Chapter 513: The Illusion Test

Su Che held Tian Yin, who was unconscious, while also trying to keep her legs in a walking position. His speed and reaction time were already greatly impaired, and facing the sudden acceleration of the tornado, he had no time to dodge before being swallowed up by it.
“A problem!” Su Che cried inwardly. The thought that flashed through his mind was: Just now, by saving Heng Yi and Miao Li twice in a row, he had finally angered that mysterious old man, who then resorted to such a tactic to kill him outright!
Yet as the tornado swept over him, Su Che was surprised to feel a strange force. Clearly, it wasn’t meant to drag him away but to snatch Tian Yin from his arms.
“Ah!”
Su Che roared and clung tightly to Tian Yin, determined not to let anyone or anything take her from him.
But this force was truly irresistible and extremely peculiar. Normally, if it had been too powerful for Su Che to resist and he refused to let go of Tian Yin, both of them should have been swept away by the tornado. Yet Su Che felt as though his feet had taken root on steel cables, remaining unmoved in the wind column, with no sign of being blown away.
“It’s deliberately trying to take Tian Yin away!”
Su Che suddenly realized this and unleashed all his strength and vital energy, holding Tian Yin tightly.
However, he couldn’t go too far—exerting too much force might strangle her to death.
Unfortunately, often, no matter how strong one’s determination, it’s useless. Even if one unleashes all their potential, in the face of an irresistible force, they’re still just a tiny ant, doomed to be crushed with a single finger.
“No!”
Su Che let out a furious scream. Tian Yin had already slipped from his arms and been lifted into the air by the tornado-like wind column.
Inside the wind column, Tian Yin appeared serene, her long hair fluttering, her dress swaying. Her pale face was heartbreakingly beautiful… Unaware of anything, she remained unconscious, but soon she would face the merciless punishment of the game’s rules.
“Tian Yin!”
In such a situation, Su Che didn’t care about his own life. Without hesitation, he leaped upward, determined to leave that damned steel cable and retrieve Tian Yin at any cost. Even if it meant dying, he would die with her.
If a man can’t protect his own woman, it’s better to die with her!

At this moment, there was no time for grand principles or explanations. In Su Che’s mind, only the most instinctive awareness remained—the instinct unique to a man. Fly up and rescue her! If that fails, then die! Gathering all his energy, Su Che was about to launch himself off the steel cable… Just then, a loud explosion rang in his head, as if a thunderbolt had struck straight into his brain. Su Che shuddered violently and froze in place. He was awake! Tian Yin was still in his arms, there was no wind around him, and he was even still walking normally. The explosion was actually Lao He roaring in his mind: “Master, wake up!” “Am I under some illusion too?” Su Che asked in a daze. “Yes, master,” Lao He replied gravely. “What you saw just now were all illusions, all fake. They were meant to deceive you, to make you fly away from the cable on your own and cut off your own path.” “What a powerful illusion!” Su Che’s heart pounded wildly, and the sense of shock lingered in his mind. After calming himself down a bit, Su Che asked again, “So, how much real time passed during that illusion?” “Just an instant,” Lao He answered. “You hadn’t had time to take any action yet. But if I hadn’t awakened you, in the next instant, you would have flown high into the sky with Tian Yin.” “Thank goodness.” Su Che was extremely relieved. He sincerely said to Lao He, “Lao He, thank goodness for you. This illusion acted directly on my thoughts, appearing incredibly real. When trapped in it, there’s no time to distinguish truth from falsehood—it’s truly terrifying. If not for you, I would have surely fallen for it and died. Thank you, Lao He.” Lao He chuckled heartily, accepting his master’s thanks with ease. Of course, he also humbly said, “Protecting the master is my duty as Lao He!” “It’s too terrifying!” Su Che had no mood for jokes; he was still shaken. “This trick was too cruel. It hit the biggest weakness in my heart at this stage—protecting Tian Yin, protecting my woman. With any other illusion, it would have been hard to trick me.” “Yes,” Lao He agreed. “That old fellow is too cunning and vicious!” As they spoke, their speed didn’t change. In fact, the three subordinates ahead and behind them had no idea what kind of danger their master had just gone through. Keep moving forward!

