A deafening roar rang out. As Lin Zheyu stamped down, a terrifying force erupted. With every step he took, the ground beneath him trembled, the entire land shaking in response. This was power taken to the extreme, driving his body forward at full force without restraint, leaving immense destruction in its wake.

Powerful true origin surged through his meridians. Within his blood vessels, blood filled with immense energy flowed rapidly, producing a thunderous roar. As his strength grew and his physique transformed, his true origin was no longer Lin Zheyu's sole source of power. A martial artist's true power lay in the body itself, and the power of that physique was closely tied to the blood, muscles, skin, and bones.

Blood was the most fundamental source of energy for a martial artist. Whether it was a martial artist's true strength or Lin Zheyu's true origin, both were merely transitional forms. This was displayed most clearly in Bai Lin. When Lin Zheyu fought him, he realized that Bai Lin's greatest power came from fully unlocking the divine treasury within his body, releasing his latent potential, and unleashing the strength of his physique.

That overwhelming blood qi had reached an astonishing level. However, for the current Lin Zheyu, his true origin still remained the most powerful source of energy within his body, aside from the mysterious golden energy. The foundation he had built in the Blood Qi realm and the Marrow Refining realm was simply too extraordinary. As a result, the true origin he cultivated possessed a terrifying quality and strength.

Even after several transformations of his physique, the energy in his blood had risen again and again, yet it still fell short of his true origin. Perhaps only after he unlocked the divine treasury within his body and underwent another transformation would the energy in his blood completely surpass and crush the power of true origin.

"There!"

Lin Zheyu moved at incredible speed. At seven times the speed of sound, he reached the ambushing shaman in the blink of an eye. The man looked to be in his thirties or forties. He wore a robe made from the fur of some unknown exotic beast, with a hood covering his face so his features could not be seen. As he rapidly approached, the man's expression remained completely calm.

"Die!" Lin Zheyu's voice rang out, cold and merciless.

True origin erupted within him. With a sweep of his right hand, a blade of light flashed through the darkness like lightning, its cold edge slashing straight toward the man's neck without hesitation. Seeing this, the man tapped his foot lightly and retreated swiftly. As he moved back, his body began to blur, as if it were turning into an intangible bubble.

The man parted his lips slightly and slowly uttered two words, "Confuse! Dream!"

Though he spoke slowly, the words reached Lin Zheyu's ears the instant he made his move. As the voice faded, the man's body turned illusory. Like a bubble, it burst with a soft pop and vanished into the endless darkness. Only then did Lin Zheyu's sharp blade arrive, slicing through the raging wind.

Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed slightly. "What kind of power is this!"

The moment the man's voice fell, Lin Zheyu felt something strange happen to his perception. The black wind, the mountains, the hills, even the sounds and sights around him began to distort. Some took on humanlike forms, inexplicably turning into bizarre creatures. Others seemed to melt, vast mountains becoming soft and pliable before collapsing to the ground with a slap, flattening into shapeless masses.

***

"The shaman's shamanic divine art is in play. Fellow Daoist Xiao is in trouble," Shi Mulan said with a grave expression. She stood side by side with Bai Lin, watching their surroundings with vigilance to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.

"Using two major shamanic divine arts in succession... I did not expect the barbarian tribe to send such a powerful prodigy this time."

Bai Lin's expression was also somewhat serious, though he was not overly worried. He had fought shamans of the barbarian tribes before. Martial artists might appear crude in battle, but they were far from weak. Even if perception and rules were distorted by shamanic divine arts, a martial artist's powerful martial intuition could still respond to the shaman's follow-up attacks. It would simply put them at a great disadvantage.

A lone shaman launching a sneak attack was not the real concern. The real danger was if there was more than one. A shaman's greatest strength lay in support. Their divine arts were extremely strange, and when used to assist in battle, they could produce devastating effects.

"It looks like Fellow Daoist Xiao has fallen into the opponent's illusory dream realm. Should we go help him?" Shi Mulan asked gravely.

When facing a shaman, rashly attacking was not a wise choice. One careless move could land you straight into an illusion trap they had prepared.

"No need. If Fellow Daoist Xiao has truly awakened a spirit divine ability, the illusory dream realm will not hold him for long. We only need to guard the perimeter and prevent others from interfering," Bai Lin said, shaking his head.

Their exchange was brief. It ended the moment Lin Zheyu's strike failed, and he fell into the illusory dream realm. Feeling the strange distortions around him, Lin Zheyu knew he had most likely been caught in an illusion. This illusion was different from ordinary ones. It looked incomparably real and could deceive his senses. By misleading the five senses, it even directly affected his spiritual sense and Perception Domain.

Lin Zheyu stood in place, his face showing a moment of confusion. Many onlookers hidden in the shadows shook their heads slightly, sneers of disdain appearing on their faces. With strength like that, he still dared come here to compete with them for rule fragments?

"Earth Demon Rat, is that the guy who defeated you before? He does not look like much," someone mocked when they saw Tu Yuan poking his head out from the demon-tainted soil in the distance.

