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

Chapter 184 Like Hanging Upside Down in the Netherworld
When the white mist covered the arena, the wailing and howling of the fighting ghosts completely disappeared, and the chaotic clanging of the bronze bells also subsided, as if the inside and outside of the white mist were two different worlds.

Before the audience could figure out what had happened, Master Ziyan had already lost his composure.

If others can't tell, how could he not recognize it?
This is clearly a mirage from the Mirage School, and it's incredibly authentic; even he couldn't find any fault with it.

But where did Chen Ye learn illusion magic?
Master Ziyan anxiously sought out Lu Shichang, wanting to stop the magical duel.

Winning or losing doesn't matter anymore; the key is to figure out why Chen Ye learned the illusion techniques of the Mirage Sect.

Upon hearing this, Lu Shichang was immediately in a dilemma.

When Chen Ye was surrounded and attacked, no one called for a stop, but now that Chen Ye's counterattack is effective, they call for a stop. What should others say about this?
Looking back, Lu Shichang's spine will be riddled with hundreds of holes.

Seeing Lu Shichang hesitate, Master Ziyan roared, "Why aren't you calling a halt right now?! Can't you understand human language?!"

Lu Shichang blushed with anger at his outburst. Even though you are a master from a prestigious sect, you still have to be reasonable, right?
Lu Shichang is an old man nearing the end of his life. He has worked diligently all his life, yet he is still treated like a dog by the Mirage Faction.

"Hmph, Master Ziyan, if you insist on interfering in this fair competition, then I will have no choice but to declare the Mirage Sect the loser. What do you mean by saying that Chen Ye stole your Mirage Sect's illusion techniques? It's okay for Lingguang Xian of the Mirage Sect to learn other people's spells, but it's a crime for others to learn your Mirage Sect's spells?!"

Lu Shichang spoke very loudly, and with the silence on the stage, the audience heard him clearly and immediately began to whisper among themselves.

Master Ziyan never expected that Lu Shichang would dare to speak to him like that.

The Hundred Seas Valley has truly changed. Ever since the last rebellion by rogue cultivators, these rogue cultivators have stopped taking the five major sects seriously.

Master Ziyan wanted to intimidate Lu Shichang again, but then he heard a clear sword sound.

Wang Yichen had already arrived outside the arena at some point, and said coldly, "Master Ziyan, I advise you to stop now. Do you really think the sword in my hand is rusty?"

Master Ziyan said to Wang Yichen with a gloomy expression, "This matter concerns the lineage of my Mirage Sect."

Wang Yichen replied, "When Lingguang Xian was learning my Qinghe Sword Technique, did I ever ask you a single question?"

Master Ziyan exclaimed excitedly, "How can these be the same?!"

Lingguang Xian merely used illusion to simulate reality, not to actually steal the sword techniques of the Qinghe Sword Sect. However, Chen Ye genuinely used the illusion techniques passed down from the Mirage Sect. These are completely different matters.

Wang Yichen, however, said righteously, "You can ask about everything after the competition. But right now, Chen Ye has the upper hand. You can call a halt if you want, and admit defeat on the spot."

How could Master Ziyan admit defeat? If he lost another match, the Mirage Sect would hold him accountable.

I was also flustered. I should have waited until after the battle to decide what to do. Anyway, Chen Ye couldn't escape.

Master Ziyan could only force herself to endure it and look at the arena again.

The arena was still shrouded in white mist, obscuring everything inside and making no sound.

The battles between illusionists are silent; it all comes down to who loses their composure first. Once someone is bewitched, the outcome is decided immediately.

In this respect, Lingguangxian should have an absolute advantage.

Thinking this, Master Ziyan finally relaxed a little.

Where no one could see them, Chen Ye and Lingguang Xian stood facing each other. When their eyes met, Chen Ye finally saw a trace of "life" in her eyes.

Surrounded by this familiar mist, Lingguang Xian spoke: "Where did you learn my supernatural powers?"

Although her words were tinged with doubt, Lingguangxian's voice remained ethereal and uncertain, revealing little emotion.

Chen Ye asked doubtfully, "I thought this was a spell from the Mirage Sect."

Lingguang Xian said, "It looks like it, but this is the supernatural power of a mirage demon, which no human can learn."

Chen Ye didn't explain, but summoned Bai Yueguang and said to Lingguang Xian, "This is your kinsman, and he has a few words to say to you."

The white moonlight, which was originally a cloud of white mist, fell in front of Lingguangxian and transformed into a woman who looked exactly like her.

When Lingguangxian saw Baiyueguang, she finally showed a surprised expression and said in a trembling voice, "Xiaoqi, it's you! They said you were dead!"

Bai Yueguang quickly walked to Lingguangxian's side and hugged her tightly.

“I almost died, but the sect leader saved my life. Now, I want the sect leader to save you from your suffering as well. Ah Da, come with me.”

"Ah Da, Xiao Qi?"

Chen Ye almost laughed when he heard this; what kind of titles were these?

The two appeared to be chatting with words, but in reality, it was a sound wave that was inaudible to the human ear.

Chen Ye was able to hear the conversation between Bai Yueguang because of the Heart-to-Heart effect within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, which was completely inaudible to outsiders.

Sensing Chen Ye's thoughts, Bai Yueguang explained somewhat awkwardly, "We mirage demons don't have names, nor are we distinguished by gender. We can only be differentiated by age and size. A-Da is the smartest and the biggest among us, so we're called A-Da."

"It's alright, but please hurry, otherwise outsiders might become suspicious."

Bai Yueguang then anxiously said to Lingguang Xian, "A'da, the sect leader saved my life and is willing to save you from this sea of ​​suffering as well. As long as you abandon your physical body, we can start a new life in Fengdu City in the Northern Frontier." Lingguang Xian asked in confusion, "Abandon your physical body... do you want me to die with you?"

