Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 266 That Roar

Possessing another's body is never an easy thing.

Don't be fooled by the fact that any random demonic cultivator can possess another's body; Mo Ci possessed bodies time and time again until his soul collapsed.

Chen Ye took advantage of the demons' possessions more than once.

But they all possessed human bodies.

Chen Ye had previously discovered during his experiments that the soul and the body are compatible. Feeding wild beasts with blood pills from different races would drive them mad. This was because the remnant soul and the body were incompatible, leading to madness due to the conflict.

Even a wolf spirit forced onto a wild boar would go mad, so how big is the difference between a human and a mirage demon?

Logically speaking, this kind of possession is tantamount to suicide, and there is almost no chance of success.

Even if it barely survives, it will only turn into a crazed mirage.

So Chen Ye sensed something was wrong from the beginning, but he was interrupted by Youluozi and didn't have time to investigate further.

Now that Chen Ye has captured several manipulated cultivators and carefully studied their souls, he finally understands the intricacies of the matter.

These people had a restriction placed on their souls, sealing away most of their memories, leaving only the instincts of lying dead and possessing bodies.

Once the possession is complete, the restriction will erase most of the irrelevant memories, such as basic instincts like eating, drinking, and defecating, leaving only the most basic command—loyalty to the caster.

All physical and sensory conflicts are erased. Everything you've ever seen, heard, or felt is deleted. You are a completely blank infant, starting to develop anew from the mirage's egg. Your soul records all the sensations of this new body.

Of course, it sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult to do.

Therefore, this restriction is crude, and Chen Ye estimates that the success rate will not be very high. At most, it will turn absolute failure into a 20% or 30% success rate, but this is already a qualitative change.

Of the hundreds of corpses that Youluozi threw out, even if two or three out of ten were successfully possessed, hundreds of mirage demons would still be possessed.

Chen Ye couldn't help but ask Chen Guang, "Do you think this is in the style of the Mirage School?"

Each sect has its own style of magic, especially its unique secret techniques, which often retain a strong sect style. It is very difficult to disguise them because you are most familiar with the use of these basic runes. Changing them to something else will double the difficulty.

As Chen Guang watched Chen Ye dismantle those restrictions bit by bit and carefully display them before him, he couldn't contain his shock.

How could he crack it so quickly?

It's not that simple to reverse-engineer a spell. If everyone were like Chen Ye, there would be no secret arts in the world.

However, Chen Guang still carefully examined the runes that Chen Ye had dismantled, and amidst the countless flashes of golden light, she saw many familiar parts.

Chen Guang said excitedly, "It really is a spell from the Mirage Sect, and it's a forbidden spell that's always been prohibited from being used. The Mirage Sect's illusions have an extremely strong deceptive effect on people, and can even make the fake appear real. However, according to the rules, our illusions must always have a flaw."

"This has always been the rule of the Mirage Sect: always leave a glimmer of hope, whether against an enemy or against oneself. This glimmer of hope is the ability to distinguish between reality and illusion. Once this last flaw is erased, it is no longer a simple illusion, but a demonic means of directly altering memories, which will inevitably harm both oneself and others sooner or later."

"According to ancient records, the Mirage Sect once used this flawless illusion technique to modify the memories of disciples who were bewitched by the Bewitching Demon Lord during the war between good and evil. Unfortunately, the Mirage Sect disciples whose memories were erased either went mad or became idiots. In the end, this forbidden technique was sealed away and its use was forever prohibited."

Chen Guang also carefully pointed out which parts of these runes should have a flaw that could directly dispel the illusion's effects.

After listening carefully, Chen Ye suddenly felt enlightened and gained a deeper understanding of the runes in front of him. He thought to himself, "This is truly an ingenious idea. The Mirage Sect is indeed one of the five major sects. This magic has broadened my horizons."

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Mirage Sect lost face because of a mere rogue cultivator. That's because the Mirage Sect still respected the rules. If they had just attacked without any regard for the consequences, Chen Ye would have been dead long ago.

Chen Ye is determined to rebuild the cycle of reincarnation, but while the underworld is now quite well-established, he has absolutely no clue about the concept of reincarnation.

Unexpectedly, this trip to Guixu yielded some pleasant surprises.

Chen Guang reminded him, "Sect Master, although you have cracked this technique, please do not use it in public. This technique is not only against the natural order, but if the Mirage Sect finds out, even the Qinghe Sword Sect's reputation will not be able to save face, and the Mirage Sect will go to war with the Yellow Spring Sect."

Chen Ye said in surprise, "Oh, you care so much about a spell like the Mirage Party?"

"Indeed, I've heard that this technique is the number one forbidden technique of the Mirage Sect. Any disciple who dares to use it will be severely punished. At best, their cultivation will be abolished and they will be imprisoned for life; at worst, they will be executed. I wonder why it would be used here."

Chen Guang's tone was very serious, and he was clearly not joking.

Chen Ye asked, "If that's the case, why would the Mirage Sect erase the memories of its disciples and send them to this Ruins of Return? Is it really to cultivate a second Spirit Light Immortal? If this gets out, the Mirage Sect will probably have to sever itself from the righteous path."

Chen Guang couldn't understand either. Her understanding of the Mirage Sect was actually not deep. She only knew the basics of most things. It was just that she usually hid in her small building and never communicated with anyone.

Although Chen Ye asked this question, what he really cared about was not the Mirage Faction.

