Chapter 602: Illusion Master
The body of the Dark Blue Star Envoy fell faster than the two broken ship hulls, crashing to the ground and slamming into the top of a rocky mountain peak, causing the peak to collapse.
"Boom!"
The next moment, the Dark Blue Star Envoy burst out from the earth, wielding a giant sword.
He stood on the ground with disheveled hair, holding the sword horizontally, his entire body covered in blood. He roared up to the sky: "Red Desire Star Envoy, you bitch, get out here immediately! How dare you try to kill me? Such audacity! Do you believe I, the Star Envoy, will make you wish you were dead?"
Eighteen strands of pink smoke flew from afar, merging together to form the seductive figure of the Red Desire Star Envoy.
She flew down to the top of the broken peak, standing on the edge of a piece of cyan rock, and looked down at the Dark Blue Star Envoy with a smile. "Among the seven Star Envoys, your talent is the worst. Do you really think you're so impressive? You want to kill me? I'm afraid you've already lost that chance. Today is your day of death."
The Dark Blue Star Envoy's hair stood on end, his rage uncontrollable. The lust in his heart had long since vanished, replaced by a burning desire to tear the Red Desire Star Envoy into pieces.
But he struggled to suppress his anger, because he knew there was another expert hidden in the shadows—the one who had severely wounded him.
When had the Red Desire Star Envoy recruited such a terrifying powerhouse?
The Dark Blue Star Envoy gritted his teeth. "Call out your helper! Let me see who the hell they are!"
"Haven't I been right behind you all along?" A voice came from afar.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's voice, the Dark Blue Star Envoy immediately turned around. A hundred zhang behind him, a man in a white robe with a metal mask on his face stood gracefully on top of a maple tree, looking quite at ease.
The Dark Blue Star Envoy's heart sank. If the other party hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have even sensed his presence.
This showed that the man's spiritual power had reached an extremely high level—likely the forty-fourth rank.
With his Fish-Dragon Sixth Transformation cultivation, fighting a forty-fourth-rank spiritual power master was no different from suicide.
Escape.
He had to escape.
The Dark Blue Star Envoy decisively took out a scroll of sacred decree, intending to use its sacred power to flee.
His master was also a saint of the Black Market, so he naturally possessed a sacred decree. By injecting true qi into it, he could activate the sacred power within and teleport tens of thousands of li away in times of danger.
How could the Red Desire Star Envoy let him escape?
"Fear Illusion Realm."
The Red Desire Star Envoy's gaze sharpened. She swung the crystal sacred staff, sending out a red light shuttle that transformed into countless fine red light threads, covering an area ten li in radius.
In an instant, the Dark Blue Star Envoy seemed to see something unimaginable. His movements gradually slowed until they completely stopped. His blood vessels and meridians tightened, bulging from beneath his skin as if they were about to burst.
A gurgling sound came from his throat, as if someone were strangling him.
Finally, the Dark Blue Star Envoy's legs gave way. He knelt on the ground, pitched forward, and lost all signs of life.
Even Zhang Ruochen, standing a hundred zhang away, was briefly affected by the illusion, losing himself for a single moment.
But realizing the danger, he immediately concentrated his spiritual power, condensing it into a lightning blade, and slashed forward, tearing apart the illusory realm.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen regained his clarity. He found the Dark Blue Star Envoy already lying on the ground, pale and cold, a lifeless corpse.
At the same time, he caught a faint fragrance at the tip of his nose. The Red Desire Star Envoy had somehow appeared beside him, extending a slender jade hand to lift the mask from his face.
Zhang Ruochen immediately reached out with a powerful hand, grabbing her snow-white wrist. "Star Envoy, what do you think you're doing?"
The Red Desire Star Envoy was slightly startled. She hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to recover from the illusion so quickly.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen was also quite surprised. His spiritual power was a full rank higher than hers, and he was standing a hundred zhang away, yet he had still been affected by the illusion for a moment.
In a true battle of experts, a single moment could decide life and death.
"Why are you so nervous? I just wanted to see what you really look like!" the Red Desire Star Envoy said with a coquettish pout.
Zhang Ruochen pushed her hand away and said coldly, "If the Star Envoy still wishes to continue our cooperation, it would be best not to do anything so foolish again. When I feel the time is right, I will naturally remove the mask and let you see my face."
The Red Desire Star Envoy wasn't angry. She withdrew her hand, gently rubbing her sore wrist, and shot him a resentful glance. "Fine! I'll wait for that day."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell on the Dark Blue Star Envoy's corpse. "Illusion techniques truly are one of the most terrifying secret arts. Even an expert like the Dark Blue Star Envoy died within an illusion."
