When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Chu Xianlan grasped Yi Chen's hand and scrambled to her feet from the ground.

"Master, before I was pulled into the illusion, I heard Lord Bi's voice."

Yi Chen held his disciple's hand tightly, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic surroundings, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Bi Deng is hiding something."

Chu Xianlan frowned slightly. The matter of entering the valley was originally arranged by Xie Qingying. Their understanding of the herb gatherers was limited, and they assumed that they were locals hired by Shuangyun City to guide them.

Looking back now, this group of people seemed strange in every way, and things were probably not that simple.

The visiting cultivators were unfamiliar with the terrain of Youxin Valley and could only rely on the herb gatherers to lead the way. If the other party wanted to, they could easily lead everyone into a pre-set trap.

It seems that the herb gatherer and Bi Deng had a personal grudge, and just because of the pretext of searching for the Spiritless Immortal Sprout, they dragged a group of cultivators into it.

This is ridiculous, even lying down I got infected.

Even though the situation was dire, Chu Xianlan couldn't help but steal glances at her tiny master beside her while pondering.

One look is one look.

No wonder Master Pei always misses his master's youthful appearance; who could resist that?

Yi Chen felt a distinctly burning gaze fixed on him.

Turning around, I was met with a pair of big, round dog eyes.

At this moment, Chu Xianlan looked even younger than when she first arrived at the Taiyi Sect, about five or six years old. Her bangs were slightly messy, her face was chubby and still childish, and her bright eyes were sparkling.

Yi Chen was taken aback.

It's as if I've developed an illusion.

It was as if time had reversed, returning to that morning many years ago. Little Chu Xianlan was led to the Jade Capital Pavilion, her face full of forced composure, looking at him with the same wet eyes, anxious yet expectant.

It turns out that so much time has passed.

"Master, why aren't you leaving?" Chu Xianlan tilted her head.

"It's nothing." Yi Chen lowered his eyes, turned around, and tightened his grip on the other person's fingertips.

Chu Xianlan was led forward.

Why is Master still holding his hand...? First he emphasized that the ground was cold, and now he's leading him so naturally. Could it be that because his body has shrunk, Master is really taking care of him like a child?

As Chu Xianlan was lost in thought, his master had already led him a few steps to the edge of the illusion.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yichen freed up his other short hand, pinched two fingers together to form a sword incantation, and immediately went out to answer the call.

The longsword hovered in the air, appearing to be much taller than its owner, while the one controlling it was a tiny, delicate little boy, creating a scene that was both subtly comical.

With a stern expression, Yi Chen flicked his fingers, sending Bu Xizhou hurtling straight at the unseen wall ahead—

"Ouch~"

Amidst the rich scent of perfume, a delicate cry of pain suddenly rang out.

The people who had been turned into children were all surprised and looked in the direction of the sound.

In the void that was originally empty, a magnificent scene that seemed out of place appeared out of nowhere: flowers in full bloom, fragrant breezes blowing, and a little girl with strangely colored hair lying on a painting covered with a soft carpet.

She looked at him with a reproachful expression, resting her chin on her hand and looking over curiously, her playful gaze landing on Xiao Yichen, whose expression was cold and stern.

"That's really brutal."

The little girl sat up with a bright smile, radiating an unusual aura.

"It was you, you little vixen, who locked us in this illusion!? You're in cahoots with those herb gatherers, aren't you? Let us out right now!" a rogue cultivator shouted angrily.

"Witch? I'm not that kind of lowlife." The little girl tossed her pink hair over her shoulder and said in a low voice, "You all willingly stepped into this sea of ​​flowers and casually plucked my hair. Ha, and now you're blaming me?"

Chu Xianlan had already guessed what was going on when she first appeared.

Flower Spirit.

Unlike ordinary mountain spirits, flower spirits are spiritual beings born from heaven and earth. Youxin Valley has absorbed the spiritual energy of the earth's veins for thousands of years, so it is not surprising that it has developed its own consciousness.

"What exactly do you want to achieve by turning us into this?!"

