Illusion Within Illusion I Can't Tell

Nine Nether Venerable’s breath halted.

Whether he had forgotten to breathe or simply didn’t dare, even he couldn’t say.

In an instant, scenes flashed before his eyes once more—visions of himself being crushed like an ant beneath the merciless tread of the terrifying Ghost Buddha before him.

This time, it wasn’t an illusion conjured by the Ghost Buddha.

It was his own mind conjuring the horror.

In his dazed state,

a single eerie character appeared before him:

"Death."

Then came a second, a third…

Until his mind was flooded with the word, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.

Nine Nether Venerable, who had prided himself on dancing on the edge of life and death countless times, only now understood the true weight of "death."

He had no doubt—

he would die!

Had this been the earlier game, death would have been nothing—just an illusion.

But this was reality!

Death here was final!

A single breath from the Ghost Buddha before him would erase even his soul, leaving nothing behind!

So, despite his formidable cultivation, his terror now was a thousand times greater than when he had been unarmed in the illusion.

"I… I…"

Under the crushing weight of fear, snot and tears streamed uncontrollably down Nine Nether Venerable’s face.

Three meters away, the Ghost Buddha tilted its head slightly, a mocking smirk curling at its lips.

Its expression spoke clearly from its lofty perch:

Bow, or not?

With a thud,

Nine Nether Venerable collapsed to his knees, his mind utterly blank.

Driven by sheer survival instinct, the only thing he could do was—

kowtow.

Not a reverent bow, but a mechanical, frenzied, desperate hammering of his forehead against the ground, as if he could bury his skull deep into the earth.

Even if it shattered his skull, he didn’t care!

As he smashed his head against the ground, Nine Nether Venerable babbled incoherently through his throat:

"I… bow… I bow…"

"Spare… spare me… spare me… wuu… spare…"

"I shouldn’t have listened to the demonic whispers… shouldn’t have dared covet the power of the Ghost Immortal… I’m unworthy… unworthy…"

"Let me go! Let… let me…"

……

Nine Nether Venerable was certain he had gone mad.

Unending tremors of terror spread through his mind.

All he could do—

was kowtow! Grovel! Beg!

This was the only offering he could make before such an unfathomably terrifying existence!

Blood trickled down his forehead, staining his vision crimson, making the black deathly aura surrounding the Ghost Buddha appear even more despair-inducing!

How long had passed?

The Ghost Buddha’s expression finally shifted.

Its crimson eyes curved into crescents, its grin widening to reveal rows of jagged, indescribably sinister fangs:

"Too late."

Two simple words,

but to Nine Nether Venerable, they were the most horrifying pronouncement in the world!

"No… NO!!!"

He wanted to flee, but his body refused to move.

As if it had already accepted his death.

Helpless, Nine Nether Venerable could only watch as the Ghost Buddha peeled away his skin, severed his tendons, shattered his bones…

And in the next moment,

Nine Nether Venerable vanished from the world.

The scenery of Lingxiao Sect crumbled away.

Then, a results screen appeared:

[Match Summary:]

[Evil Entity Type: Nightmare (+0)]

[Escape a Ghost Hunt (Failed)]

[Witness an Eldritch Perspective and Survive (Failed)]

……

Meanwhile,

in Nine Nether Venerable’s livestream.

The chat exploded in shock at the horrifying spectacle!

[Wait… an illusion within an illusion?!]

[The old man thought he’d escaped the illusion… but it was still the Ghost Buddha’s trick…]

[Obvious fake! Who here would call Lu Ze "Lu the Demon"?]

[Honestly, if I were in there, I wouldn’t have noticed either.]

[This is insane! That ghost is cunning and ruthless… anyone would piss themselves in there!]

[Who the hell would dare try Ghost Immortal difficulty after this?!]

[Straup treating the old man like a demonic plaything…]

[Wait, did he just say he listened to demonic whispers?]

[Damn, he vanished!]

[Probably scared out of the illusion? Old man’s got nerves of steel—I’d have noped out way sooner…]

……

……

Lingxiao Sect, guest quarters.

Nine Nether Venerable sat slumped on the floor, babbling incoherently about "not knowing what’s real."

His mind had shattered.

Nangong Yuan and Lu Ze stood nearby, watching coldly.

Nine Nether Venerable’s earlier ramblings had exposed some unsavory secrets.

Lu Ze wasn’t surprised—his system had already hinted that the ghostly calamity was tied to demonic forces.

Nangong Yuan, meanwhile, had contacted Zhao Wendao to investigate further.

"Your illusion… why is it so hellish?"

Nangong Yuan gave Lu Ze a sidelong glance.

While it had accidentally exposed Nine Nether Venerable’s collusion with the demonic path,

the sheer horror of the Ghost Immortal difficulty was beyond excessive.

Especially the nested illusions—

even watching from outside sent chills down his spine.

"Works well, doesn’t it? Just a bit hard on the master."

Lu Ze chuckled.

Nangong Yuan’s face darkened.

The thought of being one-shot by the Ghost Buddha in front of everyone still rankled.

"You’re slandering your master! Since when am I that weak? A Ghost Buddha could kill me in one hit?"

"Ahem, the Ghost Buddha was played by a remnant of the Heavenly Dao…"

"...What I meant was, the Ghost Buddha isn’t weak enough to need that much effort to beat you."

"……"

……

……

Nine Nether Venerable’s livestream caused an uproar.

"Ghost Town’s" Ghost Immortal difficulty instantly became synonymous with "ultimate horror."

As for Nine Nether Venerable’s mutterings about colluding with demonic forces, Lingxiao Sect’s investigation confirmed it.

The "ghost calamity" was indeed the work of demonic cultivators.

Nine Nether Venerable had been involved, lured by promises of Ghost Immortal power to break through his cultivation.

The investigation method was simple:

An illusion of the Ghost Buddha, and Nine Nether Venerable spilled everything—even how many times he’d wet the bed as a child.

……

Once his sanity returned, Nine Nether Venerable’s fear of ghosts and evil entities never faded.

His proud soul cultivation crumbled, his power draining away like sand.

Across the Heavenly Profound Continent, the title "Venerable" was stripped from his name, leaving only the tale of his double-layered nightmare as idle gossip.

……

……

[Quest Complete!]

[Host has successfully accumulated terror points from righteous cultivators using evil entities within 30 days!]

[Reward: Mental Break System upgraded. Demon Path efficiency multiplier increased.]

"Whoa, the multiplier can go higher?"

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow.

Well, well. Seems the system’s pushing him to make more horror games.

But that might be tough for now—the Ghost Immortal difficulty livestream had left cultivators too traumatized to dare another attempt anytime soon.

"Any mental break counts? Maybe I’ll make a tearjerker game next…"