Chapter 964: A Contest of Wills!

"Your illusion is indeed flawless, but in the earlier illusion, you said to me that as long as you were there, you wouldn't let anyone harm me. If you were the real Li'er, you would never say that!" Ye Yuan said calmly.

The fake Li'er smiled and said, "It seems I was being superfluous."

Ye Yuan nodded. "In this illusion, everything is so lifelike, but the greatest weakness is you yourself. Because they are all illusory, while you... are real!"

The fake Li'er praised, "To be caught in an illusion and still possess such terrifying analytical ability, you truly are different from others! Even those two Divine Kings are inferior to you. However, even if you see through the illusion, breaking free from it is impossible."

Seeing through an illusion and breaking free from it are two entirely different matters.

An illusion that could make Ye Yuan fall for it without a trace was hardly easy to break.

A truly powerful illusion makes a martial artist know they are trapped yet unable to escape.

In the end, they sink forever.

Yet Ye Yuan seemed unconcerned, merely saying calmly, "Where did you take Li'er?"

Though his words were flat, the killing intent they revealed was almost tangible.

The fake Li'er smiled faintly. "Don't be agitated. She is safe, and everyone is safe. But if you want to see her, you must first escape the illusion. However... you only have three days! After three days, she will likely remain on Mount Huangliang forever."

As she spoke, the fake Li'er's figure slowly faded and eventually vanished into nothingness.

With her disappearance, the space fell into a deathly silence, sending chills down one's spine.

Ye Yuan's expression darkened as he pondered the meaning behind the fake Li'er's words.

It seemed that everyone who had come to Mount Huangliang had fallen under the illusion. If he couldn't break the illusion within three days, Li'er would likely be trapped forever, becoming a walking corpse.

No, there should be one person who hadn't fallen under the illusion!

Han Tong!

Han Tong possessed the Lingxi Mirror of Annihilation, a divine artifact that was most effective against illusions. Making him fall into an illusion would be harder than reaching the heavens!

He had dared to head straight for Mount Huangliang, so he naturally wouldn't have brought that artifact casually.

Thinking of this, Ye Yuan felt immense pressure. If he didn't get out soon, the consequences could be disastrous.

Also, who was it that had plunged everyone into this illusion?

Could it be... the Sun-Moon Heavenly Eye?

What kind of existence was the Sun-Moon Heavenly Eye?

Ye Yuan took a deep breath, driving away all the questions flooding his mind.

Now was not the time to consider these things. The urgent task was to break the illusion!

Ye Yuan also couldn't figure out when exactly he had fallen under the illusion. Earlier, everyone else had been under it, and he alone had been清醒, using the 'Jie' mantra to awaken them.

If the 'Jie' mantra could break the illusion, then he had fallen under it afterward. If it couldn't... had he already been under it before entering Mount Huangliang?

Pushing aside distractions, Ye Yuan channeled his Yuan power to the limit and suddenly let out a sharp cry.

"Jie!"

The scenery before Ye Yuan blurred, and finally, life returned to the surroundings!

A bright moon hung above the main peak, with vague shadows moving about like walking corpses.

Not far away, Yue Jianfeng stood there, his eyes utterly vacant, clearly also under the illusion. As for the others, they were nowhere to be seen.

Ye Yuan's expression brightened. The 'Jie' mantra had truly broken the illusion!

Having broken the illusion, Ye Yuan was severely depleted. He quickly swallowed a pill to restore his strength.

Without further ado, Ye Yuan used the 'Jie' mantra again to break Yue Jianfeng's illusion.

Yue Jianfeng's eyes finally regained some clarity. He looked at Ye Yuan woodenly, dazed, and said, "Ye... Ye Yuan, what... what happened to me?"

After using the 'Jie' mantra consecutively, Ye Yuan appeared extremely weary, but he still replied, "You... fell under an illusion! Take me with you, head to the main peak!"

Yue Jianfeng's expression stiffened, and he swiftly carried Ye Yuan toward the main peak!

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Yuan swallowed another pill, frantically recovering his Yuan power.

The scenery on both sides rushed backward, but suddenly Ye Yuan felt something was wrong!

"Put me down!" Ye Yuan suddenly said in a deep voice.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Yue Jianfeng was puzzled but still set Ye Yuan down.

Ye Yuan frowned and said gravely, "No! You are not Yue Jianfeng! I am still in the illusion!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you just come out of the illusion? How could you have fallen into another one?" Yue Jianfeng said urgently.

Ye Yuan stared at him and sneered, "How do you know I just came out of the illusion? Did... I say that?"

Yue Jianfeng was taken aback and argued, "This... isn't everyone under the illusion?"

Ye Yuan said with a half-smile, "And how do you know everyone is under the illusion? Or is it that you already knew what happened to me in the illusion?"

Yue Jianfeng was stunned, then laughed in spite of himself. "I didn't expect you to be so alert! You really are different, kid. Well then, I wish you success in breaking it! Oh, I forgot to tell you, one day has already passed in the outside world. You have two days left!"

With that, Yue Jianfeng's figure vanished again.

Ye Yuan's face was as dark as water. He activated his rock-solid state of mind to its fullest, forcefully calming his spirit.

This illusion was terrifying, layer upon layer, impossible to guard against!

Moreover, that person had a strong grasp of human nature, following Ye Yuan's thoughts step by step, leading him toward sinking deeper.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely encounter others along the way, and Ye Yuan would help them break their illusions one by one.

The more he did so, the deeper he would sink.

Just now, while recovering his Yuan power, a flash of insight had struck Ye Yuan, making him feel something was off.

It was too smooth!

Everything seemed to be developing exactly as he had anticipated!

He wanted to break the illusion, so he broke it. He wanted to save Li'er, so Yue Jianfeng took him to the main peak.

Ye Yuan had said earlier that Yue Mengli was the other's greatest weakness, but wasn't she also Ye Yuan's greatest weakness?

The other party had exploited exactly that, causing Ye Yuan to sink deeper and deeper.

When he thought he had broken the illusion, his mind would gradually relax, and he would eventually fall forever.

The other party could fabricate countless lies, tricking Ye Yuan into going along, just like in reality.

More importantly, in that brief moment, a whole day had already passed in the outside world!

Whether the other party's words were true or false, Ye Yuan couldn't afford to lose!

Within two days, he had to break the illusion!

Ye Yuan sat down cross-legged. He realized he had underestimated this illusion!

In the illusion, that was a major taboo.

Ye Yuan calmed his mind, drove away all distracting thoughts, and pondered a countermeasure.