In the world of martial arts, one works tirelessly to attain enlightenment.

Chapter 164, The Illusionary Butterfly Clan

Near the city of alien races.

Lin Ran found a small mountain, activated the earth's spiritual energy, and transformed it into a simple manor. She then covered it with a layer of wind spiritual energy to prevent any passing alien races from investigating.

In the courtyard.

Zhou Yu pondered. Because of Lin Ran, she could choose one of several rewards from the Heavenly Eye's gift.

The three functions of predicting the future, accumulating strength, and comprehending are the choices bestowed upon the Heavenly Eye.

Zhou Yu understood, but after thinking it over, she found Lin Ran, explained briefly,

Which one should I choose?

"...I suggest you choose the option to evolve the curse, that is, to comprehend it. We have only wiped out a small race, and the rewards we have obtained are limited. If we want to obtain more rewards, we need to wipe out a larger alien race, which requires a more powerful and simpler method to activate the curse."

Lin Ran said after thinking for a moment.

Zhou Yu nodded.

"I see."

She walked to the side, and just as she was about to make a choice, the Spirit Lord passed by.

"Zhou Yu, once you've finished your comprehension, share the information with me, and then I'll continue my comprehension."

"……good."

Zhou Yu was stunned for a moment, not expecting such a thing to happen.

Then, Zhou Yu began to comprehend it.

Lin Ran stood aside just in case, as there shouldn't be any problems with comprehending it.

The problem is the process of curse evolution. It's a completely new, unseen curse, and who knows what effects it will have?

About half an hour later, Zhou Yu finished his comprehension and shared all the new information with the Spirit Lord.

The spirit master was sometimes enlightened, sometimes frowning. It took him three hours to fully understand, and then he continued to comprehend it.

The meditation session lasted about twenty minutes.

The Spirit Master rubbed his temples: "So complicated."

Seeing that there were no unusual fluctuations, Lin Ran felt slightly relieved.

Leave behind the earth, fire, and double barriers, and summon the gift of the Heavenly Eye.

He currently has four main skills: [Soul Nourishing Technique], [Four Pillars of Destiny Technique], [Sword Manual], and [Eight Gates Formation].

The main combat forces are the [Sword Manual] and the [Eight Gates Formation]. Overall, the Sword Manual is more powerful but lacks endurance.

The Eight Gates Formation is slightly less powerful, but has excellent endurance.

He chose the Eight Gates Formation.

A golden light awakens, and consciousness enters a dazzling cosmic starry sky. With just a slight thought, a massive amount of information floods in.

Lin Ran was so engrossed in it that she lost track of time, and before she knew it, the deduction was over.

[Eight Gates Formation, Experience +600]

[Eight Gates Formation LV6: 742/3000]

"!!!"

Lin Ran was greatly shocked. The deduction in less than half an hour was equivalent to a full six thousand hours, more than eight months of sleepless cultivation!

Indeed, war is the fastest way to make money!

Sensing it closely.

The seven gates—the "Rest Gate" at the center of the collarbone, the "Injury Gate" in the palms of both hands, the "Block Gate" at the base of the spine, the "Open Gate" in the center of the forehead, and the "Fright Gate" on both knees—interact and connect with each other. (The actual number is 10; the previous count of 9 was incorrect.)

When all eight gates are fully opened, the body will enter a state of perfect purity, and the level of life will undergo a complete transformation.

I listened carefully for a long time.

Lin Ran spread his five fingers and then slowly closed them. In terms of destructive power alone, it increased by about two or three times!

Zhou Yu and the Spirit Master were engrossed in their discussion, which seemed unlikely to end anytime soon.

Lin Ran then sat cross-legged in mid-air, cultivating the Eight Gates Formation while diverting his mental energy to pay attention to the outside world.

……

Half a month later.

Outside the city of the foreign race.

Lin Ran and her two companions appeared quietly.

Zhou Yu: "There are sixteen races in the city. Four of them have the sixth rank, while the remaining twelve races have a maximum rank of only fifth. We can start with them."

The Spirit Lord agreed: "Indeed, but we can't go too far. A sixth-order alien race won't stand idly by."

Lin Ran glanced at the city governed by the rules.

"It's alright, go ahead and do it. I'll handle any problems that arise."

