"Let's go, we should be the first to arrive here." Jiang Chen walked forward, with Zhao Youyue closely following behind.
The two entered the Grand Canyon, and Jiang Chen did not relax his vigilance in the slightest.
The interior of this grand canyon was extremely open and empty. If any soul beasts appeared, they would have no way to avoid them and could only fight their way through.
Zhao Youyue followed behind, her Moon Martial Soul floating behind her, her entire body having transformed into a zombie state.
To her, this zombie identity felt very novel. After transforming, her speed, strength, defense, and vitality had all received a substantial increase. Moreover, Jiang Chen had told her that there was a domineering corpse poison within her body.
She had never imagined that overnight she would gain so many abilities. Although she had to abandon some human habits, in her view, it was worth it, and she had profited immensely.
Thus, deep in her heart, her gratitude toward Jiang Chen, her master, grew even stronger.
Fortunately, the two of them walked all the way to the middle of the Grand Canyon without encountering a single soul beast. However, in front of them appeared a strange pink mist.
"Stay close to me later." Jiang Chen said gravely. He could see in the darkness, but he could not see the scene inside this red mist.
However, within his range of perception, he did not detect the presence of any soul beasts.
Zhao Youyue obediently nodded, curiously watching as Jiang Chen took out a rope and tied it around both of their waists, leaving them three meters apart.
"Let's go. If anything happens, you must tell me immediately, understand?" Jiang Chen instructed.
Zhao Youyue nodded, and the two of them cautiously stepped into the pink mist.
As soon as they entered, Jiang Chen smelled a faint fragrance that suddenly made him feel refreshed and invigorated. He couldn't help but inhale a few more breaths, and Zhao Youyue behind him did the same.
"Master, it smells so nice in here."
"Mm, stay close to me."
Jiang Chen discovered that inside this red mist, he could not see Zhao Youyue behind him at all; unless the two of them were pressed close together, they could not see each other.
After advancing twenty meters, he sensed something was wrong. A thread of desire suddenly sprouted in his heart and rapidly grew stronger within him.
Perhaps because he had inhaled too much of the mist, this desire came with overwhelming intensity, instantly assaulting his mind.
In the instant he was about to lose his reason, he felt that Zhao Youyue behind him was also affected, letting out soft hums as if she had already fallen into some kind of state.
In his hazy consciousness, Jiang Chen found himself appearing inside the Spirit Hall, seated high upon the Pope's throne, in the exact appearance he had during last night's martial soul fusion state.
"Little Chen brother." Two coquettish voices rang out. Jiang Chen turned his head and saw that on either side of the throne, two stunningly beautiful young women had appeared.
These two were actually Qian Renxue and Hu Liena. Both women were dressed boldly, their peerlessly beautiful faces slightly raised as they slowly crawled toward him...
Gently fluttering pure white wings, slowly swaying fluffy large tails...
...
He didn't know how much time had passed before Jiang Chen suddenly jolted awake.
The scene just now had been far too realistic, almost making it impossible for him to extricate himself. Fortunately, his will had been tempered by Hu Liena's trials, allowing him to break free at the final moment.
What about Zhao Youyue?
Jiang Chen tugged on the rope around his waist and found that Zhao Youyue was still behind him, which allowed him to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
But his expression immediately turned extremely strange, and Zhao Youyue was actually making odd sounds and even calling his name.
He quickly pulled the rope and walked backward, discovering Zhao Youyue already lying on the ground.
"Wake up!" Jiang Chen shook her several times, but there was no response. Zhao Youyue seemed to have fallen into the same kind of illusion as he had earlier, unable to free herself.
Helpless, he could only blush as he straightened Zhao Youyue's clothes and directly picked her up in his arms.
Perhaps the only way to make Zhao Youyue break free from the illusion was to first rush out of this damned place.
Zhao Youyue was very light; to Jiang Chen, her weight was practically nothing. Carrying Zhao Youyue, he began sprinting at full speed.
What left him rather speechless was that Zhao Youyue's hands kept grasping randomly, and her body kept twisting nonstop.
"Master, Master..."
"Master, I want..."
...
He had no idea why Zhao Youyue was fantasizing about him—they had only known each other for one night plus half a day.
The pink mist stretched over a hundred meters or so. After rushing out, Jiang Chen did not hold back and directly tossed Zhao Youyue away.
"Ouch!" Zhao Youyue landed hard on her buttocks, crying out in pain. Her eyes gradually regained clarity.
"Master, why am I on the ground?" At first, Zhao Youyue asked in confusion, but she immediately recalled the scenes from her illusion.
At this moment, she finally understood that she had just fallen into an illusion.
Her face turned red at an astonishing speed, burning like fire, and she did not dare look directly at Jiang Chen.
"I... I actually fantasized about Master..." The more Zhao Youyue thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. Moreover, Jiang Chen must have noticed her disgraceful state earlier, making her wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Jiang Chen also felt somewhat awkward and did not want to bring it up. He immediately said, "The exit should be ahead. Let's get out and complete the mission first."
"Mm." Zhao Youyue lightly nodded, her voice as tiny as a mosquito's.
However, after taking just a few steps, she noticed something wrong and stopped, looking down at her pants in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Chen turned back in puzzlement and saw that Zhao Youyue's pants had somehow gotten wet in a large patch.
He was somewhat speechless. The canyon was quite dry, and there didn't seem to be any puddles on the ground.
Seeing Zhao Youyue's uncomfortable expression, he helplessly took out a simple tent and tossed it over.
"Change your clothes first. Hurry up, or others will catch up."
Zhao Youyue's neck turned completely red. Without saying a word, she quickly ducked into the tent.
She moved very fast, seemingly truly afraid that others would catch up. It didn't take long before she finished changing.
"Let's go." This time, Jiang Chen only said one sentence and ignored her afterward, striding toward the large gate several hundred meters away.
Zhao Youyue chased after Jiang Chen, barely able to keep up with his pace. Her eyes occasionally glanced at Jiang Chen, her gaze flickering as she wondered what she was thinking.
That pink mist had been the final trial. After passing through it, there were no more obstacles.
Moments later, the two arrived at the gate.
The tall iron gate was tightly locked, and outside the iron gate were quite a few patrolling soul master teams.
Right next to the iron gate, on a reclining chair, lay a white-haired old man with narrow eyes half-squinted.
"Grandpa, please open the door." Jiang Chen called out.
The old man opened his eyes in confusion, scanned the surroundings, and only then noticed Jiang Chen and Zhao Youyue inside the iron gate.
"Huh? How could anyone pass through so quickly? Impossible." The old man muttered in disbelief, got up, and opened the gate.
"You just passed through that mist?"
Jiang Chen looked at the old man before him, with small eyes, two long mustaches, a face resembling a rat, and an air of sleaziness permeating his entire body.
"Yes." Jiang Chen replied.