High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

With a flick of his fingertip, Zhou Luotian sent an invisible mental wave piercing into Shen Chang'an's mind.

Shen Chang'an, who was holding a wine glass and smiling, suddenly stiffened!

His eyes instantly became bloodshot, then quickly cleared again, but what followed was an epiphany that had been deliberately and forcibly implanted by the outside world.

Snapped!

The white jade wine cup in his hand crashed heavily to the ground and shattered into pieces.

"Illusion...all of it is illusion!!"

Shen Chang'an suddenly ripped off the big red flower from his chest, and amidst the puzzled gazes of the guests, he pointed around and laughed loudly with his hair disheveled.

"What fame and fortune! What centuries-old family traditions! The world is full of suffering, nothing but a fleeting dream, a passing cloud! Today, I want to become a monk! I want to be ordained! I want to seek the true path of purity!"

These words caused an uproar in the room!

The two elders of the Gu family were so angry that they almost spat out a mouthful of blood. The guests in the hall were shocked, and the entire Gu residence was instantly thrown into chaos.

"Stop him! Stop this book-study-obsessed, brain-dead brat!"

However, Shen Chang'an paid no heed. He roughly shoved aside the servants who tried to pull him away, stumbled out of the main hall, and ran wildly towards the outside of the mansion like a true madman, quickly disappearing from sight.

Inside the lobby, only a group of guests looked at each other blankly, and Gu Shuyi, the younger sister, stood there at a loss.

High in the sky.

Zhou Luotian stroked his beard with satisfaction, watching Shen Chang'an's retreating figure: "No destruction, no construction. Let's see if you can eventually walk the right path on your own."

He was preparing to leave the dream.

Just then, the dream below suddenly underwent a dramatic change.

The bustling Gu residence, the panicked guests, even the willow catkins drifting in the sky—all seemed to freeze in that instant, as if time had been abruptly paused. The entire world fell into a deathly silence.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Shuyi slowly turned her head in the hall.

Those once gentle and lively eyes had now turned into a deep, pure black. She abruptly raised her head, her gaze piercing through layers of void, fixing on the spot where Zhou Luotian was hidden in mid-air.

"Is it fun?"

Before Zhou Luotian could react, he instinctively replied, "What?"

But then he shuddered, his eyes widening. This was a closed-loop dream he had personally constructed using the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Technique! Apart from Shen Chang'an, the test subject, everyone else was a fictional character he had created with his divine sense!

How could a fictional character possibly sense his presence, let alone speak to him?

"Snap!"

Without any warning, the entire Gu family mansion, and the guests who were frozen in place, suddenly developed countless spatial cracks, just like a shattered mirror!

"What's going on? Has the dream spiraled out of control?"

Zhou Luotian was shocked; he had never encountered such a situation before.

boom!!!

With a deafening roar that shattered the very soul, the illusion of the entire capital city collapsed! In its place, a vast sea of ​​black fire poured down from the sky!

"Black flames? How could they appear in a dream world?"

In the center of that raging inferno, the girl Gu Shuyi's body began to burn fiercely! Her pale green dress turned to ashes in the black flames, and her figure twisted rapidly. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a black figure entirely formed from black flames!

The shadowy figure had no precise facial features; only two ghostly flames burned where its eyes were.

"Buzz!"

The dark figure slowly raised its hand, and countless black flames quickly gathered, condensing into a huge black hand that blotted out the sky in its palm, pressing down on Zhou Luotian!

"Who exactly are you? Why are you interfering with my dreams!"

Zhou Luotian dared not be negligent. Although he was only a spirit body, he still straightened his back, shouted sternly, and announced his name.

"I am Zhou Luotian, the sect leader of the Taiyi Sect! This young man is my chosen successor. Please refrain from interfering in my affairs!"

However, the black flame phantom completely ignored what Zhou Luotian was saying.

A giant black hand slammed down!

"How dare you! Since you refuse to stop, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Zhou Luotian was also enraged. He slammed his hands together, and his vast divine soul power transformed into a dazzling Tai Chi Bagua diagram. At the same time, a majestic spiritual image, a thousand feet tall, rose from the ground to meet the black flame hand!

Zhou Luotian's spiritual form should have been invincible in this dream world. However, when that giant hand formed from pure black flames struck, all logic was shattered!

The indestructible golden body of the Thousand-Foot Spiritual Image melted away as quickly as oil being poured into a raging fire the moment it came into contact with the Black Hand!

"That's impossible!"

They only exchanged a dozen or so blows.

click

The Tai Chi Bagua diagram shattered with a deafening roar. The massive black flame hand effortlessly dismantled all of Zhou Luotian's defenses.

The sky was filled with black flames that exploded instantly, turning into hundreds of thick black iron chains. Like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, they instantly bound Zhou Luotian's spiritual clone tightly and suspended it in the air!

"Damn it! Break it!" Zhou Luotian struggled frantically.

Chi Chi Chi!

The black flames burning on the iron chains began to incinerate his precious primordial spirit body! Wisps of white smoke rose from Zhou Luotian's body, and indescribable pain tore at his nerves.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! It can directly burn away the very essence of your soul?! You... what kind of monster are you?!"

Zhou Luotian was horrified. At this moment, he finally understood that this was not Shen Chang'an's own awakened natal fire at all! This black flame was simply the power that this terrifying being before him was possessing!

"Fellow Daoist, wait! Show mercy!"

Seeing his spiritual essence being burned thinner and thinner, Zhou Luotian smoothly chose to back down, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I meant no harm. What just happened... was merely a necessary test before passing on the teachings!"

The black flame phantom hovered silently in mid-air, a sharp spike formed from black flame already pressed against Zhou Luotian's brow.

On that featureless black face, two ghostly flames flickered slightly.

"A test? I think you've been making a fool of him the whole time... and having a lot of fun, huh?"

The black flame suddenly shot out an inch, and Zhou Luotian felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows.

"There was absolutely no intention to joke around!"

Zhou Luotian broke out in a cold sweat, his mind racing. From the fact that the shadowy figure appeared as his sister Gu Shuyi, coupled with that protective tone, the old fox instantly detected a weakness.

This guy definitely has some connection with Shen Chang'an! And they're even somewhat related by blood.

"Fellow Daoist, please calm down! I have something to say!"

Zhou Luotian hurriedly shouted.

"Since you've appeared in this way, you must be trapped in some state, unable to meet him in your true form, right?"