Illusory Sea

In the deepest part of the Illusory Sea, on the edge of the 21st island, an elder with black scales, shrouded in a golden-yellow robe, sat cross-legged. He was the manager of the entire Illusory Sea.

“Hmm?” The black-scaled elder opened his ancient eyes, gazing into the distance. He murmured in surprise, “A Universe-level Ninth Tier junior actually passed the seventh island of the Illusory Sea so easily? Many Sector Lords can’t even pass this island, yet he did it with such ease.”

“Let’s check his detailed information. Ah, Luo Feng, a disciple of Zhenyan King?”

“Zhenyan King is skilled at teaching disciples, but consciousness and will cannot be taught. Let’s see which island this junior can reach. If he can reach the ninth island, that would be truly remarkable, as many peak Sector Lords fail to pass it.” The black-scaled elder smiled, gazing into the void, observing Luo Feng’s progress through the Illusory Sea.

A moment later.

“Passed the eighth island?” A flicker of surprise crossed the black-scaled elder’s eyes. He abruptly stood up. “He really passed the eighth?”

The 21 islands of the Illusory Sea were quite similar to the 21 levels of the Sky-Reaching Bridge.

However—

Consciousness and will were ethereal and elusive. An apprentice-level junior, purely in terms of will, might not necessarily be inferior to a Sector Lord-level expert! Of course, their ‘consciousness strength’ would be far inferior to a Sector Lord, but pure will was hard to quantify! Yet, the Illusory Sea tested not only will but also consciousness.

“His consciousness strength is inferior to a peak Sector Lord-level expert,” the black-scaled elder said in a low, shocked voice. “That’s a significant disadvantage in an illusion, but clearly, his will has compensated for the lack of ‘consciousness’.”

“Such unwavering will!”

“Unshakeable will! Even stronger than many peak Sector Lord-level experts!”

“The ninth island!” The black-scaled elder’s eyes held a hint of tension. “The ninth island is considered a limit for Sector Lords. Very, very few Sector Lords can pass it. This Luo Feng… a Universe-level Ninth Tier junior… how could he possibly pass? It’s impossible.”

…

On the ninth island, the rocks and sand were all white. The trees and plants were lush green. Luo Feng stood on a mountain peak, merely three or four hundred meters high, his posture as straight as a spear. His eyes were cold, his gaze like a blade, devoid of any hesitation or worry. Within mere seconds, the illusion, accompanied by immense pressure, completely enveloped Luo Feng!

“Boom!”

Luo Feng felt as if a colossal mountain had violently slammed into his consciousness. This was a pure contest of consciousness strength. Even many peak Sector Lord-level experts would feel dizzy and disoriented when their consciousness was struck so fiercely. In that state of dizziness and confusion, they would unknowingly fall into the illusion and lose.

It was akin to a person with strong resolve who would rather die than sign a document, but if beaten to the point of near unconsciousness, they might unknowingly sign while their mind was muddled.

The principle was the same.

First, a brutal strike to the consciousness! To make you almost faint and disoriented, then the illusion invades!

“Rumble~~~” Like a great mountain crashing down on his consciousness, Luo Feng instantly felt a thunderous roar, the world spinning, his consciousness blurring.

“Heart like a blade!”

“Condense!”

A roar erupted from the depths of Luo Feng’s consciousness. His almost dissipated consciousness instantly re-coalesced, and his mind cleared once more.

Will was like the general!

Consciousness was like the soldiers!

The strength of consciousness depended on mental power, brain region capacity, and so on. The higher one’s strength, the stronger their consciousness would be. For instance, a Sector Lord could easily kill Planet-level or Star-level beings with their soul pressure, because even if that Sector Lord’s will was ordinary, their consciousness was simply too powerful.

Luo Feng’s consciousness strength was that of a Domain Lord-level Sixth Tier Golden Horned Beast!

A Golden Horned Beast was much stronger than humans of the same level, almost comparable to a peak Domain Lord-level Ninth Tier, approaching the average consciousness strength of a Sector Lord-level First Tier human!

Luo Feng’s consciousness strength had reached the peak Domain Lord level.

Now, facing a consciousness impact from a peak Sector Lord… fortunately, Luo Feng’s will was incredibly firm. With an excellent general commanding, all his consciousness condensed into one, managing to withstand this impact without collapsing! If Luo Feng’s consciousness strength had only been Universe-level, it would have been shattered instantly.

If the soldiers are too weak, even the strongest general is useless.

If the soldiers are not too weak, and the general is extremely strong, there is a chance to fight!

“Luo Feng, Xiaohai got into a fight at the Ganwu Dojo and was killed by someone’s bodyguard!” The scene shifted. The moment Luo Feng’s consciousness was struck and blurred, the illusion descended. Xu Xin was shouting with an anxious expression. This illusion even directly invaded Luo Feng’s memory, attempting to merge with it.

“What, Xiaohai…” Luo Feng was shocked.

His heart was cold as a mirror; even a speck of dust falling upon it would be clearly reflected. After a moment of confusion, Luo Feng immediately sensed something was wrong.

“Illusions are ultimately illusions. All deceptions, shatter!” Luo Feng’s consciousness condensed like a blade, directly discarding all illusory obstacles, and he slashed at the sky. The illusory world merely trembled slightly. This tremor made Luo Feng sneer, and his consciousness, like a blade, instantly unleashed thousands of slashes!

