“The appearance of a Blood-devouring Demon Clan member surely signals a grand conspiracy. Everyone must be doubly cautious. At the very least, we shouldn’t split up,” said the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader.
“Indeed, we’re better off sticking together,” the crowd nodded in agreement.
Having witnessed a Blood-devouring Demon Clan member firsthand, they were already gripped by fear.
But among this vast crowd, there were only two Exalted Pinnacle experts: the Supreme Elder of the Tantai Heavenly Clan, Tantai Yinjian, and the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader.
These two were clearly the most formidable protectors among the group.
With one of these Exalted Pinnacle experts by their side, they naturally wouldn’t leave轻易—truth be told, even if it cost them their lives, they’d cling to the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader’s side.
At this moment, the Chu Heavenly Clan Leader turned his gaze toward the golden fruit.
“Obtaining this fruit seems to require some effort. We can’t afford to waste any more time.”
The Chu Heavenly Clan Leader began walking step by step toward the golden fruit.
…
Time passed, and Chu Feng had been trapped in the illusion for a full ten days.
The scenery within the illusion hadn’t changed in the slightest, but Chu Feng himself had grown extremely weak, even teetering on the brink of mortal danger.
Yet, despite this, his gaze remained resolute, and he strove to stay calm, still searching for a way to break free.
Unbeknownst to Chu Feng, everything happening within the illusion was being observed clearly in a certain place.
It resembled a grand hall, though calling it a hall felt somewhat inaccurate—it was rough-hewn, with its surroundings crafted entirely from wood. If anything, it was more like an enormous tree hollow.
At the centre of the hollow was a small lake, its surface calm, projecting the scenes within the illusion, with Chu Feng at the focal point.
Above the lake, two figures were watching everything unfold.
One of them was observing intently, barely blinking as they stared at the lake.
Though humanoid, this figure didn’t quite resemble a person—they looked more like a monster.
Their entire body was wrapped in white bandages, stained with blood, leaving only a pair of lifeless eyes exposed. Yet, those eyes instilled a chilling sense of dread.
It was hard to pinpoint what was so terrifying, but a single glance at those eyes sent shivers down the spine.
Normally, such an appearance would suggest someone gravely injured, hardly warranting the term “monster.”
But this figure was peculiar in that their body emitted a faint greenish glow, and a nauseating stench of decay wafted from them.
They didn’t look like a living person but rather a corpse—a living corpse.
To be precise, they were a living dead.
Beside this living dead was another figure, one who appeared entirely normal—at least, they seemed alive.
By all logic, a normal person sitting next to a living dead, especially one reeking of decay, would either be terrified or keep their distance.
But this person showed no such aversion. Instead, they sat there, voraciously devouring green fruits.
These were no ordinary fruits—they were Sacred Tree Fruits!!!
The precious Sacred Tree Fruits were piled beside them into a small mountain dozens of metres high.
And they ate these rare fruits as casually as one might snack on sunflower seeds, popping them into their mouth one after another.
Perhaps because they were so engrossed in eating, they only spared the projection in the lake a glance or two, their focus primarily on their feast.
Notably, this person was the same one Chu Feng and the others had encountered earlier.
The man who bore an identical appearance to Wang Qiang, yet wore armour made of tree bark.
“Hey, hey, hey, I say, little cub, didn’t you say this is your good brother? He’s about to give out, and you don’t even spare him a glance. Aren’t you afraid he’ll die?” the living dead said, addressing the man who looked like Wang Qiang.
“It’s… it’s… it’s because he’s my brother that I don’t look,” the man replied, his tone eerily identical to Wang Qiang’s.
“So you’re fake brothers, then?” the living dead asked.
“Wha… what do you mean, fake brothers? We’ve got a bond forged through life and death,” Wang Qiang shot a glance at the living dead.
“A bond through life and death?”
“Then why aren’t you, little cub, showing any concern for him?” The living dead didn’t believe Wang Qiang and Chu Feng shared a deep bond, as Wang Qiang’s behaviour hardly inspired confidence.
“It’s because he’s my brother that I… I… I know this illusion can’t stump him,” Wang Qiang said.
“Oh?”
“You’ve got quite a lot of faith in him,” the living dead remarked.
“You’ve seen how… how… how awesome my brother is. Don’t I know that already?” Wang Qiang said with a face full of confidence.
Hearing this, the living dead’s expression shifted slightly before turning back to the lake.
“I must say, this little cub does have some skill. To stay so calm under such circumstances.”
“With such composure, all he’s missing is a bit of luck. After all, he’s passed by the exit multiple times, just shy of touching it.”
“So if he keeps going, he’ll eventually escape this illusion array,” the living dead concluded.
“Duh… duh… do you even need to say that? He’s… he’s my brother,” Wang Qiang said, brimming with pride.
“Wait!!!”
Suddenly, the living dead, who had been sitting, shot to their feet.
Their previously lifeless eyes now gleamed with a hint of shock.
“What’s with you, old thing, making a… a… a fuss?” Wang Qiang rolled his eyes at the living dead.
“This little brat is stealing my fruits!!!” the living dead exclaimed.
“Stea… stealing your fruits? Old thing, what do you mean?” Hearing this, Wang Qiang stood up as well, looking curiously at the lake.
“This illusion array is powered by the energy of thirty-six golden fruits, combined with the unique power of the Void Sacred Tree, to create an illusion array that even barrier techniques can’t see through.”
“By all rights, this brat should be able to break the illusion array simply by finding the exit. But… he’s passed by the exit multiple times without encountering it.”
“I thought before that he hadn’t noticed the exit, which is why I said he was just a bit short on luck.”
“But now it seems he’s doing it on purpose.”
“Because his goal isn’t to escape the illusion array at all—it’s to take all the fruits I used to set up the illusion array!!!” the living dead explained.
