Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Don’t Bother Trying, You Can’t Get Out
What Lu Chao had just explained was something he had already tried on his first trip to the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land.
He naturally had to explain it clearly to Sun Shijin. Namely... when breaking through each floor, the person following him into the Illusion Realm must not use any True Qi, or they would be unable to proceed.
Without another word...
Lu Chao and Sun Shijin passed directly through the barrier of the first floor.
Sun Shijin felt as if he had entered a void, an illusory world. Before him was a vast expanse of white, and it seemed he had to communicate with something to break through the Forbidden Land’s first floor.
He subconsciously glanced at Lu Chao beside him...
But Lu Chao had already begun to act. He connected with the Soldier Dao aura of the Illusion Realm.
The Illusion Realm activated, and a Soldier Dao Battle Array appeared before Lu Chao. He then began to solve it with practiced ease.
He had to arrange all the scattered, illusory soldiers within the Illusion Realm into their correct positions to pass.
And since this was only the first floor, it was naturally a simple task for Lu Chao.
He finished quickly and led Sun Shijin into the space behind the first floor of the Forbidden Land.
It was still a pitch-black forest, no different from the environment outside the Forbidden Land, giving off a desolate and terrifying feeling.
Lu Chao advanced without hesitation, easily clearing floor after floor.
An hour later, they arrived in the space behind the 5th Floor. Here, Lu Chao saw no sign of Fan Changcun or the monitors. He said gravely, "It seems Marshal Fan has already passed the 6th Floor."
He took a deep breath...
Lu Chao walked directly toward the Barrier Illusion Realm of the 6th Floor...
Just as he was about to touch it, he spoke softly, "Elder Sun, be ready for a fight. Marshal Fan’s monitors are likely in the space behind the 6th Floor."
Once they broke through the 6th Floor, they could step into the space between the 6th and seventh floors...
If Fan Changcun had shaken off his monitors and entered the seventh floor’s Illusion Realm, then the monitors would surely be in the upcoming space.
Hearing this, Sun Shijin naturally readied himself.
As for the 6th Floor, which he had previously been unable to solve, Lu Chao was now full of confidence.
With that, Lu Chao continued to lead Sun Shijin, touching and entering the Illusion Realm of the 6th Floor... Here, Sun Shijin once again saw only a vast expanse of white, while Lu Chao instantly connected with the Soldier Dao aura.
A massive battlefield appeared before him, covered in one Battle Array after another.
There were a full thirty-six of them, and Lu Chao’s task was still to arrange all these Battle Arrays correctly.
During this process, the illusory soldiers within the Battle Arrays would constantly move, and the thirty-six Soldier Dao Battle Arrays also had to be placed in precise positions, arranged according to the terrain of the illusory battlefield.
The difficulty was utterly terrifying.
The last time, Lu Chao had tried for days without success, becoming completely overwhelmed.
He composed himself for a moment, then began to arrange and shift the arrays...
The time he would need now would surely exceed the total time spent on the previous five floors, while Sun Shijin, seeing nothing, simply waited quietly by Lu Chao’s side.
Half a day later... BUZZ!
A familiar sensation exploded in Sun Shijin’s mind. He knew Lu Chao had successfully passed the 6th Floor.
Just like with the previous five floors...
Sure enough, the white, illusory aura before them vanished in an instant. With a BOOM, Sun Shijin erupted with True Qi, his eyes fixed on the space behind the 6th Floor as he shielded Lu Chao.
In the next moment, however, both Lu Chao’s and Sun Shijin’s gazes froze. The latter exclaimed in shock, "So many skeletons?"
Indeed, what appeared before the two of them were skeletons, one after another.
Countless ghastly white bones were also scattered on the ground, covering nearly the entire area. A single glance would be enough to make the faint of heart collapse in terror.
On many of the skeletons, there were also half-weathered robes...
It was clear that most of them were wearing the attire of the Azure Flame Sect, and there were also some Weapons bearing the sect’s insignia scattered on the ground.
Sun Shijin’s voice trembled slightly. "These are ancestors of the Azure Flame Sect... How could so many of them have died here?"
Hearing this, Lu Chao’s expression changed slightly as a thought suddenly struck him.
He whipped his head around to look behind them and said in a low voice, "I’m afraid we can’t get out."
At these words, Sun Shijin’s face contorted in alarm, and he too spun around.
He had come to the same conclusion: with so many skeletons here, it was highly likely that these people had died because they couldn’t get out.
And sure enough, a Barrier had appeared before them.
The two of them looked at each other in dismay...
On the first five floors of the Forbidden Land, once you solved the Soldier Dao Illusion Realm, the Barrier behind you would disappear, allowing for an easy exit. But now, the path back was blocked by an extra Barrier preventing them from leaving.
"Marshal Fan still hasn’t made it out. It’s likely because of this Barrier," Lu Chao said in a grave tone.
Sun Shijin’s heart pounded. He immediately said, "Let me see what kind of Barrier this is."
The moment the words left his mouth, Sun Shijin reached out a hand to touch the Barrier...
But a hoarse voice suddenly echoed from among the piles of bones. "Don’t bother. You can’t get out."
As soon as the voice spoke, Sun Shijin froze and looked over. Lu Chao also turned his gaze in the direction of the sound.
They saw a middle-aged man in Tiger Flame robes staggering to his feet from among the skeletons. His face was pale, his aura extremely unstable, and he looked to be severely injured.
He looked at Lu Chao, then at Sun Shijin, before letting out a self-deprecating laugh...
"This Barrier is also an Illusion Realm—a Martial Arts Illusion Realm. No one but a Martial Arts Powerhouse can break it."
"Once you enter the Illusion Realm, it’s just killing, killing, and more killing! You can’t win! You just can’t win!"
"And you’ll die. People really die in there."
The middle-aged man from Tiger Flame had started with a self-mocking tone, but as he spoke, his eyes filled with terror, as if he had endured some unspeakable torment.
"The ancestor of the Azure Flame Sect who created this Forbidden Land was completely insane..."
"You have to pass a Soldier Dao Illusion Realm to get in, but then you’re tested on the Martial Dao’s path of slaughter to get out. If that’s not insane, what is?"
"How many Masters of Martial Arts are also strong in the Martial Dao? You tell me, how many?"
By the end, he was practically screaming...
Lu Chao and Sun Shijin looked at each other, speechless.
’Soldier Dao to get in, Martial Dao to get out... That really is a cruel twist for a Master of Martial Arts.’ Without a doubt, the man before them was one of the Tiger Flame experts sent to monitor and follow Marshal Fan.
Lu Chao didn’t press further on the matter of the Illusion Realm. Instead, he asked quickly, "Where is Marshal Fan?"
Hearing this, the weak man from Tiger Flame’s face twisted...
"That old bastard?"
"He couldn’t break the Martial Arts Illusion Realm to get out, so he went on to challenge the seventh floor’s Soldier Dao Illusion Realm. He’s been in there for two days and two nights now. Who knows if he’ll ever come out."
"For all we know, he’s already dead in the Illusion Realm."
