The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 297. The Next Floor is an Illusion?

A spatial crack faintly resonating in a cave, like splitting the fabric of reality apart like a wound in the void. From within the shifting rift, eleven cloaked figures emerged, stepping onto the damp, moss-covered ground of an unfamiliar ancient forest.

As soon as their feet touched the earth, an eerie silence greeted them. The air was thick and humid, filled with the scent of decayed leaves and distant rain. Despite the dense canopy overhead, faint light filtered through the foliage, casting moving shadows over their forms.

Tyler, at the forefront of the group, narrowed his eyes as he took in their surroundings.

This place looks good.

His instincts said otherwise.

"Careful," he warned, his voice low but commanding. "Is this an Abyss-type forest?"

Tyler and others walked out and saw a greenish forest. They were little confused because usually Forest Type Abyss is full of Abyss Mist and Plant Monsters.

But this place seems very calm.

"Quick! Fly high and scan the moons!" he ordered.

Without hesitation, one of the Grandmasters, a seasoned cultivator with long silver hair, leaped into the air, his cloak billowing as he shot towards the sky. His eyes glowed faintly as he activated his Divine Sense, stretching his consciousness beyond the treetops, beyond the distant peaks, beyond the clouds—until he could see the celestial bodies above.

He hovered there for a moment, silent, before descending swiftly back to the group. His expression was one of relief.

"There are countless moons," he reported.

At those words, everyone sighed in relief.

The presence of multiple moons meant that they were not in the deep Abyss, but rather in its Top floors—a much safer Floor, though still dangerous in its own right.

If only that relief lasted.

Without wasting time, they moved forward, cautiously making their way out of the dense forest. But as they walked, something strange began to settle in their minds.

Mathilda, her sharp eyes scanning their path, frowned.

"There are no Abyss monsters at all..." she murmured, confusion lacing her tone.

Tyler nodded, his expression grim. That wasn’t normal.

The Abyss—even its safe floor—was supposed to be crawling with monsters. The fact that they hadn’t encountered a single creature so far was unnerving.

Mana, hovering in the air above them, suddenly gasped.

"Tyler... there is a..." She trailed off, her voice shaking with disbelief.

Tyler’s eyes snapped to her.

"What? What is it?"

Mana hesitated for only a moment before speaking again.

"There’s a village ahead."

Silence fell over the group.

A village? In the Abyss?

One of the Grandmasters, the women who slept with Tyler, furrowed her brows.

"That’s impossible," she said.

Yet, as they hurried forward, what they saw defied all logic.

Before them lay a small, peaceful village—wooden houses with smoke rising from chimneys, children playing in the dirt roads, villagers chatting as they went about their daily tasks. The scene was idyllic, completely at odds with the twisted horrors of the Abyss.

Tyler felt his mind grinding against the impossibility of it all.

"How the hell...?" he muttered, his eyes scanned the area curiously.

This place shouldn’t exist.

Abyssal zones were forbidden lands —where life did not belong, where entire civilizations had been swallowed by madness and corruption. For example if this village is swallowed by the Abyss from a random world, it is impossible for the village to survive.

Yet here it was, standing like a relic of a time that should not be.

Suddenly, a group of children ran past them, laughing as they played.

And then—

They passed straight through them.

Like ghosts through mist.

Mana screamed.

"AHH! Are we dead?! Are we ghosts?!" she panicked, her voice rising in pitch.

Tyler turned to her, deadpan.

"You are a ghost, though."

"That’s not the point!" Mana shot back, flailing.

Mathilda ignored their exchange, her sharp gaze locked onto the village.

"Is this entire place an illusion?" she asked.

Tyler considered the possibility. It was reasonable. But something felt different. This wasn’t like a mere illusion array—it felt deeper, like a truth they weren’t meant to perceive.

He reached out his copper ladle and plucked a leaf from a tree from the nearby forest. Holding it between his fingers, he studied its vibrant green color, its veins, its delicate edges. A real leaf.

Then, as he took a step forward—

The leaf slipped through his fingers, becoming intangible.

Like the children.

Tyler exhaled slowly, realization dawning.

"This leaf came from the forest." He turned to the others, his eyes sharp. "But the moment it entered the village, it became... like them."

