A Life-or-Death Gamble

"You certainly have the guts to come see me." The Illusory Spirit King, perched on her massive throne, looked down at Hong below, chuckling softly. "Aren't you afraid I'll give an order and have you killed in reality?" With the Illusory Spirit King's authority, a single command would send countless Undying Beings from the Ganwu Universe Nation scrambling to kill Hong. "I am afraid!" Hong replied respectfully. "Haha... so you *can* be afraid." The Illusory Spirit King's voice was like enchanting music played by the world's finest instrument and musician, stirring the hearts of those who heard it. "If you're afraid, why did you still come?" "I fear death, and I fear my many dreams will remain unfulfilled," Hong said respectfully. "But some things cannot be abandoned out of fear... Qingqing has treated me with such sincerity; how could I cower in fear of death? No matter what, I will do everything in my power, exhaust every method... Even if it means my body perishes and my soul is extinguished, I will have no regrets." "Oh?" The Illusory Spirit King on the throne examined Hong below, letting out a surprised sound. "Afraid of death, yet for some things, you'd have no regrets even in death?" The Illusory Spirit King gazed at the figure below, her eyes growing somewhat hazy, and murmured, "To perish body and soul is terrifying, yet to still do it without regret..." Her voice echoed within ten meters of her body; no one else in the grand hall could hear it. "If only he, back then, could have been like this..." The Illusory Spirit King's expression shifted, her eyes occasionally tender, occasionally terrifying. RUMBLE~~~~ The entire grand hall subtly vibrated, countless eerie sounds echoing in everyone's ears. Luo Feng, Hong, and the other veiled women all subtly changed their expressions. "Hmm?" The Illusory Spirit King regained her composure, all illusory sounds vanishing. She looked down at Hong from her throne. "Hong, I'm giving you a chance, a chance to gamble with your life!" Luo Feng's expression changed. Gambling with life? "Please enlighten me, Illusory Spirit King," Hong bowed. "It's simple." The Illusory Spirit King smiled. "I'll give you two choices. First, when you reach the peak of the Sector Lord stage, go participate in the cosmic wars on the Outer Territory Battlefield. If your battle achievements can accumulate enough to earn a First-tier medal, I will not obstruct your relationship with Qingqing. At the same time, I guarantee I will not expel Qingqing from my tutelage." "Your second choice is to challenge the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire that I have set up! If you successfully pass through the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire, I will likewise not obstruct your relationship with Qingqing, and I guarantee I will not expel Qingqing from my tutelage." "However!" "If you fail, then I will certainly issue an order for the Universe Mercenary Alliance to send experts to kill you directly." The Illusory Spirit King's eyes fixed on Hong below. "This is a life-or-death gamble! If you fail, you die! If you succeed, you'll have the chance to be with Qingqing. Whether you two are deeply in love, break up, or marry, I will not interfere." "If you choose the first option, you will have cultivation time from now until you reach the peak of the Sector Lord stage, and I can guarantee... you will be able to cultivate to the peak of the Sector Lord stage." "If you choose the second option, you must immediately challenge the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire." The Illusory Spirit King looked at Hong below. "Do you... dare to gamble with your life?" The atmosphere seemed to solidify. The entire grand hall was silent, even the disciple, the black-winged man, dared not speak. He and the veiled women all felt... that the Illusory Spirit King was different from usual at this moment. "Big Brother!" Luo Feng looked at Hong. Gambling with life? This was no laughing matter! If Hong truly accepted the gamble and was hunted down by the Universe Mercenary Alliance, then even Zhenyan King would have no right to intervene. "I choose the second option." Hong looked up at the Illusory Spirit King on her lofty throne. "I will challenge the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire you've set up, Illusory Spirit King. If I fail... you won't need to send anyone to hunt me down, my Lady. I will go directly to a Universe Mercenary Alliance outpost and commit suicide in front of their personnel, broadcasting it simultaneously across the Virtual Universe Network to you, my Lady Illusory Spirit King." The Illusory Spirit King's pupils contracted on her throne. "Are you sure you want to challenge the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire?" the Illusory Spirit King asked. "If you choose to participate in cosmic wars at the peak of the Sector Lord stage, you could live much longer, and I could even help you reach the peak of the Sector Lord stage. I'll ask you one last time, do you want to change your choice?" "No change," Hong replied, a faint smile appearing on his face. Luo Feng looked at Hong beside him, at the faint smile on his face. It was the smile of someone who had given their all and had no more reservations. "Big Brother!" Luo Feng was truly anxious. Yes. Big Brother's cultivation of the mind was indeed extremely high, almost like one of Earth's few saints throughout history. However, these were not the illusions of the Illusory Sea, but illusions set up by the incredibly powerful King-tier Undying Being, the 'Illusory Spirit King'—a being almost as powerful as his own teacher, Zhenyan King! The pressure contained within might be enough to make Hong collapse. "Hmph!" The Illusory Spirit King stood up, looking down at Hong below, gazing into his eyes. There was no trace of hesitation or doubt in Hong's eyes, nor any gritting madness, only a faint sharpness. "Very well!" The Illusory Spirit King commanded, "Busheka, take Hong to the Illusion Hall, directly to the 101st floor!" *Whoosh!