Illusion

The black fog that stretched across the wilderness gradually dissipated, and the willow grove that had been hidden within it reappeared.

Moonlight filtered sparsely through the tangled vines at the top, reflecting on the puddles at the bottom of the forest and creating ripples.

Slumped in the water, Aurenli's magnificent purple gown was completely soaked with mud and water, and all thirteen magic rings around her had shattered. Only her dazzling golden hair floated haphazardly on the water's surface.

"No, that's impossible."

Accompanied by the faint murmur of mosquitoes, she lowered her eyes to look at her palm, her tall, slender body trembling slightly. "Why were you able to directly dismantle my magic ring?! Whoa!"

Suddenly, Aurenli's slumped posture shifted forward to a half-kneeling position, her body arched like a shrimp. The blood gushing from her throat made her instinctively raise her hand to cover her lips, but she couldn't stop large mouthfuls of blood from spilling out from between her slender, pale fingers.

"Tick-tock"

Blood dripped down Aurenli's perfectly alluring jawline, instantly spreading a vibrant crimson hue, like the blooming of spider lilies.

Looking at the defeat settlement screen before him, Xu Yuan quietly exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly walked towards the woman.

For a fleeting moment, he truly believed he was going to die.

If that eight-ring spell, with the ring of lightning as its core and incorporating the other seven rings, were to be condensed, he would have absolutely no ability to resist it.

That was an absolute gap that no scheme could bridge.

Unfortunately, this woman underestimated her opponent—or rather, she was greedy.

Knowing full well that he possessed the ability to reverse-engineer spells, they still unleashed their ultimate attack right under his nose. Moreover, to reduce the fluctuations during casting, they distracted themselves by casting other spells, which greatly extended the charging time.

Just now, Aurenli could have either used the Spatial Magic Ring to teleport herself out of the black mist, creating distance before casting her spell, or she could have directly charged up her energy without using any spells to reduce the fluctuations.

If she has to choose between the two options, then Xu Yuan will only be able to respond in one way.

He silently chanted "Brother, come on" in his mind, and then gave up and waited to die.

Aurenli is such a greedy woman.

She wanted to kill him, but didn't want to alert Xu Changge, who was locked in combat with Huron.

This gave him room to maneuver.

Before the ice crystals froze the Willowwood Ghost Blade, he had already left some black Source Qi that could deconstruct magic within the giant cocoon woven from willow branches through continuous stabbing.

And what happens next is quite simple.

As Xu Yuan manipulated the black Source Qi left inside the cocoon to accumulate energy for her spellcasting, she dissolved and deconstructed a small portion of the edge patterns on one of the eight magic rings used by Aurenli.

Just like the chain reaction caused by a decimal point calculation error in the aerospace industry in the past, the elimination of this tiny array of patterns quickly fed back from bottom to top, causing the building blocks to collapse and having a devastating impact on the spell that Aurenli was casting.

In the words of the Great Yan cultivators, it's even simpler and clearer— Qi Deviation.

Within minutes, their situations reversed dramatically.

"Stop."

A faint, almost imperceptible sound arose, and Xu Yuan instinctively stopped in his tracks, whispering:

"Is there anything you'd like to say?"

"Why."

"What?"

"."

After a moment of silence, Aurenli raised her deep golden eyes and stared at the man opposite her, gritting her teeth, a desperate urge rising on her pale face:

"How were you able to interfere with my magic ring?!"

"."

The sound spread across the tranquil water, creating ripples. Seeing the confusion in the other's eyes, Xu Yuan sighed softly and took a step forward.

"I thought you would be more accepting of your defeat, but you look really pathetic right now."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan stopped half a zhang in front of Aurenli, looking down at the woman who had just been exuding terrifying power like a god, his voice carrying a hint of amusement:

"Aurenli, is this all the magnanimity your Xien royal family can muster?"

"No!"

Aurenli gritted her teeth, struggling to stand up from the water, but another gushing mouthful of blood stopped her in her tracks.

"Whoa, cough... cough cough"

Wiping the blood from her lips with the back of her hand, Aurenli looked up at him, her voice weakening further. "If you could defeat me head-on like your brother did, I would have no regrets even if I died, defeated by your despicable tricks."

"Tips and tricks?"

Xu Yuan interrupted Aurenli, raised his palm, and a ball of black Source Qi rose up, a mocking smile playing on his lips:

"You mean I have to avoid my strengths and play to my weaknesses to have a real Law Technique duel with you, which is considered a true display of skill? Using my own magic is considered despicable, so if I use the methods of a martial arts apprentice, would you call me vulgar?"

