Translator: AnubisTL
Outside North Mang City, on a small hill about ten miles away, four bat variants who had just met Li Qing were hanging upside down from a rocky cliff, their wings tightly folded. Their eyes remained fixed on North Mang City.
"Is this really right?" one of them asked, his voice tinged with unease. "The Blood Lotus Sect and the martial alliance have maintained peace for quite some time. Isn't it wrong to ambush and kill vital energy martial artists from the Black Wind Domain like this?"
The other three bat people responded coldly. "Hmph, he stumbled into North Mang City and died on his own. What does that have to do with us?"
"Exactly. He died from the Illusion Toxin Mushroom. We just happened to witness it."
"Don't forget, that Martial Artist captured a second-tier strange beast alive! Once we extract its crimson crystal, it'll be worth more than years of hunting!"
The mention of the second-tier strange beast's crimson crystal ignited a fervent glint in their eyes.
As variants who made their living by hunting strange beasts, they understood the immense value of second-tier crimson crystals better than anyone.
Their strength was unremarkable; they typically hunted only first-tier strange beasts.
"This Martial Artist is incredibly lucky! He actually managed to capture a second-tier strange beast with such a weakened aura. Even after hunting in the wilderness for so long, I've never encountered such good fortune!"
"Perhaps his strength is more formidable than it appears. After all, it's still a second-tier strange beast. Even severely injured, it wouldn't be easy to subdue."
Clearly, these individuals mistook Fan Tong for prey captured by Li Qing.
At that moment, Fan Tong had just completed a violent metamorphosis, leaving his aura extremely weakened. It was understandable why they made this mistake.
"There's nothing to fear. Once he's been exposed to the Illusion Toxin Mushroom, even if he's strong, he'll only be able to wander to his death in his own illusions. Countless people have perished in North Mang City over the years."
As they spoke, the bat people glanced at the colorful Illusion Toxin Powder drifting above the North Mang Swamp, their faces betraying deep apprehension.
But in the very next instant, a spiritual light suddenly erupted above North Mang City!
Whoosh!
A tall, slender figure emerged from the city, staggering as he flew on a leaf-shaped Magic Artifact beneath his feet.
"How is this possible?! How... how is he flying?"
"What's that beneath his feet? It looks like one of those rare artifacts carefully collected by the Blood Lotus Sect's masters."
"He's not poisoned? That can't be right. He inhaled some of the Illusion Toxin Powder above the swamp. Could it be that the Illusion Toxin Mushroom has no effect on him?"
The bat people exclaimed in shock, their voices thick with disbelief.
Finally, before their very eyes, Li Qing, who had fled the city in panic, landed on the desolate earth, though he had managed to put considerable distance between himself and the North Mang Swamp.
Thud!
Far from North Mang City, Li Qing gasped for breath. He scanned his surroundings with his naked eyes, his expression darkening.
Before him stretched an endless plain covered in lush green grass. A warm, gentle sun hung high in the sky, and a soft breeze stirred the air, creating an overwhelming urge to lie down and sleep peacefully.
"This is getting more absurd by the damn minute," he muttered.
By now, he no longer trusted what his eyes were telling him.
To see such a vivid illusion in the World of Eternal Night proved just how deeply he had fallen under the spell of this illusion technique.
Most critically, he still didn't know when he had been affected!
I was perfectly fine before entering the city. Everything started going wrong after I crossed the gates.
As he pondered this, Li Qing extended his divine sense. At this moment, only the images returned by his divine sense could be trusted as reality. If he weren't a cultivator, he would likely still be trapped in the illusion, unable to break free.
Soon, he noticed the multicolored luminous powder drifting above the North Mang Swamp. These were the fine spores released by the swamp's strange mushrooms.
Could it be...?
Just as Li Qing realized something was amiss with the mushrooms, the sound of flapping wings echoed from the sky.
The bat variants he had encountered earlier were circling high above, seemingly observing his current state.
"He's keeping his eyes tightly shut. It seems he's realized he's been poisoned by the illusion toxin!"
"Impressive. To break free from the illusion toxin... Every victim's senses are completely immersed in the illusion, making it feel utterly real."
"How did he manage it?"
The bat people continued their conversation, utterly astonished by what they had witnessed.
"What about the strange beast he captured? Could it have been lost in North Mang City?"
"The Illusion Toxin Mushroom is incredibly potent, even strange beasts are strongly affected. It's likely still in the city. We'll find a way in later and retrieve it."
"We can't worry about that now. He's still trapped in the illusion, completely unaware of our presence. Let's kill him here and now before the illusion toxin wears off and he regains consciousness!"
The bat people's voices grew louder, showing no concern that Li Qing might overhear them.
After being exposed to the illusion toxin, all senses—sight, hearing, and even touch—become distorted by hallucinations.
This is why North Mang City is known as the "ghost city" in the Autumn Mountain Domain. Anyone who mistakenly enters the city is continuously affected by the illusion toxin, eventually dying unknowingly within the hallucinations.
