Inside the Forest of Death, the chilly winds were cold to the bone.

Ou Yangming was excellent at seizing opportunities. His eyes flickered as he lifted his right hand and pressed his middle finger down. Following that, the young fellow shifted his center of gravity forward and waved his sleeve hard.

Countless Illusion Formation Boards instantly flew out like shooting stars with tails, and it looked like there was a run of wet weather. They directly enveloped Shu Ya and the arrows and instantly evolved into a big formation with a 1 to 1.3 kilometers range.

Given the speed the formation was set up, Qiu Chengwang would also be utterly shocked if he was born again and witnessed this. This was because he was not as fast as Ou Yangming in this.

After apprehending formations in the underground palace, Ou Yangming's understanding of formations had reached an unbelievable state. His foundation was solid, and he did not lack the courage to make unconventional moves.

In terms of an overall understanding of formations, although Ou Yangming still could not compare with Qiu Chengwang, who was a powerhouse that had specialized in this for centuries, he had somewhat surpassed the Venerable One in certain small techniques.

Once the formation was set out, Ou Yangming took a step forward and carried a lingering charm with him. His clothes fluttered and rustled without the presence of wind.

By the time he put down his leg, he had arrived beside Wu Xuning and retrieved a wound-healing pill for the young master.

Wu Xuning did not try to be pretentious at all. He swallowed the pill right away and no longer panicked, then he turned to look at the big cauldron and the flying serpent that were in a deadlock situation.

His pupils shrunk as he knew very well that he could not have escaped if the beast-robed Advanced Spiritualist went all-out from the start. He was glad.

Xue Xuanle rolled her beautiful eyes and approached Wu Xuning to care for him. "Big Brother Wu, are you alright?"

Wu Xuning nodded his head bitterly and answered, "I can still hold on!"

Afterward, he looked up and asked, "Brother Tianrui, this devilish lady's an Advanced Spiritualist. How long can your formation trap her?"

Ou Yangming looked confident. He fiddled with the mutated high-rank ferocious beast's blood crystal and chuckled. "Big Brother Wu, don't worry, I have a little understanding of the path of formations, so it won't be difficult for me to trap Advanced Spiritualists."

Not to mention now, he could already use his Illusion Formation to trap and kill the 2 telepathic Advanced Spiritualists from the Teng family before he fathomed "illusory is real".

At this point, it was simply a modest display of his skill and overkill for him to use the formation to go against 2 Advanced Spiritualists who were also rogue cultivators.

Wu Xuning tensed up a little. Even though he did not refute the young fellow, he looked dubious. Nonetheless, his look of doubt disappeared after a split second.

It was true that Wu Xiaohuang told Wu Xuning several times that Yu Tianrui's cultivation base in formations was far greater than his peers, but the young master always thought that the young fellow was too young. The fellow was so young that he could not give people a sense of security. 'Given his age, as gifted as he is, how great can his understanding of formations be?'

Ou Yangming saw through Wu Xuning and noticed how doubtful he was. He sighed but did not further explain.

Instead, Xue Xuanle puffed up her cheeks as though she wanted to stand up for Ou Yangming.

She rolled her eyes craftily and lamented, "Big Brother Yu, you're being too humble. You used your formation to kill the Teng family's telepathic Advanced Spiritualists, who couldn't even gather their powers to counterattack. How's this considered a little understanding of the path? You have an incredibly high level of attainment in this! Being overly humble can mean arrogance!" She stuck out her tongue adorably.

Even so, her adorable voice sounded like sudden claps of thunder in Wu Xuning's head. Rumbles were heard as he only remembered a part of what she said. 'Trapped and killed 2 telepathic Advanced Spiritualists.'

The voice got louder and seemed to have stirred up monstrous waves.

Wu Xuning quickly recalled something. He gasped and widened his eyes as he asked in shock, "Telepathic? Do you mean… Mingze and Mingxu—the 2 heroes from the Teng family?"

It was worth noting that the 2 brothers were known for their chemistry. They were also somewhat famous in Huixun City.

Xue Xuanle's eyes were smiling like crescents in the sky. She was extremely pleased.

She blinked and answered, "Yes, the 2 heroes from the Teng family. Why?" She intentionally looked baffled when she spoke, but she felt good inside and thought, 'Who asked you to belittle Big Brother Yu? Hmph, you just slapped yourself on the face, didn't you?'

Ou Yangming was embarrassed after being praised by Xue Xuanle. He cleared his throat and said, "Brother Wu, once I settle this problem, I'll tell you all about it."

Wu Xuning looked fervent. He stared at the big formation and cupped his hands with a smile. "Brother Tianrui, please go ahead."

Ou Yangming nodded. Without further ado, he flashed and entered the big formation. When he pointed his right hand at the sky, all of the interspatial nodes inside the formation lit up.

He mumbled, "Greed, hatred, ignorance, resentment, and the pain of parting with one's love—what is it that you want? Fame and fortune, or serenity and peace? What anticipations or wishes do you have? What's the deepest nightmare hidden inside your soul?"

When he spoke, his eyes flickered with an indifference that could make one's heart cold.

This was how fearsome Ou Yangming's Illusion Formation had become; it directly pointed out one's weakest point, guilt, or regret.

