Danzun War God

Chapter Forty-Five: Entering the Illusion

The old man, still gazing longingly at the axe, said, "This is a Berserker Axe, forged from a meteorite from outer space. It was passed down from our Heavenly Wolf Ancestor, and only in the hands of those with the Heavenly Wolf bloodline can its boundless power be unleashed. You can take it back to him."

Han Qi bowed deeply to the old man to express his gratitude. He said helplessly, "It's a pity we can't get out of this formation for the time being."

The old man continued, "After hundreds of years of research, this formation indeed has no exit, but I can help you get out."

Han Qi hurriedly said, "Absolutely not, the senior has already done enough for us."

The old man waved his hand, interrupting Han Qi, and said, "Child, I still have half a Spirit Master in my body. You should take it with you, reporter. If possible, please return it to the demon race. If I didn't have this half a Spirit Master, I wouldn't have lasted this long. Meeting you should be the meaning of my hundreds of years of life. I should be free from this kind of living. I can't help you with anything else. Please take care. I'll be going now."

After speaking, he sat on the rock and entered a meditative state. Han Qi knew that he could not stop him. He just stared blankly at the old man and stopped talking. He told himself that he would never let the old man down.

Just then, the earth suddenly began to tremble, and several bright lights flashed overhead. Han Qi knew that the old man had left and the Demon-Subduing Array had automatically released its seal. Han Qi quickly stepped forward and picked up the old man's body. He saw half a green bead slide out of the old man's mouth, crystal clear and shimmering with light. Needless to say, this was the half of the Spirit Master that the old man had mentioned. Han Qi caught the Spirit Master and put it into his Qiankun Ring. The old man's body began to disperse like quicksand in the wind. Han Qi did not stop, turned around and pulled up the unconscious Qin Wuyang, preparing to fly upwards. Before Han Qi could even circulate his energy, in the blink of an eye, the two appeared on the original platform. The star chart beside them was the Gate of Death. At this time, the array had been deactivated, and the Sand Heaven Pattern on the star chart no longer shone.

The earthquake intensified, and Qin Wuyang awoke to find himself stunned by the chaotic scene before him. He hurriedly asked, "Brother Han, what's going on? Where are we?"

Before Han Qi could speak, the scene before them suddenly began to change drastically. Some parts of the ground rose, while others fell. Before the two of them could react, the scene before them had changed from the valley to a mountainside, with countless stone steps in front of them.

Han Qi patted Qin Wuyang and said, "Brother, don't tell anyone about what we've been through. Keep it a secret for now. This shouldn't be an illusion set up by the Temple of Gods and Demons. We can talk about the rest later. Let's go."

They walked for a long time without speaking, each recalling their previous experiences, which seemed like a dream yet so real. Soon they reached the top of the mountain along the stone steps, where the steps ended. Looking around, there was nothing but white snow.

Just as the two were looking at each other, unsure of what to do, ripples appeared in the air before them, like the surface of water. Then, a large door, as clear as crystal, appeared before them. The crystal door slowly opened, and an elder dressed in a black Taoist robe walked out. He had white hair and beard, but his skin was light blue. His nose and mouth were large, taking up half of his face, and his eyes and mouth were red, making him look unusually strange.

The Taoist priest stared sharply at the two men and said, "You two must be Qin Wuyang and Han Qi, right?"

Seeing the two nod, the Taoist continued, "Hurry up, we're just waiting for you two."

Han Qi and the other man exchanged a knowing smile and quickly bowed in greeting. The Taoist ignored them, glared at them fiercely, and turned to walk inside. Only then did the two men follow him in.

Upon entering the gate, however, the scene inside was quite different. The overall style was dark, even the stones underfoot were gray-black. There was a spacious square inside, where a number of people had gathered, some sitting and some standing. They looked different, but their skin was either black or blue. When they saw the Taoist priest leading two people in, they all crowded around them. There were about several hundred people in total.

Han Qi looked around curiously and saw a large hall on the edge of the square. Above the entrance of the hall were two large golden characters, "Front Hall". On both sides of the hall were four stone pillars, each carved with a black demonic beast, baring its fangs and claws, showing its ferocious appearance, which made people feel afraid. Just as Han Qi was wondering what was inside the front hall, the Taoist who had led them in shouted impatiently, "You, and you, stand still for me, or get back."

Han Qi turned around and saw the old Taoist priest pointing at him. Han Qi quickly lowered his head and stood in the line.

The disciples of the Divine Demon Palace who were maintaining order at the scene were also listless and dispirited. Looking at the crooked line, the Taoist shook his head, sighed, and said, "It's getting worse every year."

