Zhang Yong regained consciousness while lying on the ground, and he began to remember what had just happened.
He hadn't expected that what occurred would be stranger than all the other monsters he had encountered in the past.
If it had been a breach of the Sea of Consciousness and a distortion of memories, this being would have been dead by now.
But that wasn't the case. Instead, it had altered his sense of self and identity, replacing it with an entirely different person's identity.
Yet the greatest irony was that the person who had been manipulated suffered from heart demons strong enough to break this control.
"I have my curse to thank for this." Zhang Yong shook his head and began to clear his thoughts. Thanks to what had just happened, he had gained two more curses in his soul.
Zhang Yong stood up slowly, staring at the scene around him. The burning house was no longer there; it had been part of the illusion.
He was still standing in the illusory village, but the fog was beginning to recede, revealing the horrifying truth hidden beneath it.
The village was not a real village. The houses were distorted structures made of bones and beast hides, covered in a thin layer of illusion.
The "villagers" were not human or even Barbarians; they were strange creatures with inverted bodies and mouths full of sharp teeth, writhing on the ground or clinging to the bone-like forms of the houses.
They had been trapped inside an illusion formation created by these creatures that fed not on flesh and blood, but on identity, memories, and the victims' sense of self.
"Finally awake." A calm voice came from behind him.
Zhang Yong turned to find a strange creature. It had no limbs and resembled a furnace, with six eyes and six arms surrounding it. A Brain Devourer—that was the beast before him.
"I should have expected a mental-type beast in this place, at least of the sixth rank," Zhang Yong sighed as he drew the Twin Dragon sword.
"That's unfortunate," said the Brain Devourer, its voice no longer calm but sharp and cold. "I was hoping you would join us willingly."
"What do you really want?" Zhang Yong asked, preparing to cut it down. "Why do you keep all these people here?"
The guardian was silent for a moment, then replied, "Loneliness. Every being in this universe fears loneliness, and I am no different. Here, in my formation, I am never alone. Every guest becomes a companion, every dream becomes a world I can live in."
Zhang Yong said no more. He knew words would be useless. He raised his sword, his red eyes blazing with power.
At that moment, the inverted creatures attacked from all directions. They moved with astonishing speed, their mouths full of sharp teeth wide open.
Zhang Yong plunged his sword into the ground, and the form of the Tyrant Dragon surged behind him, stretching out like a shadow.
The Tyrant opened its jaws wide and attacked the inverted creatures ferociously.
Zhang Yong raised his arms to the sides, and they were covered in Death Qi. In an instant, he created a hundred Death Qi blades hovering in the air. He released his sacred spiritual sense, covering the entire village in an instant, and began searching.
Then an image appeared of his companions bound inside a ball of flesh and blood resembling a cocoon around them.
'Good. They're safe for now. Now then!'
The Death Qi swords spread out and pierced into the ground across the entire village, and soon he could see the formation beneath the village.
Then he used the Heavenly Eye and began analyzing the formation's structure. It was incredibly complex—a network of intertwined spiritual threads that trapped the victims' consciousness.
But every formation had a weak point.
The Brain Devourer, which had initially seemed indifferent, began to show signs of discomfort. Its six eyes flickered irregularly. "Why do you resist? The happiness here is real! The memories are beautiful! Why do you prefer the harsh pain of truth over the beauty of illusion?"
"As if I would care about a lie," Zhang Yong smiled coldly.
"No! You can't take them from me!" the Brain Devourer screamed hysterically. All six of its eyes focused on Zhang Yong, releasing a concentrated mental attack.
The Brain Devourer was a mental-type creature, meaning the only possible attacks it could use were deception and mental assaults. But it was a sixth-rank beast after all.
Its mental attack was like a destructive hurricane striking directly into Zhang Yong's consciousness.
But Zhang Yong was no ordinary person. His soul, strengthened by Helheim and stabilized by the Soul Tree seed, withstood the storm.
"Impossible!" the Brain Devourer screamed, its voice full of shock and anger. "How can you resist me?!"
Zhang Yong smiled indifferently. With one hand, he continued directing the Death Qi swords to destroy the formation, while with the other hand, he raised the Twin Dragon sword, taking a striking stance.
Zhang Yong shot forward, his sword cutting through the air silently. The Brain Devourer tried to defend itself, releasing waves of mental energy in a desperate attempt to slow Zhang Yong down.
