Chapter 262 - 260: So It Was You Playing Tricks

The house, the table and chairs, the dishes, and the delicate, captivating young woman all dissipated like smoke.

After the illusion disappeared, Luo Tian was sitting on a rock.

"It wasn’t that hard,"

Luo Tian murmured to himself.

At least, he was never once deceived.

’Perhaps it’s because this is just the beginning, and the trials are still simple.’

Luo Tian got up, glanced around, and began to wander aimlessly.

Points in the Heart Demon Grotto Heaven weren’t based on how long you stayed, but on how many spiritual tribulations you experienced. The more you endured, the higher your score.

Waiting in one place resulted in a lower and slower chance of triggering a trial, so Luo Tian took the initiative to roam about.

After just a few steps, Luo Tian saw a patch of woods.

Several figures were moving about within.

Among them, Du Yuncheng, the Young Master of the Du Family from Qingchang City, was staring with a lecherous grin at Xueyao, who was bound from head to toe and crying out for help.

Luo Tian gave the scene an indifferent glance before turning and walking away.

And with that, the scene in the woods dissipated like smoke.

A while later, a figure suddenly emerged from the pond in front of Luo Tian.

Her hair was disheveled, her face was twisted and hideous, and her body was covered in gruesome, bloody wounds.

"Luo Tian, I won’t let you go even in death! I’ll drag you down to Hell!"

This woman was none other than Liu Ziyan. She let out a ghastly, piercing shriek as she slowly crawled forward, her deathly pale, icy claws reaching for Luo Tian’s neck.

"Get lost."

Luo Tian snorted coldly, ignored Liu Ziyan, and walked away again.

"Luo... Tian..."

Along with a final, piercing shriek, Liu Ziyan’s figure faded away.

After that, every time Luo Tian walked a certain distance, a new trial would appear quite naturally, making it easy for one to become unknowingly trapped and unable to break free.

Of course, that only applied to others.

Luo Tian’s heart was pure and his mind clear. With his powerful Spiritual Will, a single sweep of his Spiritual Sense was enough to detect that something was amiss—it was all a sham.

These Illusion Realms couldn’t affect him unless he willingly entered them, just as he had at the start.

As time passed, Luo Tian began to find the Heart Demon Grotto Heaven a bit boring.

The trials here posed no difficulty for him. Compared to the Slaughter Grotto Heaven and the Survival Grotto Heaven, this felt utterly unchallenging.

「After a long while and many more trials.」

A figure suddenly appeared in the fog ahead.

"Cheng Wanli?"

Luo Tian stared intently and quickly determined that this was a real person, not an illusion.

"Luo Tian?"

Across from him, Cheng Wanli looked stunned, his expression a mixture of shock and suspicion.

’How can this kid look like he’s just taking a leisurely stroll through a garden!’

Cheng Wanli was inwardly shocked.

He had already faced more than a dozen trials and was feeling immense pressure, needing to exert considerable effort to break free each time.

Yet Luo Tian appeared utterly relaxed and full of vigor, as if he were genuinely just here for a leisurely tour.

’This must be fake! It has to be an illusion’s interference, trying to make me jealous!’

Cheng Wanli silently warned himself, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating a mysterious Cultivation Technique to calm his mind.

"Brother Cheng, what are you doing?"

Luo Tian was confused.

Cheng Wanli didn’t seem happy to see him; he just ignored him and sat cross-legged on the ground.

’Is Brother Cheng currently facing some kind of trial?’

Suspicious, Luo Tian went over to Cheng Wanli, sat on a rock, and waited quietly.

Cheng Wanli sat cross-legged on the ground, thinking, ’It’s all fake. This Luo Tian is fake. He can’t possibly be more relaxed than I am! I’ve cultivated the *Primordial Soul Technique*, a profound and powerful Ancient Technique!’

As he circulated the Cultivation Technique, his mind settled, and the various emotions swirling within him—jealousy, doubt, and frustration—gradually dissipated.

"Disappear!"

Cheng Wanli opened his eyes.

But to his surprise, Luo Tian was still sitting in front of him, watching him with a faint smile.

