Chapter 73: Yizhou’s Illusion (Part 1)

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Yizhou’s Illusion (Part 1)

When Sui Sui opened his eyes, he realized he was in another place.

Where was this?

Wasn’t he just trying to wake Yizhou up? How had he ended up here?

Sui Sui looked around. He seemed to be somewhere outdoors, surrounded by numerous people. It didn’t look like a city or a town. Instead, the surroundings resembled a camp built somewhere in the mountains.

There were many tents and temporary camps scattered around, each bearing different colors and logos. Among them, Sui Sui recognized the familiar emblems of the Vermillion Moon Palace and Wenjian Sect.

He became even more puzzled.

Sui Sui approached someone and tried asking where they were. "Excuse me, could you tell me where this is?"

The person didn’t respond and didn’t seem to hear him.

Sui Sui frowned and tried again, raising his voice slightly. "Excuse me?"

Still, there was no response. The person simply continued walking as though Sui Sui wasn’t standing there at all.

Confused, Sui Sui reached out and tried to touch the person’s shoulder, only for his hand to pass straight through their body.

Sui Sui froze.

Then Sui Sui tried to get in front to get a better look at the person, only then did Sui Sui realize that something was wrong.

The person’s face was completely blurred, as though their features had been deliberately erased. The same was true for the other people around him. None of them had clear faces, and none seemed capable of seeing or hearing him.

Sui Sui slowly withdrew his hand.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

Could he be inside Yizhou’s illusion?

If so, then what kind of illusion was this?

Before he could think further, a large rift appeared in the sky. It looked as though space itself had been torn open, and one person after another began stepping out from within it.

The faceless people around Sui Sui immediately turned their attention toward the rift. Although their faces remained blurred, their movements showed clear excitement as they quickly gathered toward the area, as though they had been waiting for this moment.

Seeing their reaction, Sui Sui had a faint premonition of what was about to happen.

He quickly followed them. As he approached the gathering crowd, he noticed something strange.

The faces of the people around him were gradually becoming clearer.

The blurred features slowly took shape, allowing him to recognize the people standing around him. Even their expressions became more distinct, as though the illusion was gradually restoring every detail of the scene.

Sui Sui immediately understood.

This must have been an important event, something deeply etched into the person’s memories.

When he got closer, he saw a familiar scene. He had only ever read about it in the novel, but he was certain this was the same event.

In the middle of the disciples from the various sects, there was one particularly pitiful figure kneeling on the ground.

There were many people everywhere, disciples from different sects surrounding the area, yet not a single person stood close to the kneeling figure. They kept a wide distance from him, leaving a large empty space around him as though they were avoiding something dangerous.

His entire body was covered in wounds, with blood streaking down his face and staining his familiar dark blue robes. His long black hair had come undone and hung messily around his shoulders, making it clear that he had just been through a fierce battle.

The chaotic and contradictory Half-Demon body was beginning to attract black Demonic Qi, but it could not merge completely with him. It was as though his original body was instinctively resisting the demonic transformation.

His once-dark eyes had already turned a glowing crimson, a trade-mark feature of a demon, yet despite the changes taking place within his body, there was no hatred or malice in them. They remained clear and pure as he looked around at the people surrounding him, filled only with confusion, as though he could not understand what was happening or why everyone was keeping their distance.

Sui Sui stared at the kneeling figure for a moment.

Through all those wounds and despite his disheveled appearance, he would recognize that face anywhere.

It was Yizhou.

Sui Sui’s heart sank.

This was the moment.

The beginning of Yizhou’s downfall.

"Look, look! He really is a Half-Demon!"

"He really is a Half-Demon! He deceived us so miserably! I even thought he was a hero, a benefactor who saved us!"

"Bullshit! It was all a conspiracy! A conspiracy between him and the Demon Realm!"

"He wants to harm us! Is he about to lose control? Is he going to turn into a monster?!"

"Kill him quickly and eliminate future trouble!"

Countless voices rang out from the crowd, each filled with hostility and suspicion. No one stepped forward to help the kneeling man. Instead, they continued to keep their distance, looking at him as though he were something dangerous that needed to be eliminated before it was too late.

The weak Yizhou could hear every single word.

His senses were far sharper after reverting to his Half-Demon form, allowing him to clearly hear the voices around him and feel the malice and killing intent directed toward him.

His entire body trembled.

Because he had only just recovered his bloodline but had not yet fallen into the demonic path, his body and mind was in a strange and unstable state, leaving him temporarily unable to call upon its power. At this moment, he was no different from a fragile young beast surrounded by enemies.

Yizhou slowly raised his head, his expression blank.

What were they talking about?

Him?

A Half-Demon?

A demon?

It couldn’t be.

How could that be?

Pain spread through his body, but the pain in his heart was even harder to endure. He had no idea what had happened, nor could he understand why the people he had just saved were now looking at him with such hatred.

"No... no, it’s not me." Yizhou spoke, his voice was so weak that it was almost impossible to hear.

"I didn’t do that. I was just... just trying to save everyone." He tried to explain, but his words were quickly swallowed by the surrounding noise.

No one listened to him at all.

When Sui Sui looked at him, a deep sadness welled up in his heart.

This was the first time he had ever seen Yizhou like this.

The Yizhou standing before him was nothing like the black-bellied man Sui Sui had come to know. There was no calculation in his eyes, no coldness, and none of the guardedness he usually carried. Instead, he looked almost painfully innocent, like someone who had been thrown into a situation he had never imagined himself in.

