Breaking In

The mirage demon only knows one kind of demonic magic: the art of mirage.

Mirage magic can also be simply understood as a large-scale illusion combining mist.

The mirage demon spends its entire life inhaling and exhaling illusions, and even after reaching the Divine Ability Realm, it only possesses one illusion technique.

Even among cultivators at the same Divine Ability Realm, the mirage technique released by the mirage demon is beyond the capabilities of ordinary Divine Ability Realm cultivators, let alone those with lower cultivation levels.

Gongsun Hong had never heard of any mirage demon with the cultivation of the Divine Ability Realm. He underestimated the strength of the mirage demon. He had also heard that Ao Sheng had been entering and leaving this area repeatedly. Gongsun Hong and the others believed that they could do it too. Moreover, with their human intelligence, they were very likely to break through this situation and thus gain control of the Mohists's Mechanical City.

Driven by various thoughts, they became trapped in a mirage, unable to extricate themselves.

If it weren't for Zhang Xuezhou's rescue, Gongsun Hong felt that his fate would not have been good; even if he had escaped down the mountain, he might have been injured.

However, Gongsun Hong's investigation was not in vain.

He gained at least several pieces of information by entering it.

The first piece of information concerns the cultivation level of the mirage demon. This is a special demon that possesses at least the Divine Ability Realm. Its spells not only have a wide coverage area but are also extremely suppressive.

The second piece of information was that the mechanical beings they encountered were of limited skill, not the top-tier mechanical beings with bronze bodies and iron arms that they had imagined, but most likely just ordinary wooden guards.

These wooden guards were capable of striking, but even after being beaten for so long while standing still, Gongsun Hong was not killed, and Li Shaojun did not suffer any injuries.

"In other words, once we break the mirage demon's magic, all we'll have to face are mechanical puppets!"

After a series of flattering discussions, Zhang Xuezhou finally came to a conclusion.

"That's right," Li Shaojun nodded repeatedly, "As long as the handsome Demon King Ao Sheng keeps the Mirage Demon occupied, we can take the opportunity to imprison it. Even if it has the ability, it won't be able to use it!"

"It's not just about locking it up, it's about beating it to death and eating it!" Ao Sheng said indignantly. "It's locked up here for four months and I couldn't get in. Today, it's either it or me who dies!"

"Good will never prevail over evil, and Your Excellency Ao Sheng will surely triumph!"

Gongsun Hong continued to show his support.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't been seriously ill, and if the Heaven and Earth Bridges hadn't been damaged, Gongsun Hong felt that the person he feared most deep down might have been someone else entirely.

The thought of the mirage demon conjuring up the invincible force in his heart filled Gongsun Hong with a slight bitterness.

Of course, he had to admit that he was indeed inferior to Dong Zhongshu.

Perhaps it was the influence of the old fortune teller on his destiny that made Gongsun Hong believe he had a promising future in officialdom, or perhaps it was his concern that Dong Zhongshu's guarantee was not valid, or perhaps it was his worry that with Dong Zhongshu's presence, he would have difficulty controlling the Confucian School. Gongsun Hong's heart was ultimately filled with extremely complex emotions, which led to him being transformed by the mirage demon.

He dared not speak at this moment, but only vaguely expressed that what he was encountering was an insurmountable enemy.

Li Shaojun, on the other hand, indignantly mentioned that he had lost three hundred times in a row to Zhang Xuezhou's rock-paper-scissors game, never winning even once, and he found it hard to accept such a low win-loss ratio.

"If I met you, how would I defeat you?"

"That's easy, your brain..."

Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou exchanged a few words in hushed tones, then Li Shaojun looked satisfied.

This made Gongsun Hong want to ask about the situation, but he couldn't ask directly. In the end, he could only flatter Ao Sheng and urge the dragon demon to charge forward.

"In the past, when it was just me, this couldn't be done. Even if I temporarily stopped the fog it was spewing out, it would quickly spew it out again. Now, with your help, we can stop the fog while simultaneously causing trouble for it. It definitely won't be able to continue creating this mesmerizing mirage!"

Ao Sheng was somewhat overwhelmed by the compliments, but he still retained some rationality.

