Chapter 2500: Playing a Game

Everyone was startled upon suddenly entering such a place, but they calmed down once they realized it was the work of the Mirage Beast. The Mirage Beast had been harassing them quite a lot lately. Every cultivator in the city, except for Lu Ye, had been tormented by it to varying degrees, so they were already accustomed to its antics.

"What's going on, Brother Ye?" You Die asked, looking at Yuan Xi beside Lu Ye with considerable apprehension. She had been tormented by the Mirage Beast just recently; although she hadn't sustained any physical harm, her heart still throbbed with fear, making her feel somewhat intimidated now.

"Senior Mirage Beast wants to play a fun game with us," Lu Ye replied, his expression blank as he stared at Yuan Xi's small face.

Yuan Xi giggled. Without moving her feet, she suddenly floated backward, away from Lu Ye.

Lu Ye watched her and asked, "Senior, what do you want to play, and how do we play?"

The group's eyes turned toward her.

"No rush, no rush," Yuan Xi said. "Before we play this game, we need to divide into teams. I'll be the captain on my side, and you'll be the captain on your side. The rest of you, please choose your own teams."

No sooner had she finished speaking than You Die immediately flew towards Lu Ye, sticking close to him. "I'm with Brother Ye!"

With her coming over, there was no need to mention Ya Yi and Ku Zhi, the two tag-alongs.

Then Cui Can, Fan Wu, and a third person also quickly darted over. The several slaves did the same.

In the blink of an eye, only Huan Qing and Fu Wei remained unmoved. Huan Qing was utterly still, seemingly unconcerned with anything, while Fu Wei wasn't unwilling to join Lu Ye, but he couldn't get Huan Qing to move with him.

Lu Ye's lips curled into a smile as he looked at Yuan Xi's side. No matter what game she wanted to play, his side had the numerical advantage, which significantly increased their chances of winning.

But then Yuan Xi said, "We need to distribute the numbers evenly. How can we play like this? Never mind, I'll choose the people myself."

Lu Ye's eye twitched.

"You, you, and you... come over!" Yuan Xi said, pointing with her hand.

Ya Yi, who had been chosen, complained pitifully, "Senior, can I stay on this side?" Regardless of the game, she didn't want to oppose Lu Ye. More importantly, her Worm Mother was on Lu Ye's side, and being chosen by the Mirage Beast meant she would have to fight against her own Worm Mother.

"No!" Yuan Xi decisively refused. "This game must be played under the premise of fairness and justice. How can we play if the numbers aren't even?"

Seeing that she seemed a little angry, You Die quickly spoke up, "Go on over."

"Oh," Ya Yi said, hanging her head, looking very dejected.

It wasn't just her; Ku Zhi was also chosen, along with a formation master and two slaves.

Sixteen people were divided into two teams.

Lu Ye asked loudly, "Senior, what are the rules?" He needed to understand this clearly. The Mirage Beast had proposed this game, and it surely knew all the details. If he didn't figure it out, he would be at a disadvantage.

As if seeing through Lu Ye's thoughts, Yuan Xi said, "Don't worry, since I said fairness and justice, I definitely won't play any tricks. As for the rules... I will give you three incantations, each with a different marvelous effect. Later, each of our sides will send out one person, and they will use these incantations to decide life and death!"

At her words, everyone's expressions changed dramatically!

"To decide life and death?" Lu Ye asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi smiled. "No one will truly die. This is my territory, and life and death are all within my control. It's just for fun; how could I let you lose your lives for nothing? Who would play with me then?"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions relaxed.

Yuan Xi looked at Lu Ye. "Each of our two sides has eight people. We will duel in this manner until only one person remains alive. That person wins!"

Lu Ye thought for a moment and said, "Does this kind of duel relate to our individual strengths?" If it did, there would be no point in playing, as the Mirage Beast's strength undoubtedly surpassed everyone present.

"No, it's irrelevant. It's purely about luck. As I said, the duel is based on those three incantations, not individual strength!"

Lu Ye nodded slightly. If that were the case, it was acceptable. He brightened his spirits and said, "Then let's begin."

"Want to add some stakes?" Yuan Xi suggested.

Lu Ye immediately refused, "No!" Are you kidding? He didn't even know what kind of game this was, while the Mirage Beast had clearly played it many times. Adding any stakes would be giving away a free win. What's more, when it came to luck, he had never been very good...

"What if I said, if you win, I'll let you leave?" Yuan Xi asked, smiling sweetly.

Lu Ye's heart pounded! He calmed himself slightly before asking, "And if we lose?"

"You're already trapped here anyway, it can't get any worse, can it?"

There was nothing wrong with what she said, but Lu Ye still cautiously replied, "I'd still like to hear what the consequences are if we lose."

Yuan Xi said, "Alright, I originally planned to trap you for a hundred years. If you lose, I'll add another hundred years!"

