One person: Orochi, starting with Feng Baobao's Eight Heroes.

Shanqi made a hand seal, and a faint light surged around his body.

He stood in the center of the inner world, surrounded by countless intersecting black and white lines that formed a strange, colorless space.

The lines trembled with his thoughts, but they could never coalesce into the shape he wanted.

"strangeness..."

The faint light emanating from Shanqi's fingertips shone even brighter.

"I've clearly locked onto his presence, so why can I only see a blurry shadow?"

Three feet in front of him, a semi-transparent humanoid outline was faintly visible, as if viewed through a layer of frosted glass. He could only barely make out that it was a human shape, but he couldn't see the details of the face.

Shanqi increased his magical power output, and the ghostly light almost solidified, but the figure remained blurry.

"Hmph, if you don't eat the toast, you will be punished with a drink."

Shanqi snorted coldly, his eyes filled with ruthlessness.

"Since I can't summon your soul, I'll just destroy it!"

His right hand formed a claw, and five sharp blades of energy condensed from a ghostly light, about to grab at the blurry figure—

suddenly!

Two golden lights appeared on the shadow's face.

Shanqi paused, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The two points of golden light, like flames suddenly ignited in the darkness, rapidly expanded and burned, eventually transforming into a pair of eyes burning with brilliant gold!

Those eyes slowly opened, and golden flames danced in their pupils, as if they could scorch the soul.

His gaze shifted from initial confusion to a sudden realization, and then to joy and amusement upon recognizing Shanqi.

"This is...!"

Shanqi's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat...

As the golden eyes fully opened, the blurry shadow began to become clear.

First came the outline, then the facial features, and finally a face with a terrifying smile—it was Chen Qi!

"Lord Shanqi, it's been a long time."

The shadow spoke, its voice seemingly coming from a distant place, yet clear enough to be whispered in one's ear.

"I didn't expect you to have such refined tastes, making a special trip to the interior to catch up with me?"

Shanqi's expression changed drastically, and the eerie light in his hand almost dissipated.

"Impossible! How could you... This is an inner realm constructed using the technique of communicating with the spirit world. Without my permission, no outsider can enter!"

"Really?"

Chen Qi's shadow had completely solidified. He tilted his head, his golden eyes filled with amusement.

"So, does my standing here now mean... your skill in communicating with spirits isn't quite up to par yet?"

A great alarm bell rang in Shanqi's heart.

He knew the rules of the inner world all too well—anyone who could enter another's inner world without being summoned was either a cultivator with a cultivation level of 3.9 Heaven and Earth, or someone who had mastered some forbidden technique.

And no matter which one it is, it is absolutely beyond his ability to contend with!

"No...this isn't your true form!"

Shanqi suddenly noticed that the edges of Chen Qi's figure were somewhat illusory, and immediately realized what was happening.

"You're just a projection! Trying to scare me?"

Chen Qi grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"As expected of Lord Shanqi, your judgment is excellent. However..."

He raised his hand, and the same golden light emanated from his fingertips.

Chapter 234 The Madman

"Who says projections can't hurt people?"

Before he finished speaking, Shanqi had already retreated dozens of feet!

He knew all too well what those golden rays represented—a terrifying power capable of scorching even the rules of the inner realm!

"Want to run?"

Chen Qi's laughter echoed in the interior.

"Didn't you want to catch up with me?"

Shanqi had no time to answer. He quickly formed hand seals, and his body shone with a dark light as he forced his way to the edge of the inner world.

The black and white lines there began to twist and break, revealing cracks in the real world.

"A madman! A complete and utter madman!"

Shanqi cursed inwardly.

"He actually wants to physically cross over to the inner realm! That's practically courting death!"

Just as Shanqi was about to squeeze into the gap, he glanced back. That one glance terrified him—

Chen Qi's figure did indeed begin to fade due to the rejection of 06 in the inner world, but just as he was about to be completely expelled, a beam of white light shot out from his body!

"Roar--!"

Amidst a deafening roar, a giant ape with a blue head and white body, its entire body wreathed in blue lightning, appeared out of thin air!

The white ape had bloodshot eyes and bared fangs. As soon as it appeared, it locked onto Shanqi's aura and charged at him on all fours!

