634 A Floral Scent! (2/2)

”Still no loopholes…” Wang Baole muttered to himself as he listened to Feng Qiuran's voice and sensed her listlessness. He didn't enter the cave abode immediately. Instead, he stood outside and pulled out the mask again. It was still invisible. Wang Baole took a deep breath and knew that the mask had been why he had managed to discover that he had been in an illusion during the Ethereal Dao College's preliminary trial. The mask was invisible now because an illusion had no way of materializing it.

Am I in an illusion now… Wang Baole looked to his sides, then to the skies, and finally to the ground. He observed everything around him. The immense realness of his surroundings led him into another bout of silence. However, the mask's invisibility was clear proof that everything was an illusion.

If that were the case, Wang Baole could now reasonably guess the reasons behind Jin Duoming's house visit and Xie Haiyang's disappearance.

If this were truly an illusion, perhaps it means that the illusion isn't able to conjure Xie Haiyang either. That was why Jin Duoming had paid me a visit under the guise of buying shares. His true purpose was to let me know that Xie Haiyang had disappeared. Once I believed him, this would have erased the final loophole. Wang Baole sighed. He might have viewed a single incident as a coincidence, but Jin Duoming's strange behavior had been followed by Xie Haiyang's disappearance, his own inability to log on to the game, and finally the mask's invisibility.

A determined look appeared in Wang Baole's eyes as he thought through the series of incidents that had occurred.

”Who cares if it's a dream or an illusion, I just have to dispel it!” As he muttered to himself, Wang Baole lifted his head and stared at the cave abode before him. As Feng Qiuran's questioning voice rang out from the cave abode, Wang Baole raised his right hand abruptly and unleashed his full cultivation at the cave abode. The Thearch Armor appeared instantly on him. His aura rose to the skies, and he sent his fist flying forward!

The punch unleashed the full power of the Flame Snatch Thearch Armor and Wang Baole's will. It contained the determination to break through all barriers, summoning a tornado that swept into the cave abode, howling. Feng Qiuran's cave abode quaked and began to show signs of caving in. Feng Qiuran darted out, her steps stumbling as if she had yet to recover from serious injury. Her face was alit with shock and fury, and she yelled at Wang Baole as soon as she appeared.

”Wang Baole, what are you doing? Have you been hit with the Never-Ending Clan's bewitchment as well, like Mie Liezi?”

bewitchment? Wang Baole's face darkened. He charged at Feng Qiuran, his right hand tightened into a fist. A Divine Armament's power erupted from his armor's right arm—the melded arm of the Dao Disciple. A power that even Wang Baole found terrifying exploded from his arm. It transformed into a huge, illusory skeletal hand that emanated death and destruction. It seemed capable of destroying everything in its path—even the great abyss. The skeletal hand made a grab at Feng Qiuran!

Alarm flashed across Feng Qiuran's face. There was fury and incomprehension in her eyes as she raised her right hand. Her Soul Conduit realm cultivation rose to the skies, forming an incredible power that seemed to blanket the entire world. It surged towards Wang Baole, and it was clear that her power vastly surpassed Wang Baole's. However, her seemingly serious injuries disallowed her from maintaining her strong show of strength. She didn't seem to want to kill Wang Baole. Having held him down with her power, she shouted yet again.

”Wang Baole, fight against the Never-Ending Clan's bewitchment! Wake up!”

Wang Baole shook at the display of Feng Qiuran's power and her words. His hair flew, and his clothes whipped in the strong winds. His body was prickling with pain. Everything felt so real, and uncertainty ate at him, but the thought of the mask's invisibility, as well as Jin Duoming's and Xie Haiyang's bizarre behaviors, made Wang Baole's eyes flash with an icy glint. He roared, and his illusory skeletal arm slammed down on Feng Qiuran!

A thunderous boom resonated in the air. Feng Qiuran's smile was laced with pain. She had been injured too heavily. The cultivation that she had unleashed earlier dissipated, and her earlier attack seemed to have worsened her injury. When Wang Baole's Divine Armament came slamming down, she was swept aside like paper. She shook violently and spat out a mouthful of blood. As she fell to the ground, she looked at Wang Baole with bitterness in her eyes. Her voice was weak and faint as she murmured.

”Mie Liezi's been enchanted, and now you as well… Wang Baole, please, come to your senses. This is reality, it's not an illusion!”

”So, an bewitchment…” Wang Baole fell silent. He looked at the fallen Feng Qiuran and could tell that his easy victory had been because Feng Qiuran had already been seriously injured. She had urged him to wake up. Everything seemed so logical and reasonable.

There was a reason for her injury. She had mentioned it. It was because… Mie Liezi had also suffered the Never-Ending Clan's bewitchment like he was. He had suspected that everything had been an illusion.

”This is the Never-Ending Clan's bewitchment. Can you smell a strange floral scent? That's a symptom. It means that you've fallen to an bewitchment before the teleportation!” Feng Qiuran's breathing grew uneven. Her eyes were bright with anxiety, and she seemed desperate to convince Wang Baole that this wasn't an illusion.