The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 298. The Mysterious Village

Tyler tightened his grip on the telescope that he had quickly retrieved from his storage device. He peered through the lens, focusing on their missing companion. The grandmaster, an expert in illusions, now looked completely different. His posture, his expressions—everything about him resembled an ordinary villager. He walked calmly, delivering a stack of grass to a group of cows in a nearby field, his demeanor casual as if he had always belonged there.

Since they couldn’t use divine sense, they had no choice but to rely on the telescope for observation.

"This can’t be real..." a grandmaster muttered. "He’s acting as if he belongs here."

"He’s been swallowed by the illusion," Mana said gravely. "It’s not just an illusion—it’s his reality now."

Another grandmaster, unable to contain himself, disappeared in a burst of speed. He reappeared beside the missing man and tried to grab his shoulder.

His hand passed through as if touching air.

The group collectively held their breath.

Without wasting another second, the grandmaster who attempted the rescue quickly retreated, returning to the others. His face was pale. "I couldn’t touch him... It was like he wasn’t even there."

Tyler lowered his telescope, clenching his jaw. "So, from our perspective, he’s an illusion. But from his... he believes he’s real."

Mathilda crossed her arms. "Can we interact with anything in the village at all?"

Tyler narrowed his eyes at the cows Xing Zhao had just fed. He picked up a small rock from the ground and tossed it toward the village. The moment it entered the village, it phased through the air, almost ghost-like, before landing on a patch of grass.

The rock shimmered for a moment, appearing insubstantial. Then, within seconds, it solidified, as though it had always been part of the village.

"...The moment something enters that space, it becomes part of it," Tyler murmured. "But it seems the smaller the object, the faster it integrates."

Mana’s expression darkened. "Then if we step in, we might never be able to leave."

The weight of those words settled over the group.

Tyler continued staring at the village, deep in thought. "It’s not just an illusion. It’s a full-scale assimilation."

He lifted his telescope again, watching the missing grandmaster’s face closely. There was no trace of confusion, no sign of struggle. He was completely immersed in his new life.

"He’s lost his memory," Tyler said finally. "He genuinely believes he’s one of them now."

A heavy silence followed.

The village was beautiful—quaint houses, vibrant fields, children running about joyfully. It was peaceful in a way that felt entirely out of place within the Abyss. But beneath that serene surface lurked an unknown danger—one that had already claimed a powerful grandmaster without a single sign of resistance.

And now, the compass that guided them to their next destination was pointing directly toward it.

Tyler exhaled sharply.

They had no choice.

They had to go inside.

"But before that, let’s try something else," Tyler suggested, his mind already working on a plan.

He quickly took out a piece of paper and began writing.

[Grandmaster Xing, snap out of the illusion.]

Infusing the message with a trace of his aura, Tyler folded the paper and tossed it toward the village. It fluttered in the air before landing near Xing Zhao, resting close to his feet.

A few seconds later the paper integrated with the illusion.

Everyone held their breath as they watched through the telescope.

At first, nothing happened. Xing Zhao continued feeding the cows, completely unaware of the note at his feet.

"Ahh... He’s not even noticing it," someone groaned in frustration.

Just as they were about to give up, a woman approached him. She pointed at the paper, scolding him as though he had littered.

Xing Zhao frowned, confused, and picked up the note.

Excitement rippled through the group as they watched.

"Come on, read it," Mathilda whispered.

Xing Zhao unfolded the paper and stared at it.

And then... he frowned even more, his confusion deepening.

Silence stretched among the observers.

"...He can’t read it," Tyler muttered.

Through the telescope, they saw Xing Zhao tilt his head, completely baffled. Then, with a dismissive shrug, he crumpled the paper and tossed it into a nearby dustbin before returning to feeding the cows.

A heavy silence fell over the group.

Tyler clenched his fists. "The illusion is stronger than I thought."

A grandmaster let out a deep sigh. "It’s not just his memories that were erased—his entire understanding of his past life is gone. He probably doesn’t remember our language."

