Chapter 828 The Grand Illusion

The domain universe, Earth.

Huaguo Jiangcheng.

Ye Ling stood on the bustling street, watching the busy people around him, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes. He murmured, "This shouldn't be..."

It had been less than three days since the cosmic barrier was broken, and quite a few escaped fish from beyond the domain had already infiltrated Earth. Not to mention the nine Great Dao Immortal Lords and Chaos Sovereigns who descended at the very end. By all rights, Earth should have long ago become a living hell.

Yet now, the people on the streets were as busy as ever, and the entire city was full of vitality, appearing as if nothing had happened.

Completely unaware of what was going on, Ye Ling couldn't help but ask the World-Ending Spiritual Fire, "Are you sure we've returned to Earth?"

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire was also somewhat confused at this moment, exclaiming in surprise, "What in the world is going on? I can't sense even a single extraterrestrial cultivator. Have they all gone extinct?"

"You don't know either..." Seeing that the World-Ending Spiritual Fire was also unclear about the situation, Ye Ling decided to put the matter aside for the time being and prepare to contact Ye You.

However, when Ye Ling tried to contact Ye You, he was shocked to discover that he couldn't sense Ye You's presence at all!

Not just Ye You, but his divine weapon, Xuan Yu, Ye Qingyan... none of the people he was familiar with were present!

"Something's not right... Earth is definitely not right!"

Discovering that all the people he knew were gone, Ye Ling finally came to his senses, realizing that he might now be within a super-large illusion formation.

Without hesitation, Ye Ling immediately spread his soul power throughout the entire world, simultaneously using white runes to strengthen his perception.

After his soul power was enhanced, Ye Ling discovered that the entire Earth was enveloped in a hidden, dense fog.

The entire population of the world was now living in a massive illusion.

Upon realizing that the three realms of Earth were all trapped in an illusion, Ye Ling withdrew his soul power and muttered to himself, "To plunge Earth into an illusion? Who did this? And why?"

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire also learned of Earth's current state through Ye Ling's perspective and analyzed, "This illusion is so powerful that neither you nor I can detect it. It's clear that whoever set up this illusion is an old hand, most likely one of the extraterrestrial Great Dao Immortal Lords or Chaos Sovereigns?"

Ye Ling asked doubtfully, "What's their purpose? Those from beyond the domain shouldn't care about the lives of Earth's populace, should they?"

Restoring Earth to its proper course was Ye Ling's job. He simply couldn't understand why the Great Dao Immortal Lords from beyond the domain would do such a thing.

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire guessed, "I think they're trying to buy time."

"Buy time?" Ye Ling frowned.

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire continued, "Yes... When they jointly attacked you earlier, they were also suppressed by the cosmic barrier. It's estimated that their current strength is not even at the Supreme level. Moreover, Xuan Yu was guarding Earth's outer space before. I suspect they set up this illusion with their remaining power to evade Xuan Yu's pursuit, so they could hide themselves and recover their strength in the shadows."

"Evade Xuan Yu... Thinking about it that way, it does make sense," Ye Ling murmured, agreeing with the World-Ending Spiritual Fire's assessment.

Xuan Yu was the daughter of the Creation God and likely possessed unknown abilities. Those Great Dao Immortal Lords and Chaos Sovereigns had their strength suppressed by the cosmic barrier, so even combined, they might not be Xuan Yu's match. Creating an illusion to evade Xuan Yu's pursuit was logical.

However, the fact that he couldn't even sense Xuan Yu's presence meant that things were definitely not as simple as the World-Ending Spiritual Fire described.

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire continued, "This illusion was constructed by that extraterrestrial powerhouse before their strength was suppressed. We can't break it easily, so let's find Xuan Yu first."

"Once we find her, this puzzle will be solved."

Ye Ling then said, "But I can't even sense Xuan Yu's presence now. Where should we look for her?"

"This..."

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire paused for a moment, then said, "What does that have to do with me? This is your problem to solve!"

Hearing the World-Ending Spiritual Fire's words, Ye Ling shook his head and smiled, knowing that the World-Ending Spiritual Fire was unreliable at the moment. He stopped asking and headed straight for the Ye family manor.

This illusion wasn't creating a new world out of thin air, but rather constructing it based on Earth's existing foundation.

