Neural Illusion

Luo Zhiyuan had Iceberg practice several Soul Secret Techniques he could control. Once Iceberg had fully recovered, he cheerfully returned him to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, then called Hong and told him he had returned Iceberg safe and sound.

Hong didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Luo Zhiyuan's explanation. But when he heard that neither Iceberg nor Luo Zhiyuan had been hurt, he stopped worrying about it.

Some time later, after Hong finished his seclusion, he asked Iceberg for the full details. Still shaken, Iceberg recounted what had happened, leaving Hong deeply astonished. He made a mental note to be extremely careful whenever he faced an Illusionist in the future. Otherwise, he might die without even knowing how it happened!

The Soul Secret Techniques Luo Zhiyuan had tested weren't directly lethal, but if someone's mind was controlled, their body or Spiritual Force could be thrown off. And if the other person followed up with a Telekinetic Weapon, they could easily be killed. Illusionists generally carried Telekinetic Weapons to assist them.

After sending Iceberg away, Luo Zhiyuan returned to his tedious cultivation. His physical fitness and Spiritual Force were improving more slowly now, while his Mental Power Amplitude had reached 25. He spent most of each day practicing Godly Evasion and altering the qualities of his Spiritual Force.

That day, he finally reached the third layer of Godly Evasion. He could now produce nine afterimages while moving, for ten figures including his real body, and shift freely among them. The ten figures could also form attack or defense formations, complementing one another and making his fighting style unpredictable and far more flexible.

Luo Feng returned to Earth at the end of October 2062. He first asked Huaxia Country for a plot of land measuring one kilometer by one kilometer, where he could place the modular castle he had brought back from the space civilizations, along with the slave guards he had purchased.

The castle's materials were comparable to those of a B-grade battleship, making it difficult even for a Star Level powerhouse to damage. Several important rooms, including the master bedroom, were reinforced with C-Grade Alloy. They were guaranteed to be impossible to breach for anyone below Universe Level, and even Universe Level powerhouses would struggle to break in quickly. It was a top-of-the-line custom design for distinguished guests.

That evening, Luo Feng brought his family to the castle. Nearly sixty meters tall and a kilometer long on each side, it was a beautiful, towering structure that looked like something straight out of a legend—a castle belonging to elves.

Vines and other plants covered the walls, climbing over most of the exterior as if they had been growing there for years. The site had originally been an upscale neighborhood with twelve villas.

Xu Xin had spoken on the phone with a business partner that afternoon. The partner lived in that very neighborhood, but now the entire place, buildings and all, had vanished, replaced by this magnificent castle.

Luo Feng called out to the castle's intelligent Light Brain, which controlled the main gate. The doors opened, and nine hundred Planetary Level slaves and fifteen Star Level slaves emerged. Luo Feng had bought this thousand-strong group in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, a middle-tier civilization in the universe. They would now serve the Luo Family as private attendants and guards!

Like a child showing off a prized possession, Luo Feng led his family on a tour of the castle. He showed the Earthlings—including Luo Zhiyuan, who were all provincial bumpkins by comparison—the advanced technology of the space civilizations. After just one night there, the whole family was enchanted by the beautiful surroundings and the convenience of its high-tech features.

The next day, Hong and Thunder God visited Luo Feng's castle. Luo Feng gave them a brief explanation of the hierarchy of civilizations in the universe: they were divided into high-tier, middle-tier, and low-tier civilizations. Low-tier civilizations were vassals of middle-tier civilizations, and middle-tier civilizations were vassals of high-tier ones.

The Milky Way Galaxy, where Earth was located, was ruled by a low-tier civilization empire that governed a total of eight star systems. A low-tier civilization controlled a territory as vast as eight galaxies, which gave them some idea of just how immense the universe was.

Above the high-tier civilizations were five superpowers that spanned the entire Human Race: the Virtual Universe Company, the Giant Axe Coliseum, the Universe Mercenary Alliance, the Universe First Bank, and the Universe Galaxy Bank. Their authority in the universe surpassed that of every civilization.

