The black tide continued to recede, the green surge swelling, and above the Illusionary Space, rolling mountains dotted with countless crimson lights stretched as far as the eye could see…

The Illusionary Space finally shed its veil, gradually revealing its full form.

Staring at the dazzling, magnificent green within the Lingxiao Altar, countless people were struck dumb, their faces a mixture of astonishment and shock, the world falling into a profound silence.

After a long pause, Sha Yan and the other five finally withdrew their hands. The spiritual patterns on the small central platform and the six arched pillars rapidly dimmed, yet the grand, vast Illusionary Space still shimmered with ethereal light, radiating vigorous vitality across every hill and dale, mesmerizing the onlookers.

Nie Kong drew a deep breath, slightly calming the turmoil in his heart.

Having heard Miao Ge praise the unsealed Illusionary Space so highly, Nie Kong had harbored a degree of skepticism. In his previous life, they could even film and display the boundless spectacle of the universe; how could a mere Illusionary Space be touted as utterly unique in the heavens and unparalleled on earth?

But now, Nie Kong found himself agreeing with Miao Ge’s sentiment. He never expected that the humans of the Tianling Continent could achieve such a feat merely through spiritual patterns!

This Illusionary Space was as if all the grandeur of ten thousand miles of landscape had been compressed within the Lingxiao Altar—towering, majestic peaks, surging, rolling rivers, vast, spreading forests, and seas of vibrant, colorful blossoms… Every beautiful vista found in the mountains and rivers seemed to have been gathered within this single space.

Brilliant, resplendent, magnificent, vast…

All these beautiful adjectives could aptly describe the Illusionary Space!

“Boom!”

The surrounding crowd finally snapped back to reality, and an earth-shattering roar erupted, the surging tide of sound echoing across the firmament, seemingly potent enough to rupture eardrums. On the concentric tiers of steps, whether seeing the Illusionary Space for the first or the umpteenth time, everyone in Lingyu City displayed varying degrees of excitement, shouting out their exclamations, eager to vent the awe swelling in their chests.

Several minutes later, this roar, capable of shaking mountains and rivers, finally began to subside.

Nie Kong watched for a long time, then subconsciously poked Miao Ge beside him with a finger: “Those red dots, they represent the spirit beasts within the Illusionary Space, right?”

Suddenly registering the soft, springy sensation beneath his fingertip, Nie Kong turned his head in surprise to see Miao Ge glaring at his finger, her cheeks flushed crimson.

Nie Kong followed the direction of her gaze and realized with a start that his finger had landed squarely on her chest—no wonder it felt so plush. Fortunately, most of the onlookers were captivated by the Illusionary Space; only the nearest, Tai Ji, Ru Jie, and Ye Xinlian, witnessed Nie Kong’s action. They let out small snickers before quickly pressing their lips together, trying—and failing—to suppress their amusement.

“Accident, pure accident!”

Nie Kong recoiled as if stung, hastily withdrawing his finger. To stave off the awkwardness, he gave a dry laugh and repeated his question to divert their attention.

“That’s right, one red dot equals one spirit beast!”

Miao Ge’s cheeks were blazing red, and her wide, watery eyes glared fiercely at Nie Kong. “When people like us enter, we appear as green dots in the Illusionary Space. If the assessment fails, that green dot turns black, understand? My Junior Brother Nie Kong!”

By the time she reached the end, Miao Ge was practically grinding her teeth. To be poked repeatedly on that particular spot by a man’s finger in such a public setting left her no choice but to be both mortified and furious.

“Understood, understood.”

Nie Kong chuckled heartily, subtly shifting his body slightly toward Miao Ge, and said with a sheepish grin while lowering his voice, “Senior Sister Miao Ge, don't look at me like that, it’s easy to invite misunderstanding. If you feel that being poked by me was too little compensation, you can poke me back as much as you like after the Grand Competition.”

“Shut up!” Miao Ge bristled with annoyance, her eyes flashing sharply. “You were absolutely right just now. After the Grand Competition of the Six Halls, I will definitely poke back, but I won't be using my fingers then—I’ll use my sword! If you’re still a man, don't dodge!”

“How cruel!”

Nie Kong cleared his throat dryly. “Precisely because I’m a man that I must dodge. If you accidentally poke the wrong place, won't I be cut off from having descendants?”

“You…”

A deeper shade of scarlet bloomed across Miao Ge’s cheeks.

“Enter the Altar!”

Just then, that resonant, aged voice echoed in their ears once more. After a moment of stunned silence following those two words, the Lingxiao Altar erupted into even greater clamor.

Miao Ge bit her scarlet lower lip, cast a sharp look at Nie Kong, and ultimately refrained from further bickering. She took several deep breaths and composed her mind.

“Rumble!”

The ground of the Lingxiao Altar trembled slightly as a massive entrance, dozens of meters wide, suddenly materialized in the Illusionary Space, bathing the area in a brilliant white light pouring from within. Under the guidance of their instructors, all the Spirit Master City disciples scheduled to participate in the Six Halls Grand Competition filed in one after another.

Streaks of emerald light projected down from above, enveloping each disciple passing the entrance. Then, with a subtle ripple in the void, the figures and the light beams vanished without a trace. Only after the second row of Spirit Master City disciples had entered did the light beams reappear.

This cycle repeated more than twenty times before it was Nie Kong’s turn.

As the green luminescence descended, Nie Kong felt an intense surge of vitality, as if the life force of all the vegetation within several square miles had been condensed into this single spot. A thought flickered in Nie Kong's mind; just as he was about to savor the sensation, his body was yanked into a dark void by a powerful suction force.

