Chapter 871: The Heart Force Killing Array

"Where are we? And what's that roaring in the distance?" Yang Chuan asked.

"I don't know. Be careful of this green fog," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a frown.

Suddenly, a roar echoed from deep within the green fog.

"Are there ferocious beasts in there? It sounds like a lot of them are coming this way. Be careful," Yang Chuan warned, his face changing.

At that moment, Xiao Nanfeng's expression shifted. He felt the golden sprout within his heart tremble, releasing a golden light that enveloped his entire body and began absorbing special energy from the green fog.

As the golden sprout exerted its power, Xiao Nanfeng was no longer able to hear the roars from before.

"An illusion?" Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Yang Chuan blanched. "They're here! Be careful!"

Yang Chuan could see an extremely hideous creature charging toward them. It exuded an immensely powerful aura, causing Yang Chuan's expression to turn dark.

With a loud boom, he punched the creature and sent it flying. Then, a swarm of monsters rushed toward them from all around.

"There are so many monsters," Yang Chuan exclaimed in shock.

He launched a flurry of attacks as he punched and kicked the monsters away. He even drew a folding fan and waved it fiercely, summoning a hurricane that sent the creatures tumbling away in disarray.

Even so, the monsters were too numerous and terrifyingly feral, showing no fear of death as they charged forward relentlessly.

"Xiao Nanfeng, we can't stay here! We have to go!" Yang Chuan urged in a panic.

Xiao Nanfeng had a strange expression on his face. What he saw was completely different—there were no monsters. Instead, Yang Chuan was flailing about wildly, punching at empty air, and gasping for breath.

"What are you doing? Hurry and run! The monsters are increasing in number. Damn it, there's even a Boundless Immortal one coming now!" Yang Chuan called out anxiously.

"What monsters? Are you out of your mind? There's nothing here," Xiao Nanfeng replied irritably.

"What?" Yang Chuan froze, then exclaimed incredulously, "Can't you see the monsters?"

"It's not that I can't see them. There simply aren't any."

Yang Chuan's heart skipped a beat. "Do you mean that one of us is hallucinating?"

"It's definitely not me," Xiao Nanfeng said with certainty.

"I don't believe it! Damn it, I've even activated my heavenly eye to maximum power. Are you saying I'm the one hallucinating? That's impossible!"

Sure enough, a vertical purple eye had appeared on Yang Chuan's forehead. However, its gaze was vacant and eerie.

"That third eye on your forehead looks like it has cataracts. Are you sure it's meant to be a heavenly eye?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"Don't underestimate my heavenly eye. I may not be very skilled with it, but it's one of the ultimate secret techniques of the Yuqing holy land," Yang Chuan retorted. "If you don't believe me, then so be it. Let the monsters give you a hard time."

Xiao Nanfeng remained nonchalant. He gave Yang Chuan a weird look.

While Yang Chuan fought, he deliberately left a gap for a monster to rush toward Xiao Nanfeng, only for nothing to happen to him.

"Are these monsters stupid? While I was blocking them, they were desperate to attack you. Now that I'm leaving you open, they ignore you! Why? Can they understand what I'm saying?" Yang Chuan exclaimed in disbelief.

"Have you not confirmed that you've fallen for it?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, frowning.

He quickly understood just how terrifying the illusion here was. Even now, Yang Chuan hadn't snapped out of it.

Yang Chuan frowned. He might not have been able to see through the illusion, but Xiao Nanfeng's behavior made him doubt himself.

"Fine, damn it! I'll test it!" Yang Chuan shut his eyes and stopped attacking.

In order to confirm that what he was seeing was an illusion, he allowed the monsters to attack him.

With several loud booms, Yang Chuan was sent flying. He coughed up blood as he crashed to the ground.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you lied to me!" Yang Chuan grumbled, frustrated.

"Are illusions this advanced now...?" Xiao Nanfeng muttered, dumbfounded, as he watched Yang Chuan get kicked around in thin air.

"No! I can't take it anymore! There are a few more Boundless Immortal monsters coming from over there. If I don't run now, I'll die!"

He resumed his counterattacks, but the more he fought, the more monsters appeared, leaving him exasperated. Even so, the monsters completely ignored Xiao Nanfeng as if he didn't exist. The situation forced him to consider the possibility that this really was just an illusion.

"Yang Chuan, I don't see any monsters. This illusion might well be very potent. Strangely, it can even harm you. I suspect there's some sort of hypnosis that's causing you to see the monsters. They're not hurting you; rather, your body's reaction to the hypnosis is causing the damage," Xiao Nanfeng explained.

"What do we do, then? I can't break out!" Yang Chuan shouted.

"How about this? Let me take over your physical body temporarily. I'll possess it and help you navigate through this place. Deal?"

He did have ways to free Yang Chuan from the illusion. For instance, when he embraced Lan Yaoguang back in the Shangqing holy land, the golden sprout's light had enveloped her and absorbed the aspects of the illusion around her. However, he shied at the thought of doing the same to Yang Chuan.

