The man's words struck Lu Wuming's absolute, untouchable nerve.
His expression instantly turned cold, and Lu Wuming asked in a deep voice, "You say you are the future? Meaning you haven't completely disappeared, you still exist within Master's body?"
The man smiled, not answering his question.
But it was precisely this that made Lu Wuming even angrier.
He swung his sword again, still to no avail. He and the man seemed not to exist in the same space-time; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't harm the man in the slightest.
"You want to protect your Master, right? You can't protect him. You can't even hurt me, so how could you possibly protect him?"
"You are far too weak, you can do nothing. You can only watch him leave, watch me reclaim my body."
"But you should be happy."
"Because I've reclaimed control of this body, you can take revenge on me, can't you? Haven't you always wanted to do this? When that time comes, you can tear this body apart to your heart's content, leaving me no chance to return."
"Look forward to it."
The man's voice was like a series of despairing curses, striking Lu Wuming's heart again and again.
Master was right.
This illusion realm would indeed show him what he feared most.
He had never told Liu Buli, because he always worried that some words, once spoken, would become reality.
He was truly worried that Liu Buli's body harbored another soul. And that soul had been lying dormant, waiting for an opportunity.
An opportunity to regain control of the body and expel his Master's soul.
Lu Wuming didn't know if such a thing could truly happen.
But every time he considered the possibility, he would be chilled to the bone, unable to think of anything else.
This was the only worry he had kept from Liu Buli.
But now, this secret realm had dug out his deepest fear.
It was truly formidable...
Taking several deep breaths to calm the churning thoughts in his heart, Lu Wuming looked up at the man again and suddenly felt that no matter what the other party said, he was no longer as nervous or anxious as before.
The possibility did exist, and no one could rule it out. Unless he saw the soul of his enemy completely vanish with his own eyes, he would always worry about such a thing, and it would never change.
But mere worry changed nothing.
It was meaningless and a waste of time.
He had already decided in his heart that if such a thing were to happen, no matter the cost, he would dispel that soul from Liu Buli.
He could do it.
And he must do it.
Therefore, the scene before him would never appear.
This was just an illusion, nothing more.
Thinking this, Lu Wuming looked at the phantom again, his eyes filled with newfound determination.
This time, he didn't use his sword. He raised his hand and unleashed a surge of ghostly energy. The phantom trembled upon contact and then vanished into thin air.
Lu Wuming let out a cold laugh.
As expected.
Just as Master had taught him before, as long as he believed he could do it, illusions could be easily broken.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the thick mist around them had completely dispersed.
Lu Wuming looked around and saw Liu Buli standing beside him. His brow was furrowed, his eyes tightly shut, and his condition was clearly not optimistic.
Lu Wuming immediately became anxious.
"Master..."
"You'd best not disturb him right now..." Yun Xiang's voice sounded timidly from the side. "His spiritual energy is very unstable. If you disturb him forcefully now, he might have an accident. So... don't worry, it's up to Brother Liu now..."