Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 197 The Illusion of Mist, How to Break It

"is it?"

Faced with the doubts, An Wu showed no sign of panic. With a wave of his hand, the mist above was broken open, and an ice pillar that looked very familiar to Lu Xiaofeng fell from the sky and crashed down.

Lu Xiaofeng was shocked and quickly dodged, his movements looking quite disheveled.

"how can that be possible!"

Lu Xiaofeng wasn't surprised that such enormous ice pillars could be condensed by a Second Flower Grandmaster, even if it meant one or two.

There could even be three, four, or more.

But there is one key factor: time!

In just a few minutes, Anwu had condensed three ice pillars.

Especially the third icicle that just appeared; the time difference between it and the second icicle was less than a few seconds.

How could that be possible in such a short time?
Even a Second Flower Grandmaster's true energy couldn't recover so quickly.

Or is it that the other party actually possesses such a massive reserve of true energy?
But that's not right either.

Although Lu Xiaofeng had only recently become a Grandmaster, he had friends all over the world and knew several Second- or Third-Grandmasters. He had an estimated value in mind for the true energy reserves of such powerful individuals.

In his mind, a normal Second Flower Grandmaster could never have such a huge reserve of true energy.

However, you never know.

In the martial arts world, true qi, realm, and combat power are not directly linked.

The amount of internal strength or true energy that people in the martial arts world talk about cannot directly determine a martial artist's strength.

The Three Flowers Grandmaster diligently cultivated and practiced, and at the age of seventy, he possessed sixty years' worth of pure true energy.

Some innate martial artists possessed extraordinary luck, consuming a century-old Vermilion Fruit and gaining a century's worth of true energy out of thin air.

In a battle between the two, the Three Flowers Grandmaster would naturally be the one to instantly defeat the Innate Realm expert.

If realm is the bow, then true qi is the arrow.

Between the two, the one that truly determines lethality is clearly the bow.

A martial artist with innate talent is like an ordinary bow; even if they possess a hundred years' worth of true energy, they are equivalent to hundreds of arrows.

The Three Flowers Grandmaster is like a crossbow; sixty years of true energy is like sixty arrows.

The outcome of their exchange of fire was self-evident.

Therefore, judging the opponent's true energy storage by their realm is obviously inaccurate.

Who knows, maybe the other person consumed some rare and precious herbs when they were young, giving them abundant internal energy far surpassing that of ordinary people.

"I'm so unlucky to have run into someone like this..."

Countless shards of ice came hurtling towards him, each carrying a force powerful enough to pierce steel, making Lu Xiaofeng dare not take them head-on and forcing him to dodge them in a sorry state.

However, the opponent was now wielding two ice pillars, and the number of ice shards bursting from them was double that of before. Even with Lu Xiaofeng's superb lightness skill, a piece of ice shard swept across his leg, and the cold wind it brought was as sharp as a knife, leaving a scratch on his leg.

The blood color seeped in.

Before Lu Xiaofeng could even catch his breath, the next batch of ice shards came hurtling towards him.

Lu Xiaofeng immediately dodged.

However, due to the injury to his leg, his speed was only a very brief moment slower than before.

Because of that one second of delay, two shards of ice swept past his legs again.

A wave of pain washed over me.

Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but look down and saw two clearly visible scars on his leg.

"Huh? Two wounds?"

Lu Xiaofeng was taken aback and suddenly realized something was wrong.

I must have been injured three times, and there should be three scars on my legs.

Why are there only two paths?

Could it be that……

Having traveled extensively and witnessed many unusual martial arts techniques, he instantly thought of a certain possibility.

"Illusion! Right?"

"what?"

"I said... it's an illusion, right?"

Lu Xiaofeng emphasized this again.

"That's strange. Why did you gather so much thick fog around you before you appeared? Is it because you have too much internal energy that you can't use up?"

"It's just to deal with the others in your camp."

"That may indeed be your goal, but it can only be considered one of your goals!"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "The bigger reason is that this fog is the medium through which you cast illusions, right? Since Lady Liu left, we haven't heard any sounds, probably because of the influence of your illusions."

And these two icicles... one of them, or both of them, are illusions!

"Hahaha……"

An Wu clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "As expected of Lu Xiaofeng, you actually saw through me!"

Beijing.

Zhou Ming's lips curled into an amused smile, as if a deliberately set game puzzle had finally been solved.

The world is in turmoil right now, with major events happening in both the north and south.

