Chapter 47: Shattering the Heart

  "Haha, have you seen through the illusion in this formation?"

  The old man's voice rose again, seemingly somewhat unexpected. "After I successfully refined this chart, I have dealt with countless masters, and only three people have seen through the illusion of this formation. You are the fourth... However, heh heh, those three people, even if they saw through the illusion in the formation, were still refined by me. Because the soul of this formation is a East Sea Siren, it can emit endless demonic energy. Whether or not you see through the illusion, you will feel real pain. When the pain reaches its peak, the illusion also becomes reality..."

  "Little one, I wonder how many rounds of torture you can endure..."

  As his voice fell, more little ghosts surged over, covering the sky and earth.

  For ordinary people, even seeing so many fierce ghosts would instantly fall into despair.

  The three elders are right, even if they know it's fake, they may not be able to break through.

  Because the pain is real, the illusion is vivid, and even if you know it's fake, it's hard to suppress the growth of fear.

  Just like people in the past watching horror movies, knowing it's fake but still screaming in fright.

  But the viciousness of this formation lies in that it doesn't really expect you to be killed by illusions. In fact, even if Meng Xuan didn't see through this illusion, he wouldn't be killed by the illusion, because those little ghosts are fake and this world is also fake. Its purpose is only to make Meng Xuan produce fear and despair, and once such feelings arise, Meng Xuan's Tao foundation will be destroyed.

  Cultivators cultivate the Way, and what they cultivate is one breath. The foundation lies in their own heart and spirit.

  Once one's heart is filled with fear and despair, how can one still be brave and forge ahead?

  In the Tianyuan Continent, there were many fables, one of which was about a scholar who traveled alone at night and encountered a demon that bewildered people. The scholar knew that the demon was fake, so he shouted loudly and forbade it from approaching him. Although the scholar had no physical strength, he had been studying the classics since childhood and had a strong sense of justice within him. The demon, although having some magical powers, did not dare to get close to him.

  Then the demon conjured up all sorts of illusions in an attempt to shatter the scholar's mental state.

  The young scholar went through all sorts of illusions at first, but he remained steadfast in his spirit and didn't fall for them, so the demons had no way to deal with him.

  But later on, the demon conjured up an image of the neighbor's daughter being raped and killed, which the scholar had been in love with. The scholar could no longer hold back his emotions and burst into tears.

  At this moment, Shu Sheng's heart was broken, and the righteous energy dissipated. The demon took advantage of the opportunity to invade his body.

  At this time, Meng Xuan was facing such a situation, and the illusion did not harm people, but only to break open his heart.

  The three elders were full of confidence, for in the face of infinite illusions, even if their cultivation was strong, there would always be a moment of wavering.

  But he didn't think that Meng Xuan was exactly the nemesis of this formation.

  To know, Meng Xuan washed and refined his heart with great sorrow every day. A Daoist heart as clear as crystal, unshakeable and unwavering, how could this trivial illusion possibly break through his Daoist heart?

  The formation of devouring one's own body by a group of ghosts...

  Incineration Formation...

  The Seven Apertures' Birth of Poison Formation...

  The tragic death of a close relative...

  All kinds of illusions come one after another, extremely realistic, and deeply felt.

  However, Meng Xuan sat cross-legged in this world, his mind as calm as an ancient well, without a single ripple.

  Even when he saw the yellow mouse lying on the ground and twitching, he let out a soft sigh, and a gentle stream of true energy went to protect its heart. In this formation, if it was hurt too deeply by illusions, even if it escaped in the end, its heart would be damaged from then on, losing its former sharpness, and its cultivation could never progress again. It can be said that the path of cultivation would also be cut off from then on.

  At this time, outside of the picture, however, the three elders couldn't help but become anxious.

  He firmly believed that Meng Xuan would eventually be driven mad by this Hundred Ghosts Night Parade painting, after all, the various illusions in it were too realistic. Even if the people in the painting knew it was fake, who could remain unmoved after experiencing being torn apart by a hundred ghosts, falling into molten lava and shattering their bones, having poisonous flies flying out of their seven orifices, and witnessing the tragic death of loved ones right before their eyes?

  As long as Meng Xuan's mind is lost, it will be his time to strike and kill him.

  Because when a cultivator's mind and spirit are lost for an instant, their true energy will dissipate, making it impossible to take action or react quickly.

  But he didn't expect Meng Xuan to last this long, so long that it made him a little anxious.

  After all, the illusion in the Weiqi diagram needs him to constantly transport true energy to the soul of the mirage in the diagram.

  He thought that with a little effort, he could completely destroy Meng Xuan's spirit, but unexpectedly, he had already exhausted half of his true energy, and Meng Xuan was still sitting calmly with his legs crossed, looking as calm as an ancient well.

  But at this time, the Fourth Elder and Tu Jiao Jiao had already launched an attack on the Treasure Basin while the three Elders were fighting Meng Xuan alone.