The Taoist waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. The group immediately fell silent. The Taoist cleared his throat and said, "I am Elder Blue Demon of the Divine Demon Palace, in charge of testing you children. The test consists of two rounds. As for how it will be conducted, you can do whatever you want once you enter for the first round. After the two rounds, the top fifty people will remain, and the rest will go home and wait for next year. One thing to note is that you must stay alive, or you will never come out. However, the Grand Palace Master has instructed that Qin Wuyang and Han Qi can be exempted from the first round."

The crowd immediately erupted in discussion: "Why were they exempted from the exam? Did they give gifts to the Grand Master?"

"Exactly, why should I be exempt from the exam too?"

"They got exempted from the test just because they came in late. I wish I hadn't come in so early. It's not fair!"

After the discussion gradually subsided, Elder Lanmo's face turned cold as he said, "Have you finished speaking? If you have, then listen to what I have to say."

Many people in the crowd glared angrily at Elder Blue Demon. But even more people looked Han Qi and Qin Wuyang up and down with disdain, looking down on these two people who had connections.

Elder Blue Demon looked around at everyone and said, "You all have to shout. Tell me how you got here. Did you just dream about it? Actually, that dream was a bewitching array to test your talents and character. Except for these two, you all got here while you were asleep. These two are also the only two people in the last hundred years to pass through the bewitching array."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on, and their eyes changed from disdain to envy. Han Qi ignored them and bowed to the Blue Demon Daoist, saying, "Elder Blue Demon, it was purely by chance that I passed the illusion array. I would like to test my strength through the next two tests. I would appreciate it if Elder Blue Demon would grant me this favor."

Qin Wuyang, who had been looking at everyone with pride, was stunned when he heard Han Qi say this. He cursed Han Qi for being stupid in his heart, but said aloud, "This disciple is also willing to participate in the test."

Elder Blue Demon sighed and said, "Have you two thought this through? There are still many variables in this test."

Han Qi smiled and said, "This disciple has made up his mind. Whatever the outcome, this disciple is willing to accept it."

Elder Blue Demon stopped speaking and beckoned towards the front hall. Several disciples came out, each carrying props such as knives, swords, mirrors, and flags. They and Elder Blue Demon began to set up the venue. Soon, eight disciples formed a circle, sitting in the center around Elder Blue Demon, while waving their props and chanting incantations.

In an instant, the mirror grew to over ten feet in size and stood before everyone. The Blue Demon Daoist announced in a loud voice, "The first test begins. Please enter the formation in turn."

The disciples present guided everyone to the mirror one by one, and then stepped into the mirror. The mirror surface only showed a ripple before instantly returning to its original state.

Han Qi and Han Qinwu exchanged a glance and stepped into the mirror at the same time. Han Qi only felt a blur before his eyes, and the scene in front of him changed from the original dark gray to a rich emerald green. Han Qi appeared in a mountain forest, surrounded by exotic flowers and rare herbs. Han Qi immediately circulated his energy, condensed his profound energy in both hands, and became highly vigilant, releasing his divine sense to probe the surrounding rustling grass.

Suddenly, someone whispered, "If we run into those two arrogant fools, kill them without hesitation, or we'll never be able to get ahead here again."

Han Qi quickly hid behind the bushes, because he had already observed the area before entering the formation and found that most of the people here were more powerful than him. In addition, Elder Lanmo's words that the two of them were exempt from the test had aroused a lot of hatred for Han Qi, and Han Qi couldn't help but secretly complain.

"He's there!" A loud voice came from behind. Han Qi's heart sank. He knew he had been exposed, so he stopped hiding and strode out. He looked at the two demons around him, whose cultivation was no less than his own. They were staring at him fiercely, as if they wanted to devour him.

Knowing that a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, Han Qi immediately smiled apologetically and said, "Greetings everyone, my name is Han Qi. I hope you senior brothers will take good care of me."

"Hey! Isn't this Han Qi, the one with extraordinary talent who was exempted from the exam but still came here to die?" The leader said sarcastically, his words filled with extreme contempt.

"Stop wasting time talking to him, just get rid of him so we don't feel uncomfortable here later," the other person said impatiently. As he spoke, the two men flicked their wrists and weapons instantly appeared in their hands. Then they attacked from above and below, their moves simple yet sharp, aiming straight for Han Qi's vitals. Han Qi didn't have time to think and quickly dodged, avoiding the sword energy at his throat. The blade energy rushed towards his abdomen, fortunately only tearing off a strand of his clothes.

Then came another deadly move. With a shout of "Ten Thousand Swords Slash," countless sword energies shot out, heading straight for Han Qi. Han Qi hurriedly unleashed several fiery palm strikes to defend himself, deflecting many of the sword energies. However, the "Ten Thousand Swords Slash" was indeed formidable. Han Qi, unarmed, was already struggling to cope. At this moment, another shout of "Thousand Pound Break" rang in his ears. Countless blade energies converged into a single blade shadow and slashed down directly. There was no way to dodge it, and its speed made Han Qi feel utterly hopeless.