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan took a step forward and, without warning, unleashed a whip kick that struck Aurenli's full, soft breasts.

The boot tip sank into the soft surface, and the powerful force sent the slender figure flying backward. After skipping a few times on the water's surface where willow branches intertwined, she crashed heavily into the base of a willow tree with a dull thud.

"Wow!"

Another mouthful of blood spurted out as Aurenli struggled to lift herself from the water. Her wet blonde hair clung to her cheeks, and her pale, paper-white face, along with her crimson lips, gave her an unusual, poignant beauty.

She was extremely weak, but her gaze remained fixed on Xu Yuan.

Meeting the other person's gaze, Xu Yuan slowly approached, his voice tinged with laughter:

"I've now completely figured out the workings of your magic ring, so you'd better not try anything funny in front of me."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan pointed to his blood-red eyes, which shimmered with golden light:

"Because I can already see it."

Xu Yuan's kick just now wasn't aimed at Aurenli's ample chest, but rather at her heart.

Unlike the Great Yan Cultivator, whose power originated from the Dantian, Aurenli's power came from her heart.

While he was speaking, although no magic ring appeared, a holy white light flashed above his heart.

It's somewhat similar to the healing holy light in a previous RPG game.

As he thought this, Xu Yuan 'Will Soul linked with several willow trees beside Aurenli, manipulating them to extend two slender and strong branches to lift Aurenli's limp, pale arms.

"Tick-tock."

"Tick-tock."

"Tick-tock."

The soaked gown clung to her alluring curves, water droplets trickling down her bare feet and dripping onto the water's surface with a soft patter.

Standing beneath her, Xu Yuan reached out and, under her murderous gaze, placed a finger on her shapely abdomen. He paused for a moment, then slowly moved his hand up her form-fitting dress, stopping at her heart.

Upon seeing this, Aurenli Lidai, who was being hoisted up, frowned slightly:

What are you doing?

Xu Primordial Spirit calm, his eyes fixed on his moving fingertips:

What do you think I'm doing?

Aurenli glanced at the man's face, a mocking smile playing on her lips:

"Anyway, I'm not going to live anymore. The damage this backlash has done to my body is irreversible. Before I die, I might as well treat you, this villain, as a substitute meal for your brother."

"."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan paused slightly, then looked up to meet the other person's gaze.

A sickly blush rose on Aurenli's pale face.

"After all, you two look quite alike."

"Your sense of humor is even more perverse than I imagined."

Xu Yuan shook his head and stopped looking at the woman, pressing his fingertips against her soft skin.

Aurenli's red lips parted slightly, a hint of teasing in her expression:

"You're so timid, you're like a coward with the desire but no guts. Do I need to teach you how to make a woman happy? Judging from your appearance, you can't satisfy her."

Halfway through her sentence, Aurenli's azure pupils suddenly contracted, and she began to struggle. However, two thick willow branches had already firmly bound her hands. She tried to kick, but was instantly bound by two more willow branches that shot towards her.

Xu Yuan didn't look up when he saw this, and simply replied casually:

"Don't move. If you're still not satisfied, I can help you with willow branches."

"What are you doing?!!"

Aurenli's voice rose, her clear tone sounding slightly hoarse. "You bastard! Stop it!!"

Xu Yuan ignored her shouts, his eyes thoughtful, and muttered to himself:

"The cultivation structure within the bodies of you Xien is somewhat different from that of my Great Yan. The place where you gather Qi is actually in your heart. Hmm. No wonder my Source Qi has been unable to find an entrance. Without meridians, there is naturally no central spinal acupoint. But what are those rings of runes around your heart?"

At this point, Xu Yuan paused, looked up to meet Aurenli's fiery gaze, and said with a hint of sigh:

"Aurenli, you're such a dangerous woman."

"Those magical rings surrounding you are a smokescreen you deliberately released. Who are you planning to use this information gap against, Xu Changge?"

It would have been better if they hadn't met. But once they did, Xu Yuan discovered that Aurenli was hiding much more than he had imagined.

The cool magic circles that surrounded her earlier were just a deceptive disguise; the dense, intricate patterns around her heart were the real magic rings.

In other words, this woman can cast spells without any warning.

Aurenli a brief moment of emotional outburst, Orenley calmed down, looked at the man in front of her, and said in a cold voice:

"So, since you've only just discovered the location of my magic ring, how are you able to decipher my spell?"

