An Understated Dominance

 With the mirage demon’s disappearance, the last trace of that eerie energy finally faded from the valley. Only then did the survivors dare to slowly open their eyes, lowering their hands from their ears. As they took in the desolate and real scenery around them, the memory of what they had just endured felt almost like a dream from another lifetime. Several injured guards collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, their faces pale with lingering terror. Margaret approached Dustin, worry shining in her eyes. “Dustin, are you all right?” He shook his head, gazing in the direction where the mirage had fled. “I’m fine. Just a bit drained in spirit. She’s wounded—she won’t dare show herself again anytime soon.” Qingzhu clutched her chest, still shaken. “That was terrifying. That illusion was impossible to defend against! If Master Dustin hadn’t found her weakness at the end, we’d all be dead here.” Dustin nodded slightly. “Penglai Island is filled with hidden dangers. The more beauti...

 “Qingzhu! It’s me! Calm down!” Margaret fought the urge to strike down her supposed enemy, gripping Qingzhu’s wrist tightly as she shouted. Her cultivation was stronger, her will firmer—she barely held onto a thread of clarity, yet the illusion before her still shook her heart to its core. Dustin frowned as he watched the team descend into chaos. This mirage demon’s illusion was truly troublesome—not only could it weave vast environmental illusions, but it could also plant personalized heart demons in each person’s mind, leaving them defenseless. If this went on, they wouldn’t even need the mirage demon to strike—they’d die by their own delusions. He unleashed another surge of divine sense, but this time it barely had any effect. The illusion clung to their spirits like bone-deep rot—simply relying on a spiritual shock wasn’t enough to cleanse it completely. “Close your eyes! Shut off your hearing! Guard your hearts—trust the people beside you!” Dustin’s voice was cold as ice, car...

 The illusion formation had been forcefully broken apart for the most part, and the guards who had fallen into it slowly regained their senses. When they saw the grim reality around them — the bodies of their fallen companions lying in pools of blood — their faces turned ashen, trembling with lingering terror. “What a terrifying illusion… to so perfectly mirror the desires within the human heart,” Margaret whispered, her voice quivering. Gratitude toward Dustin filled her eyes. Dustin’s gaze flashed like lightning as he suddenly turned his eyes toward the deepest part of the valley — the only truly real place — the spring. The air above the spring began to twist and ripple, as a vague silhouette slowly took shape. It was a woman dressed in flowing robes of seven-colored light, her beauty dazzling and almost inhumanly bewitching. Her body seemed to be woven from mist and radiance, flickering between existence and illusion. Barefoot, she hovered above the spring, surrounded by an aur...

 “Hm?” Margaret turned around in surprise, looking at Dustin in confusion. Dustin’s gaze did not linger on the breathtaking scenery before them. Instead, his sharp eyes swept slowly across the entire valley—like an eagle’s, carrying a chill that could pierce through illusion. “What we see before us may not be real,” he said calmly. “The spiritual energy here is abundant, yet unstable—lacking any foundation. The celestial music sounds beautiful, yet its rhythm is too perfect, losing all natural flow. Feel carefully—the scent of the flowers, the sound of water, the drifting mist… don’t they seem too deliberate? As if crafted solely to please the senses?” At his words, Margaret and several of the stronger guards focused their senses—and indeed began to notice something wrong. The floral fragrance, when inhaled for too long, turned cloying and dizzying. The sound of the running water never changed in rhythm, as if endlessly repeating the same tune. Even the mist that swirled around the...

 “Steady your mind! Attack them!” Margaret shouted sharply. The short sword in her hand gleamed with a cold light, and a sword aura slashed toward one of the approaching gray shadows. The sword aura passed through it—the gray figure twisted and rippled, thinning slightly and letting out an even sharper shriek, but it did not dissipate completely. Instead, it lunged forward even more ferociously. The other guards’ attacks had similar results. Their blade auras and sword Qi had limited effect against these misty wraiths—each took several blows to barely destroy. The wraiths’ attacks, however, were disturbingly strange. They could easily penetrate ordinary protective Qi barriers and directly touch the body. Once entangled, a wave of freezing cold would surge through the victim, and their vital energy would drain away like floodwaters through a broken dam. One guard, caught off guard, was struck on the arm by a wraith. His arm instantly turned gray and shriveled, as though all moisture...

 The bronze gate loomed tall and solemn—behind it might lie the legendary  Hanging Garden , or perhaps an even deeper trap. The dark-golden vines coiling through the cracks seemed withered, yet when touched, they felt as hard as metal—unyielding and cold. Ancient cloud-shaped runes glimmered faintly upon the gate’s surface, forming a powerful sealing array. Forcing it open would be no easy feat—and might bring catastrophic consequences. Dustin extended his divine sense, probing carefully for a long while before shaking his head. “The seal is intact and bound to the earth veins. Forcing it would trigger unknown dangers. There may be another entrance—or a specific key to open it.” Hope, so close at hand yet barred behind the gate, gave rise to quiet disappointment. Margaret gazed toward the mist-wreathed mountain fissure and said thoughtfully, “Since this path is blocked for now, let’s follow the edge of this rift. We may find another way. The murals mentioned the ‘Jade Pool’—it...

 “It’s those who landed on the island before us!” another guard cried out. A slightly older, more experienced guard stepped forward to inspect the corpses. His face darkened. “They’ve been dead no more than a month. Judging by these wounds… not caused by ordinary weapons or beasts. More like they were pierced clean through by an extremely fine, razor-sharp beam of energy.” At that moment, Dustin suddenly looked up sharply, eyes narrowing toward a patch of ground ahead—behind the half-buried remains of what looked like a massive bronze cauldron. “Be careful!” Before he could finish, several faint “shhh” sounds sliced through the air. A few hair-thin, almost invisible grayish beams of energy shot out from behind the wreckage like vipers, streaking straight toward the guards who had just cried out! Their speed far surpassed that of a crossbow bolt. But Dustin moved even faster. The instant he sensed danger, his fingers came together like a sword, and an arc-shaped slash of sword energ...