Chapter 22: The Edge of the Illusionary Killing Array
At the top of Qingyun Peak, the square is open and surrounded by a sea of clouds.
Ye Li sat cross-legged, the "Emperor's Scripture of the Underworld" slowly circulating within her body, rapidly recovering the energy consumed by climbing the Azure Cloud Ladder. She ignored the glances from those around her, some expressing shock, some inquiring, and some expressing envy, her mind remaining calm.
Disciples gradually made it to the summit. The next to arrive was Luo Bing, a chill lingering around her. As she stepped onto the square, her figure swayed slightly, her face pale, clearly exhausted. She glanced with a complicated gaze at Ye Li, who had already calmed down and was breathing steadily. She pursed her lips and stepped aside to recover quietly.
Next came the wild young man Shi Feng. He rushed forward roaring despite the overwhelming pressure, and almost lost all his strength as soon as he came up. He knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, and looked at Ye Li with eyes full of unwillingness and a barely perceptible horror.
Young Master Lin Yu with a folding fan came a little later. Although he was also in a mess, he still maintained some composure. Only the hand waving the fan was trembling slightly. When he looked at Ye Li, there was a deep fear and calculation in his eyes.
Su Wanyun and Ye Shi also successfully reached the top of the top 300. Both of them were severely overdrawn and could barely stand. Seeing Ye Li who had been there for a long time, their eyes showed sincere admiration and joy.
When the time was up, those who failed to reach the summit were eliminated. The team, originally numbering several thousand, had already lost nearly 70% after passing the Qingyun Ladder! The remaining few, numbering just over a thousand, were all exceptionally determined and possessed strong foundations.
Before anyone could catch their breath, the cold-faced deacon's voice rang out again, like a slamming ice, dispelling the slightly relaxed atmosphere in the square:
"Rest time is over! The second test - the Illusion Killing Formation! Begins immediately!"
Before he finished speaking, countless complex runes suddenly lit up on the ground in the center of the square. Green light flowed, and in an instant, a huge formation covering half of the square was outlined!
Within the formation, clouds and mist rose, light and shadow changed, emitting heart-pounding energy fluctuations and a psychedelic aura.
"Enter the formation!" the deacon shouted sternly. "This formation contains endless illusions and murderous intent! Those who can endure it for one stick of incense will pass! The longer you hold out, the better your performance! Those who are defeated by the illusions or lose their composure will be eliminated!"
The rules are simple and cruel.
Everyone's faces changed. Having just endured the physical and mental torture of the Azure Cloud Ladder, they immediately had to face an even more dangerous and bizarre mental attack! This Xuanyun Sect's assessment was truly more difficult with each level!
But at this point, no one retreated. The surviving disciples gritted their teeth and bravely charged into the mist-shrouded formation.
Ye Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and he also stepped into the formation.
As soon as I entered the battle, the scene in front of me suddenly changed drastically!
The square, the crowd, and the mountain peaks vanished in an instant. In their place was a gloomy and eerie ancient jungle. The stench of decay filled the air, and horrifying roars echoed from all around!
"roar!"
Several ferocious, drooling wolf illusions leaped out of the woods with a lifelike, fishy gust of wind, their sharp claws and fangs going straight for Ye Li's vital points! The attack, the murderous aura, even the stench, were so real that they could be mistaken for the real thing!
If one's willpower is weak, he will be distracted by the sudden and terrifying scene in an instant and become afraid before the battle even begins.
However, Ye Li's eyes were filled with cold calmness.
"An illusion..." She sneered inwardly. Having experienced reincarnation and witnessed the vastness of the universe, how powerful must her soul be? Even an illusion of this level was full of flaws in her eyes!
She didn't even use her spiritual power, but simply swayed her body slightly like a ghost, and all the attacks of the demonic wolves missed! Their sharp claws pierced her body, but it was like passing through air, unable to cause any substantial damage - because they were fake!
But the next moment, the formation changed! A cold arrow shot silently from behind! This time, Ye Li clearly felt the real murderous intent and energy fluctuations!
Combination of virtual and real!
Without even turning his head, Ye Li flicked his finger backhandedly! A concentrated gust of wind from his finger accurately struck the energy-condensed arrow, detonating it mid-air!
At the same time, several sword energies came from both sides, which were also real energy attacks!
Ye Li's figure was as fast as the wind, and he used the Shadow Step to the extreme in a small space, easily avoiding all attacks. His fingers were like swords, and every time he pointed, an energy attack would be annihilated!
Not only was she fighting against illusions and murderous intent, she was also analyzing and sensing the operating rules of this illusionary killing array at an incredible speed!
Under her powerful spiritual perception, the trajectory of the energy flow of this formation, the nodes where illusions were generated, the timing of real attacks... all seemed to have shed their mysterious cloaks and become traceable!
"Left three, Kan position, the energy fluctuations are slightly stagnant..."
"The front is out of position, and there's a split second gap when the illusion switches..."
"Right seven, Zhen position, is the starting point of the next wave of real attacks..."
She was like the calmest bystander and analyst. In the midst of the fierce battle, she actually dissected this huge formation in detail!
The time of an incense stick passed quickly, but the formation did not stop, which meant that those who passed the test would continue to be tested to determine their superiority.
The illusion became stronger and stronger, transforming from a demonic wolf into a more powerful demonic beast. Even twisted phantoms of demons began to appear, constantly roaring and trying to disturb her mind.
"Waste! You will always be waste!"
"Why can you be reborn? You don't deserve it!"
"Hand over the Samsara Mirror! It's not yours!"
All kinds of heart-wrenching words came along with terrible scenes.
