Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 116 So-called Truth and Falsehood

The method is a small formation, and the formation is a great method.

There is no essential difference between spells and formations.

The spells that cultivators can cast can all be transformed into formations; this is a universally applicable principle.

This was the second time Chen Ye had used the four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture to set up an array.

Last time, by taking advantage of the resentment of people who indulged in wine, women, wealth, and anger, he formed a blue-faced evil ghost in the shape of a ghost messenger and taught Wei Changsheng a severe lesson.

This time, Chen Ye spent several days adjusting the formation, using the Ten Thousand Souls Banner as the key to suppress the formation, and using the vengeful spirits inside as the source of their resentment to condense into this Black Impermanence.

However, it was quite different from the Black Impermanence that Chen Ye knew. This was just a phantom. Compared to the real Impermanence of the Underworld, it could only be said to look similar, but its true power was far inferior.

But Chen Ye wasn't dealing with the Great Sage, but just a cultivator at the Gang Sha Realm.

If the mourning stick were to fall and strike solidly, it would surely knock Qin Ze's soul out of his body.

But when this blow landed, Qin Ze dispersed like ripples on water, vanishing without a trace.

Clearly, it was just an illusion.

When Qin Ze reappeared, he was already on the other side of the arena.

In fact, before the battle even began, Qin Ze had been presenting himself as an illusion, but the illusion was so realistic that no one could detect any flaws.

Although he dodged Hei Wuchang's full-force attack, Qin Ze was not complacent.

He was outmaneuvered from the very beginning.

Who would have thought that Chen Ye would build an arena for this battle? Not only did he not expect it, but probably no one else would have guessed that the arena was also a formation.

Before going on stage, Qin Ze sensed a change in spiritual energy and assumed that the administrators had reinforced the arena to prevent it from breaking easily like before. However, he had completely fallen into Chen Ye's trap.

No wonder Chen Ye kept emphasizing that he had made many preparations in advance, but who would have thought that the so-called preparations were so exaggerated.

Such a massive formation would take at least one or two months to set up; this kid clearly had this planned all along.

However, a mere formation was no challenge for Qin Ze.

The illusion effect of the mirage pearl had completely covered the arena, making it impossible for the black, desiccated corpse in front of him to locate him.

Just as Qin Ze had expected, Black Impermanence swung his mourning staff at Qin Ze again, but once again only hit a phantom.

Qin Ze simply ignored the Black Impermanence's attacks and focused on manipulating the Mirage Pearl, allowing the hallucinogenic mirage energy to seep into the ground.

The art of burrowing underground is a profound and spiritually taxing technique. Chen Ye cannot hide underground for long; the depth is at most a few feet.

Perhaps this kid dug a secret chamber inside beforehand, but as long as the mirage can seep in, he doesn't believe Chen Ye can resist it.

As the mirage seeped into the ground, countless snakes, insects, and rodents emerged from the edge of the arena. These were creatures that had lost their minds due to the mirage, and they would frantically run towards the surface as if drowning.

Qin Ze intended to use this method to force Chen Ye to show himself.

Qin Ze's calculations were very accurate. Chen Ye's earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique for escaping into the ground) was aided by an array, but sinking three zhang (approximately 10 meters) was already the limit.

Qin Ze guessed correctly; Chen Ye did indeed dig out a space underground, but it wasn't a secret room; it was a tunnel, a tunnel that led directly to the back of the audience.

It wasn't very long. With Chen Ye's current spiritual energy, using the teleportation technique would be much easier than digging up graves in Cui County back then.

The tunnel doesn't need to be very sturdy; just some simple supports will be enough for him to run out.

Qin Ze dared not use the mirage to deceive the audience as well, and subconsciously felt that Chen Ye was hiding deeper underground.

Little did they know that Chen Ye had already climbed out of the ground some distance away, and Black Whirlwind, who was there to meet him, had already carried Chen Ye into the sky.

Everyone was looking down, watching the snakes, insects, and rodents crawl out, wondering when Chen Ye would crawl out of the ground in a sorry state. Little did they know that Chen Ye had already flown into the sky, leaving only a black dot.

On the arena, Black Impermanence was still struggling to swing his mourning staff, smashing the illusions one by one, but he couldn't even touch Qin Ze's clothes. Qin Ze was still trying to let the mirage energy seep into the ground, trying to force Chen Ye out.

Chen Ye, meanwhile, lay patiently on Black Whirlwind's back, waiting for Qin Ze's spiritual energy to run out.

This was the winning strategy that Chen Ye had calculated.

In terms of magical treasures, the Myriad Soul Banner and the Sword Box are certainly no match for disciples of such prestigious sects. Chen Ye also cannot withstand the illusions of the Mirage Sect; if he falls for one, he will basically lose.

