"Yes, everything that just happened was our illusion. We clearly entered the canyon and spent a whole day and night, yet we didn't feel hungry at all. This proves that we haven't been here as long as we thought. The illusions here can only confuse our minds, not our bodies."
Lu Taobao listened and showed a confused look. "But just now, we clearly walked in circles for a very long time, and walked for such a long distance, and inspected it so carefully. I even remember the number of flower buds."
Shen Xiaoyan's bright eyes suddenly fell on Lu Taobao.
The look was a half-smile, which made Lu Taobao's skin crawl.
"What... what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Zheng Wei sighed. "You didn't say anything wrong, but do you remember what you touched when you first entered here?"
Hearing Zheng Wei's question, Lu Taobao frowned and recalled carefully.
At first, he didn't feel anything, but as he thought about it seriously, he seemed to realize something was amiss.
"I remember, after I came in, I seemed to see a flower growing exceptionally beautifully, and I wanted to pick it for Yingying, but..."
"But before you could pick it, we all entered the illusion," Shen Xiaoyan sighed.
Lu Taobao scratched his head in embarrassment. He hadn't expected that his intention to please his beloved would instead lead them all into danger.
Shen Xiaoyan didn't dwell on the matter. Since they were already out, there was no need to say more.
Besides, it was a given that this forbidden area was fraught with danger.
They just hadn't expected to encounter such danger so soon after entering.
Fortunately, with this experience, they proceeded with even greater caution.
Looking up at the sky, Shen Xiaoyan estimated the time. It should be around 9 AM now. They had been delayed in the illusion for over an hour.
This was already quite good. If they had really wasted a whole day, they would have truly wept.
After all, they only had three days.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Lu Taobao suddenly stopped and said, "Have we entered the illusion again?"
Bai Ying also sounded a little worried.
This forbidden area was so strange. Before, they had unknowingly entered the illusion without any defense.
What if they entered the illusion again now? What should they do?
Yi Zhixie looked at Lu Taobao, whose face was full of worry, and suddenly pulled the corners of his mouth into a wide smile.
"Do you want to know if this is an illusion?"
Lu Taobao nodded vigorously. Of course, he wanted to know; he really didn't want to count flower buds or stones anymore.
Yi Zhixie smiled even more heartily. "Since that's the case, I'll fulfill your wish."
With that said, Yi Zhixie suddenly darted to Lu Taobao's side and pinched his waist hard, then quickly retreated and returned to his original position.
Watching Lu Taobao yelp in pain and jump around, Yi Zhixie's face was beaming with a bright smile. "How is it? Can you be sure now?"
Lu Taobao's eyes were watering from the pain, and he had no intention of answering Yi Zhixie's question.
He kept rubbing his waist. After a long while, he finally recovered and said to Yi Zhixie, "You dared to pinch me!"
Yi Zhixie spread his hands. "I didn't mean to!"
Hearing him say this, Lu Taobao was about to retort when he saw Yi Zhixie raise his eyebrows. "Because I meant to. Didn't you want to know if it was an illusion? I'll let you know. I've heard that illusions are like dreams; you can't feel pain. If you feel pain, it means it's not an illusion."
Lu Taobao was furious. "Then why don't you pinch yourself?"
Yi Zhixie shrugged. "Because I don't feel like I'm in an illusion, so naturally, none of you do either."
This silenced Lu Taobao. He glared at Yi Zhixie resentfully and turned away, ignoring him.
Bai Ying's eyes were full of smiles. She looked at Yi Zhixie, then at Lu Taobao, and then slowly walked to Lu Taobao's side and said, "You've helped us verify that this isn't an illusion, and we're all very grateful to you."
Lu Taobao's eyes lit up instantly. He quickly waved his hand. "No need to thank me, no need to thank me. As long as Yingying needs it, I'm happy to do anything."
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the two of them and suddenly said "Oh," drawing out the sound with a hint of knowing implication.
"Only for Yingying? What about us..."
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's teasing, Lu Taobao's face instantly turned red, causing Shen Xiaoyan and the others to burst into laughter.
As they chatted and laughed, time seemed to fly by. Their journey forward was also very safe, and they didn't encounter any strange things.
Time flew by until noon. Everyone was a little tired, so they decided to find a place to sit down and rest for a while, and have some food.
After walking a short distance, they saw a large tree ahead. The tree, seen from afar, seemed to cover the sky and the sun. Each of its leaves was as large as a fan.
