From the end of the world

Chapter 279 Ma Zao's "Return" 1
A white mist appeared around us like morning fog. However, it was not morning yet, and the height of the mountainside of Yueyin Mountain was definitely not high enough to enter the clouds. The "fireflies" that had been searching here for a long time did not find any signs of fog in advance.

The strange clues that had been nowhere to be found before suddenly appeared in the field of vision without any warning.

Although I have confidence in Ma Zao's power to attract disasters, there is no short time limit this time. We will come again tomorrow. I know that as long as Ma Zao is there, we should be able to gain something even tonight, but it turned out to be so effective that I can't help but feel emotional even if I am mentally prepared. This scene is like saying that although Ma Zao can't get rid of strange things, he can summon them.

However, the real master didn't seem to plan to appear in front of us immediately. This white mist was probably not the source of the abnormality in Yueyin Mountain. It was probably just a manifestation of its power, a phenomenon of diffusion.

Is it possible that the source has noticed us, and the white mist is a card it plays to test us? Or are we just unconsciously involved in it?

What is the other party's true form? Is it the Silver Moon hiding in the dark? Or is it another monster with independent consciousness and wisdom, or some kind of unclassifiable weirdness entrenched in Yueyin Mountain?

While I was doubting it, I looked deeply into the white mist and soon figured out that the feeling I got from the white mist was the same as the smell of the hidden strange thing I felt before going up the mountain. Although it might not be the core, it was not something new that had just appeared. In other words, the white mist had already existed long before Ma and I went up the mountain. It just moved around us without anyone noticing and then sealed us in.

If that’s the case, why didn’t my “firefly” notice it before?
It is very likely that the "firefly" was deceived. This is not the first time this has happened. In the past, when Lu Youxun tried to kidnap Ma Zao, the demon hunter beside him had interfered with the "firefly" through illusion spells. In the final analysis, the "firefly" is just a tiny fragment of my mind. The way to overcome this shortcoming is also very simple. I just need to inject more flames into the "firefly". The more flames injected, the stronger the resistance to mental spells.

In fact, I have already used this method. The "fireflies" I set up at Zhu's house and the "fireflies" I usually put next to Ma Zao are all enhanced types. Not to mention the master level demon hunters, even if I use a great master level demon hunter as an opponent, I am confident that I will not be deceived in the first place.

The "fireflies" responsible for investigating the Yueyin Mountain area are also of this enhanced type. Their original purpose was not to fight against possible illusions, but to avoid being destroyed before they could provide me with feedback when encountering danger on the road.

Even this type of "firefly" has an irreparable weakness, that is, in terms of structure, the "firefly" is only my tentacle after all, and no matter how strong its mental resistance is, it cannot compare to my main body, which is the center of consciousness. Having said that, the "firefly" here can actually be deceived on the mental level, which is enough to show that the deception ability of this mist exceeds the general Dacheng level.

Mr. Zhu said that Yin Yue's understanding of illusions rivals that of the great illusion master in history...

Yin Yue’s suspicion rose sharply in my mind.

However, the Lord of the Divine Seal also emphasized that I would have to wait until tomorrow to find Chang'an's soul in Yueyin Mountain, which means that Yinyue should not be in Yueyin Mountain now. What's going on with this white mist? Could it be that although Yinyue is here, Chang'an's soul is not with her? Or is she in a state where she is in Yueyin Mountain but I can't find her no matter what?
Ma Zao was also silently observing the white mist. After a moment, he said, "This mist does not seem to be toxic, aggressive, or directly dangerous... Zhuang Cheng, what should we do next?"

Since I'm not alone now, I want to try out a way out first.

I first tried to sense the "fireflies" outside Yueyin Mountain - just in case, I left a few "fireflies" in the inn before going up the mountain in case of emergency.

At the moment, I can no longer sense the exact location of those "fireflies". It's not that the "fireflies" have been destroyed. I'm sure they still exist, but I just can't connect to them. It seems that this white mist can not only make me invisible from the "fireflies'" vision, but also cut off the invisible "channel" between me and the "fireflies".

