Yu Nuo was first surprised, then couldn't hide his excitement: "If it's talisman script, it means there must be a cave entrance nearby?"

As he spoke, he started searching the surrounding area.

Zhou Yin said: "Give me that key."

Yu Nuo hesitated for a moment, then took out an object from his sleeve and handed it over.

It was a rectangular jade talisman, not even the size of a palm, deep emerald green in color. Holding it in the hand, one could seemingly feel the spiritual energy inside gently rippling, as if waves were about to overflow. The surface was smooth, without any text or symbols recorded on it.

A jade talisman, water, an unknown symbol.

Zhou Yin pondered for a while, then cut his finger and used the blood as a medium to trace those five characters stroke by stroke on the jade talisman.

As those strange symbols appeared on it, as if sensing something, the blood was slowly absorbed. The jade talisman itself began to tremble slightly. When Zhou Yin made the final stroke, this trembling reached the most intense degree, erupting with a terrifyingly powerful spiritual energy that even shattered the protective barriers around their bodies.

Without the protection of the barriers, their entire bodies were immersed in the water, no different from ordinary people. The jade talisman shook violently, to the point that not only could Zhou Yin not hold onto it, he was forced by the cold, oppressive spiritual power to let go.

He couldn't hear the flow of water in his ears, nor see the light from the night pearl. The surroundings were instantly enveloped in darkness. The immense pressure made it so he couldn't even move a finger.

Then, he lost consciousness.

The vigilance deep in Zhou Yin's heart that never relaxed for a moment allowed him to quickly open his eyes. His body's senses had already returned to normal.

Reaching into his bosom, the warm little furball was still there. Zhou Chen affectionately pecked lightly at his fingers, indicating it was okay.

He was leaning against a hard rock wall, uneven and bone-chillingly cold. The superb eyesight of a cultivator was completely useless here. Before his eyes, it was still pitch-black.

Only the heartbeat in his chest could be clearly heard. Inside his body felt empty, as if all spiritual power had been swept away, like a cripple.

This was obviously a restriction specifically targeting cultivators. Within the territory of the sealer, anyone with cultivation lower than theirs would be unable to use spiritual power. Perhaps if a true ordinary person came, they might actually be able to see.

Since they weren't in the water, where could this be? Just now it was an accidental blunder, could they have really entered that residence?

Many questions surfaced in his mind, with no answers.

He took out a flint and fire stick wrapped in oiled paper from his sleeve.

Experience from his previous life made it clear to Zhou Yin that when traveling outside, sooner or later all kinds of trouble would be encountered. These troubles might not all be solvable with magic power.

So he often carried on his person some things that cultivators might look down upon. And facts proved that these seemingly insignificant items often produced unexpected effects.

At this moment, the lit fire stick illuminated a small area around them, also revealing the surrounding environment.

"Brother Zhou?..." A low moan came from beside him. Yu Nuo also woke up, holding his forehead.

"Where are we?"

Zhou Yin didn't answer him.

In fact, his answer wasn't needed either. With the faint fire, Yu Nuo quickly saw their situation.

In front and behind were both narrow passageways with no end in sight. They seemed to be standing in the middle, as if halfway through.

The area the fire could illuminate was very small. A few more feet out was already pitch-black.

"My spiritual power?!" Yu Nuo suddenly let out a miserable cry. In the quiet environment, his heavy breathing was especially grating.

"Why do I feel empty inside, and can't exert any strength?"

In his panic, he looked at Zhou Yin, his eyes flashing with questions, probing, dismay, and even suspicion.

For a cultivator, having no spiritual power was no different from taking his life. It not only meant severing the path of immortality, but also the feeling of falling from the lofty heights of a cultivator to an ordinary person was unimaginable.

So Yu Nuo's subconscious reaction was quite normal.

It's just that compared to Zhou Yin, he seemed a bit agitated.

"This place has a restriction. Spiritual power can't be used, same for me." Zhou Yin said indifferently.

Yu Nuo paused, only now noticing the fire stick in his hand.