An instant later, Nie Kong’s vision cleared, but before he could regain his bearings, a ferocious roar drilled into his ears: “Aaoo!”

Immediately following the sound came a monstrous, hideous head.

Nie Kong swiftly executed the Flying Flower Flowing Shadow technique, dodging to the side and narrowly evading several bone-white fangs dripping with killing intent, as well as two razor-sharp claws. However, the stench that billowed from that gaping maw churned Nie Kong’s stomach, nearly causing him to vomit on the spot.

“Hoo!”

A rush of wind sounded, and the shadowy figure twisted its form, lunging at Nie Kong again with incredible speed.

This time, Nie Kong had no time to evade. Forcing down the violent nausea, he struck out savagely with his right fist toward the grotesque head, his internal spiritual power surging through his right arm like rolling waves.

Cloud Flower Four Folds!

“Bang bang bang bang!”

In the blink of an eye, four nearly overlapping waves of spiritual power exploded outward, their fierce force scattering in all directions. The spirit beast’s body was hurled backward, while Nie Kong, stepping with Flying Flower Flowing Shadow, moved like a streak of light, relentlessly pursuing the beast that seemed to be riding on clouds and mist.

“Bang bang bang bang!”

Another set of violent explosions followed as Nie Kong landed Cloud Flower Four Folds with his left fist onto the beast’s abdomen. With a shriek, the spirit beast crashed heavily several meters away, but it quickly sprang back up, lowering its forelimbs and baring its fangs at Nie Kong, its eyes burning crimson.

“Hoo!”

Nie Kong exhaled a breath of stale air he had been holding captive. Only then did he clearly see the appearance of the spirit beast before him: about one and a half meters tall, with thick, massive limbs, its entire body covered in sleek, oily black fur. It was a third-rank spirit beast, an Shadow Flowing Light Beast.

Judging by its appearance, the Cloud Flower Four Folds technique Nie Kong had unleashed twice in succession had failed to inflict any damage whatsoever.

Nie Kong felt a chill run down his spine. Before the Six Halls Grand Competition commenced, he had gathered considerable intelligence about the conditions within the Illusionary Space. He knew that once unsealed, the spirit beasts inside became extraordinarily frenzied, attacking every Spirit Master City disciple who entered.

This situation was somewhat similar to the last two or three days inside the Nie family’s Life-and-Death Illusory Realm: the spirit beasts would lose all reason. But unlike the Illusory Realm, in the Spirit Master City’s Illusionary Space, when the beasts went mad, their combat and defense capabilities—all aspects of their spiritual power—would surge uncontrollably!

Killing a spirit beast here was extremely difficult.

If one lacked sufficient strength, the best course of action upon encountering a spirit beast was to flee. But sometimes, they would be harried so relentlessly that escape became impossible. In such scenarios, the only choice left was perhaps to activate the spiritual pattern item carried on their person, forfeiting participation in the Six Halls Grand Competition.

That spiritual pattern item was called the Verdant Pattern Jade Disc.

Every Spirit Master City disciple entering the Illusionary Space was issued one. Nie Kong had also received a Verdant Pattern Jade Disc during the assembly at the Medicine Heart Hall. This item served as the last line of defense for the disciples. After all, the Illusionary Space was not like the Nie family’s Life-and-Death Illusory Realm. In the latter, caution ensured survival, but here, true death was possible.

If one wished to avoid death and encountered an insurmountable crisis, they had to activate the Verdant Pattern Jade Disc. This spiritual pattern artifact would instantaneously erect a defense around the body, capable of repelling any attack below the level of Soul Transformation. A mere few seconds of resistance were enough for the Illusionary Space to eject the user.

This Shadow Flowing Light Beast was among the most powerful spirit beasts in the Illusionary Space. An ordinary Spirit Master City disciple entangled by one would likely have no choice but to use the Verdant Pattern Jade Disc. Nie Kong was truly unlucky; upon entering the Illusionary Space, he had materialized right beside one.

Nie Kong’s gaze flickered subtly, and he suddenly reached toward his chest.

“Aaoo!”

However, the moment Nie Kong moved, the Shadow Flowing Light Beast let out a frenzied roar, its black silhouette shooting toward him like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

“Damn it!”

Nie Kong couldn’t help but curse; the reaction speed of this spirit beast was simply too fast!

Having no other option, Nie Kong closed the hand that had been reaching inward and instead aimed a punch at the head of the Shadow Flowing Light Beast as it rushed toward him.

“Bang bang bang bang!”

The spirit beast, having learned its lesson, suddenly whipped its head aside, its thick tail whipping like a steel whip, colliding violently with Nie Kong’s fist in a flash.

“Aaoo!”

As its foreclaws hit the ground, the Shadow Flowing Light Beast opened its huge maw and roared wildly. In an instant, the void within a radius of several dozen meters rippled subtly, and strands of dark energy detached from the environment, converging into the beast’s mouth, which it then swallowed in one gulp.

It can even manipulate Dark Spiritual Energy elements! Nie Kong’s eyes narrowed, and his right hand once again reached toward his chest.

“Aaoo!”

With a savage roar aimed at the sky, the spirit beast lunged at Nie Kong once more. Its body seemed to have suddenly swelled to nearly twice its size, a faint black mist coiling around it. In what was barely a flash of dark light, the beast was upon Nie Kong; despite its increased size, its speed had not diminished but rather increased!

“Go to hell!”

Interrupted time and again by this creature, Nie Kong’s temper flared, a savage glint flashing in his eyes as he slapped out toward the Shadow Flowing Light Beast’s head…