"Huh—?!"

"This... how could someone be attacking the hair trees in the Inner Forest?!"

"Could it be they just achieved a perfect clearance??"

The three Sun People players were all somewhat surprised.

Well, it was just that bit of surprise, nothing more.

With different classes, Sun People players who held absolute power over the life and death of Moon People almost never developed any interest in investigating Moon People.

Just like an elephant wouldn't be curious about what kind of "delicacy" an ant was moving.

After only a moment of surprise, the three Sun People players made the exact same move as when they had previously encountered other Moon People players in the Forest of Oddities—

A purple-black card, resembling a tarot card, shot straight towards the young man who was "chopping down the tree."

And the speed of that card was practically comparable to the effect of Light and Shadow Escape!

At such extreme speed, the "tree-chopping" young man simply couldn't react in time!

He seemed to have noticed that someone was approaching from beyond the mist-obscured field of vision.

However, the moment he turned around, he ran headlong into that flying [Time-Limited Instant Kill] card!

In an instant, the young man abruptly transformed into light points and dissipated.

At the same time, the prison watch worn on his wrist also fell off as expected.

Soon, following the same routine as before when Moon People players transformed into Sun and Moon People—

Two mechanical eyeballs flew directly towards the prison watch that had fallen to the ground...

However, this time, a situation different from every previous instance occurred!

The two eyeballs circled the prison watch, trying in various ways to put it on...

But in the end, they simply couldn't get it on!

This scene was even more shocking to the three Sun People players than seeing that young man "chopping trees" in the Inner Forest earlier!

"Strange?! What's going on?! That prison watch... why can't it be put on??"

"It shouldn't be related to those experiments we did, right??"

"Of course it can't be related to the experiments! We used Sun and Moon People for our experiments, not law enforcement eyeballs!"

"So, it's not our problem, and it's not the law enforcement eyeballs' problem! Then it must be... that mechanical watch has a problem!"

The three Sun People players quickly slowed their pace, their entire minds becoming cautious.

They couldn't figure out why that fallen prison watch couldn't be worn by the law enforcement eyeballs...

Meanwhile, Jiang Ye, currently wearing the prison watch on "Cheng Lin's" wrist, indicated—

He seemed to know what was going on!

When he saw the young man's back from afar, he felt the figure looked quite familiar!

And when that figure turned around, Jiang Ye recognized him at a glance—

That young man was none other than Chen Cang, who possessed the [Protagonist Halo]!

The same Chen Cang who should have been trapped in the Reincarnation Mirror Palace along with Huang Bo and Guan He!

At the same time, as "Cheng Lin" continuously approached Chen Cang...

The mist's blocking effect between clones gradually weakened.

Jiang Ye quickly sensed a clone residing within Chen Cang!

It was...

The Guiwen clone that had lost contact after the Mirror Palace secret realm was sealed!

The moment he sensed the Guiwen clone, Jiang Ye synchronized with the memories from after the Guiwen clone lost contact—

In the previous Mirror Palace secret realm, a large number of Void Mirror Puppets ultimately fused into a single giant mirror puppet.

And the Guiwen clone directly utilized the characteristic of the "Conscious Soul Body" to seize the giant mirror puppet's body!

Thus, that entire giant mirror puppet, resembling the secret realm's final boss, also became Jiang Ye's clone...

The entire secret realm directly switched to easy mode!

However, soon, Jiang Ye, possessing the mirror puppet boss's body, discovered the situation wasn't as optimistic as he had imagined.

The mirror puppet boss quickly devoured all the mirror surfaces forming the palace grids throughout the Mirror Palace secret realm.

Causing the originally maze-like Mirror Palace secret realm to become a vast, empty flatland.

Of course, at the center of this vast, empty flatland, one central palace grid remained.

That was the central cycle grid where Huang Bo, Chen Cang, Guan He, and others were trapped!

At that time, Guiwen Jiang Ye had already used the giant mirror puppet boss's massive body to devour all the "mirror surfaces" of the secret realm.

So, facing the mirror surface of that central cycle grid, his initial thought was simple and brutal—

Just continue using the mirror puppet boss to devour the cycle grid's mirror surface...

Shouldn't that violently break the cycle grid's imprisonment of his light clone Huang Bo?

However, facts proved he had indeed been too optimistic!

When he tried to devour the mirror surfaces forming the cycle grid like he had with the other mirror surfaces...

The result was indeed—

The moment the mirror puppet boss's giant hand, seemingly built from stacked mirror shards, touched the cycle grid's mirror surface, it was instead devoured by the cycle grid's mirror surface!

Guiwen Jiang Ye refused to accept this, trying from several different angles, but the result was always the same—

When the mirror puppet boss collided with the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, the one being devoured and consumed would only be the mirror puppet boss!