When they got closer and observed carefully, they couldn't tell what kind of tree it was.
However, the tree didn't seem dangerous, so they simply sat under it, took out their pots and pans, and started preparing lunch.
Shen Xiaoyan's cooking skills were top-notch, and the ingredients were also excellent. Coupled with the effect of the immortal spring water, rich aromas soon wafted from the pot.
After the meal was ready, everyone helped themselves and began to eat.
Although there was no immediate danger, no one knew when danger might appear in this forbidden area, so no one dared to relax their vigilance. They finished their meal quickly.
Shen Xiaoyan put everything back into the spatial dimension and then handed each person a spiritual fruit.
Zheng Wei took the spirit-rich pear in his hand and took a bite. Suddenly, Shen Xiaoyan, who was beside him, stood up.
Shen Xiaoyan walked directly towards the trunk of the large tree, his face full of curiosity.
Seeing this, Zheng Wei also stood up.
The branches and leaves of this large tree covered the sky and the sun, and its trunk was naturally not small.
At first glance, even if the six of them joined hands in a circle, they couldn't embrace it.
This could tell how large this tree was.
Looking at the tree, Lu Taobao exclaimed, "This tree is really huge. I wonder how many years old it is."
No one responded to his words, but he wasn't discouraged. He continued to circle the tree.
Suddenly, he said again, "Do you think that on the Sacred Spirit Continent, the spiritual energy is so abundant that everything is cleansed by this spiritual energy? Even these plants and animals, if they absorb enough spiritual energy, can they cultivate? Such a large tree, after who knows how many years, has grown to this extent. Could it... have become a spirit?"
As soon as he said this, Shen Xiaoyan and the others felt a chill down their spines.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Shen Xiaoming suddenly pointed at the tree in front of him and exclaimed in surprise, "It... it opened its eyes."
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyan and the others instinctively retreated backward.
When people encounter danger, or feel they are in danger, they unleash their hidden speed.
Therefore, regardless of the difference in their cultivation levels, their speed at this moment was equally fast. In the blink of an eye, they had retreated outside the large tree.
When they steadied themselves and looked at the trunk of the large tree again, the trunk now had facial features like a human's.
Thick eyebrows, huge eyes, a high nose, and a dark, gaping mouth.
Each of these told Shen Xiaoyan and the others that this tree had indeed become a spirit.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at the large tree, then turned his gaze to Lu Taobao and suddenly said, "Can you close your mouth in a moment?"
Hearing this, Zheng Wei also looked at Lu Taobao helplessly. "How come I never realized you have the potential to be a jinx?"
Lu Taobao felt embarrassed. He had just said it casually and hadn't expected it to turn out like this every time.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei didn't mean anything else; they were just making a joke to lighten the mood.
They had known what they would face before they came. At this moment, they were simply trying to ease the atmosphere.
Besides, after this episode, the tree hadn't attacked them. Perhaps, this time, they could get through it unharmed?
As the saying goes, if the enemy doesn't move, you don't move. Shen Xiaoyan and the others were fully embodying this attitude at the moment.
They stared intently at the large tree in front of them, but did not make a rash move.
The large tree looked at them with its huge eyes, a hint of surprise in them. After a long while, Shen Xiaoyan and the others finally heard a deafening voice.
"I never thought that after so many years, I would still see humans."
Shen Xiaoyan and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this thing hadn't attacked them right away.
Before they could say anything, the large tree spoke again, "How did you get in?"
Yi Zhixie replied, "My grandfather's life is in danger. I heard there is a life-extending grass here, so I came specifically to find the medicine."
The large tree looked at Yi Zhixie in surprise. "You actually came for the life-extending grass? But it makes sense. If not for that kind of thing, how could anyone come here!"
It seemed to be talking to Shen Xiaoyan and the others, yet also murmuring to itself.
"In all these years, I haven't seen a single person. I was truly lonely and isolated. After living like this for so long, I accidentally fell asleep. Who knew that when I woke up, it would be a changed world, and so much time would have passed!"
Listening to its melancholic words, Shen Xiaoyan felt a little ashamed.
Could this be a knowledgeable tree?
Looking at the vocabulary and sentence structure, there was no indication that it was a well-read and cultured tree.
This was good, though. The worst was a scholar meeting a soldier, unable to reason.
As long as a problem could be solved with words, it was best to avoid fighting!