"Lad, stop! You killed my granddaughter, pay with your life!"
As Bai Shengyi and his group descended the stairs, they saw an elder in the middle stage of Golden Core realm channeling spiritual energy and attacking a familiar-looking man.
"Ximen Hongchun?" Feng Wuya frowned. "Why is he here too?"
Bai Shengyi stopped the others who were about to step out and whispered, "Let's watch a bit longer."
In the middle of the lobby, there was a bloodstain. Inside, there were only the waiter, the Golden Core elder, and Ximen Hongchun. The latter two were fighting to the death, but the waiter, apart from looking terrified, had done nothing.
After a while, an arrow appeared in the Golden Core elder's palm and shot fiercely at Ximen Hongchun. Ximen Hongchun dodged it with a light slip and then smashed the elder with a hammer.
"Bang!"
The elder shattered into meat paste, then turned into black mist and disappeared.
"Demonic cultivator?"
Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle exchanged glances.
At this moment, Bai Shengyi looked around again and found that no one else had come downstairs. The waiter had started wiping tables and working again, as if everything that had just happened was a hallucination.
"Hallucination?" Bai Shengyi's heart stirred, and he suddenly realized something.
Chu Tianle: "Shengyi, what are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Bai Shengyi smiled, and instead looked at Ximen Hongchun who was walking towards them. "Fellow Daoist Ximen's strength is truly extraordinary, even a Golden Core demonic cultivator couldn't do anything to you."
Ximen Hongchun glanced coldly at Bai Shengyi and said, "Bai Shengyi, the demonic cultivator's strength was fake."
"Thank you for the information, Fellow Daoist Ximen," Bai Shengyi said. "May I ask who Fellow Daoist Ximen is looking for?"
"I'm looking for Feihua," Ximen Hongchun walked towards Luo Feihua. A ripple finally appeared in his indifferent expression, but his voice remained cold. "Your sister sent me a message half a day ago, asking me to take care of you. If you need anything, contact me with this."
As he spoke, he handed Luo Feihua something that looked like a whistle and turned to leave.
"Hey! Brother Ximen, wait, my sister..." Luo Feihua, thinking of something, quickly chased after him.
"The bloodstain is gone," Zhu Wu, being meticulous, immediately noticed the anomaly.
Bai Shengyi said, "We must have been in an illusion since we entered the city yesterday."
"This..." Chen Qiyang couldn't believe it. "How many heavenly treasures would it take to create such a realistic illusion array?"
"It's not that rare, is it? After all, Divine启 Academy is a top power on the continent," Bai Shengyi said. "It's just, those few people we saw yesterday, and Ximen Hongchun today, are they real... Oh no, Feihua might be in danger!"
Bai Shengyi immediately got up and walked outside, with the others rushing to follow.
Feng Wuya said, "Shengyi, you mean Ximen Hongchun is fake?"
"I guess so," Bai Shengyi analyzed in a deep voice. "Feng Wuya, do you think someone as proud as Ximen Hongchun would remember my name?"
Bai Shengyi vaguely remembered that in the sea of thunder, even though Ximen Hongchun admitted she was strong, he never looked at her.
Such a person, with only strength in his heart, would never specifically mention his name.
Moreover, the events in the lobby just now were full of inconsistencies upon closer inspection.
For example, the waiter who stopped fights yesterday did nothing to both Ximen Hongchun and the Golden Core elder today.
Why didn't he do anything? Unless Ximen Hongchun was staging a play, or Ximen Hongchun was not an outsider cultivator, meaning he was an examinee!
In other words, Princess Mingyu and the others were real, and Ximen Hongchun was a demonic cultivator conjured by the illusion!
Thinking of this, Bai Shengyi worried even more about Luo Feihua. But for some reason, although Luo Feihua hadn't walked for long, when Bai Shengyi went out of the inn, she couldn't see her trace.
"It's getting foggy!"
Bai Shengyi only had time to hear Chu Tianle's voice before a white mist obscured her eyes, and her teammates disappeared.
