Another Illusion

(Guess what Li Wei saw? Second update complete. An Hei prostrating himself, begging for votes.)

Li Wei was very familiar with the monster's face.

It was, without a doubt, the fat man's face—exactly the same in both features and expression. Li Wei couldn't believe that such a lewd face existed in the world; even if it did, it shouldn't be on this monster's face.

"Could it be...?"

Almost simultaneously, Li Wei suddenly turned his head and looked at the fat man behind him.

The fat man looked puzzled and said, "Brother Li, what's wrong? Hurry up and hit it, or the monster will get away!"

What happened?

Li Wei swallowed hard, momentarily lost in thought.

"Something must be wrong," Li Wei shook his head, his mind immediately racing.

The situation is extremely bizarre. Why does that white-haired monster have the exact same face as the fat man? Could it be the fat man himself?

So what exactly is that fat guy next to me?

Li Wei glanced at the fat man again, pointed with two fingers, and two bolts of lightning shot out. At the same time, Li Wei also threw Shockwave Fist, smashing the air around the fat man and the monster, creating spiderweb-like cracks.

The fat man was terrified and exclaimed, "Brother Li, what are you doing? I'm Fatty!"

"Shut up"

Li Wei stopped the fat man's commotion. Under Li Wei's murderous gaze, the fat man shut his mouth in fear.

"Look at that monster's face. Describe it in the simplest terms possible, and be quick," Li Wei suddenly said.

He used the effects of the electric current and the Shockwave Fist to temporarily restrain the two men, but only for about a minute. Li Wei had to make a judgment within that minute.

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, the fat man shuddered and described the monster's appearance in just three simple words, which even Li Wei found extremely easy.

These three words are: "Very ugly".

Li Wei knew that either the 'fat man' was lying on purpose, or he had indeed seen an ugly monster face.

But why am I seeing the fat man's face?

"Could it be an illusion?"

Li Wei suddenly realized a possibility: this wasn't the first time he had encountered illusion Li Wei. Back in the 'Silent Hill' mission, he had fallen victim to this kind of 'spell'. At that time, Qiao Yan, who possessed the 'Six Paths Golem', used illusion magic to deceive everyone's five senses.

So, is all of this, in front of us, also an illusion?

This is highly likely. It's possible that the monster used illusion magic to make the person see the fat man's face, and the fat man next to them was actually the real one.

Of course, there is another terrifying possibility: the fat man beside him is not his real body at all, but some kind of 'thing' in disguise. The real fat man could very well be the monster he has trapped in front of him. After all, if it is an illusion, it can also deceive his eyes, and the information seen by his Eye of Perception could also be fabricated due to an illusion.

However, Li Wei still tends to believe that the fat man next to him is real. After all, even the best actors can make mistakes, and only the performance itself is the most natural.

Regarding illusions, An Hei, who possessed the 'Six Paths Golem', once told Li Wei that no matter what kind of illusion it is, it cannot directly affect a person's mind; it must be done through some kind of medium.

It could be a scent, a picture, a sentence, or a gesture; the illusion is triggered by these seemingly mundane little actions.

So, if all of this is an illusion, when did I fall for it?

"Fatty, do you think there's anything wrong with me? Tell me quickly, and you have to tell the truth," Li Wei suddenly shouted to the fat man beside him.

The fat man was almost in tears. He stared at Li Wei for a moment, as if to confirm whether the other man was joking, before saying, "You're really not normal, you're so abnormal! Why did you attack your brother? What did I do to you? You've been acting strangely ever since that monster appeared. If you hadn't made a move, that guy would have taken the Water Spirit Remnant."

By the way

Li Wei finally discovered a major problem with the wreckage.

"Then where is your Earth Spirit Remains?" Li Wei suddenly asked sharply. The fat man next to him looked exactly like a real fat man, but he did not have Earth Spirit Remains in his hand.

This fat guy is fake.

Li Wei reacted almost instantly, unleashing Finger Thunder that pierced through the stunned fat man like a lightning sword.

There was no blood as expected, and everything around seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, everything began to shatter as if glass had broken.

Boom

Everything around him began to collapse. Li Wei felt dizzy and opened his eyes wide, only to find that he was still squatting on the edge of the jar.

In the water of the jar, there was a white-haired monster staring at him with a grin, its claws already extended above the water, only inches from his throat.

"Finger Thunder, break."

Li Wei suddenly slammed his finger into the water in the jar, and blue arcs of electricity exploded inside. The monster in the water let out a roar and leaped out.

The Finger Thunder just now reduced this monster's health by 200 points.