In Cheng Wanli’s eyes, Luo Tian’s relaxed, amused smile was pure contempt, as if to say, "You can’t beat me!"

"How can this be?"

Cheng Wanli exclaimed in surprise.

With his Spiritual Will, supplemented by a Soul Cultivation Method, how could he have failed to break the Illusion Realm?

"Hmph, this illusionary trial is quite difficult!"

Cheng Wanli snorted coldly and closed his eyes again.

"Brother Cheng, I’m real. I’m not a hallucination, nor am I a creation of the Illusion Realm."

After observing for a moment, Luo Tian finally understood what was happening and found it rather amusing.

Why would Cheng Wanli think he was part of an illusionary trial? ’Could I be a flaw in his psyche?’ Luo Tian wondered.

Cheng Wanli remained motionless, as still as a statue.

His eyes remained shut as he snorted with contempt in his heart, ’A mere illusion trying to mislead me? Not a chance!’

"Uh..."

Seeing Cheng Wanli’s stubbornness, Luo Tian knew that words would be useless.

Luo Tian felt a headache coming on. He was clearly real, yet Cheng Wanli was convinced he was fake.

’How am I supposed to prove I’m real?’

Luo Tian thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with a good plan. Finally, he said, "...Cheng Wanli, you... dumbass!"

"You..."

Veins popped out on Cheng Wanli’s forehead, and he clenched his teeth tightly.

’What a powerful illusion. It even knows how to provoke people. But does it think I’ll be so easily angered? It underestimates me!’

Cheng Wanli took a deep breath to calm himself down.

WHAP!

The next moment, he was struck hard on the back of the head and went tumbling face-first into the dirt.

"Cheng Wanli, if this is your level, you might as well go back now. You can’t even tell a real person from an illusion. Be careful a Heart Demon doesn’t invade your mind and cause you to suffer Qigong Deviation!"

Luo Tian was out of options and had to resort to physical force.

"What?"

Cheng Wanli scrambled up.

Luo Tian’s sudden slap had caught Cheng Wanli completely off guard. The pain from his fall was incredibly real; it didn’t seem fake at all.

"You’re... real?"

Cheng Wanli stared suspiciously at Luo Tian.

Five breaths later, Cheng Wanli averted his gaze to the ground, his face flushing beet-red. He seemed too embarrassed to meet Luo Tian’s eyes.

He had already determined that the Luo Tian before him was real.

Thinking about his words and actions just now, Cheng Wanli wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

He swore he had never been so humiliated in his entire life.

"Heh, Luo Tian, you actually dared to hit me!"

"That was all just an act. I wanted to confuse you, to see if you could distinguish truth from falsehood. Your performance was acceptable."

Cheng Wanli said with an awkward laugh, fabricating a story on the spot.

"..."

Luo Tian suddenly wanted to slap this guy again.

But he let it go. Luo Tian knew Cheng Wanli was just trying to save face and couldn’t be bothered to argue.

"Brother Luo, let’s look around together! It’ll be easier to trigger trials, and we’ll get our final scores faster!"

Cheng Wanli said with a smile.

"If you run into something you can’t handle, you should leave immediately. Don’t try to force it,"

Luo Tian advised kindly.

Cheng Wanli’s earlier performance had been so ridiculous that Luo Tian couldn’t praise it even if he wanted to.

"Don’t you underestimate me..."

Cheng Wanli said with a straight face.

He was extremely confident about the Heart Demon Grotto Heaven. His score would definitely surpass Luo Tian’s!

’What just happened... was just an accident.’

As they walked, Cheng Wanli suddenly stopped. His eyes seemed to lose focus, and a look of utter humiliation crossed his face, with a hint of anger brewing beneath it.

’Uh... another trial already?’

Luo Tian noted calmly. It seemed Cheng Wanli had already fallen under the influence of a Spiritual Illusion Realm and would likely be trapped for a while.

Just then, the scene before Luo Tian’s eyes shifted, and a group of figures charged out!

"Luo Tian, we finally found you!"

