Watching the Mountain

Chapter 435: Chapter 223: The Utterly Insidious Wuchen Daoist Monarch

The moment the two attacked, he once again deployed his special Mental Realm.

This time, however, the effect he deployed was a different kind of illusion. It silently weakened his opponents’ power. Their seemingly mighty attacks were actually devoid of the unique Dao principles of the Divinity Transformation Realm, rendering them even weaker than Shen Wuchen’s own.

Therefore, when their attacks collided with Shen Wuchen’s Divine Technique, they were instantly broken.

This scene left Vast Sea Daoist Monarch and Shifang Daoist Monarch aghast. After taking a direct hit, they hastily waved their hands to defend themselves before retreating and scattering.

In their eyes, the full-force attack from the two of them had just been effortlessly shattered by Wuchen Daoist Monarch.

Shifang Daoist Monarch exclaimed in shock, ”So this is Wuchen Daoist Monarch’s true power. It’s truly terrifying.”

’It’s incredible,’ he thought. ’Even facing a full-force assault from me and my old friend, Vast Sea Daoist Monarch, that Wuchen Daoist Monarch can still handle it with such ease. It seems my earlier suspicions were correct—Wuchen Daoist Monarch has been holding back and feigning weakness this whole time.’

’To have such power at his age, and to be so capable of holding back... This Wuchen Daoist Monarch is truly remarkable. Perhaps he’ll become an unparalleled expert who will dominate this era.’

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the furious roar of his old friend, Vast Sea Daoist Monarch, suddenly reached his ears:

”Something’s wrong! He’s influenced us again! Our attacks didn’t have any real power behind them at all!”

Shen Wuchen’s special Mental Realm was not infallible. Its effect was strongest on the first use. If used multiple times on the same target, the chances of it being seen through increased significantly. If one was on guard, it was much easier to break free, even if one fell for it again.

”What?” Shifang Daoist Monarch cried out in shock and suspicion. He too snapped out of it, breaking free from Shen Wuchen’s special Mental Realm.

”So it’s true.” After coming to his senses, Shifang Daoist Monarch also realized the problem. He stared grimly at Shen Wuchen and spoke in a low voice:

”This again... influencing us so silently. Truly insidious.”

He then warned Vast Sea Daoist Monarch:

”Be careful. The mere fact that he can repeatedly and silently influence us suggests his power is anything but simple.”

Vast Sea Daoist Monarch acknowledged this, then said with an ugly expression, ”I don’t care what his power level is. Now that we’re on our guard, it’ll be hard for him to influence us again. Let’s just attack with our full strength. I refuse to believe the two of us can’t suppress him.”

Their conversation wasn’t hidden in the slightest, and Shen Wuchen heard every word. His face remained an arrogant, emotionless mask, seemingly unmoved.

’But inside, he was burning with anxiety. He understood there was no path of retreat now. He could only react to their moves as they came and try to stall for as long as possible.’

With a thought, he once again unleashed his special Mental Realm, enveloping the two of them.

As the Mental Realm descended, Shifang Daoist Monarch said to Vast Sea Daoist Monarch:

”That’s right. And have you noticed? He’s influenced us twice, but he never took the opportunity to seriously injure us with a stronger attack. Perhaps that last attack of his *is* his strongest attack.”

”Just as the intelligence reports said, he follows the path of the Flying Immortal Stream, so he can’t unleash anything stronger... Crap! He’s influenced me again!”

He broke free from the special Mental Realm and was about to erupt in anger, but his expression suddenly froze. He stared at the impassive Shen Wuchen and let out a strange, cackling laugh:

”I see... I understand now. Perhaps *this* is the truth of it?”

In response to this question, Shen Wuchen’s expression didn’t change as he replied coolly, ”Perhaps. You... are welcome to try.”

As he spoke, he deployed his Mental Realm again. He knew it was unlikely to have much effect at this point, but he had no other options. He could only keep using it to stall for time.

Their battle, which seemed to last a long time, had in fact only been going on for a few breaths.

’It’s too short. Not enough. I have to hold on longer.’

Shifang Daoist Monarch sneered at his words. ”Haha, trying to sound tough, are we? It seems my guess was the truth after all. Aside from that unknown technique of yours, your actual strength is just this meager. In that case, I will be taking your life today!”

The words had barely left his lips when his expression shifted. He let out a low growl, his face contorting. ”Dammit! I was influenced again!”

But before he could get truly angry, he suddenly sensed a powerful aura rapidly approaching from the distance.

Upon sensing this aura, a sudden realization struck him. He growled to Vast Sea Daoist Monarch at his side, ”Not good.”

He snapped his head up, an unshakable gloom clouding his brow. ”I get it now. He never used stronger attacks because he wanted us to let our guard down, to make us think this was the extent of his power! Then, once his ally arrives, he’ll use an even more insidious method to ambush us.”

Feeling the approaching aura grow stronger, he shouted to Vast Sea Daoist Monarch, ”This man is far too calculating! If we wait for his ally to arrive, I’m afraid we’ll be at a disadvantage. We should retreat first!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he gave the expressionless Shen Wuchen one last, deep look, and his figure retreated.

Seeing this, Vast Sea Daoist Monarch didn’t hesitate for a moment and chose to retreat as well.

He agreed with Shifang Daoist Monarch’s assessment. This Wuchen Daoist Monarch’s power was unpredictable. The fact that he could silently influence them and make them underestimate him was clearly a deliberate act, all to set them up for a treacherous backstab at the right moment.