Clearly, some people are still unaware of the situation.

"Small ones are cute too." Hua Ling covered her mouth and chuckled. The next moment, her originally delicate and cute face turned ferocious, black energy surged around her, and she stuck out her bright red tongue to lick her lips, becoming sinister and terrifying.

"People, families, like, children, the most."

Before the words were finished, wisps of black smoke appeared on the ground around the illusion.

Many pale arms emerged from the black smoke, and with a gurgling sound, many disheveled figures crawled out of the ground, their bodies shrouded in a chilling, ghostly aura, and approached the group of children who were staggering in the field.

"Wow!" someone exclaimed enthusiastically, then, after a closer look, slowly added, "A ghost!"

But that's it.

After a brief silence, a chorus of murmurs began to rise:

"this one?"

"I thought it was going to be something really scary..."

"It's just a ghost, it's not like we haven't seen them before."

If someone who has cultivated immortality is still afraid of such ghosts and spirits, then they are truly seeing ghosts.

Seeing this, Hua Ling was furious. With a wave of her sleeve, she dispersed the numerous ghosts and shouted irritably, "How boring!"

What a disappointment!

Seeing her playful attitude, Chu Xianlan's lips twitched. It turned out that this flower spirit wasn't here to take lives, but was just bored and looking for fun.

At this moment, a graceful young girl stepped out from among the Xuan Yang Sect members, stopped a few steps in front of Hua Ling, and gave a polite bow.

"Senior, we have strayed into this place by mistake and had no intention of disturbing your cultivation. We hope that you will be magnanimous and show us a way out of this illusion." Ji Fuyao's eyes flashed, but her calm demeanor remained unchanged.

Hua Ling looked her over with interest. "Letting you out isn't difficult, but since you've been causing trouble on my turf, you'll have to pay a price..."

Before the word "cost" could be uttered, a sword flashed.

A cold, icy blue light pierced through the air, and the blade went straight into Hua Ling's chest!

Hua Ling's breath hitched, and her whole body stiffened.

Xiao Yichen stood several feet away, without uttering a single word, and immediately took action.

"hiss!"

He Jingxuan gasped, inwardly sighing: "My godfather is so decisive, it's terrifying!"

The moment the sword pierced through the flower spirit's body, the girl's form transformed into a flurry of pink petals, vanishing without a trace with a soft rustling sound, leaving only a fleeting laugh echoing faintly in the illusion: "What, just because you have higher cultivation, you think you can bully me?"

The entire illusion began to distort violently, the surrounding scenery shattered, and countless transparent bubbles encircled Chu Xianlan, Ji Fuyao, He Jingxuan, and everyone else, causing them to float into the air.

Immediately afterwards, the world spun around.

When Yi Chen regained his composure, the surroundings had completely changed.

He was in a warm pavilion, his body had recovered, and outside the window was a hazy sea of ​​pink flowers.

Opposite her stood the same Hua Ling, completely unharmed and uninjured by Bu Xi Zhou's attack, smiling as she looked over.

Yi Chen already understood.

What we see before us is still an illusion.

Hua Ling's true form is connected to the entire Youxin Valley; what was just dispersed was merely a spiritual body she had conjured.

Hua Ling suddenly flicked her sleeve.

Dozens of water mirrors appeared out of thin air and floated in mid-air. The reflections in the mirrors were those of all the trapped cultivators except for Yi Chen, all of whom were floating in transparent bubbles with their eyes closed.

"Don't make any rash moves, they're all in my hands." Hua Ling blinked.

Yi Chen's gaze sharpened slightly as he looked up at her, his voice calm and indifferent: "What do you want to do?"

Hua Ling lightly touched her lips with her fingertip, sizing him up.

"Don't be so serious," she said in a coquettish tone. "I didn't mean any harm, I just wanted to ask you a question."

Yi Chen silently raised his head, waiting for her to continue.

Hua Ling cleared her throat, leaned forward, and asked in a low voice, "Ahem, actually I saw... ahem, why were you kissing your disciple in the cave before?"

“…………”