# Chapter 1741: Illusion Formation
After five teleportations, Zhang Ruochen and his group traveled over a million li and arrived at a region not far from Xumi's cultivation ground.
Looking westward, a hundred li away, Zhang Ruochen saw a cultivation ground with Buddhist light soaring into the sky, situated at the center of a lake with rippling blue waves.
Within the cultivation ground, dozens of resplendent golden temples were built.
At the very center stood a seventy-two-story Buddhist pagoda, like a mountain peak piercing into the clouds.
Strangely, the cultivation ground was serene and peaceful, showing no signs of a great battle having erupted.
"Could it be that the cultivators from Kunlun Realm haven't made their move yet?" Zhang Ruochen felt a hint of doubt.
Xiao Hei possessed a pair of Great Saint eyes and sensed something amiss. "Something's wrong, very wrong... This cultivation ground has a major problem. We'd better not rush in."
Zhang Ruochen opened his Heavenly Eye and noticed some irregularities, but he couldn't see clearly or articulate exactly what was wrong.
"Don't you have the Origin Divine Eye? Help me observe Xumi's cultivation ground."
Zhang Ruochen stared at the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden.
"This Heavenly Maiden came to watch the excitement. I have no obligation to help you?" The Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden raised her snow-white chin, looking extremely proud.
The Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden still resented Zhang Ruochen for spreading the news about the marriage contract everywhere, and her anger had not subsided, so naturally she would oppose him.
Ye Honglei seemed to have discovered something. She stepped into the lake, stood on the water's surface, and her expression changed repeatedly. "It's an illusion technique."
"What?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"This lake and Xumi's cultivation ground do not truly exist. They are illusions condensed by a Saint Master with extremely profound illusion technique, who set up an illusion formation. Xumi's cultivation ground should be nearby, but it is definitely not at this location," Ye Honglei said.
Even the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden was moved. If everything before her was an illusion, then even she had been deceived by it.
Just how profound must that person's illusion technique be?
The Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden quickly activated her Origin Divine Eye and looked toward Xumi's cultivation ground. Her eyes immediately showed shock, and her expression became extremely solemn.
"What did you see?"
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's wrist and asked urgently.
The Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden didn't know how to tell him. After a pause, she said, "The cultivators of Kunlun Realm... I'm afraid they'll be completely annihilated. We'd better not get involved in this battle. Let's leave quickly."
Zhang Ruochen released the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's wrist, summoned the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and charged straight toward the illusion-formed Xumi cultivation ground.
"Zhang Ruochen, come back here, this Heavenly Maiden commands you! That's not Xumi's cultivation ground. You can't activate the Equality of All Living Beings there. Going won't change the situation; you'll only throw your life away," the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden shouted coldly.
Zhang Ruochen released his Space Domain to probe the surroundings, lest the illusion blind his spiritual power and eyes, causing him to make wrong judgments. But he did not stop his steps.
Just as he rushed into the lake, three waves of sacred power fluctuations came from ahead.
Three cultivators from Kunlun Realm, using some unknown method, had escaped to the edge of the illusion formation and burst out, appearing above the lake.
They were all severely injured, fleeing in panic.
Behind them, a group of Angel Clan cultivators with white wings were pursuing them.
One of them, a Saint King realm angel with four wings, wielded a broad white sacred sword. He chased above the three Kunlun Realm cultivators, looking down like a lofty judge. "The elites of Kunlun Realm must all die today. No one can escape."
"That Divine Demon Rat has some skill, actually managing to bring two humans out of the illusion formation set up by Lady Huanji."
"Even if they escape the illusion formation, they can't escape our grasp."
...
The leading four-winged angel had reached the Six-Step Saint King realm. His white sacred sword flew out of his hand as he executed a mid-rank sacred art level sword technique, slashing at one of the human cultivators.
"Boom."
That Kunlun Realm human cultivator screamed in agony. His body was severed into six pieces and fell toward the lake below.
