Chapter 478: True and False Yuanhuang

Slash!

Two chilling strikes instantly shredded Su Mu's body, leaving jagged, terrifying rifts in the void behind him.

But the two Saint Lords who landed the blow showed no joy. Instead, their expressions drastically changed.

Endless Black Fog surged from Su Mu's shattered remains. It spread incredibly fast, swallowing the two Saint Lords in an instant and dyeing the sky pitch-black.

In an instant, the entire Divine Ruins plunged into eternal night.

"Damn it! This Black Fog blocks perception! My senses are useless!" A heavy shadow loomed over the Lord of Dawn's heart. He could barely see anything beyond a three-meter radius.

Between his blocked perception, his previous battle against the Mechanical Maitreya, and his subordinate's backstab, even a Saint Lord was running on fumes.

He forced himself to calm down. He knew that if he panicked now, he would die without a grave.

That damn Illusion Ash disguised himself as Zhou Qiong and snuck into the team from the start. This entire expedition to the Divine Ruins was a trap set by Illusion Ash!

Now, the Lord of Dawn finally understood the point of "Zhou Qiong's" repeated self-sacrificing acts. He hadn't been saving anyone; it was clearly an excuse to make physical contact and cast Illusion Techniques right under his nose!

This feeling of being played stirred a suffocating rage in his chest. He had been a complete clown this entire time, toyed with in the palm of Illusion Ash's hand. He had even felt admiration for the fake Zhou Qiong.

Damn it!

"Ah!" A scream shattered the silence of the Black Fog.

The Lord of Dawn's expression shifted. That voice... it was Yuanhuang! Not good! If Yuanhuang dies, I definitely can't beat Illusion Ash on my own.

He sprinted toward the source of the sound. Passing through layers of Black Fog, he found Yuanhuang clutching a severed arm, howling in pain.

Six of Yuanhuang's eight arms had been cleanly severed, leaving him with only one head and two arms.

"Where is he?" The Lord of Dawn scanned their surroundings with a hint of panic.

Yuanhuang's face was slick with cold sweat. Clenching his teeth, he pointed to the left. "After he ambushed me, he disappeared that way."

"Are you alright?" The Lord of Dawn stepped closer, reaching out to help Yuanhuang up.

Yuanhuang raised a hand to accept the assistance.

Their hands drew closer in midair. Just before they touched, both of their expressions twisted into savage sneers.

"Illusion Ash! Still trying to trick me? Die!"

They roared in unison, then ruthlessly struck to kill.

Bang!

Thick, sturdy vines collided in midair with a fist gleaming with a metallic luster.

Both stumbled back several steps, staring at each other in stunned surprise.

"You're not Illusion Ash?" they blurted simultaneously.

The Lord of Dawn's expression hardened as he stared fixedly at the Yuanhuang in front of him. The force behind that blow was pure physical strength. Illusion Ash specialized in Illusion Techniques and fire; he didn't possess such tremendous bodily power.

Although this strength was far inferior to Yuanhuang at his peak, it made sense. The real Yuanhuang was already severely injured. Now, with six of his arms severed by Illusion Ash, he was even worse off. He certainly couldn't unleash his full might.

Could it be... the Yuanhuang in front of me isn't Illusion Ash in disguise?

That has to be it. He just mistook me for Illusion Ash and tried to ambush me!

"Illusion Ash just disguised himself as you and ambushed me. Caught off guard, I lost my arms. When you showed up just now, this Saint Lord thought it was Illusion Ash again..." The Lord of Primal Desolation clutched his wounds, his eyes brimming with absolute hatred.

"Are the gears in your head rusted? You knew full well that Illusion Ash specializes in Illusion Techniques, yet you still fell for his trick!" the Lord of Dawn cursed. A two-on-one fight would have offered them a decent chance of victory, but this useless trash Yuanhuang was actually stupid enough to get ambushed.

"Bullshit! This Saint Lord was just caught off guard for a second, allowing his sneak attack to land! If you hadn't been so blind as to bring Illusion Ash into the team, how would this Saint Lord have ended up in such a state?!"

