Chapter 324 - Hoodwinked (1/2)

Chapter 324 Hoodwinked“Kid, didn’t I tell you to stay away from this place? Why are you here again?!” Suddenly, a woman’s voice rang inside Xiao Chen’s mind. Su Xiaomei was awake.

Xiao Chen imbued the Frigid Jade Pendant with his Divine Sense. “You’re up, Senior Su? Do you know what’s underneath?”

He wasn’t sure if there was something sinister lurking underneath. If there was, the group—all eighteen of them—must not go down there.

Su Xiaomei replied, “I have no idea, but this is an exceptionally frightening place. For some reason, I’m terrified. I-It’s like… I’m going to be sucked in. The Qi here doesn’t belong to the human world. No, I’m scared, I’m going to seal myself…”

The tremor in her voice worsened as she reached the tail of her sentence. She didn’t wake even when Xiao Chen called her name three times. What was it that frightened her so? Since the first day he met her, he had never seen her this uneasy.

Sighing to himself, Xiao Chen cast a spell and summoned a ball of True Energy to envelop the Frigid Jade Pendant. This was to ward off as much of the surrounding Qi as possible. Though Su Xiaomei was strong when she was alive, she was nonetheless a person who had died for thousands of years and was now a mere soul body. Were it not for her cultivation, she would be no more than just a desolate ghost. What was it that struck such deep fear in her…?

Xiaoyue whipped around and said calmly, “Brother Xiao, what do you think we should do now? I find Senior Ling’s words reasonable. Why don’t we divide into two teams and…?”

Xiao Chen raised his hand. “Fairy Xiaoyue, did you forget what happened in Wuwang Wind Cloud City?”

Back in Wuwang Wind Cloud City, they had divided themselves into two teams after entering the cave of Vampire Bats. The halving of their strength ultimately led to the injury of the first team that entered.

Xiaoyue swept her horsetail whisk. “Never mind. You’re the leader of the group this time. We shall listen to your orders.”

No one raised any objections. Unhappy as Ling Fei and Wan Yanyan were, what was the point of them protesting when Xiaoyue had assented to the decision?

Their priority now was figuring out a way to go down there. It would be foolish to just descend alongside the Flying-cloud Stone, given that the abyss was overflowing with Devil Qi. Even if everyone had consumed the Carnage Destruction Pills, injuries would be inevitable. Moreover, the Flying-cloud Stone might very likely cease to function amidst the fog of Devil Qi.

“There’s an end to everything. I refuse to believe that this small canyon will go on forever.” Su Zimu opened his folding fan, returning to his usual elegant and carefree demeanor.

Xiao Chen nodded. “Brother Su is right. Let us find the end of the canyon and enter from there.”

The Flying-cloud Stone immediately set into motion, going southward along the canyon for half an hour. Sure enough, the canyon seemed to stretch on without an end. Fortunately, the Devil Qi was beginning to get a lot lighter as they traveled. After flying for another fifteen minutes, they found themselves in a spot without any trace of Devil Qi.

The group maneuvered the Flying-cloud Stone downward until they reached the floor of the canyon. Peeking from the lush and full vegetation was a small, hidden path. Su Zimu chuckled as he flicked his fan. “Were it not for Devil’s Carnage Qi, this would be quite a picturesque place.”

Unlike the deathly stillness of the other side of the canyon, the mouth of the canyon was filled with red flowers and lush grass. Moreover, the black fog was collected in the air, leaving the grass and water underneath looking verdant and limpid.

“Meow! It’s an illusion! This must be an illusion, a diversionary tactic that the Great Demon made to trick us into entering!” Zhiluan hid behind Xiao Chen, still refusing to set foot in this place.

“So, do we enter now?” Xiao Chen turned around and asked for everyone’s opinion.

“No reason to retreat now that we’re here. Let’s go!”

Everyone felt a lot less stressed after seeing that it wasn’t as terrifying here than it had been above. Whatever danger they would encounter later, their skills would likely allow them to leave unscathed.

Half an hour later, everyone finally stepped into the belly of the canyon. There were blooming flowers and thriving plants everywhere with multi-colored butterflies fluttering in the air. The place was so tranquil that it felt like a utopia.

It was this sense of peace that stopped everyone from lowering their guard. Xiao Chen and Xu Gu led the way while the rest stayed in the middle. Ling Fei and Wan Yanyan held up the rear. They were all determined to be the first to escape the moment anything untoward happens.

Zhiluan was lying on Xiao Chen’s shoulder. He was so frightened that his teeth were chattering. “Me-Meow… Don’t you guys find it strange? How is there light here when there’s so much dark fog up there?”