"Everything is an illusion. Illusory things can never become reality."
Ye Yunfei suddenly roared.
Boom!
Powerful Illusion Dao Energy and Mental Force erupted from within Ye Yunfei's body, enveloping his form.
The long blade in Elder Lu's hand came slashing directly towards Ye Yunfei's chest.
Ye Yunfei made no move to dodge, treating the blade as utterly inconsequential.
The sharp blade struck Ye Yunfei's chest, yet it failed to harm him in the slightest.
Ye Yunfei stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at Elder Lu with an indifferent expression.
"Why didn't you dodge?"
Elder Lu stared at Ye Yunfei and asked in confusion.
The long blade in his hand passed right through Ye Yunfei's chest, but it was as if it had cut through empty air, simply sliding through Ye Yunfei's body without resistance, no different from slicing through the void.
"Everything is false. Including you."
Ye Yunfei said mildly.
His words seemed to carry a certain magic. The moment he finished speaking, Elder Lu's body began to transform from solid to illusory, shimmering gently until, in less than a single breath, he vanished without a trace.
Then, everything around him—all the other people, all the objects, and the entire world—began to ripple like water, gradually fading from solidity into a translucent, illusory state before completely disappearing.
Ye Yunfei found himself once more on the stone staircase from before.
Looking around, he realized he had, in fact, remained standing on the tenth step the entire time.
"Master, it seemed like you were in a daze just now. You must have been trapped in an illusion," Hu Miao, standing nearby with her eyes fixed on Ye Yunfei, said, relieved as she saw clarity gradually returning to his gaze. "But you managed to break free from the illusion after just a few breaths."
"Just a few breaths?"
Ye Yunfei couldn't help but smile bitterly upon hearing Hu Miao's words. "Yet it felt like an incredibly long time had passed. Fortunately, I still managed to break out."
Back in that world, it had felt as if a hundred years had gone by, yet in the real world, only a few breaths had elapsed.
"The power of the illusions here is truly terrifying!" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but sigh.
At that moment, a figure swiftly approached from the distance, landing instantly in front of the stone staircase.
"This fellow should be here to track you down," Hun Lao sent a mental message to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, this is one of the experts who was pursuing us earlier," Ye Yunfei nodded, sensing the figure's aura.
"Finally caught up to you," the figure said, its gaze fixed on Hu Miao and Ye Yunfei standing on the stone steps.
"So it truly is a Primordial Heavenly Fox. Excellent. It seems I will not only obtain the sacred artifact of the Primordial Heavenly Foxes but can also capture one to take back for taming." The figure looked at Hu Miao as it spoke. "Rest assured, the sacred artifact of your clan will still be guarded by you in the future. However, you will follow my commands."
By now, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao could clearly see the figure's true appearance: a rather ordinary-looking gray-robed middle-aged man. His entire bearing was calm and composed, exuding the calm of still waters.
"You're seeking death!"
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, Hu Miao immediately flushed with rage, her willow-thin eyebrows arching sharply upward.
As a member of the Primordial Heavenly Fox race, Hu Miao had always taken great pride in her lineage. This man, however, openly spoke of capturing and taming her, a blatant and utter disrespect towards her clan.
"Heh, it seems you have quite a temper. But it is exactly this temper that will make taming you all the more interesting," the gray-robed middle-aged man said with a faint smile. Then, without hesitation, he stepped onto the staircase.
"So this is a staircase meant for trial and tribulation. The Tianmu Shenjun certainly enjoys setting up such things!" The moment he set foot on the steps, the gray-robed man felt a surge of powerful Illusion Dao Energy rolling towards him, while another surge of potent Mental Force pressed down from a different direction. He immediately understood the purpose of this stone staircase.
"However, for me, this counts for little."
The gray-robed middle-aged man paid it no mind. Clasping his hands behind his back, he strode confidently upward.
"Not good. We need to pick up our pace. This fellow's strength is formidable. We are not his match," Ye Yunfei said, his expression shifting slightly as he watched the gray-robed man striding upward. "Hurry!"
Without delay, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao turned and began climbing higher.
Boom!
With each step ascended, even stronger suppressing energies came rolling towards them.
Hu Miao sensed Illusion Dao Energy, while Ye Yunfei was bombarded by both Illusion Dao Energy and Mental Force.
The onslaught of these two different energies pressing down on Ye Yunfei's body made his movements feel sluggish and difficult.
"Master, I'll protect you."
Seeing Ye Yunfei beginning to slow down, Hu Miao immediately moved closer to his side. Above her head, the stele continuously cascaded with numerous Illusion Dao Law Chains.
Within the area enveloped by these Illusion Dao Law Chains, the suppressing power of the stone staircase weakened, and Ye Yunfei immediately felt much lighter.
"Well done, Hu Miao. Now you've already reached the point where you can protect me."
Ye Yunfei smiled as he spoke.
