Chapter 1057: Illusory Killing Array

"The second-ranked Red Leaf King?" Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

Having witnessed the might of Jade Leaf King and Stone Leaf King, he had always been wary of this even stronger ranked expert, only to encounter him under such circumstances.

"Who's there? Playing tricks? Get out here!"

As the two exchanged telepathic messages, Wu Shi swept his hawk-like gaze around, as if pinpointing a location. He raised his brows, let out a loud shout, and thrust his long sword forward.

Swish!

The majestic sword qi, like a meteor, tore through the air, shooting straight ahead. Upon contact with the wall ahead, it instantly carved out a huge hole.

"So strong..."

Seeing Wu Shi strike for the first time, Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly.

Throughout the journey, this七星上品 master teacher had been either injured or on the verge of injury, making him seem somewhat unworthy of his reputation and not particularly formidable. Now that he struck with full force, Zhang Xuan realized how terrifying he was.

Though not a match for Jade Leaf King at his peak, he was by no means inferior to Stone Leaf King.

In a real fight, the outcome would be uncertain.

Boom!

Piercing through the wall, the sword qi suddenly exploded. The building before them collapsed in a stretch, dust and smoke rising, but there was no sign of anyone.

"No one?"

Realizing his judgment was wrong, Wu Shi's face darkened as he quickly scanned the surroundings again.

"Haha, trying to attack me? You're still too green."

The voice rang out again.

Swish!

Wu Shi thrust again.

This time, faster, the long sword turned into a phantom, extending hundreds of meters as it slashed down. The building before them split like cut tofu, visibly separating to both sides, and a huge gash appeared on the ground.

But, as before, there was not a single person, as if the speaker did not exist.

"Don't waste your effort. Even if you tear this place apart, you won't find me. Just enjoy it!"

As if aware his actions were futile, Red Leaf King sneered again.

Swish!

With his words, the previously collapsed building suddenly restored itself in a whoosh, as if all the attacks had been fake.

"This... this... how is this possible?"

Pupils contracting, everyone was in disbelief.

Wu Shi's sword strike just now was fierce and powerful; the building had clearly collapsed entirely. How could it restore instantly?

Moreover, it looked exactly the same as when they first entered, without any difference!

"We must have fallen into some powerful formation..."

A look of vigilance in his eyes, Wu Shi couldn't help saying.

The others nodded.

"Could it be... an illusion array?"

Wu Tianqiong said.

Though he had also trained as an array master, the scene before him was too strange; even he couldn't be sure.

"Yes, it should be... an illusion array!"

President Han nodded: "If I'm not mistaken, we fell into it as soon as we entered. That means... everything we see is fake! No matter how we attack, it's useless!"

"Useless?"

"Mm. Whether these buildings collapse or stand, they are all fake. If we don't find the essence and truth, we'll be trapped here forever, living in illusion, unable to escape..."

President Han clenched his fists.

"This..."

Everyone stiffened.

If it was truly an illusion array, everything before them was far too realistic.

Most of them were master teachers, experts at discerning truth and seeing through essence, yet here they hadn't noticed a thing. What level was this array?

Such a realistic illusion, with someone controlling it... escaping was nearly impossible!

"This..."

Zhang Xuan's expression also changed.

He had felt something was off since entering, but still hadn't realized this was an illusion!

Focusing his mind, countless patterns emerged in his eyes, but the buildings before him remained the same, unchanged.

"Could it not be an illusion? Is this all real?"

He couldn't help but be startled.

The Eye of Insight could see through falsehood and illusion; if this were truly an illusion, it should have seen through it easily. Why was there no change?

"No, it must be that this array is too high-level, and my strength is too low for the Eye of Insight to see through..."

He quickly understood.

Though the Eye of Insight was powerful, his strength was too low; if the gap was too great, it became useless. Just as if an eight-star master teacher disguised himself before him and didn't want to be seen, he wouldn't notice anything.

The illusion array before him was clearly like that.

"It's probably like the Thunder Sea... at least an eighth-grade grand formation!"

He was shocked inwardly.

Only such a high-level formation could trap everyone without them noticing.

"Flaw!"

Knowing the formation's grade was extremely high, Zhang Xuan dispersed the Eye of Insight, looked around, and murmured inwardly.

The Eye of Insight couldn't see through such a high-level formation, but the Library of Heaven's Path should be no problem.

Whoosh!

A book appeared.

He hurriedly opened it.

"The one hundred and seventy-second gate, part of the great formation, eight defects, first..."

After reading quickly, Zhang Xuan's face turned grim.

