Chapter 1077: Red and White Clash

Yu Yanluo, who had been watching Zu'an and the Paper Bride fight inside the cave, was startled when a red light flashed, and both vanished without a trace.

Her alarm was considerable. She quickly scanned her surroundings and simultaneously released her ki perception, but unfortunately, there was no trace of Zu'an, nor of the Paper Bride.

She abruptly turned to Kong Qing, who was standing beside her. "What did you do to him?"

Kong Qing replied in a low voice, "He was likely pulled into the Paper Bride's unique space. He probably won't be able to get out anytime soon."

Hearing this, Jian Taiding, who was in the corner, was overjoyed. *Heaven truly has eyes,* he thought. *That troublesome fellow has finally disappeared.*

He had heard rumors about the Paper Bride, how many masters had fallen to her. They were supposedly trapped in her illusions, their souls and spirits eventually absorbed, leaving behind only the shells of living dead.

*It would be best if Zu'an is drained dry in that illusion,* he mused. *That way, there might still be a chance for things between my sister-in-law and me.*

While he was feeling elated, Yu Yanluo was filled with worry. Her delicate brows furrowed upon hearing Kong Qing's explanation. "Are you trying to fool me? How could her cultivation level form a domain?"

If it were merely an illusion, Zu'an's physical body should still be here. But since his body had also vanished, he had clearly been pulled into a special space.

Only Grandmasters typically possessed such an ability, which was known as a domain. Within their domain, they were gods.

In a sense, her Painting World could be considered a nascent domain. However, her own situation was unique; combined with the assistance of the Libationer and an early fortuitous encounter where she obtained a magic artifact, the *Thousand Miles Mountains and Seas Scroll*, she was able to create her own space.

While wondrous, its power was vastly inferior to the domains of Grandmasters.

*How could the Paper Bride possibly possess the virtue or ability to create a domain?*

Kong Qing shook his head. "It's not a true domain. Her techniques are very unusual, and combined with her personal encounters, she's managed to create a strange space."

Although she was nominally under his control, she had never feared him precisely because of this hidden card. Even he felt a certain apprehension towards it.

Despite her being a demon, Yu Yanluo was breathtakingly beautiful. Seeing her upset and worried, he couldn't bear it and tried to comfort her. "Madam Yu, please rest assured. Brother Zu is a friend of the Princess, and the Paper Bride heard that just now. She likely won't truly harm him."

"If anything happens to him, all of you will pay with your lives," Yu Yanluo said coldly, her beautiful face etched with frosty determination.

Kong Qing frowned slightly but said nothing.

The Dark Elf nearby couldn't help but sneer, "What big talk."

Their side, with Kong Qing, their most powerful cultivator, not even having acted yet, already held the upper hand. *Where did this woman get the courage to say such things? Are all beautiful women so unreasonable?*

Yu Yanluo closed her eyes, completely ignoring him.

Jian Taiding, on the other hand, was ashen-faced. If he had held onto any illusions before, at this moment, it was confirmed: his sister-in-law, who was like a goddess in his heart, the one who disdained all men, truly harbored special concern for that Zu fellow.

"If only she cared for me like that, I'd die a happy man," Jian Taiding muttered, leaning against the ice wall. He felt disheartened. The cold from the ice wall numbed his body, but his heart felt even more numb at that moment.

He even forgot to be angry at Zu'an.

At this moment, Zu'an was, of course, unaware of everything happening outside. He found himself in a forest.

Some red cloths hung on the trees on both sides of the forest, as if a wedding was being held somewhere.

However, in this desolate wilderness, red cloths hanging on withered trees and dead bamboo felt strangely out of place.

The ground was covered with thick, withered yellow leaves, and a faint mist pervaded the mountain forest. Deep within the woods, there seemed to be a few tombstones.

A black crow perched on a tree branch cawed incessantly, making the surroundings appear even more desolate and eerie.

Zu'an frowned. *What in the world is going on? I remember I was supposed to be in the ice cave. Where's Yu Yanluo?*

*Right, I was just fighting the Paper Bride...*

He secretly pinched his thigh, and pain shot through him, indicating his physical body was indeed present. His heart skipped a beat. *Could this be a domain?*

*No, that's not right. If it were a domain, wouldn't the Paper Bride possess Grandmaster-level cultivation? She'd only need a single finger to deal with me; why would she waste so much effort?*

Just then, the sound of instruments suddenly drifted from afar. Listening closely, it sounded like the kind of procession music played during weddings in villages long ago.

However, the timbre and tone of the instruments seemed slightly off. Instead of conveying any joyousness, the music produced an unsettling, eerie feeling.

