The atmosphere of the entire team became slightly gloomy at these words.

They all knew.

What kind of person Grand Duke Zhenyue was...to put it nicely, he was known for his decisive actions. But realistically...the son of Duke Zhenyue, born under the radiant golden light of Light City, was not a kind and generous lord.

The word "follow."

Sometimes, it came from the heart, a willingness to sacrifice one's life.

Sometimes, it was forced by the situation, a last resort.

Regardless of the new Zhenyue's character or morals, being able to follow him was already a great honor...not every extraordinary being in this world possessed such arrogance as to refuse subservience.

Behind Meng Xiao, the shade provided by Light City and the Grand Duke of North Continent was simply too vast.

Standing under these two shades, sealing items, breathing techniques, status, reputation, all kinds of resources, anything one desired could be easily obtained...This young nouveau riche might not have the best temper, but he wasn't an unpredictable, tyrannical person either.

As long as one had strength.

One could be highly valued under Zhenyue's command.

No need to mention mundane objects, sealing items and cultivation resources were like mountains, available for the taking at will.

This alone was extremely attractive.

Among these seven followers, those from the North Continent followed this new master because the duchy was hereditary, and the territory had undergone drastic changes, Meng Xiao having already carried out a brutal cleansing...they had no better choice.

As for those from Light City, there was no need to say much.

Those who believed in the light were willing to sacrifice their lives. They had traveled thousands of miles to the North Continent to follow Meng Xiao, as it was the will of the God Seat. Even if they had to die for Meng Xiao, they would not hesitate in the slightest.

"Ba Kui, watch your words."

A follower from Light City reminded him solemnly.

"Sorry..."

Ba Kui stood up, realizing he had misspoke earlier, and quickly apologized.

He patted the sticky black snow off his backside, his beast ears twitched slightly, and his expression instantly became serious.

In the distant wind and snow, there seemed to be a different kind of movement!

What was it?

It was the sound of footsteps!

"Someone's coming!"

Ba Kui said in a low voice. The other team members also felt the tremors in the black snow, but a familiar figure slowly walked out of the black snow in the distance.

"Lord!"

Ba Kui's expression was excited. He never expected that the lord would arrive so quickly.

Was he here to save him?

The four extraordinary beings from Light City had grave expressions, but also carried a hint of confusion. They subconsciously took a step back...The person who had reminded him earlier also reached out and tugged on Ba Kui's sleeve, signaling him not to approach rashly.

Born in Light City, they believed in the God Seat of Light.

They were extremely familiar with the aura of blessing!

The blurry figure slowly walking towards them in the wind and snow was only similar in shape, but seemed to lack the "blessing" aura?

Ba Kui also immediately came to his senses. Staying in this strange Black Snow Mountain for too long seemed to cause a strange "sense of disorientation."

He felt as if the boundary between reality and illusion had become blurred.

Snowflakes fluttered.

For a moment, he had the illusion of being in the real world.

In the black snow, the figure paused slightly, no longer advancing, just standing tens of meters away, frost and snow flying, making it difficult for either side to see the other's face clearly.

"Lord Zhenyue?" Ba Kui hesitated, but still spoke to confirm.

On the black snow side, there was silence for a few seconds.

Then came a low, hoarse response.

"...It's me."

The figure slowly walked out of the black snow, revealing his true face, a cold and arrogant face, wearing a robe with the Zhenyue pattern, his body still stained with the chaotic, lingering aura of battle.

Gu Shen had put a lot of thought into "simulating" such an image.

With the Arc Light of Truth, he was very confident in his "appearance." This outfit, and his face, should not be exposed...The reason he hadn't rushed to show his face earlier was to ensure absolute certainty.

Meng Xiao was the chosen son of Light City, blessed by the heavens!

His followers...must also have a way to recognize the aura of light.

This was something Gu Shen could not imitate.

"Gu Shen...has already been killed by me. I'm here to save you."

His expression was cold, his tone, his pitch, even his pace of speech were exactly the same as Grand Duke Zhenyue's. Although he had only met him briefly twice, Gu Shen's imitation of this "great enemy" was very well done.

If he wanted to gain the trust of Ba Kui and his party, he had to prove his "Zhenyue" identity.

Hearing this, several team members breathed a sigh of relief.

They looked at "Gu Shen," their eyes faintly showing gratitude...They had been worried whether Grand Duke Zhenyue would come to their rescue, but now that they thought about it, it was wrong to even have such a thought.

"Sorry, Lord..."

The Light City follower stood out. Each of them drew their war knives from their waists, and some even gripped their hand cannons, ready to fight at any moment, "If it's convenient, please ignite your Light Blessing."

This verification method was what Gu Shen feared most.

No matter how well the Ruler of Truth imitated, it could not create the "Light Blessing," this god-given aura.

The several followers stared intently at the distance, and as the tension rose, Gu Shen was silent for a few seconds.

Then, he spread out his palm.

Scorching fire swept out, transforming into dozens of faint, dim lights under the entanglement of the black snow!