Bright red blood rain scattered down from above.
The Divine Demon Rat and Chi Wansui's hearts trembled violently. They realized that today they truly might not escape and would die here.
"Could it be that Heaven itself is targeting us, wanting to destroy Kunlun Realm?"
On Chi Wansui's chest was a shocking sword wound that had cut through his ribs and damaged his internal organs.
Sword qi had invaded his body, preventing the wound from healing as blood continuously gushed out.
A silver-haired Saint King of the Angel Clan held a staff and laughed uproariously: "That's right, Heaven wants you dead, and we are Heaven."
That Six-Step Saint King realm four-winged angel said, "It's not Heaven targeting you; it's that Kunlun Realm is too weak. In this world of the strong preying on the weak, weakness itself is a mistake."
Chi Wansui took out a Message Light Talisman and was about to inscribe words on it.
"Pfft."
That Six-Step Saint King realm four-winged angel swung his sword, and across the sky, he severed Chi Wansui's remaining arm.
"Were you trying to inscribe a Message Light Talisman to send news to the Truth Divine Temple? Unfortunately, we won't give you that chance," an Angel Clan Saint King laughed. The feeling of holding someone's life in their hands was truly wonderful.
The Six-Step Saint King realm four-winged angel said coldly, "This trap was personally set by Young Master Shang Zihong. The arrangements are tight. Even if you send out a Message Light Talisman, it won't reach the Truth Divine Temple. Of course, to be safe, this king cannot allow you to send that talisman."
Chi Wansui's face showed a look of desolation. He dared not imagine how much Kunlun Realm would decline if all its elites died here.
After barely recovering some vitality, they were about to be thrown back into the abyss of endless calamity.
The Divine Demon Rat remained silent, feeling utterly helpless.
In Kunlun Realm, when encountering an invincible enemy, one could at least invoke the name of the Moon Worship Demon Sect, and the opponent would show some restraint.
But here in the Heavenly Court Realm, they had no backing at all. Everything depended on themselves.
The Divine Demon Rat sighed deeply. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he saw a figure standing in the lake. He became so emotional that tears streamed down his face as he flew over rapidly: "Master Chen, you've come! The Paradise Realm is too oppressive. They want to wipe us out completely. You have to stand up for us!"
"Stand up for what? We're cultivators of the Guanghan Realm now. We're just here to watch the excitement," Xiao Hei said, waddling unhurriedly across the lake surface, his feathered large buttocks swaying.
Seeing Xiao Hei, the Divine Demon Rat's eyes sparkled. All his fear vanished. He pounced over and hugged one of Xiao Hei's clawed feet. "Master Hei, please don't say that. Since you and Master Chen have come here, how could you just be watching? You two are the pillars of Kunlun Realm. When true experts don't show up, they think Kunlun Realm is easy to bully."
"You sure know how to latch onto powerful legs," Xiao Hei chuckled.
"Master Hei's leg is one I'll cling to for life," the Divine Demon Rat said shamelessly.
Xiao Hei was quite enjoying this. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Alright, for those words, this emperor will take charge of this matter today!"
"Today, no one can take charge of this matter!"
That Six-Step Saint King realm angel waved his arm, and the Angel Clan cultivators behind him all launched their attacks at Xiao Hei and Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen raised the Eight Dragon Umbrella. Instantly, eight dragons soared, golden light shone for ten thousand zhang, and all the attack power was blocked.
That Six-Step Saint King was secretly startled, and his expression turned serious.
Could it be that a top expert from Kunlun Realm had truly arrived?
"You ants aren't even worthy of fighting this emperor."
Xiao Hei took out a millstone-sized divine bone. The bone's surface had many holes, like a beehive.
"Ssss."
Hundreds of three-legged corpse-eating insects flew out from the divine bone, turning into a swarm of black dots that flew toward that group of Angel Clan cultivators.
"Just a few insects... Not good, those are three-legged corpse-eating insects."
