Dreamlike Illusion Realm

Tang San first looked inward at his Soul Power Level. It had reached approximately level twenty-four.

In other words, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone and a three-thousand-year Soul Ring had raised his Soul Power Level by a total of six levels.

Tang San shook his head, feeling that it was barely adequate.

The energy in a Soul Bone was more focused on enhancing physical attributes. Its main purpose was to transform a Soul Master's physique, open up the meridians and optimize the efficiency of Soul Power circulation, thereby creating the conditions for breakthroughs in Soul Power Level.

Tang San put all other thoughts aside, closed his eyes and sank his consciousness deep within himself, beginning to sense his second Soul Skill.

Second Soul Skill: Dreamlike Illusion Realm.

Once activated, it boosted all his attributes by one hundred percent and allowed Tang San to release a domain around himself with a controllable range. The domain had a minimum radius of ten meters and a maximum radius of fifty meters, and Tang San could adjust its size at will.

Within the domain, extremely fine hallucinogenic pollen filled the air.

The pollen particles were as fine as dust, completely invisible to the naked eye and impossible to notice even when inhaled. They silently clung to the target's skin, clothing and respiratory tract, infiltrating the target's nervous system without their awareness.

The pollen's hallucinogenic effect was gradual. At first, the target would feel only the faintest trace of drowsiness, and their attention would wander slightly. As time passed, their vision would begin to distort, their sense of direction would gradually fade, and they would ultimately fall into a deep illusion.

The strength of the hallucinogenic effect and the speed at which it took hold depended on the gap between Tang San's spiritual power and the target's, as well as how long the target remained in the domain. The greater the gap in spiritual power and the longer the stay, the stronger the effect.

But Dreamlike Illusion Realm was more than an offensive domain.

Within the domain, the Illusory Dream Nether Vine pollen that filled the air contained pure life energy, which Tang San absorbed through his skin and breathing to replenish what he expended.

Specifically, his Soul Power and stamina recovery rates increased by fifty percent, and his self-healing ability improved further. The time he could fight continuously within the domain was noticeably extended.

In addition, Dreamlike Illusion Realm granted Tang San the ability of Spiritual Detection.

Every grain of pollen in the domain was like a miniature sensory node. Whether clinging to a surface or floating in the air, the pollen continuously fed information back to Tang San's spiritual power.

Through the pollen's feedback, Tang San could clearly perceive everything within the domain. A target's exact position, movements and Soul Power fluctuations, subtle changes in the terrain, hidden traps and lurking enemies—none could escape his perception.

The range of Spiritual Detection matched the domain's radius. The greater the radius, the wider the detection range, but the concentration of pollen would decrease accordingly, and the hallucinogenic effect would take hold more slowly. Conversely, the smaller the radius, the higher the pollen concentration, the stronger the hallucinogenic effect and the more precise the detection.

This meant Tang San could flexibly adjust the domain's range to suit the needs of the battlefield. When searching a large area, he could expand its radius and use Spiritual Detection to find targets; in a direct confrontation, he could shrink it to strengthen the hallucinogenic effect and his control.

Maintaining Dreamlike Illusion Realm consumed Soul Power. The larger its range and the longer it lasted, the greater the consumption. But thanks to the recovery of vitality within the domain, it would not affect Tang San's ability to fight for extended periods.

Tang San pictured scenarios for using the skill in his mind.

In a group battle, he could activate Dreamlike Illusion Realm to boost all his attributes, while his enemies unwittingly fell under its hallucinogenic effects, lost their way in the fog and killed one another. Tang San, meanwhile, could see through everything with Spiritual Detection and direct the battle with precision.

In a one-on-one fight, he could shrink the domain, and the highly concentrated pollen would quickly plunge his opponent into an illusion, distorting their vision and causing errors in judgment. Tang San, meanwhile, would be like a fish in water within the domain, his vitality flowing without end as he grew stronger the longer he fought.

When tracking hidden enemies, he could expand the domain, spreading pollen over a vast area and scanning every inch of ground with Spiritual Detection. Even the best-concealed enemy would have nowhere to hide.

Tang San opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

This Soul Skill was even more powerful than he had expected.

Control, enhancement and detection united as one. It perfectly suited the direction of his development, and its abilities were exactly what he urgently needed now.

With a thought from Tang San, a stalk of Blue Silver Grass appeared in his right palm.

This time, the changes in the Blue Silver Grass were even more obvious than before.

Its stem was nearly fifty percent thicker than before he absorbed the Illusory Dream Nether Vine's Soul Ring. Its color had changed from dark green to a deeper purplish green, and faint silver lines were visible on its surface, somewhat resembling the patterns on the Illusory Dream Nether Vine.

Its leaves were broader and thicker, shading from one purplish green to another from center to edge, with a dreamlike sheen in the sunlight.

Tang San pinched the Blue Silver Grass's stem between his fingers. It felt hard, yet possessed a strange toughness, like some kind of high-strength alloy.

Now, even an expert at the Soul Elder level would probably have to exert considerable effort to snap Tang San's Blue Silver Grass with bare hands.

If he combined it with the toughness boost from his first Soul Skill, Evergreen Body, and layered Dreamlike Illusion Realm's hallucinogenic effect and control abilities on top...

Tang San withdrew the Blue Silver Grass, raised a finger and lightly touched the corner of his eye.

"Dreamlike Illusion Eyes, Dreamlike Illusion Realm," Tang San murmured the two names, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

This month of hard work had been worth it.

Tang San turned and walked out of the valley.

The sunlight fell warmly on his face.

Outside the valley, Tang San tried to sense the changes in his eyes and activated Illusory Gaze. A violet-gold light flashed briefly in his eyes, and the air ahead twisted slightly. A bird perched on a branch suddenly took flight in a panic, circled twice in the air, then crashed headfirst into the trunk of a tree opposite and fell, dazed, to the ground.

Its power was greater than he had imagined.

Tang San had released only the tiniest wisp of spiritual power, yet it had been enough to make an adult bird completely lose its sense of direction.

What if he unleashed it at full power?

Tang San thought no further. He took a deep breath, got his bearings and slowly made his way deeper into Sunset Forest under concealment, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the dense woods.

Tang San did not know exactly where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was; he knew only a few clues.

Dugu Bo's poison formation was the most conspicuous outer marker of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

As long as he found the poisonous miasma that never dispersed all year round, he could find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

But the problem was that Sunset Forest was too vast, spanning several thousand li and stretching across several provinces.

And the poisonous miasma could be anywhere.

Tang San had no other choice but to search inch by inch, ruling out one area after another.

But as Tang San gradually ventured deeper into the forest, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could be found everywhere.

Ordinary Soul Masters, even experts at the Soul King or Soul Emperor level, did not dare venture too deep into Sunset Forest. Only Titled Douluo were qualified to roam freely through this vast sea of trees.

Tang San, a minor figure who had only just become a Soul Grandmaster, was already dancing on the edge of a blade by venturing alone so deep into Sunset Forest.

Two months later, Tang San had still found nothing, though his Soul Power had risen from level twenty-four to level twenty-five.

Reality had slapped him hard in the face. Searching aimlessly like this was far too inefficient. Sunset Forest was too vast; relying on his strength alone, he might not find it even if he spent another year or two.

Moreover, the deeper Tang San ventured into the forest, the more Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts he encountered, and the stronger they became.

Tang San did not know how much longer his luck would hold. Perhaps next time he would not be so lucky.

With no other choice, Tang San could only give up. He decided to leave Sunset Forest for now and go to Heaven Dou City to rest.

He would have to find another way to reach the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.