Xi Xi heard various sounds from those wisps of smoke and mist—a kind of yearning, an expectation, a desire.

These sounds intertwine to form a complex and thought-provoking melody.

Xi Xi immediately understood why she and Shaliman had been searching for several weeks but had never been able to find the entrance to the mirror reverse space, and why they had inexplicably stepped into that area.

She vaguely remembered that on the way back, Sallyman asked her, quite puzzled, how she had found the entrance. It was then that Xi Xi realized that Sallyman hadn't seen the same mirrored illusion as she had...

Now, the truth has finally come out.

It turns out that this eerie demon tree feeds on human desires.

It cleverly uses mirror images to create a series of illusory traps, confining those with desires and longings within its inverted space.

Once someone falls into this trap, the mirror willow will slowly erode their desires, and when they are in a state of despair with no desires left, it will drain their bones and blood until it completely devours them.

Take Xi Xi herself as an example. Looking back, when she first encountered the Reversal Space, Xi Xi and her mother were both afraid that other players would get there first, and were extremely eager to obtain the remaining fragments of the diary.

Even while eating noodles, the mother and daughter kept their eyes fixed on the road ahead, afraid of missing any clues.

It was this intense longing that was keenly captured by the evil Mirror Tree, and so the mirror illusion suddenly appeared, trapping them in that bizarre, inverted space.

The second time, the illusion attack was a little white duck.

Xi Xi speculated that perhaps she had promised it through the synesthetic chain that she would give it extra food when she returned.

So much so that the little white duck was overjoyed, and its flight speed increased significantly, with the frequency of its wing flapping increasing several times over. Before long, it unfortunately crashed into the illusion.

The third time was the time when Xi Xi and Shaliman acted alone.

They searched desperately for a long time, but could not find the entrance to the reversed space. It was only when Xi Xi strengthened her belief in reclaiming the supplies and felt a surge of revenge against the three Wei brothers that the illusion mechanism was triggered.

Clearly, the stronger the desire and the deeper the yearning, the easier it is for Jingliu, who is hiding in the shadows, to capture it.

What a cunning trick! It's practically impossible to defend against!

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Xi Xi took a deep breath, composed herself, and then turned around to look behind her.

Sallyman was lying on the ground, soaking wet, her body trembling slightly; Chu Zhiqin was equally disheveled, her face as pale as paper.

Xi Xi slowly asked, "Did you hear these sounds?"

Sallyman looked up at Xi Xi with a somewhat blank gaze and nodded mechanically.

She seemed to gradually understand the cause of the matter, but the thought that countless lives might be buried here made her stomach churn.

At this moment, Xi's mother, who had been silent all along, suddenly straightened up, a look of deep inquiry on her face.

She said with difficulty in a slightly hoarse voice, "I also heard a strange sound... it sounded like the inner voice of a fish..."

Upon hearing this, Xi Xi and Shaliman both turned their gazes toward the direction where Xi's mother was.

"It said that it had saved a man who had fallen into the water, but the man was ungrateful and gouged out its eyes... Perhaps its will to survive was too strong and it was an illusion that saved it."

Isn't that the giant fish from the sewer?!

The three of them exchanged glances and instantly realized the truth of the matter.

Chu Zhiqin smoothed the damp hair stuck to her forehead and nodded, saying, "I guessed so. The tragedy of the steam train passengers in the diary fragments is probably related to this..."

"So was that big black fish good or bad?" Sallyman asked, somewhat confused. The fish clearly hadn't tried to kill them all; it even had the strange ability to purify water.

“Nothing in this world is inherently black and white,” Xi Xi said quietly, glancing at Shaliman.

"Even though the fish king's method of revenge was somewhat ruthless, it was ultimately a victim as well. Unable to leave the water, finding the thief's offspring precisely was probably its only option..."

Sallyman fell silent, pondering Xi Xi's words thoughtfully, lost in thought.

Congratulations to the adventurer team for successfully completing the dungeon quest "The Mysterious". Rewards will be sent to the team leader's mailbox tomorrow. Please distribute them as needed.

The game notification sounded out at an inopportune moment, startling everyone.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling light burst forth from the golden lucky bag at Xi Xi's waist, illuminating the dim surroundings.

Fragments of the incomplete diary slowly floated in the air, transforming into countless tiny, shimmering particles that fell like shooting stars, quickly merging into the rushing water and disappearing without a trace.

The three, who were slightly exhausted from facing various terrifying scenes and difficult challenges for a long time, suddenly felt an indescribable joy.

This feeling was like rain after a long drought, which invigorated them.

Great! It's finally finished! I never want to see these insane hallucinations again...

Just as Sallyman and Chu Zhiqin were helping each other up, struggling to their feet in their disheveled state, they both gasped in surprise as if they had discovered something astonishing.

Xi Xi looked towards the shore with some confusion.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!