The tingling, electric sensation he had imagined never came. Chu Lingguang boldly stepped inside with both feet, but nothing unusual happened.

He then began to walk forward, one slow step at a time.

As soon as he stepped under the Dragon Claw Tree’s canopy, he finally felt an intense pressure, as if some creature was looking down on him from above. Chu Lingguang couldn’t help but look up, only to see what looked like dragon claws swiping down at his face.

His expression changed drastically, and he quickly retreated.

In that instant, a numbing, electric force surged up from the soles of his feet. Chu Lingguang felt as though his feet were glued to the ground, and the roar of a dragon seemed to echo in his ears.

Dragon claws lunged at him from all directions.

"Impossible!"

Chu Lingguang activated his True Dragon Power, immediately manifesting his four-layered Dharma Aspect. He tore his feet free as if from a mire and shattered the incoming dragon claws.

He finally ran out, drenched in sweat, his face a mask of panic.

"Chu Lingguang, are you all right?!"

Zhao Rushuang shouted.

She had seen Chu Lingguang approach the Dragon Claw Tree, then suddenly let out a terrified scream, unleash all his power, and flee for his life as if he’d seen a ghost. All the while, the Dragon Claw Tree before her hadn’t moved at all.

But the sheer panic on Chu Lingguang’s face, as if he had encountered some grave danger, scared her so much that she wanted to hide.

’Dragon claws?’

’What was that just now?’

Chu Lingguang frantically checked his body. Countless dragon claws had swiped at him simultaneously. Bare-handed, he hadn’t been able to block them all. He’d felt several of them rip through his flesh, tearing away huge chunks of it.

’To think it was all just an illusion.’

Chu Lingguang instinctively took another few steps back.

The Potential Energy of the Dragon Claw Tree was immense, enough to throw his mind into chaos. ’And to think,’ he mused, ’even Guo Wei praised my Heart Guarding Skill, admitting his own was inferior.’

Yet, he had fled in terror from a mere illusion.

’Was its Potential Energy too strong, or is my Heart Guarding Skill just too weak?’

"The Dragon Claw Tree’s Potential Energy attacks come in many forms. Striking your consciousness directly with its Potential Energy is just one of them. Generally, the first attack you face indicates what kind of attacks will follow. If you want to cut off a branch, you’ll likely have to endure that very illusion.

And a Consciousness Attack is far more powerful than the lightning created by its Potential Energy. A light attack will leave you dizzy and confused. A heavy one could cause you to lose your Divine Wisdom, or even scare you to death," Zhao Rushuang warned.

She had been trying to persuade Chu Lingguang to give up the entire time.

’A Consciousness Attack?’

’Do I really have to give up and apologize to Du?’

Chu Lingguang’s face was a mixture of embarrassment and lingering fear.

That illusion just now was countless times more terrifying than the Mirror Flower Water Moon, the confusing move from Lian Junmiao’s Spear Technique. He had felt completely powerless against it.

It was even more dangerous and terrifying than facing an attack from Xia Tianzhong and two others at once.

That kind of mental damage made him feel more helpless and desperate than facing a Poisonous Snake or even a palm strike from Yun Hong.

He had made a promise to Du Wushuang.

But some things were simply impossible, and Chu Lingguang couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t just gamble with his own life.

Dejected, he turned to leave.

Zhao Rushuang understood how formidable the Dragon Claw Tree was. Seeing Chu Lingguang’s crestfallen expression, she didn’t mock him. Instead, to keep him from feeling burdened, she comforted him ceaselessly.

As the two of them walked out of the back hills, Zhao Rushuang spoke again, "Only those who can form a defense with their consciousness can avoid losing their composure before the Dragon Claw Tree. Many of us can’t even find our Sea of Consciousness. Even if we could, we wouldn’t be able to enter it anytime soon, let alone form a defense with our consciousness. So don’t overthink it. You did your best. I can personally explain it to Du Wushuang later. I doubt he would dare to blame you."

’If Du Wushuang still dares to blame Chu Lingguang,’ Zhao Rushuang thought, ’I’ll kill him.’

"Form a defense with my consciousness..."

Chu Lingguang muttered.

It was as if he hadn’t heard the rest of Zhao Rushuang’s words. Instead, his mind drifted back to that day in the Martial Arts Arena, when the goat-bearded elder, Xu Zhongguo, had used his Perception Power to inspect the number of Dragon Elephants within his body.

He had detected a peculiar fluctuation surging into his body. His own consciousness had collided with that fluctuation, instantly making him dizzy and disoriented. Both the goat-bearded elder and Yun Hong, who stood beside him, had stared at him in astonishment. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

’A consciousness defense... does that mean fighting back with my Spiritual Sense? If I can resist with my Spiritual Sense, I might be able to break free from that illusion!’

Chu Lingguang mumbled to himself as he walked toward his small courtyard.

"Chu Lingguang, I’m talking to you. Did you hear me?"

Zhao Rushuang asked cautiously. Chu Lingguang’s muttering worried her; she wondered if something was wrong with his consciousness.

"Commandery Princess Rushuang, it’s getting late. I’m going back to my courtyard to rest. Thank you for today."

Chu Lingguang snapped back to his senses, thanked Zhao Rushuang gratefully, and then quickened his pace toward the courtyard.

’This guy can’t still be hung up on this, can he? Or did something really happen to his consciousness? No, I have to go tell Teacher Yun Hong. Otherwise, if something happens to him, people will think I deliberately set him up to snatch the ’best candidate’ spot.’

Zhao Rushuang felt a pang of unease, regretting that she had ever taken Chu Lingguang to the Dragon Claw Tree.

「In the small courtyard.」

Chu Lingguang looked through the Zhenyuan Technique. He also organized the insights and reflections from Yun Hong, Xu Zhongguo, and the others, preparing to study them.

"The Dragon Claw Tree?"

"How absurd! Chu Lingguang can’t even find his Sea of Consciousness, and he dared to approach the Dragon Claw Tree? Weren’t you afraid the tree would devour his consciousness?"