But every attack was utterly useless. With each step, the formation crumbled.
The bone houses began to turn to dust, and the inverted creatures withered and vanished, as if they had never existed.
"No! Please!" the Brain Devourer begged, its voice becoming weak and fragmented. "I can give you anything! Any beautiful dream you desire!"
"I already have enough illusions," Zhang Yong whispered as he finally reached the Brain Devourer.
The Demonic Devouring Core Flame surged like a purple vortex toward the Brain Devourer.
Devour!
There was no screaming or resistance, only a strange burning sound, as if it were burning from within.
Its six eyes, which had been flickering with terror, disappeared one by one into the purple vortex.
With the Brain Devourer's demise, the illusion formation collapsed entirely. The scene around Zhang Yong distorted and shattered like a mirror struck by a hammer.
The bone houses, the inverted creatures, the thick fog—all evaporated in an instant.
Zhang Yong found himself standing once more in the rugged mountainous region, beneath a cloudy sky and cold wind. But now, the situation was different.
The once-infinite fog had disappeared, revealing a horrifying scene.
Hundreds of corpses were scattered on the ground, partially mummified or decomposed.
They were the Brain Devourer's victims—those who had been unable to escape its illusion and had died here.
Among them, Zhang Yong saw his companions—Wang Fei, Su Ming, Liu Yan, Liu Yin—lying motionless on the ground, but their breaths were weak, and their eyes were tightly shut as if trapped in a nightmare.
Beside them was Mona, writhing and whispering incomprehensible words.
Then they began to wake up.
Wang Fei suddenly awoke, breathing rapidly, his eyes slightly wide as he touched his chest. "We're still alive?"
"Yes," Zhang Yong said quietly. "We were trapped in an endless illusion. The creature controlling the illusion has been killed, so..."
"We're free now," Wang Fei finished in a quiet, reassuring tone. "Little Brother, thank you. Truly, even though we're the older brothers, having our youngest take care of us like this... it makes us feel a little ashamed," Wang Fei finished with a bitter smile.
Moments later, the others woke up one by one, all of them bewildered and shaken by the experience.
Liu Yan looked around in a daze, hugging herself, and shook her head vigorously. "Ugh, that was disgusting!"
Su Ming woke up suddenly with his hand on his sword's hilt, his eyes blazing with caution. "Where. How. Why. When?!" He spoke rapidly before noticing that everything was fine. Only then did he allow his muscles to relax.
Then Zhang Yong looked at Liu Yin and Mona, who had also woken up. However, Mona remained clinging to Zhang Yong's side.
After gathering their strength, they began to leave the area. The air was cold and the wind blew fiercely, but at least the illusory fog had disappeared.
Then the sound of a wolf's howl was heard, though there was no pack nearby.
Ahead of them, a silhouette could be seen in the distance. It was a wolf with silver fur and yellow eyes gleaming with strange intelligence.
But what was most striking was the silver crescent-shaped mark on its forehead.
However, what stood out was a clump of grass with the human head of a young girl with purple hair.
When the human head looked toward them, a childish voice came from the clump of grass: "Father!"
Zhang Yong's jaw dropped suddenly, his red eyes widening. The voice was strangely familiar. "Kuro?!"
"Wait, what?!" Everyone was shocked at the same time.
The girl climbed down from the wolf's back, but her legs were trembling—she wasn't used to walking.
Even if the situation was different, Zhang Yong felt the bond between him and this girl. Without a doubt, this was Kuro.
Zhang Yong quickly approached her and supported her. "Kuro, what happened?"
Kuro looked at Zhang Yong with wide, joyful eyes, despite her small body trembling. "Hehe, I reached one hundred thousand years of cultivation and decided to transform into human form."
"What?" Zhang Yong appeared very surprised.
Even if Kuro was a mutated spirit bird beast, she shouldn't have reached a hundred-year period this quickly. Moreover, choosing to transform into human form was fraught with risk.
At least in normal circumstances. But this was not the Spirit Realm, so there would be no danger to Kuro's life. However, by making this choice, she had discarded all her previous cultivation and would have to start cultivating again from scratch.
Fortunately, she didn't need to awaken her battle spirit or obtain spirit rings; she could condense them herself, along with a complete innate spiritual power that would help her.