"Heh, the Ji Family siblings are really going downhill. Working with trash like Tu Yuan is one thing, but even inviting a crude martial artist like this..." someone in the darkness mocked loudly. He was not just ridiculing Ji Zitong and her brother, but also Tu Yuan.

Tu Yuan curled his lip and said with clear disdain, "Heh. And what are you, Li Mingze? If you have the guts, come fight me one-on-one!"

Though he spoke like that, his eyes kept darting toward Lin Zheyu's direction. He had gone through great trouble, even deliberately leaking the news that Lin Zheyu possessed a secret treasure, all to create a chance to reclaim his storage pouch and seize that powerful treasure for himself. And now, it seemed like a good opportunity.

"Something's not right. This guy's perception is ridiculously strong. He should not fall into the illusory dream realm so easily. Even I can resist it for a while. How could he look lost so quickly?"

Tu Yuan suppressed the urge to act and frowned as he stared at Lin Zheyu. At that moment, Lin Zheyu gripped his blade tightly, his muscles bulging as a powerful aura spread from him. Yet his face showed a trace of confusion. His gaze wandered without focus, hollow and empty. It was the look of someone trapped in the illusory dream realm, unable to break free.

Let's wait a bit longer, Tu Yuan thought to himself.

He fixed his gaze on the battlefield, searching for the shaman's position. After using the illusory dream realm, the opponent had slipped into the void in a mysterious state. Even Tu Yuan found it difficult to track him.

The fierce wind howled. Lin Zheyu stood still, the world before his eyes filled with confusion and absurdity, like a dreamlike illusion.

Lin Zheyu's face still appeared blank, but inwardly, he was on full alert.

What a bizarre power... If my Perception Domain had not improved again after entering the demon god barrier, I really would have fallen for it.

Even within his Perception Domain, the surrounding illusion remained absurd and dreamlike, extremely strange. Yet the virtual image reflected in his mind revealed the true appearance of the outside world. This difference between what his Perception Domain sensed and the image formed in his mind was something Lin Zheyu was experiencing for the first time.

Under the shaman's distortion, the virtual image within his Perception Domain could only 'see' a radius of about five hundred meters. Beyond that, everything was warped into an absurd world. Lin Zheyu tried to take a step. His body swayed slightly, and a sense of dissonance spread through him. It was utterly unbelievable. He was a martial artist, one comparable to the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.

Sense of direction, spatial distance, even time... all of it is distorted. A martial artist's abilities are being suppressed too heavily. If I were an immortal cultivator, there would probably be many ways to deal with this situation, Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

Though he was caught in a strange situation, he was not anxious in the slightest. Leaving aside the fact that his Perception Domain was still functioning, even if it were completely deceived, his martial intuition was not something to be underestimated.

"Why is he still not making a move? Is he planning to use this bizarre illusion to break my mind?" Lin Zheyu remained extremely vigilant, yet the opponent's next attack never came.

He shook his head helplessly. Since the other party would not attack, he would make the move instead...

Just as Lin Zheyu was about to take the initiative, a powerful sense of danger suddenly surged over him.

"Bind!"

A cold voice rang out. A streak of dim light abruptly emerged from the darkness and shot straight toward Lin Zheyu.

The moment Lin Zheyu sensed the danger, his body shifted sideways. A strong sense of disorientation struck him, causing him to stagger a few steps before regaining control. As a powerful martial artist, he had reached a terrifying level of control over his body. With some adjustment, he quickly overcame the disorientation.

"He can still sense danger and move? Is it the powerful instinct of a martial artist?"

Watching Lin Zheyu evade the divine art, the man hidden in the darkness finally showed a trace of surprise. His illusory dream realm was different from those of other shamans. It had been further refined and enhanced after receiving the Barbarian God's blessing, making it comparable to the innate divine abilities of ancient yaos and endowed with astonishing power.

The man was confident that even among his peers, any prodigy who carelessly entered his illusory dream realm would find it difficult to escape. Yet now, when used against a crude martial artist, the opponent had not fully fallen into it. This surprised him.

Could it be that this guy really has opened his spirit divine repository, as the rumors say? The man thought to himself, a hint of interest appearing on his face.

A martial artist who had opened the spirit divine repository possessed astonishing potential. If he could plant a shamanic divine seed within him...

"I had planned to reserve this slot for someone else, but if it is you, that would not be bad either. A martial artist who has opened the spirit divine repository... I will test you a bit more," the man said, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.

He had come this time to test Lin Zheyu because he had heard rumors that the man had opened his spirit divine repository. He wanted to see whether a martial artist with such a breakthrough could resist his illusory dream realm. After testing him, the man was fairly certain that the person before him had indeed opened it. It now seemed that martial artists who had opened the spirit divine repository possessed considerable resistance to the improved illusory dream realm.

The martial artist before him had a powerful and resilient spirit and had not fallen into the illusory dream realm. But that was all. The man could tell that the opponent's perception had indeed been distorted by the illusion. It was only because his spirit was too strong that he had not fully succumbed.