Chapter 208: Illusion Hard to Discern, A Heart Burdened with Guilt

The cabinet was dark and musty, with only a few slivers of light filtering through the cracks.

Yu Xian sat cross-legged inside, quietly circulating the Demonic Qi Body-Infusion Technique.

With the previous experience still fresh in his mind, this time Yu Xian restrained his aura to the extreme. Although demonic energy still lingered around him, it was extremely faint—so faint that even if a Sky Demon sensed it, they’d likely dismiss it as a low-level or at most a mid-level demon hiding, and would pay no attention.

The stench of decay filled his nose, but Yu Xian ignored it, remaining calm and still.

He was waiting—for the chaos outside to subside, for Zhou Qingyuan and Hong Shao to deal with the Sky Demon, and to leave.

Time crept forward. Yu Xian didn’t enter a meditative state, simply sitting in silence, counting time. Before he knew it, an entire hour had passed.

It was deathly quiet outside. Only the wind could be heard, no longer even the faint shrieks of Sky Demons.

It seemed the battle had ended.

Still, Yu Xian didn’t move. According to his plan, he would remain here for fifteen full days.

Only after that would he consider leaving—if Zhou Qingyuan and Hong Shao had already left, it would be the perfect time for him to sneak out.

Yet barely an hour had passed when Yu Xian suddenly furrowed his brow. He looked out through the narrow crack in the cabinet.

A faint sound of footsteps approached. A figure quietly stepped into the ruined house and softly called out:

“Senior Brother Yu? Are you here?”

—Su Xiaoduo?

How had she managed to find him?

Yu Xian’s eyes flashed with surprise.

The city wasn’t very large, but it still spanned nearly ten li in each direction. They were separated by at least three or four li, and with the Sky Demons scattered, all five of them had fled in different directions.

And yet… she had found him?

Did she have some extraordinary tracking artifact?

Now that she had found him, hiding was meaningless—it would only make him look ridiculous.

So Yu Xian simply pushed open the cabinet and stepped out. Looking at Su Xiaoduo, he said calmly,

“Junior Sister Su.”

“Senior Brother Yu! You really are here!”

Su Xiaoduo beamed with joy. But Yu Xian frowned slightly and asked,

“How did you find me?”

“Huh?”

Su Xiaoduo paused briefly, then smiled. “It wasn’t me, Senior Brother. Your concealment is far too good—I would never have guessed you were hiding here. My master sent me.”

—Hong Shao.

Yu Xian’s expression shifted, then returned to normal. He nodded. “So it was Martial Aunt. That explains it.”

If Hong Shao had located him, then that was reasonable. With her abilities, his concealment was like a child hiding behind a curtain—easily seen through.

“Senior Brother, come on! Master is calling us.”

Su Xiaoduo looked genuinely happy, her eyes showing unrestrained joy at seeing him safe.

Yu Xian nodded and stepped toward her.

She smiled radiantly and reached out. “Senior Brother—”

“Break!”

Before her hand could touch his arm, Yu Xian suddenly shouted coldly, his voice reverberating through the air!

As expected.

That gesture—trying to hold his arm so naturally—was far too intimate. That was the flaw.

This illusion… was terrifyingly real.

If not for that one inconsistency, he might never have noticed. This wasn’t like the crude illusions of low-level demons—easily seen through. This was the kind that seeped into your mind unknowingly, seducing you to death.

But the illusion-maker had clearly never truly observed Su Xiaoduo.

She wasn’t the type of girl to act so forward. Even if she liked someone, she wouldn’t shamelessly try to grab their arm—she knew how to maintain boundaries.

That was the flaw.

Every perfect illusion must have a crack—it’s just a matter of whether you can find it.

Yu Xian exhaled slowly and looked out of the cabinet again, his brows tightly knit.

To craft such a powerful illusion… it couldn’t be an ordinary Sky Demon.

Not even a Greater Sky Demon could manage this.

No—this had to be a Demonic General or even a Demonic King.

Which meant… the city harbored at least one Demonic General!

It had to be a trap—a bait laid to lure powerful human cultivators to their deaths.

Of course.

Why else would demons continue guarding a deserted city?

They should’ve moved on to another populated area long ago. Instead, they waited here—for the humans to walk into the trap.

Yu Xian felt a chill run down his spine.

He had underestimated them.

And now? He had no idea what was really happening outside.

Perhaps Zhou Qingyuan and Hong Shao had already fallen into the illusion, losing all clarity—walking step by step into destruction.

While he… was nothing but a small byproduct of the grand scheme—a mere ant swept up by the illusion and led into a carefully crafted killing scenario.

What to do?

Move—or stay still?

If he moved, he might expose himself to the demon.

If he stayed, he could only wait helplessly for the outcome of the battle—Zhou Qingyuan’s or the demon’s victory.

But Yu Xian was not one to passively await his fate!

He had only waited because he believed Zhou Qingyuan and Hong Shao would win.

