Although the firelight burst, Yuan Ming showed no joy on his face because the exploding firelight was also blocked by an invisible barrier, leaving the dark figure unharmed.

However, this was all within Yuan Ming's expectations.

Through the range of the spreading firelight and the shape of the obstruction, he made out the invisible barrier encircling the dark figure at a distance of about a foot, which wasn't very large.

Understanding the situation gave Yuan Ming some confidence, and he quickly made a decision.

Since neither magical powers nor Soul Destroying Sword Energy could damage the barrier, he would have to forcefully break through and try using the Body of Wanxiang to shatter this defense.

With his plan in mind, Yuan Ming immediately grasped the Soul Sword tightly with his five fingers, his body transforming into a shadow that merged with the ground.

The next moment, his figure suddenly burst out from the shadow beside the dark figure, his Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill madly circulating, Qi Blood Power boiling within him. His hand was already clenched in a fist, ready to strike.

But just at this critical moment, the voice of Qi Ye, almost roaring, resounded in his Sea of Consciousness:

"Wake up! Yuan Ming, you've been tricked…"

Yuan Ming frowned, momentarily uncertain whether this voice was real or fake, but out of caution, he ultimately did not throw the punch he had readied.

He retreated explosively backward by over ten steps before trying to communicate with Qi Ye using his Divine Thought.

However, he quickly realized that there was no response.

He carefully assessed his own condition and found nothing unusual.

But suddenly, Yuan Ming was startled, then realized with shock that the lack of any anomaly was the greatest anomaly of all.

He had been battling the strange entity within this Magic Cloud Tree for half a day, yet he hadn't felt any depletion in his Qi Blood Power.

After advancing to the Body of Wanxiang, his sensitivity to his own body had become extremely keen. It was based on this that he could perfectly control his body, so after each action, he was clearly aware of the changes in his Qi Blood within.

But this time, there were no changes; his Qi Blood hadn't depleted in the slightest.

There was only one reason this could happen, that is, he was not in reality, but inside an illusion.

From the moment he faced those pitch-black eyes, he had fallen into an illusion.

What he previously thought was escaping from the illusion was actually part of the illusion. From the beginning to the end, he had never escaped the control of the illusion.

Since reaching the Soul Cultivation Realm of a Half-step Spoken Witch, Yuan Ming had always been very confident in his Divine Soul Power, which led to his carelessness this time, costing him dearly.

He hurriedly circulated the Moonlight Technique, concentrating all his Divine Soul Power, trying to break through the illusion.

For a brief moment, he experienced an indescribable feeling of suffocation, and it seemed like a wave of intense pain swept over him.

But that feeling vanished in a flash, replaced by a false sense of everything being calm and stable.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Yuan Ming's mind; he knew he was definitely caught in a deep crisis, and any slight mistake from now on could potentially doom him forever.

However, no matter how he urged his Divine Soul Power, he could not break out of the illusion.

Thinking back to that sensation of suffocation, Yuan Ming no longer hesitated and began to madly stimulate the Origin Power of the Undying Tree within his body, his body visibly swelling and expanding as wood patterns emerged.

The next instant, Yuan Ming's surroundings transformed again.

He then realized that he was suspended in mid-air, completely entangled in vines from the black ancient tree and hung up like a rice dumpling. A vine tightly coiled around his neck, attempting to strangle him.

Not far from him, Hua Zhi and Elder Pan Ji were also trapped by the vines, hanging from the tree. This is part of a series from * (*).

But his body quickly transformed into a tree-man, causing the vines to no longer restrain his neck. Instead, the vines binding him were stretched apart.

Yuan Ming controlled his body as it plummeted down, rooting himself quickly after landing. The hanging vines from the branches turned into Spiritual Snakes, lunging at the Magic Cloud Tree.

The vines from the two trees immediately entangled, tearing and slashing at one another.

The scene resembled two women grabbing each other's hair and fighting; it didn't take long before the vines were torn to pieces and leaves fell all around, creating a mess.

Yuan Ming vigorously directed his vines toward the dark figure within the Magic Cloud Tree, trying to bind and refine it.

The person in the Magic Cloud Tree seemed to intend to devour the Undying Tree as well, directing his vines to entwine towards Yuan Ming. The two sides devoured each other, momentarily at a stalemate.

Seeing that he couldn't get the upper hand, Yuan Ming immediately extended a tendril to grab the Soul Sword and slashed towards the Magic Cloud Tree.

Free from the illusion, he believed that as long as he could severely damage the opponent's Divine Soul, he could devour the Magic Cloud Tree.

The Curse Rune within the Soul Sword flashed with light, and a streak of black sword energy spun out, heading straight for the withered figure within the Magic Cloud Tree.

When the sword energy approached within three feet of the figure, its lips slightly parted and moved faintly.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming instantly had a bad feeling.

The next moment, the streak of Soul Destroying Sword Energy vanished into thin air.

"Damn, could it be that I'm still not out of the illusion?" Yuan Ming's heart tightened, and he immediately tried to contact Qi Ye.