Tyler took a deep breath, calming himself. "Then if words don’t work, we need to think of alternative ways." freewebnσvel.cøm

The Next Step

After a long moment of contemplation, Tyler turned back to his team.

"We can’t just rush in blindly," he said. "We need to prepare countermeasures before entering. If we step in without a plan, we might end up just like him."

Mathilda nodded. "Agreed. We need to set up anchors outside the village—something that ties us back to reality in case we start slipping."

Tyler narrowed his eyes at the peaceful yet unsettling village before him. Their previous attempts to interact with it had failed, and now the Grandmaster Silver’s clone had dissolved into nothing but a puddle of water. Even stranger, the villagers had reacted to it briefly before returning to their daily routine, as if nothing unusual had happened. It was as if the illusion had a way of correcting itself.

"How about using a puppet?" one of the grandmasters suggested. "We could create a puppet and control it remotely."

"Nice idea, genius," another grandmaster scoffed. "And how exactly do you plan to control it?"

"Through divine sense, obviously—" The first grandmaster stopped mid-sentence, realization hitting him hard. They had already confirmed that divine sense didn’t work inside the village.

A sigh passed through the group, but before the idea could be entirely dismissed, Tyler suddenly spoke up.

"No, wait... It’s actually a great idea. But instead of a puppet, we’ll use cloning."

Everyone turned to him, confused.

"Cloning?" Mathilda raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "If we can send in a clone, we might be able to interact with the village without risking ourselves. We just need someone with a cloning art."

The grandmasters exchanged glances, and finally, Grandmaster Silver stepped forward. "I have a cloning art, but it’s water-based. I’ll need special spring water to make it work."

Tyler quickly rummaged through his storage device, producing a container filled with a rare type of spring water infused with aura. "Will this work?"

Grandmaster Silver’s eyes widened slightly. "This is perfect."

A Few Hours Later

An identical copy of Grandmaster Silver now stood beside him. The clone, crafted from pure water, moved fluidly, its form stable thanks to the special spring water provided by Tyler.

Then, Silver’s divinity soul emerged from his body. A small fragment of it sliced away and entered the clone, bringing it to life.

The water clone blinked, nodded at Tyler and the others, and took a step forward.

Grandmaster Silver, still sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes and smirked. "It’s not that hard to control."

"Good," Tyler said. "Just walk inside and drag Grandmaster Xing out once you start turning into an illusion."

Grandmaster Silver nodded in understanding as he focused on his clone, directing it toward the village.

The group watched in tense silence.

The moment the clone entered the village, its form shimmered slightly, as if adjusting to its new environment.

A few minutes passed, and then—

Grandmaster Silver suddenly coughed violently, spitting out blood.

"What happened?!" Tyler asked, stepping forward.

Grandmaster Silver wiped his mouth and let out a bitter smile. "The moment the clone fully integrated into the village, I lost my connection to it. A piece of my divinity was severed."

Tyler frowned. "I’ll give you a Divinity Recovery Pill later."

Grandmaster Silver nodded in gratitude.

The group continued watching the clone, now seemingly a full-fledged part of the village. It walked as if it belonged there, even greeting villagers, who responded without hesitation.

"That’s disturbing..." Mathilda muttered.

"What’s worse is that it didn’t even hesitate," Mana said. "It’s as if it had always lived there."

The group shared an uneasy glance.

Then, without warning, the clone’s form suddenly collapsed into a puddle of water.

The villagers around it gasped in shock, murmuring among themselves. But after a few moments, they simply moved on, acting as if nothing had happened.

A heavy silence fell over the group.

"What now?" Mathilda asked, arms crossed.

Tyler let out a slow exhale, deep in thought. "This Illusion has its own rule. The moment someone integrates into the village, they become part of its reality. Their mind, memories, and existence shift to match whatever rules govern this place."

"So, we can’t just drag them out," One of the Grandmaster muttered.

Tyler shook his head. "No. If we want to save Grandmaster Xing, we have to figure out how not to lose our memories."

The group exchanged glances.

One thing was clear—this wasn’t going to be easy.