Everyone stiffened, the weight of his words settling over them.

Mathilda’s face darkened.

"So this place isn’t an illusion."

"Or at least... not entirely."

Before they could theorize further, a soft voice made them freeze.

"@#£__..."

They turned.

Standing right beside them, mere inches away, were the same children that had run through them earlier. Their curious eyes stared directly at them.

The words they spoke were incomprehensible, like whispers from a forgotten tongue.

Tyler’s entire body went rigid.

A primal instinct screamed at him to run.

"MOVE!" he barked.

The group bolted—racing out of the village, their cloaks fluttering behind them as they breached its borders.

Only when they were well beyond the village’s outskirts did they stop.

The kids looked at each other in confusion and they left.

One of the Grandmasters, turned to Tyler with a grave expression.

"Did we... become illusions?"

Tyler, heart still hammering, narrowed his eyes and took a steadying breath.

"Probably. But not fully."

He turned back to look at the village.

From the outside, it was picturesque, peaceful—as if the very concept of danger had never touched it. But they all knew better.

This place was not normal.

And more importantly—they were now connected to it in some way.

Tyler’s eyes darkened.

"Where’s the spatial passage that leads to our next destination?" he asked.

One of the Grandmasters pulled out a compass, that is used to track Lily Gomes.

The needle spun wildly for a few seconds before finally pointing straight ahead—

Towards the village.

The group fell silent.

Tyler clenched his jaw.

"Well, Let’s go around." He simply said.

Mathilda folded her arms, clicking her tongue, "Looks like we don’t have a choice."

They had hoped to avoid that place—but fate had other plans.

After a brief discussion, they decided to circle around the village.

But after several minutes of walking, they found themselves standing at the edge of a vast lake.

The compass is now pointing backwards. They turned around and saw the village.

Meaning—their destination wasn’t just near the village.

It was inside it.

Tyler stared at the calm waters of the lake, then back at the distant houses that should not exist.

He let out a slow breath.

"Well... this just got a lot more complicated."

The Abyss was never merciful. And now, neither was their path forward.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

That night, inside a dimly lit cave, Tyler and the grandmasters sat in silence, deep in thought. The flickering light of an enchanted lantern cast eerie shadows on the stone walls, emphasizing the gravity of their situation.

Tyler, leaning against the rough cave wall, finally broke the silence. "Should we try jumping back into this passage and find another one?" he asked, his tone heavy with uncertainty.

The grandmasters exchanged glances, each weighing the risks. One of them, an elder with a long beard, sighed before responding. "The curse has already formed a pathway. It’s like a GPS function—once the route is set, we can only follow it. There’s no way to take detours or go back."

Tyler exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Then we’ll wait. The Grandmaster already went to investigate should arrive by tomorrow. Once he’s here with information, we’ll plan our next move."

Everyone nodded in agreement. There was nothing else they could do for now. They simply sat in the cave for rest of the night.

The Next Day

Unlike the previous Abyss floors they had explored, this one had a clear distinction between day and night, even though there was no visible sun. A soft, eerie glow illuminated the forest outside, casting long, unsettling shadows.

They waited patiently, expecting the grandmaster to return with his findings. However, the time dragged on, but he is nowhere to seen.

"He should have arrived by now," one of the grandmasters muttered, glancing toward the village’s direction. "Something must have happened."

Tyler frowned. "I don’t like this. If he encountered trouble, we need to find him."

A man with silver hair stepped forward. His name was Silver, and his presence exuded an air of confidence. "I’ll go check," he volunteered.

"Wait, Mr. Silver," Tyler interjected. "Let’s go together."

The group quickly made their way back toward the mysterious village, moving cautiously through the dense forest. Upon reaching its outskirts, they stopped, carefully observing the settlement.

Tyler activated his divine sense, attempting to scan the village for their missing companion. His expression darkened. "My divine sense isn’t working inside."

The others tried as well, only to reach the same conclusion. The village was completely shrouded, cutting off their spiritual perception.

As they debated their next course of action, movement caught their attention. A figure emerged from one of the houses, carrying a large stack of grass on his back.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

"That’s him," Silver whispered in disbelief. "That’s Xing Zhao , the grandmaster who went missing."

He turned into a villager?