125: Chapter 125 Breaking the Illusion

Luo Bing reacted in time and hurriedly withdrew the spirit power she had just raised. Her heart was still pounding; she had been too reckless.

She had forgotten that this was an Illusion Trial.

Fortunately, Li Qing had reminded her in time, otherwise she would have truly caused a major disaster.

Seeing that she had steadied her mind, Li Qing did not say much. He simply reached out naturally and gave Luo Bing a gentle tug, keeping her close by his side.

He knew clearly in his heart that these basic illusions were all smokescreens. They looked terrifying, but in reality, they caused no harm at all. They were just meant to lure Cultivators into attacking recklessly, consuming their spirit power, and paving the way for the real killing moves later on.

He closed his eyes for a moment and silently circulated his Soul Nourishing Technique. The Soul Power around his body flowed slowly, firmly guarding his Divine Sense and inner self. No matter how realistic the surrounding illusion was, it could not shake him in the slightest.

The next second, Li Qing took Luo Bing by the hand and walked steadily toward the depths of the illusion, his pace never pausing.

Beneath their feet was clearly churning magma, with heat waves rushing toward them, scalding their skin, yet Li Qing did not even lift an eyelid, as if he were stepping on ordinary ice.

Those clawing and snarling Yao Beast phantoms roared as they pounced on them. Their sharp claws and bloody maws passed directly through their bodies without even touching a corner of their clothes; they were all just deceptive illusions.

Luo Bing followed Li Qing closely. At first, she was so nervous that she clenched her fists and dared not look around, but after walking a few steps and realizing these illusions truly could not harm her, she gradually relaxed, and her gaze toward Li Qing held a few more traces of admiration.

The two of them traveled forward like this for about half the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Just as they were about to pass through this illusion area, an accident suddenly occurred!

The previously churning magma and the menacing Yao Beast phantoms shattered like a mirror with a few "crack" sounds and instantly vanished without a trace!

Immediately after, the white mist all around turned into thick black fog at a speed visible to the naked eye, so dark that one could not see their own fingers. A cold and powerful suppressive force pressed down fiercely from above, locking their figures in place, leaving them unable to move, and making it extremely difficult even to circulate spirit power.

Luo Bing panicked instantly. Just as she wanted to open her mouth to ask Li Qing what was happening, she discovered that her body had stiffened, and she could not say a single word.

The next second, her eyes became hollow and listless, as if she had lost her soul. The ice spirit power around her body began to surge uncontrollably; the originally gentle ice-blue spirit power became incredibly volatile. Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, her lips lost all color, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably, her face filled with an expression of pain and fear.

Li Qing was suppressed and could not turn around immediately, but his Divine Sense had been keeping an eye on Luo Bing. Noticing her abnormality, his heart sank abruptly, and he understood in an instant.

Luo Bing had been dragged by the illusion into her own Heart Demon memories!

This was the most ruthless and dangerous part of the Illusion Trial!

Everything before this was just basic illusions, used for testing and consumption.

Once reaching the middle stage, it would directly evoke the past events that everyone cared about or feared the most, creating a targeted Heart Demon illusion, allowing one to be immersed in the scenes they feared the most, unable to extricate themselves.

Once trapped, either one's spirit power would go berserk and severely injure oneself, or one's Divine Sense would completely collapse, turning one into a fool who would never wake up again!

Li Qing could steady his Divine Sense and remain undisturbed by the Heart Demon, but Luo Bing was different. She was young, her cultivation had not yet reached that Realm, and she harbored too many obsessions and attachments in her heart; she simply could not withstand such a Heart Demon attack.

Luo Bing stood blankly in the black fog, her eyes instantly turning red. Large teardrops rolled down her cheeks as she muttered to herself incessantly, her voice light and trembling, filled with despair:

"Master... do not go... Senior Sister, hurry and dodge..."

"Luoshui Sect... do not be destroyed... I beg you, do not leave me..."

"I do not want to be alone... I cannot protect the Sect..."

