Please Teach Me!

Before long, Scarlet King flew over with Ten Thousand Demons King.

Judging by his expression, Ten Thousand Demons King was clearly quite interested. Scarlet King must have bragged along the way and told him about the suggestion Zhu Wu had made earlier.

"Ten Thousand Demons King, opening up a True Mental World this time gave me some ideas."

After some discussion, Zhu Wu voiced his thoughts.

"Tell me, would it be possible to use spiritual power to create an Illusion Space and forcibly pull an opponent's consciousness inside when making eye contact? That way, once they were caught, their consciousness would lose control over their body, leaving them at our mercy. Also, if the gap in spiritual power was too great, their consciousness would likewise be unable to resist within the Illusion Space. If they were attacked there, could the pain feel no different from reality?"

"If it could be achieved, the victim would surely fall into severe mental exhaustion and eventually suffer a mental breakdown."

"Creating an Illusion Space would not be difficult, nor would synchronizing pain. Though the mind has no physical form, attacking it with corresponding spiritual power would certainly inflict damage. Besides, even without pain, visual torment alone is not something ordinary people could endure." Ten Thousand Demons King spoke as he pondered, finding Zhu Wu's idea highly worthy of research. "The key is how to pull them in. That is the problem!"

"What about Charm or Hypnosis?" Zhu Wu replied. "The quiet influence that seeps in unnoticed is the hardest to detect. So, could we slowly erode an opponent with spiritual power during battle, or directly Charm them and influence their thoughts?"

"Perhaps we could suddenly activate it at the instant the opponent launched an attack, linking it to their movement and causing them to fall into an illusion. Once they entered the illusion, everything that followed would develop in the direction they believed was favorable, while in reality, their body had already fallen asleep."

"I call this imagined technique Dreamlike Bubble, meaning that what seems dreamlike and illusory can vanish into nothing in the blink of an eye."

"This technique is excellent. It can indeed be researched." Ten Thousand Demons King nodded.

"Also, I thought of another technique, called Mirror Flower, Water Moon." Zhu Wu continued. "Create illusions within a certain area to mislead the opponent's visual senses. For example, create illusions of the opponent's companions to block our allies, or create illusions of our allies in front of the opponent's companions to lure them into attacking, while weaving illusionary attacks into the mix. That would confuse the opponent's sight and make them unable to distinguish friend from foe. Meanwhile, we could wait at ease for the exhausted enemy and strike when the opportunity arose."

"Of course, we could also create dazzling or extremely disorienting illusions—such as falling from great heights, the world spinning around them, or mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The purpose would be to induce visual fatigue and discomfort such as fear, thereby exposing openings."

"We could even add Soul Power to create illusions that were half-real and half-false, blending truth and falsehood while concealing killing moves."

"A very good idea, and entirely achievable." Ten Thousand Demons King's eyes shone brightly.

"Also, I presume you know the two skills Mental Paralysis and Mental Weakness." Zhu Wu continued.

"So, could they be used together to slow an opponent's thought processes almost infinitely, giving them the illusion that a single instant had become like years? Their ability to think would remain, but their body would be unable to move. In the human world, a similar condition is called Sleep Paralysis, commonly known as being pinned down by a ghost."

"It usually manifests when one suddenly regains consciousness during sleep. No matter how they struggle, their body cannot move, nor can they make a sound."

Isn't that the effect of my domain skill, Thousand Years in an Instant? Ten Thousand Demons King was inwardly shocked. Zhu Wu had already thought of something like this.

"This, too, is entirely achievable."

"Please teach me!" Zhu Wu finally revealed his true intention, assuming a posture of humble inquiry.

Having already heard several of Zhu Wu's suggestions, Ten Thousand Demons King did not conceal anything and shared his own insights.

Damn it. If I had thought of and comprehended these skills before, how could I have ended up living so miserably? The more Sky Dream Ice Silkworm listened, the more depressed he became.

So amazing. Three-Eyed Golden Lion stared at Zhu Wu with shining eyes, growing more and more admiring as she listened.

Then Zhu Wu and Ten Thousand Demons King grew increasingly animated in their conversation, delving ever deeper until the sun dipped toward the west.

