Are Snake Nests an Illusion?

The moment the foreign object grazed her skin, Yu Xing knew what it was.

The scales felt so distinctly real, hard and cold, yet with a pulsating, breath-like quality—a feeling unique to cold-blooded animals—a sense of both vibrant life and profound stillness.

In the darkness, the sliding sound, which had been barely perceptible, became increasingly clear; it wasn't something that would disappear upon touch, but rather something that coiled tighter and tighter, circle by circle.

Yu Xing felt the snake's body slowly coiling around him. He didn't move because the same sound was already surrounding him from all directions, creating a dense and suffocating atmosphere.

So many snakes.

The snakes coiled, spread, and pressed together in the darkness. At that moment, it was as if he had not entered the offering room, but had unknowingly stepped into a snake pit.

The air became increasingly damp and heavy, making it difficult for Yu Xing to breathe. He reached out and pressed down on the cold-blooded animal that had swum up to his thighs, only to have it quickly licked by its icy, forked tongue.

Yu Xing: "..."

The snake didn't bite him, but a numbing sensation quickly surged through his palm where it had been licked, accompanied by a chilling air current that clung to his fingers, Yu Xing heard the sound of dripping water.

Is it poison?

He shook his head, realizing he wasn't actually going to hallucinate from just one lick. He silently channeled the power of his curse to dispel the numbness, while simultaneously pondering how to get rid of the snake.

In that brief moment of hesitation, his other leg was also entangled by a snake. Not only that, but all the countless snakes on the ground seemed to be crawling towards him.

This is a bit troublesome... Yu Xing tried to pull on the snake's head and was bitten.

The sharp fangs pierced his tiger's mouth, sending a sharp pain through him. Yu Xing frowned, not because the pain was insignificant to him, but because the snake's ability to coil was too strong, making it impossible to move an inch.

But he didn't want to rashly harm the snakes, lest such an action trigger some hidden rules of the Bronze statue; otherwise, a mere wave of his hand would kill a large number of them.

Yiqing said it was a water snake...

Water snakes don't know if they're afraid of fire.

Yu Xing recalled that places like offering rooms usually had candlesticks. People would light candles when they wanted to offer something as a sacrifice; this was called a sense of ritual in life.

If nothing unexpected happens, perhaps candles can be found in this shrine.

Then another question arises: he has already walked more than ten meters—at least in his perception—so is his current location still the so-called offering room?

In the darkness, Yu Xing's eyes brightened, and her pupils silently turned icy blue, as if covered with a layer of solid ice.

The water beneath the ice continued to flow slowly, swirling and churning... reflecting a few non-existent specks of light.

Yu Xing's retina showed some faint light, which was easily overlooked even in a completely dark space.

But this tiny ray of light became the best guide.

Hey, his Spiritual Eye are really useful right now.

Yu Xing followed the direction of the light and vaguely felt the snake wrapped around her become lighter. Even the snake that should have been swimming on the ground in front of her had disappeared, as if it was slowly fading away.

The closer you follow the light, the less constrained you become; the damp air and oppressive feeling dissipate, and the dripping water grows fainter until it's inaudible.

Yu Xing reached out and touched a smooth table.

In the silence, only the snake on his leg still seemed to exist; its body had become as light as a feather, as if the slightest movement of his leg would blow it away.

Yu Xing ignored it and continued to rummage around on the table. First, he found a small Bronze statue with a somewhat familiar shape. He paused, put the Bronze statue down, and then easily found the unused thick candle next to it.

The matchbox was placed next to the candle. He struck a match, lit the wick, and a soft glow immediately spread out.

The light illuminated the surrounding scenery; the wooden room was old and rustic, with mold spots on the walls.

The table was covered with various items, including candlesticks, a gold mask, and locust tree branches, which looked like they were related to rituals. A small Bronze statue sat quietly in the center, with the woman on it staring at him with her eyes wide open.

Yu Xing assessed the distance. He had touched the Bronze statue Bronze statue on the first touch; it should have been on the edge of the table. Had it teleported in the blink of an eye?

This Bronze statue is quite concerned about its image; it feels that being in the very center is in line with its noble demeanor.

"Why aren't you answering me?" Yi Qing asked softly from behind.

Yu Xing turned around and saw that the floor of the room was clean, with several futons on the ground, but there was no trace of snakes.

The snake pit, the sound of water, the damp air—all seemed like figments of his imagination, a filthy illusion in a fog, dragging him into a state of confusion.

Moreover, the place he's standing in is actually the closest table to the door, a mere three or four meters away, not even ten meters at all.

Was it really just an illusion? Without any trigger, how could this place have caused him to fall into a hallucination without him even realizing it?

Thinking this, Yu Xing suddenly raised his hand and looked at the web between his thumb and forefinger. There was a shallow mark there, two blood spots side by side. If he had looked any later, the wound would have healed.

Upon seeing the small injury, a tingling sensation swept through her mind again. Yu Xing shook her hand and realized that it wasn't entirely an illusion, but rather a problem with her perception.

He still felt that the ability to tamper with cognition was truly terrifying. Human memory is the cause and guideline of behavior. If even memory can be arbitrarily distorted, then that person can only step into the web woven by others.

For example, he was indeed bitten just now, but this isn't a snake pit, and there are no snakes here.

Is it possible that he actually found the path to the snake pit in this room... or somewhere else, went inside and circled around, then wandered back to the offering room, and then his memory was distorted, making him believe that he never left this place, and that everything he just felt was fake?

This kind of thing is unverifiable, which symbolizes a loss of control.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone; there was a ghost beside him.

"What happened to me just now? Did you call me and I didn't answer?" Yu Xing asked quietly.

"..." Yi Qing's face was blurred in the candlelight. He seemed to have wanted to answer immediately, but then forgot what he wanted to say, and a hint of doubt flickered in his expression. "Strange, I saw you walk straight to the table, so I wanted to call you..."

"That should be the case... but..."

"But something doesn't seem quite right."

"You've been walking the whole time, without stopping. It shouldn't have taken you more than a few seconds to get here from the door, so why does it feel like so much time has passed...?"

Yi Qing's voice grew softer and softer, and her expression became serious as she spoke.

He had been dead for a long time and had seen a lot, so his mind was no slower than Yu Xing's. He immediately realized, "Something's wrong, Yu Xing. Something has happened, but I can't remember."

Yu Xing rubbed her temples.

Even Lian Yiqing said so, so his worries were indeed justified.

"Let's start—" Before she could finish speaking, Yu Xing suddenly widened her eyes slightly.

Because the shrine room is getting brighter and brighter.

The candlelight gradually became unnecessary, and the faint light of daylight shone through the window, enveloping the entire shrine.

Yu Xing suddenly turned her head, and was stunned for once.

Surprisingly... it's dawn.

What exactly did he and Yiqing forget?

.