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Chapter 77: Every Plant and Tree is a Soldier

Inside the door, a layer of white mist obscured the view, making it impossible to see what lay beyond. At the top of the door, there was a jade plaque inscribed with a large character: "Injury." The character flickered strangely, appearing and disappearing.

The Injury Gate!

Among the Eight Gates, the Injury Gate was a sinister one.

Some people had already entered before, and Princess Qianyou showed no signs of fear as she led the group towards the inside.

As the group moved forward, Zhong Shan, with the two girls in tow, stepped through the gate.

Suddenly, the surroundings changed dramatically. The previous sandstorm environment transformed into a vast grassland. The sky was high, the ground was red, covered in blood. The once empty grassland was now filled with countless troops, brandishing their swords and charging towards the group.

Countless powerful soldiers, their faces filled with bloodlust. Many were covered in wounds, yet these wounded soldiers were the most ferocious and reckless.

Seeing this scene, Zhong Shan\'s pupils contracted, his gaze becoming sharp.

Hmph.

It was just an illusion. Zhong Shan\'s will was unyielding. After enduring for so many years, his sharp edges had long been worn down. His heart was like a rock, impervious to the influence of such petty illusions.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Shan stepped out of the battlefield environment, and the soldiers suddenly retreated. The grassland also receded in all directions, as if Zhong Shan had suddenly stepped into an empty void with nothing around. But Zhong Shan had a feeling that everything around him was spinning.

Indeed, everything was spinning. Before long, the sky and earth rotated back, turning into a vast white space. Around him, the battlefield scene transformed into scenes of naked men and women in distress, and the chaotic sounds seemed to disturb Zhong Shan\'s thoughts. But would Zhong Shan be ensnared so easily? With a steely gaze, he observed the illusions once more. The snake pit couldn\'t affect him either, transforming into a scene of endless demons devouring flesh...

Eight times in total, Zhong Shan remained resolute. Could such illusions shake his firm heart?

In a daze, all the illusions faded away, and Zhong Shan returned to reality once more.

His group of sixteen stood in a vast open space. In the distance, there were the hundred people who had entered before. Some seemed confused, making indecent gestures, while others trembled in fear, and some even engaged in mutual slaughter. Further away, there was another flash of the gate, but this time, there was no plaque hanging above it.

Zhong Shan noticed that as soon as someone regained consciousness, they immediately entered. This indicated that Zhong Shan was qualified to enter the second gate.

At this moment, Ying Lan also regained consciousness, while Tian Ling\'er and Bei Qingsi seemed to wake up even earlier than herself.

"What\'s wrong with them, Zhong Shan? And why were you just standing there when you came in?" Tian Ling\'er whispered to Zhong Shan.

Upon hearing Tian Ling\'er\'s words, Zhongshan was taken aback. Could it be that Tian Ling\'er hadn\'t experienced the illusion just now? Impossible.

"Master, I never thought that my former Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, used to confuse enemies, would manifest as an illusion in this perfect grand formation. It\'s incredible," Ying Lan exclaimed.

Beiqingsi remained silent, only furrowing her brows as she gazed around, her thoughts inscrutable.

Princess Qianyou had already awakened long ago. The moment she entered the grand formation, like Zhongshan, she quickly regained her senses and stayed true to her heart. However, she didn\'t awaken the others immediately. Instead, she looked at her ten subordinates.

This was a "Heart Formation," a bewildering array that confounded the mind. Those whose minds were not steadfast would quickly lose their true selves. Either they\'d be killed by their companions or they\'d kill their companions. Truly a formidable formation for defeating enemies.

Her most trusted subordinates, Ada and A\'er, did not disappoint her. Their cold faces remained unchanged as they quickly awoke.

Beside them, Gulin was trembling and curled up. Seeing Gulin\'s condition, Princess Qianyou felt a wave of disdain.

Of the remaining eight subordinates, five had already awakened at this moment. However, the remaining three all revealed ugly sides: some began to disrobe, some raised their swords to stab their companions, and some trembled like Gulin.

This was a test of the strength of their wills. Princess Qianyou was surprised to find that, on the other side, all four of Zhongshan\'s group were awake. Their wills were even stronger than those in the Golden Core stage?

The white-haired woman could be excused, being in the later stages of the Golden Core realm, but what about these three? Tian Ling\'er might be straightforward and desireless, hence her quick recovery. But what about the other two? Zhongshan? The black-robed individual?

