Perfect: I am Shi An from Shicun, and I am Huang’s brother!

Chapter 248 The Illusory is Real
On the seventh level of the stone platform, Yun Xi stood tall and straight, her spiritual energy surging around her like a tornado. The powerful aura she released after breaking through the illusion made the entire stone chamber tremble.

Her gaze swept across her surroundings. The illusions that had put her in danger had now vanished, leaving only the runes on the stone platform still shimmering faintly, as if to say that what she had just experienced was not a fantasy.

Below the stage, seeing Yunxi awaken, Shi An couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he didn't completely relax and remained vigilant.

At the same time, after taking a deep breath and adjusting her state slightly, Yunxi moved again, slowly stepping towards the eighth level of the stone platform.

"boom!"

As she approached, the runes on the surface of the eighth-level stone platform seemed to come alive, instantly becoming incredibly dazzling. They flickered and leaped, weaving together complex light and shadow, ultimately transforming into illusory ancient ferocious beasts.

There was a Vermilion Bird engulfed in golden flames, its wings flapping as it soared high, the intense heat scorching and distorting the surrounding air; there was a Taotie, its body as enormous as a divine mountain, its gaping maw seemingly ready to devour everything in the world.

There was also a white tiger, pure white with wings growing from its ribs, its sharp claws gleaming with cold light, roaring to the sky with a sound like thunder, making the entire stone chamber buzz.

And there was the Qiongqi, a creature with wings and a chilling aura. With a flap of its wings, a fierce wind howled out, tearing the space in its wake with fine cracks.

Finally, there was a powerful Netherworld being radiating a dark purple light, resembling both human and demon, with bone wings on its back and wielding a long white bone sword. It stood in the void, wielding the long white bone sword, instantly tearing through space, and streaks of pitch-black sword light poured down like a torrential rain.

As soon as these ancient ferocious beast phantoms solidified, they roared to the sky with deafening force, the sound waves rolling like tangible impacts, surging towards Yunxi.

This caused Yunxi to immediately stop in her tracks, her gaze becoming extremely solemn. The divine energy within her body also began to circulate even more rapidly, with spiritual power surging through her meridians like a rushing river, emitting a deafening roar.

"Roar!"

At that moment, with a roar, the white tiger launched the first attack.

"wind!"

With a flap of its wings, it transformed into a streak of white lightning, instantly lunging at Yunxi. As it swung its claws, it created a fierce gale, tearing the space in its wake with tiny cracks.

"Buzz!"

Seeing this, Yunxi quickly formed hand seals, her palms flashing with runes, and soon she had created a shield that emitted a soft blue light.

"・・・"

To Yunxi's and Shi An's surprise, the ferocious white tiger passed directly through the shield and, in the midst of their intense tension, passed right through Yunxi's body and rushed into the distance.

"Fake?!"

This scene caused their pupils to shrink and their hearts to tremble with shock.

Before the two could think further, a loud bang suddenly rang out, shaking the entire stone chamber.

"boom!"

It was the Vermilion Bird's golden flames! It transformed into a rain of fire that poured down and crashed heavily against the defenses constructed by Yunxi.

"Isn't it fake???"

The stark contrast between the two surprised both those on and off the stage once again.

But at that moment, the Taotie's enormous body lunged forward, its blood-red maw snapping at Yunxi.

Yunxi dared not be careless in response. She immediately flashed away and retreated quickly. At the same time, she made a hand seal and a sharp sword aura shot out from her fingertips, striking the Taotie's head directly.

However, to their surprise once again, this Taotie was just like the previous White Tiger—a fake. Yunxi's attack passed right through it without any hindrance, causing no harm whatsoever.

Instead, the blade of the Netherworld expert, like a tangible sharp blade, slashed fiercely at the shield that Yun Xi had hastily reconstituted. "Clang!"

With a loud bang, sparks flew everywhere, and the shield trembled violently. It only lasted for a moment before it was broken.

Fortunately, after that block, Yunxi had a chance to dodge the fierce attack by turning to the side.

"Wow!"

In an instant, the blade grazed her clothes, tearing up shreds of fabric.

"What's going on? Why are some attacks real, while others seem like phantoms?"

Seeing the torn hem of her clothes, Yunxi's expression changed slightly as she quickly thought of a solution.

These ancient ferocious beast phantoms are difficult to distinguish from reality, yet their attacks are incredibly fierce; a slight misstep could lead to certain death.

However, those ferocious beasts didn't seem to want to give Yunxi any time, because before she could even catch her breath, the Qiongqi had already flapped its wings and pounced, distorting space wherever it passed, and creating spatial cracks that looked like monstrous maws.

Seeing this, Yunxi dared not relax and immediately began to form hand seals.

"boom!"

In an instant, Yunxi's body shone brightly, and mysterious runes surged from her body, weaving together in front of her to form a huge rune shield. Mysterious power flowed on it, and as the light flickered, faint sounds of dragon roars and phoenix cries could be heard.

"boom!"

Qiongqi's sharp wings slammed into the rune shield, unleashing a deafening roar that shook the heavens and earth.

A terrifying force surged forth like a tidal wave, causing the rune shield to tremble violently, its light flickering, yet it stubbornly resisted Qiongqi's attacks.

This caused Shi An, sitting in the audience, to unconsciously clench his hands, and even his heartbeat quickened in response to Yun Xi's predicament.

He deeply sympathized with the crisis Yunxi was facing, but he also understood that this was a test she had to go through, and he couldn't interfere too much, otherwise it wouldn't be good for anyone.

But what happened next caused Shi An's expression to change abruptly.

"puff!"

Although Yunxi successfully blocked Qiongqi's attack, the impact still caused her blood to surge, and a mouthful of blood rose to her throat, which she involuntarily spat out.

Of course, that was nothing. What really made Shi An's expression change drastically was that before she could recover, the white tiger pounced on Yun Xi again.

And this time was different from before. This time, Yunxi could clearly sense that the white tiger was real, because when it pounced, there was a noticeable gust of wind hitting her face, which hurt her.

"boom!"

Yunxi's throat still tasted metallic, but the white tiger's sharp claws, carrying the power to tear through space, slashed down fiercely.

This startled her, and she realized that there was no turning back now; she had to fight to the death to deal with this sudden crisis.

"break!"

Finally, with a delicate shout, Yunxi's hands flew like light and shadow, quickly forming hand seals. Divine light surged within her body like a torrent, gathering in her palms, and then she pushed forward with a sudden thrust.

(End of this chapter)