Thousand-Faced Illusion

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's shriek tore through the dense fog.

In that instant, Gu Changsheng felt as though the forest before him had been crushed and rearranged by an invisible hand.

The Ancient Trees twisted, the fog churned, and Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan, who had been right beside him, rapidly blurred from view as if they had been pulled into separate spaces.

Countless whispers drifted into his ears.

Some were familiar, while others were strange.

There were children crying and women sighing.

The voices mingled together like fine spider silk, trying to worm their way into the depths of their minds.

Gu Changsheng's expression darkened.

"Don't panic!"

His voice traveled through the Mental Link, only to be swallowed by countless echoes the next moment.

"Don't panic..."

"Don't panic..."

"Don't panic..."

Every echo sounded like his voice, but the tone grew increasingly bizarre until it finally turned into the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's shrill, mocking laughter.

Hu Liena's expression changed slightly.

"It's contaminating the Mental Link!"

Gu Changsheng immediately closed his eyes, and the Myriad Heaven Book in his mind abruptly opened.

Page after illusory page flipped wildly as pale golden light spread from them, forcibly stabilizing the core of the mental network.

[Detected Mental Intrusion.]

[Intrusion method: Echo Pollution, Cognitive Dislocation.]

[Analyzing...]

[Recommendation: Sever outer-layer perception and constrict the Mental Link.]

Without hesitation, Gu Changsheng immediately shrank his mental perception from a five-hundred-meter radius to thirty meters.

The instant the range contracted, the chaotic whispers weakened considerably.

"Everyone, move closer to my mental marker. Don't trust what you see!"

Gu Changsheng's voice rang out again, much clearer this time.

Xie Yue snorted coldly.

"Got it."

A cold flash suddenly streaked through the dense fog.

The Moon Blades in Xie Yue's hands crossed, severing several transparent spider threads that had silently crept closer.

After landing, those threads did not snap immediately. Instead, they writhed lightly across the soil like Living Entities, continuing toward his ankles.

Xie Yue's gaze turned cold. His Moon Blades fell again, thoroughly cutting the threads apart.

"This thing is troublesome."

Flames burst from Yan's palm as a blazing wall of fire spread outward.

"If it's troublesome, burn it!"

Wherever the Flame passed, the fog churned violently, and large amounts of spider silk let out piercing sizzling sounds beneath the heat.

However, the fog before Yan suddenly twisted in the next moment.

He saw Hu Liena bound by spider silk, hanging in midair with a pale face as she looked at him.

"Yan, save me..."

Yan's pupils contracted sharply.

"Nana!"

He nearly charged forward on instinct.

But at that moment, Gu Changsheng's voice exploded in his mind.

"Stop! That's an illusion!"

Yan's body stiffened, and he forcibly halted.

The "Hu Liena" ahead slowly raised her head. Her originally pale, beautiful face suddenly split apart, transforming into a spider maw lined with fangs.

Screech!

Several threads shot from the fog, grazing Yan's cheek before burying themselves in the tree trunk behind him.

A cold sweat instantly broke out across Yan's forehead.

If he had taken even one more step, the threads would likely have pierced his chest.

"Damn it!"

Yan roared and slammed both fists into the ground.

"First Soul Skill, Hell Magma Thrust!"

Blazing pillars of magma erupted from the earth, swallowing the illusion and all the spider threads ahead.

Gu Changsheng did not blame Yan.

This was the most terrifying part of the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider.

It did not simply create fear. Instead, it seized upon what people cared about most and presented it in the most realistic way possible.

For Yan, Hu Liena was his weakness.

For Xie Yue, perhaps it was his sister.

As for Hu Liena...

The moment the thought crossed Gu Changsheng's mind, he sensed the mental fluctuations beside him suddenly fall into disorder.

He turned his head sharply.

Hu Liena stood where she was, the Pink Light in her eyes flickering uncertainly. Her face had gone somewhat pale.

Within the fog before her, a noble yet cold figure faintly appeared.

It was Bibi Dong.

She wore magnificent Pontifex robes, held a Scepter, and stared coldly at Hu Liena.

"Nana, you have disappointed me greatly."

Hu Liena's body trembled.

"Teacher..."

Bibi Dong within the illusion slowly spoke.

"As the Spirit Hall Holy Maiden, you cannot even control your own heart."

"Weakness, hesitation, allowing emotions to cloud your judgment."

"How could someone like you inherit my expectations?"

Hu Liena's face grew paler and paler, while her mental field began to fluctuate.

