After spending 18 points of health, Zhong Yi finally emerged safely from the question mark room.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! Old Zhou's spirit has possessed me!"

Zhong Yi was furious.

After three battles, I lost a total of 2 health points.

As a result, upon entering the random room, I didn't encounter a single monster, and my health was down to only 60 points...

"No, I need to find a monster to vent my frustration on!"

Zhong Yiqi stared intently at his health bar, then opened the map and continued on his way.

Above the question mark room, there is only one route.

The room leading there was a purple room filled with elite monsters.

"Hmph, an elite monster? Fine, the opponent is too weak, it's not challenging at all!"

Zhong Yi snorted coldly, completely disregarding the word "elite".

After three consecutive battles, he had a general understanding of the difficulty of "Slay the Immortal Tower".

Simply put, it's simple.

It's not difficult at all!

The three monsters couldn't even kill him on their first encounter; they only managed to take two drops of his blood, leaving his clothes slightly dirty.

Even if elite monsters are slightly stronger, how much stronger can they be?

Even if it's 10 times stronger than a normal monster, which means it will only take 20 HP instead of 2, there's nothing to be afraid of.

After thinking it over, Zhong Yi smiled confidently and stepped into the elite monster's room.

A gigantic, cyan, evil Buddha statue, wielding a scythe, appeared before him.

This elite monster, named 【Ancient Statue】, has its eyes slightly closed and is in a state of deep sleep.

"What? What do you mean by 'awakening after two rounds'? Does that mean I got to fight for nothing for two rounds?"

After seeing the other person's state, Zhong Yi immediately felt humiliated.

Not only does it mean you get to play two rounds for nothing, but there's also a debuff that causes an extra 10% damage for every card you play.

They completely disregarded me!

"Let me show you how ruthless I can be!!"

...

"Strike hard! Devastate them!"

"Your journey ends here..."

...

"Burn! Prepare for strike! Strike!"

"Ha, you took away 44 HP in two rounds, huh? Serves you right for being so arrogant!"

Zhong Yi was very smug.

This elite monster looks tough with 127 HP, but if it gives up two rounds of attacks, it will only have 83 HP left, which is not much worse than a normal monster.

Just as he finished his turn, the background music in the illusion suddenly became urgent and heavy.

【The Old Statue】 slowly opened its eyes: "Then, shall we begin?"

The damage number above his head suddenly changed to 25.

Zhong Yi: "???"

At this point, Zhong Yi had been broadcasting for more than ten minutes, and a number of viewers were gradually gathering in the live stream.

Although everyone couldn't understand it, they immediately burst into laughter just watching Zhong Yi be full of confidence one second and suffer a humiliating defeat the next.

【Although I didn't understand it, I have a vague feeling that the jinx is at work again.】

【Hahaha! Couldn't you have said less during your livestream, Lao Zhong?】

【I've been watching since the beginning, and I think I understand it a bit... I'm going to try it out.】

【Just arrived, what kind of illusion is this?】

【Lu Laomo's new illusion, where they play cards! It looks quite interesting!】

...

Unsurprisingly, Zhong Yi lost.

He had only 60 health left when he entered the elite room.

Without blocking, you can only take 3 hits from the 【Old Statue】.

He either has to reduce the opponent's health by 83 within 3 rounds, or he will die.

However, he only had one 【Prepared Strike】 card with slightly higher damage, which was far from enough to break the deadlock. No matter how he calculated, he couldn't find a way to break the deadlock.

As the 【Old Statue】 brought down its scythe, the Ironclad Sect cultivator slowly collapsed.

Zhong Yi, in his spirit form, was then torn to pieces, his soul scattered and his spirit dispersed.

"Why do I have to die again? What's the meaning of this design...?"

Zhong Yi was resurrected and returned to the initial screen, smiling helplessly.

As the first leg concludes, achievements and stories are unlocked one after another, along with new cards and characters.

【Silent Hunter】

【Life: 70/70】

【Spirit Stones: 99/99】

【A huntress from afar, skilled in daggers and poison, any who dares to stand in her way will meet a gruesome end with her poisoned blade.】

【Supernatural Power: Ring of the Serpent (Draw 2 additional cards at the start of each battle)】

The comments section immediately erupted, urging Zhong Yi to try out the new role.

"No, no, no, I feel like I didn't play well in that last game! That 【Ancient Statue】 shouldn't be my opponent!"

Zhong Yi waved his hand.

At this moment, neither thirst for knowledge nor a sense of novelty matters.

This kind of strategic illusion is his strong suit; how could he possibly lose face in front of the audience?

After thinking it over, he decisively chose the 【Ironclad Sect Cultivator】 option, preparing to challenge the 【Ancient Statue】 again and regain his honor!

"My first three rounds of combat were perfect, flawless."

"I shouldn't have chosen 【Flame Barrier】 for the third round of battle; I should have gotten an extra attack card! To increase my damage output!"

"We shouldn't have entered the fourth random room... It's a total rip-off! We should have just chosen the combat room next door!"

"With an extra 20 health and an attack card, I can definitely beat 【Old Statue】 with ease!"

After adjusting his mindset, Zhong Yi once again stepped into the Immortal Tower as a 【Ironclad Sect cultivator】.

Unlike last time, a huge blue whale appeared in front of him, its six eyes blinking as it stared at him.

【The Resurrected Mother (exiled):...Still...deeply...enraged...? Very well...】

He uttered a few words intermittently, and then three special magical artifacts were placed in front of Zhong Yi.

【Gifts from our ancient ancestors (choose one of three):】

【Roaring Conch: Draw 2 additional cards at the start of an elite battle】

【Orange-shaped incense box: Upgrade one card】

【Leaf Salve: Change 1 of your Attack and 1 of your Defense, then lose 10 maximum health】

"Why didn't such a good thing happen last time? Wait... Mother of Resurrection? Because I'm dead now, that's why..."

Zhong Yi understood very quickly.

After dying, he was resurrected by this thing called the Mother of Resurrection, and it even gave him a few magical treasures.

"Interesting... cards can be upgraded?"

This was a setting that Zhong Yi hadn't considered, since he had never even reached the campfire.

He decisively chose 【Orange-shaped Incense Box】, upgrading a strike card.

"Next, let's go this way first, and then..."

Zhong Yi began to devise a strategy for the previous round in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more confident he felt.

"This time, I will not lose!!"

Having said that, he walked out of the room of the ancient people with great pride.

"???"

"Why has the entire route changed???"

Looking at the terrain, which was completely different from the previous game, Zhong Yi blinked blankly.

He keenly realized the extraordinary nature of this illusion.

The map is different for each game.

The cards dropped by monsters are different.

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to card selection...

No wonder Lu Ze said,

There are countless ways to solve this illusion!

————

【The detailed gameplay of the card game won't be elaborated on, as those who haven't played it are unlikely to understand it. I'll try my best to write it in a way that makes the interesting points understandable. This part won't be too long, so those who haven't played it don't need to worry.】