A cold light flashed in Ye Li's eyes, and anger rose slightly in her heart, but she was not disturbed by it. Instead, she used these inner demons and phantoms as tools to sharpen her heart! The "Youhuan Emperor Sutra" was activated, and her soul firmly guarded the spiritual platform, immune to all evil!
At the same time, she began to no longer be satisfied with just blocking and dodging.
She began to try to use the formation rules that she had seen through!
When a powerful energy attack erupted from the Kun position, she didn't take it head-on, but instead quickly retreated to the Qian position to the side and rear. That was a relatively weak point in the formation's energy conversion, and when the attack arrived, its power had naturally weakened by 30%, and she easily broke it with a single finger!
As countless illusions swarmed out from the Xun position, she took a step ahead and pointed a finger at an inconspicuous rune node in the Dui position! The node trembled slightly, and the illusions pouring out of the Xun position suddenly became distorted and blurred, and their number decreased sharply!
She was actually using the power of the formation to fight against the formation itself!
This kind of behavior requires an extremely sophisticated understanding and prediction of the battle formation, as well as extremely precise control of one's own strength!
Time passes by every second.
Outside the formation, in the square, the massive illusionary killing formation shimmered with light, clouds and mist billowed, and from time to time, the disciples' cries of surprise, screams, and roars could be heard. Disciples, pale-faced and bleeding from their mouths, were constantly being ejected by the formation's light, clearly traumatized and eliminated.
The deacons and disciples were busy recording the time and performance of those who were eliminated.
On the high platform, the gazes of several elders were focused once again. Before them stood a massive water mirror, which clearly displayed a portion of the illusionary killing array. And at this moment, at the center of the water mirror, was the gray figure that effortlessly navigated through illusions and murderous intent, even occasionally countering the array!
"This... How is this possible?!" The red-faced elder stood up suddenly, his eyes wide open. "She's actually exploiting the principles of the Illusion Killing Formation? How long has she been in there? And she's already seen through the workings of this 'Xiao Qian Illusion Killing Formation'?!"
The teacup in the green-robed elder's hand stopped mid-air, his face filled with disbelief. "It's not just her insight... her grasp of timing, her precise control of power... it's simply astonishing! This woman... this woman's spiritual power is definitely far beyond that of her peers! And she has an incredible intuition about formations!"
Even the white-haired old man, who had been sitting on the Diaoyutai until now, leaned forward slightly, a terrifying glint in his cloudy eyes: "Genius! This is a true genius in formations! No! Even a genius in combat! Given time, her future is limitless! Qingyun Peak wants this girl!"
"Bullshit!" The red-faced elder immediately puffed his beard and glared, "Old White Hair, your Qingyun Peak master specializes in swordsmanship, why would you need a genius in formations? This woman deserves to join our Tianzhen Peak!"
"Hmph, how can a person with extraordinary talent be limited to one path? My Qingyun Peak is open to all, which is just right for her all-round development!" The white-haired old man did not give in.
The elder in green robes also joined the fight: "Don't worry, my two senior brothers. This woman has a calm mind and is decisive in killing. She is quite compatible with the temperament of our Law Enforcement Hall..."
Several elders who were usually highly respected were arguing like common people over a disciple who had not yet officially joined the sect, leaving the deacons and disciples standing beside them dumbfounded.
Inside the formation, Ye Li was unaware that she had triggered a fight among the elders. She felt as if a long time had passed, the attacks around her were getting stronger, and the inner demon phantoms were becoming more and more dense.
She realized that this assessment was not about just persisting indefinitely, and that it probably had its limits.
Her eyes swept across a corner of the formation where the energy flow was slightly disordered. It was one of the several secondary energy nodes that maintained the entire illusion killing formation. It was not the core, but if it could be interfered with, it would greatly reduce the pressure and even end the assessment early.
But she hesitated for a moment and did not attack.
It would not be wise to reveal her ability to see through the formation too early. She understood the principle that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.
She chose another approach.
When another wave of powerful inner demon phantoms accompanied by physical sword energy attacked, she pretended to be weak, staggered, and retreated in a panic towards the weak energy node.
While retreating, she "happened" to step on a special rune connection point near the node, and at the same time, a trace of icy spiritual power that "accidentally" leaked cleverly penetrated into the node!
Buzz!
The entire Illusion Killing Formation trembled violently! The energy flow at that node suddenly became stagnant!
Although it recovered in just a moment, the power of the formation was obviously reduced, and the illusions and attacks became much sparser.
Ye Li took the opportunity to steady himself and continued to "hardly" resist the remaining attacks, acting as if he had luckily survived the most dangerous moment.
After another cup of tea, the light of the illusion killing array finally slowly dissipated.
The assessment is over!
When the fog completely dissipated, revealing the square, there were less than a hundred people left! All of them were pale, their spirits agitated, and most of them sat slumped on the ground, still terrified.
Only Ye Li, although sweat was on his forehead and his breathing was a little rapid, still stood straight with clear and calm eyes, as if he was just doing a warm-up exercise.
Her performance formed an extremely sharp contrast with the embarrassment of the people around her.
Everyone's eyes were focused on her again, filled with complex and unspeakable emotions.
On the platform, the elders' quarrel came to an abrupt halt, but their gazes towards Ye Li became more intense and determined.
Ye Li slowly exhaled a breath of foul air. She knew that her performance in the second level would probably be even more "amazing" than the first level.
Trouble, maybe more.
But the same is true for opportunities.
She looked calmly at the venue for the final test - the several arenas that had been built not far away.
The final ranking will be decided soon.
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