Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

Just as the signs of a breakthrough appeared.

Lei Lie's voice suddenly pierced through the illusion, bringing me to a moment of clarity:

"It's a breakthrough! Xiao Shen, stabilize your mental power!"

The aura around you is strange; don't let the power of your breakthrough get out of control!

Lei Lie caught a glimpse of the pale gray aura emanating from Shen Zhen's body.

This was abnormal; the halo carried a chilling sense of despair. Although he didn't know what kind of phenomenon this was, he was certain it was a sign of a breakthrough. He immediately forced himself to maintain a sliver of reason and shouted:

Learn from me!

The hand gestures and incantation for the first-tier mid-stage basic Divine Soothing Mantra [Cleansing the Mind and Dispelling Illusions]! This mantra can help you restrain that power and prevent it from getting out of control!

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhen immediately focused all his attention on Lei Lie's guidance.

He could clearly feel the mental power within his body, infused with despair, surging wildly. If left unchecked, it would likely be devoured by his own power the moment he broke through.

He concentrated, following Lei Lie's gestures, and silently recited:

"Clear...heart..."

The power of despair within Shen Zhen's body fluctuated slowly in rhythm with the incantation.

The originally violent emotional energy was enveloped by the power of the incantation, no longer recklessly crashing into the meridians, and its overly sharp corrosiveness was gradually soothed.

"Break through...delusion..."

Lei Lie's voice rang out again, carrying a resolute power.

Shen Zhen suddenly exerted his strength.

He channeled the restrained, shaped power of despair within his body, following the rhythm of the mantra "Clear Mind and Break Illusion," and condensed it into a cold, sharp, gray-black blade of mental energy, fiercely striking the barrier of the mid-stage first tier.

This blade possesses both the penetrating power of despair and the stability of a spell, tearing a gap as soon as it touches the barrier.

"Snap!"

A soft sound, like a fledgling eagle hatching from its shell.

The barrier of the mid-stage first tier was successfully broken through, and an even stronger sense of cold power swept over his entire body.

He even had a feeling that, following this "despairing power," he could vaguely perceive the subtle emotional energy hidden in the surrounding world that he couldn't usually sense.

This is a level of perception that ordinary spirit mediums could never possess.

Mid-stage first tier, done!

Shen Zhen opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

The pale gray aura around him dissipated, replaced by a solid, dark gray fluctuation of mental energy.

The chill of despair intertwined with the purifying power of [Clear Mind and Break Through Illusions], causing the gray mist of the surrounding illusionary demons to retreat as if they had encountered their nemesis, and to be "suppressed" by the same source of despairing mental power, rendering them unable to move.

The "Shen Zhen" in the mirror has completely disappeared.

That was merely a phantom condensed by the Demon of Illusion using negative emotions, and it was utterly vulnerable in the face of Shen Zhen's desperate mental power.

The mother's figure in the rain stopped in her tracks, her eyes softening again, and she said softly:

"Jin'er, stay true to yourself and live a good life."

After saying that, he turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared into the rain.

Shen Zhen felt a warmth in her heart, knowing that this was her mother's true wish.

He could clearly see the trajectory of his mother's disappearing phantom.

This is the process by which the emotional energy that constitutes the phantom is soothed and dissipated by his mental power; this is the ability he gained after his breakthrough.

He turned his gaze to the three people who were still struggling in the illusion.

"Team Leader Lei! Ren Fei! Er Hu! Wake up!"

Shen Zhen channeled his despairing mental power, infusing it with the power of the [Cleansing Mind and Breaking Illusions] mantra, transforming it into three icy streams that pierced into the consciousness space of the three people's minds, that is, their sea of ​​consciousness.

The cries of Old Zhou in Lei Lie's mind were abruptly cut off; Shen Zhen's desperate mental power instantly made him see through the illusion:

"Damn illusion!"

Old Zhou, I can't let your sacrifice be in vain!

"Ren Fei! Your mother's greatest wish is for you to protect more people safely, not for you to abandon your duty!" The resonance of despair jolted Ren Fei out of his guilt and despair.

He suddenly remembered the words "Your mother is proud of you" from his mother's letter, and his tears stopped.

"Mother, I won't let you down!"

He forcefully mobilized his mental power, and the incantation resounded in his mind. The figure of his mother in the illusion gradually became transparent.

Similarly, the mocking laughter around Miao Erhu stopped, and he shook his head:

"My abilities are my own to define!"

Shen Zhen shouted:

"They tricked us, catching us off guard. Now it's time to fight back!"

Lei Lie, Ren Fei, and Miao Erhu responded simultaneously.

Although the three were still in a daze, their mental powers had begun to work together.

The four streams of mental energy converged with a thunderous roar.