  For them, Meng Xuan is a must-kill person, but the three elders themselves can obviously handle it. The most important thing left is to subdue Bao Pen. After all, he is a Taiyin Corpse Evil listed in the front row of the Corpse Spectrum and can evolve into a Corpse King's treasure corpse.

  Bao Pen was stupid but not foolish. As soon as he saw the two men rushing towards him, he immediately turned around and ran away.

  "Corpse-separating needle..."

  The four elders shouted in unison and threw out a silver needle each, which stabbed into the major acupoints on Bao's body.

  Generally, a corpse's soul would only be temporarily dispersed by being pierced with this silver needle, allowing them to control it.

  But he suddenly forgot that Bao Pan was now fully clad in iron armor, and the silver needles couldn't penetrate it at all. "Clang clang" they all fell to the ground.

  "Twelve Yin Evil Corpses Flag..."

  The four old men blew their beards and threw out the twelve flags with a wave of their hands, arranging them around the treasure basin.

  Bao suddenly felt an inexplicable oppressive force rushing towards him, and his heart skipped a beat. Subconsciously, he quickened his pace. In the blink of an eye, a burst of incredible strength erupted from his feet, propelling him forward in a single bound, covering seven or eight zhang before the Corpse Banner's power could fully unfold. Bao himself was stunned, and then he took off running wildly.

  "Corpse-Sealing Talisman..."

  "Jade of Tranquility..."

  "Corpse Arrow..."

  Four elders and Tu Jiao chased after him, using all sorts of corpse-suppressing treasures as if they were worthless.

  But the Bao Pan's potential was indeed too strong, and after being stimulated in the escape, his speed and reaction became faster and faster. Moreover, the four elders and Tu Jiao Jiao did not want to hurt him either, so all their attacks fell empty, and they could only chase after his butt. But Bao Pan didn't want to leave Meng Xuan behind, so he ran out for a while, then circled back and ran again, and when the enemy approached, he would run away again.

  In this mountain village filled with murderous aura, one corpse and two people, one in front and two behind, surrounded the village in a circle like a stroke of a pen.

  Chasing after Bao Pen, they ran around the village twice. Tu Jiao Jiao and Fourth Elder were so exhausted that they were panting heavily, their faces red with rage.

  They found that although the treasure basin moved stiffly, it could jump seven or eight zhang with just a slight push. Moreover, as time passed, it seemed to gradually grasp the secrets of its own body and even showed a trend of getting faster and faster. With their current cultivation level, they were absolutely unable to catch up with it. If this guy wasn't fixated on Meng Xuan, he would have already run away without a trace by now.

  "Bring him with fresh blood!"

  Tu Jiao suddenly said a sentence to Fourth Elder, and the two of them immediately came to an agreement.

  Tu Jiao Jiao no longer chased after the treasure basin, but instead jumped out and pulled out a mother and son who were hiding in the haystack.

  With a "whoosh" of her sword, she chopped off half of her mother's skull and then picked up the wailing infant.

  "Little treasure, Auntie's giving you some virgin blood, let's see if you can hold it in!"

  Tu Jiao sneered coldly and was about to swing her sword to kill.

  They are practitioners of corpse refining, and have been in contact with Corpse Devils for a lifetime, understanding Corpse Devils more deeply than humans.

  This infant's blood is pure Yang energy, and for a Corpse Demon, it's like a panacea, extremely potent.

  Even if it's a corpse demon with its own divine wisdom, few can resist being summoned by this child's blood.

  "Stop... you are also human beings, don't you have family at home? How can you do such a cruel thing? What has that child done to offend anyone? You've already killed his mother, isn't that enough? Are you not afraid of losing your moral integrity?"

  Tú Jiāo had not yet made a move when she suddenly saw Bǎo Pén return, furious and scolding them while pointing at them.

  But it was not the blood that attracted Bao's attention, but rather their evil deeds that enraged him.

  "Haha......"

  Tú Jiāo also felt somewhat unexpected and smiled complacently. She raised her sword and made a false slash above the infant's head, saying with a sly smile: "You won't let me kill him? Alright, Auntie will spare his life for you, but there's one condition - you must obey Auntie in every way and surrender!"

  "How can you be so shameless?"

  The words of Bao Pu's speech all stuttered together.

  Tú Jiāo laughed and said: "If you don't listen to me, I'll smash this little guy to death. In that case, he's the one you got killed!"

  "How can one be so inhumane? I have studied the classics since childhood..."

  Bao Pan still wanted to say something, but Tu Jiao had already let out a soft shout and made a gesture as if she was about to throw the baby to its death.

  "Good... whatever you do, don't hurt that little baby..."

  Bao Pen hastily stretched out his hand to stop him, and was so frightened that Mo Jue's body began to tremble.

  "Four Elders, it's a complete success without any effort..."

  Tu Jiao's triumphant smile hinted at the four elders to go and subdue the treasure basin.

  (Tonight, Lao Gui is going to rush the new book chart! Friends, give me some energy! There's still one more chapter tonight, but it's a bit late. You guys can wait until tomorrow to read it!)