As they walked on, Lin Feng in front of Su Che was suddenly struck again. It was unclear what kind of illusion had taken hold of him, but he threw a punch at the air on his left, unleashing a fierce burst of energy as if attacking some invisible entity. He also shouted, “Master, let me do it!” Seeing that he was about to make a suicidal leap, Lao He once again rang the alarm bell of the soul in a timely manner, shaking him out of the illusion. “Huh?” As soon as he regained consciousness, Lin Feng asked in shock, “I too…?” Su Che nodded at him and said, “That’s right, you almost met the same fate!” “Thank you, master, for saving me in time.” Lin Feng expressed his gratitude without saying much more. At this moment, on this extremely dangerous steel cable, there was really no time for long talks. The shock they had just experienced could only be settled in their hearts, just like Su Che did. Because ahead, there were surely even more deadly traps waiting for them… But Su Che and the others were wrong again! With high alertness and trepidation, they completed the entire hundred-mile-long steel cable without encountering any other dangers, aside from the illusion that each person faced once before. Except for Tian Yin, who was unconscious, anyone who was conscious would fall into an illusion. If they couldn’t overcome it, the outcome would be… “Everyone has to go through it once!” Su Che quickly understood and said in a low voice, “Just once! It’s not really about killing, but a test at the spiritual level.” “Although it’s only once, this test is simply too harsh,” Heng Yi said in a hushed voice, still shaken. “Without the master’s timely rescue, none of us three could have passed such a test.” “Indeed…” Su Che nodded slightly, thinking to himself, “It wasn’t me who saved you all—it was Lao He. Even I almost lost my life… But strangely, Tian Yin, who was unconscious, wasn’t affected by any illusions. That makes sense; she was already unconscious, with all her senses shut down, which means she’s immune to all illusions.” At this moment, Su Che and the others had arrived in front of the temple. The temple itself had a very simple design, nothing special about it. A plaque read “Cloud Temple,” which was quite fitting. What was more peculiar was that the white clouds beneath their feet weren’t normal mist but solid entities. Stepping on them felt soft, as if walking on several layers of thick quilts. “Cloud Temple?”

Su Che thought to himself, “Inside this mysterious space, there are wild beasts and ancient magical creatures everywhere. Yet there’s also a Buddhist temple here—this in itself is quite peculiar.”
Should we go in now?
Heng Yi and the other two couldn’t express any opinions on this, as there was a slight dilemma that required the master to decide for himself; it wasn’t appropriate for subordinates to say too much.
If safety was a concern when entering an unknown place, it should be the subordinates to go in first to investigate and ensure there was no danger before the master entered.
But at the same time, this was also a competition, and the mysterious old man had said that rewards would be given to the top ten. Perhaps the first place would offer the richest reward.
If such rewards couldn’t be transferred, it would mean the subordinates were taking advantage of the master, which would be difficult to explain.
Su Che understood Heng Yi and the others’ thoughts and immediately made a decision: of course, he and Tian Yin would go in first to secure a spot in the top two.
If they didn’t even have the courage for this, how could they talk about attaining enlightenment or practicing cultivation?
The temple’s door wasn’t heavy at all; it opened easily with a push. Without hesitation, Su Che carried Tian Yin across the threshold and entered the temple.
The third was Heng Yi, the fourth was Lin Feng, and the fifth was Miao Li.
The space inside the temple was extremely small—dozens of people could fill it. It was just an ordinary small temple, without even a front yard or back yard; it was simply a solitary room.
What was even stranger was that there were no Buddha statues in the temple at all. The room was completely empty, with no objects whatsoever—just an empty room.
“A temple built in the clouds, a true cloud temple—what a magnificent vision. It’s a shame it’s just such an empty room…”
At that moment, Su Che and the others all sighed in admiration.
However, they could also guess that what they saw might just be the surface; perhaps there were deeper secrets hidden, yet undiscovered.
In this mysterious space full of dangers, Su Che and the others didn’t dare to be too curious. They didn’t explore the temple’s secrets but waited patiently, awaiting the outcome of this competition.
The top five had already emerged. Who would be in sixth to tenth place? And who would be in the worst ten?
Since Su Che and the others had reached the finish line first, they could relax temporarily, looking forward to watching the interesting show that the people from the spiritual realm would put on.
About half an hour later, Tian Yin in Su Che’s arms slowly opened her eyes and woke up.

“Tianyin, how do you feel?” Su Che asked worriedly.
“I’m fine.”
Tianyin looked around and asked softly, “Where is this?”