"Dying in an illusion is painless. This guy's getting off easy."
With that, one of the bat variants swooped down, extending his razor-sharp claws to strike at Li Qing's throat.
In the very next moment, Li Qing, who had been lying motionless on the ground, erupted into action!
Boom!
A surge of violent energy erupted from him. Though his eyes remained tightly shut, his body shot skyward, unleashing a devastating punch that precisely shattered the bat variant into fragments.
Rumble!
He wasn't finished yet. Before his body could even begin to descend, he slapped his storage pouch.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several spirit spears shot forth from the pouch with lightning speed, piercing through the remaining three bat people before they could react.
"Ugh! You can see us?! Impossible! This can't be happening!"
"You were poisoned with illusion toxin! How can you see us?!"
"Spare us, Master! Spare us! We didn't mean to betray you! It was all the idea of that one you just killed!"
The spirit spears had pierced straight through the bat people's wings, rendering them unable to fly no matter how desperately they struggled.
Li Qing slowly opened his eyes, still unable to see the three figures or hear their desperate pleas.
Had it not been for his divine sense, which had clearly detected everything, he would have remained completely unaware of their presence.
"You want to live?" Li Qing's voice was icy, as if it had risen from the depths of the underworld. "Very well. Answer my questions to my satisfaction, and I will grant you satisfaction in return."
Li Qing had always prided himself on his caution, yet today he had still been ambushed.
If his cultivation had been weaker, if he hadn't yet developed divine sense, he might have been trapped and left to die in this city.
Now, Li Qing's mood was abysmal. He yearned to crush these bat variants with his bare hands, but to extract information, he suppressed his overwhelming urge to kill.
"Master, ask anything! We'll answer everything!" the bat variants pleaded, their bodies trembling and voices filled with despair.
Ignoring their pleas, Li Qing calmly asked, "The illusion toxin you mentioned—is it the colorful mushrooms outside the city?"
"Yes, those are the Illusion Toxin Mushrooms. North Mang City became a ghost town because of them."
The terrified bat people spilled everything, eager to cooperate.
Li Qing merely snorted coldly, his murderous intent intensifying.
"Hmph!"
"Tell me, what other effects does the illusion toxin have? How long does it take for the hallucinations to fade?"
The bat person answered truthfully, "Master, if you stop inhaling the toxin, the effects usually wear off in two to three days. Aside from the deep-seated hallucinations, there are no other harmful effects."
"Tell me, which city do you come from? And explain in detail the relationship between the Blood Lotus Sect and the martial alliance."
It turned out these individuals hailed from Desert City, a settlement located south of the Autumn Mountain Domain, quite close to the Blood Lotus Sect's stronghold.
Since the Blood Lotus Sect's rise to prominence, the strange beasts in the central Autumn Mountain Domain had been hunted to near extinction. Forced to seek prey in more remote regions, these hunters had ventured to this distant area.
As for the martial alliance, a few years prior, the Blood Lotus Sect had attempted to expand its influence into neighboring territories, including the Black Wind Domain.
Initial contact between the Blood Lotus Sect and the martial alliance had sparked considerable conflict. However, the martial alliance eventually agreed to allow the Blood Lotus Sect to hunt strange beasts extensively in the Black Wind Domain, while the Blood Lotus Sect, in turn, permitted the martial alliance to propagate its vital energy martial dao. This compromise brought an end to hostilities.
Overall, it appeared to be a mutually beneficial arrangement—at least from an outsider's perspective.
After hearing this account, Li Qing nodded slightly. He then asked, "Who are the most formidable figures within the Blood Lotus Sect? Tell me about them."
At this question, the bat people shook their heads repeatedly.
"We wouldn't know, sir. We're just ordinary variants. How could we possibly know such secrets of the Blood Lotus Sect?"
Li Qing nodded slowly, realizing that relying on these small fry to gather information about the Blood Lotus Sect was indeed unrealistic.
"I've asked what I needed to ask, and I'm satisfied with the answers."
"You wanted me to capture strange beasts, didn't you? Rest assured, I'll satisfy you in that regard as well."
With those words, he released Fan Tong from his spirit beast pouch.
In an instant, a massive, ferocious, and vividly striped tiger materialized before the bat variants.
"Roar!"
Fan Tong roared at the bat variants, his fangs gleaming like death scythes—dangerous and lethal.
"Ahhh! No, don't! No—"
"..."
Ignoring the bat people's terrified screams behind him, Li Qing turned his back and gazed toward North Mang City.
More precisely, his gaze settled on the North Mang Swamp, his eyes scrutinizing the Illusion Toxin Mushrooms.
These mushrooms had subtly plunged even him into hallucinations. Setting aside their toxicity, their hallucinogenic properties alone held immense value.
"If used strategically, they might produce miraculous effects."
"Since I'm already poisoned by the illusion toxin and there are no further immediate dangers, I might as well harvest some."
(End of the Chapter)
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