At that moment, a large mass of thick fog surged out from a small path in the eastern forest. Within the fog, some red figures seemed to be moving.

As the music drew closer, he gradually made out the scene: it was a wedding procession. People at the front and back carried placards or played instruments, escorting a large, ornate sedan chair that slowly emerged from the mist.

Every person in the procession, from their clothes and shoes to their hats, was clad entirely in red, a dazzling and somewhat jarring sight.

*Is the Paper Bride sitting in that sedan chair?* Zu'an secretly tensed, on guard.

Just then, sharp bursts of suona music suddenly came from the west.

The suona truly was an an unrivaled instrument; no other could suppress its sound.

He was also familiar with this music; he had heard such tunes many times at funerals in his village.

Ironically, the wedding procession also had suonas. It truly lived up to its reputation as an instrument that could accompany one from birth to burial.

However, Zu'an couldn't laugh now. He stared intently at the western road.

As another wave of thick fog emerged, a funeral procession slowly appeared. Each person was dressed in mourning white, looking pale and haggard, carrying a black coffin.

The people at the front moved with strange, trembling steps, seemingly performing a soul-summoning ritual.

Turning back to the wedding procession, the people at the front were also singing and dancing. To some extent, the dances of both groups bore a striking resemblance.

The two processions seemed oblivious to each other, showing no intention of stopping, and walked directly towards one another.

Listening to the incredibly eerie music from both sides, Zu'an felt his scalp tingle.

In his previous life, he had seen similar scenes in the movie *Mr. Vampire*, which had given him goosebumps then. He never imagined he would experience it firsthand now.

The impact was exponentially greater.

He quickly darted to the side of the road. In his previous life, he used to criticize movie characters for foolishly standing in the middle of the road, waiting to be hit by oncoming processions. So this time, he cleverly moved out of the way.

However, he soon realized he was too naive. His vision blurred, and he found that the two processions were still slowly advancing directly towards him.

He looked down at his feet and saw that he was still standing in the middle of the road.

"Huh?" Zu'an jumped to the other side again, but his vision blurred, and he was back in the middle of the road.

*A ghost wall?*

Zu'an's heart sank. He immediately tapped his toes, leaping onto a tree. *I'm not on the road anymore,* he thought. *Let's see what you do now.*

But the next moment, his eyes widened in disbelief. He saw the two processions, one red for weddings and one white for funerals, appearing in mid-air, walking on empty space directly towards him.

Moreover, after several rounds of evasion, both processions were getting closer and closer to him.

He could even smell the burning incense, candles, and paper ingots from the funeral procession, and the scent of rouge and powder from the wedding procession.

The figures in white and red seemed to be dancing and walking, their forms gradually becoming blurred and overlapping.

Coupled with the hair-raising music, Zu'an couldn't help but touch his forehead, feeling a wave of dizziness.

*Damn, these dances are an illusion formation!*

Zu'an was startled. He immediately summoned Bai Ming. After a series of piercing cries, all the instruments in the hands of the figures exploded, and the irritating music vanished.

He secretly congratulated himself. The eerie dances, combined with the music and even the scent of incense, candles, and cosmetics on their bodies, were individually harmless, making it difficult for one to become wary.

However, when put together, they formed an extremely potent illusion formation. By the time someone caught in it realized what was happening, it would be too late.

If he hadn't already achieved immunity to all poisons, which deactivated the final link of this intricate trap, he would most likely have fallen victim by now.

Seeing this, the people in both the funeral and wedding processions lunged towards him.

Zu'an snorted coldly. Flames surged in his hand. These were clearly the Paper Bride's subordinates, and being made of paper, they would naturally fear fire.

As for the more precious Primordial Qi, he would save it for the Paper Bride herself.

As expected, as the flaming long blade in his hand flared up, the figures in white and red scattered in a panic, quickly being incinerated to ashes.

"Paper Lady, why don't you reveal yourself now?" Zu'an remained on guard, but the Paper Lady did not launch a sneak attack.

So his gaze fell upon the red sedan chair in the middle of the scene.

Unfortunately, no one emerged from inside.

He naturally wouldn't rashly pull back the curtain of the sedan chair. Instead, he slowly raised his flaming blade and directly slashed towards the sedan chair.

Just then, the coffin behind him suddenly moved on its own, its lid shooting out towards him.

Zu'an swung his blade back, but the coffin lid, made of an unknown material, was not split in two. It merely flew back.

The coffin itself flew over and caught the lid, then opened its dark planks as if a gaping maw ready to swallow him whole.

I've been writing since morning without stopping, except for meals, and I've finally finished today's two chapters.

I even feel that my speed is too slow, which is frustrating.