Gu Changsheng's gaze darkened.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider truly was sinister.

It had not attacked the weakest person first. Instead, it was trying to break down Hu Liena, the most crucial mental Support in the group.

Once Hu Liena's mental field collapsed, the strain on his Mental Link would soar instantly.

Gu Changsheng stepped forward and placed a hand on Hu Liena's shoulder.

"Senior Sister."

Hu Liena trembled slightly, but she did not immediately awaken.

Gu Changsheng's voice was steady.

"That is not His Holiness the Pope."

"The real teacher would never deny you like this on a battlefield."

Hu Liena's gaze flickered slightly.

Bibi Dong in the illusion turned cold.

"Gu Changsheng, what right do you have to interfere with how I teach my disciple?"

Gu Changsheng raised his eyes, his voice calm yet sharp.

"If you truly were her teacher, you would know that she has never been weak."

"She simply still has a heart."

As his words fell, the Myriad Heaven Book in Gu Changsheng's mind suddenly lit up.

[Analysis complete.]

[Target illusion core: Emotional Projection.]

[Method of breaking it: Stabilize self-cognition.]

Gu Changsheng sent a thread of Mental Power into Hu Liena's mental field.

"Senior Sister, see clearly."

"You are Hu Liena, not anyone's shadow."

The confusion in Hu Liena's eyes gradually faded.

In the next instant, she suddenly lifted her gaze, and pink light bloomed brilliantly.

"Get out!"

Boom!

A powerful Charm mental wave surged forward, instantly twisting and shattering Bibi Dong's illusion into a cloud of Black Mist that dissipated.

Hu Liena breathed lightly, her face still somewhat pale.

She looked at Gu Changsheng, a trace of complicated emotion flashing through her eyes.

"Little Junior Brother, thank you."

Gu Changsheng shook his head.

"Now isn't the time for thanks."

Because the moment Hu Liena's illusion was broken, the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's true attack arrived.

Dozens of threads shot out from the depths of the fog like arrows.

Their target was neither Xie Yue nor Yan.

It was Gu Changsheng.

Xiao Wu's expression changed.

"Hey, watch out!"

She almost instinctively stepped forward, kicking out with her long leg and knocking one of the threads aside.

At the same time, Xie Yue's Moon Blades whirled back, cutting through three threads.

Yan's flames erupted, incinerating a stretch of spiderweb.

Hu Liena immediately unleashed a Mental Shock as well, attempting to lock onto the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's location.

But the spider was far too cunning.

Every time it revealed even a trace of its presence, it immediately changed positions.

The fog, the threads, and the illusions were all its cover.

Gu Changsheng did not move.

He stood in place with his eyes slightly closed, while the Myriad Heaven Book in his mind flipped faster and faster.

"Since eyes can be deceived, then don't use them."

[Analyzing target movement trajectory.]

[Recording spider thread firing angles.]

[Comparing sources of mental fluctuations.]

[Analyzing abnormalities in fog movement.]

Invisible streams of data rapidly intertwined in Gu Changsheng's mind.

Every attack, every repositioning, and every mental fluctuation from the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider was recorded by the Myriad Heaven Book.

It believed it was hidden within the fog.

But to Gu Changsheng, the traces it left behind were becoming clearer and clearer.

Suddenly, Gu Changsheng opened his eyes.

"Found it."

His voice was quiet, yet it immediately lifted everyone's spirits.

"Senior Brother Xie Yue, seven steps ahead and slightly left. Send the Moon Blades spinning."

"Senior Brother Yan, release a wall of fire toward the front right after three breaths. Not before."

"Senior Sister, wait for my mark, then use Mental Shock."

"Xiao Wu, step back."

Xiao Wu froze.

"Why should I listen to you?"

Gu Changsheng did not turn around.

"Because where you're standing is the bait point for its next attack."

Xiao Wu's expression changed slightly, and she immediately took half a step back.

Almost at the same moment, three threads violently burst from the ground where she had been standing.

Xiao Wu's eyes narrowed.

This guy... he really saw through it?

Xie Yue did not hesitate. His figure flashed, and he hurled the Moon Blades in the direction Gu Changsheng had indicated.

The Moon Blades sliced through the dense fog, initially seeming to strike nothing but empty air.

But in the next instant, a piercing shriek rang out from the fog.

Blackish-purple blood splattered into the air.

Yan laughed loudly.

"Now it's my turn!"

As soon as the three breaths were up, he thrust both hands forward, and two walls of fire closed in from the front right, sealing off the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's escape route.