Now that certainty was gone—he couldn’t wait any longer.

He made up his mind in mere moments.

He stood and stepped out of the room.

The city was still silent.

Yu Xian performed a hand seal, activating the Demonic Qi Body-Infusion Technique, and looked up.

Zhou Qingyuan was still in the air, clearly still engaged in a fierce mental battle.

His aura was unstable. The flame beasts around him—fire dragon, fire mouse, fire fox, fire turtle, fire crow—flickered like candles in the wind.

He was clearly struggling.

No sign of Hong Shao or Su Xiaoduo anywhere.

Yu Xian continued forward carefully, scanning the surroundings.

The city remained unchanged—corpses, bones, dried flesh, rotting bodies.

It looked exactly the same.

And that was the most terrifying thing about the illusion: you couldn’t tell what was real anymore.

True or false?

Without a reference point, Yu Xian couldn’t be sure.

Unless… Su Xiaoduo appeared again, and this time, he could smell her scent.

If there was no scent, then it was fake.

As if summoned by his thoughts, a familiar voice called out:

“Ah! Senior Yu—no, Senior Brother Yu!”

Yu Xian looked up sharply.

Far off among the ruins, Su Xiaoduo had appeared again, joyful and relieved.

Beside her stood Hong Shao, calm and solemn, gazing into the sky.

She didn’t even acknowledge Yu Xian’s presence.

Because what she saw, he could not.

Yu Xian’s heart, unexpectedly, felt a little relieved.

She was alive. He hadn’t killed her.

If he had killed the real Su Xiaoduo in that illusion…

That would’ve been a true heart demon—an irreparable sin, one that could not be reasoned away or forgiven.

But she was alive.

Still, even with relief, Yu Xian didn’t immediately approach.

He asked from afar, “Martial Aunt—is she alright?”

Su Xiaoduo quickly replied, “We’re fine! Master’s Ice Heart Purity Chant can resist the illusions. What about you, Senior Brother? Did you encounter one?”

She waved him over. “Come! Within three zhang of Master, illusions can’t touch you!”

Yu Xian hesitated, thinking. Then he slowly approached, watching their expressions carefully.

Hong Shao remained stoic, not even glancing at him.

Su Xiaoduo’s joy was unmistakable—genuine and pure.

That look was completely different from before.

She was really happy.

Yu Xian couldn’t tell if he was cold, conflicted, or… moved.

His emotions were tangled.

Then came the real test.

As he stepped within three zhang, he paused.

Su Xiaoduo looked at him for a moment, then said seriously,

“Senior Brother, I know we’re real. I knew from the moment I saw you. No illusion can ever imitate the real you.”

Yu Xian took a deep breath, then subtly sniffed the air.

There it was—her scent, her unique fragrance, real and unmistakable.

She was real.

He took another step—

And suddenly, with explosive speed, threw a punch directly at her face!

Su Xiaoduo’s smile froze. Her eyes filled with shock, then despair and pain.

Yu Xian’s fist connected—her skull shattered.

She flew back, crashing through the wall, twitched briefly, and died on the spot.

Her blood still dripped from Yu Xian’s knuckles.

“…Wasn’t it fake…?”

A pained look flickered in his eyes—but it lasted only a moment. He regained composure.

He believed in his judgment.

It was fake. It had to be.

The scent wasn’t there.

The punch was real. The blood was real. The expression was real.

But the scent wasn’t.

His fist trembled for the first time.

He had no feelings for her—but he knew she liked him.

And he had used that against her.

Killed her when she least expected it.

Was he still human?

Was this the kind of man he had become?

Yu Xian’s fists shook.

But then his eyes lit up with determination.

He stepped toward the corpse, knelt beside her, and leaned in—

Not for perverse reasons.

But to confirm something.

He sniffed.

A moment later, he leapt up laughing.

“Almost fooled me! What a powerful illusion—truly brilliant!”

Nothing around him changed.

The corpse was still warm. Blood still flowed.

But he knew it was fake.

Because the unique, subtle scent of Su Xiaoduo wasn’t there.

He remembered it clearly from their time in the alchemy hut.

No illusion could replicate that.

The world around him remained the same—no collapse, no unraveling.

As if mocking him.

“You powerful illusion… even at the very end you won’t dissolve. You try to push people into doubt and madness.”

But Yu Xian’s face was cold.

“Too bad. A flaw is a flaw. Once I find one, I see through them all.”

“I’ll ignore you now. I’ll cultivate. Let’s see how long you can keep this illusion up!”

With that, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating again.

Time passed—half an hour.

Nothing changed.

Until finally, Su Xiaoduo’s corpse vanished.

The world grew clearer—reality returned.

The house remained. Yu Xian was truly outside the cabinet. The walls were still intact.

He had killed Su Xiaoduo—but she was fake.

Yu Xian suddenly opened his eyes.

And smiled with relief.