By the time the Angel Clan cultivators reacted, they were already surrounded by the three-legged corpse-eating insects. They had no choice but to activate their protective sacred armor and strike with sacred artifacts, attacking in a flustered panic.
One must know that three-legged corpse-eating insects could even devour the undying sacred bodies of Great Saints. How could they not be afraid?
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up. "The number of three-legged corpse-eating insects seems to have increased quite a bit."
He remembered that when he handed the three-legged corpse-eating insects to Xiao Hei, there were only a little over two hundred.
Now there were seven or eight hundred, two or three times more.
Xiao Hei smirked proudly. "In the year you spent in seclusion at the Divine Temple, this emperor conquered the Guanghan Realm cultivation ground and also collected quite a bit of sacred blood food for the three-legged corpse-eating insects. Not only have they grown stronger, but they've also laid eggs and bred a new batch."
"Then you must have collected quite a few treasures and sacred stones too?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xiao Hei looked wary. "That's right, not a single sacred stone."
From within the insect swarm came screams.
One by one, Angel Clan cultivators were devoured into white bones by the three-legged corpse-eating insects. Finally, even the bones were eaten clean.
That Six-Step Saint King realm angel's expression grew increasingly ugly. If he couldn't deal with the three-legged corpse-eating insects, the cultivators he had brought out would likely be completely annihilated first.
To deal with the three-legged corpse-eating insects, one had to first deal with the creature controlling them.
That Six-Step Saint King realm angel locked his gaze onto Xiao Hei. Then, he mobilized all his sacred qi and infused it into his armor. The armor emitted a dazzling white light, sending all the three-legged corpse-eating insects surrounding him flying away.
Before the three-legged corpse-eating insects could swarm back up, that Six-Step Saint King realm angel flapped his four wings, transforming into a pillar of white light, and attacked Xiao Hei.
In the Truth Heaven Domain, reaching the Six-Step Saint King realm was no simple feat. An ordinary Seven-Step Saint King would likely struggle to last a few moves before being defeated and fleeing.
If Zhang Ruochen didn't use his time and space powers, dealing with an opponent of this level would be quite troublesome.
"Xie Chengzi, go!" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xie Chengzi, clad in thick armor, charged out from behind Zhang Ruochen, emitting black evil qi like ink, and collided violently with that Six-Step Saint King realm angel.
"Pfft."
In just the first exchange, that Six-Step Saint King realm angel was sent flying backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Both were Six-Step Saint King realm cultivators, but as a World Leader, Xie Chengzi was clearly much stronger than that Six-Step Saint King realm angel.
"You... you are Xie Chengzi..."
That Six-Step Saint King held a high status in the Paradise Realm and could come into contact with figures at Xie Chengzi's level. It was precisely because he recognized Xie Chengzi that he was so shocked.
Zhang Ruochen gave the order: "Kill him."
That Six-Step Saint King looked at Zhang Ruochen with even greater shock. Just who was this person, that he could make Xie Chengzi submit?
He looked somewhat familiar.
"It's him."
That Six-Step Saint King had once seen an image projection of Zhang Ruochen and finally recognized him. Without bothering about the Angel Clan cultivators surrounded by the three-legged corpse-eating insects, he spread his four wings and rushed toward the illusion formation.
"Since my master has ordered your death, you won't escape today."
Xie Chengzi took out the Bloodthirsty Ring and struck it toward that Six-Step Saint King.
The Bloodthirsty Ring spun rapidly, releasing a large amount of blood qi. Its diameter grew to three zhang, and it flew through the air with a piercing "buzzing" sound.
"Boom."
The Bloodthirsty Ring knocked away all the sacred artifacts that Six-Step Saint King had thrown out. Finally, it struck him heavily on the back, causing his body to explode into a cloud of blood mist.
Then, all the blood mist was absorbed by the Bloodthirsty Ring.
(End of Chapter)
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