Lei Lie, Ren Fei, and Miao Erhu's golden mental energy enveloped Shen Zhen's gray-black despair mental energy, transforming into a black-and-white beam of light that shot straight towards the core of the illusion—the backstage mirror of the dilapidated stage.

"How is that possible?"

The Demon of Illusions' voice carried a hint of astonishment and terror.

"You can actually manipulate my emotional energy?"

Human, what exactly are you?

Wherever the beam of light passed, the illusion shattered like glass.

Shen Zhen's desperate mental power acted like a key, precisely dismantling the emotional energy that constituted the illusion, causing the illusion to collapse at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary attacks.

The scorched earth before Lei Lie's eyes, the dilapidated house in Ren Fei's hometown, and the training ground where Miao Erhu was all vanished into thin air.

All four of them simultaneously felt an unparalleled clarity before their eyes.

In a short while, they were standing on the land of Ruanjia Lane again.

The stage has completely collapsed, turning into gray mist.

The mirror backstage was covered in cracks, and gray mist surged out from the cracks, trying to condense again, but was firmly suppressed by Shen Zhen's gray-black mental power.

The energies of the same origin are intertwined, preventing it from ever taking shape.

Don't give it a chance!

Lei Lie roared and charged forward first, his longsword unleashing a golden blade of energy that slashed at the mirror. Shen Zhen, Ren Fei, and Miao Erhu followed closely behind in coordination.

Shen Zhen flicked a wisp of gray-black psychic energy from her fingertip, precisely drilling into the crack in the mirror and instantly disintegrating the remaining emotional energy inside.

"boom!"

The mirror shattered completely.

With a mournful wail, shattered glass shards flew everywhere, each fragment reflecting a different face.

There were Old Zhou's empty eyes, Ren Fei's mother's tear-streaked face, and the twisted smiles of the mockers in Miao Erhu's illusion.

The moment the fragments hit the ground, they turned into gray mist and then dissipated into the air.

The controlled "spectators" around them also disappeared.

To be precise, there are three left.

These are real residents, not reflections of the demonic illusion. Their eyes gradually regained their clarity, their faces filled with confusion and fear.

"How...how did I get here?"

"How terrifying, I think I had a nightmare..."

The last person looked at Shen Zhen and muttered:

"I think I just saw a lot of shadows in the mirror, and it looked like there were adults in them... and they were moving..."

Afterwards, the three of them thanked Shen Zhen and the others profusely, their faces full of relief at surviving the ordeal, and then fled Ruanjia Lane.

Just when everyone thought the crisis was over, a faint gray mist condensed in the air, carrying the last voice of the Illusionary Desire Demon, tinged with curiosity and amusement:

"You human... are really interesting."

The moment the sound dissipated, the gray mist suddenly condensed into countless tiny eyes, all glancing at Shen Zhen before completely dissipating.

Lei Lie let out a long sigh and broke the silence first:

"Damn it, this thing... it even has to annoy people before it disappears."

He then struck a pose with his hands on his hips and shamelessly said:

"Did you hear that? It's definitely talking about me!"

After all, I am the most valiant captain of the Cleansing Evil Division. Even the captain of the first squad, Han Yan, admires me immensely.

Ren Fei ruthlessly exposed:

"Team Leader Lei, wasn't it Xiao Shen who woke us up?"

"Nonsense!" Lei Lie's face flushed slightly.

"If I hadn't been able to calm my mind in the illusion and teach him the 'Purifying the Mind and Dispelling Illusions' mantra, how would he have woken you up? You'd probably still be crying and screaming in the illusion right now!"

Ren Fei pursed his lips, stopped arguing, and turned to look at Shen Zhen with a puzzled expression:

"But Xiao Shen, what was that mental power you were using just now? It didn't seem like the pure mental power a Spirit Suppressor should have."

Miao Erhu chimed in from the side:

"Yes, but it really works."

Lei Lie stroked his chin, his expression turning serious:

"This is indeed a bit strange."

Even I couldn't withstand the emotional energy of that phantasmal demon. Could it be that you possess some special quality that allows you to naturally resist such aberrations?

Shen Zhen frowned slightly, a hint of confusion in her eyes:

"I don't know either. At the time, I just felt that when that feeling of despair came over me, I suddenly had an instinct to analyze it."

He said, half-jokingly:

"How about we catch it next time and ask it again?" He felt that desperate thought had disappeared again, or rather, it had gone into hiding.

"Analyzing the despair of the aberration?" Lei Lie was startled.

"This can only be expelled; the aberrations are born from the negative emotions of the ancestral god!"

"But..." Shen Zhen looked down at herself.

"I don't feel anything!" she thought to herself.

"If this is truly a unique trait of mine, then it would be a pleasant surprise."

The three stared at him like he was a monster, wanting to discuss it further, but Lei Lie suddenly slapped his forehead:

"Oh no, I've been so busy chatting that I forgot about Cai's Steamed Bun Shop..."