The feeling of unease was finally answered when Liu Qiaozhi suddenly called out to Ning Yitao.
Zhaocai and Liu Qiaozhi had been staying in Ning Yitao's storage bag. Inside, Liu Qiaozhi created illusions for Zhaocai, and Zhaocai taught her how to control them.
Thinking of Liu Qiaozhi, Ning Yitao realized she had overlooked the most important thing.
That was the "illusion".
She had explored every corner of this castle, and the only place she hadn't seen was the hidden illusion within.
She herself hadn't been able to discover it, but for Liu Qiaozhi, who could control illusions, it was a piece of cake.
To confirm her suspicion,
Ning Yitao sent Ji Wangqiu away, saying she wanted to take a walk alone. Ji Wangqiu didn't think much of it and just told her not to wander off, then went to prepare lunch for her.
Ning Yitao replied to Ji Wangqiu perfunctorily.
After watching Ji Wangqiu walk away, Ning Yitao took out Liu Qiaozhi and Zhaocai.
Ning Yitao said to Liu Qiaozhi,
"Feel it. Is there a hidden illusion here?"
Liu Qiaozhi nodded obediently.
Ning Yitao released her spiritual power, greatly narrowing down the search area of the castle and presenting the suspicious places in front of Liu Qiaozhi so that she could find the answer more quickly.
Fortune favors the brave.
With the blessing of Ning Yitao's spiritual power, Liu Qiaozhi found a strange place.
Moreover, that place was right in front of them.
They were standing in the back garden of the castle.
Surrounded by them were bright and delicate roses, glistening with dew, proudly raising their heads and looking down on the passers-by.
They were so beautiful.
Liu Qiaozhi opened the illusion above this large rose garden.
The illusion was so vast that Liu Qiaozhi slumped to the ground weakly the moment she opened it. Her power was instantly drained.
Ning Yitao put Liu Qiaozhi and Zhaocai back into the storage bag.
This time, she would explore the secrets of this castle herself.
After Ning Yitao stepped over the huge rift of the illusion, the rift quietly disappeared behind her.
Ning Yitao noticed it but just stared coldly at the disappearing place without panicking.
This illusion wasn't much different from the castle she had just left. The buildings were exactly the same.
It was just that the castle in the illusion was more like a dead one.
The dim moon hung high in the sky.
The bright sun in reality had turned into a gloomy moon, as if the rift of the illusion had separated day and night.
The empty mansion exuded a cold and bone-chilling feeling when the pale moonlight shone through the window.
Under the moonlight, where the dust particles were broken, a faint fragrance wafted.
Ning Yitao looked down at the rose bushes under her feet.
They were all withered and dead.
The moon was shrouded by dark clouds, and the whole castle was in an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
In the dead of night, listen carefully.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong."
In the long night, the ancient golden bell on the sundial echoed, and a strange airflow rose.
Everything here was eerie.
The plants here were all dead, and even the big trees were left with bare branches, on which a few crows stood sparsely.
The crows' blood-red eyes all turned towards Ning Yitao when she appeared.
In the darkness, a large number of red eyes lit up in the air.
There were more crows than what met the eye.
Ning Yitao looked around. She didn't know when she had been surrounded by a flock of crows.
Around Ning Yitao were countless red eyes, all staring at her intently.
It made one's hair stand on end.
Now Ning Yitao was like being surrounded in their ambush circle.
The crows were silent, but the red light in their eyes was startling.
Ning Yitao just glanced at them.
It was said that crows were messengers from hell.
Maybe it was really true.
When Ning Yitao took the first step, the crows followed.
They swooped straight towards Ning Yitao.
Looking at the large number of crows, their wings faintly glinted with cold light on the way.
There were blades inside!
These crows were coming to devour the flesh and blood of the intruder.
Ning Yitao stood still, waiting for their attack. Her jade bracelet was glowing, ready to go.
When the crows opened their mouths,
The jade bracelet glowed to its fullest, and a wave of energy swept across the area.
Time was instantly frozen.
The crows were fixed in mid-air, unable to move, and could only wait for Ning Yitao's judgment.
Ning Yitao's thin lips parted slightly:
"Kill."
The crows fell one by one, exploding in mid-air and falling to the ground.
The dirty blood splattered all over the ground, and the internal organs were scattered on the floor.
Not a single drop of the splashing blood got on Ning Yitao.
After solving these troubles,
Ning Yitao stepped on the flesh and blood without changing her expression and continued to explore forward.
Ning Yitao vaguely felt that this illusion hidden in Ji Wangqiu's house might be the key to solving the mystery.
Ji Wangqiu had just shown Ning Yitao around the castle, and Ning Yitao could tell the general directions.
The wave of pressure she had just released made the things hidden in the dark not dare to act rashly.
Ning Yitao didn't take those miscellaneous things seriously.
At this time, Liu Qiaozhi suddenly called out to Ning Yitao anxiously. She sensed something was wrong and said,
"Taotao, turn left in the southwest direction. There's an alley. There seems to be something in it."
Hearing this, Ning Yitao headed towards the southwest.
As she got closer, the surrounding scenery became even more eerie.
For some reason, the ground was covered with unknown vines.
They were still wriggling.
But they didn't dare to get close to Ning Yitao.
Wherever Ning Yitao passed, the vines that had originally occupied the whole road obediently dispersed, making way for her.
This was the effect of the pressure she had just exerted.
These low-level evil things would instinctively avoid harm.
Ning Yitao recalled that when Ji Wangqiu showed her around the southwest area, she didn't seem to see an alley. Wasn't it a dead end there?
"Is that the secret hidden in the illusion?"
Ning Yitao asked.
Liu Qiaozhi shook her head and replied,
"No. The illusion in this place is divided into many fragmented parts and scattered randomly in every corner. It's just that the induction in the southwest corner is stronger. There's something there that I can't see."
"That thing seems to be hovering?"
Liu Qiaozhi said uncertainly.
Ning Yitao signaled that she understood. She walked through the flowerbed without any obstruction.
One couldn't tell if it was lucky or unlucky.
The master of this illusion happened to be absent at this moment. Otherwise, she would never have been able to stroll around here so easily.
However, Ning Yitao guessed wrong this time. The master of the illusion had always been there, observing her every move in the dark.
However, for some reason, the master of the illusion didn't stop Ning Yitao.
When Ning Yitao finally reached the southwest corner, she saw the alley that Liu Qiaozhi had mentioned.
She also understood what Liu Qiaozhi meant by "hovering".
There was something trapped in that small alley.
It was actually a Prophecy Bird?!
Ning Yitao took a few steps closer and observed the Prophecy Bird's movements.
But there was a barrier between the alley that appeared out of nowhere in the southwest corner.
Ning Yitao couldn't see clearly what it was saying. She could only see its figure hovering constantly.
Ning Yitao put her hand on the barrier and gently squeezed it, shattering the cage that had been trapping the Prophecy Bird.
Only then did she see the whole appearance of the Prophecy Bird.
It had two heads on one body, half black and half white, with a clear boundary. Trapped in the narrow alley, it could only bump around like a headless fly, trying to find a way out.
There was blood all over the Prophecy Bird's head from the bumps.
It saw Ning Yitao break the exit.
It immediately flapped its wings and flew out of the cage, then landed steadily on Ning Yitao's hand.
The white head of the Prophecy Bird said,
"All things will perish."
The black head said,
"Pray to my figure every day, and you will get the answer."
The next second, the black head disappeared, leaving only a drop of its blood on the ground.