The black-robed individual wasn\'t even at the Pre-Natal stage, a true ant-like figure. How could they awaken so quickly? Princess Qianyou was unaware that although Ying Lan\'s willpower wasn\'t as exaggerated as Zhongshan\'s, twelve years of leading troops into battle, facing life and death struggles day after day, had long solidified Ying Lan\'s fierce heart. How could she be swayed by this illusion?

Furrowing her brows and looking at the three subordinates and Gulin, Princess Qianyou felt a surge of frustration.

"Hmph~~~~~~"

Princess Qianyou snorted coldly, her voice seeming to carry a strange power as it instantly penetrated the ears of the four individuals bewitched by the Heart Formation.

The four jolted as if struck by lightning, their entire bodies trembling.

In a daze, all four, filled with fear, snapped out of the illusion.

"Qianyou, what just happened? What was that just now?" Gulin was drenched in sweat, looking at Qianyou with fear evident on his face. Clearly, Gulin had been quite frightened by the illusion.

"A\'da," Qianyou called softly.

"Yes," A\'da immediately replied, bowing.

With a flick of her hand, she gathered a large number of stones from the ground and swiftly hurled them towards the people still trapped in the illusion in the distance. The force was just right, each stone hitting precisely on the temples of those bewildered individuals.

Suddenly, over a hundred people snapped out of it, each filled with lingering fear. Looking around, they had no idea who had awakened them. Seeing another tall gate opposite, they quickly swarmed towards it.

Glancing interestedly at Zhongshan\'s group again, Princess Qianyou\'s face revealed a faint smile.

"Let\'s go," Princess Qianyou commanded once more.

The group followed Princess Qianyou towards the second gate.

As they reached the gate, Princess Qianyou suddenly stopped, pondered for a moment, and looked at her subordinates.

"Just now was the Heart Formation, which caused mental injury. Next, according to Master Shuijing\'s words, we will face the Ren Formation, which causes both mental and physical injuries, a state of mutual harm. Don\'t embarrass yourselves again."

"Yes," the three subordinates who had been lost just now immediately said ashamedly.

As for Gulin, he remained silent, as if he hadn\'t been lost just now.

"Let\'s go," Princess Qianyou spoke up.

With that, they stepped into the second gate. Upon entering the second gate, it was once again like the vast grassland before. They found themselves in a grassy expanse, with the gate they had entered behind them, but there was no third gate ahead.

There was no sun in the sky, only a giant eye, spherical in shape, emitting a plethora of radiance, as if scrutinizing everything below.

"Is that the Formation Eye?" Gulin exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the eerie eye in the sky.

"The Formation Eye, also known as the Dragon Eye we seek. Within this Ren Formation, we search for the path to the Dragon Eye," Princess Qianyou nodded.

"Then we should fly up there," Gulin immediately suggested.

"This isn\'t the outside world. Flying? No matter how high you fly, the Dragon Eye will rise accordingly. This is a formation that\'s like reality yet not quite. To reach the Dragon Eye, we must find an invisible door," Princess Qianyou explained.

"An invisible door? Where is it?" Gulin frowned immediately.

"It should be soon. It shouldn\'t take long for Master Shuijing to succeed on his end. When the time comes, the invisible door will naturally appear. Just hold on for a while," Princess Qianyou spoke.

"In that case, let\'s retreat for now. Let A\'da stay here to guard. If the invisible door appears, he can notify us to come in," Gulin suggested immediately, seeming pleased with himself for thinking of a solution others hadn\'t.

"Retreat? This gate only allows entry, not exit," Princess Qianyou said solemnly.

"We can\'t retreat?" Gulin was astonished.

"By retreating from this gate, we\'ll no longer be in the Injury Gate area, but in one of the other seven gates of the Eight Gates. It\'s absolutely impossible to return to the Injury Gate Ren Formation area," Princess Qianyou said solemnly.

"Huh?" Gulin looked incredulous.

Meanwhile, Zhongshan gazed out at the grassland in all directions.

Though the grassland wasn\'t blood-red, the level of danger and strangeness was no less than before, even greater. Previously, they were only in the realm of Minor Danger, but now, they had entered the realm of Major Danger.

Zhongshan observed that about two hundred cultivators who had entered ahead were currently engaged in battle with armies in all directions.

Armies? Where did these armies come from? Wasn\'t this grand formation supposed to be controlled by only one person?

Just as Zhongshan was pondering, he suddenly saw, not far from their group, a circle of small grasses. Suddenly, they grew taller and then transformed into humanoid forms, each wielding swords and rushing towards their group to attack? Grass turning into an army? All vegetation becoming soldiers?