Chapter 2262: Taking Over

There was no one else around, no other signs of life. The silence was deathly, as if Qin Sang had entered a realm of the dead.

Qin Sang believed that if the heavenly omen was indeed targeting outsiders like himself, he couldn't be the only one who had entered this place. Perhaps the area was simply too vast, and he hadn't encountered anyone else yet. In reality, only a fraction of those who successfully reached the Illusionary Realm participated in the struggle for seats on the Divine Mountain.

“There are no changes within my body either...” Qin Sang frowned slightly. He remained still for a moment, sensing his own condition. He had harbored a hope that perhaps this heavenly transformation would restore his cultivation from reality, but it hadn't happened.

“Strange... hmm?” Suddenly, Qin Sang's expression shifted. He faintly sensed something. He looked up at the vast, empty sky. In his perception, this world, though outwardly calm, was filled with countless chaotic vital energies.

Amidst these chaotic vital energies, a peculiar fluctuation caught Qin Sang's attention. It was an unknown, mysterious power, pervading the world and flowing in a specific direction. Something unusual seemed to exist in that direction, drawing him with an inexplicable pull. There were no clues here, and the mysterious Azure Luan had vanished. It seemed he had no choice but to follow his instincts in that direction.

With this thought, Qin Sang didn't hesitate. He immediately ascended into the air and flew towards that direction. He silently calculated how long his Heavenly Awareness Thunder Robe would last, hoping to uncover the secrets of this place before it dissipated.

As Qin Sang entered, others appeared in different parts of this realm.

In a mountain stream, a rock jutted out from the middle of the river, about a foot above the water. The rushing current splashed against its surface, keeping it perpetually wet and covered in a layer of moss.

Suddenly, a person appeared on the rock. This person had multicolored hair and a pair of natural bird wings. He was a member of the Sheng Yu clan of the Eremite race. Appearing out of thin air, he looked at the completely unfamiliar surroundings, his eyes filled with surprise and bewilderment. He was the patriarch who had vanished in plain sight.

The war had grown increasingly brutal, and several masters sent to the battlefield from his clan had fallen. They were pillars of the family, and their deaths were a significant blow. If this continued, the clan would eventually be bled dry. After much painful reflection, the clan decided they could no longer allow the younger generation to follow in their footsteps. He had gathered the clan elders, intending to select the most talented youngsters to secretly hide them, pretending they had died prematurely. But just as he was speaking at a crucial moment, an unexpected change occurred.

“What happened? How did I get here?” His face was filled with shock and suspicion, mixed with confusion and fear. Anyone would feel fear encountering such an event in broad daylight. Given the overwhelming authority of the Immortal City, his first thought was that his clan's plans had been exposed!

But then, he felt a wisp of vital energy entwine around him. This energy was unfamiliar, yet inexplicably somewhat familiar, deepening the confusion in his eyes and furrowing his brow even further.

Moments later, his brow slightly relaxed. He murmured, “So, I am Xi Rui.” His tone was initially shocked, but by the time he uttered the last word, he had completely calmed down. He understood everything. No wonder in this life he always felt as if he had lost something. Sometimes, in the dead of night, he would gaze at the night sky for an entire night. He had wanted to search for it but didn't know where to begin. For years, he had meditated countless times, finding fragmented images in his mind, but he never understood their meaning.

It turned out this wasn't his true self; he had merely been deceived by the power within this secret realm, whether it was a Dharma Body, Illusion Body, or something else entirely. In essence, his true form should still be seated on the Divine Mountain in reality!

'Buzz, buzz, buzz...' His wings vibrated, their colorful feathers trembling incessantly. Then he subconsciously clenched his fists. As he connected with that wisp of vital energy, Xi Rui felt as if a door had opened. He sensed his own power gradually returning!

“This is the true me!” Xi Rui's voice was invigorated, his eyes shining brightly as he scanned his surroundings. He hadn't forgotten his mission. Everything indicated that after years of being lost in the secret realm, the time had finally come!

“Hm?” Just then, Xi Rui's expression became uncertain once more. This wisp of vital energy not only helped him recover his strength but also seemed to contain an unsettling danger that was drawing near!

“Could it be...” Xi Rui immediately thought of something, his face changing dramatically! He suddenly spread his wings, and several of the most vibrantly colored feathers spontaneously detached. These feathers transformed into pure light, forming a suit of radiant armor that enveloped Xi Rui's entire body. The light armor concealed his aura, reducing his fluctuations to a minimum. Xi Rui's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

Shortly after Xi Rui departed, a streak of flowing light pierced the air and arrived. The light was multicolored, like a rainbow bridge spanning the heavens.

