Zhi Xuan saw Lin Yuan, whose pure aura was the most stable among them all, yet she appeared to be arguing intensely. Lin Yuan stood tall, holding her pure sword, but her sword was pointed toward the floor. She spoke with a trembling voice.

  "No! Grandfather could not have done that! I will not believe it!"

  Zhi Xuan realized, Lin Yuan's illusion was a mental trial exploiting her emotional weakness, perhaps about her family or her legacy. Lin Yuan was attacked not by a monster, but by self-doubt cast by the Formation.

  The Devil Monument slowly rustled, radiating a pure majesty. "Four steps forward, then throw that dirty iron upward. Make sure it sticks."

  Zhi Xuan immediately obeyed Ruo Xianxue's command. He no longer saw the confusing branching corridor. Thanks to the Devil Monument's guidance, in his eyes the corridor now looked like a single passage, its surface covered by swirling ancient runes. These runes were the architecture of the Formation that separated them all in the Folded Space.

  He stepped. His first step felt heavy, as if he was treading on thick water. One step. Zhi Xuan felt the pure spiritual energy in the air ripple around him, wrapping him like a cold blanket, disguising his aura. He moved closer to the boundary of the illusion.

  As he passed Elder Su's shadow, Zhi Xuan could sense the cold and repulsive poison aura. Elder Su was busy firing Poison Talismans into the air in front of him, toward a 'wall' that suddenly appeared in his illusion.

  "Damn Formation! Do not block Young Master Gu's path!" Elder Su shouted, his sunken eyes radiating panic.

  Two steps. He saw a blurry shadow. Not far ahead of him, where the illusion corridor of the 'River Dragon Sect Leader' must have turned sharply to the right, the shadow moved quickly and restlessly. The River Dragon Sect Leader was clearly struggling against an invisible labyrinth.

  He continued forward, passing the shadows of Lin Yuan's two separated guards. One guard seemed to chuckle, in his illusion, he might have found an enticing treasure. The other looked silent, his face pale, perhaps facing an illusion of failure or an ancient monster.

  Three steps. Zhi Xuan felt a sharp spiritual pressure on his left side. It was the shadow of one of the hooded men from the Evil Sect. The man moved cautiously, his turbid poison essence clashing with the corridor's pure essence, making him look like a dark stain struggling against the light.

  Four steps. Zhi Xuan stopped. He was in the middle of the corridor, and above his head, the ancient Formation runes pulsed with greater intensity.

  "Where should I stab it, Ruo?" Zhi Xuan whispered, his voice muffled by the Formation.

  "There. Right at the center point where ten swift-spinning runes intersect," Ruo Xianxue hissed.

  Zhi Xuan pulled out the damaged bronze dagger. The Rare Artifact neutralized by the Black Jade, an Artifact that was now no more than ancient metal infused with remnants of poison and pure essence from the explosion. He brought the dagger tip closer to the wall, the pure essence of the corridor was slightly absorbed by the dagger, trying to mask the remaining poison residue.

  Whizz!

  With a quick and unexpected motion, Zhi Xuan threw the dagger upward. The dagger spun, barely visible to the naked eye, and stabbed hard.

  CLANG!

  The sound of the metallic clang was barely audible to an ordinary ear, but within the Folded Space, where all cultivators were spiritually isolated, the clang acted like a needle piercing the curtain of illusion.

  The moment the dagger embedded itself at the focus point of the runes, the Pure Jade essence layer of the corridor trembled violently. The illusions deceiving the cultivators' eyes and minds were instantly disrupted.

  "Argh! What is this?!"

  A hoarse scream came from Elder Su, his shadow next to Zhi Xuan seemed to stumble backward. In his eyes, the straight corridor suddenly changed into a light-emitting Jade wall, exposing him to a more threatening illusion.

  At the same time, the River Dragon Sect Leader, who was moving quickly, suddenly stopped. He raised his golden sword and slashed backward.

  CRACK!

  "Who is there?!" he roared. In his corridor illusion, he might have felt someone had just touched his back, or a Formation trap had suddenly activated.

  Zhi Xuan wasted no time. The dagger was embedded in the energy point, but not strong enough to break the Formation. Zhi Xuan had to rely on the ensuing chaos.

  "Two steps to the left, then six steps forward. Do not rush, this formation can kill you!" Ruo Xianxue hissed coldly, her voice dripping with a sharp warning. "There is a coiled dragon-shaped rune under your feet, just touch it lightly, do not press it!"

