Extensive Experience Dealing with Illusion Formations

The heart of the Immortal Court was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to discern the solidity beneath one's feet.

The two fairy maidens who commanded the Eight Scenic Chariots were extremely cautious when driving them.

"To all those who have come from Kunlun, the gates of the Lingxiao Palace are now open. Enter through here to participate directly in the competition. You only need to find His Majesty the Jade Emperor to complete the task. You have three days to search. After entering the gate, you will be sent out within three days regardless of your circumstances!"

Amidst the clouds and mist, Li Jing, who had previously served as the leader of the Immortal Court, was in charge of the welcoming ceremony.

Without the Immortal Court's ruler making an appearance, and without hosting a banquet for the numerous team leaders, the grand event held on the Immortal Court's home turf simply began.

The Kunlun Sacred Land provided delicious food and drinks, while the Western Sect of Lingshan offered them spiritual rice. However, upon entering the Immortal Court, they were not even given a sip of water. Zhang Xuezhou and the others found it difficult to complain.

"The Lingxiao Palace has spiritual fruits, spirit medicine, pills, and wine; whether you can eat them depends on your abilities," Li Jing said, cupping his hands in greeting. "If you are fortunate enough to meet His Majesty, you will be treated to a grand feast!"

"Mean..."

Xuan Nu was about to mutter a curse about the Immortal Court being too stingy, but Li Jing's next sentence forced her to take back her words.

The Immortal Court is outwardly stingy and lacks etiquette, but inwardly it provides substantial benefits. Whether or not one can obtain the Immortal Court's advantages depends on the individual abilities of the participants.

Those with ability might get a good deal, while those without might leave empty-handed, which isn't surprising.

"The main hall is protected by an array; where there are rare treasures, there are bound to be dangers. Many Demon Beast guard it, so please proceed according to your abilities," Li Jing instructed. "If you no longer wish to participate, simply say 'I give up,' and we will do our best to get you out of the array!"

Li Jing's repeated instructions were clearly to prevent someone from getting stuck in the crisis. Their rescue was not timely enough, and the grand event in the Immortal Court Sacred Land still carried high risks.

"We can just go in this way, right?"

Zhang Xuezhou asked with interest, but Li Jing quickly shook his head.

"You need to light this timekeeping oil lamp yourself before going in!"

Li Jing reached out and flipped his hand, then took out a small oil lamp.

Zhang Xuezhou looked down at the ground and noticed that twelve oil lamps had been lit in the mist.

Clearly, apart from those from Western Kunlun and the Western Sect, contestants from other factions have already entered.

"I'm going inside to find some jujubes to eat!"

Zhang Xuezhou took the tinder, lit the lamp wick, and then waved to Xuan Nu.

Be careful of the Immortal Court's arrangements, and stay safe!

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou's relaxed expression, Xuan Nu could only nod, and then began to instruct Cai Ma.

Following the direction Li Jing pointed, Zhang Xuezhou lifted his leg and stepped forward.

In just a short moment, Li Jing, Xuan Nu, and the others vanished, and the world was filled with endless, thick clouds and mist.

It was difficult to discern directions in the fog; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, it was almost the same as being in complete darkness.

"Rise!"

Zhang Xuezhou ascended into the air with a light touch.

As he ascended, the clouds and mist did not disappear as he took off; they remained tightly surrounding him.

"This formation is incredibly effective at confusing directions!"

Zhang Xuezhou's ascent was about 100 zhang (approximately 500 meters), and the height he reached was already quite impressive.

The clouds and mist are not enough to obscure the view of skilled flyers; they can break through the clouds and mist to get a bird's-eye view from a high place.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that his orientation was confused, so he flew back and forth within the limited array area without being able to explore the boundaries, and was thus endlessly entangled by these clouds and mist.

Without knowing directions, one cannot discern east, west, south, or north; even with the knowledge of Acupoint-Fixing Technique, it is difficult to pinpoint their location.