In the southeast, the Wood Taoist is handling matters concerning the Giant Whale Gang.

Meanwhile, in the Ming Cult in the southwest, Yin Susu's plan is also progressing steadily.

Zhou Ming didn't get involved much.

As for the matter of Blackwood Cliff in the north, he personally supervised it and naturally needed to keep a close eye on it to prevent things from developing beyond expectations and causing negative consequences.

So he took over the operation of the projector himself.

This is how the character 'Anwu' came to be, whose character template was actually designed to imitate the character 'Dio Brando' as much as possible.

The ability Zhou Ming assigned to this projection was an extremely cold power created by combining the Longevity Technique with the Profound Netherworld Divine Palm.

However, the Xuanming Divine Palm alone isn't really that fun.

Therefore, Zhou Ming also gave this character the ability to create a misty illusion, which is now being shown.

This was actually a byproduct of Zhou Ming's research on the Purple Cloud Sword Technique.

The Purple Cloud Sword Technique represents the weather phenomenon of 'clouds', and it also possesses a mesmerizing power.

In this world, there are actually quite a few martial arts techniques with the same characteristics.

For example, in the Cloud-Dispelling Palm technique practiced by Bu Jingyun, there is a move called "Cloud Wonderland," which uses water vapor and mist to create a rosemary illusion for use against enemies.

Possessing this ability to create illusions and mist, coupled with the Xuanming Divine Palm.

Anwu's projection is the only one that's somewhat interesting.

Although the Longevity Technique possesses the means to draw upon the power of heaven and earth, according to the character setting Zhou Ming assigned to An Wu's projection, he indeed does not possess the powerful true energy to create three giant ice pillars in a very short time.

As Lu Xiaofeng said, only the first giant ice pillar was real; the other two were illusions.

The real illusion was laid from the very beginning.

Lu Xiaofeng unleashed the Heavenly Flying Immortal Technique, combining it with his own speed, making the move as fast as lightning, but An Wu still managed to dodge it.

The reason is that the Anwu he saw was not a real person, but an illusion.

Even the ice pillars he shattered were illusions.

Actually, the icicles are still perfectly fine.

However, seeing through the illusion does not mean that one can defeat Anwu.

"If you can't even control your own senses, how are you going to deal with this enemy?"

on site.

An Wu's laughter subsided, and he said, "Since you've already discovered that I'm using illusions, then..."

Snapped!
A snap of the fingers.

Countless icicles appeared in the sky at the same time, recklessly radiating their chill.

"Guess which one of these is real and which one is fake?"

Lu Xiaofeng laughed, "Of course they're all fake!" "Then, what about these?"

As An Wu spoke, countless ice pillars disappeared, but endless fragments of ice appeared in the sky, their tips aimed directly at him.

Lu Xiaofeng broke out in a cold sweat.

The icicles were too big and too numerous; it's safe to say they were all fake.

And now these ice fragments, which look like they are densely packed all over the sky, are definitely mostly fake.

However, there is indeed a little bit of truth in it!

This is actually more fatal.

If you can't distinguish between truth and falsehood, you might mistakenly believe something is false when it is actually true.

Is it possible to avoid all the ice shards?

How could anyone possibly avoid all those countless, densely packed ice shards?
Not to mention, behind these seemingly effortless movements lies the opponent's exquisite illusionary magic.

Having traveled the martial arts world for so many years, Lu Xiaofeng had heard of many methods of using illusions.

Some rely on the environment and cooperation with various government agencies.

Some use special drugs to arouse people's desires.

But this was the first time he had ever seen someone use illusion magic so casually.

Not to mention that the things created by this illusion can be manipulated at will.

It's almost as unbelievable as directly manipulating someone else's mind.

How should we break this deadlock when faced with such an enemy?

Lu Xiaofeng came up with an answer almost instantly.

Sword Spirit!

The sword spirit hidden within the Thunderclap Sword should be able to break this illusion.

Unfortunately, he hasn't sensed the presence of any sword spirit yet.

Perhaps the previous injuries haven't healed yet.

Besides these, are there any other methods...?

This illusion is activated by the fog, so why don't we try to escape the fog?

No, if you can't even be sure what you see with your own eyes is real or fake, how can you tell which way to go?
Perhaps as you run, you'll find yourself constantly spinning in the fog.

How exactly does this fog affect his senses to create these illusions?

Sight? Hearing?
Lu Xiaofeng circulated his inner energy to his eyes, ears, and other senses, but to no avail.