  Zhi Xuan moved. Two steps to the left, he passed Lin Yuan's shadow who now looked confused. The shadows of the cultivators seemed to shift as Zhi Xuan walked, as if they were surrounded by mirrors reflecting themselves.

  Her sword no longer pointed at the floor, but she looked around the illusion corridor which suddenly trembled, as if the Formation was whispering about a deeper betrayal.

  Zhi Xuan was slightly disturbed by this illusion, he sharpened his vision. Zhi Xuan gently sighed and calmed himself down.

  "Of course! If this Formation is trembling, it means the Legacy is real! I must be fast!" Lin Yuan shouted, who misinterpreted the Formation disturbance as confirmation of the treasure ahead.

  Zhi Xuan inwardly flinched. The biggest advantage of an Illusion Formation was that greedy cultivators would always interpret chaos as opportunity.

  Zhi Xuan calmed his essence. In the midst of the chaos he created, he became a point of calm. The illusions around him swirled, trying to disturb his mind, but the singular vision given by Ruo Xianxue, coupled with the dull ache from his Sea of Consciousness, kept him focused.

  'Their shadows are everywhere,' Zhi Xuan muttered in his mind, 'I must focus, six steps forward.'

  Zhi Xuan began to move forward. First step, his foot carefully touched the floor. He avoided the pressure centered on the dragon rune beneath him. A touch too strong could activate a trap.

  'Calm down, Zhi Xuan,' Zhi Xuan muttered, encouraging himself. 'Grandpa Wu's stances are harder than this.'

  Second step, Zhi Xuan felt a chill. Elder Su's shadow on his left side now looked to be channeling more poison essence, trying to destroy the 'light wall' of his illusion. He was getting more trapped.

  "Get out of the way!" Elder Su shouted, his voice filled with desperate anger. "Young Master Gu is waiting for the five-element scroll!"

  Zhi Xuan carefully stepped past him, he could feel his robe fluttering due to the invisible pressure through the thin wall.

  Third step, Zhi Xuan moved next to the River Dragon Sect Leader's shadow. The Leader, with his booming golden sword, was slashing at the empty air ahead, assuring himself that he had bypassed a cunning Formation trap.

  Fourth step, Zhi Xuan realized that the Shadow Hunters, who should have been the most cunning, were the most confused. They stood in their own illusion corridor, looking at each other suspiciously. Their illusion may have made them attack each other, thinking the others were enemies in disguise.

  "You! You are disguised as Leader Tu!" one of the Shadow Hunters shouted, swinging their weapon at another hunter.

  "Move aside! Do not block me! There is a path to heaven ahead!" shouted the Shadow Hunter wearing a dark mask, his voice filled with hope and excitement.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Fifth step. Zhi Xuan was getting closer to the end of the Formation corridor. The silvery light from the essence crystals at the end of the corridor looked stronger, as if there was an exit there. When Zhi Xuan stepped again, he stopped exactly at the sixth step. Right in front of his feet, the same coiled dragon rune reappeared on the floor. It was the repeating pattern of the Formation trap.

  "Six Dragons Control Reincarnation. Hmm... A drunkard's saying," Ruo Xianxue murmured, her voice giggling softly.

  "Ruo," Zhi Xuan whispered, his eyes fixed on the dragon rune beneath his feet. "I am at the sixth step, and this rune is repeating."

  Ruo Xianxue snorted softly, as if reminiscing about the past. "Six Dragons Control Reincarnation is just a snippet of understanding about the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the cultivator who left this formation used a repeating rune pattern to set up the formation. Truly pathetic, I feel disgusted just looking at this pattern."

  Zhi Xuan listened to Ruo Xianxue's remark, the knowledge of the rune pattern referring to the Six Paths of Reincarnation, showed an unmatched majesty. As if Ruo Xianxue had once controlled the heavens and the earth, controlling everything with a cruel face.

  "I am getting more curious," Zhi Xuan whispered, a little admiration undeniably creeping into his voice. "What kind of figure could have brought you down until only a monument like this remains, red stone."

  Silence hovered for a moment in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness. Ruo Xianxue did not laugh cynically or snort; her voice was cold, flat, and carried the burden of infinite time.

  "That is a question you will not ask again if you had ever seen it," Ruo Xianxue hissed, as if carrying a deep grudge.

  "Forget it," a sharp, subtle click resonated in Zhi Xuan's sea of consciousness. "I even forgot what happened in the past."