* The Illusory Spirit King vanished instantly. "Yes, Teacher!" The black-winged man, Busheka, bowed respectfully, then cast a pitying glance at Hong. "Follow me." ...The Illusory Spirit Palace was abuzz. A mere Universe-level junior was actually going to challenge the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire, and failure meant perishing body and soul! Immediately, many people within the Illusory Spirit Palace rushed towards the Illusion Hall. "Princess Qing, that Hong chose to gamble with his life and challenge the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire. If he succeeds, Lady Illusory Spirit King will no longer obstruct your relationship with that man, and she won't expel you. But if he fails, he will be killed in reality." One of two young women standing at the entrance of a secluded pavilion whispered, a girl in a green veil. Inside the pavilion. A short-haired woman stood at the entrance, her slender fingers clenched until they were deathly pale. "I want to go out," the short-haired woman said softly. "Princess Qing, Lady Illusory Spirit King has given an order; who would dare defy it? We can inform you of everything happening outside, but please don't make things difficult for us, Princess Qing," the green-veiled girl quickly said. A sharp glint flashed in the short-haired woman's eyes. *Creak!* She closed the door. This pavilion was a point she had bound to when entering the Virtual Universe Network; whenever she entered the Virtual Universe, she would appear in this pavilion. But now... she was restricted from leaving in the Virtual Universe. In reality, she was also trapped within her ancestor Yin Xue Marquis's God Kingdom. "Big Brother Hong." The short-haired woman walked to a window and opened it. She didn't try to escape; the two Chimei Clan girls at the door were Sector Lord-level experts, specifically assigned to watch her, while she was only Universe-level. As long as those two didn't go easy on her, how could she escape? "Don't do anything foolish!" "Don't do anything foolish!" "Don't do anything foolish!" "Don't do anything foolish!" "Don't do anything foolish!" "Don't do anything foolish!" "Don't do anything foolish!"... The short-haired woman sent email after email, desperately sending them to Hong. A moment later. "It's fine, wait for me." This was Hong's reply. She fell silent. "Big Brother Hong, you... I..." The short-haired woman looked up, through the window, at a towering palace in the distance—the 'Illusion Hall' within the Illusory Spirit Palace complex. "Live!" "You absolutely must live!" ...Many people gathered at the Illusion Hall, such as members of the Chimei Clan, and some disciples under the Illusory Spirit King. "I dare say, that little fellow is definitely going to die." "How could he possibly succeed? The Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire... even if a Universe-level junior is incredibly powerful, he can't succeed." "This is a dead end." "Look, that's the guy challenging the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire." "Who? The one in silver combat armor?" "No, the one in silver combat armor is supposedly Luo Feng, the peerless genius from the Virtual Universe Company's Primal Region. The one in black clothes is him." "Wow, that's Luo Feng? So handsome!" "Stop being a fangirl." "I think Hong is quite handsome too, but unfortunately, he's going to die." ...Luo Feng and Hong followed the black-winged man, Busheka, down the corridor, looking around. In the distance, there were many purple-eyed maidens. Almost 99% of the Illusory Spirit Palace's inhabitants were women, and nearly all the maids were Chimei Clan women, each one devastatingly beautiful and enchantingly seductive. "Big Brother, your cultivation of the mind is indeed high. But this illusion... it's an illusion cast by the Illusory Spirit King!" Luo Feng anxiously transmitted. "You are strong, but you cannot underestimate the super-beings of the cosmos! If you fail this, you will surely die... And that illusion might even contain mental pressure! Perhaps a single burst of pressure could kill you. Who knows how powerful the Illusory Spirit King's Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire truly are? If they're overwhelmingly powerful, you won't even have a place to cry!" A super-being who knew the gravity of the situation might set up an illusion according to Hong's strength. But—the Illusory Spirit King's temper was notoriously eccentric. She explicitly forbade any man from touching her, yet she was always so enchantingly seductive. She was clearly violent and cruel, yet always feigned gentleness. Who knew if the Eighteen Illusory Realms of Love and Desire set up by the Illusory Spirit King wasn't an absolute dead end? If the Illusory Spirit King truly wanted Hong dead, could Hong still survive? Hong glanced at Luo Feng. "It's fine!" *Whoosh!* A figure appeared at the entrance of the 101st floor of the Illusion Hall—it was the woman completely enveloped in misty, colorful robes. Only her pair of purple eyes could be seen; her face remained indistinct. Instantly, silence fell over the surroundings. The curious maidens and several disciples all respectfully dared not make a sound. "You still have a chance to retreat now," the Illusory Spirit King said, looking at Hong in the distance. "If you choose to retreat, while I will look down on you, at least... you will save your life." "If you don't retreat," "then follow this gate and go straight in!" The Illusory Spirit King pointed at the hall door in front of her. "This is the 101st floor hall. Each hall is an illusion. After you pass through one illusion, you proceed up the stairs! Enter the 102nd floor, and if successful, continue up the stairs to the 103rd floor... and so on. If you successfully emerge from the 118th floor, you will have succeeded." "Otherwise, your life will be forfeit," the Illusory Spirit King said, looking at Hong. Hong smiled faintly. "Big Brother!" Luo Feng's face was filled with anxiety, but he didn't know how to persuade his Big Brother. Hong was the kind of person whose will probably couldn't be shaken even if a billion people tried to persuade him simultaneously. Hong smiled at Luo Feng, then walked directly towards the distant hall door. *Whoosh!* He was already in front of the hall door, and with a single step, he crossed into it. *Boom!* The entire 101st floor hall immediately became blurred; it was impossible to see what was happening inside with the naked eye. At this moment—Hong could no longer turn back. Success meant life. Failure meant death!