In the secret chamber, silver spear radiance and azure-green staff winds intertwined together, bursting forth with brilliant colors.

The woman flew forward, swirling the azure staff in her hand, causing layers of flower waterfalls to bloom from within, forcing the mirage woman to retreat two steps.

The mirage woman looked toward Zanxing, her gaze full of suspicion: “Who are you, that you’re not controlled by my illusion realm?”

This altar was already at the very center of the illusion realm. Anyone—even cultivators with profound cultivation—would have their cultivation damaged upon reaching this place. Zanxing was merely at the Golden Core cultivation level. According to experience, she should have lost all her Yuanli by now, becoming inferior to even ordinary people. Yet here she was, with her Yuanli seemingly slowly recovering as time passed.

“Go out and travel more, and you’ll understand what it means that there are mountains beyond mountains,” Zanxing said. “Shrinking away here all day long—don’t delude yourself about covering the sky with one hand!” Having said this, she thrust the staff tip forward, stabbing ahead.

But the staff tip struck something else equally hard.

From the front section of the snake staff, between those two azure and crimson snake heads, the shadows of two giant pythons suddenly burst forth—also one azure and one red, about as thick as water barrels, almost immediately filling the secret chamber. The snake heads gazed down at Zanxing from above, their cold serpentine pupils a sinister blood-red color. Before Zanxing could withdraw her Panhua Stick, the azure snake suddenly lunged toward her.

“Dangerous!” A powerful wind flashed behind her as Gu Baiying pulled her back in retreat. The Embroidered Bone Spear struck the azure snake’s massive serpent body, as if hitting solid armor, producing a “clang” sound.

But the mirage woman burst into laughter with a “puchi” sound.

Zanxing’s heart tightened. The next moment, she heard only a muffled grunt as Gu Baiying flew out from her side. The vermilion giant python had circled from behind, its forked tongue like a sharp spike. On the chest of Gu Baiying’s snow-white robe, a blood flower slowly bloomed.

He collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for a moment. Zanxing rushed over to help him up.

“Little Immortal, you don’t think you can still deal with me now, do you?” The mirage woman covered her mouth and laughed. “Never mind that due to the spiritual meridians, the Yuanli in your body is already in complete chaos. Even without the spiritual meridian issue, having drunk the water of Wu Fan City, you could never leave Wu Fan City.”

Zanxing: “Water?”

“Disciples from great sects who don’t casually eat unknown food—quite cautious indeed,” the mirage woman’s tone carried mockery. “But it’s useless. As long as you’ve used anything from Wu Fan City, drunk even a sip of Wu Fan City’s water, you’ll become part of the illusion realm and naturally must accept my ‘Way.'”

Zanxing suddenly understood.

When they were at Xu Douniang’s house, Douniang had boiled water for them to drink. Having just emerged from the teleportation array and traveled a long distance, they were extremely thirsty and hungry, so they drank the local water. It seemed that those sensations of “hunger, thirst, cold, and fatigue” might well have been the mirage woman’s illusion techniques, all designed to lead them into Wu Fan City. And hungry, thirsty, cold, and tired lost travelers, suddenly seeing a prosperous city, would lower their guard, causing them to “eat, drink, rest, and stay overnight” in this place. Once they used things from this place, they accepted the local “rules” and completely lost their Yuanli.

“Little Immortal, your cultivation is indeed very high, but,” the mirage woman looked toward Gu Baiying, her eyes flowing: “with damaged spiritual meridians, caught in illusion techniques, and Yuanli completely lost, you’re now just an ordinary person—not my match.” She smiled slightly, her tone becoming ambiguous again: “Why not stay here and become an immortal couple with me? How about it?”

“Stop dreaming,” Zanxing sneered coldly. “My martial uncle is pure as jade and ice—how could he be mentioned in the same breath as a filthy, shameful demon like you?” She blocked in front of Gu Baiying: “Living day and night with you would be worse than death, right, martial uncle?”

Gu Baiying: “……”

Having been repeatedly interrupted by Zanxing, the mirage woman’s gaze toward Zanxing had become extremely sinister. She coldly examined Zanxing: “You are truly unexpected, actually able to use Yuanli even in my illusion realm. However,” she narrowed her eyes, “it seems you haven’t fully recovered either. You still can’t open your Qiankun Bag. Your skills were mediocre to begin with, and having recovered only fifty percent, you’re nothing to fear.” By the end, her tone suddenly turned severe: “I’m going to chop off your head and hang it on the flagpole at Wu Fan City’s gate!”

From the front end of the snake staff, two giant pythons suddenly burst forth, fiercely pouncing toward the woman standing in the secret chamber.

Gu Baiying wanted to get up and help, but having just been bitten by that snake’s head, his entire body seemed paralyzed, stiff, and unable to move. In a flash of thought, he shouted to Zanxing: “Be careful, there’s snake venom!”

The giant python’s sharp fangs were right before her eyes, its foul breath rushing toward her face. Zanxing shifted her body, stepping on the snake’s head to narrowly avoid it. Seeing the other red giant python swimming toward Gu Baiying’s side, apparently intending to coil around him.

“Despicable!” Zanxing gripped the Panhua Stick and fiercely struck at the giant python. The snake was forced off course by the staff wind, nearly crashing into Mimi on the side. Mimi shrieked and jumped away with her tail rigid.

Zanxing rushed to Gu Baiying’s side: “Martial uncle, are you alright?”

Seeing this, the mirage woman angrily said: “Release my prey!”

Zanxing whipped around, not backing down: “He’s not yours, he’s mine—both his person and his heart!”

Gu Baiying gritted his teeth: “……Both of you, shut up.”

The mirage woman stared dead at Zanxing, suddenly retracting her snake staff. Both giant pythons completely disappeared. Holding the snake staff, she charged directly at Zanxing: “Wench, today I’ll make you suffer eternally, unable to seek death!”

That gorgeous and sinister snake staff, carrying tremendous spiritual power, swept directly toward her. Without doubt, if this staff struck a person, they would be reduced to ash and dust.

The wind brought by the snake staff seemed to have form as well, suddenly generating the phantom of a giant python from the front end, like the enormous creature that had rushed out from the bonfire on the night of the Snake Festival, shrieking as it pounced toward Zanxing, wanting to tear her to pieces!

Just as that giant shadow had opened its bloody maw, about to swallow Zanxing whole!

A deep blue, gentle light emanated from Zanxing’s hand.

That gentle, azure light softly caught the fierce wind rushing toward her, and thus the surging malevolent energy vanished without a trace in an instant. The blue light gradually spread, and the entire secret chamber was immediately filled with fine, scattered light and shadow, like the rippling waves created when a gentle breeze passes over the sea surface.

Water mist enveloped the entire secret chamber. Zanxing heard the mirage woman’s furious, exasperated cursing. She turned around to look at Gu Baiying.

Gu Baiying stared at her in disbelief: “You……”

Zanxing walked to his side and crouched down, opening her palm. A silver scale gradually floated up, rising to mid-air and spreading azure light all around.

Gu Baiying: “Merfolk scale?”

“Martial uncle, do you still remember the legend of the mirage woman?” Zanxing paused before asking.

Gu Baiying said nothing.

“Mirage women often appear together with merfolk in desert seas,” she said. The scale floating in mid-air continuously emitted soft coolness, like the Western Sea in summer. Merfolk also know illusion techniques. Though they can’t compare to the Mirage woman’s mirage scenes, they can still resist for a while.”