  Zhi Xuan nodded slowly, understanding that a figure as strong as Ruo Xianxue could not even withstand the disaster at that time. Zhi Xuan shifted his gaze back to the coiled dragon pattern, trying to understand the secret behind it.

  "Shallow understanding, my vessel does not need to understand such disgusting patterns." Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice now sharp and dominating again. "This formation pattern follows the saying I told you, Six Dragons Control Reincarnation is the conception of this formation, you have stepped on the last dragon. Look at what is in front of you."

  Zhi Xuan looked up to stare ahead, his eyes sharpening. "I do not see anything," Zhi Xuan murmured, his eyes still showing the dim and distant silvery corridor.

  "The illusion implanted by the Ancient Formation is not entirely gone, it is just that you see it whole, but cannot see what is hidden." Ruo Xianxue explained with impatience. "This Formation chose six cultivators, leaving the rest. Once you step on the 'Sixth Dragon', the Formation will open the path to the next trial. This is a reward for the one who breaks the restriction, and a punishment for the greedy."

  "You mean, I am the first to 'complete' this path consciously?" Zhi Xuan asked, his tone astonished.

  "Of course. The others are busy fighting ghosts, devils, or their fake treasures," Ruo Xianxue sneered. "Three steps forward, Zhi Xuan. You are the First Dragon to pass one of the four major formations."

  Zhi Xuan held his breath. He stood at the brink of a leap. In his eyes, the silvery corridor that was straight and endless suddenly rippled like water. The runes on the walls shifted, and the corridor ahead of him folded with a silent spiritual sound.

  When the ripple subsided, the corridor was indeed no longer endless. Just a few steps ahead, a circular gateway made of pure essence crystal opened, emitting a soft jade light. Above the threshold of that door, a much smaller ancient dragon carving was visible, its eyes open and shining.

  "Walk," Ruo Xianxue said, her voice accompanied by satisfaction. "Three steps forward, then you must jump into that gate. Do not look down, or you will die."

  Zhi Xuan took the first step. The crystal gateway felt beckoning. Second step. He felt a strong aura vibration from behind the illusions around him. Those cultivators must have felt the subtle vibration of the shifting formation.

  Third step. Zhi Xuan was right in front of the circular gate. He did not hesitate. He gathered all his remaining essence, channeling it into his feet.

  Whoosh!

  Zhi Xuan leaped into the air, darting into the Crystal Gate. While he was airborne, unconsciously, he felt a piercing cold below him—a cold much more terrifying than the Pure Black Jade.

  Although he did not look down, the powerful will of the Pure Black Jade from outside the Gate, which resonated with the Law of Winter, forced him to sense what was beneath the corridor: a bottomless black void, adorned with fragments of spiritual bone and shattered souls. As if the corridor was only a thin bridge over the cultivation hell.

  Ruo Xianxue hissed loudly, her voice full of warning, "Do not look! Focus on the gate!"

  Zhi Xuan shuddered. Although he did not look, the mental image created by the spiritual pressure sent chills down his spine, his breath caught in his throat, and his Heavenly Samsara Wheel trembled violently. It was a sight where he would be melted into nothingness if he fell.

  However, in just a split second, he broke through the Crystal Gate.

  WHUM!

  The fear was immediately replaced by a pure warm sensation, like bathing in liquid jade. The room in front of him opened wide. No longer a twisting corridor, but a magnificent Jade Hall with six crystal gates, illuminated by a star Formation on the ceiling. In the center of the hall, stood a human-sized coffin, emitting an ancient aura, and on top of the coffin, there was a silk scroll radiating a seven-colored light.

  Zhi Xuan landed lightly on the cold jade floor. The pure spiritual essence in this hall felt ten times thicker than in the corridor, cleansing the remnants of poison and exhaustion from his body. The jade coffin in the center of the hall—or rather, a worship altar—felt like the center of gravity for this entire Pocket World.

  The coffin was made of Immortal Jade that emitted a soft light, carved with thousands of runes too ancient to decipher. On top of it, lay the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll, radiating an unmatched Legacy aura, an aura strong enough to make any Consciousness Transformation cultivator kneel.

  "This... The real Ancient Immortal Jade School Legacy," Zhi Xuan murmured. His Heavenly Samsara Wheel spun wildly, thirsty for this abundant pure essence.

  "Wait, do not be rash," Ruo Xianxue hissed, her tone tinged with suspicion. "Something is strange here."