"That's the most troublesome part..."

soul!

However, if that's the case, I can actually think of a solution right now.

He appeared beside Guihai Yidao like a ghost, and whispered, "The sword technique you used to kill that Mongol before should also involve the path of the mind, right?"

Gui Haiyi raised an eyebrow: "How did you figure that out?"

"It's because of what that Mongol did before he was attacked. I don't believe that a Second-Grandmaster would be unable to dodge in time when faced with an attack..."

Lu Xiaofeng recalled that scene.

Although it was only a momentary delay, he noticed it.

Given Master Erhua's reaction speed, that strike would never have landed.

But in reality, it struck the opponent's shoulder directly, crippling one of his hands.

Furthermore, since he was right next to the sword at the time, he also vaguely sensed the strangeness contained in the sword technique, which is why he thought that this sword technique seemed to contain a psychological attack.

Many people think Lu Xiaofeng is a smart person.

He really is that kind of person.

However, compared to those who possess true wisdom, he appears less intelligent.

Lu Xiaofeng's greatest strength lies in his keen observation and grasp of details.

He always seems to notice details without even realizing it.

These details are often things that even the planners themselves might not be able to notice.

Besides that, what he deserves the most praise for is his luck.

In the original story, why did he take down one mastermind after another, yet people still wanted to pull him into their schemes and use him, without worrying that he would see through them?

It's because every time he sees through someone's true colors, it seems to involve a certain degree of luck.

This makes people think that luck played a large part in Lu Xiaofeng's ability to do those things.

In addition, many behind-the-scenes manipulators who aspire to achieve great things are often extremely confident in themselves. This leads to a series of behind-the-scenes manipulators pulling Lu Xiaofeng into their schemes, only to end up suffering crushing defeats themselves.

This time, it seems, will be the same.

During the short time that Guihai Yidao and Meng Er were engaged in fierce combat, he noticed many details.

At this moment, he wasn't entirely certain that Guihai's single strike would break the illusion.

But he was willing to gamble on his luck.

"Listen to me, the tactics they're using are likely psychological or mental manipulation. Perhaps your swordsmanship can influence them..."

Illusion of the spiritual and mental realms?
Guihai Yidao instantly understood Lu Xiaofeng's plan.

If that's the case, the Three Knives of Avici Hell are indeed very likely to be effective.

In fact, compared to attacks on reality, the Three Knives of Avici Hell clearly focuses more on attacks on the mind.

Whether it's towards the enemy or the user.

Guihai Yidao looked up and glanced at Anwu.

The other party stood atop the giant ice pillar, watching them with an air of nonchalance, seemingly unconcerned about their resistance and brimming with confidence in their own strength.

Guihai Yidao gritted his teeth.

Although both were second-level masters, Anwu's strength could be said to completely overwhelm the previous two Mongols.

Guihai Yidao believed that if those two Mongols were to face Anwu, they would probably be in just as bad a state as they were.

Previously, when he unleashed his Dominance over the World technique, it seemed to have no effect on the opponent at all.

Faced with such a formidable enemy, all he had left was the "Three Knives of Avici Hell" card.

However, it took him three strikes to kill that Mongol before, and he was almost controlled by the demonic intent within his sword technique.

Now, dealing with the much stronger An Wu would probably take much longer than a matter of one or two strikes.

It would probably take ten, or even dozens of cuts to make it possible.

I knew without even thinking that I was destined to become a demon!

but……

It's better to become a demon than to die!

Guihai nodded heavily and said, "This method is feasible, however... I have something to say, please do as I say, Master Lu."

"Please speak, Master Yi."

"Please leave this place, Master Lu. If you encounter Lady Liu or anyone else, please tell them to stay away from here!"

"Why...why is this?" Lu Xiaofeng was stunned.

"Please do as I say, Master Lu!"

Guihai Yidao repeated.

Seeing his solemn and serious expression, Lu Xiaofeng knew he was not joking.

But why?
Wait a moment……

Lu Xiaofeng was surprised to find that after killing the Mongol, the other party suddenly attacked him... the Demon Blade?

Could it be that……

Lu Xiaofeng recalled the feeling when Yi Jue used that strange sword technique, which further confirmed his suspicions.

"Okay, I'll try my best... if that guy is willing to let me go."

After saying this, Lu Xiaofeng immediately turned around, randomly chose a direction, and ran away, disappearing from the mist in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)