At this moment, the gray-clad middle-aged man was still standing motionless on the fortieth step. It was obvious that he remained deeply trapped in his illusion, too ensnared to free himself.
Soon, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao drew increasingly closer to him.
"Be careful. This guy has keen perception, and he might awaken from the illusion at any moment," Ye Yunfei sent a sound transmission to Hu Miao.
"Don't worry, Master. He won't be able to wake up from that illusion so quickly because I'm about to enter his illusory world right now. Once I'm inside his personal illusion, I'll immediately use a secret art of my race to reinforce it and trap him even deeper," Hu Miao replied with a smile.
By this time, Hu Miao and Ye Yunfei had already reached the forty-second step. Two more steps, and they would be at the spot where the gray-clad middle-aged man stood.
"Master, let's go down another step," Hu Miao said, then extended her foot downward to land on the forty-first step.
"No matter what, we must stay alert. Once this fellow awakens, we're certainly no match for him." Ye Yunfei's spirit was highly concentrated now. The moment he noticed any sign of the gray-clad man waking up, he would grab Hu Miao and flee immediately.
Fortunately, when the two of them landed on the forty-first step, the gray-clad middle-aged man showed no signs of awakening. He remained motionless where he stood, eyes tightly shut as if he were an old monk entering deep meditation.
"Master, I'm going into his illusion now. I'll use every opportunity I find inside to deal with him. You need to be ready to coordinate with me at any moment. We'll attack from both inside and out." Hu Miao said to Ye Yunfei.
"Alright. Rest assured, I'm ready to strike at any moment." Ye Yunfei nodded.
With the two sides this close, Ye Yunfei was confident that if he utilized his physical strength, he could instantly strike the gray-clad middle-aged man's body.
Although his cultivation realm and combat strength were high, physical power held a significant advantage in close-quarters combat like this.
At this moment, the Primordial True Fox Stele floating above Hu Miao's head began to tremble slightly, radiating an even more dazzling light. Ye Yunfei could sense a veritable sea of Illusion Dao Energy continuously pouring into Hu Miao's body.
Hu Miao then formed a very peculiar hand seal with her hands and began to perform a secret art to enter the gray-clad middle-aged man's illusion.
Soon, Ye Yunfei noticed the gray-clad man's brows suddenly furrow tightly, and his expression turned somewhat ugly.
Ye Yunfei knew Hu Miao had most likely succeeded in entering his illusion and had started using it to attack him.
Hu Miao was originally a master at crafting all kinds of illusions. Now, not only had she obtained the Primordial True Fox Stele, but she had also just undergone the trial of this staircase, receiving an immense baptism of high-level Illusion Dao Energy. Her illusion arts had reached a whole new level.
Ye Yunfei stood by, preparing to make his move at any time.
The gray-clad man's face gradually grew uglier and uglier, his expression shifting unpredictably—sometimes angry, sometimes panicked, sometimes doubtful. Even his hands began to tremble slightly.
"Master, get ready. I've already created many more illusions within his personal illusion. Now this guy is trapped in multiple layers. I'm using various illusions to guide him step by step, waiting for the opportunity to strike," Hu Miao transmitted to Ye Yunfei.
"Don't worry. I'm ready," Ye Yunfei replied with a nod.
Suddenly, the gray-clad man's body began to sway slightly. Both anger and panic appeared simultaneously on his face.
"How dare you! I'll fight you to the death!" the gray-clad middle-aged man roared abruptly, his entire body shuddering violently.
"Master, attack now!" Hu Miao immediately sent a sound transmission to Ye Yunfei.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Yunfei struck.
In an instant, he unleashed various different cultivation methods and martial techniques.
The first was the Heavenly Dao Divine Dragon Fist. This fist art was passed down from the Great Power Divine Muscle Man; it was a profound technique that combined physical strength with the Laws of Strength. As his fist shot out, all of the physical power within Ye Yunfei's body poured out in a mighty torrent, converging on his fist. In a flash, he struck the small patch of space occupied by the gray-clad middle-aged man, causing it to deeply depress.
"Great Method of Myriad Swords Returning to One!" With his right hand, Ye Yunfei drew the longsword personally forged by the Sword Elder back in the Sword Realm and slashed outwards. A thick sword beam materialized, instantly tearing apart the space ahead. Terrifying sword qi instantly enveloped the gray-clad middle-aged man.
Next, Ye Yunfei used the Soul Weapon Great Method, conjuring over thirty various weapons. They forcibly invaded the man's Soul Sea and launched an assault on his Soul Body.
Simultaneously, Ye Yunfei also deployed Mind Reading to disrupt the middle-aged man's thoughts and intentions.
Then, Ye Yunfei employed a powerful Mental Force martial technique. Vast Mental Force energy instantly invaded the gray-clad middle-aged man's body, including his Soul Sea. Earlier, at the top of this staircase, Ye Yunfei had accepted the baptism of Mental Force energy from the Ancient Heart Gate. His Mental Force level had skyrocketed, so the power of the Mental Force he now wielded was naturally far stronger.