"Alright, let's go to the territory of the Illusion Butterfly Clan first. They only have one fifth-tier member, who is also the weakest in this city."

"it is good."

The three set off.

Lin Ran captured a Phantom Butterfly and gave it to Zhou Yu. Through the curse, she found the ancestral home of the Phantom Butterfly Clan.

After traveling for two days, the three arrived at the ancestral land of the Illusionary Butterfly Clan.

According to human standards, this race belongs to the category of demonic beast butterflies. They are born with the ability to create illusions, which can trap creatures in a state of illusion from which they cannot escape.

The only fifth-tier ability can trap sentient beings in an illusion, allowing them to see their truest desires and thus be influenced in their actions, leading to mistakes and revealing their vulnerability to death.

Lin Ran speculated that the Illusionary Butterfly Clan and the laws of illusion and reality were somewhat related. At the top of the illusion realm were the rules. If the illusion realm was too realistic, it would be difficult to distinguish the boundary between illusion and reality.

Before taking action, Lin Ran suddenly asked Zhou Yu,

Do you know how the Phantom Butterfly Clan came into being?

Zhou Yu paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"have no idea."

"And you, Spirit Master?" Lin Ran asked again.

The Spirit Lord pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly,

"Perhaps it was a fragment of the rules that fell into the battlefield of the heavens. Its residual power attracted spiritual energy, and a butterfly happened to pass by and was attracted, thus becoming the Illusionary Butterfly Clan."

"Is that so...?"

Lin Ran seemed to be deep in thought.

"So, perhaps there are spiritual beings within the Illusionary Butterfly Clan that are involved in matters of the law?"

Spirit Master: "? Captain, you didn't know either?"

Lin Ran: "Uh, what's wrong?"

Spirit Master, Zhou Yu: ...

They thought Lin Ran was just pretending, but she actually asked a question.

Lin Ran said to Zhou Yu,

"The Phantom Butterfly Clan is quite powerful. This time, I'll start with a portion, instead of consuming it all at once and accumulating side effects that I need to eliminate."

"it is good."

Zhou Yu stretched out his five fingers, and a bright silver light appeared at his fingertips, weaving into an illusory rune in the air.

The Spirit Lord stepped forward and infused the runes with his essence, transforming them from illusions into something nearly real.

Then, Zhou Yu lightly tapped his fingertip, and the rune fell below, disappearing into the body of a Phantom Butterfly Clan member without the other party noticing.

The runes quickly infected the essence of the Illusionary Butterfly Clan. Due to the vast difference in strength, the Illusionary Butterfly Clan was cursed without their knowledge.

Zhou Yu activated the curse, causing it to infect the other members of the Illusion Butterfly Clan.

Two days later.

All beings of the Illusionary Butterfly Clan below the fourth rank have been infected with the curse, which is now subtly infecting the fourth-ranked Illusionary Butterflies.

Day .

The number of curses no longer increases; except for the Phantom Butterfly Clan members not in their ancestral lands, all Phantom Butterflies have been cursed.

Zhou Yu moved his five fingers.

"It's finished. When are we going to make our move?"

"Now, kill a third of the phantom butterflies first. After that, I'll go clean up the curse. The fifth-tier phantom butterflies will be attracted here, so be careful to hide."

Lin Ran gave them instructions, and after thinking for a moment, handed them four jade pendants, one gold, one red, and two for each person.

"I'll keep it with me; I can't take it off until I get back."

"it is good."

The spirit was hung on his waist.

She then saw Zhou Yu put the jade pendant around her neck, pull up her collar, and let the two jade pendants fall into the deep valley.

The spirit master froze, as if the light in his eyes had disappeared.

Zhou Yu's lips curled slightly upwards as she opened her hands and faced downwards, unleashing a curse.

……

Inside the Phantom Butterfly Clan.

The phantom butterflies, who were mating together, suddenly felt a sharp pain in their heads, then everything went black, and they collapsed to the ground.

Thump thump...

Groups of phantom butterflies fell, quickly attracting the attention of a fourth-order phantom butterfly. It swiftly approached, but then also felt a headache and its vision went black.

Despite the pain, it conveyed a message to the other phantom butterflies.

"Enemy attack!"

(End of this chapter)