Chapter 358: Chapter 261: Dreamlike and Illusory, the Assailant Used in Turn (Part 2)

His figure flashed again as he leaped onto the roof of a low, single-story building, disappearing from the sight of everyone on the street below.

Before leaving, Great Serpent Heaven glanced back. He saw the astonished gazes of the civilians on the street and the pillar of hot blood erupting from Ding Huiyuan’s headless corpse.

Even after leaving the street, he could still hear the screams and gasps behind him, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

After crossing a few rooftops and covering a few dozen meters, he leaped into the courtyard of another single-story house and pushed open the door to go inside.

Inside, a body was sitting cross-legged. Its eyes were tightly shut, and it had no aura of a living person, appearing as if it were already dead.

"Don’t come any closer."

A voice came from the ceiling. A mysterious, illusory silhouette covered in esoteric symbols passed through the wall and entered the room.

The illusory figure then transformed into a flash of light and shot into the body.

The body, which had lacked any sign of life, suddenly opened its eyes, and its heart began to beat again.

The person looked at the head Great Serpent Heaven was holding.

"This target was easier than I expected. We recently received intel that Devi from the Starry Sky Country killed four avatars single-handedly. According to our files, this guy once clashed with Devi in Donghua. I thought this would take some effort."

The avatar spoke nonchalantly, slowly rising from the bed inside the room.

"He’s just an ordinary Saint Realm expert. With the two of us working together, plus the element of surprise, wasn’t it easy pickings?"

"If you ask me, the ones who went after Devi were slacking off. They probably didn’t use sufficiently powerful Dharma Artifacts to create their avatars."

A smile tugged at the corners of Great Serpent Heaven’s mouth.

"Alright, with this target eliminated, we can think about the next one. As for this head, we can toss it to the Pioneer Group and let them stir up some trouble with it."

The other person nodded.

However, if anyone had been in that unremarkable room at that moment, they would have witnessed a rather bizarre scene.

Two people were discussing secret matters, yet a disheveled man in a jacket with messy hair was leaning against the wall, quietly listening to their conversation.

And Great Serpent Heaven’s arm was held in the posture of carrying a head, but his hand was empty.

’Okay, one calls himself "Great Serpent Heaven" and comes from Secret Technique Heaven. It seems his cultivation is a Martial Arts Dao that fuses the Yoga Technique from Pusaka Country with some kind of Soft Fist Technique. His control over his body has reached an unbelievable level, and he can completely suppress his own Qi, blood, and Life Magnetic Field to launch surprise attacks that are impossible to defend against...’

’The other one’s codename is unknown. Hmm, I’ll just make Great Serpent Heaven reveal it himself.’

Ding Huiyuan thought, standing up straight. He performed the Esoteric Hand Seal, and the overlapping sounds of reversed scriptures echoed from within his body. He manipulated their conversation, causing Great Serpent Heaven to reveal the other man’s codename.

The codename: Void Spirit.

’Right, Void Spirit. Also from Secret Technique Heaven. His cultivation seems to be an Out-of-Body Technique, similar to our country’s Yang Spirit Technique. He can condense his Life Magnetic Field into a Dharma Body and project it outwards, greatly enhancing his Spiritual Ability and Magnetic Field Manipulation Power to mentally affect targets from extreme distances.’

Ding Huiyuan summarized their abilities in his mind.

In reality, the two believed their plan was flawless. But before they even made a move, Ding Huiyuan’s now terrifyingly powerful Spiritual Intuition had already sensed their malicious intent, tracked them to their hiding place, and secretly cast the True Words Skill on them.

Now, after his experiences in the Sumeru Realm, Ding Huiyuan’s abilities had improved tremendously.

Previously, his True Word Technique could only remotely influence a person’s Life Magnetic Field to control their actions. Now, if he was willing to use the corresponding Secret Technique, he could even weave an almost-real Illusion Realm with it.