That crude and practiced blame-shifting convinced the Lord of Dawn that the brute before him really was Yuanhuang.

Just then, the Black Fog not far away suddenly surged. A blurry humanoid silhouette was rushing toward them at breakneck speed.

It was Illusion Ash! The Lord of Dawn's eyes grew cold. Beneath his feet, a dense mass of plant roots sprouted silently, burrowing into the ground in an instant.

There were only three people in the Black Fog. With Yuanhuang right beside him, the newcomer had to be Illusion Ash!

Trying to deal with me after finishing off Yuanhuang? The Black Fog might block my line of sight, but doesn't it block yours too? Have a taste of the trap I carefully prepared for you!

The next moment, the earth trembled violently. Tens of thousands of vines, flowers, and stalks of grass shot up from the ground beneath the approaching figure's feet.

"Bastard! Dawn, what the hell are you doing?!" Yuanhuang's furious curses rang out from within the Black Fog.

The Lord of Dawn froze. He waved his arm, and the countless plants danced in response, slightly parting the Black Fog ahead. This revealed Yuanhuang's figure, trapped deep within a sea of flowers.

Yuanhuang gripped the Mechanical Heart in one hand, while his other seven arms thrashed continuously, tearing away the vines wrapping around his body.

Trying to disguise yourself as Yuanhuang to trick me? Dawn sneered inwardly. What a clumsy scheme. This Saint Lord isn't a moron like Yuanhuang.

At that exact moment, the heavily injured Yuanhuang standing behind him suddenly moved.

Hearing the sudden disturbance at his back, Dawn stiffened, horror flashing in his eyes. Did this Saint Lord guess wrong? The two-armed Yuanhuang behind me is the fake? The eight-armed Yuanhuang trapped in the sea of flowers is the real one?

Just as he prepared to attack the two-armed Yuanhuang, the unexpected happened. The two-armed Yuanhuang bypassed the Lord of Dawn entirely, lunging toward the eight-armed Yuanhuang like a wild beast.

"Illusion Ash! Give back this Saint Lord's Fallen Sin Maitreya!"

What?! He didn't ambush me; he's actually trying to snatch back the Fallen Sin Maitreya...

Crap! This brute with a brain full of gears doesn't even care about his own life when it comes to the Divine Corpse.

The Lord of Dawn's expression changed drastically. In that moment, all of his suspicions about the two-armed Yuanhuang vanished.

"Don't go over there!"

The two-armed Yuanhuang turned a deaf ear. His bloodshot eyes were filled with nothing but brutality and sheer lust for the Divine Corpse.

"You!" The Lord of Dawn fumed. Illusion Ash was already trapped by the sea of flowers, giving them a massive advantage. Yet this brute insisted on rushing over to snatch the Divine Corpse right now—wasn't he just making things worse?

But he couldn't just leave the two-armed Yuanhuang alone. If the brute really died, he'd be hard-pressed to deal with Illusion Ash by himself. Left with no other choice, he rushed in after the two-armed Yuanhuang.

"You imposter! You're still trying to steal this Saint Lord's Fallen Sin Maitreya?" The eight-armed Yuanhuang was both shocked and furious. He fended off the coiling plants while simultaneously defending against the two-armed Yuanhuang's attacks.

"Dawn! You idiot, let this Saint Lord go! You've been tricked by him, dammit! I'm the real Yuanhuang!"

Dawn said nothing, merely continuing to unleash a fierce barrage of attacks.

He frantically controlled the plants to assail the eight-armed Yuanhuang, while the two-armed Yuanhuang seized the opening to snatch the Mechanical Heart.

But the exact moment the two-armed Yuanhuang grabbed the Mechanical Heart, brilliant blue light exploded in his eyes, and the power of the nightmare howled out.

Combining with the Black Fog, the nightmare power transformed into a pitch-black spear. Under the Lord of Dawn's horrified gaze, it ruthlessly pierced straight through his heart.