“It’s not fog monsters. The formation around us has changed,” Chu Dingjiang calmly explained.
He turned and walked to the right. Though everyone clearly remembered a wall there moments ago, they followed him without hesitation. Surprisingly, they didn’t encounter the wall they had seen earlier.
Dense fog surrounded them, obscuring their view. Chu Dingjiang didn’t venture far.
Sun Dixian whispered, “Will the fog dissipate by dawn?”
“No,” Sui Yunzhu replied confidently. “This isn’t an ordinary formation. It feels spacious, but we’re likely trapped in a confined space, just circling endlessly in the mist.”
“You understand formations?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
Sui Yunzhu shook her head. “Only the basics. I can’t break this level of formation, but all formations have a core. Destroy that, and the formation crumbles.”
“Let’s wait,” Chu Dingjiang said, sitting cross-legged. “There are living beings in this formation. They won’t remain idle forever.”
Everyone followed suit, forming a circle with their backs to each other. They began cultivating their qi, preparing for battle. Only An Jiu, lacking inner power, rested her Dragon-Subduing Bow across her knees and closed her eyes.
The cool mist swirled around them like gossamer. An Jiu focused all her senses on the fog. For a moment, she seemed to grasp something crucial, but before she could process it, a familiar whistling sound pierced the air.
“Arrows!” An Jiu shouted, already nocking an arrow.
Her arrow flew with a swoosh, suddenly blazing with brilliant blue light. The arrowhead seemed to burst into a sphere of light, cleaving through the incoming arrows before plunging into the depths of the fog with earth-shattering force.
A hail of arrows rained down from all directions. The group drew their swords to deflect them.
Chu Dingjiang’s protective qi barrier flared, shattering the arrows that neared him.
Boom!
An Jiu’s blue-light arrow struck something unseen. A deafening crash echoed as the surrounding fog seemed to be sucked away by an invisible force. Though they couldn’t see clearly, they felt the rush of wind around them.
“Move!” Chu Dingjiang led the way, following the wind’s direction.
The group advanced, deflecting arrows while staying close together.
Chu Dingjiang’s powerful qi barrier shattered incoming arrows, allowing him to move unhindered. He could reach the exit in an instant, but the others lacked his abilities. He couldn’t abandon An Jiu and leave first.
An Jiu, without inner power, was at a disadvantage in close combat. Outside, she was safer moving independently, so Chu Dingjiang hadn’t worried. But the formation’s trickery meant even he couldn’t guarantee a flawless escape, let alone the others.
Opportunities often last only a moment. The gap blasted open by the arrow quickly sealed, and the formation returned to its eerie calm.
Twenty black-robed figures appeared silently in the impenetrable mist, forming a large circle around Chu Dingjiang’s group.
“I sense people around us…” Sui Yunzhu’s spiritual sense was limited here, but her intuition remained.
“Twenty of them,” Chu Dingjiang revealed. “Stop the tricks and show yourselves!”
The black-robed figures startled briefly but quickly regained composure. In the thick fog, they could see their targets while remaining hidden. This advantage steadied their nerves as they silently observed their prey for weaknesses.
Qiu Yunran’s bag emitted a hissing sound. Two small snakes, as if awakening from slumber, poked out their heads. Their red eyes gazed hungrily at the mist, as though it contained some treasure they desperately craved.
Qiu Yunran’s eyes lit up. He opened the bag wider, exposing the snakes to the mist. However, they darted back inside, only cautiously emerging again after a moment, seemingly both drawn to and wary of this “treasure.”
As Qiu Yunran’s attention shifted to the snakes, he momentarily dropped his guard. The surrounding black-robed figures, seeing this, immediately launched a coordinated attack.
A black shadow flashed towards him. Qiu Yunran swept his fan, instantly transforming into a wisp of green smoke. Before the black figure could dissipate, it split into two, attacking from left and right. A putrid stench filled the air.
As the others moved to assist, Qiu Yunran coldly warned, “Stay back! How dare they wave a broadsword before Guan Yu’s gate!”
As he spoke, he unfurled a blood-red umbrella, sweeping it in a wide arc.
The black figures’ hands were skeletal and thin, with three-inch-long, iron-black nails that scraped against the umbrella with a bone-chilling screech. Instead of tearing through the red umbrella, the contact produced a cloud of red smoke.
Where the smoke touched the black figures, it sizzled and burned. They retreated into the mist, unleashing blood-curdling screams.
This brief exchange left everyone bewildered.
Li Qingzhi’s attention wavered for a moment. Suddenly, he sensed movement in the mist before him.
“Watch out!” An Jiu raised her Dragon-Subduing Bow, releasing two spirit-shocking arrows.
The attack ceased abruptly.
Immediately after, two black shadows lunged at An Jiu’s face. She instinctively fired two more spirit-shocking arrows, but the shadows’ assault intensified, becoming even more rapid and fierce!
An Jiu gripped her bow with one hand and drew the sword hidden against her leg with the other, slashing at the two shadows.
The shadows paused, then suddenly retreated at an inhuman speed.
This movement seemed beyond human capability! Moreover, if they were human, An Jiu’s spirit power shouldn’t have been ineffective.
After a brief lull, the thick fog churned. The black-robed figures surged in from all directions, conspicuously avoiding Chu Dingjiang.
An Jiu put away her bow and wielded dual swords to face the enemy.
The black robes, moving like clouds, ignored An Jiu’s blades and enveloped her, forming a black cocoon.
Inside, An Jiu faced a wooden carving of a woman. The figure was bald, with a gaping mouth and eerily empty eye sockets.
An Jiu’s sword cleaved the wooden figure from top to bottom. As it split in two, white mist gushed out, instantly filling the cocoon.
A faint buzzing sound permeated the mist.
Outside, the red glow in Qiu Yunran’s snake’s eyes flashed. They suddenly darted out, frantically circling the black cocoon, searching for an entrance.
Qiu Yunran slashed at the cocoon with his sword, but the black fabric seemed impervious to blade attacks.
An Jiu felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand as if something was burrowing into her flesh! As she moved to investigate, she heard a series of cracking sounds above her head.
Feeling a rush of air on her cheek, An Jiu swung her sword upward to meet the attack. Another wooden puppet shattered, releasing another surge of mist.
An Jiu’s eyes burned painfully, making it nearly impossible to keep them open.
Outside, the small snakes climbed onto the black cocoon, growing increasingly frantic.
Chaos erupted around them. The fog thickened even more, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
“Don’t stray!” Chu Dingjiang warned as he channeled his qi into his palms. The black fabric seemed to melt away at his touch.
Qiu Yunran’s snakes seized the opportunity to slip inside.
In these few brief moments, the group had scattered. Several members had vanished without a trace.
“Old friend, we meet again,” a hoarse voice intoned.
The black cocoon dissolved, revealing a tall man in red robes wearing a black mask. He held a long flute in his hand.
Chu Dingjiang’s voice was ice-cold as he uttered, “Sound Assassin!”