As beams of light radiated from the sword, streaks of lightning surrounded Jared, pulsating and crackling so loudly that one would’ve thought he was the God of Thunder.
Upon seeing that, the elderly man couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Alas, just as he was about to say something, Jared suddenly appeared before him and swung his lightning-imbued sword.
“How is a mere Fourth Level Body Fusion Realm cultivator this fast and powerful?” the elderly man exclaimed, his face pale with shock. Strangely enough, the elderly man gradually disappeared when the light flashed past his body.
At the same time, the palace, magical items, and scrolls vanished into thin air, leaving Jared all alone in the thick white fog. Utterly taken aback, Jared scrutinized his surroundings. “Huh? Was that all just a hallucination?”
It had felt so real when he first met the elderly man in the thatched hut, and he only began to suspect he was in an illusion array when the palace appeared. Now, he was stuck in the white mist, and it didn’t feel like he was making any progress.
“No, that’s not right. There’s no way this is a hallucination…” Jared said before hastily opening his Storage Ring.
Thankfully, the secret scrolls and magical items were still there, which meant the elderly man couldn’t have been an illusion.
Even though Jared wanted to keep forging ahead, he hesitated when he recalled the elderly man’s advice from earlier.
Ah… Didn’t he tell me not to be greedy once I’ve gotten the technique scrolls and magical items? He said I shouldn’t continue moving forward, but if I don’t, I won’t be able to obtain the Ice Soul Pill!
After much contemplation, Jared finally decided to continue his journey. Fortunately, the thick fog disappeared some distance later, and Jared saw Cloud, Kaison, and the others huddled together anxiously.
Upon seeing Jared, Kaison rushed up to him. “Mr. Chance, what took you so long? We’ve been waiting for you for half a day.”
“Exactly!” Cloud chimed in. “You disappeared on us while we were walking in that fog, and no matter how loud we shouted, you didn’t respond!” Everything finally became clear to Jared. Oh… So I was the one who disappeared, not them!
“Did anything strange happen to you guys while you were in the fog?” he asked. Cloud instantly shook his head. “No. We walked through it without any hiccups…”
“Did you encounter something strange in the fog, Jared?” Sunny asked. Jared nodded. “Yes. I think I stepped into an illusionary realm. Fortunately, I’m well-versed in arcane arrays. I made my way out after seeing through it.”
“Do you think the fog knows how to pick its targets?” Kaison asked curiously. “There were so many of us, yet Mr. Chance was the only one to be chosen.”
This is so odd! Why was it only Mr. Chance who entered the illusionary realm? Konce inched closer to Jared, his face filled with an intent curiosity. “Say, Jared, did you have any interesting encounters in the illusionary realm? Did you find any magical items?”
Even though he did indeed obtain magical items and the Archaic Body Cultivation technique, Jared merely shook his head.
After all, it was hard to tell people’s true intentions, and Jared couldn’t be sure the others wouldn’t be tempted by the immense benefits that lay in store.
“Let’s move on since Mr. Chance has gotten out. I reckon those guys are already way ahead of us!” Cloud urged. Someone has beat us to the treasure, and we might be left with nothing if we don’t hurry up!
The group continued walking through the valley until they saw a spinning vortex in the distance that cut off their road.
Not only was there a strong aura emanating from the vortex, but it was also impossible to tell what was behind the valley. Jared quickly scanned his surroundings, only to realize there was no other way forward.
“Who knows if there’s any danger lurking inside this…” Sunny commented as he examined the mysterious vortex.
