A Mirage of Illusion and Reality

"As long as that demon doesn't catch up, constantly calling him ugly will make his heart bleed, almost driving him to madness!"

Zhang Xuezhou can build rapport and have a good chat, and Zhang Xuezhou can also identify his opponent's weaknesses through communication.

Whether he became Zhang Xuezhou's friend or his enemy, Li Shaojun felt uncomfortable being targeted.

For example, he is considered Zhang Xuezhou's friend, and he is completely under Zhang Xuezhou's control. No matter what fair method is used to compete, Li Shaojun will always suffer losses.

Of course, becoming Zhang Xuezhou's enemy is even worse.

Zhang Xuezhou's loud and scathing rebuke of the dragon demon has completely enraged it, leading to its relentless pursuit.

"Get to work, get to work!"

After watching for several dozen seconds, Li Shaojun couldn't help but urge Gongsun Hong on.

"How did you survive? I clearly..."

"How I survived isn't important; what's important is that we find the entrance to the Mechanized City as quickly as possible!"

"But Dongfang Shuo..."

"You can't beat him, and neither can I. He can now outmaneuver the dragon demon. Do you think we should go and make things worse?"

Gongsun Hong carried the six missing green bamboo swords, which eventually transformed into bamboo strips and strung together to form the shape of bamboo slips.

Having never killed a dragon demon before, and now with a third of his defensive treasures gone, he has even less chance of winning in a fight.

Gongsun Hong originally wanted to ask Li Shaojun if he had any ability to help Zhang Xuezhou, but after hearing Li Shaojun's assessment, he finally felt that it made sense.

These people were originally a mixed team, each with their own skills. They were fine when fighting alone, but their teamwork was actually not good.

Zhang Xuezhou's simple, angry rebuke provoked the dragon demon to relentlessly pursue him, and Gongsun Hong and Li Shaojun also had to quickly search for the entrance to the Mechanized City.

"The Mohists's Mechanical City must be full of mechanical puppets. These puppets have bronze heads and iron arms, and their close combat skills are no less than those of martial artists at the Divine Ability Realm..."

Gongsun Hong wanted to explain slowly, and then told Li Shaojun not to be too reckless, lest he cause even more trouble by venturing into the Mechanized City.

When Li Shaojun pulled out a fist-sized, dark stone, he opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for a moment.

In short, the Mohists created a bunch of ingenious mechanical puppets, and once believed that their school could use this trump card to dominate the world. However, the Mohists ' mechanical puppets were defeated by these small black stones that could absorb metal.

Whenever a mechanical robot is attracted to this black stone, the intricate gears inside the robot will become disordered, causing it to behave strangely and abnormally.

As long as they hold the Five Elements Magnet, the more advanced the mechanical puppets they encounter, the easier it is for them to lose control. As for low-level mechanical puppets, they will not pose a threat to great cultivators of their level.

"The more sophisticated the mechanical puppet, the easier it is to destroy. This Five Elements Magnetite of mine is specifically designed to target their mechanical puppets!"

Seeing that Gongsun Hong recognized the value of the item, Li Shaojun nodded in satisfaction.

He picked up the mechanical bird and tossed it aside. The mechanical bird flapped its wooden wings and headed towards the mountain path leading upwards, which reassured him.

They stumbled upon the Mohists's mechanical city.

If it weren't for that storm, if it weren't for the dragon demon driving away the Kun, if he hadn't happened to see the black dot while flying high...

In short, a series of coincidences led them to this important place that had been sought for centuries.

Aside from some bad luck when I first entered, everything else was fine.

Li Shaojun was quite satisfied that he had only died once during his search. Although it was a bit frustrating, reaching his destination was a victory in itself.

"Let me see if I can drag one or two mechanical puppets out for a spin," Li Shaojun said. "If that dragon demon can't fly anymore, the mechanical puppets rampaging on the ground can take its life!"

"Great idea!"

After thinking for a moment, Gongsun Hong realized that Li Shaojun also possessed the skill of flying, and quickly nodded in agreement.

Before arriving, Gongsun Hong was the leader. As a highly skilled cultivator in water magic, Gongsun Hong had a significant advantage in the sea.

