Reason of Illusion

Fang Xiu held the Deceitful Clown's Face in his hands. Its surface could be seen constantly writhing, while the light of magic within it continuously transformed into soul light.

The originally massive glow of magic steadily shrank, eventually becoming a strange, twisted soul structure. Soul power was a force of a higher order than magic, and the loss incurred during conversion was enormous.

Fang Xiu held this single soul structure and merged it into his own soul. At once, a great deal of information about illusions flooded into his mind—knowledge and methods of using the Deceitful Clown's Face's transformation spell, pouring into his head like an inherited memory.

"It really works!" Fang Xiu lowered the hands that had been cupping his face. A strange light bloomed in his eyes, and faintly, countless words seemed to writhe within his pupils.

However, Fang Xiu could feel his soul rejecting this foreign soul power. He knew this method could not be used repeatedly; it definitely had drawbacks.

"It'll probably take half a month to completely digest this spell structure."

Fang Xiu had originally intended to slowly study the principles behind this set of Alchemy Items, hoping to replicate them and create spells of his own. Unfortunately, dreams were beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Fang Xiu simply was not some genius alchemist, much less someone who could organize the scraps of supernatural knowledge he had learned through the Otherworld Broadcast into any kind of system.

Gritting his teeth, Fang Xiu decided to use his own method of creating souls to convert magic structures into soul structures, then directly extract and imprint them. He had considered it carefully: even if things like the Saint's Ring and the Giant Force Hand were converted, without magic power, soul power alone could not affect reality. Only the Deceitful Clown's Face's illusion spell was the most advantageous and useful choice for him.

Illusion spells targeted the soul. This was a power that could be used even in a world without magic.

"I've finally mastered my first spell—a spell truly under my own control, one I can use whenever I want without worrying about the number of uses!"

"This is my first spell. Later on, I can slowly create a second one based on this spell's foundation, or even upgrade it into something more powerful."

Fang Xiu walked downstairs, and with every step he took, his body underwent a wondrous transformation.

Black Fiend was sitting on the sofa watching television with Chen Jin. A cat's hearing was extremely sharp; seemingly sensing someone coming downstairs, Black Fiend immediately turned to look at Fang Xiu. At the same time, Fang Xiu looked back at it, and the gazes of man and cat met in an instant.

A faint gleam shone in Fang Xiu's eyes. At that moment, they looked somewhat similar to the black cat's eyes. Yet the instant their gazes connected, Black Fiend's expression completely froze.

In its vision, as Fang Xiu descended the spiral staircase step by step, his T-shirt and jeans slowly changed, lengthened, and merged together, transforming into a moon-white robe.

Fang Xiu's short black hair grew wildly, while its color gradually faded until it became a head of silver-white long hair. Even Fang Xiu's face had been refined until not the slightest flaw remained.

At that moment, Fang Xiu looked ethereal, no different from the immortals of legend.

He leaped into the air and lightly floated down from the staircase as though he had no weight at all.

He turned, twisted at the waist, and snapped off a flower from the vase with two fingers.

Yet the instant Fang Xiu turned back around, the flower vanished. In his hand was now a treasured sword gleaming with cold light.

The sword swept out and pointed straight at Black Fiend.

Black Fiend was so terrified that every hair on its body stood on end. It instantly let out a miserable shriek, "Mrrrow!"

"Don't! Master!"

The longsword stopped at Black Fiend's forehead. Its sharp sword aura brushed over the fur on its brow, and Black Fiend felt as if that fierce killing intent had pierced through its skull, freezing both its head and soul.

Black Fiend stood on the sofa, its four paws gripping the leather tightly. Its body leaned back, every hair standing on end, terror filling its eyes.

Yet when it looked up at Fang Xiu again, there was no silver-haired immortal at all. There was only Fang Xiu in an oversized hip-hop T-shirt, holding a small white flower between his fingers.

Seeing Black Fiend scared half to death, Fang Xiu burst out laughing and placed the little flower on its forehead.

With a small flower perched atop its head, Black Fiend was still shaken. Chen Jin also looked at Fang Xiu. In her eyes, Fang Xiu had merely flipped down from the stairs, snapped off a flower, and pointed it at Black Fiend. She had no idea why the cat was so frightened, and her eyes were full of confusion.

Fang Xiu sat down beside Chen Jin. His eyes now radiated incomparable confidence, and an unprecedentedly joyful expression appeared on his face.