Yang Chuan frowned. He had been possessed by Xiao Nanfeng once before, but that was under dire circumstances while he was gravely injured. Should he allow Xiao Nanfeng to do so again?

After some hesitation, Yang Chuan said, "Fine. But you'll owe me big-time for this."

Yang Chuan was carefree by nature, and he had shared life-and-death experiences with Xiao Nanfeng before. He trusted Xiao Nanfeng's character and decided not to overthink things.

"Same as last time, then. I'll be sending death chants into your mind. Don't resist them," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

Yang Chuan nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng stepped forward and entered Yang Chuan's mindscape. At the same time, his blue moon transformed into a blue lotus and descended on Yang Chuan's soul. The death chants and the blue lotus together, along with Yang Chuan's lack of resistance, caused his consciousness to blur quickly.

Xiao Nanfeng had successfully possessed Yang Chuan again.

His golden sprout emitted a golden light, generating a suction that absorbed the special energy around Yang Chuan. Instantly, all the monsters froze before dissipating into thin air.

Just now, within the passage of reincarnation, Han Gucheng had been leveraging the advantage of the domain to engage in combat with Liu Miaoyin.

Though Han Gucheng's strength had soared, it had only been a few months since he obtained the charm of heavenly law. He could hardly master the heavenly law of reincarnation fully during that time despite his exceptional talent.

Even with his eidolon of reincarnation pushed to its limits, the most he could do was fight Liu Miaoyin to a draw.

"Why are you helping Xiao Nanfeng? What's so good about him?" Han Gucheng shouted in frustration.

He was already jealous of the fact that Madam Rouge was protecting him. Now, another peerless expert had shown up to support Xiao Nanfeng, further fueling his resentment.

"Stop talking. Die!" Liu Miaoyin replied coldly.

She continued her assault. Their overwhelming fight continued; Liu Miaoyin only seemed to grow stronger as the battle progressed, causing Han Gucheng to frown uneasily.

At this rate, he had the suspicion that he might lose.

Gritting his teeth, Han Gucheng's eyes flashed with determination. He thought to himself, "Forget it. I'll lead Liu Miaoyin to that battlefield. I don't understand the natural laws there fully, but I'm sure it's advantageous to me."

"Reincarnation, heed my command—open!" Han Gucheng shouted.

A crack in the void appeared before him, and he stepped through.

"Where do you think you're going?" Liu Miaoyin asked coldly. She followed close behind.

With a whoosh, the two cultivators entered a space filled with green fog. The battle outside abruptly quieted down, alerting Xiao Nanfeng to the change and causing him to sense that something was amiss.

Within the domain of green fog, Liu Miaoyin immediately sensed that something was amiss.

"What a potent heartforce illusion. This is a killing formation!" Liu Miaoyin exclaimed.

Roars echoed from fog as countless monsters began to charge toward them.

"All phenomena are like dreams and illusions, bubbles and reflections, dew and lightning," Liu Miaoyin chanted, pressing her palms together.

With a hum, eighty percent of the monsters surrounding her vanished. Her peerless Buddhist techniques had constrained the illusions, but she wasn't able to nullify their effects entirely. About a fifth of the monsters remained untouched.

Han Gucheng also saw countless monsters rushing toward him. He too took a deep breath and intoned, "Reincarnation, through my Heartgate! Disperse the illusion!"

Just like Liu Miaoyin, the majority of the monsters in Han Gucheng's vision disappeared, leaving about a fifth behind. His charm of heavenly law was able to resist some of the illusion's effects.

The two cultivators resumed their battle.

Han Gucheng had hoped that the illusions would significantly weaken Liu Miaoyin, but it seemed that her abilities were too formidable. While she couldn't completely overcome the illusions, they hindered her far less than he expected.

The two continued to fight for some time, only to sense that something was amiss. The number of monsters was increasing rapidly.

"Why are more monsters appearing? Could the effect of my charm of heavenly law be fading?" Han Gucheng exclaimed.

Liu Miaoyin sensed the problem as well. She frowned. "What fearsome heart force—and it's only growing stronger. Is someone manipulating it?"

Before long, they stopped fighting.

The illusions grew more and more potent. In a flash, their eidola broke apart, causing them to reveal themselves.

"This isn't good!" Han Gucheng blanched.

He subconsciously tried to leave this space, but he glanced at his opponent and saw that Liu Miaoyin was doing worse. Once he opened up an exit, she would escape too.

This wouldn't do. He would have to wait for her to die before leaving.

He waved a hand and enveloped himself in a green barrier. "Charm of heavenly law, shield me."

Liu Miaoyin clasped her hands together, transforming into a black lotus that floated in the air.

Both cultivators suddenly seemed to enter a state of meditation, guarding themselves from the illusions.