During that time, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm joined in as well. Although his near-million years of cultivation had been built through eating and sleeping, he was still a spiritual-attribute soul beast and had some insights of his own.

Soon, the sun set, leaving only a smear of orange-yellow amid the distant clouds and mist.

"I shall visit again tomorrow." Ten Thousand Demons King cupped his hands and left with a contemplative expression, not even staying for dinner.

After all, his true body is a tree. Zhu Wu nodded slightly and watched Ten Thousand Demons King fly away.

"I'll make dinner," he said as he stood.

That night, after eating and drinking his fill, Zhu Wu followed the same routine as the night before: first cultivating the Longevity Exercise, then telling Three-Eyed Golden Lion stories, and finally going to sleep.

The next day proceeded the same way. Ten Thousand Demons King arrived on time that afternoon and began discussing matters with Zhu Wu, conducting experiments on the spot along the way.

Zhu Wu gained greatly from it and suggested they continue the following day.

A day later, when the appointed time arrived, Di Tian came. With a grab of his hand, he took Zhu Wu and flew directly into the air.

Since they flew high enough that there was no need to worry about being seen, they traveled extremely quickly and reached Sunset Forest after only three consecutive days of flight.

If I hadn't absorbed the Gold of Life, I really wouldn't have been able to endure flying for three days and nights. Zhu Wu sighed inwardly as they landed to rest.

After a brief rest and something to eat, Zhu Wu stood and said, "Di Tian, I suggest that we focus our search next on areas covered by large expanses of clouds and mist. First, the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King fell together. If they also landed in the same area, then given the intensity of their attributes, any leakage of their auras would cause water vapor to rise where water and fire met, blanketing a large region in mist."

"Second, although Sunset Forest is vast, it is not very far from the Imperial City of the Heaven Dou Empire."

"As the capital of a nation, it must be a gathering place for soul masters. Therefore, soul masters likely often come here to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings. If the location were not sufficiently hidden, it would probably have been discovered long ago. And if it had truly been discovered, Sunset Forest would likely have long been controlled and sealed off by the Empire or other soul master forces."

"In that case, as we traveled deep inside just now, it would have been impossible not to encounter humans responsible for patrols."

After hearing this, Di Tian found it reasonable as well and nodded. "All right."

He stepped forward, firmly held Zhu Wu around the waist, and took off from where they stood.

Several hours later, Little White, who was lying at Zhu Wu's collar, suddenly lifted her head and sent out intense spiritual fluctuations.

Zhu Wu immediately sensed it. Little White was excited, so he hurriedly said, "Di Tian, let's go down and take a look."

"All right." Di Tian responded and swiftly descended with Zhu Wu, soon landing at the edge of a cliff ahead where thick mist billowed upward.

"This smells like Sulfur. Is there a volcano below?" Di Tian asked as he lightly sniffed the air.

"It could also be a hot spring formed because the volcano has not completely cooled. There may be lava below and spring water above, while this rising mist is water vapor evaporated by the high heat." Zhu Wu took over. "Such an unusual phenomenon does fit a place where the Water Fire Dragon King lies buried."

Di Tian's eyes immediately lit up. "Let's go down and take a look."

Then Zhu Wu sensed another emotional fluctuation from Little White. His brows rose, and he quickly said, "There may be someone below. My Martial Soul has sensed a trace of danger. There is likely a faint human presence mixed within this rising mist."

"However, there seems to be only one person." Knowing that it was most likely Dugu Bo, Zhu Wu added this qualification.

"To be safe, should I go down alone and take a look first?" Di Tian asked.

Zhu Wu understood that he was concerned for him and shook his head. "It's fine. I can just follow behind you."

As he spoke, he used the Mental Sharing skill he had recently comprehended from Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to send Little White an instruction to undergo Martial Soul Possession.

Very soon, a flash of white light passed by, and Zhu Wu transformed into a small bird. "Let's go."

Di Tian nodded, leaped down, and Zhu Wu followed close behind.

"Who's there!?" As they descended, clouds and mist churned around them, and a sharp shout suddenly came from below.