Zhang Yong removed his robe and wrapped it around Kuro gently. She was shivering from the cold, but her purple eyes shone with happiness and excitement, not fear.
"Father, I'm fine!" Kuro said in a pure voice, trying to appear strong while her teeth chattered from the cold. "The transformation was a bit difficult, but I succeeded! Now I can speak with you and accompany you better!"
Zhang Yong looked at this little girl who had once been a spirit bird and felt a wave of emotion.
She had sacrificed all her cultivation and made a choice that fewer than 10% of spirit beasts would ever make, just to be closer to him. He gently raised his hand and wiped some dirt from her cheek. "Stubborn girl. Well, I'll say you got that from me."
Liu Yan looked at Kuro with curiosity and amazement. "So... this is Kuro? The little bird that was always on your shoulder?... And she's so cute!" Liu Yan asked, her eyes wide.
Kuro nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes! I'm Kuro! Now I can talk to all of you!"
Even Wang Fei, who was always calm, couldn't hide his interest. "A spirit beast transforming into human form... that's truly a rare sight."
Kuro frowned slightly at Wang Fei's words. "All thanks to the senior."
Senior?
All eyes suddenly turned toward the silver wolf standing silently in the background. Its yellow eyes brimmed with extraordinary intelligence, and the crescent mark on its forehead glowed with a faint light.
Could it be that she was referring to the wolf?
But when Zhang Yong looked at the wolf, he felt an aura of dread stir in his depths.
'She means me, human.' A deep voice sounded in Zhang Yong's consciousness, but it wasn't coming from the wolf—it was from far ahead.
Zhang Yong used his Heavenly Eyes to investigate and saw what appeared to be a gateway in a wall. When he looked at it, the Eyes of Life and Death activated on their own, and he saw a majestic bird, surrounded by an aura of indelible crimson flame. Its wings seemed capable of overturning heaven and earth.
"The Phoenix Mountains..." Zhang Yong whispered, his eyes widening in awe. "It wasn't a legend."
Up until now, Zhang Yong hadn't truly believed in the legends of humanity's ancestors. He had thought they were just tales told by elders to the young.
But what he felt now was different. The legends were real—the ancestors of humanity were real, and everything else...
For a moment, Zhang Yong shook his head and recognized the owner of the voice. Then he bowed his head and clasped his hands together. "This junior thanks the senior for taking care of her."
'No need for thanks.' The Phoenix's voice sounded again, its tone carrying something resembling a smile. 'This little one is unique, and so are you. Your condition is unfortunate but interesting. It's rare to see a human compatible with a spirit beast. You are lucky—if that little one had shown even the slightest hostility toward you, I would have burned you to ashes.'
Zhang Yong deepened his bow, his voice dripping with respect. "Then the senior knows why I am here."
After Zhang Yong said these words, the air around him seemed to freeze. He felt the Phoenix's heavy gaze piercing through his being.
A tone of disdain appeared in the Phoenix's voice. 'You've come for my inheritance, it seems. If you think you have what it takes, you may proceed alone.'
At this moment, the Phoenix's voice was audible to everyone.
Zhang Yong had no intention of denying it; the truth was clear before a being as powerful as the Phoenix.
Zhang Yong nodded with respect. "That is exactly what I want. I thank the senior for this opportunity."
'Don't thank me yet.' The Phoenix's voice was sharp. 'No one has succeeded so far. Most lost their minds or their souls. Some became part of the ash you see around you, while others died before even reaching it.'
Zhang Yong looked at the mummified corpses scattered across the area, then at his companions, who showed signs of worry.
Zhang Yong let out a sigh, tilting his head back and inhaling the cold air.
"Senior, my coming to this place was already determined. If I retreat now, I will regret it. So I will enter," Zhang Yong said firmly. He had made his decision, and that was that.
In the end, he wouldn't truly die. Death simply wasn't an option.
"Little Brother..." Wang Fei whispered.
Zhang Yong quietly raised his hand. "Don't worry. This is my decision, and I know what I'm doing."
Then he turned toward the direction from which the Phoenix's voice had come. "I am ready."
'Good.' That was all the Phoenix said.
At that moment, the stone gateway swung wide open before Zhang Yong, and it was dark. Before anyone could say anything, Zhang Yong disappeared inside.