If that were the case, the Ye family manor should still be there.

If Ye You could sense the impending crisis, she should have left some clues for Ye Ling in the manor.

Soon, Ye Ling returned to his Ye family manor and found the vast estate deserted, with an eerie atmosphere everywhere, a stark contrast to the vibrant city outside!

Upon entering the Ye family manor, the World-Ending Spiritual Fire couldn't help but shiver and asked Ye Ling, "Ye Ling, don't you find this manor a bit strange?"

Ye Ling nodded, "Indeed. The Ye family manor should be like spring all year round, but the temperature now is more than ten degrees lower than outside. And the stewards and maids in the manor are all gone."

The World-Ending Spiritual Fire said, "You know I'm not talking about that. This manor clearly has a restriction placed upon it, and there should be danger hidden within. Be careful yourself. I don't want to be buried with you."

"Of course, I can see that. But thank you for your concern," Ye Ling replied with a smile to the World-Ending Spiritual Fire, his gaze becoming serious as he spread his divine soul throughout the entire manor, searching for the source of the manor's ominous aura.

Soon, Ye Ling discovered a new restriction in the underground wine cellar. Moreover, the strength of this restriction far surpassed the abilities of Earth's gods and buddhas, clearly indicating it was done by someone from beyond the domain.

Discovering the restriction in the underground wine cellar, Ye Ling narrowed his eyes and whispered, "It seems some extraterrestrial fellow has set his sights on my home..."

With that, Ye Ling didn't hesitate. He immediately teleported to the entrance of the underground wine cellar, preparing to break the restriction with his runes.

Just as Ye Ling was about to break the restriction, a sharp cry came from the side: "This is a treasure vault! Unauthorized personnel are forbidden to trespass!"

As the sharp cry fell, a red light shot towards Ye Ling from the shadows!

Sensing the threat, Ye Ling immediately dodged to the side.

The red light grazed Ye Ling's face and silently struck the wall, creating a perfectly smooth hole.

The space there had actually been directly shaved off by the red light!

"Who!"

Ye Ling's gaze turned sharp. He turned to the side and saw an old man with a skull-headed staff, his hair disheveled, emerging from the shadows, staring at Ye Ling sinisterly.

The old man's strength was not great, his cultivation only at the Supreme level. However, the skull-headed staff he held contained energy capable of killing Supreme beings. If Ye Ling hadn't dodged that red light, his palm would likely have a hole in it!

The reason Ye Ling hadn't sensed the old man's presence earlier was precisely because of the skull-headed staff in the old man's hand!

The old man stared at Ye Ling and cackled, "Young man, why have you suddenly intruded into the Yan Ancestor's manor?"

"Yan Ancestor's manor?"

Hearing the old man's words, Ye Ling was somewhat taken aback, wondering when his home had become someone else's.

The old man seemed not to recognize Ye Ling. Seeing Ye Ling's confused expression, he mistook Ye Ling for an ignorant cultivator and couldn't help but show pity in his eyes, sighing, "You don't even know Yan Ancestor, yet you dare to trespass into the manor to steal treasures. Truly ignorant and fearless, how laughable."

Ye Ling chuckled and asked, "So, who are you?"

The old man smiled, "I am the steward of this manor, responsible for looking after the manor and killing all those who trespass."

"What a bold claim."

Ye Ling also became interested in the old man and the Yan Ancestor he mentioned. He didn't intend to take the old man's head immediately and followed his words, saying, "So, who is this renowned Yan Ancestor?"

The old man chuckled, "Ignorant fool. Fine... Let me tell you how great Yan Ancestor is, and at least you won't die in confusion, young man."

Ye Ling smiled and said, "Please enlighten me."

The old man spoke passionately, "Yan Ancestor comes from beyond the heavens. He is one of the Nine Heavens Divine Venerables, one of the nine Supreme existences on Earth, and the ruler of Huaguo!"

Hearing the old man's words, Ye Ling was pleasantly surprised, "So, your Yan Ancestor is a Great Dao Immortal Lord from beyond the domain?"

Ye Ling never expected that upon his return, he would encounter a Great Dao Immortal Lord in hiding!

As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. Since he had encountered Yan Ancestor now... Ye Ling had no intention of letting him live!