With Hu Miao's assistance, Ye Yunfei picked up speed once more.
Before long, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao had climbed straight to the twentieth step in one go.
The gray-robed man at the rear had also reached the tenth step. Upon arriving there, his expression changed dramatically.
Initially, he hadn't paid much attention to the suppressing energies on the staircase, believing his own cultivation realm and strength would allow him to handle it with ease.
But with each step ascended, he felt the pressure increase. When he reached the tenth step, he was instantly plunged into an illusion.
"This illusion is extremely realistic," the gray-robed man thought, aware he was trapped in an illusion, yet its realism forced him to deal with the events and various people within it.
"It seems that fellow is also caught in an illusion. This stone staircase's power is truly terrifying. Even he is being suppressed there, trapped in an illusion," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, staring at the gray-robed man in surprise.
"Though his realm and strength are high, he may not necessarily be formidable in both Illusion Dao Energy and Mental Force. This stone staircase likely specifically tests these two energies, so even he has to endure its suppression here," Hun Lao speculated.
"Hun Lao, that makes sense," Ye Yunfei nodded upon hearing his analysis.
"We must hurry," Ye Yunfei said to Hu Miao.
The two immediately lifted their feet, intending to climb higher.
Right at that moment, Ye Yunfei suddenly found the scenery around him shift completely. He was no longer on the staircase but had been transported to a strange world.
"Not good, I'm trapped in another illusion," Ye Yunfei thought, fully aware that he had once again been ensnared.
In this world, Ye Yunfei was a disciple of an ordinary clan, with mediocre talent and unremarkable strength.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei lived as this ordinary clan disciple, struggling to survive and advance within this world.
At first, Ye Yunfei found himself somewhat unable to extricate himself. Though deep down he faintly knew he was likely in an illusion, the deception ran so deep that at times he even accepted the identity imposed upon him in this world.
However, as time flowed on, Ye Yunfei gradually grew clearer in mind.
"When I was trapped in that previous illusion, I was able to break free quickly after seeing through it. I should use the same method now," Ye Yunfei told himself.
Thus, Ye Yunfei began to deal with everything in this world with passive indifference.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Ye Yunfei stood on a tall mountain within his clan's headquarters, gazing with detached eyes at everything around him.
Ye Yunfei understood: this clan headquarters, even this entire world, was an illusion.
"What are you doing here? This is a restricted area of the clan. Leave immediately, or the clan's Punishment Hall will not be lenient with you."
As Ye Yunfei stood there, hands behind his back overlooking the world, an old man suddenly soared into the air, his face flushed with anger as he berated Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei stood calmly, his hands still clasped behind him, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the elder.
This elder was a Core Elder of the clan, a man of considerable authority.
"I'm speaking to you! Did you hear me? Get lost, now!" Seeing Ye Yunfei standing there so nonchalantly, regarding him with that detached look, the Core Elder flew into a rage.
Ye Yunfei remained still, hands behind his back, his gaze cool and indifferent as he regarded the Core Elder.
"Fine! You even dare to ignore my words. I shall apprehend you this instant and hand you over to the Punishment Hall!" Utterly enraged by Ye Yunfei's attitude, the Core Elder reached out a hand. His palm expanded continuously, like a cloud instantly covering Ye Yunfei from above.
Ye Yunfei watched the palm sweeping down, making no move to dodge or evade.
Boom!
The next moment, Ye Yunfei felt his body tremble violently. Shockingly, he was sent flying backward by this strike, crashing into the ground in the distance.
"How could this be? Isn't everything illusory?"
Ye Yunfei's body slammed into the ground, the impact sending sharp pains throughout his frame. He could hardly believe it.
"Apprehend him!"
At the Core Elder's command, a large group of Punishment Hall members immediately swarmed from all sides, rushing forward like fierce wolves to hog-tie Ye Yunfei.
Soon after, Ye Yunfei was thrown into the clan's celestial prison, the charge being direct defiance of a Core Elder.
Once imprisoned, Ye Yunfei began a life in utter darkness. Moreover, each day, some of the Core Elder's trusted followers would enter the prison to subject Ye Yunfei to various cruel tortures.
Ye Yunfei endured a wretched existence within those prison walls, a life worse than death.
One day, while undergoing torture, the searing pain suddenly caused Ye Yunfei's Soul Body to snap fully awake. It was as if something in his mind shattered, and he felt all the punishments being inflicted upon his body become intangible and illusory.
With a single thought, Ye Yunfei released his Illusion Dao Energy and Mental Force, instantly shattering everything around him. The entire world crumbled and collapsed before his eyes, and then he found himself back on the twentieth step of the staircase.
"Master, I was also trapped in an illusion just now. You were too. Luckily, we both managed to break free in time. Look, the fellow above us seems to have also broken free from his illusion and is chasing after us. Let's seize the moment and hurry up!" Hu Miao said to Ye Yunfei.