The library was not limited by the formation's level, but... this formation was too large; trapped inside, what they saw with their eyes was only a part.

Just as the book showed one hundred and seventy-two gates, it indicated that there were at least one hundred and seventy-one identical portals ahead... or even more.

With so many portals, if they were life gates, it would be fine; if they were death gates, entering rashly would mean dying without knowing how.

"The formations encountered before were a single whole, affecting the entire body when one part was touched, but this one is composed of countless small formations. Wherever we are trapped, that part operates. Even if the library is powerful, it cannot know the overall situation..."

Realizing this, he clenched his fists.

Previously, when a formation activated, it all started at once. But this great formation was divided into countless portals. Even if the library was powerful, as long as they didn't leave, it couldn't see through the essence and find the most suitable route.

In other words... the library couldn't let him instantly find the defects and leave easily as before!

Rustle!

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Just as he was at a loss, he heard the sound of wind again not far away, and countless sword beams struck from all directions.

Like a rain of arrows from ten thousand soldiers, dense and covering every direction, leaving no gap. If one was careless, they might be pierced into a hedgehog on the spot.

"Everyone be careful! This is not just an illusion formation, but an illusion-killing formation!"

President Han shouted.

An illusion formation only confuses people, making it impossible to find the way to escape, but poses little danger to life. An illusion-killing formation, however, is a fusion of a killing formation and an illusion formation. Not only does it make people disoriented, but it also launches various attacks, and one might die inside if not careful.

"Illusion-killing formation?"

Everyone's faces changed. They all surged their true qi, ready for battle.

Zhang Xuan was about to act when he heard Feng Xun let out a long cry from the side: "Warrior Hall, Black Tortoise Sword Formation!"

"Yes!"

The remaining nine members of the Warrior Hall stepped forward simultaneously, forming a circle around them, and their long swords were drawn in unison.

Rustle!

The sword formation was deployed, forming a circular halo like a turtle shell.

Ding ding ding ding!

The sword beams struck it, like rain hitting a pavilion, producing violent tremors but failing to penetrate.

"Such strong defense!"

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Although these warriors were not very powerful, they cooperated seamlessly. This Black Tortoise Sword Formation blocked all the sword beams without a single leak, something even he couldn't do.

Swish!

The sword beams stopped after one wave.

The warriors withdrew their weapons and looked around warily.

"This kind of attack can't go on forever; it must follow some pattern..."

President Han said.

Any formation couldn't attack continuously; if it did, the energy required would be unsustainable.

Whoosh!

As he finished speaking, another wave of sword beams shot over. The warriors formed their formation again and blocked them outside.

Watching this, Wu Shi frowned, looked up, and said in a clear voice: "You, the one just now, aren't you very strong? Dare to fight me openly?"

They were now in a passive state, with the enemy hidden and them exposed. If they could lure the enemy out, whether they could kill him or not, it would be much safer.

"Openly? Heh, come out first if you can..."

The other party didn't take the bait and laughed again.

Whoosh!

The air tightened, and countless attacks came again. This time, it wasn't sword beams but saber qi.

Great sabers and axes shook their arms numb.

However, the sword formation formed by the warriors was extremely strong and blocked these attacks as well.

The saber beams attacked three times and stopped. After a while, faint zither music sounded, lingering in their ears and invading their souls.

"It's... demonic sound attack!"

Everyone's faces changed.

Previously in the Boundless Realm, they had suffered from demonic sound attacks, nearly leading to total annihilation. Here it was even more dangerous; if it came again, they might really die here.

"What to do?"

Finding that closing their six senses, as before, couldn't block the sound, everyone was tense and pale.

To be honest, in this situation, demonic sound attacks were more effective than physical attacks.

"Ah... I can't take it anymore..."

Suddenly, a warrior let out a long scream, rushed forward, and wildly slashed his sword in all directions, as if gone mad.

"Hu Chen..."

Seeing him rush out, Feng Xun quickly called out and was about to pull him back when the sound of wind rose again.

Rustle!

Countless sword beams shot over again. Hu Chen, standing in front of the group, was pierced through before he could react, and his body fell heavily to the ground.

Puchi! Puchi!

With one person missing from the Black Tortoise Sword Formation, it became flawed. Two warriors were immediately injured, their thighs pierced, and blood gushed out.

"Everyone fall back..."

Shouting, Wu Shi rushed forward, his sword beam shining as he slashed down, extinguishing all the surrounding sword light with one strike. After doing this, he glanced back: "Hurry and apply medicine... saving lives is most important!"

"Okay..."

Feng Xun quickly nodded and anxiously bandaged the injured subordinates.