  Zhi Xuan sighed, suppressing his Divine Wheel. He glanced around. The hall was completely enclosed. Zhi Xuan saw five more crystal gates, besides the Crystal Gate where he had just entered.

  "Why did the Formation only project illusions, Ruo? Why did it not kill them all in the corridor?" Zhi Xuan asked, walking slowly toward the coffin.

  "The Formless Immortal Realm Formation has its own rules. This Formation was not formed by hatred, but by majesty," Ruo Xianxue answered. "It separates the greedy, from the doubtful, and from the cruel. It punishes with confusion, not with a sword."

  When Zhi Xuan was five steps away from the coffin, the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll suddenly emitted a brighter light, as if welcoming him. The light flowed toward the six crystal gates, radiating a soft aura as if neutralizing a formation.

  "This... That light is neutralizing the formation," Zhi Xuan whispered, this time he did not see it as a blessing, but a threat. "Damn, this is not going to end well."

  In the actual corridor, Zhi Xuan's bronze dagger embedded in the Formation point, followed by the spatial shift in Zhi Xuan's presence, triggered mass panic. The soft neutralizing light emitted by the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll through the corridor was now the final catalyst that destroyed the illusion, and the Formation acted according to its ancient rules.

  Elder Su, who was already trapped in the illusion of a 'Jade light wall' blocking him from the 'Five-Element Scroll', felt the spiritual pressure suddenly disappear. Instead, he saw three Evil Sect disciples, who should have been behind him, standing in the same path, but with blank stares and holding activated Poison Talismans.

  "You! Why did you come back? Are you trying to steal from me?" shouted Elder Su, who was already on the verge of mental breakdown due to the Formation.

  In Elder Su's illusion, the three disciples might have looked like Immortal Jade ghosts demanding his poison. The Poison Sealing Talismans they held were thrown. Before he could realize, Elder Su, in a state of paranoia, swung his remaining dagger into the air. In reality, he spun around and mercilessly stabbed his three unfortunate disciples.

  CRACK! SSSST!

  The three Evil Sect disciples fell. The Poison Talismans they held exploded, but the pure essence of the corridor immediately neutralized it. Elder Su stood alone among the pile of his disciples' ashen remains, his thin face pale with exhaustion and confusion.

  The Shadow Hunters, whose illusion had turned into an internal battle, were in the worst condition. They had activated their most deadly cultivation techniques, believing they had been betrayed by their own allies.

  "Die, traitor!" one of the Hunters roared.

  When the Formation's neutralizing light broke through, their illusion collapsed. They instantly saw their comrades lying down, their bodies already torn apart by their own weapons. Among the five who entered, only the Shadow Hunter Leader remained. He stood in a pool of blood, his iron mask reflecting the horror he had just realized.

  The greedy River Dragon Sect Leader, seeing the illusion corridor that twisted and turned, suddenly saw a 'Fake Legacy' illusion right in front of him. He rushed forward, ignoring the Sect members behind him.

  When the neutralizing light shone, he suddenly found himself in a narrow corridor, with his three disciples right behind him. However, one of his disciples accidentally stepped on the coiled dragon trap rune that Zhi Xuan avoided.

  WHIP!

  The neutralized Formation released residual energy that was much smaller but focused. The disciple who stepped on the rune immediately fell into the void that Zhi Xuan had sensed earlier. The Leader, too greedy and afraid of losing momentum, did not look back. He leaped past the chasm in the illusion that had just opened, leaving the two remaining disciples.

  Lin Yuan, a Consciousness Transformation cultivator, was the fastest to recover from the illusion due to her pure heart and lack of blinding greed. She had been arguing with her illusionary self that accused her grandfather, and when the illusion broke, she flinched, finding herself alone with her one loyal guard.

  The other guard, whose chuckle in the illusion may have turned into a tragedy, had already disappeared into the void beneath the corridor.

  "We are at the end of the corridor!" the remaining guard shouted. "The Formation is open, Young Miss Yuan!"

  They both saw the Crystal Gate open, emitting a pure Jade light. Without hesitation, Lin Yuan, with her shining pure sword, leaped forward, followed by her guard.

  Zhi Xuan, who was now standing five steps away from the Immortal Jade coffin, watched the neutralizing light from the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll fade back into the Scroll. He felt the Formation essence around him collapse, and the Crystal Gate behind him trembled.

  WHUUM!