That leaves only dodging and stalling. When Chen Ye did his divination, he wasn't predicting Qin Ze's fate, but rather the arena and his friends.

The auspicious and inauspicious changes in the arena will be calculated, and it will be determined where Lü Fusheng and Hou Lu will watch this duel... We don't need complete information, just a few key points.

The changes in the arena and the shifts in the audience's gaze were enough for Chen Ye to deduce many things.

This led Chen Ye to devise this attrition tactic.

Your Mirage Pearl is powerful, but it also consumes a lot of energy. No matter how strong the protective power of the Purple Cloud Smoke Canopy is, you can't use it without spiritual energy.

Chen Ye is different from Qin Ze; he only needs to win, not necessarily win spectacularly.

Qin Ze was different. Although his spiritual energy could hold out for the time being and he hadn't suffered any harm, the scene was still not a good look.

As planned, with the Purple Cloud Smoke Canopy protecting him, he was unafraid of the attacks from the Myriad Souls Banner and the Sword Box. He used illusion magic to quickly subdue Chen Ye, ending the battle unscathed and with a satisfying victory.

Who would have thought that Chen Ye's earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of burrowing technique) would disrupt their rhythm? Just how deep underground is this person hiding? If this drags on, the situation will become too ugly.

Not only Qin Ze thought so, but the audience also felt a bit bored.

I originally thought it would be a thrilling battle of wits, and that it would be worth watching no matter who won or lost.

Now it's like a game of whack-a-mole, with the Black Impermanence slapping Qin Ze's phantom repeatedly.

Is that all?
Is this what you call a battle of wits?
Someone spoke first, letting out a slightly mocking shush.

The independent cultivators, always eager for a good show, quickly began to boo and hiss.

Qin Ze felt even more uncomfortable; he hadn't come here to be ridiculed.

But if we can't force Chen Ye to do something, what other options are there?

Feeling agitated, Qin Ze suddenly felt his vision blurring and quickly reminded himself, "One must remain calm in the face of great events."

His mirage pearl is much more powerful than those of other disciples of the Mirage Sect, but it is also a double-edged sword. If he becomes unsettled, he will suffer a backlash.

But as the saying goes, "the mind is like a monkey, and thoughts are like a horse," meaning that a person's mind is as agile as a monkey and cannot be predicted. A person's will is like a runaway horse, and it is not easy to pull it back.

Qin Ze was already plagued by inner demons and only wanted to use this battle to win back the reputation of the Mirage Sect. Who would have thought that he would be at a disadvantage and ridiculed instead?

Every boo from the audience felt like a blow to his face, as if the entire Mirage faction was being disgraced.

Suddenly, Qin Ze seemed to hear a faint voice in his ear: "They just want to see a wonderful battle of magic, so just give it to them."

Qin Ze thought it was Chen Ye who suddenly spoke beside him, and looked around in a panic, but couldn't find the person who had spoken.

"Don't move around. Even with illusions to conceal you, you'll still be exposed if you run around. You don't want to be exposed like this in front of everyone, do you? What will become of the Mirage Sect's reputation then?"

Qin Ze bit his tongue hard, trying to use the intense pain to block out these hallucinations.

However, this bite didn't hurt at all; it felt like biting into a candy, filling his mouth with sweetness.

The sweetness made Qin Ze feel relieved, as if he had become much more relaxed.

"Why force yourself to suffer when there's no suffering to be had? You know what to do. We agreed on no limit to the means. Your opponent can even build a arena, so why are you only using your illusions on him? Isn't the outcome of a duel ultimately decided by others?"

The sound made Qin Ze's eyes glaze over.

This seems to make a lot of sense. So what if Chen Ye is hiding? Since there are no restrictions on the means, why can't the outcome be determined off the field?

Qin Ze looked around, then raised the Mirage Pearl in his hand high, causing the mist covering the arena to spread out and envelop the audience.

“Well done. Illusion is all about deceiving the real. Once everyone believes it, the fake becomes real.”

Qin Ze muttered to himself, "That's right, even a fake can become real. If I want to win, I'll let them see that I've won."

Qin Ze felt as if he had figured things out. All he had to do was use illusion magic to create the scene of Chen Ye's crushing defeat at his hands. As long as the audience believed it, the referee believed it, and after the result was announced, Chen Ye's reappearance would be meaningless.

The agreement was that there were no restrictions on the means of combat in the ring, so what I did did not violate the rules.

But just when Qin Ze thought he was really going to "win", he heard a buzzing sound and the violent tremor almost made him fall to the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the Black Impermanence's mourning staff had landed on his head at some point. If it weren't for the Purple Cloud Smoke Canopy automatically protecting its master, this blow would have shattered the protective barrier on his body.

Qin Ze was shocked. When was his illusion broken?!
(End of this chapter)