Chapter 1025: 少女

Qin Sang stood on the mountaintop and was surprised to find a sheer cliff a thousand *ren* high before him. The path ended!

A cliff wouldn't stop a cultivator; Qin Sang could easily fly across on his sword. However, reason told him it was best not to act impulsively.

Deep within the thick fog, mountain shadows appeared indistinct, like illusions. It seemed like a range of mountains, but they might not be real. Acting rashly could lead him into the trap of the Thousand Mountain Array, putting him in genuine danger.

The Eye-Opening Butterfly fluttered around Qin Sang, using its divine ability to observe everything nearby, but found nothing unusual.

After a brief contemplation, Qin Sang decided to retreat. He descended the mountain the way he came, slaying several fierce beasts before reaching the base. He then turned to look at another real peak and, without hesitation, walked towards it.

Along the way, fierce beasts frequently appeared, similar to his experience on the previous mountain. Upon reaching the summit, the same scene reappeared. The path was cut off.

After exiting the valley, the path split into three: two real and one illusory, all leading to dead ends. Qin Sang furrowed his brow, looking around as he recalled his journey, an pensive expression on his face.

It seemed that to pass through, he needed to find the true exit among the three mountains.

Cultivators skilled in illusion arrays would fare better; incomplete arrays couldn't be flawless. With careful analysis and effort, they should be able to find the exit or a flaw in the spiritual array, making the danger much smaller. Cultivators unfamiliar with illusion arrays and lacking countermeasures would likely have to force their way through. In such cases, even if they were powerful and unafraid of the traps within the illusion array, their efficiency in breaking the array would be very low, causing them to spend too much time and energy at this stage.

"The fierce beasts appear and disappear unpredictably, and the array's reality and illusion can shift. So, is the third mountain necessarily an illusion?" Qin Sang murmured to himself.

He returned to the base of the mountain once more. This time, Qin Sang noticed other changes in the illusion array; the fierce beasts it conjured were slightly stronger than before, indicating that the longer one stayed in the array, the more powerful the opponents encountered would become.

He quickened his pace and reached the base of the third mountain. The Eye-Opening Butterfly discerned that this mountain was illusory, but upon closer inspection, Qin Sang found that there was indeed reality within the illusion.

Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, then walked to a sheer cliff and stepped forward. Wind rustled past his ears, and the thick fog remained, but the surrounding scenery changed. A rustling sound filled the air, and Qin Sang looked around to find himself in a dense forest, surrounded by tall ancient trees. The jungle was dark and damp, and strange roars of fierce beasts echoed from afar.

This time, Qin Sang found there was no path to guide him. To find his way out, he had to rely on himself. Using the Eye-Opening Butterfly's divine ability, he observed for a while, then chose a direction to set off. Along the way, he repeatedly changed directions and eventually succeeded in finding the hidden exit within the illusion.

"With the Eye-Opening divine ability, I can move unimpeded through the Thousand Mountain Array." Qin Sang was delighted, not expecting it to be so easy. Immediately, he accelerated without hesitation.

The illusion array was not static; some areas had no fierce beast attacks but concealed many strange and varied traps and mechanisms. However, with the Eye-Opening Butterfly and Qin Sang's own considerable strength, the array's various arrangements caused him little trouble, and his journey was remarkably smooth.

As time passed, Qin Sang gradually discerned some of the illusion array's patterns. After all, for the sake of the Eighteen Demonic Banners, he had diligently studied the "Incomplete Record of Profound Arrays" from the Yuanshen Sect for a period, gaining a certain understanding of the path of spiritual arrays. Even without the Eye-Opening Butterfly, Qin Sang could deduce the way out, though it would take significantly more time than it did now.

After traversing countless mountains and ravines, Qin Sang appeared on a floating peak. He frowned, gazing ahead, and murmured, "I wonder how much longer it will take to pass through the Thousand Mountain Array. The further I go, the stronger the illusion array becomes. The Eye-Opening Butterfly is also struggling a bit; sometimes it needs to observe for a while to distinguish reality from illusion. It seems I can't stay idle either; I should try to deduce the array to assist the Eye-Opening Butterfly..."

Animal roars echoed intermittently from a distance. While such a scene was normal within the Thousand Mountain Array, Qin Sang seemed to sense something. His gaze sharpened, fixing on the direction of the roars, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. "Is someone there?"

Qin Sang was surprised that someone was even faster than him. This was the first person he had encountered since entering the Thousand Illusions Array.

"The disciples of the Eastern Extreme Alliance can pinpoint Mute Girl's location, and other factions likely have similar methods. These individuals are all experts; working together is indeed much easier than fighting alone. It seems I can't let my guard down yet." Qin Sang muttered, withdrawing his gaze, and then swiftly moved down the mountain on his own.

In the deep mountain forest, a young girl was entangled in a fierce battle with a fox-like beast. However, this fox was the size of a calf, with sharp tusks, and exceedingly ferocious.

The girl's body was light and nimble, flitting up and down like a colorful butterfly. She waved her cloud sleeves, leaving trails of ethereal mist in the air. The mist was light as nothing, encircling both her and the beast, appearing harmless. The fierce beast didn't perceive any danger and continued its ferocious assault on the girl.

Two more wisps of mist drifted from her sleeves. Both of them were now enveloped in the mist.

At that moment, the girl's figure recoiled, flying backward to escape the beast. Simultaneously, she parted her red lips and crisply uttered, "Ensnare!" *Whoosh whoosh...* Before her words fully faded, the mist abruptly changed, shedding its ethereal appearance. It suddenly transformed into numerous white threads that fiercely coiled around the beast in the center. In an instant, the beast was wrapped up like a zongzi.

The girl's hand seals rapidly changed. Within the mist, there was a series of bone-cracking sounds and splashes of blood. When the girl dispelled the mist, the fierce beast was already dead.

After slaying the fierce beast, the girl took a breath, her face devoid of any joy. "My deductions are going wrong more and more often. Instead of finding the way out, I'm stumbling into traps. This time, I even encountered such a powerful fierce beast. Who knows what else lies ahead? If this continues, I'll miss my opportunity..." The girl sighed softly, gently caressing the life talisman her grandfather had given her, a hint of anxiety on her face.

Just then, the girl's ears twitched slightly. She abruptly looked up into the depths of the forest, clutched the life talisman tightly, and with a flash of her figure, silently glided onto a nearby treetop, holding her breath. "Someone's there?" The girl's expression turned serious.

Although the thick fog obstructed her view, she could tell the animal roars were unusual. She immediately realized that the commotion from her slaying the fierce beast earlier might have exposed her. Considering this, the girl promptly moved away from the area, deliberately increasing the distance between herself and the other party.

But she soon realized that the other party wasn't looking for her; instead, they were heading straight in another direction at extreme speed, barely pausing along the way. The girl was secretly astonished. The other person's actions were very strange; they seemed not to be making any deductions at all. Unless they were a reckless brute, they must understand the Thousand Mountain Array extremely well, able to see through its illusions at a glance. How could someone who made it this far be a mere brute? "Could he really be that powerful?" The girl was filled with doubt and surprise, and then noticed that the sounds from that direction suddenly ceased.