Wu Xuning breathed out some cold air and walked toward the red crow. He was not afraid of getting dirt on himself as he simply sat on the ground and asked, "Little Sister Xuanle, did Brother Tianrui really kill the Teng family's heroes with his Illusion Formation?"

"Yes, I witnessed it myself." Xue Xuanle struck her chest and swore.

Wu Xuning gasped and turned to look at the Illusion Formation. He kept quiet as if he thought about something.

Inside the Illusion Formation, Ou Yangming brushed his hands across the formation's hub and mumbled softly, "Illusory is real…"

In a flash, the space inside the Illusory Formation changed. Shu Ya felt like she was oppressed as though she had fallen 33 kilometers deep inside an ocean, and it was making it hard for her to breathe.

By the time she opened her eyes, she was already sitting on a wooden bench in a small courtyard. She had 2 ponytails, one was resting in front of her chest while the other was behind her back. She looked pure and natural, and she had a smile on her face. In particular, the lady had sweet dimples on her cheeks, which made her look more gratifying. While she looked 15 or 16 years old, she had a rather tall figure.

Ou Yangming watched quietly like a deity.

"Why did I come back here?" The lady pondered but could not remember anything.

All of a sudden, a sound was heard coming from the gates at the front of the courtyard. An amiable-looking middle-aged woman entered. She looked quite thin but capable, and she carried a 500-grams carp in her hand.

Shu Ya curled her lips into a smile and showed her adorable dimples.

She welcomed the woman and chuckled. "Mother, are we having fish today?"

A look of sympathy could be seen in the woman's eyes. She brushed her hands through Shu Ya's thick hair and smiled. "Yes, Grandmother Wang gave it to us."

Shu Ya flipped her ponytail behind and took the carp. She raised her voice as she questioned, "Grandmother Wang? Isn't she spellbound by money and only cares about being a matchmaker? Why is she suddenly so nice to us and giving us a carp?" She weighed the fish in her hand and thought, 'This is at least 500 grams.'

A bitter look could be seen on the woman's face. She responded softly, "Girl, you'll be 16 years old in 3 days. Today, Grandmother Wang told me that the youngest master from the Chen family took a fancy to you and wants to have you as his concubine. I'm sure you know his family has tens of hectares of land. Grandmother Wang also said that the county magistrate is closely connected to his family. As long as you get married to him, you'll surely live a happy life."

Shu Ya's face darkened. She looked away and replied to her, "Mother, it's not like you don't know what the Chen family's youngest master is like. Besides, he already has 3 concubines. This fish smells! I can't eat it…" She felt wronged and acted rashly by throwing the carp 10 to 13 meters away.

"Ah, this girl!" The woman shouted then bent over to pick up the fish.

Shu Ya knew her family had been short on food due to the yearly drought, but the thought of her getting married to someone that she did not like gave her a knot in her heart.

Every teenage girl had a dream, and Shu Ya was not an exception…

Shu Ya did not ask for much and had quite a low requirement. She only wanted to build a house by the river with a window that faced the east. Whenever she opened the window, the warm sunlight would shine inside, and sounds from the river would be heard. The lady would support her husband and bring up their children, and she wanted to see flowers bloom during spring. Nevertheless, everything was nothing but an unreachable dream for her.

Inside the Illusion Formation, dreamy and illusory mists filled the air. They seemed real yet fake at the same time.

Ou Yangming had a complicated look on his face when he looked at Shu Ya longing for something happily.

He took a deep breath. The scene that he saw earlier was the most sincere monologue from deep inside Shu Ya's heart.

The young fellow lamented and gained a clearer understanding of the "illusory is real" conception. He thought, 'Since I brought you inside the illusory world that I built, my first time can be considered a success.'

Ou Yangming pointed without any hesitation and caused all of the rune nodes inside the formation's space to light up. Mists spiraled around a black spot and spun faster before they closed in to form a giant cyclone.

He shouted, "Condense!"

Ou Yangming sounded like the ruler of this world. His order, once given, was strictly enforced. A big black hand slowly extended out from the cyclone and pulled the space outside hard. Consequently, the cyclone was torn into two, and a storm appeared as all of the mists were absorbed by the black hand. It squeezed from far to near as it aimed for Shu Ya, and it destroyed everything in its way.

Everything happened so fast as if this was the work of an Advanced Spiritualist.

Just as the big black hand almost squeezed Shu Ya, her limpid eyes flickered.

She opened her eyes hard as though she had just broken free from her nightmare. The lady was drenched in sweat, and she quickly retreated to dodge the fatal attack.

Shu Ya was appalled, and she wondered, 'What's going on? Why did I suddenly think about my past?' Despite that, she was not slow to react. She retrieved her longbow and bent forward, then she pulled the string with her fingers. Countless light green light streams shot toward the big black hand like a storm pattering on banana leaves.

She never thought that the Rudimentary Spiritualist had such a notable cultivation base in formations.

With that, arrows descended majestically like a tide.

Having said that, when a ripple spread from the big black hand, the green arrows vanished.

Shu Ya's face changed. Her lips parted as she screamed, "How… How's this possible?" She attached her mental power to the arrows but the second they touched the big hand, the power, mental power, and divine substance that were contained inside were devoured by a mysterious power. This gave her a tingling sensation on her scalp.

She had been to many places in the world and was knowledgeable, but she had never heard of such a thing, let alone seeing it.