Within this Illusion Realm, the affected individuals were as if in a dream. Like sleepwalkers talking in their sleep, they could be influenced to do various things and even be guided to reveal their true thoughts.

Great Serpent Heaven thought he had easily cut off Ding Huiyuan’s head, but it was nothing more than a "sweet dream" induced by the True Word Technique. The sole purpose was to probe the strength and abilities of him and Void Spirit.

’It’s a shame I could only probe this far. I can’t determine what their strongest Secret Techniques are. If I could, that intelligence would be very useful for attacking their main bodies.’

Ding Huiyuan shook his head in frustration.

If he wanted to uncover their deeper trump cards, he would have to manipulate them into experiencing a more intense combat illusion. Under those conditions, when they used their Secret Techniques, the Life Magnetic Field and Qi and blood in their real bodies would also be affected and surge. It was highly likely they would then break free from his True Word Technique, which would not be worth the risk.

These two were avatars of the Ancient Ones, after all. They still held great value for him to excavate.

’Now then, let’s see if I can dig up any valuable secrets from you two. I’m still not entirely clear on what exactly happened back in Antarctica, or what it is you’re all fighting over now.’

A smile appeared on Ding Huiyuan’s lips.

The thing they lacked most right now—or rather, the thing the entire Mortal World lacked most—was intelligence.

The Secret Organizations were simply hidden too deep. If not for the huge commotion caused by the Antarctic Array Map this time, these guys probably wouldn’t have surfaced and had their actions become known to the various nations.

But even now, upon reaching the Mediterranean Region, many people still lacked a clear objective. They had no idea what kind of secrets the Secret Organizations were fighting for. They were completely in the dark.

’Sigh, I’m not very good at all this fighting and killing. I guess I’ll have to reluctantly handle the intelligence work.’

Ding Huiyuan sighed.

Just then, the two avatars, Great Serpent Heaven and Void Spirit, finished their conversation and walked out of the house.

Ding Huiyuan followed behind them, constantly using his own magnetic field to influence their movements.

In a flash, the three figures vanished on the spot.

Others, at most, would have just counter-killed their attackers. Ding Huiyuan, however, had turned the attacking avatars into his tools.

「On the other side.」

Huang Tianhu, with a huge travel bag on his back, also set foot somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. He found an abandoned house, opened his bag, took out several Spirit Paintings one by one, and hung them on the walls.

「Afterward.」

BOOM!!

He made no effort to conceal his aura. On the contrary, he let his magnetic field expand and surge into the sky. Anyone with the Qi Observation Skill would be able to see his powerful aura rocketing upward like a beacon of wolf smoke, making him incredibly conspicuous.

He was exposing his position, issuing an invitation to the avatars of the Ancient Ones.

"Let’s see what you’ve got."

Huang Tianhu’s towering figure sat down cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed.

It wasn’t just Huang Tianhu. In the western Mediterranean Region, Saint Realm masters like Earth Giant God Yuri and Source Stream Ulysses had also arrived. They were all unscrupulously releasing their auras, as if issuing a challenge to the secret existences hiding in the shadows.

「In the Middle East Region, atop a train car headed for the Mediterranean Region.」

A figure shrouded in Blue-White Demon Flame sat cross-legged on the roof of the train car, feeling the endless yellow sand and the foreign magnetic field’s aura.

The train passed through towns and markets, yet no one could detect the figure’s presence.

This figure was none other than Yi Beidou, who had been traveling all this time.

The journey across the entire continent of Eurasia was extremely long, even for someone in the Saint Realm.

Even his body needed some time to rest.

Even the strongest have their limits.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Yi Beidou, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

He sensed auras rising one after another thousands of miles away. Countless faint glimmers of blood-red light were faintly appearing over the horizon.

Among these auras were many familiar presences.

"Looks like I’m a bit late to the party. A lot of old acquaintances seem to be on a whole new level now, huh?"

A smile touched Yi Beidou’s lips as he slowly stood up.

The rest was over. He had to rush to the battlefield at top speed.