Illusionist

Illusionists are a group of outliers.

They were once Spirit Masters.

After a great upheaval of heaven and earth fifty years ago, the spiritual energy in the world declined, and evil spirits proliferated, greatly affecting the Spirit Masters.

Not only did the power of their spiritual arts weaken considerably, but the difficulty of advancing their realms also increased significantly!

Spiritual energy is the closest form of power to the forces of heaven and earth.

Within spiritual energy lie the codes of the Great Dao of heaven and earth, and every Spirit Master is a darling of heaven and earth.

But now, with the decline of spiritual energy, spiritual arts are weakening, and Spirit Masters are like abandoned children forsaken by heaven and earth!

All signs seem to point to a cruel truth... the path of spiritual arts has been severed.

Therefore, more changes have occurred.

Some Spirit Masters traveled far and wide, seeking ways to change the current situation.

Some Spirit Masters modified the structure of their spiritual arts, attempting to adapt them to the new reality and prevent their power from declining further.

Some Spirit Masters even abandoned the cultivation of spiritual arts and turned to studying martial arts instead!

Top martial artists are no inferior to Spirit Masters in terms of strength or lifespan!

And some Spirit Masters completely abandoned spiritual energy, turning instead to study the power of the bizarre!

These Spirit Masters who study the power of the bizarre... are the Illusionists.

The power of the bizarre is an entirely new force!

In terms of its essence, the power of the bizarre is not at all weaker than spiritual energy!

Where the power of the bizarre is abundant, evil spirits breed, and all sorts of demons and ghosts emerge endlessly, and there are even many indescribable terrifying existences!

However, while the power of the bizarre is strong, it is also very dangerous, and controlling it is extremely difficult. A slight carelessness can lead to loss of control.

To better develop this power, many Illusionists have directly incorporated this power into their bodies!

While this accelerated their understanding of the bizarre, the risks were immense.

Many Illusionists lost control of the bizarre power within their bodies, transforming into terrifying monsters, or exploding into pieces, dying without a complete corpse.

The path of illusion is exceptionally perilous.

Many Illusionists have died on the road of researching the power of the bizarre; only a very few have survived, and their numbers are far fewer than those of Spirit Masters.

But as long as they survive, these Illusionists' power will inevitably increase greatly. The power of the bizarre is strange and dangerous, and the power of Illusionists is generally much stronger than that of Spirit Masters!

Even facing ten enemies at once is not a problem!

When Zong Lin heard signs of Illusionist activity here, her expression changed drastically. She was well aware of how terrifying Illusionists were.

Furthermore, Kong Zhuohua had mentioned an organization: Blood Shadow Hall!

This was an organization formed by four Illusionists. Although the number of Illusionists within it was small, each of them was extremely powerful. Several major Spirit Master families had joined forces to suppress Blood Shadow Hall, but they suffered heavy casualties with no success.

Within the territory of Xiang Kingdom, Blood Shadow Hall was a taboo existence.

"How many Illusionists have come from Blood Shadow Hall?" Zong Lin asked.

Kong Zhuohua shook his head, "I don't know. We only detected traces of the Blood Refining Bottle's use, which is why we concluded that Blood Shadow Hall was orchestrating all of this."

Zong Lin fell silent. She knew about the Blood Refining Bottle.

It was a bizarre artifact created by the Illusionists of Blood Shadow Hall. It could trap living beings inside and refine them into pus and blood, making it a very sinister artifact.

However, the Blood Refining Bottle wasn't particularly valuable, and there were several of them. Typically, the Evil Warriors under the Illusionists would carry these artifacts around, while Illusionists rarely carried them personally.

The appearance of the Blood Refining Bottle did not necessarily mean that Illusionists were also present, which made Zong Lin breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Li Yuan and the others listened to Zong Lin and Kong Zhuohua's conversation. Although they didn't understand the details, they could sense the seriousness of the situation.

After Zong Lin and Kong Zhuohua discussed the details of their next actions, Li Yuan and the others prepared to leave.

"It will be dark in another hour, and those monsters will attack the city again."

"It hasn't been easy for you to get here. Please go and eat something and rest. We'll send someone to fetch you later."

The group from Jiujiang retreated from the county office. On the way, Zong Lin explained the reasons behind everything to Li Yuan and the others, and everyone felt the gravity of the situation.

This was Li Yuan's first time hearing about Illusionists. He said solemnly, "Are Illusionists really that powerful?"

Zong Lin's expression turned serious. "Of course. Don't underestimate Illusionists; they are very dangerous."

Li Yuan was aware of Zong Lin's strength.

During their previous trip to Changgan, Zong Lin had effortlessly annihilated over a hundred zombies and evil ghosts with a single spiritual art, demonstrating her formidable power.

Yet, even a genius Spirit Master like Zong Lin was wary of Illusionists, which meant Li Yuan had to approach the situation with caution.

Yangxing was very considerate towards the martial artists and Spirit Masters who came from other counties to provide support. Li Yuan and the others were led by a waiter to a restaurant where food and drinks had already been prepared. They all took their seats and began to eat.

They had traveled almost all day to reach this place and were starving, so they immediately started eating.

Zong Lin sat beside Li Yuan and said with a solemn expression, "Evil Warriors and evil creatures will definitely attack the city tonight. Several of us will assist in the defense on the city walls. Be sure to stay together and don't get separated."

Zong Lin had experienced such defensive actions many times and was well aware of the details, explaining to Li Yuan exactly where to pay attention and where to be careful.

This was Li Yuan's first time participating in this kind of mission, and he listened intently as Zong Lin explained. This was life-saving intelligence, and he couldn't afford to be careless.

The sky gradually darkened, the red sun sinking in the west. When the last ray of sunlight disappeared, night finally arrived.

The martial artists and spirit masters of Meishan County stood atop the city walls. In addition, the walls were filled with guards, almost a sentry every five paces and a post every ten.

Torches were planted all along the city walls, their bright flames illuminating a hundred zhang within, ensuring that any entity attempting a stealth attack under the cover of darkness would have nowhere to hide.

The entire Meishan County was ready, prepared at any moment to respond to an attack from outside the city.

Li Yuan and the others were responsible for guarding a section of the southern city wall in the middle. The six of them spread out, each separated by a distance of ten paces.

Because Mi Lan was the weakest, still in the Body Tempering Realm, Li Yuan feared something might happen to him and kept him close by. If the situation changed, Li Yuan could provide support at any time.

Special fire oil was mixed into the torches on the city walls, causing them to burn fiercely and provide ample light. On the city walls, only the crackling of the torches could be heard; no one else spoke, and the air was filled with a solemn, murderous atmosphere.

Li Yuan focused his eyesight, scanning all areas outside the city walls. He could detect any disturbance, no matter how slight.

As the night deepened, time ticked by, second by second.

Apart from the occasional chirping of birds and insects outside the city, there was not a sound, as if the Evil Warriors and Evil Creatures had forgotten about this city.

At midnight, fatigue began to set in, and many people felt a slight drowsiness. Suddenly, a faint sound caught Li Yuan's attention.

"Snap."

It sounded like something stepping on a dry branch on the ground.

Li Yuan's eyes widened. He clearly saw a group of distorted figures appearing in the distant darkness.

"Enemy attack!"

The alarm instantly spread throughout the entire city!