection of the ghostly blue flames. She aimed at one of the monster's tentacles and slashed down fiercely. However, the monster's tentacle was extremely resilient; the blade only left a shallow mark, sending sparks flying.

The monster, in pain and rage, flung its injured tentacle. The Blood Shadow Sect woman, unable to dodge in time, was struck and sent flying like a kite with a broken string. Seeing this, Su Ran quickly unleashed her "Ice Arrow Technique," sending countless ice arrows raining down on the monster. The ice arrows struck the monster's body, but shattered, causing negligible damage.

Xuanfeng waved his staff, chanting, "Light of Judgment!" A massive golden beam of light descended from the sky, shooting straight towards the monster. Sensing the immense power contained within the beam, the monster's eight tentacles quickly intertwined, forming a black shield in an attempt to block the attack.

The golden beam of light collided with the black shield, erupting in a dazzling display of light and releasing powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy. The monster's black shield trembled slightly under the impact of the golden beam, but ultimately...