Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

"H-how am I supposed to leave without the wooden gates!? Didn't Chu Li say that the only change would be Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts emerging from the depths of the valley- Unless… Things are different inside the valley compared to when he was looking at it through the wooden gate. Maybe he didn't see the situation inside the valley, but instead just saw an illusion when looking through the wooden gate…?" 

Feeling a profound sense of fear washing over him as he saw the state of the two wooden gates, Xuan Hao felt that his decision to remain inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts without first ensuring that he would be able to leave, had been a mistake.

Not only would he be forced to stay inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts while Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts wandered around the place, but he would also be forced to find a way to deal with the illusory dragon currently in the process of trying to figure out how someone who should only have been in the Soul Ascension Realm had been able to defend against its attack.

Roar-!

Although, it looked like he had run out of time, as the illusory dragon decided to continue its attack after not being able to figure out how he had been able to defend against its claws-

Bang-bang-bang!

Soon enough, the sound of the illusory dragon's claws clashing with Xuan Hao's dao domain could be heard across the periphery of the valley. The battle itself causing the ground beneath to shake with the impact, as any illusory beast still around ran away in fear.

Crack~

However, even though Xuan Hao's dao domain had the ability to resist the claw attack of the illusory dragon for a short time, it soon started to show cracks under the pressure. Even worse… The illusory dragon should be extremely skilled in the Dao of Illusions, but so far, it had only ever used its claws to attack him…

I don't know whether to feel happy or offended at the fact that the illusory dragon doesn't treat me as an equal opponent...

Thinking about this to himself as the cracks covering the outer edges of his dao domain began expanding in size with each claw strike from the illusory dragon, Xuan Hao shook his head before using the Drifting Cloud Steps to escape. Understanding very well that he would only end up dying if he continued to stay and fight the illusory dragon.

Not to mention, given that the illusory dragon didn't use any of its abilities related to the Dao of Illusions, he didn't really gain a lot from fighting it.

In the end, the only way he managed to improve his Dao of Illusions during the fight was by observing the illusory dragon itself. Although helpful, it was far from enough for him to willing risk his life.

Whoosh~

Roar?

Feeling its claws sweeping through the air without hitting anything, the illusory dragon was once again left in a confused state as it looked around itself wondering where Xuan Hao had disappeared to-

Roar-!

Unfortunately for Xuan Hao, the distance covered by the Drifting Cloud Steps was not enough to leave the range of the illusory beast's sense, as it soon came rushing directly towards him the moment he reappeared.

"Looks like its going to hard to shake this one off…" Staring at the illusory dragon that was almost directly on top of him the moment he reappeared, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit helpless as he took another step forward and disappeared again-

Roar!?

Frustrating the illusory dragon in the process, as it looked around itself for a short instant before spotting Xuan Hao appearing again-

Whoosh-!

Rushing straight towards him without wasting a single second- Only to barely miss him in the end…

As this chase continued for the next five minutes with both of them keeping the same distance between each other, the illusory dragon began growing increasingly frustrated with being unable to catch Xuan Hao, whom it perceived to be someone far weaker than itself.

In a sense, it looked to Xuan Hao like the illusory beast's pride had been hurt… 

ROOOOOOAR-!

Unable to take this constant chase back and forth any longer, the illusory beast let out a roar filled with both killing intent and anger, as all sorts of illusions began manifesting around the illusory dragon before flying towards Xuan Hao at a speed far exceeding that of the illusory dragon-

"Huh!?"

As a result, Xuan Hao didn't even have time to use the Drifting Cloud Steps before the illusions created by the illusory dragon engulfed him. Soon forming a deadly attack that ignored his physical body and headed straight for his soul.

Swish-!

However, the moment the illusory attack entered his dantian where his soul was located, it was cut apart by his nascent sword soul without him even having the time to react.

"So… The nascent sword soul is useful for defending against soul-based attacks…" Muttering this to himself as he witnessed how the nascent sword soul easily destroyed the illusory soul attack, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit surprised.

After all, he had never really used his nascent sword soul and didn't have a full grasp of its abilities outside of the fact that it could be used to strengthen his soul and be used for directly attacking the soul of an opponent.

Hm? If the nascent sword soul is useful for dealing with the soul attacks of the illusory dragon, is it perhaps also effective in dealing against soul-based opponent like illusory beasts…?

Suddenly feeling like he had realized something important; Xuan Hao dragged his nascent sword soul out of his dantian before turning around to face the approaching illusory dragon. Planning to test out his idea instead of immediately using the Drifting Cloud Steps to run away.

Roar!

Seeing Xuan Hao not running away, the illusory dragon just thought its attack had been successful in wounding him and didn't think too much about it as its claws once again descended towards Xuan Hao...