That scoundrel! Lu Ye cursed inwardly. If it hadn't said so itself, Lu Ye wouldn't have known it had such intentions. A hundred years wasn't a long time, but it certainly wasn't short, and no one wanted to be trapped here indefinitely. Relatively speaking, however, this stake was indeed acceptable. Taking a gamble might allow them to escape their predicament directly.

"Alright, it's a deal!" Lu Ye nodded.

"I'll pass on the three incantations to you first!" Yuan Xi said, then recited the three incantations. They were very simple incantations. Lu Ye memorized them after hearing them once, and he believed others did too. However, from the incantations alone, it was impossible to tell what they actually did.

"Then let's begin," Yuan Xi said, rubbing her small hands together, looking eager. The sight was almost unbearable; if her own City Lord knew the Mirage Beast was using her appearance to make such gestures, there was no telling if she would fly into a murderous rage.

As her words fell, an invisible power seemed to permeate the entire space. Lu Ye vaguely felt that this illusion had changed in some way.

"You go!" Yuan Xi said, raising a hand and pointing out a slave. Then she looked at Lu Ye. "You send someone out too. You can discuss it or make your own decision, and then I'll tell you what to do."

Lu Ye thought for a moment and also pointed out a slave. This was mainly because he wasn't yet clear on the exact process, so he needed to test the waters.

The two slaves stood opposite each other, looking anxious.

Yuan Xi snapped her fingers again. "Each of you silently recite one incantation in your mind, and then you can decide life and death!"

As her words fell, a hazy light suddenly enveloped the area where the two slaves stood, completely obscuring it. Lu Ye strained his eyesight but couldn't see a thing.

After only a few breaths, the hazy light suddenly vanished. When everyone saw the situation, they were all astonished. The figures of the two slaves had disappeared, replaced instead by two strange objects.

The slave from Lu Ye's side had inexplicably transformed into two giant dragons, one gold and one silver. Roaring with formidable might, they intertwined and rushed forward, forming a massive pair of scissors that continuously opened and closed, cutting wildly.

The opposing slave had transformed into a giant net, glowing with a layer of blue light. It swept over with a power that seemed to cover the sky and earth, heading towards their side.

Even from a distance, Lu Ye felt a sense of suffocation, as if he would be utterly unable to escape if this great net descended upon him.

The two treasures, transformed from the slaves, quickly approached each other. Crucially, both the golden-silver scissors and the sky-covering net still bore the facial features of the two slaves, who now showed expressions of panic, their forms clearly beyond their control.

In an instant, they collided. The golden-silver scissors were clearly superior, cutting with a 'kaka' sound, and snipped the sky-covering net into several pieces. Piercing screams rang out, chilling to the bone.

The golden-silver scissors broke free from the net, twirled around, and returned to Lu Ye's camp, revealing the slave's original form once more. As for the sky-covering net, it twisted and turned into several pieces of mangled remains.

Strangely, no blood flowed from the severed parts of the mangled remains, and the vitality of the slave, who should have died, remained unaffected. However, his body was scattered in pieces, a truly desolate sight.

The group stared in astonishment.

"Good luck, you won that round!" Yuan Xi nodded slightly. As she spoke, the slave who had been cut into several pieces was moving his legs, trying to find his other body parts, but he was clearly searching in the wrong direction, aimlessly moving about.

Lu Ye recalled the scene he had just witnessed, his expression momentarily complex. He had always believed that the game the Mirage Beast wanted to play would be far from simple, maintaining full vigilance. But now, it seemed... he had overthought it. And this game... he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity about it, no matter how he looked at it.

"Again!" Yuan Xi, clearly not convinced, raised her hand and pointed out another slave. "This time, you go!"

"My lord, let me go again," the slave from Lu Ye's side, who had just won a round, volunteered confidently.

"Alright!" Lu Ye assented.

"It's starting!" Yuan Xi snapped her fingers again. Just like before, a hazy light enveloped the two figures.

A few breaths later, the light dissipated, and the slave from Lu Ye's side reappeared. It was still the golden-silver scissors from before, two giant dragons intertwining and swaying as they rushed forward. He had clearly used the same incantation as last time. Lu Ye knew at a glance that things were about to go wrong.

Sure enough, a massive hammer burst forth from the opposite side. The hammer was like a mountain, radiating a deep, cold light, and on its head were unmistakably the facial features of the opposing slave, wearing a nervous expression.

The hammer and scissors collided. The face on the scissors instantly changed from confident to utterly stunned, because in this collision, he gained no advantage as he had last time. Instead, he was violently battered by the huge hammer, suffering unbearable pain. With just a few simple blows, the golden-silver scissors, which had only just won a round, were smashed flat...

Two flashes of light appeared, and they returned to their respective sides. The two slaves reappeared in their original forms. The slave from Yuan Xi's side was perfectly fine, but the slave from Lu Ye's side had been flattened into a paper-thin figure.

"Ha! You lost!" Yuan Xi laughed.

Lu Ye looked sideways at the paper-thin slave standing not far from him, his eye twitching even more severely.