Chapter 757: Mirage

The mirage is a mysterious phenomenon that has long been known in the East Sea.

It is said that the Mirage Clan was once incredibly powerful, ranking among the top ten clans in the East Sea. Their most renowned divine ability was the mirage. Eight thousand years ago, when the Mirage Clan's Old Ancestor was comprehending a spell, something went wrong, and he became consumed by inner demons. This caused the mirage to go out of control, engulfing the core members of the Mirage Clan.

Since then, the Mirage Clan fell from its position among the top ten clans. The uncontrolled mirage, meanwhile, drifted aimlessly across the East Sea, engulfing living beings, both humans and sea creatures alike.

Some beings managed to emerge from the mirage. They either came out safely, or they were deranged and mentally unstable.

Others disappeared into the mirage, never to be seen again.

According to those who emerged safely, they encountered the missing people inside the mirage. However, these individuals were under the control of illusions and were extremely aggressive.

Previously, several Demon Sovereigns at the Tribulation Transcending stage teamed up to dispel the mirage. They encountered the now-insane Old Ancestor of the Mirage Clan. The Old Ancestor fought fiercely against them until he collapsed from exhaustion and died. Even after the Old Ancestor's death, the mirage did not dissipate.

Since then, no one has attempted to confront the mirage again. Instead, it is regarded as a mobile disaster, and people flee upon seeing it.

"What? I can't sense Xinghai's location on his life tablet anymore!?" Clan Leader Xiao, who was recovering from injuries, discovered that Xiao Xinghai's life tablet had inexplicably dimmed. This didn't signify death, but rather that he was beyond the tablet's sensing range.

"Beyond the sensing range of the life tablet... does that mean they've entered a high-level secret realm? No, that's not right. Although Xinghai likes to fool around, he wouldn't dare bring guests into a secret realm without a word!"

"Could they have been swept into some place... Oh no, it's the mirage!" Clan Leader Xiao quickly realized.

"Oh, Clan Leader Xiao, what brings you here today with such free time?" Upon hearing of Clan Leader Xiao's arrival, the Mirage Clan Leader rushed out to greet him, seeing Clan Leader Xiao in his original form.

Clan Leader Xiao had no time to argue with the Mirage Clan Leader. His emerald eyes stared coldly at the Mirage Clan Leader, and his hooked beak poked the Mirage Clan Leader's forehead.

"Let me tell you, my son and our clan's honored guests are all trapped in this mirage you created. If anything happens to even one of them, you can expect retaliation!"

The Mirage Clan Leader's face turned pale with fright.

"Tell me, how do we escape this mirage?" Clan Leader Xiao was preparing to enter the mirage for search and rescue. Before coming to the Mirage Clan, he had already dispatched people to find the moving mist near his territory, confirming his suspicions.

The Mirage Clan Leader was on the verge of tears. "Clan Leader Xiao, that's not a mirage at all! Otherwise, our clan wouldn't be completely helpless!"

"Not a mirage?"

"Yes. Eight thousand years ago, the Old Ancestor found a mysterious space. He said that if he could comprehend its secrets, he might become a Half-Immortal. For this purpose, he set up layers of formations and went into seclusion."

"Later, we don't know what the Old Ancestor did, but the mysterious space erupted, turning into a mass of mist. The formations had no effect whatsoever. The Old Ancestor's seclusion spot was at the core of our clan's territory, so when the mysterious space erupted, it engulfed most of our core clan members."

Clan Leader Xiao's expression grew increasingly grim.

"What do we do now?" Lu Yang and his companions were trapped in the mirage, afraid to move.

They tried to use their divine sense to explore the area, but they found that their divine sense could barely penetrate. Even Su Yiren, who was at the Integration stage, was no exception.

Only Mang Gu didn't know much about this and was unaware of the mirage's true terror. But after Xiao Xinghai's brief explanation, he too was startled.

"According to the recollections of those who emerged safely, whether you stay still or wander aimlessly, you can leave this place!" Xiao Xinghai recalled the information.

By "emerged safely," he meant those who didn't go insane.

"So, no matter what, we can leave?" Mang Gu asked.

"It's not that simple. Those who went mad, and those who disappeared into the mirage, probably all did the same things. So whether we emerge safely is a matter of luck."

"If you're lucky, nothing happens, and the mirage moves away from you. If you're a bit less lucky, you're attacked by those previously trapped here, but you can still leave after a while. According to records, more than one Integration-stage cultivator has been trapped here. If your luck is even worse, you're either killed or driven insane by the illusions."

"Fairy, do you have any solution for this situation?" The mirage was renowned in the East Sea, and Lu Yang knew this wasn't something he could handle alone, so he needed help.

The Immortal Fairy, now a mermaid, was sleeping on the sea when she was reluctantly awakened by Lu Yang.

"What's wrong...? *Yawn*... What happened?"

"We're trapped in the mirage."

"The mirage? The Mirage Clan's divine ability...? *Yawn*... Isn't that something you can dispel with just a puff of air?"

"Wait, this isn't a mirage. The Mirage Clan doesn't have the ability to create something like this." The Immortal Fairy knew perfectly well the capabilities of the Mirage Clan.

"Then what is it?"

The Immortal Fairy frowned and said seriously, "An Immortal Battlefield! Both sides in the battle were Immortals. Traces of Immortal combat and Dao Fruits are everywhere here!"

"Tell me, why did you say this was a mirage earlier?"

Lu Yang recounted all the legends about the mirage.

"A mirage created by a Tribulation Transcending stage cultivator of the Mirage Clan... That's definitely a lie."

"It's more likely that the Mirage Clan's Tribulation Transcending cultivator sensed traces of Immortal combat here and tried to comprehend the nascent form of a Dao Fruit through it. As a result, he lost control, causing the residual power of this Immortal Battlefield to erupt and engulf him as well."

"Then whose battleground is this?"

The Immortal Fairy carefully sensed the Immortal Battlefield. "I can sense that one of the parties was the Qilin Immortal. The Qilin Immortal's Dao Fruit of the Law of the Jungle suits every demon clan, as it's a demonic nature. Perhaps the Mirage Clan's Tribulation Transcending cultivator vaguely sensed this!"

"But this doesn't make sense. In my memory, the Qilin Immortal didn't experience this kind of battle after ascending to Immortality!"

Lu Yang also grew anxious, realizing something was wrong. "Was it the battle between the Four Ancient Immortals and the Mastermind after your fall, Fairy?"

The Immortal Fairy shook her head. "Probably not. This battle wasn't that exaggerated, but it was definitely not a sparring match; they were fighting to kill."

Lu Yang pondered, how could this be? The Four Ancient Immortals should have only had the Mastermind as an enemy. Who else could the Qilin Immortal have fought?

Wait, there might actually be someone.

"Fairy, do you remember that after your demise, there was also a Xin Huoh Dynasty? A rumored Immortal was born in the Xin Huoh Dynasty and deliberately erased its existence."

"Could the Qilin Immortal's opponent have been an Immortal born during the Xin Huoh Dynasty?"

"An Immortal born in the Xin Huoh Dynasty? It's indeed possible."