Spiritual power was already extremely difficult to cultivate. Those who could become spiritual power masters were one in ten thousand.
But illusion techniques were even harder to master.
Among ten thousand spiritual power masters, perhaps only one could become an illusion master.
It was precisely because the power of illusions was so bizarre and unpredictable that they were called one of the most terrifying and mysterious secret arts.
Martial artists, including martial half-saints and saints, were most afraid of encountering an illusion master. Those who reached the half-saint or saint level focused more on power, and their spiritual power wasn't necessarily that strong.
A Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation sacred body had no chance of victory even against the weakest half-saint.
But an illusion master with forty-fourth-rank spiritual power had a high probability of killing a half-saint-level existence without them even realizing it.
Calling an illusion master a "sacred body among spiritual power cultivators" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Of course, although illusion masters were extremely powerful, their weaknesses were also very obvious.
For example, if an illusion master encountered a spiritual power master with much stronger spiritual power, the effectiveness of their illusions would be minimal—or even completely useless.
Or, if an illusion master faced a cultivator with astonishing willpower, the power of their illusions would be greatly diminished.
In short, illusion masters were a terrifying type of person. If you could avoid provoking them, you should. Hadn't even someone as lawless as Second Senior Brother been terrified when he met the Illusion Saint?
This time, Zhang Ruochen realized he had underestimated the Red Desire Star Envoy. Both her strength and her intelligence were far more complex than they appeared on the surface.
He had thought that, given her age, reaching the forty-third rank of spiritual power was already impressive, and her mastery of illusions wouldn't be too high.
But he hadn't expected this enchantress to have even greater talent in illusions than in spiritual power.
No wonder she was so ambitious. No wonder she dared to compete with Di Yi for the position of Young Master. She had indeed hidden her strength.
If he were deceived by her delicate appearance, he might not even know how he died.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In truth, with the Star Envoy's mastery of illusions, dealing with the Dark Blue Star Envoy would have been effortless. My intervention was completely unnecessary."
The Red Desire Star Envoy shook her head. "The Dark Blue Star Envoy became one of the seven Star Envoys—how could he be so easy to deal with? The reason my illusion worked in one strike was that he was severely injured and desperate to escape. His psychological defenses had completely collapsed."
"The seven Star Envoys have all undergone special training, forging extraordinary willpower. Thanks to your help, otherwise, with my current illusion skills, I might not have been able to kill him."
Zhang Ruochen only half-believed her words.
This enchantress was definitely hiding her strength. She wasn't a simple character. He would have to be careful from now on.
The Red Desire Star Envoy walked over to the Dark Blue Star Envoy's corpse, picked up the golden sacred decree, then stuffed it back into his robe and patted it down.
She said, "The Dark Blue Star Envoy's master is known as the Blood Prison Saint, a highly capable senior. It's best if we don't take any of his belongings, lest the Blood Prison Saint find clues and trace them back to us."
As she spoke, a ball of crimson flame condensed in her palm, ready to burn the corpse to ashes and erase all traces.
"Wait. I have a better idea," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Red Desire Star Envoy turned her beautiful face and shot him a glance. "What do you mean?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I know a friend from the Liangyi Sect. He happens to be in Qingyun Commandery right now. Perhaps he can take the blame for this."
"Will your friend admit to killing the Dark Blue Star Envoy?"
The Red Desire Star Envoy didn't believe it. She pursed her red lips and let out a mocking laugh.
"There's a type of person in this world who would risk their life for fame. Killing the Dark Blue Star Envoy would shake the Eastern Domain. Many people would fight for the chance to become famous."
Zhang Ruochen said firmly, "Leave the Dark Blue Star Envoy's corpse to me. Let me try."
The Red Desire Star Envoy looked at Zhang Ruochen's determined eyes. For some reason, she felt a strange sense of trust in him.
She dispersed the flame in her palm, thought for a moment, and smiled. "Fine! I'll leave the cleanup to you. I'll return to Red Willow Manor to deal with some people and wait for your good news."
With that, she leaped into the air, rising ten zhang high. Her slender figure transformed into eighteen strands of pink smoke, flying into the sky until she completely disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power, confirming that the Red Desire Star Envoy had truly left. Then he began searching the Dark Blue Star Envoy's body, finding a sacred sword, a pagoda-shaped protective treasure, two eleventh-rank True Martial treasures, and some pills and secret manuals.