Illusions Within Illusions

Was this the cultivation world's version of being trapped in a ghostly loop?

Bai Lan frowned and stopped in her tracks.

A boy's urine? No, that wouldn't work. She wasn't a boy.

"System... huh?"

Bai Lan had wanted to call out to the system, only to realize that the chattering figure beside her was gone.

Just as she sensed that something was wrong, a flash of insight struck her mind. The stone walls around her came crashing down, and the scene before her dispersed like drifting clouds and smoke, replaced by another sight.

Green mountains and clear waters, thatched cottages and farmland.

Wisps of cooking smoke curled upward, while greenery flourished everywhere.

Bai Lan frowned at the scene before her. Lowering her head, she sighed and forced down the sour ache in her heart.

That ghostly loop from before had clearly been an illusion. As for the scene before her now, she could not have been more familiar with it.

This was clearly another illusion too.

An illusion within the maze, and another illusion within the illusion.

Fine, fine, fine. So they were playing nesting dolls now?

Yet the moment Bai Lan had realized something was amiss in that ghostly-loop illusion, it had abruptly collapsed.

But this illusion was different. Even though Bai Lan knew this place was an illusion, this world remained as steady as a mountain, showing no sign of collapsing.

She understood.

So this was like climbing a tower.

The first floor was the simplest illusion.

The second floor increased the difficulty.

She blindly guessed there would be nine floors, because nine was a nice number.

With a soft sigh, Bai Lan stepped forward and pushed open the door.

"Disciple, your master personally cooked a whole table of dishes. Well? Moved, aren't you?"

Bai Lan could not help laughing. "Oh? Then how does Your Elderly Self plan to deal with that pile of takeout boxes by the door?"

"Hm? What boxes? I'm old, I can't hear clearly. Come eat, come eat." The old man covered his ears and began changing the subject.

Sitting before the familiar round table, Bai Lan looked at the familiar dishes laid out before her.

Mm, they were all takeout dishes she used to order often.

Bai Lan had never imagined that one day, she would eat takeout and drink milk tea within an illusion in the cultivation world.

Yet the unexpected surprise was that she had seen family members she had not seen in a very long time once more.

But unfortunately.

These were all merely phantoms from her memories.

"..." Bai Lan sighed. "Master, forgive me."

Drawing a long spear from her Storage Bag, Bai Lan's expression sharpened as she viciously thrust it at the old man before her.

She had personally buried her master's coffin in the earth. If this man before her were truly real, she would write Bai Lan's name backward.

She bore responsibilities upon her shoulders, so naturally she would not cling to this warmth before her.

The presence of this illusion meant that, deep down, she still yearned for her former life.

But...

She still had to cultivate immortality.

Sure enough, the instant the spear struck out, the old man's body diffused like clouds and mist, while the surrounding scene gradually collapsed as it had before.

As the scenery shifted, what appeared before Bai Lan was...

The system?

The surroundings returned to the stone-walled maze.

Meanwhile, the red-clothed youth before her leaned against a stone wall, already fast asleep.

"Hehehe, the mission... the mission's complete, hehehe."

"A raise, hehehe. I'm the strongest system now, hehehe."

"Host, I'll carry you to the skies, hahahaha..."

"..."

She had originally been counting on the system to give her a hand after she entered the illusion.

Well then.

She had emerged from the illusion safe and sound, while the system had entered one instead.

It had even become so immersed in the joy of completing its mission that it could not pull itself free.

Worthy indeed of the illusion crafted by Azure Origin Sect's Law Enforcement Hall. A creation of cultivators could even ensnare an intelligent machine in illusion.

Should she say that the system's desire to complete missions, earn promotion, and get a raise was too strong, or should she condemn its mental fortitude for being too poor?

"Hehehe..." The red-clothed youth was still grinning foolishly.

Bai Lan gritted her teeth, pinched the system's cheeks with both hands, and transmitted through clenched teeth, "Wake up already!!!"

"Hehehe, mm... my face hurts, ah..." The system groggily opened its eyes. "Host!? Weren't you doing the mission? Where are we?"

"Wait, something's wrong. An illusion? Host, you..." The system was completely bewildered.

Bai Lan shook her head without answering. She merely slowly rose to her feet, swept her gaze over the surroundings, and turned solemn.

"You entered the illusion just now as well."

The system froze.

"In that case, the person who laid this formation will surely notice that another consciousness entered the illusion too. Your existence has already been exposed." Bai Lan spoke in a low voice. "I'll reload and go back. This time, enter the Void Stone and do not follow me. I'll break out of the illusion alone."

The system understood as well.

It was an intelligent machine with autonomous consciousness. In other words, it was an existence capable of thought and independent emotions, an individual entity of its own.

It had been affected by the illusion and entered it as well, so the people of the Law Enforcement Hall had noticed the system's existence.

Sure enough, in the next instant, the surrounding stone walls came crashing down, and two figures flew over on swords from above.

The middle-aged man in the lead wore a stern expression. The pressure of the Core Formation stage swept over them, and Bai Lan nearly lost her footing.

"Who exactly are you, Your Excellency? Why have you trespassed into the disciple trial grounds of Azure Origin Sect's Law Enforcement Hall? Why not reveal yourself, so we may speak and state your purpose?" His deep voice carried a heavy sense of oppression.

She knew it!!!

They had been discovered!

Even Long Aotian's Elderly Grandfather could not sense the system's existence. It would have been fine if it had not been noticed, but now that it had, trouble was bound to arise.

In the cultivation world, if you could not determine the other party's cultivation or strength, then they were most likely an expert stronger than you.

But the system was just an intelligent machine that could only babble nonsense!

How was she supposed to explain this? There was simply no way to explain it clearly!

Bai Lan decisively pressed the reload button.

Time rewound to when Bai Lan had first stepped into the Law Enforcement Hall. Looking at the familiar scene before her, she saw everything return to calm, and only then did she let out a long breath.

After exchanging a glance with the system, both of them nodded.

She could see it clearly now: relying on the system was worse than relying on herself.

She had already cleared that illusion once, so clearing it again would not be a problem.

The Law Enforcement Hall's illusion trial tested perseverance in the first stage and mental fortitude in the second.

If one gradually lost oneself within the boundless maze, then the first stage was failed. Only those who found a flaw within it could break free from the endless illusion.

In the second stage, the illusion would stir up the things a person most desired and could not bear to leave behind, attempting to trap them forever in its depths.

Deceased family members, a deeply beloved Dao companion, or the thing one craved most in the depths of one's heart.

Once such things appeared before them, those with unstable hearts would find it difficult to muster the courage to personally shatter this dream.

With the experience from her previous run, Bai Lan was far more familiar with it after entering the illusion again.

Shattering the stone walls, defeating her inner demon, and facing the same two illusions once more, Bai Lan cleared them at lightning speed in only five minutes this time.

"Hiss, are my eyes playing tricks on me?" The middle-aged man holding a teacup was stunned.

When he had passed those two illusions back then, it had taken him a full incense stick of time, yet he had already been the sole genius of several centuries.

The Foundation Establishment stage youth beside him also flashed a look of astonishment in his eyes. Then he stroked his chin and said with a smile, "Master is already one hundred and seventy-three this year. Poor eyesight is understandable. There is no need to be upset."

"Scram. You're taking roundabout shots at me, you brat with no sense of seniority. Bring that little girl over. I want to take a good look at her." The middle-aged man set down his teacup, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"Yes! Master, I told you that little girl was extraordinary. Her comprehension is exceptional, and she's good material. This trip wasn't for nothing, was it?" A crafty glint flashed through the youth's eyes, and his tone sounded as though he were seeking credit.