Pink light flared in Hu Liena's eyes.

"Mental Shock!"

An invisible wave pierced through the mist and slammed viciously into the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider.

The blackish-purple spider finally emerged from the fog.

One of its legs had been cut by a Moon Blade, and the patterns on its back twisted violently as dozens of human faces screamed at once.

Gu Changsheng's Second Spirit Ring lit up beneath his feet.

The Myriad Heaven Book floated above his palm, its pages turning to a blank page.

"Myriad Analysis, Weakness Lock."

In an instant, Gu Changsheng caught an extremely faint fluctuation from a mental core beneath the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's abdomen.

That was the true node maintaining its illusion.

"Senior Brother Xie Yue, attack three inches below its abdomen!"

Xie Yue's gaze sharpened.

"Understood."

He shot forward, his twin blades crossing as he tore through the mist like a silver crescent moon.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider sensed the danger, and all the human faces on its back opened their eyes at once.

The next instant, the scene before Gu Changsheng abruptly changed.

He found himself standing on the Spirit Hall Judgment Stage.

Bibi Dong sat high upon the Pontifex's throne, with Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo standing at either side.

Xiao Wu was bound in chains, kneeling in the center of the great hall.

Everyone was watching him.

Bibi Dong spoke coldly:

"Gu Changsheng, she is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast."

"Kill her and take her Soul Ring and Spirit Bone."

Gu Changsheng's pupils contracted slightly.

What a realistic illusion.

Even Bibi Dong's pressure had been simulated almost perfectly.

Xiao Wu raised her head, her eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

"Gu Changsheng, are you going to kill me too?"

Gu Changsheng fell silent for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"A fake is still a fake."

"You shouldn't have revealed her identity so early."

As his words fell, the Myriad Heaven Book in Gu Changsheng's palm blazed with light.

"Break!"

The illusion shattered with a thunderous crash.

In reality, the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider let out a shrill scream.

It had not expected that the illusion it used to probe Gu Changsheng's heart would instead expose an even deeper killing intent.

Xie Yue's Moon Blade had already arrived.

Squelch!

The sharp Moon Blade viciously cut into the underside of the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's abdomen.

Blackish-purple blood sprayed out, and the thick mist around them churned violently as vast swathes of illusions began to collapse.

A cold glint flashed through Gu Changsheng's eyes.

"Its illusion core is broken."

"Don't give it a chance to escape!"

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider shrieked frantically, driving its eight legs into the ground as it tried to flee through its underground web.

Yan roared.

"Trying to run? Did you ask me first?"

Flames exploded across the ground, setting all the surrounding webs ablaze.

Xiao Wu moved at that moment as well.

Light as the wind, she leaped into the air and kicked the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's injured leg.

Crack!

The leg snapped at once.

After landing, Xiao Wu snorted.

"You schemed against Sister Xiao Wu and still think you can run?"

Gu Changsheng glanced at her without saying anything.

But at that moment, he knew clearly.

This karmic bond had already been planted.

The Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider had been severely injured, and its aura rapidly weakened.

Gu Changsheng stepped forward slowly, the Myriad Heaven Book turning gently in his palm.

The blackish-purple spider seemed to sense death approaching, and the dozens of human faces on its back all revealed venomous expressions.

The next instant, an incomparably cold mental fluctuation erupted.

[Warning!]

[The target has launched a dying counterattack.]

[Ability: Thousand-Faced Soul Devouring.]

Gu Changsheng's pupils shrank.

"Watch out!"

But it was already too late.

All the faces on the Thousand-Faced Phantom Demon Spider's back split open at once, transforming into a blackish-purple torrent of mental energy that shot straight toward Gu Changsheng's brow.

Hu Liena's expression changed drastically.

"Junior Brother!"

Xiao Wu also instinctively stepped forward.

"Gu Changsheng!"

The blackish-purple torrent of mental energy instantly swallowed Gu Changsheng.

His consciousness suddenly sank.

The next moment, he appeared in a boundless pitch-black mental space.

All around him, countless faces slowly emerged.

They opened their mouths at the same time, whispering in one voice.

"Stay here..."

"Give me your body..."

Gu Changsheng slowly raised his head.

Deep within his mind, the Myriad Heaven Book opened on its own.

A wisp of pale golden light illuminated the darkness.

He looked at the countless faces around him, his voice cold.

"You want to devour my soul?"

"Then let's see who devours whom."

In the depths of the darkness, the Myriad Heaven Book unfolded with a thunderous roar.

At that moment, the true clash of minds had only just begun.