"Heart Monkey?!"

Shanqi cried out in alarm.

"He actually managed to raise his mind to this extent!"

Without further hesitation, Shanqi used all his strength to squeeze into the gap.

In the last moment before completely leaving the inner world, he heard Chen Qi's voice, tinged with laughter.

"Please give my regards to the Imperial Preceptor."

In the real world, Shanqi opened his eyes and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The man in black robes beside him immediately helped him up.

"My lord! What's wrong?"

"Go! Leave now!"

Shanqi's face was deathly pale, and his voice was trembling.

"He discovered it! He knows everything!"

The man in black robes dared not ask any more questions and helped Shanqi leave quickly.

Not far behind them, a ripple suddenly appeared in the air, and the faint phantom of a white ape could be seen flashing by.

In the inner world, Chen Qi's figure had faded to the point of being almost invisible.

But his golden eyes remained bright, silently watching the direction in which Shanqi fled.

"Running so fast."

He whispered to himself.

"However... you can run away from the monk but not the temple."

As the repulsive force of the inner world reached its peak, Chen Qi stopped resisting and allowed his consciousness to be pushed out of this strange space.

But before he left completely, his gaze fell on the spot where Shanqi had just stood.

A faint glow still lingered there, interfering with the black and white lines of the inner world, causing abnormal blurring marks to appear in that area.

"This is..."

Chen Qi's golden eyes shone brightly.

"The Great Luo Cave Observation? No... it seems so, but it's not quite right."

He recalled the legends about the Eight Extraordinary Skills.

It is said that Gu Jiting once used the "Da Luo Dong Guan" technique to forcibly enter the inner world of others, and even drove masters like Hu Tu crazy.

However, the methods used by Shanqi were clearly different. Although the effects were similar, the underlying principles were quite different.

"Open the Eye of Delusion!"

Chen Qi let out a low shout, and golden light burst forth in his eyes, his gaze piercing through the appearance of the inner world.

In his vision, the entire world is composed of countless fine black and white lines, which constantly change and recombine to form the myriad forms of the interior landscape.

Where Shanqi left his mark, the lines were distorted by a strange, eerie light, forming a structure resembling a "passage".

"I see..."

Chen Qi seemed to be deep in thought.

"It doesn't enter directly, but rather parasitizes the rules of the interior... Interesting."

With a sudden thought, he tried to communicate with the inner world.

“Tell me about the origin of Shanqi.”

The interior world trembled, and countless lines began to flow and recombine.

A moment later, a set of information appeared directly in Chen Qi's mind.

"Shanqi, born in... died in... a remnant of the previous dynasty, currently a guest advisor in the Imperial Preceptor's office, proficient in the art of communicating with the spirits..."

As Chen Qi received this information, he noticed a peculiar phenomenon.

When he performs divination, the lines of his inner world will actively connect with his consciousness, forming tiny "causal lines".

"Is this the price of divination?"

Chen Qi carefully observed those causal lines.

"Every question asked creates a cause and effect..."

He tried gently touching one of the causal lines and immediately felt a sharp pain.

The thread was tightly wrapped around his consciousness, refusing to let go.

"The greater the cause and effect, the stronger the backlash..."

Chapter 235 Cutting

Chen Qi recalled his master's warning.

"If one carries too much karma, their destiny will be disrupted, and their soul will be scattered..."

As he was pondering, he suddenly had a whim and asked the inner world another question.

“Tell me, where does the power that Shanqi uses come from?”

As soon as this question was asked, the entire inner world suddenly trembled violently!

Countless black and white lines surged wildly, instantly coalescing into a massive fireball, radiating destructive energy!

"not good!"

Chen Qi's expression changed drastically, and he immediately severed the connection with the inner world.

But it was too late. Dozens of thick causal lines emerged from the fireball and began to entangle him!

At the critical moment, Chen Qi's eyes flashed with golden light, and he formed a complex hand seal in front of his chest.

"Break!"

With a crisp "snap," the causal threads snapped.

In an instant, the blazing fireball formed by the intertwined threads of cause and effect collapsed and dissipated before Chen Qi's eyes.