"Then what should we do now, keep going forward?" He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and also gradually calmed down. Looking around for a moment, he frowned: "Could this be that residence?"

Before Zhou Yin could speak, the ground suddenly started shaking, and a rumbling sound came from the distance.

The shaking grew more and more intense, almost making it impossible to stand. Under this tremor, Zhou Chen instead poked his head out from his bosom, looking around with great interest.

Under the illumination of the firelight, the rock walls on both sides were visibly cracking open inch by inch.

Yu Nuo was greatly alarmed. He stumbled forward, nearly falling to the ground.

"Chirp chirp!" Zhou Chen pecked at his lapels, as if trying to express something.

Zhou Yin didn't have time to examine the meaning in its cries. He heard the huge roar getting closer and closer, as if something was being rolled over with it.

Due to the special structure of the passageway, the sound here became even more deafening, as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was crumbling. The surroundings shook even more violently, and the fractured rock walls fell from above, below, left and right. Some sharp rocks hit Zhou Yin's hand, instantly cutting a bloody wound. The pain was immediately transmitted to his brain.

He didn't have time to look at it, only dodging the rocks while quickly walking forward. Yu Nuo's leg was hit and injured, so he could only follow closely behind him.

When unable to use magic, many cultivators were no more than ordinary people, even more fragile than ordinary people. No matter how divine the person who set the restriction was, his intentions were really thought-provoking.

Zhou Chen seemed to smell the scent of blood and also became a bit anxious. The little guy chirped a couple times, flapping its wings, nearly falling out and getting smashed into a meat patty by the rocks. Fortunately, Zhou Yin reacted quickly and scooped it up.

"Mummy... Mummy..."

Zhou Yin ignored it, straining his ears to distinguish the direction the flood was surging from.

"Mummy~~" The little furball persisted, calling out softly and sweetly, its little head rubbing and acting spoiled, not at all sensing his urgency.

Amidst the chaos, Yu Nuo heard the furball emit a human voice. He couldn't help being startled, but had no time to look closely in Zhou Yin's direction.

The sound of the flood was getting closer and closer, almost within reach. The rock walls on the left and right kept collapsing, rocks of all sizes hitting Zhou Yin, tearing his sleeves and skin.

Ahead it was still unfathomably deep, safety unknown. It was another straight passage. Even if they kept running, they might not necessarily be able to escape.

Zhou Chen's reaction was very abnormal. As a high-level demon beast, his instincts and senses should be even sharper than those of cultivators, yet at this moment, not only was he not in a panic, he was acting no different than usual.

Zhou Yin furrowed his brows slightly and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Could it be...

"Don't go any further, sit down."

Yu Nuo limped along behind him. Seeing him stop, he couldn't help but be surprised: "What's wrong?"

But he saw Zhou Yin actually sit down cross-legged at this time and place, putting the fire starter beside him. He closed his eyes and made a strange hand sign. Rocks fell from the cave walls next to his ears, but he remained motionless.

Yu Nuo had no idea what he was up to. He was getting anxious: "Brother Zhou, if we don't leave now, it will be too late!"

Zhou Yin did not respond. His state of mind had already emptied completely as he entered a meditative state, just like when he usually practiced cultivation. No matter what happened in the outside world, it could no longer affect him.

But Yu Nuo was far from having his level of composure. He didn't know whether to go or stay, and paced around anxiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a furry little head poking out of Zhou Yin's bosom - it was Zhou Chen, who was also observing him curiously.

The words "high-level demon beast" flashed through Yu Nuo's mind. His mouth went dry and, as if possessed, his hand reached out.

Just as his fingers were about to touch Zhou Chen, he heard Zhou Yin's voice by his ear. Startled, he quickly withdrew his hand.

"The Buddha told Subhuti, all forms are illusory. If you see that all forms are not forms, then you will see the Tathagata... Why is this? These sentient beings no longer have the notion of self, of person, of living being, of lifespan. They have no notion of dharma, nor of non-dharma. Why?

"If these sentient beings' minds grasp at forms, then they will cling to the notions of self, person, living being, and lifespan. If they grasp at the form of dharmas, then they will cling to the notions of self, person, living being, and lifespan..."