These dim lights were the means by which he imitated Meng Xiao...a fabricated imitation.

These dozens of scorching fires were extremely fast.

The dim light forged by "Scorching Fire" swept beneath the feet of these followers in the next moment, and their faces suddenly changed drastically...They had already recognized it, this was the power unique to the Zhenyue Lord's Robe!

Gu Shen closed his palm.

The dim, long light cut through the black snow, turning into a net, about to close in, when a bestial figure suddenly flashed in front of the Light City followers. Ba Kui spread out his arms, posing to hold up the light net, as if he would bear it all alone!

"Lord Zhenyue...This place is really strange. They asked for 'verification' for safety."

Ba Kui said sincerely, "Please don't punish them."

"Humph..."

Gu Shen snorted coldly. Of course, he would not really close his palm. These dim lights, on the surface, looked extremely powerful, containing scorching power, but once they really exploded, they would be "exposed."

His scorching fire was completely different from the power of the Zhenyue Law Robe.

Ba Kui stepped forward, which was just right for him to stop.

"This Black Snow Mountain...has taboos within, and all 'light' must not be ignited."

Gu Shen knew very well that this team knew nothing about the real situation. He said expressionlessly, "This place is strange, and it is very likely that the power of the God Seat is interfering. If I want to rescue you, my 'blessing' cannot be used easily."

With this explanation, the Light City followers, who looked pale, understood the reason.

It was reasonable and logical.

They nodded seriously and apologized sincerely.

"Lord Zhenyue, it's our fault."

"We are stupid and did not recognize you, Lord."

Gu Shen's acting was excellent. Hearing the apology, his expression softened slightly, and he nodded to show his understanding.

But as he nodded, his eyes changed slightly.

His mental energy, which had been scattered all over Black Snow Mountain, captured a violent ripple in the distance of the mirror world, in the direction he had come from!

Someone was coming--

It could only be Meng Xiao, this guy was really too fast.

At the thought of the upcoming hard battle, Gu Shen's eyes became cold. He took a light breath and said softly, "This matter is not your fault...This Black Snow Mountain is full of taboos. Do you remember the 'replicas' we encountered before?"

The team members were all stunned for a moment, then nodded, revealing a look of lingering fear.

"On the way here, I encountered replicas again...These replicas are all remnants of mirror dreams, illusions that interfere with the mind." Gu Shen warned very seriously, "Without strong enough mental power, you may lose yourself on this snow mountain and not be able to distinguish between reality and illusion."

Ba Kui was thoughtful.

He murmured, "Then what should we do?"

"Kill."

Gu Shen said coldly, "Just like we did before...Don't be merciful, if this thing gets out of Black Snow Mountain, it may replace us."

Ba Kui nodded slowly.

The next second, he suddenly understood Gu Shen's implication and asked, "Lord Zhenyue, do you mean...there may be a battle next?"

What a smart guy.

Gu Shen nodded and said lightly, "Be prepared, it's inevitable."

"But...Lord..."

Ba Kui gritted his teeth and said, "Our mental strength has been seriously depleted, and the energy of the Zhenyue sub-robe is also running out...If we experience the previous battle again, I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

Hearing this, Gu Shen slowly turned his head.

He looked straight into Ba Kui's eyes calmly and asked, word by word, "With me here, what do you have to fear?"

Ba Kui opened his mouth.

He looked at Gu Shen's eyes, those eyes...exactly the same as Grand Duke Zhenyue's, even the color of the pupils was exactly the same, but for some reason, a warning of being deceived surged in his heart.

This was an animal's alertness!

Since awakening the "Bear Transformation" form, Ba Kui's ability to predict certain things was simply unbelievably strong.

His hunches had almost never been wrong!

"You..."

His voice trembled slightly.

The hairs on Ba Kui's back stood on end. At this moment, he followed his intuition, changed his address, and roared, "You are not the Grand Duke!"

As soon as these words came out.

The team members, who had just let down their guard, became vigilant again and all turned their attention to Gu Shen.

Was he seen through?

No, impossible.

The pendant did not transmit any abnormal fluctuations. Gu Shen made the fastest response.

He was expressionless and threw a slap directly on Ba Kui's cheek.

He knew from their fight in the banquet閣樓 earlier that...this guy was thick-skinned and very durable.

He used 80% of his strength for this slap.

With a "boom"!

It even produced a sonic boom!

Ba Kui was slapped in a circle in the air and fell heavily to the ground, his entire brain blank. All animal warnings and dangerous sensations disappeared at this moment...

Gu Shen coldly looked down at Ba Kui and spat out two words.

"Idiot."

Hearing this extremely familiar cold curse, echoing in the snow.

Ba Kui's body, which had been lying on the ground, was no longer so tense, but relaxed slightly.

The half-bear man smiled naively. He struggled to get up, rubbing his cheek with a grimace, but his heart gradually became more at ease.

It seemed...he had a hallucination earlier.

This ghostly place really made it a little difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

This slap was so powerful!

Tell me, besides Grand Duke Zhenyue, who else could do it?

(End of this chapter)