After witnessing Zhang Nu's incredible abilities firsthand, Liu Hai realized that Zhang Nu wasn't exaggerating---he truly had the skills to ascend all the way to the top of Nine Fox Ridge. However, while they had momentarily repelled the swarm of snakes, these creatures were relentless, continuously lunging at them as if driven by an unyielding determination. Their sheer numbers were overwhelming, and Liu Hai felt they wouldn't be able to fend them off for long.
"Zhang Nu, this isn't working. How can we get rid of these snakes once and for all?"
Zhang Nu shook his head, feeling helpless. He knew this wasn't a sustainable solution, but something about the situation felt off. Ever since they had arrived here, he had been sensing something strange, as if someone was manipulating events behind the scenes. This intuition had saved him before, during the last game, and now it was flaring up again. Could there be something more to this?
"The only thing I can tell you is that something doesn't feel right about this situation. I think we've walked right into a trap, but I can't figure out exactly where we went wrong."
Liu Hai, hearing Zhang Nu's words, seemed confused, struggling to understand what he meant. "What do you mean by that, Zhang Nu? Do you really think there's something off about all this?"
Zhang Nu's instincts had rarely led him astray in the past, and he knew they had to remain cautious, as there was likely more to this threat than met the eye.
After listening to Liu Hai, Zhang Nu nodded in agreement, his suspicions growing stronger. The situation didn't seem right at all. How was it that upon reaching the third level, the sunlight had suddenly diminished so drastically? If every level had creatures with certain cultivation levels, it was possible they could possess abilities to block the sky. But even if all the snakes here had reached the third stage, it still wouldn't be enough to obscure half the sunlight. This only indicated that something or someone had been manipulating the environment around them.
"Yes," Zhang Nu said, "I suspect that everything we're seeing might be an illusion."
"Once YaoGuai reach a certain level of power, they do gain abilities that can block out the sun. But think about it---when we reached the second level, the sun was still bright. How is it that as soon as we entered the third level, the sun suddenly disappeared? Even if the creatures here are highly cultivated, there's no way they could block out so much sunlight on their own. This means that there's something else going on---everything we're seeing might be fake."
Liu Hai, hearing Zhang Nu's analysis, felt a chill run down his spine. Whoever was behind this must be extremely powerful to be able to deceive them so thoroughly. They had unwittingly fallen into this trap, and this hidden force had manipulated their perception of reality to such an extent that they hadn't even realized it. Now, they were up against a formidable foe, one capable of distorting their surroundings to such a dangerous degree.
"Is that so? Then what should we do now, Zhang Nu?" Liu Hai asked anxiously. "Are we just going to sit here and wait to die? Isn't there any way to escape?"
Zhang Nu shook his head, still uncertain about the best course of action. He wasn't entirely sure if his ideas would work or if they even applied to the situation they were facing. Everything was still unclear.
"I don't know what we should do yet," Zhang Nu admitted. "We have no idea if what we're seeing is real or just an illusion. And without knowing that, we're stuck without a clear solution."
Liu Hai understood the gravity of Zhang Nu's words. But he also knew that if they didn't act soon, the snakes would overwhelm them, and they would be in serious trouble. These snakes were deadly, and if they swarmed them, their bodies would be devoured in seconds.
"But Zhang Nu, regardless of everything else, our priority has to be dealing with these snakes in front of us," Liu Hai urged. "Once they're out of the way, we can take the time to think about what's really going on."
Zhang Nu nodded and refocused his attention on the snakes. If this entire environment was an illusion, then these snakes were likely not real either. The challenge was figuring out how to disrupt the illusion and escape.
"I'm almost certain that what we're seeing isn't real," Zhang Nu said thoughtfully. "We're probably caught inside some sort of illusion formation. The more we feed into our fear of these snakes, the stronger their attacks will be. But if we can stop fearing them, they'll disappear on their own, and we'll be free of this mess."