Chapter 821: Breaking Illusion with Emptiness

Chapter 821: Breaking Illusion with Emptiness

Now it was clear that previous assumptions were wrong.

Within the Heavenly Demon’s illusion, no matter what corner one acted in, Mara knew all. The earlier charade had been in vain… Back then, Yue Hongling had remained unharmed solely because Mara had not yet recovered and could do nothing against her.

But now Zhao Changhe’s plight was worse than hers had been.

Mara was at full strength, accompanied by an invisible Imperial Realm assassin. Zhao himself was wounded, and on his back he carried a burden that might break its chains at any moment and strike him a deadly blow.

Many ancient beasts and lingering souls that had not fully perished were now corrupted, lurking in the darkness, ready to strike. And he had nowhere to hide—no matter where he went, Mara would know.

“Crack!” Zhao Changhe cleaved the neck of a corrupted beast. Black blood splattered onto his arm.

A hissing sound of corrosion arose. He quickly reorganized his muscles to isolate the potent acid, and without pause, spun around to shield the ethereal figure behind him from a fresh wave of attacks.

Then he charged forward, blade and body together, ramming into a corrupted Vajra until its chest caved in. The River of Stars sword swept upward from below, tearing space and ripping open its belly.

All these were ancient Imperial Realm beings—each like the former Dorje Zunzhe or Blood Crow. The bosses of yesteryear might not even be foot soldiers today, but they were still Imperial Realm, each with unique advantages, and dealing with them was no easy task.

But he could only press forward, never retreat. The slightest hesitation or fear would let the inner demon grow and spread.

Why did he “see” Ye Wuming? Because deep down, he secretly hoped that Blind Girl would come to his aid in his crisis, believing she would not let him truly become Mara’s slave. That hope had conjured such a vivid demonic illusion.

The enemy was within. If he lost control, he would sink forever.

This crisis was unlike any he had faced before. Zhao Changhe had never fought such a battle. If this was training, it was not about charging formations—it was about tempering the heart.

The ethereal figure on his back watched silently as he fought his way forward, forgetting how long it had been since she last struggled.

Corruption changed one’s nature but did not erase memory. She saw wound after fresh wound on his body, recalling the battle she had witnessed in the Cold Serpent Ice Abyss not long ago. “Training” had always been an excuse; he had always fought for others—for friends, for his wife—recklessly, covered in wounds.

And this time… also for his wife, for Cui Yuanyang?

Cui Yuanyang’s words before she fell asleep echoed in her mind: He is protecting you too. Deep down, you know it.

She did know. Every dodge he made was for the person on his back… and for that, he had suffered countless wounds he need not have taken.

But a corrupted nature might not appreciate it… Even if she did not appreciate it, she knew he was truly protecting her.

“Foolish man… knowing I want to kill you, why waste your efforts? Do you really think I’ll spare you when the time comes?”

She did not know if she would spare him, but at least she stopped struggling to cause him trouble.

“It’s for my own safety… Besides, his life belongs to me. What right do these things have to kill him?… He’s so weak—how can he let such things wound him?”

Piaomiao did not know what she was thinking. Meanwhile, the Snow Owl chasing behind was the most frustrated.

For some reason, Zhao Changhe always managed to evade his intercepts and charge toward the weakest points. After being led around for so long, he had never once managed to block Zhao Changhe head-on. It was maddening. Who was really in whose territory?

“I suspect Zhao Changhe is tracking you,” Mara had said, and Snow Owl felt as if he were dreaming.

In your territory, we are hunting him… and you say he is tracking me?

“Impossible.” Snow Owl was almost amused. “How could I not know if there is something foreign inside me?”

Mara said coldly, “Your sword intent is chaotic—all kinds of bizarre sword intents. Are you sure you can distinguish them?”

“There are two I haven’t fully mastered: one is the ancient White Tiger’s intent, the other is the Sword Emperor’s.” Snow Owl refused to believe it. “Neither has anything to do with Zhao Changhe. How could he track me through them?”

“Has Zhao Changhe not visited the Sword Emperor’s tomb? And the White Tiger—today it is his wife Xia Chichi! What makes you so sure these two have nothing to do with him?”

“The ancient White Tiger and today’s are not the same. Xia Chichi never inherited the true essence of the ancient White Tiger. The intent I have comes from Han Wubing! As for the Sword Emperor, Zhao Changhe only touched the periphery of the Sword Emperor’s tomb during his Xuan Pass period—that is worlds apart from Imperial Realm intent. Do you really believe he can clearly identify the Sword Emperor’s intent and use it to track me?”

Even Mara was shaken by this reasoning. Indeed, Zhao Changhe should not be able to track Snow Owl. It made no sense.

Mara was certain that in this environment, Zhao Changhe’s perception could not extend far. To focus on dealing with Mara, Zhao Changhe had to contract and guard his soul, never daring to spread it thin. So how did he manage to completely avoid Snow Owl?

If Zhao Changhe had overheard their conversation, he would have realized that Snow Owl was not Mara’s subordinate—they were collaborators, though whether each harbored ulterior motives was uncertain.

