An Illusionary Reality

However, what the group was about to encounter next was beyond their wildest imagination.

"Let's search the area for any clues, but be careful not to wander too far. It's evident that the guardians have started to use their intelligence against us, which is quite clever," Simon suggested. To be safe, he tied a rope around all four of them and began scouring the area for any leads.

Unbeknownst to them, the clues they sought were right in front of their eyes, but they were too massive to notice. "Simon?" Bai Han asked. "Did you notice anything strange about this place?"

Simon was taken aback by Bai Han's question because he realized that the four of them were going in different directions, yet they could still see each other. "What's wrong? Isn't this just an ordinary dwelling place? It's the same as the previous one," Simon responded, trying to play it cool despite sensing something was amiss.

Although Simon suspected something, he tried his best to act natural. The Bai Han in front of him was not real; he was the most lifelike illusion yet because his voice and appearance were identical to Bai Han's. "Why are you here? Why aren't you searching for clues in your own direction?" Simon inquired.

"What's the point? You can't call for help in this place!" Bai Han replied, his voice suddenly transforming into an eerie, monstrous growl. Just as Simon reached for his gun, the monster flung him back with tremendous force, sending his weapon flying.

"Be careful!"

Someone rushed over and kicked the monster onto the stalactite. It became tightly stuck on the sharp point and then transformed into a puff of gas and vanished into thin air. Simon panted heavily and looked at Bai Han, questioning, "What is going on?"

Bai Han responded, "It seems like this place has been drugged with something that causes hallucinations. Or we might have inhaled something that caused the same effect." He then led Simon back to where they were before.

"This location is different from the previous one. It's too clean and quiet. It's evident that someone has deliberately set this up. The guard probably wanted to create the illusion too much and neglected the most critical clue," Bai Han continued.

Bai Han then turned around and asked Simon, "How were you able to sense the illusion?"

After a brief pause, Simon replied, "I realized that you couldn't have turned around and come to my location that quickly and accurately. You should have been going towards your teammates, taking care of Lin Yuwei, and not have had any reason to come back and check on me."

Suddenly, Simon felt a surge of terror wash over him.

Bai Han and Lin Yuwei were an inseparable duo. If they were separated, their abilities would weaken, and the cave's many directions made it crucial to stick together for the bonus effect. So where was Lin Yuwei?

As he was deep in thought, he saw three people appearing at the entrance of the habitat.

"Hurry up and come over. Otherwise, you really won't be able to come out!" Bai Han called out to Simon from the habitat's entrance. For a moment, the surrounding air and temperature began to drop. Fear gripped everyone tightly.

Simon turned to face the three newcomers, whose eyes had suddenly turned yellow, and whose limbs had morphed into giant tentacles that ultimately transformed into giant antlions.

"Hurry up and get in!" Bai Han grabbed Simon, saving him from the imminent attack. As they escaped, he waved his hand, dispersing all the monsters in the space.

It wasn't until this moment that Simon saw the space clearly, noticing that the ground was covered with corpses and monster debris, with some areas completely destroyed. Simon couldn't believe the illusion he had just experienced; it had felt all too real.

"What's going on?" Simon asked, confused.

Bai Han observed Simon, who was on the verge of losing his sanity, and spoke up, "When we entered this place, you led the way. However, we stumbled upon countless corpses of the residents, and suddenly, monsters emerged and attacked us.

"Surprisingly, you seemed oblivious to it all and kept walking in the same direction. We had no other option but to fight and clear out the monsters before following you. When we caught up to you, you were sitting in the middle of this space, talking to the air as if in a trance. We didn't want to interrupt your illusion and waited until you snapped out of it and broke your own illusion world."

Simon's body shuddered with fear and confusion as he tried to process what happened.

Bai Han observed Simon, who was seated on the ground, and he noticed a blue wall in front of him. He then directed his attention to the stalactites in the current habitat, which were arranged in an orderly manner like pens and chopsticks, unlike the irregular and scattered ones in the previous habitat.

It was clear that something was attached to those stalactites.

"Yuwei, take out your bow and arrows and aim for the tips of those stalactites," ordered Bai Han, his eyes fixed on the stalactites arranged in a peculiar pattern. Lin Yuwei followed the command, shooting an ordinary arrow that shattered into powder upon impact and disappeared.

The group was then startled as the system provided an explanation for the powder.

[Sea Edge Fragrance: This is a plant abundant in the depths of the mystic realm forest. When exposed to high or extremely low temperatures, the fruits of the plant sublimated into gas or condensed into crystals, creating a powerful illusion that varied based on the affected person's mindset. Inhaling too much of it could lead to an overlap of reality and illusion, eventually resulting in death.]

After reading the explanation, everyone was shocked. If Simon had not discovered the illusion, he would have been a corpse by now.

As they waited for the hallucination drug to wear off, they realized something strange. Why weren't there any monsters in previous the previous habitat?