Chapter 27
As Zixu pushed open the stone door, a familiar sensation washed over him once again. Unlike the previous illusory teleportation, this time, it was real. A wave of discomfort settled in his stomach, making him slightly nauseous.
He had already figured out the truth about his so-called "reincarnation" in the previous space. From the very beginning, there had never been any real reincarnation—everything had been an illusion. The scenes he had witnessed, from start to finish, were nothing more than fabricated visions.
He had merely been trapped in an endless cycle of illusion.
As for whether the emotions displayed by the people in that illusion were genuine, he couldn't say. After all, those individuals had nearly been reduced to complete stone statues. He also had no way of knowing whether Tagorihime (天心神姫) possessed the ability to seal a person's consciousness within an illusion permanently.
"Hmm? This place actually looks normal—no weird buildings, no suspicious people... Wait, where the hell is Orochimaru? I forgot to ask Tagorihime. Tch, it'd be best if he just died here..."
Zixu raised an eyebrow as he surveyed his new surroundings.
The space beyond the stone gate wasn't particularly vast, and a thick fog limited his visibility. Slippery rock walls and stalactites jutted out from above, their surfaces smoother than expected. At the very least, it confirmed that he was still within Ryūchi Cave (龍地洞).
This time, it didn't seem like he was caught in another illusion.
"System, oh system... Damn, I really didn't expect a guy like you with your 'thick eyebrows and big eyes' to set a trap for me. Guess I need to be more careful when accepting missions from now on."
Zixu muttered sarcastically, though he knew full well it wasn't really the system's fault. He had simply developed the habit of cracking jokes at it whenever he needed to lighten the mood. At the very least, it helped him stay composed.
As he ventured forward, he created a Shadow Clone (影分身, Kage Bunshin) to scout ahead.