While Ye Yunfei attacked, his blood race clone appeared nearby, gripping a crimson longsword. With a fierce slash, it hacked toward the gray-clad middle-aged man.
At the same time, the nine divine beasts of the Nine Palace Totem Wheel also manifested, steadily pushing the massive totem wheel as it rolled thunderously toward the gray-clad man.
In an instant, Ye Yunfei unleashed a barrage of various cultivation methods and martial techniques, bombarding the gray-clad middle-aged man's body without cease.
As Ye Yunfei acted, Hu Miao also launched a ferocious assault on the gray-clad middle-aged man using illusions.
Ye Yunfei saw vast amounts of Illusion Dao Energy, along with numerous chains of Illusion Dao Laws, bombard the gray-clad middle-aged man from all directions.
Trapped within the staircase's illusion, the gray-clad man had originally been experiencing all sorts of illusory events and facing all kinds of illusory enemies. Now, he was suddenly subjected to Ye Yunfei's frenzied attacks while his thoughts were disrupted by Ye Yunfei's Mind Reading. For a time, he simply couldn't react in time.
Ye Yunfei's various attacks, not missing a single one, struck his body. Particularly devastating was the Heavenly Dao Divine Dragon Fist.
The terrifying physical strength coalesced into a clawed and fanged divine dragon that let out thunderous roars, instantly submerging the gray-clad middle-aged man. His flesh and blood immediately began to crack, revealing crimson fissures as if he were a sculpture on the verge of being shattered.
"Damn you! All of you deserve to die! Go and die!" Finding himself in dire peril, the gray-clad man raged to the extreme and roared. Then, the energy within his body surged forth like a vast ocean.
"Careful!" Sensing the energy erupting from the gray-clad man, Ye Yunfei's face immediately changed.
"Don't worry, Master. I've already created many illusory enemies for him inside his illusion and guided the direction of his attacks. They won't affect us," Hu Miao transmitted to Ye Yunfei.
Indeed, the energy released by the gray-clad middle-aged man surged towards a completely different direction—a direction devoid of anyone.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The gray-clad man manipulated his own energy, pouring it out ceaselessly towards that direction. In moments, he shattered the space in that direction, causing it to collapse continuously.
"Hu Miao, you're incredible!" Seeing the gray-clad man attacking an empty spot, Ye Yunfei felt both shocked and overjoyed and immediately sent Hu Miao a sound transmission.
"Of course! Master, rest assured. This guy is still inside his illusion. I can still exert influence on him. Don't be afraid of him. Master, seize this time to attack. Try to kill him," Hu Miao replied.
"Very well," Ye Yunfei nodded.
In fact, ever since he had begun his assault, Ye Yunfei had never stopped. Sword techniques, blade techniques, Soul Power martial arts, physical techniques, Mental Force arts—Ye Yunfei unleashed them all. Simultaneously, he summoned various magic treasures, activating them all. Like a torrential downpour from all directions, they bombarded the gray-clad middle-aged man without end.
In short, Ye Yunfei employed every means he could think of in a short period, unleashing his most ferocious attacks upon the gray-clad man.
Ye Yunfei knew this gray-clad middle-aged man's combat power was formidable. Even landing hits on him wouldn't be enough to kill him quickly with his current strength. He needed sustained attacks, piling up the effects to have any chance of inflicting a fatal wound.
Clenching his left fist, Ye Yunfei continuously used physical martial arts, especially the Heavenly Dao Divine Dragon Fist. Punch after punch slammed into the gray-clad man's body.
One massive divine dragon after another, summoned by Ye Yunfei's left fist, charged into the gray-clad man's frame, madly tearing it apart and wreaking havoc on his flesh.
Ye Yunfei's right hand gripped his longsword as he performed several profound sword techniques from the Sword Realm in succession. One razor-sharp sword beam after another shot out, incessantly slicing into the gray-clad man's body.
The nine divine beasts pushing the wheel also continuously crashed into the gray-clad man's flesh.
Wielding the crimson long blade in both hands, the blood race clone deployed Blood Manipulation Great Art. Every slash stirred up towering waves of bloody mist.
"Ah! Damn it all! Just what is going on? Why have I fallen to this state?"
Finally, under Ye Yunfei's frenzied assault, the gray-clad middle-aged man's body began to crack and break apart.
Although his cultivation realm and strength were high, his physical body was relatively a weak point.
Once his body was shattered to pieces, his Soul Body emerged, hovering in place with a bewildered expression. It was clear he was still trapped within the illusion.
The illusion laid down by Tianmu Shenjun here was already extremely formidable. Add to that Hu Miao's own crafted illusions meant to trap him, and there was simply no way he could break free from the illusion in a short time.
"With just a Soul Body left, I'm not afraid of you."
At this moment, Huang Shang also appeared and began using Ghost Cultivation Arts against the gray-clad middle-aged man's Soul Body.
Although the gray-clad man's Soul Body was powerful, Huang Shang was a Ghost Cultivator—the bane of all living creatures' souls to begin with. All Ghost Cultivation Arts inherently restrained Soul Bodies. Thus, the various Ghost Cultivation Arts unleashed by Huang Shang quickly began to affect the gray-clad middle-aged man.