Having witnessed the Mirage Sect's biased and unreasonable behavior, Chen Ye didn't have much affection for the sect.

Now that Zhang Qi is gone, the Qinghe Sword Sect can no longer awe the world, and the Mirage Sect will probably have other ideas.

It was just another story of a righteous sect falling into demonic ways; Chen Ye could guess it even without witnessing it firsthand. When Chen Ye discovered that Qin Ze was also one of those sacrificed, he knew that the Mirage Sect must have made an extremely cruel decision. A disciple tormented by inner demons had his memories erased by the Mirage Sect and stuffed into this perilous Ruins of Return. He didn't know who gave the order, but it was definitely related to the higher-ups of the Mirage Sect.

From today onwards, Chen Ye will have to treat the Mirage Sect as a demonic sect.

In addition, Chen Ye was also very concerned about the thoughts of Youluozi, the leader of the Demonic Sect.

To be called a Venerable Lord, this person's cultivation level must also be at the Returning Void Realm. His mysterious and unpredictable methods are not much different from those of his Grandmaster Qu Heng.

Therefore, Chen Ye was not surprised at all that Youluozi could crack the secret techniques of the Mirage Sect.

He was just very curious as to why Youluozi would go to such lengths to possess a group of mirage demons.
The mirage demon is aloof and unassuming; if it weren't for its perfect fit with the illusionary arts of the Mirage Sect, the sect probably wouldn't have bothered with so much effort. Even if Youluozi needs the mirage demon as a subordinate, isn't that a bit too roundabout?
It would take countless years for those eggs to regrow, so is it necessary to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of demonic cultivators now?

Now that the Demonic Sect is on the verge of resurgence, it is the time when it needs power the most.

Kill the injured and controlled cultivator to gain power decades or even centuries later?
This deal just doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

Unfortunately, the souls of these demonic cultivators had been almost completely erased, so Chen Ye couldn't get any answers.

"Alright, let's leave this matter aside for now. I'll seal this Illusionary Light Palace first."

The Mirage Demons can survive on the food in this hall alone, so sealing this Illusionary Light Array will actually reduce their disturbance.

As for the possessed mirage eggs, Chen Ye and Chen Guang couldn't distinguish them, so they could only leave them for the time being.

Anyway, it will take a long time for them to hatch. We can carefully distinguish them when the Yellow Springs Sect is ready and the entire Mirage Demon clan migrates.

Sealing off this Illusionary Light Palace is not difficult. The overall structure of the palace is still relatively intact. Although the formation is incomplete, Chen Ye can repair it.

Chen Ye's dragon body roamed throughout the main hall, using the power of the dragon pearl within his body to continuously spew out spiritual energy to construct runes and repair the damaged formations.

Unaware of the passage of time in the deep sea, Chen Ye diligently repaired the restriction, but also exhausted most of his spiritual energy.

This was truly hard work, but seeing Chen Guang's grateful expression, Chen Ye's efforts were worthwhile.

Chen Ye always kept his promises. He had promised Chen Guang that he would find a way out for the Mirage Demon Clan, so he naturally had to do his best to fulfill that promise.

Although we haven't been able to relocate all the Mirage Demons, at least we can ensure the safety of the Mirage Demon race. Next, we'll continue our treasure hunt in the Ruins of Return.

Half a piece of colorful coral tree and a few dragon pearls are far from enough.

Chen Ye came to find a magical treasure, but so far he has not found one that can match the transformation of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

Chen Ye called out to Chen Guang, "Let's go, let's continue exploring this Ruins. Even if we can't reach the deepest part, we should still explore a few more places and at least find a treasure trove-like place to dig up some treasures."

Chen Guang glanced longingly at the mirages that resembled white jade, then turned to face Chen Ye with a different expression, saying respectfully, "Yes, Master."

"This……"

Chen Ye sensed something was off. The way he addressed Chen Guang had changed, and his tone had changed too, as if he were a completely different person.

Chen Guang looked up and asked in confusion, "Sect Master, is there something wrong?"

"No, not really... Never mind, let's go."

Chen Ye gave a shout, and the morning light transformed into a cloud of mist, merging into Chen Ye's dragon body.

It was the same before, but Chen Ye always felt something was off. This time, the morning light seemed to completely obey. Chen Ye felt that he could change this cloud of mist into various shapes with a thought.

Chen Ye shook his head, twisted his body, and swam away into the distance.

Based on his senses of the Ruins of Return, Chen Ye felt that there were several places nearby that he could explore and perhaps find some treasures.

Chen Ye hadn't swum very far when he suddenly stopped.

It wasn't that some giant sea monster had appeared ahead, but rather that the entire Guixu trembled, and a roar like a giant wave rang in Chen Ye's ears.

The roar seemed to be everywhere, instantly causing the entire Guixu to tremble.

The sea monsters in the Ruins of Guixu seemed to be greatly agitated, letting out screams one after another, and the ocean currents surged, making the silent underwater ruins seem to boil.

Chen Guang quickly said, "Sect Master, this is the roar I heard earlier!"

Chen Ye didn't need Chen Guang's reminder to guess what was going on. Unlike other sea creatures, Chen Ye didn't feel afraid; instead, he felt a deep sense of sorrow.

The four dragon pearls on his body seemed to be responding to the roar of its owner, urging Chen Ye to hurry towards the depths of the Ruins of Return.

(End of this chapter)