The light orb reflected in everyone’s eyes, but it transformed into different scenes.

In front of Xu Caihe was the battered city wall of Zhenlian City. On the half-collapsed city tower, her father Xu Jiangxing was grabbed by a demonic beast resembling a monkey, one hand holding each end of his body.

Xu Jiangxing looked toward her, a kind smile appearing on his blood-covered face:

"Daughter, don’t resist anymore, surrender."

Crack!

The great ape pulled hard, and Xu Jiangxing was torn in two!

"Father!!" Xu Caihe screamed miserably, collapsing to the ground, eyes vacant.

"Father! Mother!" Next to her, Zhou Ling’Er also fell to her knees, streaming with tears and mucus.

The scene Zhou Ling’Er saw was her parents being held by countless demonic beasts in front of the Zhou Family’s mansion, a demonic beast with a tiger’s body and a dragon’s mouth slowly walking up, opening its bloody maw, and swallowing her parents whole!

"No, don’t come again!"

Thud, Shi Ying also kneeled on the ground, both hands clutching his head, eyes full of fear.

He saw himself being pinned down by a massive black cat, which didn’t kill him but used him as a tool to sharpen its teeth, the sharp white teeth scraping his body, sparks and blood flying everywhere!

"Young Master, Miss, why have you left me? I’m carrying the Young Master’s child, don’t leave!!"

Liu Su’s eyes were hazy, randomly grasping with her hands, she saw herself happily living with Qin Gengyun and Qiu Zhihe, pregnant with the Young Master’s child.

But one day, the Young Master and Miss suddenly said they didn’t want her anymore. Liu Su chased after them, only to be kicked down by the Young Master. She held her belly, reaching out to grab the Miss, but could only watch them walk farther and farther away.

"You are not, you are not my wife... My wife, listen to my explanation!"

Qin Gengyun’s whole body tensed, his hair almost standing on end. He saw Ruo Mei smiling as she walked toward him, calling him husband, but when they hugged and kissed, the door suddenly exploded.

Qiu Zhihe appeared at the door, eyes full of pain and disappointment, giving him a cold look before turning and walking away.

Qin Gengyun hurried to chase after, but Ruo Mei grabbed his hand. When he turned back, he saw Ruo Mei had turned into a jiao, its golden claws clawing fiercely toward him!

"Wake up."

A cold voice sounded in his ears. Qin Gengyun came to his senses, only to see that nothing was in the scene projected by the jiao, just a swirling orb of light.

Next to him, the disciples of the Zhenyang Sect were staring blankly at the light orb, some crying, some laughing crazily, some in terror...

"Illusion technique!"

Qin Gengyun realized, turning his head to look at Ruo Mei, who appeared calm; evidently, she was the one who had awakened him just now.

"Junior Sister Ruo, how did you..."

Ruo Mei suddenly raised her hand, her long sword whistling as it flew toward the slanted scar on the jiao’s right eye.

"Roar!"

The jiao roared in anger, reluctantly releasing its grip on Mo Xiaolan, dodging the long sword, causing the illusionary orb of light to dissipate.

In an instant, everyone awoke, looking dazedly at themselves. Qin Gengyun shouted:

"What you just saw was all an illusion, everyone be careful, don’t let that jiao emit that light orb again!"

After speaking, he lunged fiercely at the jiao. The malicious aura in the jiao’s eyes intensified, its body suddenly enlarging, raising its right claw to grab at Qin Gengyun.

The giant claw, the size of a millstone, shimmered with black light, striking down at Qin Gengyun like a thunderbolt!

Swish!

Ruo Mei gestured, and the flying sword again aimed for the jiao’s right eye. The jiao roared angrily, retracting the claw intended for Qin Gengyun, blocking it in front of its right eye. The flying sword clinked against the claw, unable to inflict substantive harm.

But Qin Gengyun had already collided with the jiao’s body with a loud crash, knocking the jiao flying, crashing into the building behind it.

"Form the array!"

Wei Wan commanded calmly. While the jiao was still down, the disciples of the Zhenyang Sect quickly spread out, holding their long swords aloft.

In the sky appeared a circular array, within which lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, innumerable sword lights gleamed, and a faintly visible lotus emerged at the center.

This was the world-renowned killing array of the Zhenyang Sect — the Heart-breaking Lotus Array!

Every disciple’s first lesson upon entering the sect was that the ancestor Zhenyang used this very array to slay the Great Demon Sheng Tanglian who wreaked havoc on the world. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, the Heart-breaking Lotus Array in front of them did not possess the true killing power. It was a formation Wei Wan had taught all the disciples on their way to Yunling Town, limited by their cultivation and proficiency; its power was mediocre.

But it was enough to temporarily restrain this jiao.

"Wretched beast, repay with the lives of my sect members!"

Wei Wan shouted, a blue short sword appearing in her hand.

"Senior Sister Wei’s Qingbo Sword!"

The Zhenyang Sect disciples’ spirits lifted, watching as the blue short sword slowly floated toward the jiao, its blade rippling with water-like waves, like a gentle water-bound woman gliding along a river, her oars stirring clear ripples in the water.

But the jiao seemed faced with a great enemy, struggling desperately, trying to break free from the suppression of the Heart-breaking Lotus Array.

The next moment, the Qingbo Sword arrived.

The rippling water at the sword’s tip touched the jiao’s body,

In an instant, the scene froze, as if time halted for a brief moment.

The next second, centered on the sword’s tip, the gentle water waves suddenly surged outward, the clear waves transforming into a roaring flood that engulfed the jiao!

A piercing howl shot up to the sky.

The jiao broke through the blockade of the Lotus Array, leaping dozens of meters, fleeing toward the outskirts of Yunling Town.

"Don’t chase it!"

Wei Wan stopped the Zhenyang disciples who were eager to pursue.

"There are too many demonic beasts outside the city, let’s save Junior Sister Fang first!"

"Junior Sister Fang!" Qin Gengyun quickly stepped forward to check on Fang Xue’s injuries, but Ruo Mei had already picked up Fang Xue in her arms and was heading for a house.

Several female disciples skilled in medicine followed them in. After a short wait, a female disciple came out and said:

"Junior Sister Fang’s injuries are not severe, just a broken leg bone, and she will need some time to recover."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Gengyun approached Mo Xiaolan, asking with concern, "Junior Brother Lan, are you okay?"

Mo Xiaolan said, "I’m fine, just a minor injury."

Her neck had been scratched by the jiao, leaving a blood mark, but the bleeding had stopped. Wei Wan came forward, seeing she was alright, and then asked:

"Junior Brother Lan, what happened just now?"

The others gathered around, looking at her with concern. Mo Xiaolan said:

"The jiao became very small and slipped in through the window to attack us. Both I and Junior Sister Fang fell under its illusion technique."

Speaking of the illusion, all the disciples felt a chill in their hearts, like confronting their own heart demons, seeing the things they feared the most.

Xu Caihe and Zhou Ling’Er saw their parents dying tragically, while some disciples saw themselves failing in cultivation, experiencing Qi deviation, and others saw their secret crush being dragged away by a demonic beast.

Liu Su quietly said to Qin Gengyun, "Brother, what did you see?"

Qin Gengyun coughed once, asking back, "What did you see?"

Liu Su suddenly pinched him hard, and Qin Gengyun innocently said, "Why are you pinching me?"

"Hmph!" Liu Su said nothing further, but was clearly upset.

Mo Xiaolan suddenly asked Wei Wan, "Senior Sister Wei, what did you just see?"