Reason told him that there was nothing wrong with doing this. The most important thing right now was not to eat a few humans, but to quickly eliminate the danger in this area and find fortuitous opportunity. After that, the dragon would return to the sea, and he could eat as many meals as he wanted.

Moreover, Ao Sheng believed that he was the strongest among everyone, and once he left this area and reached the sea, it would be his home turf, and everyone would have to listen to him.

"I'm now revealing my true form to absorb the mist. You all need to find the mirage demon as soon as possible, lest I swallow this mirage mist and be unable to regain my senses," Ao Sheng shouted.

"No problem, Your Majesty, handsome and powerful Demon King. Once you cast your spell to dispel the fog, we'll immediately rush in and give that troublesome mirage demon a good beating!"

Li Shaojun shouted back, and Ao Sheng's body swelled and changed continuously, his bulging muscles becoming increasingly prominent, as he began to revert to his original dragon form.

It must be said that few of the physical transformations of Demonization are aesthetically pleasing. Ao Sheng's transformation is indeed very ugly, even though his original form is too rough and lacks a streamlined shape, which does not conform to human aesthetic standards.

After saying so many insincere things for so long, Li Shaojun hoped to reap a good reward.

"Receive!"

Most dragon demons are skilled in the art of breathing clouds and mist. This technique is not very useful in personal combat. After all, it's not appropriate to retaliate with a breath of mist after being punched in the face.

However, this ability has extremely wide applications in military campaigns and other areas.

At this point, only the Flood Dragon Demon could perform a large-scale mirage-breaking technique; even Gongsun Hong, who was skilled in water magic, would find it difficult to dispel such a large area of dense fog.

With a loud shout, Ao Sheng opened his blood-red maw, and the thick purple mist seemed to encounter an extremely strong wind, with countless wisps of mist surging towards Ao Sheng like clouds.

"Now!"

At the entrance to the Mohists Mechanical City, only a few steps leading up the mountain were visible, with a distance of no more than three or four meters. However, once Ao Li swallowed the mist, the distance of several tens of meters became clear, and a staircase path covered in verdigris also appeared.

Gongsun Hong shouted, and everyone followed suit, including Zhang Xuezhou.

If they don't take advantage of Ao Sheng breaking the mirage demon's illusion, they will surely be trapped here.

Kind words can't fill an empty stomach. Even if you're on good terms with Ao Sheng now, it will be difficult to escape unscathed if he becomes unbearably hungry and turns vicious.

The group then sprinted forward, their bodies shimmering with Law Power energy, easily passing through the thin mirage.

"You scoundrel, it was you who made me kowtow three hundred times!"

After climbing only forty steps, Li Shaojun saw a splash of bright red on the ground, and a slender wooden figure with limbs standing there, its right hand still covered in blood.

Upon seeing the crowd, the wooden figure raised its right hand to strike, prompting Li Shaojun to deliver a flying kick that snapped the figure's head off.

When the wooden figure was pushed, the mechanical wooden figure that had killed him earlier rolled down the steps with a thud.

"This piece of junk is so bad it's hard to even walk in, and it actually killed me once!"

Li Shaojun was extremely dissatisfied with his series of deaths, especially those at the hands of such an opponent.

"That's the junk that gave me minor injuries!"

If you take another twenty steps upwards, you will reach the opponent that Gongsun Hong is facing.

The wooden figure that appeared as Dong Zhongshu in the mirage was impossible for Gongsun Hong to fight. However, at this point, the wooden figure was just an ordinary mechanical puppet, capable only of performing very simple slapping and ramming actions to prevent everyone from entering the mechanical city.

Gongsun Hong drew his sword and slashed twice, severing the wooden dummy's two arms, which it could only move, leaving only its body swaying back and forth.

This can be considered revenge for Gongsun Hong being beaten.

"The mechanical arts of the Mohists are truly ingenious!"

These mechanical figures will not activate if no one is present; instead, they will remain stationary.

Once they detect intruders, these mechanical beings will slowly release the tension they had previously wound up, thus launching an attack on the outsiders.

Perhaps because so few people enter this place, these wooden figures are rarely used, yet their springs still keep running.

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in admiration, and couldn't help but look upwards, trying to quickly locate the mirage demon.