Lin Chen adjusted his breathing for a moment, then left the valley.

He no longer had time to delay; if the X Group took control of the array, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Under the mystical guidance, Lin Chen traversed the valley.

The path was full of forked roads; without mystical guidance, it was incredibly difficult to reach the core area.

After passing through another long corridor filled with branches, Lin Chen faced a giant stone gate.

Pushing open the stone gate, Lin Chen darted into the cave.

Just entering the cave, Lin Chen felt a wave of heat rush toward him.

He felt streams of heat penetrating his body through his capillaries, causing an intense feeling of restlessness.

If it were an ordinary person, they might not have been able to withstand this scorching atmosphere.

But for Lin Chen, it was no big deal.

Having undergone the forging of fusing with Spiritual Fire, this burning sensation was nothing to him.

With a thought, the energy in his body surged everywhere, instantly suppressing the fiery aura.

Walking through this space, Lin Chen noticed dark red smoke floating around the area, making the entire space appear distorted.

Cautiously moving forward, the energy within him quietly circulated, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

Not far away, a powerful aura emanated; Lin Chen could sense that the treasure's core was right ahead.

Swiftly advancing under the mystical guidance, Lin Chen entered a maze-like corridor scattering with human and beast bones.

These bones constantly reminded him of the perilousness of the place.

Even more startling was the weapon strike marks visible on the surrounding walls.

Clearly, an epic battle had taken place here.

After about half an hour of walking, he still hadn't exited the maze.

"I wonder how Li Mengli and the others are doing."

Among them, Lin Chen was most worried about Li Mengli.

Although she had the formidable Nine Yin True Flames within her, she wasn't fully in control yet; facing strong foes could be perilous given her limited battle experience.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly emerged from not far away.

"Someone!" Lin Chen was startled.

After traversing this misty area for more than half an hour in dead silence, the sudden footsteps felt peculiar to Lin Chen.

Peering through the mist, he soon spotted a bloodied figure staggering toward him, leaning on a sword.

"Mengli!" Lin Chen was shocked, sprinting toward the figure.

Upon seeing Lin Chen, the figure beamed a sweet smile and ran toward him.

Reaching Li Mengli, Lin Chen supported her petite body, asking, "What happened?"

"I... ran into members of the X Group. They injured me, and then..."

"Don't worry, with me here, you won't get hurt again." Lin Chen comforted with a cheerful smile, gently stroking Li Mengli's hair.

But his smile quickly froze as he caught a glimpse of a dagger unexpectedly appearing in Li Mengli's hand.

Shua!

A cold gleam raced toward Lin Chen's chest.

Witnessing Li Mengli's action, Lin Chen's face turned drastically. At the moment her dagger almost hit him, he swiftly struck her with his palm.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, Li Mengli's body was sent flying, transforming into a cloud of blood mist.

It was an illusion!

Lin Chen's eyes suddenly stiffened.

But that illusion was so realistic, almost entrapping him completely.

What a bizarre mirage array, Lin Chen couldn't help but secretly marvel.

Even more frustrating was that the mystical guidance that had been leading him was now nowhere to be found.

Dammit, it seems I'm trapped in this mirage array.

Continuing onward, Lin Chen soon spotted a figure.

"It's Zhao Xiaohua!"

Zhao Xiaohua was tied to a stone pillar, covered in wounds, looking extremely miserable.

Is it another illusion?

Remembering his previous encounter, Lin Chen was now alert and cautiously approached the mist binding Zhao Xiaohua.

As Lin Chen neared Zhao Xiaohua, a sudden change occurred.

The chains around Zhao Xiaohua abruptly shot out toward Lin Chen.

Prepared for this, Lin Chen quickly dodged the chains' attack and, with a flip of his wrist, a burst of flames shot out, instantly dispelling the illusion.

Indeed, another illusion.

Journeying through the red mist-filled maze, Lin Chen encountered many more illusions.

Xue Ying, Zhao Xiaowen, Anna, Xiao Di, and even his father...

Each appearance was incredibly lifelike.

Yet, without exception, they all launched attacks on Lin Chen.

Although Lin Chen easily saw through these attacks, breaking these illusions required defeating them.

Killing those dearest to him was a form of torture for Lin Chen.

A malicious fire involuntarily ignited in Lin Chen's heart.

This cursed place could create illusions, messing with the mind.

Boom!

After dispersing a cloud of malevolent mist with a punch, more footsteps echoed from a distance.

"Again?"

Lin Chen's gaze grew cold, staring at the approaching figure.

This time, it was Ashi.

Lin Chen shook his head speechlessly: "It seems this illusion wants to kill everyone I know one by one."

In that case, I won't wait for them to attack; I'll just strike first.

With this thought, Lin Chen dashed toward the distant silhouette.

When the figure saw Lin Chen, joy first spread across its face, but upon noticing Lin Chen charging with fists ready, its face changed slightly, deftly avoiding Lin Chen's attack.

Missing the punch left Lin Chen momentarily stunned.

The previous illusions neither had intelligence nor would dodge. Once hit, they would dissipate like smoke.

Could this illusion be becoming more real, even gaining intelligence?

"Humph, let's see how long you can dodge." Lin Chen sneered, launching another series of punches toward his opponent.

Shush shush shush!

A barrage of attacks swiftly enveloped Ashi.

Ashi didn't counterattack, weaving left and right, her willow-like eyebrows furrowing.

Watching the illusion up close, Lin Chen couldn't shake the feeling something was odd; the illusion was too lifelike, even presenting intricate expressions vividly.

Boom!

Raining punches, Lin Chen struck at Ashi again.

Seeing Lin Chen's relentless assault, a hint of fury flashed across Ashi's face.

With a wave of her palm, currents condensed in her hand.

Boom!

With a muffled sound, their attacks collided.

The energy waves rolled, forcing Lin Chen back four or five steps from the force of the illusion's attack.

Staring at the illusion, Lin Chen was left in shock: "How can the illusion's power be this strong!"