'Whoosh!' The flowing light descended from the sky, landing precisely where Xi Rui had stood earlier, revealing a human figure. This person also had multicolored hair and bird wings, and his appearance was identical to Xi Rui's in reality. Compared to the previous one, *he* seemed more like the true Xi Rui!

He swept his gaze around, a strange light flashing in his pupils, and snorted coldly, “He fled quickly! Let's see how far you can run!” Before his words fully faded, this person also disappeared.

Between two mountains, a fertile plain naturally formed. The plain was lush with water plants and grass, green waves rippling. A young boy sat on the grass. He sat stunned on the ground, hands propped behind him, his face filled with terror. He was precisely the water-carrying boy, who had been fantasizing about a bright future, lost in his thoughts, when he suddenly found himself here. His village and the stream were gone. The scene before him was unlike anything he had ever seen.

“Ghosts! Ghosts!” The boy recalled the terrifying legends told by the elders in his village. Overwhelmed by extreme fear, he hugged himself tightly and screamed. “Please! Don't eat me! Don't eat me...”

The boy trembled uncontrollably. Silently, a wisp of vital energy entwined itself around him. Unlike Xi Rui, the boy had no cultivation and didn't perceive this wisp of vital energy. In his extreme terror, he wasn't even aware of the changes happening to his own body. His screaming continued for a while before the boy finally noticed something, and his expression became somewhat blank.

“Ah!” He suddenly clutched his head tightly and writhed on the ground in pain. Memories, fragmented into countless pieces, surged into his body along with his original power. Unfortunately, he was too weak now; he wasn't even a cultivator, just an ordinary mortal. However, after the pain subsided, the boy finally understood everything.

“My name is Xu Mu...” The boy knelt on the ground, covered in mud and grass, gasping for breath. It turned out he was Xu Mu, from the Supreme Dao Lineage, who had once competed with Qin Sang and Liuli for the Spring and Autumn Sundial. He didn't possess Qin Sang's overwhelming power, but he had allied with the Eremite race and secured a seat for himself on the Divine Mountain. Even at this point, the confusion and shock in his eyes hadn't completely dissipated; the truth had utterly shattered the boy's worldview.

By the time Xu Mu finally found himself again, he also felt a lingering unease, but unfortunately, he had wasted too much time; it was too late.

'Whoosh!' A breeze swept across the meadow, causing green waves to ripple. Xu Mu felt shivers run down his spine. Ignoring his disheveled appearance, he immediately formed a hand seal, transforming into a streak of green light, intending to leave.

'Bang!' The green light had barely flown three zhang before suddenly encountering an invisible barrier, bouncing back even faster. Then, Xu Mu saw another version of himself appear before him, and his face filled with horror.

“You...” The other Xu Mu stared directly at him, a strange smile on his face. “I am you!”

'Swish!' Several familiar silken threads shot towards him. Xu Mu's heart pounded. He recognized these as the threads from his natal spiritual treasure, the Yuan-Gathering Spear. Not only was the magical artifact identical, but the techniques the opponent used were also almost exactly like his own.

In a moment of crisis, Xu Mu subconsciously manifested his own Yuan-Gathering Spear. As his cultivation and memories returned, his belongings, including his spiritual treasures, had also been recovered. To counter the opponent's Yuan-Gathering Spear, a direct confrontation was the best method. Identical silken threads flew from Xu Mu's body. These seemingly delicate threads clashed fiercely between the two Xu Mus.

'Bang, bang, bang...' The aftermath resonated with immense power, causing the surrounding mountains to tremble violently. Blinding light erupted on the battlefield, and then a figure was sent flying backward from the radiance, his aura fluctuating wildly. To everyone's surprise, the one at a disadvantage was the original, Xu Mu's true form!

At that moment, Xu Mu understood completely. The other Xu Mu was likely the grey figure that had previously hounded him in the glowing mists. There was clearly an intricate connection between the mists and this Illusionary Realm. The grey figure had not only been reborn here, possessing all the abilities it had learned from him, but it had also gained sentience! In reality, the grey figure was no match for Xu Mu because it lacked sentience and only knew how to attack relentlessly. Xu Mu could always escape its entanglement simply by leaving the glowing mists.