Luo Feng also solemnly told them the brutal truth about the strict hierarchy of the universe's civilizations: without reaching Planetary Level, people had no right to become citizens of a space civilization. They wouldn't receive even the slightest protection and could be controlled at will by powerful people from the universe.

Some weak planets and races could only be enslaved for generations, bought and sold as slaves. The guards he had brought back were one example. Earth was even worse off than their home planets. It was among the weakest worlds, and if people from the universe discovered it, Earthlings would simply be sold as slaves, with no hope of ever escaping that fate!

At first, Hong and Thunder God had thought that reaching Star Level would be enough to protect Earth. But it turned out that Planetary Level was barely enough to get by in the universe, while Star Level powerhouses were merely elite experts.

Luo Feng alone could buy a thousand Planetary Level Spirit Readers, five Star Level One Martial Artists, five Star Level One Spirit Readers, three Star Level Five Spirit Readers, and three Star Level Seven Spirit Readers!

Luo Feng's own guard force was enough to sweep across Earth countless times over. And that was without even considering the other Universe Adventurers. Earth and its people could only protect themselves by growing stronger, and Luo Feng and the others couldn't accomplish that alone.

So Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God, the three strongest people on Earth, settled on a path for humanity's evolution.

First, they would help humanity across Earth evolve on a large scale. Luo Feng had spent a fortune to buy a hundred thousand tons of Purple Light Dew from a space civilization. Just fifteen milliliters of Purple Light Dew could raise an Earthling who was close to the apprentice level to that level. Once they reached the apprentice level, they could cultivate cosmic energy to strengthen their bodies.

A hundred thousand tons of Purple Light Dew was enough for ten billion Earthlings, and Earth's population was still under seven billion. Within a few decades, Earthlings would reach the apprentice level by adulthood. This would be the first step in humanity's evolution!

Second, Luo Feng had brought back several consciousness-sensing helmets and anonymous accounts for accessing the Virtual Universe, where people could communicate with those from space civilizations. He distributed them among Earth's various nations and Base Cities so people could begin interacting with space civilizations and learn about the universe.

Luo Feng also left a consciousness-sensing helmet and a Virtual Universe account for his family, so they could connect with the universe more quickly. But Luo Zhiyuan used his tried-and-true pleading routine to get Luo Feng to give him his own account, rather than sharing one with the family.

He had an Auxiliary Optical Computer from Babata, so he didn't need a helmet. But a personal account would make it easier to explore the Virtual Universe. Luo Zhiyuan was eager to experience the space civilizations of this world for himself. He was incredibly curious about the Virtual Universe, which had given the Human Race such tremendous help in the novel.

Of course, having his own account had another advantage: he could hide some of his little schemes, such as searching for information he alone knew about but had no reason to know yet. That was one of the perks of having crossed over.

But Luo Zhiyuan's excitement didn't last long. Many services in the Virtual Universe cost money, and he had neither a bank account nor any cash. Luo Feng still had some money, but Luo Zhiyuan knew he was about to face a crucial challenge and needed to reach Star Level as soon as possible to save Earth.

They couldn't waste money, so Luo Feng had to spend it on cultivation resources first. That meant there was no money left for further exploration. They would have to wait until Luo Feng had bought his cultivation resources, then have him take Luo Zhiyuan into the universe to open an account and transfer some money.

Fortunately, there were plenty of Planetary Level guards in the castle for Luo Zhiyuan to practice on, so he focused on cultivating Soul Secret Techniques for the time being.

Babata hadn't had any Soul Secret Techniques suitable for Luo Zhiyuan to practice lately. So Luo Zhiyuan had been wondering if he could create some simple techniques for his own use. He already had a few ideas.

The first was a kind of visual illusion that targeted the body's visual system. The principle was to use Spiritual Force to interfere with an opponent's optic nerves, causing them to see things incorrectly. The expected effects included making them feel as if they were walking in circles, unable to distinguish friend from foe, lose their sight, or fail to notice what was right in front of them.

