The sight before him shattered, and Fang Chen froze.
The broken images slowly dissolved before his eyes, turning into thick white mist. When the mist cleared, Fang Chen found himself standing in a forest.
"Gone?"
Fang Chen's eyes narrowed. He knew everything he had just seen was an illusion, but it had felt terrifyingly real. If he had not activated the Glazed Battle Runes at the critical moment, he could never have broken free.
The torment to both his soul and body had been dreadful. Even now, Fang Chen felt as though his head might split open.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
The Floating Immortal Sword vibrated fiercely. A vast current of scorching heat poured into Fang Chen's body, and the moment it reached his mind, his spirits surged.
Meanwhile, outside the Mad Demon Cave, the white-haired elder seated at its entrance suddenly opened his eyes. Surprise flashed in his cloudy gaze. "He cleared the first level already?"
Less than two hours had passed since Fang Chen entered. Even more than three thousand years ago, that would have been astonishingly fast. The Mad Demon Cave had been closed to outsiders for over three thousand years, and its illusions had since grown more lifelike and more powerful. One careless step could leave a person completely lost. The formations inside had grown stronger as well, causing those who entered to train to die one after another. Even many cultivators of the Spirit Transformation Realm had perished there.
The elder raised his cane and tapped the Stone Gate lightly.
A faint ripple spread across the Stone Gate, and Fang Chen appeared before him. Though he guarded the Mad Demon Cave, he could see challengers from outside only after they cleared a level. Once they pressed on, he could no longer see them.
The elder rose,