But after a long wait, there was still no response.

Just as Yuan Ming began to despair, the voice of Qi Ye finally emerged leisurely from his Sea of Consciousness:

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, are you finally awake?"

Yuan Ming responded uncertainly, "Fellow Daoist Qi Ye, can you be sure I'm truly awake?"

"What do you mean by that?" Qi Ye asked, puzzled.

"The person in this Magic Cloud Tree has extraordinary Divine Soul Power. I can't be sure if I have escaped his illusion," Yuan Ming said, then felt somewhat ridiculous.

If he was indeed still in an illusion, this conversation would be no different from talking to himself.

"I had to use the Chaotic Soul Demon Sound at the cost of damaging my Divine Soul to wake you up. I believe with your Divine Soul Power, as long as you remain alert, you won't fall into the illusion again," Qi Ye said after brief contemplation.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming's mind settled a bit. After checking his condition, he noticed that both his Divine Soul Power and Bloodline Power were depleted, and the sensations from the various wounds on his body were clear and distinct, which reassured him slightly.

However, a bigger question arose, how did that fellow neutralize his attack?

Yuan Ming suppressed the doubts in his heart and once again commanded the vines to wrap around the Soul Destroying Sword, slashing towards the withered man.

The moment the sword light rose, several vines shot out immediately, wrapped around the vines ensnaring Hua Zhi and Elder Pan Ji, and forcefully pulled them to safety.

He then swiftly retracted his form, regaining his human shape, escaped from the entanglement of the Magic Cloud Tree, and backed away.

The attack of the Soul Destroying Sword failed as expected, quietly dissipating three feet away from the shadowy figure.

After standing at a distance, Yuan Ming avoided staring directly into the eyes of the person in the Magic Cloud Tree, instead locking on him with his Divine Thought.

With a thought, he ordered Elder Pan Ji, who had become a Tree-man Puppet, to close in for an attack.

Elder Pan Ji, now a puppet, could not resist and immediately grabbed a pitch-black long sword, charging toward the withered man in the Magic Cloud Tree.

As he approached, the hanging vines on the trunk attacked him right away.

Yuan Ming was prepared for this: he raised his hand, and his fingers instantly transformed into vines, blocking the attack from the Magic Cloud Tree and allowing Elder Pan Ji to reach the withered man unimpeded.

Elder Pan Ji moved swiftly, and within a few dodges, he was close to the trunk of the Magic Cloud Tree. He raised his sword, dark light gathering on it, and fiercely stabbed towards the chest of the withered man.

Yuan Ming watched intensely, his gaze firmly on the withered man's lips, concentrating his Divine Thought there.

Soon, the withered man's lips moved.

Yuan Ming read from the lip movement and heard a faint whisper in his ears: "All beings are equal."

As the words fell, Yuan Ming's gaze abruptly sharpened, surprised to find that the connection between him and Elder Pan Ji was severed.

The empty gaze in the eyes of Elder Pan Ji in front of him lost its last bit of luster, and he collapsed forward.

"What Divine Skill is this?" Yuan Ming was astounded.

With just a single sentence, that withered man caused his control over the Tree-man Puppet to fail.

He stared at Elder Pan Ji for a long while, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

"Master, let me try to help you again," Hua Zhi, having just broken free from the illusion, saw this scene and volunteered.

Yuan Ming shook his head: "I haven't figured out what's going on yet; don't act recklessly for now."

Hua Zhi did not disobey, nor did she act rashly.

Her feet rooted into the ground as vine roots extended out and suddenly broke through the ground in front of the Magic Cloud Tree, stealthily attacking the withered man.

The withered man spoke again, his voice faint: "One year, one wither."

As the words landed, the vines protruded by Hua Zhi withered at a visible speed, quickly wilting away.

The withered traces followed the vines and rapidly spread underground.

Hua Zhi, frightened by this scene, hastily severed her roots and jumped back.

Yuan Ming's brow furrowed, and a sharp glint shot from his eyes.

He put away the Soul Destroying Sword, took out the Thunder God Hammer, and the God Bombarding Cone, raised them high, and smashed down on the withered man.

"Sizzle" a burst of electric light sounded.

A thick column of purple-gold Thunder light descended from the sky, striking towards the withered man.

"Magic does not survive," the withered man exclaimed.

The next moment, the Thunder light column that had reached above his head explosively dissipated, turning into fine threads of electricity, floating in mid-air briefly before quickly vanishing.

Yuan Ming's gaze deepened, and he took a deep breath.

"Master, have you figured out what's going on?" Hua Zhi, noting the change in Yuan Ming's expression, immediately came forward to ask.

"Spoken Witch, words break life and death, speak and follow," Yuan Ming said gravely.

Hearing Yuan Ming's response, Hua Zhi's face turned pale; having been with Yuan Ming for not a short time, how could she not know what a Spoken Witch was?

"How are we supposed to fight this?" she couldn't help saying pessimistically.