Helpless, Guiwen Jiang Ye had to abandon this violent palace-breaking method.

And what was somewhat infuriating was—

Because the mirror puppet boss's body would be devoured by the Reincarnation Mirror Palace...

He couldn't use this massive body to enter the Reincarnation Mirror Palace for exploration!

He circled the Reincarnation Mirror Palace once, thinking of all sorts of methods, but couldn't get this mirror puppet boss body inside...

Helpless, Guiwen Jiang Ye ultimately decided—

Switch to a normal body to enter the Reincarnation Mirror Palace!

After all, within the Mirror Palace secret realm at that time, he still had 2000 puppet clones.

Moreover, the Guiwen clone could also seize other players' bodies.

And there were still quite a few slots available for [Nesting Inner Demons].

However, considering that entering the Reincarnation Mirror Palace himself might be like the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandpa—sending them in one by one only to get captured...

Therefore, he first chose to perform [Nesting Inner Demons] on other players in the secret realm at that time, then have those other players enter first.

First, he targeted Li Aoliang, who had entered the secret realm with him.

After performing [Nesting Inner Demons] on Li Aoliang, Li Aoliang went in.

Well, and then, he got sent...

Ahem, of course, according to the [Nesting Inner Demons] sense, Li Aoliang probably wasn't dead.

It was just that, separated by the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, Guiwen Jiang Ye couldn't sense him anymore.

This result wasn't unexpected.

After all, Guan He also had Guiwen's [Nesting Inner Demons] inside her, and after entering the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, she couldn't be sensed either.

Jiang Ye, unwilling to give up, performed [Nesting Inner Demons] on that Xing Yishan, and then sent another one in...

After confirming that sending others in like this couldn't bring him any feedback from outside the Reincarnation Mirror Palace...

Jiang Ye hesitated for a long time but still decided to go in himself.

After all, it seemed there was no other choice.

He couldn't just wait around trapped in the secret realm, could he?

This Guiwen clone of his wasn't his main body.

In other words...

The Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandpa made sense.

But what sense did it make for the grandpa to rescue the Calabash Brothers instead?

There was only one grandpa.

But Calabash Brothers, if sent in and captured, new ones could still grow!

So, Jiang Ye directly used [Clone Fusion] to fuse the 2000 puppet clones in the secret realm at that time into a single clone body.

Then, just as he was about to use the Guiwen clone to occupy that fused clone's body and charge headlong into the cycle grid...

He suddenly discovered—

Within the massive, mountain-like body of the giant mirror puppet boss, an effect of shimmering light and shadows suddenly appeared!

At that moment, Jiang Ye froze completely!

After all, the Guiwen clone was a pure dark-type clone!

The Lightburn Jiang Ye had been infected with before was brought by this very Guiwen clone!

So of course he didn't want this Guiwen clone to get infected with Lightburn again!

To be honest, the moment he saw that massive shimmering light and shadow effect, Jiang Ye even considered abandoning that dark-type Guiwen clone on the spot!

After all, the Lightburn effect was truly terrifying!

As long as one clone got infected, it would directly affect all clones...

So for Jiang Ye, who possessed numerous clones, the Lightburn effect was even more outrageous than for other players who only had a single physical body!

It was also at that time that Jiang Ye realized—

No wonder! He had clearly seen the light and shadow effects formed by Light and Shadow Escape within the Mirror Palace secret realm before.

Why did those light and shadows disappear after the mirror puppet boss appeared?

So, those light and shadows had directly merged into the mirror puppet boss's body!

And when Guiwen Jiang Ye occupied the mirror puppet boss's body, he failed to see this clearly precisely because "he was inside the mountain"!

The thought that "his" own massive mirror puppet body actually contained a large number of Light players flying around inside it...

At that time, Guiwen Jiang Ye...

Really, really wanted to die!

But what was even more despairing...

Was that he, damn it, couldn't even die!

The "Eternal" in [Eternal Witch Gui] wasn't an undeserved reputation!

As long as his cremains weren't destroyed, he couldn't die!

At that point, Jiang Ye thought—

Alright, no need for any hesitation now!

Just charge straight into the Reincarnation Mirror Palace!

Maybe charging into the Reincarnation Mirror Palace could help him avoid those Light players?

However, despairingly...

Just as he was about to charge into the cycle grid using his fused normal body.

The mirror puppet boss's body, which he had previously occupied, blocked his path!

It seemed to be preventing him from entering the Reincarnation Mirror Palace.

Jiang Ye couldn't help but feel puzzled at the time—

Could it be that the mirror puppet boss was generated for the purpose of guarding the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, forbidding players from entering?

As he pondered this, the shimmering light and shadows floating within the mirror puppet boss's body actually extended an olive branch of cooperation towards him.