Every sentence was filled with a thick, sobbing tone. Clearly, what was manifesting in this illusion was everything Luo Bing feared most deep in her heart.

She feared most that her Master and Senior Sister would meet with misfortune, feared most that the Luoshui Sect where she grew up would be destroyed, and feared most becoming a lone person with no one to rely on.

These obsessions were the softest, most untouchable parts of her heart. At this moment, they were infinitely magnified by the illusion, directly trapping her completely within the Heart Demon illusion, unable to break free at all.

Feeling the increasingly chaotic spirit power within Luo Bing, Li Qing grew anxious. If this continued, Luo Bing would undoubtedly die!

He could no longer afford to hold back his strength. He instantly pushed his Soul Power to the limit, condensing it into an incredibly sharp yet gentle-aura Soul Power sword, and without hesitation, thrust it toward Luo Bing's Sea of Consciousness.

He dared not use too much force for fear of injuring Luo Bing's Divine Sense, so he could only cautiously try to sever the link between her and the Heart Demon illusion, pulling her out from the illusion.

But just when Li Qing was fully concentrated and unable to spare any energy, a pitch-black shadow suddenly darted out from within the black fog!

The shadow had no specific form, looking like a mass of condensed Evil Qi. Its speed was astonishing, and with an incredibly sharp, piercing sound, it wasted no words and smashed fiercely toward Li Qing's back!

This was not a phantom of the illusion at all, but a tangible attack condensed by the illusion. Its power was immense; taking a solid hit would mean serious injury at best, or death at worst!

Moreover, the timing of this shadow's sneak attack was too cunning, chosen exactly at the moment when Li Qing was fully focused on saving Luo Bing and unable to distract himself to defend—it was simply impossible to guard against!

The hairs on Li Qing's back stood on end. He instantly sensed a fatal crisis and his brows knitted tightly together.

He knew clearly in his heart that he only had two choices at this moment:

Either immediately withdraw his Soul Power, turn to defend, and dodge this fatal blow—but if he did so, Luo Bing's Divine Sense would be completely swallowed by the Heart Demon and could never be saved.

Or, endure this blow head-on, without interrupting his Soul Power output, and even at the cost of his own injury, save Luo Bing!

In the blink of an eye, Li Qing did not hesitate in the slightest and chose the latter!

Not only did he not withdraw his Soul Power, but he instead increased his Divine Sense output further, and roared fiercely in Luo Bing's direction: "Luo Bing, wake up!"

"Bang!"

With a dull, thunderous sound, the shadow's attack smashed fiercely into Li Qing's back!

A tremendous force instantly coursed through his entire body. Li Qing felt as if his back had been struck by a thousand-jin boulder; it felt as if his bones had cracked. Excruciating pain instantly spread throughout his body. His throat tasted sweet, and a surge of metallic, bloody Qi rushed to his chest. He gritted his teeth tightly, forcing himself to swallow that mouthful of blood, while the spirit power within him instantly went into chaos, colliding everywhere, and his face turned pale as a result.

Yet he never interrupted his Soul Power output. The powerful Soul Power, like a sharp sword, precisely broke through Luo Bing's Heart Demon illusion and severed her link to the illusion!

Struck by such a powerful yet gentle surge of Soul Power, Luo Bing's body trembled violently, her hollow eyes instantly regained their luster, and she completely woke up.

Looking at Li Qing before her, whose face was pale and whose back was injured, and feeling the aura of the black shadow that had already dissipated behind her, she instantly understood everything that had just happened.

To save her, Li Qing had taken the fatal sneak attack from the illusion's black shadow head-on!

Luo Bing's expression changed instantly. Filled with anxiety and guilt, she hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to support Li Qing.

"Fellow Daoist Li! How are you? Are you seriously injured?"

Li Qing clutched his back, caught his breath, and assessed the injuries within his body. Although it hurt severely, it had not damaged his foundation, thanks to his practice of the Body Refining Technique; otherwise, the injuries would have been much worse!