Mara finally said, “Regardless of how Zhao Changhe does it, we can confirm he can truly avoid you completely. In that case, we can set a trap based on this.”

“How?”

“We split up. He avoids you, so he must face me. And because you are not there, he will let his guard down, thinking I am not acting either.”

“…Are you sure you can handle him? Your previous illusions were useless.”

Mara chuckled. “He relied on cheating each time, not true insight. I will try another method. This time, he will die without a doubt.”

“What method? I remind you, Zhao Changhe is not like those fools before. His will is unshakeable, rare in this world. Knowing that those wives cannot appear here, your illusions will be meaningless.”

“But on his back, he carries Cui Yuanyang—or rather, Piaomiao.” Mara said calmly. “He has complicated feelings for Piaomiao, and he still harbors hope for the corrupted Piaomiao. That inappropriate emotion and hope… will be his death knell.”

Zhao Changhe cut through thorns and brambles, gradually approaching the spatial node he sought. He noticed that Snow Owl’s position was falling farther and farther behind, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed Mara had no new tricks and was simply letting him go?

Even the creatures that had been blocking him withdrew, as if to avoid further losses.

Space rippled slightly. He had arrived at the secret realm behind the Xiangyang temple he had once seen. The ancient monastery looked familiar—the ancient Vajra Buddha had been raised here. He wondered if it had fully awakened now.

Zhao Changhe hurried into the monastery. Many monks were there, and they looked surprised to see him: “Greetings, King Zhao… Where does King Zhao come from?”

“No time to explain. Please inform Master Yuancheng and ask the ancient Buddha to meet me.”

“Yes. King Zhao, please rest in the guest courtyard first.”

Zhao Changhe exhaled, entered the guest courtyard, and placed the ethereal figure on a chair. He sighed softly, “I will untie your acupoints first, but I dare not remove the soul chain. When the Buddhist masters arrive, we will study it together.”

Piaomiao glanced at him sideways, wanting to say, How could you be so foolish… This space is an illusion, the monastery is an illusion, the monks are an illusion—everything is fake. You never reached the Xiangyang temple you wanted.

Because the very thought of going to Xiangyang was a demonic seed, easily exploited by Mara.

The greatest illusion was that when Zhao Changhe set down the person on his back, reality and illusion shifted. The real Piaomiao was left aside; the one he was now speaking to was Mara. The one he was untying acupoints for was Mara. The real Piaomiao, still sealed and unable to speak, her divine sense locked by the soul chain, could only watch helplessly.

This kind of battle was indeed difficult. Without the ability to see through illusions and discern truth, one could be toyed to death. Though Zhao Changhe had obtained the Book of Truth and Illusion, he had studied it for too short a time. Against Mara, the demon of the human heart, he was far from a match. He had cheated his way through a few rounds before—was this his end?

Mara, playing the part of “delicate and weak,” rubbed her wrists, stretched her limbs, and said coldly, “You might as well kill me directly. What’s the use of hypocritically untying my acupoints?”

Piaomiao knew that Mara’s performance was entirely based on Zhao Changhe’s own expectations—Mara acted according to Zhao Changhe’s perception of her. Thus, for Zhao Changhe, there could be no flaw. But that did not mean the real Piaomiao was like that. She was curious: how much did Mara’s portrayal of Zhao Changhe’s perception of her differ from her true self?

Zhao Changhe was saying, “You know I won’t kill you. Whether you are the original Piaomiao or the corrupted one…”

Mara said, “Do you think corruption can be undone and I will become the old Piaomiao? Let me tell you, it’s impossible. My nature has changed. Even if you kill Ye Wuming, that change will not disappear.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “Why do you want me to kill you so badly?”

Mara replied, “Because if you don’t kill me, I will kill you. Are you a fool? Killing me would benefit you—you would get back a whole Cui Yuanyang. I should not exist for you. At this moment of corruption, your scruples should be gone.”

Piaomiao frowned. The conversation was theoretically fine—it was indeed something she might say. But the attitude was wrong. The corrupted her would not speak so reasonably and calmly. Mara’s performance was based on Zhao Changhe’s perception, which meant Zhao Changhe’s understanding of the corrupted Piaomiao was not deep enough. He still had expectations of her.

That expectation would lead to disaster.

Zhao Changhe said, “I won’t kill you… Even if the soul chain can’t hold you for long, even if it could bind you forever, I wouldn’t want to keep you locked up.”

Even Mara, without needing to act, was stunned: “Why on earth?”

Zhao Changhe gently stroked her cheek and said softly, “You are using Yangyang’s body… Every intimacy I have with Yangyang is actually intimacy with you. I cannot bring myself to kill a woman I have been intimate with, even if it was all an accident. I said earlier that when we are safe, I would discipline you—though it was said in anger… but anger reveals impure thoughts. Even though you are corrupted, I still think about being intimate with you.”

Piaomiao’s heart pounded violently. She did not know what she felt, but she knew Zhao Changhe was doomed.