"."

Upon hearing this,

A meaningful smile played on Xu Yuan's lips, and pink light flickered in his eyes:

"What do you think, Your Highness Aurenli?"

"."

Aurenli's pupils suddenly contracted, as if she had realized something.

The Ring of Nightmares.

As the thought arose,

The entire space suddenly trembled, and a ripple spread outward from her.

Buzz!!!

Then,

Time seemed to stand still.

Xu Yuan's figure was peeled away layer by layer like tofu, and then came the Willowwood Ghost Forest, with moonlight filtering through the gaps in the intertwined willow branches.

The entire space is like a jigsaw puzzle, with pieces breaking apart and falling off, and then countless new pieces appear, covering the broken pieces and reassembling.

When the tremors subsided, everything before Aurenli's eyes disappeared, replaced by a space shrouded in darkness, and a lightning sphere that had condensed before her like a point mass.

Everything that had just happened was created by the other party using the Nightmare Ring. Aurenli was still intact inside the willow cocoon, and Xu Yuan was still standing not far away.

She bit her lip, and a murderous intent surged wildly in Aurenli's eyes:

"Xu Changtian, you're dead."

"This is not my fault."

As the cherry blossoms fell, Xu Yuan laughed nonchalantly, "I can't control the illusion to deal with you. What just happened was your worst-case scenario for the future."

"But are you trying to reenact what happened in the illusion?"

"."

Aurenli slightly raised her slender fingertips, and an arc of lightning instantly cleared away all surrounding debris.

Do you think I'll fall for it a second time?

As she spoke, the black spatial magic ring beside Aurenli began to flash, the space seemed to freeze, and she spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Don't even think about escaping using your instantaneous spatial ring."

"Ha, they're still acting."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, "You really are arrogant. You lost to me once in the illusion, yet you still want to deal with Xu Changge. Besides, mine isn't a spatial ring."

Before she could finish speaking, the lightning arc particles exploded under Aurenli's manipulation.

In an instant, the entire land was struck by lightning and thunder. Centered on the lightning arc point, endless lightning surged outwards like a tsunami, engulfing the entire Willowwood Ghost Forest.

When everything calmed down, the black fog and the vast willow forest had disappeared, leaving only Aurenli and a huge, scorched crater over a hundred feet long in the same spot.

Seeing this, Aurenli did not relax at all; instead, she subconsciously clenched her delicate hands.

Even though she had killed him, the humiliation he had inflicted on her could not be erased from her heart. Now, she needed to think about how to deal with Xu Changge, who was as terrifying as a crown prince.

Thinking to herself, she glanced sideways in the direction where Xu Changge and Huron were fighting.

All she could see was a large, headless corpse standing in place.

Before Aurenli could react to Xides's death, a slow, deliberate clapping sound suddenly reached her ears:

"Clap clap... clap... clap..."

Aurenli instantly looked up, her pupils contracting, only to see Xu Yuan, clad in a Great Yan robe, standing unharmed at the bottom of the pit, smiling at her.

"The battle over there seems to be over, but it seems you still couldn't kill me."

Aurenli's breathing trembled slightly, a sense of unease spreading through her chest:

How did you dodge?

Xu Yuan found it somewhat amusing upon hearing this.

His Void-Stepping Slash could even dodge Xu Changge's Causality Sword, so how could he not dodge your magic?

Xu Yuan smiled slightly at her and shrugged.

"Why are you so surprised? I already said I'm not using a spatial magic ring, so your spatial lock is ineffective against me."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan gently shook his head:

"I thought that while you were using the spatial magic ring to lock down space, you would also be using the detection magic ring to observe my landing point."

"Now it seems you truly look down on me, arrogant Xien Sean."

"But now that Xu Changge's side is over, it's time for our side to be over too."

Having said that, Xu Yuan smiled and beckoned to the woman in the sky, "You just used electric arcs to clear away the surrounding Source Qi, but what about the energy inside her heart?"

moment,

Aurenli suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. The Wind-Controlling Magic Ring was slightly melted, and after swaying in the air for a moment, she fell straight to the ground.

The wind whistled past her ears, and as she drifted into unconsciousness, she heard Xu Yuan's smiling murmur:

"The backlash from an eighth-ring spell would kill you instantly. You've only cast a first-ring Wind Control Ring, so you should only be severely injured at most."

"Xu Changge, you can come out now. After wasting so much time, you should have figured out that tin can's cultivation technique by now, right?"