This was Yizhou before everything changed.

The kindhearted protagonist from the beginning of the original novel.

Sui Sui’s chest tightened as he watched him kneeling alone in the middle of the crowd. Seeing him like this made him feel even worse than when he had read about this scene in the novel.

"Silence!" A powerful voice cut through the chaos.

The force behind that single word was enough to make the surrounding air tremble. The voices that had been shouting moments ago abruptly fell quiet as everyone turned toward the source.

An imposing elder man stood among the crowd.

It was Elder Jiang, the acting sect leader of the Wenjian Sect, because the real sect leader of the Wenjian Sect was busy in seclusion, he now manages most of the sect affairs.

Among everyone present, he possessed both the highest cultivation and the greatest authority. The moment he spoke, no one dared to utter another word.

Yizhou seemed to recognize Elder Jiang as well. The moment he saw him, a faint glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. As though finally seeing someone who could make sense of the situation, he immediately tried to explain.

"Acting Sect Master Jiang, please give this disciple a chance to explain. I did not collude with any demon. It wasn’t me. I was only trying to save everyone," Yizhou pleaded. As he spoke, he lowered his head until his forehead pressed firmly against the ground, his posture conveying his desperation as he begged for a chance to prove his innocence.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, his gaze shifted toward the group of disciples standing nearby.

"They saw it too," he said, his voice carrying a trace of urgency. "Junior brothers and sisters, please tell them what happened. I was clearly trying to save everyone. I didn’t harm anyone. Isn’t that right?"

His eyes turned toward the very people he had risked his life to protect.

But the response he received was silence.

One by one, those disciples lowered their heads or turned their gazes away, deliberately avoiding his eyes. No one dared to speak.

They knew the truth.

They had witnessed everything. They knew that Yizhou had been the one who saved them and that he had never colluded with the demons.

But admitting it now meant putting themselves at risk. If they spoke in his defense, they might also be accused of colluding with the Demon Realm.

So, in the end, not a single person came forward.

Yizhou’s hopeful expression slowly froze.

The people he had protected with his life were now the very ones who refused to speak for him.

"It was him! It was his fault! Because of him, even Senior Brother Bai died!" The accusation came from somewhere in the crowd, shouted with anger and resentment.

Hearing this, Yizhou’s body stiffened and he slowly turned toward the speaker, and recognition flashed through his eyes.

Wasn’t that his junior brother Jin?

He remembered him. This Junior Brother Jin had been one of the people who had entered the secret realm with them. Yizhou clearly remembered pulling him away from the demons and saving his life.

For a moment, Yizhou simply stared at him, unable to understand what he was hearing. He had been there. He had seen exactly what happened. Senior Brother Bai had been killed by the demon. How could this junior brother suddenly claim that he was responsible?

Before Yizhou could gather his thoughts, the same disciple Jin continued, his voice loud enough for everyone around him to hear. "I saw it with my own eyes! He colluded with the demon and caused Senior Brother Bai’s death!"

"No, I didn’t." Yizhou’s voice came out strained, almost breathless. He wanted to explain, to tell them what had really happened, but the words seemed to catch in his throat.

There were too many voices around him and too many accusing eyes fixed on him. The rampaging demonic Qi was also affecting his state of mind, leaving his thoughts increasingly unstable and difficult to organize. He knew the accusations were false, yet in his current state, even explaining the truth felt strangely difficult.

"I didn’t do it," he helplessly repeated, his voice hoarse and pleading.

"Enough." Elder Jiang’s voice once again silenced the surrounding crowd. His gaze swept over the gathered disciples before finally settling on Yizhou, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze as if looking at a vile beast.

"This matter falls under the Wenjian Sect’s oversight. We will conduct a thorough investigation and get to the bottom of what happened. Until then, take him to the Sect’s Underground Hall for interrogation."

As soon as his words fell, several elders stepped forward. Without giving Yizhou any chance to say more, they approached and escorted him away.

Yizhou was still trying to make sense of everything, as his mind was clouded by the rampaging demonic Qi. He could only look back at the crowd as he was taken away, unable to understand how everything had turned against him so quickly.

On the side, Sui Sui could only watch as everything unfolded.

His heart felt unbearably aggrieved, to the point that he almost wanted to cry. Reading about this scene in the novel had been one thing, but witnessing it with his own eyes was completely different. Seeing Yizhou surrounded by accusations, unable to defend himself while the people he had once saved turned against him, made Sui Sui’s chest ache.

At first, Sui Sui tried to help.

He had hurried forward and tried to explain what had really happened, but no one seemed able to hear him. His voice disappeared into the noisy chattering of the disciples, as though he did not exist in their world at all.

Well in a sense that was true, he did not exist in this world because it was not his own to begin with.

But he knew that this was not merely an illusion.

This had really happened to Yizhou in his past life.

That thought made Sui Sui’s helplessness even harder to bear. No matter how desperately he tried to reach out, he could do nothing to change what had already happened.

In the end, he could only watch as Yizhou was dragged away by the elders.

The scene before him blurred.

In the next instant, everything changed again.

When Sui Sui opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dark underground chamber. There were no torches or lamps in sight. The only source of light came from the faint glow of the luminous pearls embedded along the walls, casting a dim light over the cold stone surroundings.