Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

Lu Zaian's sudden burst of laughter left everyone bewildered.

"What's fake?"

"Of course the flame barrier is fake. It's actually an array that combines illusion and deception."

When you first saw it, did the image of it being engulfed in flames immediately come to mind?

Lu Zaian said quickly.

Everyone nodded in unison, as if by instinct.

"That's right. What kind of formation can remain so perfect after so many years? The newer it is, the more problematic it is."

Moreover, once you get close to the flame barrier, the feeling of anxiety in your heart outweighs the actual surface temperature.

This means it directly affects your mood, causing hallucinations and resulting in a feeling of heat.

Lu Zaian then pointed to the remains of the two-winged, venomous centipede on the ground, which had already been burned by the incantation, and continued to explain:

"These two-winged venomous centipedes will instinctively dodge even the weakest fire spells, and will even avoid getting close to flames."

This shows that they have a biological instinct to resist flames.

I was standing right in front of the flame barrier, and logically, the high temperature generated by the flame barrier should have made them fearful or afraid to get close.

But they acted as if they didn't see me and charged straight at me.

They only changed their targets after I used the Flame Shield talisman.

This shows that in their perception, there was no fire barrier in front of them at all.

This two-winged, venomous centipede is unintelligent; it has no brain and acts solely on instinct. Therefore, illusions and tricks are useless against it.

On the contrary, it's us who overthink things; the more anxious we become, the more real we feel the flame barrier.

"But what if it's true?" the old man with the wood element said with a suspicious look.

As he spoke, he casually tossed an ordinary longsword, which plunged directly into the flame barrier.

In the eyes of the others, apart from Lu Zaian, the longsword forged from ordinary iron melted into molten iron in the blink of an eye.

The expressions on the faces of the group changed instantly, and they all looked at Lu Zaian with puzzled eyes.

Is this the false image you're talking about?

However, just when Lu Zaian was convinced that it was all an illusion, he saw a completely different scene.

Without hesitation, Lu Zaian reached out and grabbed at the inside of the flame barrier.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the longsword, which had been melted into molten iron, inexplicably returned to its original form.

And Lu held it firmly in his hand.

"This...how is this possible?"

“Nothing is impossible. The scene you see is completely different from what I saw, which is why you think the longsword has been melted, but from my perspective it is still safely stuck there.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zaian stepped into the barrier of flames and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Everyone's pupils contracted, and they gritted their teeth and followed suit, diving into the flame barrier!

"It's...really alright?!"

After passing through the barrier of flames, the plump female cultivator touched her body in surprise. Not only was she not engulfed in flames, but she hadn't even lost a single hair.

"Impressive, Junior Brother Lu! You were able to come up with so much in such a short time!"

Zhu Youzhi exclaimed in sincere admiration.

"We were just observing carefully... Let's keep going. This fake fire barrier won't stop those centipedes," Lu Zaian said, waving his hand.

As his voice fell.

Sure enough, the two-winged venomous centipedes behind them flapped their wings and broke through the flame barrier to catch up!

Through the now-illusory barrier of flames, one could see the four-winged, venomous centipede hanging behind, emitting a sharp, piercing, and urgent hiss.

It was clear that it was getting impatient; its massive body hovered and swayed in mid-air, considering whether or not to charge forward.

Zhu Youzhi's expression brightened, and as he ran, he telepathically asked Lu Zaian:

"Junior Brother Lu, I have a killer move that can take care of that guy. I'm afraid if we drag this out any longer, I'll exhaust my mana and it will be harder to deal with him. What do you say?"

Originally, apart from breaking the formation, the team was entirely under the command of Zhu Youzhi, and his opinions were the sole basis for decisions.

Now, however, he took the initiative to inquire about Lu Zai'an.

It is evident that Lu Zaian's influence on him along the way led him to subconsciously consider Lu Zaian's opinions.

Hearing Zhu Youzhi's telepathic message, Lu Zaian didn't stop walking and telepathically asked in return:

"Is Senior Brother Zhu's killing move a one-time use item?"

"……Um."

"Let's wait a bit longer. I'm afraid there might be other crises ahead. If we can keep one trump card, we should."

"But……"

"How about this, if there's still no way out ahead, before your magical power reaches its limit, senior brother, let's turn back and kill that beast!"

"it is good……"

The two reached an agreement and continued running with the team.

If we're talking about trump cards, Lu Zaian isn't without them either.

For example, a second-tier talisman can kill a four-winged, venomous centipede with a single talisman.

However, with such a precious trump card, using one would mean losing one less, and Lu Zai'an was reluctant to part with it.

This secret realm is fraught with obstacles, and the enemies are not limited to these monsters.

I heard Lin Feng say before that many disciples of the Flying Cloud Sect were killed by the Refining Fire Sect and the Burning Blood Sect.

Therefore, in this environment, the threat from hostile forces may be greater than that from the secret realm itself...

A moment later, the group ran another hundred paces with their heads down.

Suddenly, another barrier of flames appeared out of nowhere at the entrance to the passage ahead.

However, when the group approached it this time, they did not feel any burning sensation.

On the contrary, through that somewhat illusory layer of flame, they were able to clearly see the scene hidden behind it.

It was a huge and magnificent hall, with a long shrine in the center.

On the altar, several items radiating a dazzling light were quietly displayed.

They are like sleeping treasures, slowly radiating a dazzling light.

"It's a treasure! Haha, you think you can fool your grandpa!"

The old man with the Wood element suddenly had a glint in his cloudy old eyes. After going through many hardships and dangers, he finally saw the treasure.

A mere trick, you think you can stop me!

Without a second thought, he plunged headfirst into the flame barrier!

Tsk tsk tsk! !

The aroma of barbecue wafted in.

Before Lu Zaian could even utter a word to stop them, he saw a pile of charred black ash scattered all over the ground beneath the barrier of flames...

"...This time...it's for real."

Hiss! The others also stared at the pile of ashes and gasped in unison.

To be able to laugh so calmly as one walks towards death, I admire you!

Lu Zaian sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"We've already come this far, so why rush things..."

"Junior Brother Lu, will you be able to get through this?"

Zhu Youzhi had no time to deal with the old man who had already gone to the underworld; instead, he turned to face the approaching venomous centipede.

"I'll give it a try. This formation is quite dilapidated."

Lu Zaian stroked his white stubble on his chin with one hand while quickly scanning the array patterns.

"Illusionary Spirit Pattern... Hiss, an unrecognizable flame array pattern, eh... what's this? Why is there an ice array pattern too?"

On the walls on either side of the flame barrier in front of him were engraved the illusionary spirit array patterns that Lu Zaian recognized.

There were also some unfamiliar second-order flame array patterns.

And another array pattern that I didn't recognize, but could barely sense was ice-type.

"How strange! A formation with flame patterns as its main element actually contains ice elements?"

After a moment of thought, Lu Zaian thought of a possibility in the first volume of "True Explanation of Talisman Array".