The Northern Song Dynasty returned south, seeking the truth of the Dao.

Wang Zhenhuan stared at the familiar face before him. Her exquisite features were etched with disbelief and terror. Without hesitation, he channeled all his spiritual energy and struck down on the top of her head.

Snapped--

With a crisp crack, Ling Zhizi took Wang Zhenhuan's palm strike without any resistance. Her eyes widened, and she fell straight backward.

Wang Zhen was startled, thinking he had hit the wrong person. He instinctively reached out to grab the person who was falling backward, when suddenly a cry of pain came from behind him.

He was immediately stunned, and when he turned around to look again, Ling Zhizi, whom he had just killed, was lying on the ground, giving him a wicked smile, before turning into a cloud of mist and disappearing.

"not good!"

Wang Huanzhen exclaimed in surprise and immediately turned and rushed to the left. He had never imagined that this mirage dragon would be so cunning. It had turned the tables on him, and after realizing that it had been seen through, it...

They used a feint, drawing Wang Huanzhen's attention with their clone while turning to attack the real Ling Zhizi. Wang Huanzhen was frantic, wishing he could shrink his distance.

Unfortunately, fate was against him. He had only taken one step to get there, but on his way back, he dashed left and right, taking dozens of steps, but still couldn't find Ling Zhizi. Moreover, ever since that cry of pain...

Then there was no more sound coming from the clouds. He felt as if he had encountered a ghost wall, wandering around in circles, but unable to get out of the clouds.

As time ticked by, his heart sank deeper and deeper. The mirage dragon clearly knew he was using a secret technique, so it was determined to stall for time.

However, Wang Zhen was completely helpless against this. Nearly half an hour had passed since he used the Yin-Yang Borrowing Technique. During this half hour, the spiritual energy within his body...

The energy was constantly being depleted, something he and Ling Zhizi had discovered earlier. Within this mirage, the five elements of spiritual energy were not differentiated. Therefore, one could not draw energy into the body, and naturally, it could not be replenished.

Less than half of the spiritual energy within him remained. He couldn't continue like this. Wang Zhenhuan stopped, forcing himself to calm down. Ever since the mirage dragon revealed its true form and rose into the clouds...

Wang Zhenhuan was constantly following the mirage dragon's lead, finding himself completely passive. As the art of war says, "The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Using strategy to defeat the enemy is always faster and more direct than brute force.

So after calming down, Wang Zhenhuan simply sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and began to re-examine the sequence of events. First, he needed to clarify one point: since this mirage dragon could transform into Ling Zhizi...

In this illusion, everything seen and heard is unreliable. So when did the mirage dragon begin to influence him? And when did Ling Zhizi disappear?

Wang Zhenhuan recalled carefully, and it seemed that everything started with Ling Zhizi's instructions when the clouds and mist rose. At that time, he did not see Ling Zhizi, but only heard her instructions not to act rashly.

It must have been from that time that the Mirage Dragon began to subtly influence him. First, it planted a seed in his heart that he should not act rashly, and then a series of events followed.

The sounds of fighting and cries of pain were merely what drew him over. Therefore, the two Lingzhizi fighting earlier must have been imposters.

The purpose was to lure him into this illusory realm of clouds and mist. In other words, from the very beginning, this so-called illusory realm of clouds and mist was a deception. Everything the Mirage Dragon did was to lure him into its trap.

Wang Zhenhuan was filled with regret. He was still too young and inexperienced to defeat this ancient monster who had lived for hundreds of years. Even without a physical body, the monster's schemes alone had completely outmaneuvered him.

This mirage dragon is so meticulous in its thinking, and its soul is immortal, almost eternal. If it were to escape, the damage it would cause would be immeasurable. Even I, a cultivator, would find it difficult to resist.

Not to mention ordinary people, no wonder this thing was sealed away. But now is not the time to think about these things. Now that we have figured out what happened, we need to think about how to break the deadlock in the current situation.

Wang Zhenzhen was definitely no match for it, so he had to think of other ways. This mirage dragon seemed powerful and incredibly intimidating. But Wang Zhenzhen carefully recalled for a moment.

He quickly discovered a point he had previously overlooked: although the mirage dragon was meticulous, it had very few direct confrontations with him. In other words...

Although this mirage dragon has endless schemes and its illusions are very realistic, its actual strength is not strong! At least it won't be a one-sided crushing defeat, otherwise it would have made a move long ago and wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble to scheme against Wang Zhen.

Having figured this out, Wang Zhen felt much more at ease. After pondering for a moment, he made up his mind. All of this seemed like a long process, but in reality, it was just a matter of going through the motions in his mind.

It had only been half an incense stick's time since he sat down. Although he didn't understand illusionary formations, he understood one principle: brute force can overcome any skill.

Every illusion or formation has a limit to its capacity. Once that limit is exceeded, it will naturally collapse on its own. Therefore, after careful consideration, Wang Zhenhuan came up with a solution in one word.

Reckless!

This recklessness is different from before. Before, he followed the mirage dragon's rhythm, like a headless fly, plunging headlong into the illusion. It was mindless recklessness. But now he has a clear direction.

So rather than calling it recklessness, it's more accurate to describe it as a determined advance after clarifying one's thoughts. He got up from the ground and recalled what he had seen in the Zhou Tian Secret Manual.

He sensed the amount of spiritual energy remaining in his body, then drew a dagger from his waist and cut his index finger. He used the blood to draw talismans on the ground; this was the first time he had ever drawn a talisman.

Three parts excitement, seven parts trepidation. What is this illusory cloud realm truly made of? Water! Since it's water, it must be afraid of fire! Therefore, Wang Zhenhuan's idea was to summon a fire-attribute spirit beast to manifest.

When it comes to fire-attribute spirit beasts, the first one that comes to mind is the Vermilion Bird of the South. The Vermilion Bird is the master of the Southern Fire, and the Nine Yang True Fire it controls can incinerate all things in the world.

However, he was also afraid that once he summoned it, he wouldn't be able to control it. He only possessed the cultivation level, but his divine sense hadn't caught up yet. Moreover, they were currently on a mountaintop, and if they burned the entire mountain down, the sin would be immense.

Of all methods of killing, fire is the most vicious and causes the most damage. His goal was merely to break the illusion, not to destroy the entire mountain.

The teachings and image of Xuan Yangzi were still vivid in Wang Zhenhuan's mind, so after weighing the options, he chose to settle for second best. Instead of drawing the Vermilion Bird Talisman, he chose to serve under the Vermilion Bird.

The Winged Fire Serpent, one of the Seven Mansions of the South!