"There’s no escape for you today!"

Leading the charge were three imposing, aristocratic young men: the three Princes of the Azure Cloud Kingdom.

Behind them were five or six hundred of the Azure Cloud Kingdom’s elite cavalry!

The moment he saw the three Princes, a flash of killing intent sparked in Luo Tian’s eyes.

Half of the Sovereign of Azure Cloud Country’s family owed Luo Tian their lives.

But for their own selfish reasons, they had been cold, ruthless, and ungrateful, casting a net far and wide to capture him.

This was a grudge Luo Tian had never forgotten!

But Luo Tian quickly calmed himself, closing his eyes for a moment before snapping them open. "Fake!"

This time, however, the scene before him did not dissipate.

"Heh, Luo Tian, death is upon you. What nonsense are you spouting?"

The Seventh Prince, Li Yao, sneered.

"What’s going on?"

Luo Tian’s brows furrowed.

’Did the Azure Cloud Kingdom actually use its connections to invade the Yunxiao Sect?’

’That’s completely impossible!’

’Now this is getting interesting!’

Luo Tian sat down cross-legged and began to circulate the *Celestial Destiny Creation Technique*.

「Not far away.」

A figure was hiding under a tree. It was Li Zhiyun.

’Luo Tian, you can still remain clear-headed under the trial of the Heart Demon Grotto Heaven and the interference of the *Heart Confusion Technique*?’

A cold smile touched the corners of Li Zhiyun’s lips.

Ever since losing six thousand Spiritual Essence Coins to Luo Tian, he had harbored a deep grudge.

Ten days ago, Ying Feihang had approached him and offered him a chance for revenge.

Li Zhiyun had initially refused, but Ying Feihang guaranteed that his backer, the Third Elder, would ensure no harm came to him.

"Heh heh!"

Li Zhiyun stared at Luo Tian’s face, which was now seething with killing intent, and felt a thrill of satisfaction.

With the interference of the *Heart Confusion Technique*, the difficulty of Luo Tian’s Spiritual Illusion Realm trial was doubled—enough to leave him with a severe Heart Knot, or even cause him to suffer Qigong Deviation!

But suddenly,

VMMMM!

A powerful spiritual fluctuation surged from Luo Tian’s body, causing Li Zhiyun’s own consciousness to waver unsteadily.

That spiritual aura became stronger and stronger, emitting an invisible pressure.

The surrounding air became inexplicably stagnant and oppressive.

"What is happening?"

Li Zhiyun’s expression changed drastically.

How could Luo Tian, who was trapped in a Spiritual Illusion Realm, be giving him a sense of oppression and threat?

"Heart Confusion Technique!"

Li Zhiyun activated the Spiritual Secret Technique again, sending a formless, dark power surging toward Luo Tian.

But at that exact moment, Luo Tian’s eyes snapped open, and azure-patterned ripples undulated within them.

Invisible sparks of energy flashed through the air as a powerful spiritual pressure emanated in all directions.

BOOM!

Li Zhiyun’s spiritual world trembled. His *Heart Confusion Technique* was shattered, and he suffered a backlash, sending a sharp, agonizing pain lancing through his mind.

"How can this be?"

Li Zhiyun stared at Luo Tian in horror. He saw the ripples in his eyes and even faintly perceived a blurry, transparent, azure Celestial Eye at the center of Luo Tian’s brow!

"So, you were the one causing trouble,"

Luo Tian murmured.

Those words echoed in Li Zhiyun’s ears like a Demon’s whisper—sinister, malevolent, and utterly terrifying.

In Li Zhiyun’s vision,

Luo Tian emanated a boundlessly terrifying aura, as if he had transformed into a peerless Evil Monarch. His hair and robes whipped about, terrifying all living creatures.

His pair of pitch-black eyes seemed to lead to the Hell Abyss itself. Mysterious, ethereal notes drifted from his lips, as if possessing some unfathomably terrifying Magic Power.

THUD!

Li Zhiyun’s spirit broke. Overwhelmed by terror, he collapsed to his knees, trembling uncontrollably before Luo Tian.