Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Zhou Chu was very glad that he had chosen the right path this time. He not only got rid of the influence of the blue demon flower, but also successfully found the Yellow Spring Stone.

He quickened his pace toward the boulder, while turning back to signal the silent fellow to catch up.

The man stared intently at the outline of the boulder, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Zhou Chu turned around, thinking to himself, "This kid isn't expressionless, he can smile after all."

As Zhou Chu approached the Yellow Springs Stone, he saw a figure vaguely standing beneath the boulder, waving in his direction.

Who is this person? Could they also be here to retrieve the Netherworld Blade?

Zhou Chu quickened his pace and saw that the other person's figure was somewhat similar to the silent man. Moreover, the man was wearing a red robe and had one hand gripping the hilt of a sword at his waist.

He glanced at the silent man beside him with a puzzled look, and slowed his pace.

A terrible thought arose in my mind.

Could the person under the rock also be a taciturn person?

Zhou Chu dared not think any further.

If it were someone else, that would be fine. But if he's a quiet person, then who would this person be?

Having overcome countless difficulties to get this far, turning back is impossible.

Whatever happens next, we have no choice but to face it head-on. The best way to overcome fear is to confront it directly.

Zhou Chu took a deep breath and strode forward.

Ten steps.

Five steps.

Three steps.

Three steps away, Zhou Chu could clearly see the person's face by the moonlight.

That's clearly a silent, secretive person.

If that's the case, who is the person who's always by your side?

Zhou Chu gripped his sword and slowly turned his head.

The taciturn fellow who had always been by his side had vanished without a trace.

The person in front of them suddenly moved.

Drawing the sword, leaping, and thrusting—the three movements were completed in a single breath, in one fluid motion.

What a fast sword!

Seeing the sharp sword aimed at his face, Zhou Chu instinctively tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The blade, accompanied by a gust of wind, passed by my ear.

Zhou Chu clearly felt a coolness near his ear, followed by a sharp pain, as the skin near his ear was cut by the qi.

The silent man sheathed his sword and walked behind Zhou Chu.

The sword strike was a close call, but Zhou Chu felt a sense of relief.

He turned around and saw an old woman lying on the ground, her mouth open and her pupils dilated, clearly dead.

The silent man glanced at the dead old woman, his eyes devoid of any emotion, and left Zhou Chu with only one sentence:

"You carried her all the way."

Zhou Chu's mind went blank for a moment.

What does it mean to carry her all the way?

This guy, the silent type, doesn't speak much, but when he does, he says something astonishing.

The old woman on the ground was the one who had appeared in Zhou Chu's hallucination earlier, the one who kept saying "You don't belong here" and blocking his way.

What's going on? Have I actually escaped the illusion?

Zhou Chu wanted to voice his doubts, but the taciturn man gestured for him to be quiet.

"We'll talk about this outside. You climb up and get the knife; I'll wait for you down here."

Suppressing his doubts, Zhou Chuqiang walked to the Yellow Springs Stone.

Looking up, the stone wasn't upright; instead, it was covered with huge, obscure symbols.

Upon closer inspection, these symbols are deeply carved into the stone, creating a pitted and uneven surface that provides a foothold for support.

Zhou Chu climbed up, stepping on the inscribed symbols.

After climbing for a long time, Zhou Chu realized something was wrong.

When viewed from below, this rock doesn't appear that high.

Logically speaking, after climbing for so long, they should have reached the crevice long ago.

But looking up now, the gap was still quite far away. Looking down, the sealed gourd below was almost invisible.

Zhou Chu was startled; there was something strange about this stone!

As he looked up from below, he had already memorized the symbols on the stone.

The characters on these symbols are extremely large, and there may be up to thirty lines of symbols on the entire stone.

To verify his suspicions, Zhou Chu continued climbing, silently counting how many lines of symbols he had traversed.

One floor, two floors... twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one!

impossible!

You should be able to reach the top by the thirtieth floor, but this is already the thirty-first floor! Where did the thirty-first floor come from?

Zhou Chu looked up and realized that he was still a long way from the top; in fact, he was less than halfway there.

From the moment we entered Huangquanling until now, every step has been extremely difficult.

Zhou Chu stopped and began to think about where the problem lay.

When did the old woman blocking the road climb onto him? Why didn't he feel anything while carrying her all the way? It wasn't until just now, after the silent man stabbed him in the ear, that he felt his body relax.

If the person waiting for you under the rock is indeed a taciturn fellow, then who is the person who has been following you all along?

If that person wasn't a quiet type, why would they save my life at the edge of a cliff?

Also, why didn't the silent man attract any attention from the people on the road when he spoke up and even killed someone?

A series of questions nearly burst his brain.

After racking my brains for a long time, I still couldn't grasp the slightest clue.

The current problem is that if we continue upwards, we don't know how long it will take to find the Netherworld Blade.

Or rather, it's an endless road, one that you can never climb to the edge.

"It's too late, climb up quickly!"

A urging voice came from below, startling Zhou Chu.

He looked down and saw that the silent gourd had somehow climbed up there.

In an instant, Zhou Chu suddenly understood.

fake!

It's all fake.

It's been two months since I started living with the taciturn guy.

This guy never speaks more than three words, and he never explains anything he does.

They also do not offer any advice on what others do.

It's exactly like a piece of wood.

If it weren't for his ever-present red clothes, people would treat him like he was invisible, with no presence at all.

Today, however, his behavior was very different from usual. He not only talked a lot, but his actions were also strange in many ways.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Zhou Chu guessed that from the moment he encountered the old lady blocking his way, that taciturn man was no longer the taciturn man he once was.

While Zhou Chu was struggling with his decision, the silent man had already begun to climb upwards.

Zhou Chu didn't follow him up the stairs; his mind was still racing.

There is only one explanation for all the strange things happening right now: everything we are seeing is an illusion.

The illusion that began when she encountered the old woman blocking her way has continued until now.

If the illusion continues, the only result will be that time drags on until dawn, and they will eventually be trapped here and unable to escape.

So, how exactly do we break free from the illusion?

Zhou Chu carefully recalled every detail that happened after entering Huangquanling.

It is certain that the illusion is related to those blue demonic flowers.

Strange whispers, eerie blue light, and inexplicable fragrance—these are all methods the Blue Demon Flower uses to create illusions.

However, there are no blue demon flowers around where we are now.

How is the current illusion created?

Could it be...?

A chilling thought suddenly popped into Zhou Chu's mind.