Shen Yan Is on the Verge of Breaking Down

"Ah..."

"Visit home often, visit home often~"

...

"Ah...!!"

"Snowflakes~ drifting~"

...

"Gaia!!!"

"Today is a good day~"

...

With each repeated fall,

as Shen Yan passed by the "Homesick Stone," more and more BGM tracks unlocked.

Each one struck straight to the soul.

Some sounded cheerful, yet carried an inexplicable melancholy.

Shen Yan's face showed no expression, yet it was etched with weariness.

He swung the hammer in his hand bit by bit, climbing upward step by step.

As the height increased, so did the difficulty.

Driven by unwavering determination, Shen Yan had already scaled the Tianxuan Mountain.

The location of his past-life castle had transformed into a towering ancient pagoda within the illusion.

The bad news was that the platforms here were much larger—no more going home.

The good news was that Lu Ze had added some new mechanics.

At this moment, Shen Yan felt extremely uncomfortable with his legs trapped in the jar.

Before this, his lower body had been completely numb, as if the sensation had been blocked.

Now, his legs had regained feeling.

But the sensation of being tightly confined was unbearable.

Especially when he jumped—his newly awakened legs kept fighting for control, twitching involuntarily.

Just then, the illusion's system prompt appeared:

[The demonic seal seems to be weakening... Your legs are gradually regaining sensation...]

"..."

Shen Yan's fists tightened around the hammer's handle.

Not now! Damn it!

This is terrible for gameplay!!!

Meanwhile, the live chat erupted in relief.

[The seal weakened, thank goodness...]

[Seems like Lu the Demon still has a shred of conscience.]

[Really? Brother Shen doesn’t look too happy about it.]

...

Without firsthand experience, no one could understand that regaining sensation now was worse than not regaining it at all.

A pure debuff.

Shen Yan couldn’t exactly lash out, so he forced a smile.

If it was uncomfortable, he’d just have to endure it.

Right then, another system prompt flashed:

[Damn the demonic path! A new curse has been cast upon you—the jar is now filled with venomous insects!]

Shen Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to swear.

The itching sensation on his newly awakened feet grew increasingly unbearable...

The chat exploded instantly.

[You’re the damn demon here!!! Lu the Demon!!!!]

[Are you even human???]

[First restore his legs, then fill the jar with bugs???]

[Just reading this is making me break out in a cold sweat...]

[Monster!!!]

[Brother Shen, run! A demon has infiltrated Tianxuan Sect!!]

...

"I-it’s... fine..."

Shen Yan bit his lip, his face pale.

"This... this trial is nothing to me..."

No way.

After coming this far, how could he quit?

Shen Yan could accept death, but not humiliation!

Fortunately, the insect bites didn’t hurt.

They just itched.

But they still messed with his gameplay.

Gritting his teeth, he pressed forward, swinging his hammer with all his might.

Faster and faster...

...

...

Thanks to Tianxuan Sect’s newly established server,

this livestream was also visible to the Lingxiao Sect.

Zhong Yi, who had just finished a round of "Three Kingdoms Kill," was watching the broadcast with Zhou Yue and Mu Yawen.

"Yikes..."

Seeing Shen Yan plummet from a great height, Zhong Yi sucked in a sharp breath.

When a few venomous insects crawled out of the nearly toppled jar, even Zhou Yue couldn’t stay composed.

"Well... at least Junior Brother Lu treats us as allies..."

Zhou Yue wiped cold sweat from his brow.

Compared to this, their earlier game of "Four Must Work Together" seemed like child’s play.

"I kinda wanna try it, though!"

Mu Yawen grinned eagerly.

As a body cultivator, he felt this illusion suited him perfectly.

"Oh? Should I go buy you a copy from Tianxuan Sect?"

Zhong Yi smirked mischievously.

He’d just suffered a crushing defeat in "Three Kingdoms Kill" thanks to Mu Yawen’s terrible teamwork.

Now was the perfect time for payback.

"Sure, sure!"

"Then Senior Brother should head to Tianxuan Sect right now!"

...

...

Meanwhile, at Tianxuan Sect.

"I made it!!!"

Shen Yan slammed his hammer into the ground, venting his excitement.

By now, five full hours had passed since he entered the illusion.

The livestream was packed with viewers.

Nearly every Tianxuan Sect disciple was cheering him on.

[Brother Shen, you can do it!]

[Don’t let Lu the Demon win!]

[I believe you’ll achieve Hammer-Man Unity one day!]

[Not sure about hammer-man unity, but man-and-jar unity seems pretty solid.]

...

That one out-of-place comment made Shen Yan’s heart sink.

A quick glance at the username confirmed it:

["Conquering Illusions with Brother Shen Yan"].

This guy always knew how to twist the knife, leaving Shen Yan fuming.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

Ahead, he’d unknowingly entered the territory of the snow-capped mountains.

Great.

On top of the hammer’s erratic weight, the unbearable itch in his confined legs, and the imbalance between his left and right hands,

now he had freezing cold to contend with.

Shen Yan steeled himself and pressed onward, hammering his way forward inch by inch.

Soon, an alchemy cauldron blocked his path...

...

...

At the cauldron—the equivalent of the anvil in the previous game—Shen Yan endured yet another round of torment.

Now, he realized the hammer had one more restriction:

The hammerhead would randomly grow or shrink.

Combined with the sudden weight changes, his missteps grew more frequent.

At least after clearing Tianxuan Mountain, he wouldn’t be sent all the way back home.

No matter how many times he fell, he’d restart from the mountain’s peak.

This was the only shred of mercy Shen Yan could attribute to Lu Ze.

...

Another hour passed.

After countless hardships, Shen Yan finally reached a new high point.

A massive floating boulder covered in snow.

Beyond it was a platform impossible to reach by jumping alone.

A bucket hung suspended in midair.

By now, Shen Yan was numb, but he forced himself to focus, analyzing the path ahead:

"Looks like I need to hook onto the bucket first, then swing onto the platform..."

He quickly deduced the solution.

Just then,

he spotted a delicate, floating hand on the other side of the boulder.

Next to it hung a sign that read: [Don’t trust it!]

"What’s this?"

Curious, Shen Yan approached.

The hand suddenly flailed wildly.

A panicked woman’s voice echoed from the void: "Taoist Master, save me! A demon trapped me inside this cursed log... Help! Help!"

A closer look revealed the arm was indeed protruding from a long, thick piece of wood—as if someone had been sealed inside.

The barrage of comments erupted with speculation.

[What’s going on here?]

[Should we save her or not?]

[Feels like a trap…]

[Given Lu Ze’s usual schemes, this is totally his style!]

[Senior Brother Shen, don’t believe it! This woman must be some demonic trick to mess with your mind! Don’t fall for it!]

...

Shen Yan extended the hammer in his hand, about to pass it over.

But after glancing at the floating comments and recalling all the hardships he’d endured along the way,

he suddenly felt his fellow disciples had a point.

Especially since Lu Ze had even planted a blatant sign here.

It all seemed far too deliberate.

With that thought, Shen Yan ignored the outstretched arm and strode straight toward the suspended water bucket.

Seeing no response, the arm slowly withdrew and fell still.

Lu Ze wasn’t worried about Shen Yan’s choice.

He always had multiple contingencies in place and had already accounted for the possibility of Shen Yan seeing through the ruse.

So,

the real trap was yet to come.

When he saw Shen Yan raising the hammer, taking aim at the water bucket in midair,

Lu Ze smirked.

The mission progress had now reached 98%.

Shen Yan was teetering on the brink of breaking.

This time, success was guaranteed.