He truly had inappropriate expectations, even desires. Once Mara exploited that, he was dead.

For instance, such words—the usual Zhao Changhe might not have spoken them. It was his desire, stirred and amplified by Mara, that made him reckless. If he continued to be led down this path, he would fall into the sea of lust.

Sure enough, Mara quickly followed this thread, acting out the response Zhao Changhe expected from Piaomiao: “You… you shameless!”

Her eyes were angry and defiant, yet they flickered away. This expression had a name: “Refusing but welcoming.”

Piaomiao laughed in exasperation... Was this what Zhao Changhe expected from her? What was he thinking?

Sure enough, Zhao Changhe's heart quickly flared with greater anger. He reached out, lifted Poxun's chin, leaned his head down, and said from inches away: "We've done everything already—what's there to be shameless about?"

His eyes were no longer clear; it was a sign of his desires being stirred ever more.

Demons of the heart sprouted in profusion.

If this continued, he too would fall into demonhood... Piaomiao had fallen into the demon of hatred and wrath, but he was falling into the demon of lust.

Poxun twisted his body maliciously: "You—you dare... If you really kiss me, I—I won't let you off..."

Piaomiao was so angry she wanted to vomit. Even the demonized version of Piaomiao in Zhao Changhe's mind would act like this! He deserved to die. Once that kiss happened, he would be doomed for sure—he would lose himself and become a demon ruled by desire.

Who in the world would dare to kiss Poxun?

Zhao Changhe slowly drew closer, his lips just a finger's breadth from Poxun's illusory red lips. Hearing Poxun's words, he seemed to remember something: "Right... I don't want to kill you, but you'll kill me... I need to guard against you..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a chain from somewhere and bound Poxun to the chair, tying him into a pose that made one's blood race: "Now you can only be tamed by me..."

His eyes were utterly intoxicated, his movements frantic and clumsy—a perfect picture of a man bewitched by lust yet afraid of death.

Piaomiao rolled her eyes; Poxun laughed inwardly.

With this act, it wasn't just about kissing—he intended to go all the way.

If he didn't die, who would?

But the moment the chain tightened, Poxun suddenly sensed something wrong. He tried to break free in a flash, but it was too late.

Zhao Changhe's drunken eyes instantly cleared. A galaxy of stars burst forth in his hand, and he viciously slashed his sword across Poxun's forehead.

Poxun let out a earth-shattering scream. The form he had taken as Cui Yuanyang instantly shifted into a twisted phantom.

The phantom writhed and struggled, but could not break free from the chain.

The Soul Chain!

Piaomiao was stunned to find that the Soul Chain binding her had been undone at some point! The Soul Chain was now used to bind Poxun!

Piaomiao instinctively struck out, aiming to blast Zhao Changhe, but he sighed softly: "Is it worth it? Don't disappoint me."

Her palm pressed against Zhao Changhe's back, but in the end, she did not release her energy; it hovered there.

Zhao Changhe turned his head and smiled: "My expectations weren't entirely wrong... Even though you've fallen into demonhood, you can still reason... You're not someone who can be utterly unreasonable. No matter how much hatred you have, at worst you're just a bit extreme."

Piaomiao suppressed the intensely strange feeling in her heart and asked: "You... how did you cheat this time?"

"I didn't cheat this time." Zhao Changhe rubbed his forehead: "You can't use the same trick on a Saint twice, and he's used it on me three or four times... I, after all, hold the Book of True Illusion. After being tested and taught all the way here, if I still couldn't discern truth from illusion, then this page of the celestial book would have been wasted on me."

Bound Poxun was utterly shocked: "You discerned it yourself this time? When did you start?"

"From the very beginning. Didn't you notice that this time I never probed into the sea of consciousness with my soul? Because I feared that would be entering Poxun's domain and inviting devouring. So I only conversed from outside the body." Zhao Changhe glanced at him and sneered: "I had been thinking that if I got another chance for close contact, I'd use the Soul Chain to bind you. And you came to seduce me—what is that if not asking to be tied up?"

"But how could you discern it? Even with the Book of True Illusion to see through falsehoods, your cultivation isn't sufficient—you shouldn't have managed it! Did I reveal a flaw?"

"You have truth and illusion; I have reality and emptiness." Zhao Changhe said: "I figured you couldn't know all my inner thoughts. If you could, why didn't you see through my earlier acts? That means you can only see the more obvious surface thoughts... So I ran a test."

"What test?"

"I deliberately forced myself to consider going to Xiangyang to find the Ancient Buddha, letting you clearly glimpse that thought—even Piaomiao might have thought I really wanted to go. But in truth, going then would only cause trouble for others; what I really wanted was to go later. I used the power of reality and emptiness to manifest the intention to go, but concealed the timing. Sure enough, you didn't understand." Zhao Changhe smiled slightly: "So the moment I saw the ancient temple in Xiangyang, I knew clearly it was false. No matter how well you performed, it was nothing but a monkey show from start to finish."