As for the formation that could serve as the Lingxiao Palace of the Immortal Court, Zhang Xuezhou had no doubt about the immense danger of a rebound caused by the Acupoint-Fixing Technique.

Acupoint-Fixing Technique can be used as a means of casting spells during combat, but they should absolutely not be used as destructive abilities to be displayed at grand events.

To obtain the rare treasures of the Lingxiao Palace, or even to meet the Jade Emperor, requires not only skill in formations but also a bit of luck.

"This kind of formation is definitely not something that can be easily cracked. At most, one can glimpse a pattern and temporarily figure out how to proceed at a specific moment!"

Just as the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Shuttle Array of Western Kunlun is adjusted for grand events and then pushed forward again after the events, thus preventing others from using the patterns to explore the secrets of Western Kunlun, the array of Lingxiao Palace works on the same principle.

After thinking it through, Zhang Xuezhou could only obediently and slowly descend to the ground to search.

Zhang Xuezhou's alchemy skills were somewhat impressive, but his array formation abilities were another matter entirely.

Excluding the Acupoint-Fixing Technique of the Physiognomy School, his mastery of formations is only mediocre, and he is not a cultivator who specializes in formations.

Zhang Xuezhou's formations often take shortcuts; he lacks finesse and the ability to carefully observe, deduce, and break formations.

Originally intending to use his flying abilities to spy, Zhang Xuezhou, having run out of options, could only stumble around randomly, dealing with whatever he came across.

"This swirling mist seems like it'll never end!"

Zhang Xuezhou had previously hoped to gain some fortuitous opportunity after entering the great formation, such as eating a few of Emperor Gouchen's fire dates, but he found that after entering the great formation, he could only wander aimlessly and never encountered even the slightest abnormal situation.

Fortuitous opportunity was neither seen nor danger encountered.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that more than a day had passed, but he had been wandering around in the mist.

"Have I encountered an illusion array again?"

This monotonous situation had gone on for so long that Zhang Xuezhou felt something was wrong.

He even began to wonder if he had encountered an illusion array, thus becoming trapped in endless clouds and mist, while his body was actually motionless at the entrance.

"Back off!"

An individual's ability cannot compare to a grand formation that borrows the power of heaven and earth. Zhang Xuezhou mustered his spirit only to gain a moment's respite, so as to glimpse the truth of his surroundings.

The misty scene before him seemed to have changed slightly; Zhang Xuezhou felt it had become less artificial and more real.

He took another step forward and felt the clouds and mist dissipate within a radius of about ten feet, making it possible to barely make out his surroundings.

In front of him, there was a stone bench, and on the bench was a fruit plate with three jujubes on it.

"Is that really true?"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise, then quickly stepped forward and reached out to grab something.

An empty feeling came over him, and the clouds and mist reappeared. He felt as if he were grasping at nothing but air.

"Back off!"

He gave a soft shout, and the mist within a radius of ten feet dispersed again, but there was no longer any fruit plate holding the jujubes in front of him, and the stone bench had also disappeared.

"An illusion? Is the fog an illusion? Or did the thought of the fire date arise in my mind, creating this false image for me within the fog?"

Zhang Xuezhou was not good at surveying formations, but he was very experienced in dealing with illusion formations.

This stemmed not only from his superior mental strength, but also from Zhang Xuezhou's ability to maintain consciousness using the Eye of the Ba Snake after combat techniques.

The illusion arrays he had experienced were not of low level; some were as close as the illusion array in the secret realm of Shanglin Garden, while others were as far back as the illusion arrays he encountered while exploring the Mohists's mechanical city.

Each illusion array caused Zhang Xuezhou and his group considerable trouble, but he also gained valuable experience as a result.

"Moonlight!"

After surging his spiritual power once more, Zhang Xuezhou reached out and touched the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, then grasped the Eye of the Ba Snake in his palm.

A bright moon flashed through his mind, and the scene before him returned to normal. This time, he was able to break through the illusion array for a longer period of time.