However, after entering the Mohists's Mechanized City and displaying their skills, Gongsun Hong quickly realized that he was still the same poor and ignorant man he used to be. Even though his cultivation level was higher, he was no match for the hidden skills of Li Shaojun and the others.

He echoed Li Shaojun's words, refraining from standing out, and followed behind Li Shaojun, preparing to ascend the mountain and enter the Mohists's mechanical city.

"Is there something strange about this purple mist?"

The Mohists Mechanical City, named after a city, is indeed a marvel of craftsmanship. The vast and mobile nature of the school's headquarters remains a mystery to outsiders to this day.

Even the core disciples of the School of Mohists rarely knew the school's secrets.

The purple mist drifting along the mountain path of the Mohists's mechanical city made Gongsun Hong extremely wary.

"The fog must have a source. You and I have both seen the shape of this city at sea, so it is most likely formed by the mirage demon's breath," Li Shaojun said. "The mirage demon is good at creating thick fog and likes to confuse people, but the mirage demon doesn't have any other abilities. This fog may have some mystery, but it shouldn't prevent us from moving an inch!"

"That's right!"

Gongsun Hong nodded in agreement, but did not walk ahead.

Only after Li Shaojun stepped inside did he glance back at Zhang Xuezhou, who was taunting the dragon demon in the air, before steeling himself and following him.

Having prepared to confront the mirage demon's spewing mist, Gongsun Hong also activated his internal Law Power to cleanse himself, and would retreat if he sensed anything amiss.

Gongsun Hong made thorough preparations as he ascended the steps.

But as he climbed higher, Gongsun Hong discovered nothing unusual.

A thick purple fog enveloped the area, but once inside, they had a visibility of three to five meters, instead of being completely surrounded by darkness.

The steps beneath our feet were covered in verdigris, laid out layer by layer, but no mechanical figures emerged from them to launch an attack.

After walking up the steps for eighty-one steps, Gongsun Hong looked up and saw the two large characters "Mo Men" on the mountain gate archway.

This delighted him, but before Gongsun Hong could step into the archway, a slight cough came from behind the Mo Gate archway.

A familiar voice approached, and another middle-aged man, fanning himself, appeared before them.

"Zhongshu?"

"Second Minister!"

When Gongsun Hong looked at Dong Zhongshu, who appeared behind the archway, his heart sank.

His pale face wasn't due to being unknowingly misled; what made Gongsun Hong's face pale was the person who appeared.

The mirage is skilled at bewitching, adept at drawing out the object of one's deepest fear, insurmountable weakness, or terror.

Gongsun Hong could not believe that the person he was secretly thinking about was Dong Zhongshu.

This almost assaulted his normal senses.

"We are friends, there's no way I'd be afraid of you," Gongsun Hong said, his face grim.

"Actually, what you fear most is me," Dong Zhongshu laughed. "If that weren't the case, how could I possibly appear!"

"Impossible!"

"Rather than asking me this answer, you're asking yourself for confirmation," Dong Zhongshu said. "You're asking yourself this question, and the fact that you're asking it means you've already decided on the answer in your heart!"

"Demon! How could I, Gongsun Hong, be deceived by your tricks? Break!"

Gongsun Hong shouted, his body radiating purple light to maintain his sanity.

He swiftly reached out and poked Dong Zhongshu, attempting to dispel the illusory object. However, a deeper layer of purple light appeared on Dong Zhongshu's body, and his poked finger felt a sharp pain.

"It's a mechanical being that combined the illusionary power of the mirage demon to bewitch me. This is very likely Divine Ability Realm. How could such a demon possibly reach the Divine Ability?"

Gongsun Hong suddenly recalled the few words exchanged between the dragon demon and Zhang Xuezhou.

The dragon demon mentioned that he saw Ao Li in the Mechanized City, while Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that Ao Li was in Jiangdu.

Indeed, this was the case; Gongsun Hong could even testify that the Flood Dragon Demon could not possibly have been defeated by Ao Li.

Before entering the Mohists's mechanical city, Gongsun Hong believed that the dragon demon would be difficult to break through illusions, which is why he fell into its trap.

At this moment, he finally understood why the dragon demon had suffered repeated defeats.

In this mirage illusion, the mirage demon is no longer a monster without the ability to attack.

The opponent combined mechanical puppets, which are unaffected by illusions, and the fusion of illusion and reality pushed illusion to another level.