Chapter 200

Let's go back in time.

The moment Qin Su opened her eyes and left the illusion to return to reality, Chu Er, who was talking to Ye Jing in the abandoned factory in Qinglong Village, felt a sharp pain in his chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Ye Jing hurriedly tried to help him, but he pushed her away.

"not good!"

Chu Er staggered to the box he had brought, took out a box and opened it, only to find that the fist-sized pearl inside was full of cracks.

He felt a pang of heartache and wanted to reach out and examine it, but he was afraid that if he touched it, it would shatter completely.

Ye Jing, who had followed, exclaimed in surprise, recognizing the pearl's origin: "Master, isn't this your mirage pearl? How did it become like this?"

This "蜃" refers to the mirage, a legendary mythical creature.

It is said to resemble a dragon or serpent, with red hair and deer antlers, and was very good at creating illusions, but it perished long ago due to the changes in the natural order.

Ye Jing didn't know where Chu Er got the Mirage Pearl from, but Chu Er always cherished it. With the Mirage Pearl, Chu Er's abilities could create deadly illusions for hundreds of people at the same time.

One important reason why so many people failed to besiege Chu Er back then was that Chu Er possessed this powerful weapon.

However, this powerful weapon seems to be breaking down today.

"How is this possible, how is this possible..." Chu Er held the box, saying in disbelief, "Even if a thousand more people came, the energy of this mirage pearl would be enough for decades. How could it possibly crack?"

Of course, although he couldn't accept it emotionally, as a user, he already had an outrageous guess in his mind.

It's important to understand that the realism and complexity of both illusions and formations depend on the caster's ability and the magical artifacts used. It's like a toy car that needs batteries. If you only play with it for a short time each day, you can play with it for a long time. But if you play with it day and night, its batteries will run out quickly.

There is only one possibility for the Mirage Pearl to shatter: among the people who came today, some of them had an illusion level that was too high, requiring an enormous amount of energy, so much so that even the Mirage Pearl and Chu Er could not maintain it. As a result, when the illusion shattered, Chu Er suffered a backlash, and the Mirage Pearl was also overdrawn.

But Chu Er couldn't imagine who those people were or what kind of illusion it was.

Is it possible to transcend the Three Realms and escape the Five Elements?

Chu Er's expression was uncertain. He put the box back into the trunk and said to Lin Jing, "You stay here. I'm going to make a few more paper figures. There might be a tough battle tonight."

Lin Jing should be.

After a while, Qin Su forcibly woke up the few people who were still in the illusion, and the Mirage Pearl, which was on the verge of collapse, finally couldn't hold on any longer.

With a soft "crack," the mirage pearl shattered into countless fragments.

Lin Jing nervously carried the box to report to Chu Er, expecting him to be angry. However, Chu Er glanced at it and calmly said, "Put it away."

He drew a very complex array on the ground, which Lin Jing didn't understand. She asked, "What is this?"

Chu Er glanced at her and said indifferently, "It's a backup plan. Hopefully, we won't need it."

Lin Jing trusted him a lot, nodded, and made two more buckets of instant noodles, sharing one with Chu Er.

"Master, please eat this first."

There was no equipment to cook in the factory, and they didn't dare to eat at the villagers' homes like Qin Su and the others, so they could only eat instant noodles—the kettle was something Lin Jing had picked up at a convenience store on the way here.

Chu Er glanced at it; it was chicken stew with mushrooms flavor. He didn't say anything and just picked up a fork and ate it.

After finishing his instant noodles, he remembered that he would also need to offer sacrifices during the later ritual, so he asked Lin Jing, "Have you prepared chicken, duck, fish, and pork?"

Lin Jing said, "Master, don't worry. I chose a restaurant from the Shanghai ranking list. I ordered takeout from them. I've eaten there before, and the food is delicious. They have a very good reputation."

Chu Er himself had no appetite and ate celebrity healthy meals every day in Chu Shuangyan's body. He knew nothing about gourmet food. Hearing Lin Jing say this, he nodded in relief.

Although the mirage pearl shattered, he still felt vaguely uneasy, but he had already come this far, and there was no way he could back down or go back on his word.