The situation now was entirely different. The grey figure's strength was incomparable; it had even made improvements based on what it learned from him, becoming even stronger. Conversely, Xu Mu's strength had not yet fully recovered. With this imbalance, he was surprisingly no match for the grey figure! What exactly did the grey figure want to do to him? Was it... to replace him?

The other Xu Mu calmly walked out from the aftermath, completely unharmed. The expectation and greed in his eyes as he looked at Xu Mu sent shivers down Xu Mu's spine.

'Crack!' Suddenly, a sharp crack sounded behind him, as if something had shattered. A flash of yellow light gleamed in the void. Above it, a spiritual talisman simultaneously appeared, shattering the treasure within the yellow light and causing both to perish. Xu Mu shuddered. He was truly terrified, for this Fu Ling Pearl was his last means of survival. Even more ironically, the opponent's method for breaking the Fu Ling Pearl was a spiritual talisman it had learned from him!

'Pfft, pfft, pfft!' The other Xu Mu gave Xu Mu no chance to catch his breath. Xu Mu felt his entire body suddenly become incredibly heavy. The ground beneath his feet melted into mud, from which black, muddy hands emerged, grasping at his legs. Following this, Xu Mu struck repeatedly, but he was simply no match for the other Xu Mu. Within a few exchanges, he was completely at a disadvantage.

Finally, a mass of shadow enveloped Xu Mu, and a gigantic spiritual tree descended from the sky. Larger than a mountain, it slammed squarely into Xu Mu. Xu Mu's protective spiritual light shattered on impact, and he was violently thrown to the ground, spitting blood. Then, his vision darkened as that incredibly familiar face appeared before him, inches away. Xu Mu felt an unprecedented, immense danger, but he was powerless to resist.

“I am you, and you are me! Hahaha...” The grey figure stared directly into Xu Mu's eyes, letting out a wild laugh. The laughter echoed through the mountains.

The next moment, a terrifying scene unfolded: the grey figure actually extended a hand into Xu Mu's glabella, then its entire arm, and finally squeezed its entire body into Xu Mu's form. The pain on Xu Mu's face gradually faded, replaced by a blank expression.

On a mountain not far from the battle, Qin Sang watched this scene, his expression also subtly changing. He had discovered Xu Mu shortly after leaving his original spot and had been observing dispassionately, never expecting to witness such a horrifying sight.

“Is that Xu Mu? What are the consequences of being possessed by a demonic shadow? Will he be replaced in reality as well...” Qin Sang watched the fissure on Xu Mu's glabella slowly close, a chill running down his spine. This scene was too terrifying! This Illusionary Realm was far more dangerous than imagined. If one couldn't recover after returning to reality, another person would be parading around in their skin. Such a fate would be worse than death. Xu Mu had given up resisting; his fate was sealed.

Just then, Qin Sang detected unusual fluctuations again. Someone was flying, heading directly towards him. Protected by his Heavenly Awareness Thunder Robe, he wasn't afraid of exposure. He looked up at the horizon. At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Xu Mu's body, now possessed by the demonic shadow, was turning ethereal and finally dissolving into nothingness.

In the blink of an eye, a streak of flowing light appeared on the horizon, one that Qin Sang found somewhat familiar. “This divine ability, it seems like Xi Rui!” During the Divine Mountain battle, Qin Sang had paid close attention to top masters like the Feathered Race Prince and Xi Rui, recognizing this at once. Xi Rui seemed to be pursued, and as expected, his pursuer was likely his demonic shadow.

However, Xi Rui's condition was clearly much better than Xu Mu's; his strength seemed almost fully restored. Qin Sang mused that this difference likely stemmed from their experiences within the illusion. Xu Mu was merely a mortal in the illusion, having perhaps undergone several reincarnations within it, enduring countless forms of attrition and sinking completely into oblivion. Hence, his recovery was slow. If he had undergone fewer reincarnations in the illusion, or even perceived the illusion's true nature, he would certainly have recovered faster, like Xi Rui.

“So, why were there no signs of his own strength recovering? Was it because of the Heavenly Awareness Thunder Robe?” Qin Sang was deep in thought. As Xu Mu's demonic shadow had stated, the demonic shadow was essentially one's self from within the illusion, only this 'self' had rebelled. The encounter between two selves was akin to the convergence of reality and illusion, allowing one to regain their true self and break free from the illusion's constraints. It seemed this world was where reality and illusion intertwined. However, the connection between him and his demonic shadow was severed by the Heavenly Awareness Thunder Robe, granted by the mysterious Azure Luan. This explained why the demonic shadow couldn't find him, and why his strength hadn't returned.