Everyone knew full well what was about to happen…
But merely knowing that speculation was useless at least for now, it did nothing to help him break through this illusion.
He needed to find an opportunity to test it first.
Soon, another day passed within the illusion. The man dutifully showed up at the same time every day to check on Weisheng Zhen in his room, and this time was no different.
He had already prepared himself for Weisheng Zhen to ignore him, but to his surprise, he soon heard Weisheng Zhen say, “If I decide to cultivate properly, does that mean you won’t have to keep me chained up?”
The man’s figure suddenly stiffened.
Then, he let out a relieved sigh, but quickly put on a stern face again. “How do I know you’re not just saying that to appease me so you can contact that guy?”
“Your cultivation is stronger than mine. Don’t you even have the confidence to simply block my messages?” Weisheng Zhen raised his head and glanced at him. “In any case, you intend to use this body of mine for something, right? Before I die, I’d like to make things a bit easier for myself too, wouldn’t I?”
A flustered look appeared on his featureless face, but he quickly calmed down. “Good that you know your place.”
With a wave of his hand, the chains clattered open and retracted back into the hidden compartment.
Weisheng Zhen rubbed his wrists, then quickly sat cross-legged, drawing the surrounding spiritual energy into his body to circulate it.
The man nodded in satisfaction and, shortly after leaving, sent two attendants to stand guard outside Weisheng Zhen’s door.
Between cultivation sessions, Weisheng Zhen also tried to leave the room and explore other places, but the attendants always blocked his way, refusing to let him leave.
He also tried having his physical body leave the room, but that didn’t end the illusion either. So the method to break this illusion wasn’t about his physical body leaving the room.
After two days, aside from learning that the man was addressed as “Sovereign Lord” by others, he still knew nothing about this place.
Just how was he supposed to leave this ninth level?
Soon, the “seventh day” that the Sovereign Lord had mentioned arrived.
Weisheng Zhen could clearly sense that the energy sustaining the illusion was gradually weakening as the seven days passed. If he didn’t break through this illusion today, his challenge on the ninth level would end in failure.
Outside the arena.
Apart from Weisheng Zhen’s small space remaining on the ninth level for an extended period, looking further down, the highest level anyone had reached was the sixth.
Those were Weisheng Zhen’s junior martial brother Wen Yujun and the cultivator Yue Bai who had come from Buzhi Province.
Of the two hundred cultivators who had successfully advanced to the third round, over a hundred had already been eliminated at the third level. Some of the more talented cultivators were also weeded out at the fourth level. As time ticked by, only three people now remained on the field: Weisheng Zhen, Wen Yujun, and Yue Bai.
Weisheng Zhen was undoubtedly at the top, but what surprised everyone was that the competition for second place was also extremely fierce. Between Wen Yujun and Yue Bai, the time each took to break through to the next level was only separated by a few seconds.
What astonished the onlookers was that Yue Bai’s pace seemed to be subtly gaining the upper hand.
High above the building where the adjudication cultivators stood, Sect Master Lin of the Ling Dynasty Sect and Sect Master Xue of the Sword Sect sat side by side, observing the cloud mirror that displayed the interior of the pagoda.
Li Changshuang stood silently behind Sect Master Xue, his sword resting on his back.
His gaze frequently drifted toward the cloud mirror showing Weisheng Zhen’s space, but it remained pitch black.
From the seventh level upward, the trials inside the pagoda were considered confidential; even using the cloud mirrors that could observe the secret realm’s interior, one could not see what transpired within.
This also preserved some of the pagoda’s mystique.
“Although young friend Weisheng lingered a bit on the eighth level, a faint golden light has now begun to emanate from the ninth level. It seems he will finish soon perhaps he will break out of the pagoda,” Sect Master Xue said, seemingly sensing Li Changshuang’s distraction. He glanced at where Li Changshuang was looking and offered reassurance.
Sect Master Lin also nodded. “At this moment, there are still two hours before young friend Xingtan’s time to break out of the pagoda runs out. There is enough time, though whether he will succeed remains uncertain.”
As the two sect masters chatted, one of the three remaining cloud mirrors suddenly had its light vanish in an instant.
Another mirror’s light flared with a brief golden glow before quickly dimming again.
Wen Yujun and Yue Bai had left the pagoda at almost the same time!
The difference was that one had failed to break through the sixth level, while the other had reached the seventh level but was expelled by the pagoda before he could stay long.
The name of Wen Yujun, ranked second, was finally written onto the Rising Talents List.
The top spot remained empty, but everyone knew that first place was destined for Weisheng Zhen.
Though the outcome was already decided, the crowd outside did not leave. What they awaited was the chance to witness history.
After all, since the secret realm had emerged, aside from the known case of Xingtan, who had reached the ninth level but unfortunately failed, no one had ever broken out of the pagoda.
As for Weisheng Zhen inside the pagoda.
Not long ago, he had welcomed the seventh day within the illusion, which was the final time node for breaking out of the ninth-level illusion.
Weisheng Zhen had already realized that whenever the so-called Sovereign arrived, and whenever his own emotions fluctuated, the illusion space wavered the most. This meant that the key to breaking the illusion lay with the Sovereign and himself.
But even within the illusion, Weisheng Zhen could feel the chasm-like gap in cultivation between him and the Sovereign. He had already succeeded in breaking through from the late Void Refinement stage thirty years in the future to the great perfection of Void Refinement within the illusion. Yet to ascend further, he touched a thick bottleneck.