Moreover, in this era of scarce spiritual energy, there could never be a better opportunity than tonight.

...

After Qin Su and the others finished their meal, it was already six o'clock in the evening.

Everyone knew that forcibly interrupting the illusion would cause Chu Er to suffer a backlash, but they were unsure of the extent of his current condition, so they arrived at the factory with great caution.

Chu Er stood on the steps at the factory entrance, coldly watching them.

He possessed Chu Shuangyan's body and appearance, but his expression and eyes were completely different from Chu Shuangyan's.

Zhang Yan looked him up and down and sighed, "No wonder they say fans shouldn't get too close to celebrities. It's true, it's easy for the filter to disappear. Chu Shuangyan looks pretty ordinary, about the same as me."

Hu Meng said irritably, "Shut up, you ordinary guy."

Chu Er ignored the two of them. His eyes swept across everyone's faces as he guessed who was the one who had destroyed his mirage pearl. He then sneered, "It seems that the Xuanmen is getting worse year by year. Twenty-five years ago, those who came were all old Taoist priests who were about to die. Now, they're all cannon fodder who have come to their deaths."

Qiao Yijing was furious. She drew her sword and shouted, "Chu Er, you're still spouting nonsense at a time like this! You failed back then, and you won't succeed today! Where have you hidden the children?!"

Chu Er glanced at his starting stance and said disdainfully, "The Su Yi School? When I was in the Xuanmen, the Su Yi School was nothing but my defeated opponents."

Qiao Yijing could not tolerate such an insult and immediately rushed towards him.

Chu Er took a step back, and with a flick of his wrist, the dozens of paper figures he was holding floated out. As soon as they landed on the ground, they grew taller and larger in the wind, instantly becoming life-sized and surrounding the group.

When Qiao Yijing's sword struck the paper figure, it felt as if she had struck iron, leaving not even a mark.

Zhang Yan has a psychological trauma; he screams whenever he sees a paper figure.

Hu Meng's thunder talisman exploded with sparks everywhere, creating black holes on the paper figure.

While subtly protecting Qin Lide, Qin Su effortlessly pounded the paper figure as if playing whack-a-mole.

She was slightly distressed by the current situation.

In this world involving metaphysical energy, the cause-and-effect relationships are very complex. Sometimes you may feel that you are saving people, but you may actually be harming them and causing even worse consequences. The best way is not to interfere too much with the development of things themselves.

Moreover, her own abilities are also constrained by the laws of the small world. If Qin Lide's original destiny had not been related to this matter, she should not have bothered with it at all.

But regardless, what will happen to the people present and those children?

Qin Su scooped the dragon out and touched it: "It's really hard to make a decision."

Xiao Long was feeling down because of what happened in the illusion earlier, but he was finally cheered up by Qin Su's teasing. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was fighting and no one was paying attention to them, he boldly peeked out from time to time to get close to Qin Su.

"Su Su can do whatever she wants. I'll fight for Su Su."

...

Qiao Yijing became increasingly alarmed as she fought, never expecting that Chu Er would appear to be in such good condition after suffering a backlash, and still be able to control so many paper figures.

These paper figures were especially invulnerable to swords and spears, and unafraid of ordinary water and fire. For a moment, he didn't even know what to do with them.

Wait, ordinary water and fire won't work, but what if it's fire breathed by a dragon?

A sudden idea flashed through Qiao Yijing's mind, and he quickly went to look at Qin Su, only to see Xiaolong appear—Xiaolong affectionately rubbed against Qin Su's cheek before shrinking back into Qin Su's sleeve.

Qiao Yijing: "..."

He was dumbfounded.

In Qiao Yijing's mind, dragons are majestic and awe-inspiring creatures. Once they appear in the human world, they are offered up on altars and their status is no less than that of gods.

Even if Qin Su raised the dragon, he must have shown great respect for the Dragon Lord.

He never expected to see a dragon and a human rubbing against each other like ordinary domestic animals.

Shocked and disoriented, he was punched in the waist by the paper figure. Luckily, he didn't faint from the pain and quickly blocked and fought back, not having time to speak.

At this time, the moon appeared in the sky earlier than anyone expected.