The Light players at that time didn't reveal themselves, still shimmering within the massive, mountain-like mirror puppet boss's body.

Only a voice came from within the mirror puppet boss's body...

To be honest, if Jiang Ye hadn't heard that voice before, he might have almost thought the mirror puppet boss itself was speaking.

And that voice...

Was one he had heard when Lin Ling first airdropped into the Novice Apartment and forcibly arrested his light clone Huang Bo, from Huang Bo's perspective.

At that time, Lin Ling called out "Wang Hanmo" to the air.

So the voice that appeared afterward should have been "Wang Hanmo."

Therefore, the familiar voice coming from within the mirror puppet boss should also be "Wang Hanmo."

Speaking of which, this Wang Hanmo had previously saved Jiang Ye's light clone.

Of course, his essence wasn't to save Jiang Ye.

But because Light players were scarce in number, they supported each other;he was helping the Light faction.

To the extent that even Lin Ling, who had captured Huang Bo, tacitly acknowledged that Huang Bo was Wang Hanmo's person...

Later, when the light clone acting as Huang Bo was relaying that coded message "Snow of Olympus" for Lin Ling, he originally wondered if he could make contact with that Light-type Bigshot.

However, when relaying the message, he only made contact with He Xingyue.

He Xingyue appeared quite calm about that coded message, showing nothing outwardly, and most likely knew nothing about it either.

So, out of curiosity about that coded message, Jiang Ye was also quite interested in the powerful Light player Wang Hanmo, who even Lin Ling gave face to.

Of course, the premise of this interest was... the clone facing Wang Hanmo wasn't a dark-type one!

Yet at that time, the one facing Wang Hanmo was precisely the dark-type Guiwen clone...

Guiwen Jiang Ye at that time was utterly exasperated.

However, he had, after all, been infected with Lightburn once before.

So, after quickly forcing himself to calm down, he made another bold move—

His Guiwen clone returned to the mirror puppet boss's body.

Right there inside the mirror puppet boss's body, he conversed with the unseen Wang Hanmo.

The cooperation proposed by Wang Hanmo had a simple request—

He hoped Jiang Ye would continue using the Guiwen consciousness to control the mirror puppet boss, then feed the entire mirror puppet boss to the Reincarnation Mirror Palace!

And as "compensation" for this cooperation, Wang Hanmo, along with that group of mysterious Light players existing in light and shadow form, would not attack Guiwen Jiang Ye.

Hmm...

This cooperation.

Sounded like cooperation.

But upon careful thought, wasn't it just a threat!

You help us with this task, and we won't infect you with Lightburn.

Otherwise...

What else was this if not a threat?

Deep down, Jiang Ye was, of course, displeased.

But this threat could indeed threaten him.

Therefore, he didn't tear off the facade but, following this "cooperation" narrative, bargained.

Since it was called "cooperation," then it wasn't excessive for him, as a cooperating party, to understand the consequences of the Reincarnation Mirror Palace devouring the entire mirror puppet boss, right?

Especially, he needed to know his own consequences, right?

Although during those times he accidentally let the mirror puppet boss's body be devoured by the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, Guiwen Jiang Ye himself suffered no loss.

But when he performed such actions, the Guiwen clone was residing within that mirror puppet boss's body!

What if, when the mirror puppet boss was completely eaten by the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, his Guiwen clone was also eaten along with it?

Jiang Ye's courage was truly immense back then.

As a mere dark-type creature, he actually dared to bargain with a Light-type bigshot...

At that time, he heard some disdainful voices from within those shimmering, floating light and shadows.

But in the end, Wang Hanmo, who proposed the "cooperation," actually gave him an explanation.

His explanation was—

When the Reincarnation Mirror Palace devours the entire mirror puppet boss, the entire Reincarnation Mirror Palace would most likely continuously expand.

The Reincarnation Mirror Palace originally only occupied the central area of the Mirror Palace secret realm.

After expanding, it might fill the entire Mirror Palace secret realm.

Meaning, the Mirror Palace secret realm was originally composed of the cycle grid and maze grids.

Those maze grids later transformed into the mirror puppet boss.

And after the Reincarnation Mirror Palace devours the mirror puppet boss, the entire Mirror Palace secret realm would completely evolve into a Reincarnation secret realm.

Naturally, all players within the entire secret realm would also be automatically drawn into the Reincarnation Mirror Palace as the cycle grid occupied all the space.

Wang Hanmo's explanation was:

"I can see—"

"While inside the mirror puppet boss, you cannot enter the Reincarnation Mirror Palace;"

"But if you are not inside the mirror puppet boss, the mirror puppet boss will prevent you from entering the Reincarnation Mirror Palace."

"So, letting the Reincarnation Mirror Palace devour the mirror puppet boss happens to be a method that allows you to enter the Reincarnation Mirror Palace."