Don't let Yu Ding take on any more disciples.

Chapter 161 What am I afraid of?

In the instant he looked up
An indescribable aura emanated from Longji.

At the same time, Longji raised his hand, and a golden light flashed in his palm, revealing a divine sword with two small golden dragon heads on its hilt.

He gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down fiercely.

"Not good!" The woman's expression changed drastically the moment Longji looked up, and she formed a hand seal, casting a spell.

In an instant, the four pillars glowed, a mist rose from within, and lightning flashed...

laugh!
The dragon-shaped sword energy crashed into the light barrier formed by the four pillars with a loud boom, and the ground seemed to tremble.

After delivering the first strike, Longji looked solemn, holding the Two Dragons Sword, and slowly surveyed his surroundings, his figure constantly dodging among the pillars.

At that moment, the scenery changed in her eyes, and the bald man and the woman disappeared.

Thick fog rose from all directions, and her sword strike disappeared into the fog like a drop of water falling into the sea, without causing any ripples.

Instead, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky, with bolts of lightning constantly striking her. She kept jumping up to dodge the falling lightning.

But outside the formation.

"That was close..." The female Qi cultivator breathed a sigh of relief.

The two looked into the formation and saw that the sky and earth were clear and nothing had happened except for Longji jumping around.

"It's that sword..."

The bald, burly man was taken aback, but upon seeing the Two Dragon Sword, his heart skipped a beat, and his gaze became fiery again.

They had seen Long Ji take out this sword before; in terms of quality, it definitely surpassed even a Celestial-level magic weapon.

To be honest, they've been following Longji for a while now.

After all, she was such a wealthy and naive young girl, clearly lacking in social experience.

They immediately concluded that it was probably someone with a powerful sage overseeing things, or a young lady from a sacred place, otherwise it would be impossible for her to have such wealth.

Such young ladies who frequent the streets are mostly sneaking out of their homes.

Therefore, they were caught in a dilemma: whether or not to take action, since there might be protectors following behind them.

But as they say, treasures are captivating.

They followed her for nearly a month and witnessed her being chased by a thousand-year-old demon and encountering danger, but they couldn't hold back any longer when no one stepped in to help.

They knew very well that this job was risky and could bring about terrible disaster.

But people always have a bit of wishful thinking.

What if their guess is wrong? What if the other side can't be caught?

However, the magical sword in the girl's hand alone made them feel that the risk was worthwhile.

Besides, they had already planned their escape route when they did this job. After it was done, they immediately used a teleportation talisman to escape to Beiju Luzhou and lay low for a while.

Beiju Luzhou is a chaotic place where demons gather, but there are also many humans living there.

This is not surprising, because even in the Western Continent where the Western religion is located, there are monsters in the Eastern Land where the three religions are located.

"I want this sword..."

The bald, burly man turned to the woman and said.

"Let's get her first!" the woman said irritably.

"Didn't you say that these four pillars were made from the eyes of an ancient mirage dragon, and that even a true immortal would be confused if they went inside and could never escape?" the bald, burly man laughed.

The woman's eyes flashed, and she smiled smugly, "Not bad, but the most powerful thing about this treasure is that it allows people to see what they most desire in their hearts. They see mountains when they think of mountains, water when they think of water, and people when they think of people. It makes people so engrossed that they can't extricate themselves..."

Sure enough, at that moment, Longji suddenly stopped inside the formation, looking ahead with some surprise:

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

"Mother..."

The bald, burly man looked at the woman with some confusion and said, "This... could she be some kind of princess?"

"Alright, stop making a fuss. A princess isn't worth much!" the woman scoffed.

The bald, burly man laughed: "That's true!"

In this world, any female demon who occupies the mountains and forests can call herself a princess. Ha, the value of the title "princess" is extremely low.

"An ancient mirage dragon... a remnant soul?" From afar, Yu Ding calmly analyzed.

The Mirage Dragon is the offspring of a hybrid of two powerful creatures, the Dragon and the Mirage, and the Mirage race is most skilled in illusion magic.

The legend of mirages originated from this kind of creature.

Although Longji was in danger, he had no intention of helping his apprentice. He would only help his apprentice with the cleanup work and collect some service fees in return.

If this formation can truly allow those within it to see what they are thinking... then it would indeed be a valuable experience for Longji.

It remains to be seen whether Longji can pull himself out of this situation.

In the illusion, Longji looked at the Queen Mother of the West before him, dressed in a gold-embroidered imperial robe, still as noble and elegant as ever.