“I was already dead. My body was refined into a mirage pearl. You should know very well that the rest of us are already dead. You should be able to understand the pain of flesh and blood turning to ash. You raised us all. I don’t want you to end up like that. Leave the Mirage Sect, even if it means abandoning your physical body.”

Lingguang Xian shook her head and said, "I can't leave. They promised me that after obtaining the things from the Ruins of Return, they would release us back into the deep sea and never disturb us again."

Bai Yueguang said excitedly, "Ah Da, you told them the secret of Guixu?"

Lingguangxian shook his head and said, "Not yet, but they promised that they will not hunt in Guixu again for fifty years. If they can do that, I will tell them the secret."

Bai Yueguang quickly said, "They're lying to you!"

Lingguangxian said sadly, "I know, but I have no choice but to believe."

Bai Yueguang continued to persuade, "There's another way, A'da, come with me! Follow the sect leader, and you'll be free!"

Lingguang Xian said helplessly, "What about the others? Xiao Er, Xiao Wu, and Xiao Liu... Several of you died while refining magic weapons, and now that you're dead too, what will happen to them?"

"The sect leader will find a way; he will take us all with him."

Chen Ye wanted to interrupt Bai Yueguang, "Don't make empty promises! We agreed before that we would only take away Lingguang Xian's soul. How did it turn into taking away the other Mirage Pearls as well? He can't just go to the Mirage Sect to steal them."

However, Lingguang Xian seemed to be hesitating. If they were to interrupt now, they might really have no choice but to fight each other.

Chen Ye felt sorry for these mirage demons, and if he could help them, he wouldn't mind lending a hand.

It's impossible to take Lingguangxian away today, but we must first reach an agreement with her. Only if Lingguangxian agrees can Chen Ye proceed with the next step of the plan.

After hearing Bai Yueguang's words, Lingguang Xian looked at Chen Ye and asked, "Can you really save us all?"

Chen Ye hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "The Yellow Springs Sect has a city in the Northern Frontier, which is enough to protect you. However, it would be best to keep it a secret from the Mirage Sect to avoid them causing trouble. If you are willing to cooperate, we can discuss the rescue plan later."

Lingguang Xian asked, "In the future? I cannot leave the Mirage Sect for too long. How will you discuss this with me?"

Chen Ye reached out and summoned a red-banded snake. He took some venom from its fangs, put it in a small bottle, and handed it to Lingguang Xian.

"After you return to the Mirage Sect, you should be able to return to your physical body. As long as you inhale these snake venoms, I will be able to see you in my dreams. Don't worry, this thing will not cause any harm; it will only make you fall into a drowsy state for a while."

This was Chen Ye's plan. The Crimson Serpent Buddha possessed great supernatural powers, enabling people to meet in their dreams, unaffected even if separated by thousands of miles, and no formation could sever this connection.

Given enough time, we can definitely find a way to save them.

Lingguang Xian carefully put away the small bottle and said gratefully to Chen Ye, "Thank you, Sect Master of Huangquan Sect. If you can save my Mirage Demon Clan, I am willing to serve you for all eternity."

Chen Ye paused for a moment, as if something was amiss.

Didn't we agree from the beginning that we would only save Lingguangxian? It was one thing to include other mirage demons that were later refined into magical artifacts, but how did it become the entire mirage demon race now?

Just as Chen Ye was about to explain, Ling Guangxian asked, "So now, are we going to continue fighting? Do you want to win, or do you want to pretend to lose?"

Chen Ye also knew that time was of the essence and there was probably no time to carefully distinguish between different cases. He could only try to save as many people as he could.

Upon hearing Lingguangxian's question, Chen Ye countered with, "What punishment will you receive if you lose?"

Lingguang Xian explained, "It shouldn't be the case. The leader of the Mirage Sect has promised me that he will not harm any mirage demons within the next fifty years, which naturally includes me. However, I will not lose, and they will have doubts."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "You mean, they'll suspect you deliberately admitted defeat?"

Lingguangxian nodded and said, "If you only have those tricks, you can't beat me. Even if Xiaoqi is willing to help you, you still can't win."

Chen Ye glanced at Bai Yueguang. This guy could confidently say he would definitely win back then, but it seems he underestimated his own "A-Da".

However, Chen Ye was prepared and said to Ling Guangxian, "Don't worry, I will give you a reason to admit defeat, and I guarantee no one will suspect anything. However, you have to cooperate well and not mess it up."

Lingguangxian said confidently, "My greatest skill is deceiving people."

Chen Ye laughed heartily. That's true; illusions are just ways to deceive people.

"In that case, please be careful, fellow Daoist!"

Chen Ye gripped the Ten Thousand Souls Banner tightly and shouted, "By my command, show yourself at once!"

Chen Ye's Myriad Soul Banner emitted countless rays of light, piercing through the layers of mist and revealing his and Lingguang Xian's figures once again on the arena.

Before the onlookers could recover from the blinding light, a massive black tide surged forth from the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Countless wraiths roared and surged forth, weaving in mid-air into a black torrent that surged upwards, like the Netherworld River hanging upside down from the sky. Chen Ye stood at the boundary between the golden light and the black waterfall, his robes fluttering in the wind, his body surrounded by divine light, like a demon god stepping out from ancient times.

The overwhelming pressure from over 100,000 Yin spirits swept across the entire area, causing even Nascent Soul cultivators to change color.

Chen Ye's gaze flashed like lightning as he stared directly at Lingguang Xian, his voice shaking the heavens: "Fellow Daoist, are you still not going to admit defeat? If you hesitate any longer, don't blame me for not being able to stop!"

(End of this chapter)