Most Soul Secret Techniques targeted the Consciousness Ocean and soul, and Soul Defense Secret Techniques likewise focused on defending those areas. Babata had never mentioned any technique that defended a specific organ in the body. Luo Zhiyuan would look into it in the Virtual Universe later. If there were no corresponding techniques, this could become one of his trump cards.

He called over a Heimeng Race Planetary Level Nine Spirit Reader and asked him to lower his mental defenses. Luo Zhiyuan needed to use his Spiritual Force to scan the other man's organs and nerves and see whether different races had significant anatomical differences.

Luo Zhiyuan first examined his own body in detail, since he knew the human body best. He scanned himself again and again with his Spiritual Force, carefully checking the major nerve centers, as well as the visual, auditory, and olfactory systems—even the sense of taste and the nerves in the brain. He kept going until he had memorized the main nodes of the human nervous system, then began examining the Heimeng guard.

The Heimeng Race looked much like Earthlings on the outside, but Luo Zhiyuan found that their nervous systems differed considerably. The main control nerves were still in the brain, though, just as they were in Earthlings. Once he had finished examining the Heimeng guard, Luo Zhiyuan used his Spiritual Force to interfere with the visual nerve center in the man's brain.

The Heimeng Spirit Reader saw a brief flash of light—not bright enough to dazzle him—and then couldn't see anything at all. He could only use his Spiritual Force to sense the objects around him. He hurriedly told his young master Luo Zhiyuan what had happened.

"Young Master, I can't see anything right now, but I can still sense things with my Spiritual Force. After losing my sight, though, there's a brief period when I can't react. If I don't think to use my Spiritual Force to scan the area, or if my opponent is a Martial Artist, the impact will be significant."

Luo Zhiyuan nodded. The experiment had been partially successful, but it hadn't produced the confusion he had expected. There was still room for improvement, and he hadn't tested it on guards from other races yet. Luo Feng had brought back slaves from thirteen races, and Luo Zhiyuan wanted to test them one by one. There was no rush, though, because he had another idea he wanted to try.

The second idea was a kind of auditory illusion that targeted the auditory nervous system. The principle was to use Spiritual Force to create vibration waves that shook an opponent's auditory system. He expected it to cause auditory confusion, and, at its most severe, damage to the opponent's brain.

Since this could cause physical injury, Luo Zhiyuan was very careful during the experiment. First, he used a thread of Spiritual Force to create a vibration wave beside the guard's ear. The guard frowned and told him, "Young Master, it's very weak. It's uncomfortable, but it won't cause any real harm."

So Luo Zhiyuan combined three threads of Spiritual Force and created another vibration wave beside the guard's ear. The guard shook his head and again told Luo Zhiyuan that it wasn't strong enough.

He increased the power again and again. When Luo Zhiyuan finally combined fifteen threads of Spiritual Force, the resulting vibration wave sent the guard tumbling to the ground.

It took the guard a full half-minute to recover. Then, still feeling dazed, he said, "Young Master, that was serious. The moment I sensed the vibration, I felt dizzy, my Spiritual Force scattered, and I couldn't control my body. I still haven't fully recovered. Please let me rest for a while before we continue."

"Oh, sure. Take a break." Luo Zhiyuan hadn't expected such a pronounced effect. At thirteen threads, the guard had only felt somewhat dizzy, but this time he had been knocked flat. It seemed a quantitative change had led to a qualitative one.

Once his Mental Power Amplitude reached fifteen, the vibration he controlled had a severe effect on the body. Most importantly, this wasn't an effect on the soul; it directly affected the body. Anyone with an auditory system should be vulnerable to it. It seemed his idea had been right!

After the guard recovered, Luo Zhiyuan asked him to defend himself with all his strength, then used fifteen threads of Spiritual Force to vibrate his auditory system again. Just like before, the guard fell straight to the ground and couldn't control his body or Spiritual Force.