Although thanks to Yu Ding's words of comfort, she was no longer so afraid of her strict mother, but seeing her suddenly... still made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" A strange light flashed in Longji's eyes.

She was trapped, and then this mother appeared... It's too much of a coincidence.

But to say it's fake... the person in front of her, from temperament, gaze, speech... everything is exactly the same as the one in her memory.

"I foresaw your impending doom, so I have come to avert this calamity for you," said the Queen Mother of the West.

“Then… what about my two enemies?” Longji asked.

The Queen Mother of the West pointed and said, "Isn't it right there?"

Longji looked over and saw a bald, burly man and a woman tied up beside him, their faces filled with terror.

The Queen Mother of the West turned and walked into the mountains behind her: "Dragon, come with your mother for a walk!"

Longji agreed and quickly followed.

"Long'er, do you resent your mother?"

"How could this be?" Longji was taken aback.

The Queen Mother of the West sighed, "From a young age, your mother was extremely strict with you, forcing you to cultivate. Although you didn't say it, you must have resented your mother very much."

"How could I dare? I know that Mother is strict and that she is only urging me to cultivate for my own good."

Longji quickly bowed and said, but his eyes flickered, and a faint white sword aura emerged.

"Long'er, it's good that you understand your mother's good intentions. You must know what kind of person your father is."

The Queen Mother of the West sighed, "The task of disciplining you has fallen on your mother's shoulders. But I have lived for countless eons, and this is my first time being a mother."

"Your mother has done all this with the intention of helping you, but if your mother is not a good mother and causes you great pain... can you forgive your mother?"

As she spoke, she turned around and put one hand on Longji's shoulder.

Longji trembled and looked up sharply, only to see the Queen Mother of the West looking at him with a loving expression.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I can understand..."

Longji grasped Yaochi Jinmu's hand, his eyes gradually reddening, and he couldn't help but lower his head, his body trembling slightly.

"Your treasure... is truly amazing!"

Outside the illusion, the bald, burly man stared in disbelief at Longji, who was softly sobbing and shedding tears, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"That's right!" the woman snorted softly.

"Yaochi, you made Long'er cry again?!"

Just then, a tall and imposing figure appeared, accompanied by the sound.

Longji looked up and saw Haotian walking towards him with a majestic stride, carrying a broken tiger head in his hand, but at this moment his dignified face was adorned with a genuine smile.

"Father?" Longji suddenly smiled, his face streaked with tears.

In my memory, my father had never been so domineering, and my mother had never been so gentle!

"What...what did this girl see that made her both cry and laugh..." Even Yu Ding in the distance couldn't help but frown.

It seems this apprentice is becoming somewhat obsessed with it!
After all, the illusions within resonated with her...

In the dream world, Longji's family sat in the hall, eating together. The parents served each other food, their eyes filled with care for one another. The family chatted and laughed, enjoying a harmonious and happy time.

As he laughed, Longji's eyes suddenly flickered, as if he had thought of something, and his smile gradually faded.

"Long'er, what's wrong?" Haotian asked with concern.

The Queen Mother of the West also looked over.

Longji murmured wistfully, "It's fake... it's still fake."

In her memory, every time they met, her mother would criticize her father for neglecting his duties.

However, this didn't last long, because her father would slip away, and her mother's scolding would be like raindrops falling on the sea, without causing a ripple.

"Long'er, what did you say?"

The Queen Mother of the West and Haotian exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat unnatural.

"It's nothing, but... thank you anyway."

Longji closed his eyes and murmured, then suddenly opened them and looked at them: "One of my dreams has come true."

Almost as soon as they met the Queen Mother of the West,

She knew it was definitely fake.

How could someone as proud, strong, and confident as her mother bow down to her?

Just as she was about to make her move, the fake mother said something to her that the real mother would never say.

That was also what she was really looking forward to hearing.

And so... that's how the rest of the story happened.

But what's fake is still fake. Although it looks incredibly beautiful and harmonious, it's still missing something.

But as she said, it fulfilled a dream of hers.

It showed her another side of her parents that she probably would never have seen... what they were like!

Before she finished speaking, she formed hand seals, and with a phoenix's cry and a dragon's roar, two swords flew out of her treasure pouch and hovered on either side of her shoulders.

On one handle, two golden dragon phantoms intertwined, while on the other handle, a blue phoenix, swirling with spiritual light, floated in the air, emitting a long cry that could pierce gold and split rocks.