Rumble~~ This caused a terrifyingly huge crack to appear in the illusory world, and then the entire illusion collapsed with a crash. The scene of the ninth island reappeared, and a white glimmer emerged from the distant black sea—that was the tenth island.

“The tenth island!” Luo Feng flew towards it.

…

In the deepest part of the Illusory Sea, on the edge of the 21st island, the manager, the black-scaled elder, showed a look of shock: “Such strong consciousness, such terrifying will. How long has it been since I’ve seen such terrifying will? With such a terrifying will, one either falls into despair and perishes, or becomes a super expert.”

Those who could challenge the Illusory Sea were all exceptionally talented.

With good talent and excellent resource cultivation, a peerless genius with an incredibly terrifying will had only two paths—to perish in despair, or to become a super expert!

“Bolan failed at the seventh island, Rongjun failed at the sixth. Their consciousness and will were already terrifying enough, but this Luo Feng…” The black-scaled elder swallowed. “A person with such an extremely terrifying will, in countless life-and-death trials, as long as there’s a sliver of hope, they will survive. Unless they perish in absolute despair, they are bound to become a super expert!”

“This news must be reported to the higher-ups,” the black-scaled elder said with a solemn expression.

The more valuable a talent, the more the Virtual Universe Company valued them.

The Sky-Reaching Bridge, Illusory Sea, and Immortal Altar were established to select and test the most outstanding among geniuses! The Immortal Altar was the least valued of the three, because almost all peak Sector Lords could achieve perfect body control. However, many Immortals and even Universe Country Lords would challenge the Sky-Reaching Bridge and Illusory Sea.

Therefore, the Sky-Reaching Bridge and Illusory Sea were more highly regarded!

…

The tenth island.

Luo Feng’s eyes were focused, his consciousness condensed into one, like a mirror, like a blade, incredibly firm.

The illusion of this tenth island descended, accompanied by incredibly terrifying pressure…

“Boom!”

It was as if the sky had collapsed and smashed down, directly impacting Luo Feng’s consciousness. Almost instantly, Luo Feng’s consciousness was completely shattered.

The tenth island, failure!

No matter how firm or unshakeable your will, before a consciousness strength comparable to an ordinary Immortal, you were like an ant, instantly crushed to dust!

An excellent general could command 10,000 soldiers, employing various strategies, controlling them as if they were extensions of his own limbs, ultimately killing an enemy commander protected by a million-strong army!

However, if the enemy had a hundred million soldiers, overwhelming and endless like the sea… no matter how excellent that general was, he would surely die.

…

At the core of the Illusory Sea, on the 21st island.

The black-scaled elder meticulously wrote this letter, detailing all of Luo Feng’s information, especially emphasizing how terrifying Luo Feng’s will was.

“Whew!” The black-scaled elder let out a sigh of relief after sending it.

“Also, as per the old custom, I’ll inform Zhenyan King and Longyu King,” the black-scaled elder wrote another simple email and sent it to Zhenyan King and Longyu King.

Because, according to the rules, Luo Feng would eventually be under Nine Swords Venerable.

Therefore, information about Luo Feng’s growth process had to be recorded and continuously sent to Longyu King, who managed such matters for Nine Swords Venerable.

And Zhenyan King was Luo Feng’s teacher, and Zhenyan King had specifically spoken to the black-scaled elder about this.

The black-scaled elder looked into the distant void and whispered, “Even those who have experienced numerous trials, difficulties, and carried great grudges, their will couldn’t be this terrifying! Moreover, those with greater resentment, while their will might be very firm, are more susceptible to the influence of illusions.”

“Such a terrifyingly firm will, what kind of special encounters must have forged it?” the black-scaled elder sighed with emotion.

Indeed!

Luo Feng reaching this point was due to numerous encounters.

Firstly, Luo Feng had been hard on himself since childhood, becoming a warrior and fighting in life-and-death situations.

Secondly, during the Devouring Beast incident, he had faced death but successfully reincarnated, and the feeling of dying and coming back to life profoundly altered his will.

Thirdly, the influence of the Golden Horned Beast bloodline on his soul made Luo Feng’s heart incredibly cold.

Subsequently, under the guidance of Hong and Lei Shen, following the methods of mental cultivation passed down through thousands of years in Huaxia, including some yoga traditions, Luo Feng’s ‘heart like a mirror’ reached perfection.

Luo Feng had always focused on cultivating his mental state.

The death of Yike, that email, and 30 years of solitary meditation had once again elevated Luo Feng’s mental state, bringing it to the level of ‘heart like a blade’.

Heart like a mirror, heart like a blade!

These had forged such a terrifying will, immune to illusions!

…

When the Illusory Sea supervisor uploaded Luo Feng’s information to the high-level management of the Virtual Universe Company, Luo Feng himself was completely unaware. He had returned to the study in his Taichu District manor.

“The Illusory Sea and the Sky-Reaching Bridge—I’ve reached the limit of what I can achieve right now. I can’t advance further in a short period,” Luo Feng sat at his desk, looking at his laptop screen. “So now, I will temper myself through cultivation missions.”