Cultivating immortality relies on spatial abilities; defying fate to become the protagonist.

Chapter 179: Illusion
Gu Shihan rushed over and poured her fire spiritual power into the tree trunk. Her fire spiritual power was different from that of other cultivators, as it was more or less fused with the indestructible power of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, making it far more powerful than ordinary fire spiritual power.

As soon as the fire elemental energy approached, the tree trunk trembled violently, and then all the dark figures disappeared.

"We shouldn't stay here any longer," Shi Qinghan said.

The three continued deeper into the forest, and soon an ancient castle came into view, surrounded by an even stronger aura of evil.

The three exchanged a glance and slowly walked towards the castle. "Big brother, senior brother, be careful, what we see is all an illusion. Don't be fooled by this scene. Remember, we are here to find the shadow. Don't let anything else distract you!"

"Don't worry, girl!" Shi Qinghan nodded in agreement.

Mo Yu nodded earnestly: "Junior Sister, Senior Brother understands!"

Upon entering the castle, a powerful force rushed towards them, attempting to invade their minds.

The three hurriedly circulated their spiritual energy to resist, and in less than ten breaths, their foreheads were gradually covered with beads of sweat.

Mo Yu made the first move, slashing forward with a sword aura, but it seemed to hit an invisible barrier and bounced back.

Shi Qinghan formed hand seals and chanted incantations, creating a fiery red shield that enveloped the three of them.

Gu Shihan focused his attention on trying to find a weakness in this force.

Suddenly, the castle gates slowly opened, and a sinister laugh came from inside.

A figure in black robes appeared and disappeared, and a cold, piercing voice rang out: "You think you can ruin my plans so easily? Dream on! Since you're here, stay!"

Gu Shihan roared, "No matter who you are, you have created resentment and harmed the world. I will not let you go today!"

As she spoke, the flames that had ignited in her hands rushed towards the man in black robes.

Mo Yu and Shi Qinghan followed closely behind, and the three of them worked together to break through the barrier at the entrance.

The man in black robes was shocked. He hadn't expected them to be so tenacious, and the flames gave him a sense of impending destruction.

The man in black robes turned and fled into the depths of the castle. The three of them chased after him without hesitation. The castle was dark and damp, full of unknown dangers, but they were only focused on capturing the man in black robes and eliminating the threat.

The three pursued the man in black robes closely, with traps and mechanisms popping up along the way. Shi Qinghan swung his longsword to deflect the hidden weapons one by one.

Gu Shihan used her spiritual power to sense the black-robed man's movements. "He's just ahead at the left turn!"

Mo Yu sped up and rushed forward, only to be blocked by an ice wall that suddenly appeared.

Shi Qinghan placed his hands on the ice wall, trying to melt it. "This ice wall is strange. My spiritual power can only suppress it temporarily."

Gu Shihan's eyes lit up. "I'll give it a try."

She channeled the most intense fiery power within her body and struck the ice wall, causing cracks to appear and eventually shattering it.

The man in black robes had vanished, leaving only a black crystal emitting a ghostly glow floating in the air.

Just as Gu Shihan was about to reach out and touch it, Mo Yu quickly stopped her, "Be careful, it might be a trap!"

However, it was too late. The crystal released a powerful suction force, pulling Gu Shihan in.

Mo Yu and Shi Qinghan were shocked to see Gu Shihan trapped in darkness inside the crystal, surrounded by terrifying vengeful spirits.

Mo Yu clenched his fist, "We must save Junior Sister!" After saying that, he and Shi Qinghan rushed towards the crystal, intending to break it and rescue Gu Shihan.

Mo Yu and Shi Qinghan kept attacking the black crystal, but the crystal was extremely hard, and each attack only caused a ripple.

Shi Qinghan frowned. "This won't do. We need to find another way."

Mo Yu was extremely anxious, his eyes fixed on Gu Shihan, who was struggling in pain inside the crystal.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shi Qinghan took out a talisman from his pocket, chanted incantations, and then affixed the talisman to the crystal. The talisman instantly emitted a pale orange-gold light, slowly merging into the crystal.

Shi Qinghan didn't actually know what kind of talisman it was. It belonged to Gu Yufei, the original owner of the Mustard Seed Space, and he just happened to use it today.

The talisman entered the crystal, but the crystal seemed to dislike it and began to shake violently, while the vengeful spirits inside became restless.

Mo Yu seized the opportunity and launched another all-out attack, this time gathering his golden spiritual power at the tip of his sword.

"Bah!"

"puff!"

With two crisp cracking sounds, the crystal finally broke apart.

Gu Shihan fell from the ground, and Shi Qinghan rushed forward to catch her.

But at this moment, Gu Shihan's eyes were closed, her face was pale, and her lips were a dark purple color.

Mo Yu stepped forward to check on her and said worriedly, "Her soul has been partially corrupted by vengeful spirits, but there is still hope. Let's leave here first and then make further plans."

After saying that, Mo Yu picked up Gu Shihan and quickly left the eerie castle with Shi Qinghan.

In her hazy state, Gu Shihan seemed to have a very long dream, filled with all sorts of faces and their obsessions.

The three arrived at a safe valley. Mo Yu gently put Gu Shihan down and looked at her with concern.

Shi Qinghan rummaged through his belongings, trying to find something that could save Gu Shihan.

Suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky, and a black shadow flew rapidly towards them.

It turned out that the evil force from the castle had come after them, unwilling to let its prey be rescued so easily.

Mo Yu and Shi Qinghan were on high alert, with Mo Yu protecting Gu Shihan behind him.

The shadowy figure gradually materialized, revealing itself to be a gigantic soul-devouring beast.

Shi Qinghan threw out several talismans, temporarily trapping the Soul-Devouring Beast.

Mo Yu seized the opportunity to unleash a powerful spell attack, only to discover that the Soul-Devouring Beast had become even stronger after absorbing the spell's power.

At that critical moment, Gu Shihan's fingers twitched slightly.

After experiencing various obsessions in her dreams, her soul unexpectedly gained a purifying power.

With the help of the Tranquil Lotus, Gu Shihan was able to absorb the soul power of the vengeful spirits, and her soul was slowly becoming stronger.

Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise. This saying is absolutely true; Gu Shihan has encountered a great opportunity.

She slowly opened her eyes, saw the dangerous situation before her, and subconsciously released her purifying power.

The purifying power, accompanied by the crimson lotus karmic fire, enveloped the Soul-Devouring Beast. The Soul-Devouring Beast let out a series of miserable screams and finally vanished into nothingness.

Mo Yu hugged Gu Shihan with delight, while Shi Qinghan also breathed a sigh of relief. The three embraced, thankful that they had survived this ordeal.

The three looked back at the castle, but there was no trace of it; it was just a barren wasteland with sparse vegetation.

Shi Qinghan frowned and said worriedly, "It seems that our suspicions were correct; it really is an illusion. But what kind of being could possibly cause such chaos in the Spirit Realm? And what can we do to bring peace back to this world?"

“I don’t know. This situation certainly didn’t happen suddenly. It must have been planned long in advance. So what is his purpose? Is it to destroy the Spirit Realm?” Gu Shihan asked.

(End of this chapter)