The fog came and went quickly. In the blink of an eye, Bai Shengyi found herself on the street of Qianlian City again. Cultivators came and went around her, but no one noticed her.
She seemed to be walking in a silent city. The shouts of the merchants and the conversations of the passing cultivators could not be heard, as if she were a passerby, present but separate.
"An array within an array?" Bai Shengyi tightened her grip on the Reincarnation Brush. No matter when, the Reincarnation Brush was always real.
"Junior Sister Bai is so smart, guessing so quickly."
Amidst the crowd, Jin Lingyun, dressed in luxurious brocade clothes, slowly walked closer, fanning himself. At first glance, it was as if he was walking against a crowd of thousands for her, incredibly romantic.
But Bai Shengyi could clearly feel that in the eyes looking at her, on the surface, there was admiration and favor, but in reality, they hid possessiveness and invasiveness.
It made her feel disgusted.
"Junior Sister Bai, long time no see, do you still remember this Highness?" Jin Lingyun smiled very kindly and gently.
Bai Shengyi was slightly surprised. Could it be that the Golden Core cultivator was Jin Lingyun in disguise?
As if sensing Bai Shengyi's doubt, or perhaps to show off in front of Bai Shengyi, Jin Lingyun closed his fan with a 'swish' and explained leisurely.
"Junior Sister Bai may not know, but in this round, you have to break this illusion array, find the demonic cultivator, and defeat him to get points. As for this Highness, I am the trial officer in charge of this round."
He then lowered his voice and slowly enticed, "However, if Junior Sister Bai can accompany this Highness for a while, this Highness can order the Qing Meng Vine to remove this illusion array."
Bai Shengyi understood. She slowly stepped forward.
"Senior Brother Jin, you mean the Qing Meng Vine constructed this illusion, and you can control it?"
Jin Lingyun smiled smugly, and with another 'swish', opened his fan, tilted his chin, and said, "Of course. This Highness is the trial officer sent by the academy this time. Everything about this illusion array is decided by this Highness."
"Junior Sister Bai, what have you decided?" Jin Lingyun chuckled lightly, as if he could already see Bai Shengyi serving him.
Bai Shengyi lowered her head, appearing shy.
"I've considered it, Senior Brother Jin. I... I don't think it's good!"
Bai Shengyi suddenly looked up. The word "困" (kùn - trapped) flew out instantly, wrapping Jin Lingyun tightly. Before Jin Lingyun could react, she struck him on the back with a palm filled with spiritual energy.
"Senior Brother Jin, I still prefer breaking arrays with my own strength!"
"Pfft!" Jin Lingyun fell to the ground and vomited blood.
Bai Shengyi touched a bit of the blood on the ground. "It's hot. Oh dear! Senior Brother Jin, you're actually real! I thought you were conjured by the illusion array! I'm truly sorry, I would have been gentler if I had known."
Bai Shengyi's tone was very sincere.
"Pfft!" Jin Lingyun vomited another mouthful of blood, angered by Bai Shengyi! He went through all the trouble to be the trial officer just to get his hands on this fiery Junior Sister Bai, not to be toyed with by her.
Jin Lingyun staggered to his feet, took out a dagger of unknown grade, and cut through Bai Shengyi's net.
Bai Shengyi's pupils contracted. This was the first time she had seen a weapon that could cut through this net.
"Junior Sister Bai, don't forget, you are just a blind cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage. You cannot defeat this Highness!"
"Instead of struggling, it's better to obediently yield to this Highness. This Highness is already at the late Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age. I guarantee you will enjoy all the riches and glory in this world from now on."
Jin Lingyun no longer pretended to be kind. He stared at Bai Shengyi gloomily, his pupils filled with undisguised brutality and desire.
Bai Shengyi felt sick to her stomach!
Why would the heavens punish her like this? Yesterday she met a Qin, and today she encountered a Jin?
"Senior Brother Jin, are you still lost in the illusion and haven't woken up? Let me help you clear your head!"
With a flick of her whip, Bai Shengyi lashed out at Jin Lingyun's face!