Zhou Yin's flat, emotionless voice echoed in the passageway, yet strangely did not seem out of place.

Yu Nuo was already completely baffled by his series of actions and was at a loss for words.

"Brother Zhou, aren't you a sword cultivator? How come you're reciting Buddhist verses?"

As soon as he finished speaking, something even more shocking happened.

The deafening sound of rushing water had stopped at some point without him noticing. The shaking underfoot ceased and rocks were no longer falling. Looking up, he saw the cave walls on all sides were perfectly intact, without a trace of cracks.

Was it all an illusion?

He looked down at himself. The wounds of various sizes had not disappeared along with it. The faint smell of blood permeated the narrow space.

Zhou Yin opened his eyes: "Why can't a sword cultivator recite Buddhist verses?"

Daoist cultivation, Buddhist cultivation, sword cultivation, and even demonic cultivation each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

In the eyes of the world, demonic cultivation is synonymous with unscrupulous methods. Many demonic cultivators, in order to avoid the hardships of cultivation and quickly attain the Dao, use techniques like absorbing female essence to supplement male energy and dual cultivation, earning the disdain and condemnation of the cultivation world.

But the Zhou Yin of his past life was an exception. He did not follow this path. The year he advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he had already thoroughly researched the teachings of all the major sects, not only Buddhist cultivation, but also sword and Daoist cultivation.

This was why, as a mere demonic cultivator, he could command both the respect and wariness of high-level cultivators from the major sects. How would you feel if your enemy understood the Dao you cultivated better than you did?

Of course, this question was not Yu Nuo's focus. When Zhou Yin turned the question back on him, he immediately asked about what he was more concerned about: "What exactly is going on?"

"Generally, if an illusion is seen through, everything returns from falsehood to reality and reverts to its original state. But if someone with profound cultivation uses the Art of Exhausting Heaven's Transformations, they can create a unique four-sided illusion. In this illusion, even if you see through it, all established facts will remain unchanged."

Zhou Yin paused. "Someone capable of creating this kind of illusion must be at the Nascent Soul stage or above."

After the Nascent Soul stage is the Void Refinement stage. Cultivators who reach the Void Refinement stage can actually ascend to the upper realms and attain the Great Dao. Therefore, the identity of the illusion's creator likely had quite the background.

In the cultivation world today, Nascent Soul stage cultivators are an unattainable legend for many, including Yu Nuo. Hearing his last sentence, Yu Nuo's face had already changed.

He thought about how they had painstakingly entered this cave abode. If the owner was not yet dead, then trapping and even killing them here would be all too easy.

He suddenly thought of an even more terrifying question. "You mean, in this illusion, if I had been killed just now, even if you saw through the illusion and everything vanished, I still wouldn't come back to life?"

Zhou Yin grunted in affirmation.

This was the most frightening aspect of the four-sided illusion.

A chill ran up Yu Nuo's spine. Looking at Zhou Yin's indifferent expression, he also felt there was something eerie and unpredictable about it. He himself had never even heard of this illusion, yet the other spoke of it like the back of his hand...

He began to regret rashly entering together with Zhou Yin. In fact, he knew nothing about this person's background. He had invited the other to come along based solely on his words, but if the other coveted some treasure and harbored ill intentions...

Zhou Yin did not seem to notice the change in his mental state. He stood up, dusted himself off, and tucked Zhou Chen's head back in.

"Let's go, I don't think it will be so peaceful up ahead."

Yu Nuo composed himself and acknowledged. The two continued walking through the empty passageway, one in front of the other, each harboring their own thoughts.

Yu Nuo had originally thought this illusion's creator wanted to make them walk an endless path to trap them to death. But he never expected he would be wrong again.

The end of the passageway appeared after turning a corner.

The two stopped in their tracks. Yu Nuo was a bit stunned.

The author has something to say:

Setting reminders:

1. This cave abode has nothing to do with Zhou Yin, but will drive the plot later on.

2. You can make a note of this person Yu Nuo.