This kind of severing force is even stronger than the barrier between the independent reality space and the real world. It doesn't mean that the white mist is stronger than the latter, but the latter is not as effective for people who also hold the fragments of the divine seal, and I can't enjoy the same convenience in the white mist. Although I don't plan to leave here alone, the flame transfer is definitely useless.

"Ma Zao, can you use space transfer to get out of here? Try it first." I said.

Upon hearing this, Ma Zao's body immediately began to experience fluctuations in the power of return, and the space around her body became blurred and distorted for a brief moment.

Then, the space returned to calm, but she was still standing there.

"I can't do it." She was stunned.

“Is this rare?” I asked.

“Although my power of return is not specifically used for spatial transfer, when the Great Demon of Disaster used fire power to forcibly lock me, it was not able to directly stop my spatial transfer…”

Although she gave such an example, the reason why the Great Demon of Disaster was unable to stop her successfully might have been because Xiaowan used the power of prayer enhanced by the fragments of the Divine Seal to strengthen her power of return.

"Then, let's try to go back and see if we can get out of this fog." I wanted to study the nature of the white mist. She nodded with reluctance, and then moved with me in the direction we came from.

My memory is very strong now, and I remember exactly which route I took. As long as I have walked a road once, there is no possibility of getting lost. However, this is just a judgment based on common sense. When you are in a strange situation, the first thing you should abandon is common sense. In fact, I finally had to admit that I was lost.

This result was quite in line with my expectations. Even flame teleportation and space transfer were banned. It would be surprising if I could leave the fog coverage by normal physical movement.

This experience of being lost in the fog reminded me of my experience in the virtual world. The only difference is that the fog in the virtual world is gray and thick. Only in the rock seat area will the fog fade slightly, allowing us to see the figures of people in all the seats. The fog here is thin, and under the illumination of the fire I provided, I can easily see the scene 30 to 40 meters away.

I can only associate with it, but I don't think there is any real connection between the white mist here and the gray mist in the virtual world. Even if both of them have the nature of disorienting people, it will not change my judgment.

Because no matter which country's traditional culture, "fog" symbolizes "lost". Once a place covered by fog appears in any folklore, it is impossible to simply escape from it.

As expected, after walking for a while, we still didn't get out of the range of the white mist. It was definitely not because the range covered by the white mist became very large. I was clearly moving along the route I came from, but the scenery in front of me became unfamiliar. Either I had deviated from the route I came from without realizing it, or the terrain had been tampered with without anyone noticing.

No matter which possibility it is, it is enough to show that this white mist can even affect my consciousness to a certain extent. The last time someone - a strange thing used illusion to invade my consciousness was when I fought with Silver Moon.

If I were to travel through time and space and fight with Silver Moon again, I am confident that I would not fall into the illusion she created again. However, to say that I will not be affected by her illusions at all is an over-inflated lie.

"We can't walk out," I concluded. "We can only explore deeper. Is that ok, Ma Zao?"

"No problem..." Ma Zao seemed to still be struggling.

"Are you still bothered by the fact that you can't transfer out?"

Maybe she considered herself as the last insurance device, thinking that if a strange thing that we could not handle appeared, she would use the power of return to take me away from here. This was definitely not because she overestimated herself. Last time, she saw the right opportunity to take me away from the doomsday dream, which fortunately allowed us to avoid a head-on confrontation with the fate turbidity too early. Her ability to escape is unparalleled.

"Although I do mind it a little, it's not because of that now," she said.

"That's because?" I asked.

She said uncertainly, "I seem...I seem to know how to leave here?"

"You know?" I wondered.

"Can I lead the way?" she asked.

I believed she was not just saying it casually, so I slowed down. She walked in front of me. I followed her closely, and she looked back at me from time to time to make sure I didn't lose her.

Can I really leave so easily? I feel like I'm in the beginning of a horror movie, just entering the "finding that I can't escape from where the story takes place" stage. If I could really come and go as I please, wouldn't the tone of the horror movie be ruined in an instant?

But as I walked, I found that the fog around me was becoming thinner and thinner.

Finally, the white mist disappeared completely.

(End of this chapter)