The Birdman reacted little to the scolding from the three before him, slowly flying over, still wearing that look of utter nonchalance as he gazed at Ye Xiu, "These are all illusions, Death God. It's not that I didn't come to save you; it's that I genuinely cannot see what you are seeing. Everything here is false. You must have drunk the wine from the Pool of Nectar to be hallucinating."

"How can this be an illusion? Xiao Sha is dead!" Hong Ling was the most agitated. Her companion of many years had instantly dissolved into a puddle of viscous liquid; it was no wonder she was furious.

"You're saying none of this exists?" Ye Xiu took a deep breath. He supposed the three of them had indeed drunk the wine from the Pool. For an illusion to be experienced simultaneously by three people and cause such a chain reaction was almost too powerful.

Old Liu also found the Birdman's words hard to swallow. He pulled out his sunglasses and swept the surroundings, seemingly finding no flaw. "Impossible. My glasses can see through any magical barrier. If this were an illusion, it couldn't appear in the lenses. Explain that to me, and I’ll believe you."

The Birdman was left without recourse, as the reality of the illusion was felt by all three. When necessary, he placed both hands upon his forehead. In that instant, a faint golden light flashed from his brow. After the light subsided, a singular, bloodshot red eye materialized upon his forehead.

"Now that's an illusion, the Heavenly Eye..." Old Liu’s mouth fell open. "Aren't the Sun-Blind Clan terrified of light? Your own eyes are wrapped in bandages, yet how can this one eye be exposed to the broad daylight?"

The Birdman turned his head and cast a distant glance over the surroundings with that Heavenly Eye. When he finally turned back to face Ye Xiu, he offered a light smile. "Since you still don't believe me, I shall predict the immediate future for you. These two bronze pillars will ignite, and you will suffer the torment of the Red Hot Pillars."

"What!" The moment Ye Xiu heard the Birdman's words, he felt a searing heat in his limbs. When he looked down, the entire bronze pillar was indeed engulfed in flames. He grit his teeth against the burning sensation and glanced at Old Liu; both he and Hong Ling were clearly struggling to hold on.

"What do we do? It's a sea of fire below!" Old Liu looked around in despair. The crimson flames had already dyed everything blood-red. She had been holding Hong Ling, but the bronze pillar was baking hot, and her skin was visibly changing color, starting to melt.

"Ah!" Hong Ling, being frail, naturally could not withstand the pillar's temperature. In that moment, she quietly surrendered, letting her body drop downwards toward the abyss of flames—an inferno worthy of hell. With that fall, disaster seemed inevitable.

"Birdman!" Ye Xiu's body was drenched in sweat. The pillar’s heat had already caused his palms and the soles of his feet to begin melting. He was stuck to the pillar like a roasted fish, screaming curses, "Hurry up and catch Hong Ling!"

"Hong Ling is fine; all of this is your illusion!" The Birdman seemed to mock Ye Xiu's distress, pointing at Old Liu. "Look, Old Liu is already melting! Are you truly going to believe this is real?"

"Damn it, then tell me how to break this illusion!" Looking at the deep crimson Heavenly Eye on the Birdman’s forehead, Ye Xiu chose to trust him, yet the scorching sensation around him was agonizingly real. Why must it be an illusion?

The Birdman paused, appearing utterly unhurried. He extended a finger toward the sea of fire below. "As long as you let go of your hands and jump into this fiery sea, it will all be over."

What? Ye Xiu sucked in a sharp breath. His hands and feet had already completely fused into the bronze pillar. The black blood of the Death God evaporated the moment it leaked out. He felt no pain, yet he clearly watched his own flesh liquefy. Ye Xiu shook his head, looking down. Fire sparks churned ceaselessly above the sea of flames. That colossal lotus leaf in the fire looked like a gaping mouth, awaiting a delicacy like him.

"Or, you don't have to jump. Die right here on this pillar like Old Liu, and it will also be over," the Birdman said meaningfully, offering no comfort. "I cannot guarantee the illusion won't kill you. It all depends on one's state of mind. If you believe you won't die, you won't die in this phantasmagoria; conversely, if your heart dies, then you, as a person, are finished!"

"Screw it, if I have to jump, then I jump!" Ye Xiu couldn't bear the Birdman's goading any longer. At that moment, he summoned his last reserves of strength, igniting his Purple Flame to blast off his own hands and feet, sending his entire body, accompanied by thick, dark blood, crashing heavily into the sea of fire. In that instant, Ye Xiu felt his body no longer belonged to him. He seemed to ascend into the heavens, watching himself slowly sink and perish in the flames. Indeed, it ended just like that.

...

"Hey, Death God, time to wake up!" Old Liu's voice was muffled, but his sudden, hard kick shattered Ye Xiu's rest.

Ye Xiu rubbed the painful spot and painfully hauled himself up. Everything was normal now. The Pool was still the Pool, and the pillars were just pillars—no fire, no sea of flames. He hugged Old Liu and laughed, "You were like a roasted fish back there on the pillar."

Old Liu swallowed a mouthful of water and cursed, "I can only say the Death God's heat resistance is superior to mine. Luckily, my willpower is stronger; otherwise, I might have actually died here."

"Quiet down, Hong Ling hasn't woken up yet!" The Birdman had already retracted his Heavenly Eye. He laid Hong Ling gently beside the Pool of Nectar, his tone still low and somber. "Hong Ling was the first to die in the illusion. You two are awake now; I fear she might not be so lucky."

Hearing this, a chill ran down Ye Xiu's spine. He stared blankly at the supine Hong Ling. The young woman had a prickly personality, but overall, she was lively, cute, and beautiful. At that moment, Xiao Sha slowly crawled onto Hong Ling's face, repeatedly sticking out its tongue to lick her lips, wearing an expression of profound sorrow.

"The illusion cannot kill the body, but it can kill the heart. If you believe you are dead, then you truly are dead." The Birdman had said the same words earlier. The Sun-Blind Clan are natural enemies to the Bone Gatherers, yet he deeply regretted Hong Ling’s fate.

"Wait a moment, weren't the Bone Gatherers supposed to be immortal?" Old Liu’s mind, recovering from its grief, glanced at the Birdman. "Haven't your Sun-Blind Clan always been pursuing the secret to the Bone Gatherers' longevity? How do they achieve eternal life? What does 'bones unyielding, life unending' really mean?"

The Birdman shook his head. "That is the secret of the Bone Gatherers; the Sun-Blind have never found the answer despite spending their entire lives seeking it. What worries me is that Hong Ling mistakenly believes she was burned to death. If a Bone Gatherer’s bones are destroyed by fire, it breaks the method of eternal life. She might be truly dead this time."

"Hong Ling..." Hearing this, Old Liu’s eyes suddenly turned red. He sat beside Hong Ling but could not utter another word.

"What was that just now? Was it really just the wine from the Pool that caused us to hallucinate?" Ye Xiu was deeply saddened by Hong Ling's predicament, but he trusted in the power of the Bone Gatherers. His only curiosity was the fact that all three of them had been dragged into the illusion.