"Huh, another divine sword..." The bald, burly man outside the illusion was both surprised and delighted.

The woman frowned and said, "Something's not right!"

In the illusion, seeing Longji summon his twin swords, Haotian's expression suddenly turned stern: "Longji, how dare you lay a hand on your father?"

The Queen Mother of the West also looked at Longji.

Longji looked at them, raised his sword, but his hand trembled and he couldn't bring himself to strike.

There are some things that you can't just do without hesitation just because you know they're fake.

Because this false illusion was now also bearing the appearance of her parents, and these two figures put immense pressure on her.

Sometimes, parents who are too outstanding can put a lot of pressure on their offspring.
Especially when these parents hope their offspring will surpass them.

In her heart, her two parents were like gods in the eyes of mortals, like two great mountains beside a small stone, unscalable and unyielding.

Asking her to attack those two figures is like asking a mortal to use a sword to kill the god they worship.

Her parents… well, to be precise, her mother's expectation was that she could surpass them.

No matter how hard she tried or how seriously she cultivated herself, her mother was never satisfied with the results of her efforts.

There was nothing she could do; her mother's spiritual cultivation was simply too high.

This means that she gets scolded for not practicing diligently, and she also gets scolded for making slow progress...

Here, she would like to give special thanks to her father, who often took the opportunity to divert attention from her troubles by going out to slack off.

She also particularly admired her father, the emperor.

Despite being scolded by his mother for countless years, he still couldn't change his hobbies. I wish my own Dao heart was as firm as his.

To get back to the point, in short, her efforts were always insignificant and not worth mentioning in her mother's eyes.

Her efforts seemed to be meaningless, and all she received in return was criticism.

At first, she could comfort and adjust herself, but after a while, she also became desperate.

This increased her pressure, made her feel lost, and made her resist cultivation... until finally she didn't know how to cultivate anymore.

Gradually... she came to terms with it.

Is it possible to surpass one's mother?

The answer is no!

If it's impossible, then what's the point of cultivation?
The answer is that it's meaningless. Whether she makes little progress in her cultivation or not, she'll still get scolded.

Is there a difference? No!
So she chose to lie down and let the ridicule go; let them scold her, she'd just let it go in one ear and out the other.

Until later...

Longji looked up at the two figures that had once filled her with despair, her eyes flashing with determination.

He gently raised his hand and swung his sword forward.

Accompanied by the roar of a dragon and the cry of a phoenix, golden and cyan sword light slashed through the sky, cutting through the two figures in front of them and splitting them in two.

The two figures, their eyes filled with disbelief, slowly vanished.

"I!"

Longji muttered to himself, "What's there to be afraid of?"

As she spoke, her eyes shone with captivating confidence and brilliance.

She wasn't afraid of her father, the emperor, but she didn't dare to mess with her mother.

Not to mention she wouldn't dare, even just looking at her mother's eyes used to make her tremble with fear.

Two swords slashed down in front of Longji's eyes, and instantly, his mind cleared, and all the illusions vanished.

This time, she truly broke through the two... well, one mountain that had been weighing on her heart!
"Has she... attained enlightenment?" In the distance, Yu Ding blinked, somewhat astonished.

"Something seems off about her!"

The bald, burly man leaned closer to the light screen, staring at Long Ji within the formation and whispering.

Suddenly, Longji abruptly turned his head to look at him.

"She's awakened from the illusion?!" The bald, burly man was startled.

"Don't panic. The higher the grade of the magic weapon, the more magic power it consumes."

The woman sneered, "After those sword strikes, she didn't have much magic power left..."

As she was speaking, her words came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.

Longji pulled out a handful of spiritual pills, shrouded in aura and adorned with purple cloud patterns, from his treasure bag, and without hesitation, popped them into his mouth and began to chew them heartily.

While chewing, he stared coldly at them, as if he were chewing on the two of them.

Rumble…

Dark, ominous clouds gathered in the sky.

“He has truly attained enlightenment…” Yu Ding looked at the sky with a complex expression.

Enlightenment and attainment of the Tao sometimes really depend on opportunity.

"The Tribulation to Become an Immortal... Run!"

Without hesitation, the two figures turned and transformed into streaks of light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the distance.

They left with a deep sense of bewilderment.

Their magical weapons are incredibly effective at trapping and capturing people; I've even heard of them capturing true immortals.

How come today... someone was trapped in their formation and yet attained enlightenment?
With a deafening roar that shook the earth,

Thunder filled the sky!

(End of this chapter)