Black Fiend was frightened, yet curious enough to curl itself around Fang Xiu's shoulder. Fang Xiu pulled it down and stroked its head.

Black Fiend's black fur was glossy and beautiful, exceptionally soft to the touch.

"Th-that... just now... what was that?" The black cat's former unruliness had turned into panic and submission. It looked at Fang Xiu as if he were some terrifying monster.

"You were put under a spell." Fang Xiu stared at the television without blinking, though the corners of his lips curled up unconsciously.

Meanwhile, Chen Jin remained motionless, clutching her radio. It was not yet broadcast time, and she was completely absorbed in the television program.

At that moment, the television was playing Chinese Paladin. The immortals on screen flew on swords, sending out blades they could control at will. They looked unbelievably cool.

Yellow Goat Mountain in the East Gate District had once been a rather famous mountain in ancient times. Since antiquity, many legends had surrounded it, giving it an air of mystery.

But in modern times, the area had been developed into a local tourist attraction and park. The former Three Goat Lake had also become a reservoir. With crowds constantly coming and going and voices bustling everywhere, there was naturally nothing mysterious or hidden about it anymore. Its old mythical aura had faded, leaving it as nothing more than an ordinary tourist spot.

On holidays, the place would be packed with fishing enthusiasts, hiking groups, families out with their children, and couples having picnics. East Gate Park next to it was even more crowded, packed like a marketplace.

Passing through East Gate Park and following the winding mountain road deep into Yellow Goat Mountain, one could still find some ancient buildings, as well as the locally popular Three Goat Temple.

But at that moment, thick fog filled the depths of Yellow Goat Mountain. The mist spread between the forest and mountain paths, and visibility within it did not exceed one meter.

Moreover, the fog was extremely strange. The wind could not disperse it; it coiled between Yellow Goat Mountain and Three Goat Lake like clouds.

"What's with this fog? It's already afternoon, and it'll be evening soon. Why hasn't it cleared yet?" Quite a few elderly people and young people strolling or exercising in the park looked up at the strange mist over Yellow Goat Mountain, all feeling rather astonished.

"I've lived here for so many years, but I've never seen fog this thick!" An elderly man with a cane pointed into the depths of Yellow Goat Mountain as he spoke.

Several elderly people beside him nodded as well. "This fog is really strange! Really strange!"

Just then, a woman came running down from the mountain. She looked frantic and drenched in sweat, even carrying her high heels in her hand. Her body was covered in dust, and both her hands and feet bore scratches from branches. The moment she ran down from the mountain road, she began shouting at the top of her lungs.

"My husband! My child! They went into the fog and still haven't come out!"

"Can someone help? Please, someone help!"

"My child and husband are both missing!"

The woman wailed and shouted, quickly drawing a crowd. Even the park security guards came running over.

Everyone soon learned that the woman's family of four had driven out to the reservoir. They hadn't expected such heavy fog, but her husband had insisted that this was more exciting, and that he knew the road well enough—they only needed to follow the highway.

The woman had gotten out midway to use the restroom. A gust of fog swept past, and when she looked again, the car, her husband, and her children had vanished from the road. No matter how she tried, her calls wouldn't go through.

"They were right behind me just now! He said they'd wait for me there, but the moment I turned around, they were gone! The car was gone too! I can't find them anywhere! I can't even make a call!" Terror filled the woman's face as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"It'll be dark soon! With fog this thick at a time like this, it'll be hard to find anyone if we go in, won't it?" A student who had been playing ball rolled up his sleeves, eager to help, but he glanced at the yellowing sky and looked worried.

"We should call the police," said a woman in her forties, nodding.

"When someone's in trouble, we should help if we can. There are so many of us—if we go in together, it should be easy to find them. If we shout, they'll hear us!" The speaker was a father in his thirties with his own child beside him. Hearing that someone else's husband and children had gotten lost in the fog and mountains, he could empathize.

"They probably got lost. After all, Yellow Goat Mountain and the reservoir cover a huge area. This fog is strange too—none of the calls are getting through. We can't reach anyone in the mountains." The park guard held up his phone, looking puzzled.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I saw anyone come down from the mountain today! Usually, people from the Taoist temple come and go every day, along with the reservoir workers. And I don't think I saw any cars coming down today either." An old man said this, but no one paid much attention.

The crowd discussed it heatedly. Then, organized by the park guards and several kindhearted volunteers, more than twenty people began heading up the mountain to search and rescue. After that, everyone who entered the fog never came back.