Seemingly severely injured, the monster continued to pounce on Li Wei, but at this moment, Li Wei was not about to give it another chance.

"Devour it..."

A sudden surge of black silk suction shot out from Li Wei's right eye, catching the monster off guard and pulling it in. The Devouring Ability was a unique skill of the Destroyer, incredibly powerful. Within 5 seconds, the monster's 12,000 HP was reduced to 0, then it was shredded by the black silk, turning into energy that was dragged into Li Wei's right eye.

"Damn, this taste is disgusting!" After devouring the Corpse Keeper, Li Wei almost vomited. The feeling was like drinking a bowl of stale pickled cabbage soup; the nausea was indescribable.

All of this happened in a flash. The fat man under the jar asked loudly what was going on. Li Wei turned around and saw that the fat man below looked panicked, holding his precious Earth Spirit Remains in his arms like a little girl who couldn't find her way home.

Without a doubt, this is a real fat man who has broken free from his illusion.

Li Wei told the fat man that everything was alright, and then dipped his hand into the water in the jar.

Not only were there 'Water Spirit Remnant' in the water, but there was also a box. Upon opening it, Li Wei discovered a magic Skill Book. After a closer look, Li Wei chuckled; this magic Skill Book was exactly the 'intermediate water magic' he needed.

With this Skill Book, Li Wei's water magic can be upgraded to intermediate level.

"The water in this jar isn't a strong acid, but it's probably not from an ordinary water source either. Perhaps I should take it all..." With that thought, Li Wei took out the Copper Pot, formed a hand seal, and chanted, "Inhale!"

A powerful suction force erupted from the spout of the pot, and in just a moment, it sucked all the water out of the jar. Then, Li Wei jumped into the water jar.

The fat man hurried over. "Brother Li, what happened to you just now? Why were you squatting there without moving...?"

Based on the fat man's description, Li Wei knew that he had probably been under an illusion as soon as he stepped onto the water platform.

The 'Corpse Keeper' monster that protects the Water Spirit Remnant is not in the lake at all, but hiding in the water basin. The moment I jumped on it, the monster used some kind of special skill to cast an illusion, trapping me in a hallucination.

Later, he discovered that the water in the jar was strong acid, and that when he broke the jar, he found that the monster had taken away the Water Spirit Remnant. All of this was just an illusion. If he hadn't noticed the fat man's clues and had let himself remain in this hallucination state, the consequences would have been dire.

After recounting these extraordinary encounters, the fat man was amazed, thinking to himself that if it were Li Wei, he would have fallen for the same trick long ago.

The cave was very large, but there was no other way out except for the path Li Wei had taken.

Holding the 'Water Spirit Remnant' in his hand, Li Wei led the fat man to the lakeside. Perhaps due to the 'Water-Control Technique,' the lake water parted automatically. Now, all they had to do was walk to separate themselves from the water.

Returning by the same route, Li Wei and Fatty navigated through caves and mazes, eventually returning to the room with six passageways that they had started with.

"Brother Li, what should we do next?" The fat man was still carrying the remains. Strangely enough, the remains couldn't be stored in the storage space inside the Yellow Paper, but they could be put into Li Wei's Copper Pot. However, the fat man insisted that he wasn't tired and could carry it, so Li Wei didn't insist.

"We can't open the passage to Shadow Street right now, so we can only collect all the remains as the murals say. Maybe we'll make some new discoveries. So, we need to go to the other four tombs. Of course, before that, I need to do one thing." Li Wei took out a syringe filled with crimson liquid.

"Bloodline enhancement potion?" The fat man clearly recognized the thing in Li Wei's hand.

The reason he set up a stall in the Free Market, acting as a shrewd merchant, was to earn more points to exchange for a decent bloodline enhancement. However, in Shadow Street, bloodline potions often cost tens of thousands of points, some even reaching hundreds of thousands or millions. Let alone him, even those powerhouses with B-rank or A-rank combat strength couldn't afford that many points. But to survive better, he had to become stronger, so the fat man had to change his bloodline; this was his only way to become stronger.

Of course, he also tried to cultivate B-grade Skill Book on his own, but with little success. This is why B-grade combat power is a watershed. B-grade Skill Book require self-study, which requires talent. Those with exceptional talent naturally progress rapidly, like breaking through ice. However, every breakthrough will increase combat power. Of course, there is another way to advance to B-grade: exchanging bloodlines and changing physique. This path is easier than the first one, but it requires a large number of points as a backing. It can be said that this path of advancement is entirely built with points.

Sadly, this is the only path the fat guy can take to become stronger.