"What do you have to say now? This scene doesn't seem to be fake," Vivian remarked. Although she
did not take a closer look, she could easily tell from her broad experience that what they were seeing
was too real to be a hallucination.
Rocky somehow thought the same thing. But after a moment, his eyes narrowed as though he
discovered something. Out of the blue, he summoned a flame from his palm and threw it at the
dismembered corpses in front of them.
In an instant, the remains were engulfed by the blazing flame.
However, to their surprise, the corpses remained unaffected even after they were set ablaze for quite a
while now.
"That's weird. What's happening here?" Vivian immediately asked, turning to Rocky with her eyes wide
open.
"Well, it's just as I expected," Rocky said while nodding. It appeared he just confirmed something.
"What do you mean? What exactly is going on?" Vivian continued to ask with a confused expression on
her face.
"As I expected, this is actually just an illusion. In fact, we must have been hallucinating from the start.
Everything we saw in this cave, including the warrior we encountered just now, is nothing but an
illusion," Rocky said with certainty in his voice.
"But how do you know that? What makes you so sure?" Although Vivian thought Rocky's theory made
sense when they saw the non-burning corpses, she was not too convinced. After all, everything they
saw up to now was way too real. Moreover, she thought that if this was just really an illusion, they
should have noticed it much earlier.
"Did you not notice that there was no scent? When we stumbled upon this brutal scene, there should
have been a strong smell of blood all over the place. But the moment we approached this area, I didn't
smell anything. Besides, despite Koko having a very keen sense of smell, it failed to lead us out of this
maze. Thus, the only possible explanation behind all these is that we're just hallucinating. Most
probably, we are still by the entrance and we haven't moved an inch at all!" Rocky explained in detail.
"I can understand the logic of what you are saying, but it just baffles me that we did not notice it when
we were put under an illusion." Vivian furrowed her brows as she tried to figure how it happened.
"I think the spell took effect right after we entered the cave. Maybe the entire cave has been cast with a
strong spiritual skill that could make anyone hallucinate," Rocky replied with a frown.
"That's what I'm concerned about! What kind of spiritual skill could be this powerful?" Vivian exclaimed
in disbelief.
"Do you remember the so-called Soul-extracting Skill that they mentioned earlier? I bet this is it," Rocky
speculated.
"Then, it seems that we have underestimated its power!" Vivian shook her head and continued, "What
are we going to do now?" Since she was not familiar with sorcery like the Soul-extracting Skill, she
could not think of a possible solution.
"If we are under the Soul-extracting Skill, then we must find out the ones who are using it on us. Since
we're hallucinating, it would be impossible for us to attack them in reality. However, if they are
controlling everyone in the cave, I reckon that it is not an easy task to manipulate everyone's minds at
the same time. For now, we should try and find even the tiniest flaw that could lead us out of this
illusion," Rocky analyzed calmly and came up with a possible answer.
"Like ordinary illusionary tricks, this one makes the targets hallucinate. However, under ordinary
illusionary tricks, the real body of the person under it won't take any damage. But I think that under the
Soul-extracting Skill, if you get hurt in the illusion, your real body will also receive the same amount of
damage," he added.
"I see. So, how are we going to find that flaw in this spell?"
"Well, there's only a limit to the amount of pain that one can bear. When the damage to one's body
reaches a certain extent, the sharp pain that he experiences might snap him out of the control of the
skill. Therefore, I want you to beat me up until I regain my consciousness and break out of the Soul-
extracting Skill!" Rocky said decisively. Based on his previous experience, this was the best way to
counter an illusionary spell.
"Beat you up? Are you sure this will work?" Of course, Vivian was a little hesitant.
"Yes, you don't need to hold back!" Rocky strongly urged.
"Fine. Here I go!" Then, Vivian straightened up and instantly exuded her strength at the Shura Realm.
She did not need to restrain her powers since everyone was under an illusion.
The next moment, she strode forward and launched an all-out blow towards Rocky.
On the other hand, Rocky did not even try to defend himself. He took Vivian's attack head-on.
Upon the collision on his body, Rocky immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, he
somehow felt that the scene in front of him began to flicker. It seemed that for a second, he caught a
glimpse of the real world.
"It's working! Come on, don't stop attacking!" Rocky firmly instructed.
Hearing this, Vivian readied herself and launched another barrage of powerful strikes.
Under her constant fierce attacks, the scene before Rocky became chaotic. His vision was constantly
switching between reality and illusion, which was actually a good sign.
At the same time, Rocky took advantage of the opportunity. He concentrated and focused on his
surroundings to confirm their current position in the real world. Previously, he surmised that they fell
under the spell upon entering the cave. Hence, he thought that they were still at the entrance. If that
was the case, then the caster of the Soul-extracting Skill must be further inside the cave.
After confirming that they were indeed near the entrance of the cave, Rocky summoned a flame and
aimed it at the depths of the cave. When his vision shifted to reality again, he instantly threw the flame
forward.
His aim was perfect, and it flew straight into the depths of the cave.
Boom!
The next moment, a sea of raging fire exploded, illuminating the entire cave. At the same time, the
strong impact shook the area and was felt throughout the cave.
As the light of the flame illuminated the cave, several ape-like figures were revealed in the depths of
the cave. However, they quickly disappeared into the darkness again when the flames subsided.
At this time, Rocky and Vivian had already snapped back to reality as if they just woke up from a vivid
dream. Then, they were welcomed by the darkness as they looked into the depths of the cave. They
also noticed that the other warriors, who had entered the cave with them, were still under the Soul-
extracting Skill. They were standing near the entrance and were not moving at all.
"Did we really make it back to reality?" Vivian asked as she looked around. She was actually a bit
surprised that Rocky's rash strategy worked perfectly.
"I think so. But it seemed that we have also angered the dwellers of this cave," Rocky commented,
smiling wryly.
They soon noticed that in the depths of the darkness surrounding them, a dozen pairs of red eyes were
staring right at them.
"If I'm not mistaken, they should be the so-called Earth Monsters," Rocky affirmed, remembering what
the other warriors were talking about before.
"We are in a bit of a pickle here. We don't know how broad this cave is, nor do we know where the
hidden holy treasure is. I guess if we want to move forward, we have to go all-out and take those
creatures out," Vivian remarked with a deep sigh.
"Ha-ha! I guess the usually smart and composed Miss Vivian can be thickheaded at times," Rocky
teased with a soft chuckle.
"Hey! Watch your tongue or I'll cut it off!" Vivian instantly shot a sullen glare towards Rocky.
"But I am just telling the truth. Why do you think the young master wants us to go through this cave?"
Rocky asked, smiling gently.
"To test our spiritual roots?" Vivian replied after thinking for quite a while.
"That's right. If this is a test of our spiritual roots, then there's no way that we can solve this by just
forcing our way through. I think we will have to gain the recognition of those creatures. Perhaps, if we
can appease them, they will even help us find the holy treasure that's hidden in this cave," Rocky
analyzed, thinking outside the box.
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