Weisheng Zhen could sense that breaking through again was one way to leave the illusion, and…
Killing the Sovereign was the second way.
But comparing the two methods, one lacked sufficient time, and the other lacked sufficient cultivation.
So Weisheng Zhen decided to stake everything on a single gamble attempting to kill the Sovereign by catching him off guard.
Though it would be extremely difficult, he had to give it his best effort.
He had long informed the attendant at the door that he wished to discuss important matters with the Sovereign at noon today. When noon arrived, Weisheng Zhen stepped onto the path to the main hall with a hint of unease in his heart.
Though he knew this was an illusion, and even failure would not bring real harm, he truly lacked the fearless, chivalrous spirit that Li Changshuang possessed.
Having come from an era of peace, he too could feel the urge to retreat.
Compared to the side hall where Weisheng Zhen resided, the main hall of the Sovereign was truly luxurious. The pillars around were carved with the likenesses of the Four Divine Beasts, and beneath their feet, the jade bricks were covered with the pelts of over a dozen complete earth-tier demonic beasts the Pi bears. Stepping on them made one feel as if they were floating among the clouds.
He seemed to be declaring through such scenery: “You see, I do have the strength, so listening to me is definitely the right choice.”
But upon seeing all this, Weisheng Zhen harbored no thoughts at all.
Fake immortal mountains and floating clouds hung suspended within the hall. Weisheng Zhen bypassed these decorations and saw that the Sovereign had already laid out a feast, waiting for his arrival.
And besides that, there was actually another person seated in the lower position.
Li Changshuang.
This scene felt strangely familiar.
Although Weisheng Zhen was deeply surprised to see Li Changshuang’s figure in this illusion, his expression remained largely impassive. After cupping his fists in greeting, he took his seat.
Everyone knew full well what was about to happen, yet on the surface, they still pretended that all was well.
“Since Ayan has successfully overcome this tribulation, Changshuang hereby thanks the Sovereign. Having troubled you for so long, I now take my leave of the Sovereign.”
Ayan and Yanyan were both Weisheng Zhen’s childhood nicknames.
Although Weisheng Zhen had never told anyone in this world the nicknames his parents had given him in the modern world, this was, after all, an illusion anything could appear without surprise.
The Sovereign had no facial features and showed no discernible expression, speaking in a flat tone: “Eat first, then talk.”
True enough no matter how great the matter, it could not outweigh eating first.
However, neither Weisheng Zhen nor Li Changshuang had any intention of picking up their chopsticks. The Sovereign shook his head, his tone tinged with regret: “What a pity. This table of fine dishes was prepared to the standard of a New Year’s Eve feast.”
The moment those words fell, Weisheng Zhen felt an overwhelming pressure sweeping toward him. He and Li Changshuang simultaneously slammed the table, and everything before them was sent flying into the air by spiritual power, shooting straight toward the Sovereign in the seat of honor!
But the Sovereign was faster than them the next second, he had already vanished from their sight. Everything struck nothing but empty air!
Their anticipation of his disappearance was also premeditated. As the zither notes pressed down, their sword strikes had already reached the Sovereign’s location.
The Sovereign let out a cold snort and directly met both their swords with his bare palms. His left and right hands gripped the blades without being injured, then swiftly twisted he intended to use the strength of his palms to forcibly shatter their longswords!
Weisheng Zhen himself did not mind, but Li Changshuang’s longsword was also his natal spirit sword. If it were snapped, it would cause immeasurable damage to his cultivation, and even his current realm might regress significantly!
In that instant, Weisheng Zhen seemed to finally grasp something.
The zither’s killing notes continued to assault the Sovereign wave after wave, but appeared to have no effect. With the situation urgent, Weisheng Zhen made a decisive choice he released his grip on his sword, letting the force flow away, and in the same motion, he swung his long leg, his toe striking sharply against the Sovereign’s wrist!
In a contest of raw strength, he indeed could not match the Sovereign, but… having cultivated here for so long, he knew a thing or two about the weak points of the human skeletal structure.
Spiritual power drove fiercely through the tips of his toes into the Venerable Lord’s wrist, forcing him to release the sword blade but it also exposed Weisheng Zhen’s weakness before the Venerable Lord. In an instant, the Venerable Lord’s hands formed into claws, one gripping Weisheng Zhen’s calf while the other palm shot toward his face with lightning speed!
“I had no intention of harming you, but you leave me no choice!”
Spiritual power materialized into a longsword in his hand, and Weisheng Zhen drove it through the Venerable Lord’s skull without the slightest hesitation. At the same time, his own head was violently twisted aside by the Venerable Lord’s grip, his body toppling backward and dissolving into a scattering of spiritual power. It was then that Li Changshuang’s attack finally descended with grace using Weisheng Zhen’s body as cover, a single sword stroke severed the Venerable Lord’s head.
Had this been a real battle, their little trick would have struggled to slay a Mahayana-stage cultivator across two major realms, but for shattering this illusion, it was more than enough.
“I originally thought that breaking through the Void Refinement stage to reach the Unity stage was the only way to break this realm. How narrow my vision was, I never imagined there could be another method like this.”
Using the body as bait to lure the enemy, the soul slipped away under the cover of music, vanishing into the myriad things of the world.
The illusion finally shattered.