Once he could speak, the guard told Luo Zhiyuan, "Young Master, it was just like last time. I didn't notice anything different before I lost control of my body. This is powerful! Congratulations on successfully developing your secret technique!"

Luo Zhiyuan was very pleased. He knew he had gained another attack method. It would be even better if no one else knew how the technique worked. Oh, right—he should try it on a Star Level guard too, to see whether it affected higher-level Martial Artists or Spirit Readers.

The Star Level guards served as captains, so Luo Zhiyuan had the Heimeng guard beside him summon his captain to test the technique as well.

Soon, a Heimeng Martial Artist at Star Level One arrived at Luo Zhiyuan's Training Ground. Luo Zhiyuan told the guard captain, "I want to test a new secret technique on you. Lower your defenses first, and let's see how it works."

The guard captain obediently stood to one side. Luo Zhiyuan again used fifteen threads of Spiritual Force to create the vibration. He hadn't expected it to affect the captain much, but the man's body suddenly went limp, and he nearly fell to the ground.

The captain swayed several times like a drunk, then finally regained his balance, looking astonished. He told Luo Zhiyuan what he had felt, and it was almost identical to the earlier guard's experience. The only difference was that the Star Level captain's body could withstand more than the Planetary Level guard's.

This gave Luo Zhiyuan a bold guess: could the effect of directly targeting the body's nervous system depend only on the differences in physical strength?

After all, these were basic components of the body. Every race had to possess sensory organs, even if their locations and structures differed slightly. If he learned the anatomy of most races thoroughly, this could become a completely new technique: a Soul Secret Technique that didn't target the soul at all, but went straight for the body's nervous system!

Luo Zhiyuan didn't increase the power of his Spiritual Force any further. He could combine up to twenty-five threads now, and if he unleashed them all, he would certainly inflict serious damage on the Star Level One guard. The guards would all be useful later, so he would leave further tests for another time.

For the rest of the time, Luo Zhiyuan worked on improving his visual illusion. The auditory illusion had been so effective, so there was no reason the visual one shouldn't work. He must have been going about it the wrong way, so he kept revising and testing it.

The days passed. Half a month later, Luo Zhiyuan finally perfected his visual illusion. But interference with the visual nerves alone had limited effects; even without sight, people could still use other ways to sense their surroundings.

So he added a method that targeted the soul to support the attack. First, he used Spiritual Force to disrupt the opponent's visual system, then reinforced it with a technique similar to the Charm Secret Technique, perfectly achieving an uncontrollable state of confusion.

After more than half a month of research and testing on all thirteen races of guards Luo Feng had brought back, the two new Combat Secret Techniques were nearly complete. Luo Zhiyuan classified them under Neural Illusion and named them Confusion and Vibration Wave.

Meanwhile, his insights into the Light Domain had increased considerably as he researched visual illusions. His Light Domain unexpectedly advanced to the second level, bringing his cultivation to the same level as Hong's.

Throughout this time, Babata had never interrupted Luo Zhiyuan's research. In fact, he had initially wanted to stop him. In Babata's view, so-called Neural Illusions that targeted the body had no future and were a waste of time.

The head—or rather, the brain—was only a vital weak point during the early stages of cultivation among the Human Race. The soul resided there, but once someone reached Domain Lord Level, a singularity would form inside their body, drawing the soul into it. It would then begin to nurture a world and form a Life Core. At that point, even if a Domain Lord's head were destroyed, they would still be in no danger as long as their Life Core remained intact.

But Luo Zhiyuan was only a child of just over two years old. Luo Feng had often lamented that his son wasn't as carefree and happy as other children, and Babata knew it too. But if they wanted to cultivate a battle genius like him, Babata couldn't let Little Zhiyuan waste his time playing.

Babata had wanted to find a chance to make it up to him. He would let him indulge himself for a while now—and besides, by a stroke of luck, Luo Zhiyuan had even improved his Domain. His research hadn't been a waste of time at all.