You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

"Have you seen Uncle Li here? Or do you have any news about Jiang He?"

Mentioning this, the smiles of Qiuniu and the other two faded somewhat. Qiuniu shook his head.

"No. It was luck that the three of us met. Xing San and I met in a collapsed mine. We were being chased by several burrowing rats and managed to escape by working together. Later, we ran into Su Meng, who was trapped by poisonous miasma, in a forest, and that's how we got here together. Uncle Li and Minister Jiang... I haven't seen them yet."

Su Meng also said with great concern.

"Yes, Senior Brother Chen Yang, we lost contact with Minister Jiang after entering the trial grounds, and we haven't heard from him since. We don't know how he is now, or if he's in any danger."

Chen Yang frowned slightly and pondered for a moment.

"It seems that only the five of us have reunited so far. Jiang He and Uncle Li are still missing."

Qiuniu sighed, looked around at the bustling yet chaotic safe zone, and whispered.

"Chen Yang, just how big is this place? It feels like it has no end!"
And it gets especially eerie at night; monsters scurry around like cats that have smelled blood! A couple of nights ago, I was alone and was targeted by a group of Shadow Demons. Those things are incredibly fast and can blend into the shadows; they almost tore me apart!

Finally, having no other choice, I hid in a dung heap in a deserted village. Using the soul-binding technique you taught me, I even captured the remnants of the souls of a few unfortunate souls recently killed by monsters nearby, and covered them with my own to mask their life force. That's how I managed to fool everyone and survive a whole night in that stinking dung heap! Damn it, just thinking about it makes me nauseous!

Liu Piaopiao was speechless with astonishment, then covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Brother Qiuniu, you're too... resourceful."

However, you possess a living soul within you, and those demons are most sensitive to the aura of living souls, yet they didn't detect you?

Qiuniu raised an eyebrow smugly.

"Hey, you don't know this, do you? Although those remnant souls are weak, they carry the death aura and resentment of someone who just died. I took them over and draped them over my body like a 'soul garment' to completely cover up my own life force. Plus, that pile of dung... uh, the smell was 'rich' enough to interfere with their sense of smell. Anyway, that's how I fooled them."

Chen Yang couldn't help but laugh and patted Qiuniu on the shoulder.

"You're really something, coming up with this idea. It's amazing you could stay in that place all night."

He then turned to look at Su Meng and Xing San.

"And what about you? How did you get here? Did you encounter any major dangers?"

When Chen Yang asked, Su Meng still looked a little scared and said...

"My third senior brother Xing and I were lucky; we were not far apart after being teleported in, and we met up quickly."

We encountered monster attacks at the beginning, but fortunately we discovered a dilapidated ancient array ruin. Although the array was incomplete, its core concealment and protection functions could still be barely functioning.

We hid inside that formation, concealing our presence, and survived the most dangerous waves of monsters.

Later, they cautiously made their way out, trying to stay within the cover of remnants of ancient battle formations or natural terrain. When they encountered small groups of monsters that were unavoidable, they joined forces to quickly defeat them. That's how they stumbled and struggled their way to this point.

Xing San nodded honestly and added.

“Those monsters are particularly sensitive to sound, light, and intense anger. We almost never dare to light a fire at night, nor do we dare to speak loudly. Once, Junior Sister Su Meng accidentally broke off a dry branch, which immediately attracted several Nightmares. If she hadn’t run fast and crawled into another collapsed stone cave, she would probably have been in danger.”

Chen Yang nodded after hearing this.

"Your caution and luck are both commendable for being able to safely reunite in a place like this and make it this far."

He looked up at the sky. Unbeknownst to him, the sun had already set, and the last rays of its light were about to be swallowed by the distant mountains, quickly shrouding the world in gray. The soft white light barrier surrounding the safe zone appeared even more striking in the twilight.

Almost as soon as darkness fell completely, all sorts of chilling roars, howls, and rustling crawling sounds began to rise from all directions!

Darkness, like ink, permeated the distant mountains and wastelands. Pairs of eyes, some scarlet, some emerald green, and some pale white, lit up in the darkness, greedily staring at the safe area shrouded in light.

The monsters surged out of the shadows like a tide, attacking, scratching, and crashing against the outer protective barrier, creating ripples of light.

The entire safe zone resembled a solitary lighthouse in a dark ocean, enduring endless attacks from all directions.

Liu Piaopiao also walked to Chen Yang's side, and together they looked at the shadowy, varied figures of demons outside the barrier, their expressions solemn.

She looked around carefully and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, I haven't seen any of those white ones yet... If they did appear, it would be a real problem."

"A white monster?"

Upon hearing this, Qiuniu curiously approached.

"Miss Piaopiao, which kind are you talking about? More powerful than these guys outside?"

Liu Piaopiao nodded, still feeling lingering fear.

"That's a mutated demon with terrifying strength. Not only are they thick-skinned and incredibly strong, but most importantly, they seem to have a strong ability to destroy and erode formations! Ordinary protective formations won't last long before they're torn open."

Once those white monsters appear, the safe zone will no longer be safe. At that point, everyone will have to rely on their own abilities to escape, seeing who runs the fastest and who has the best luck.

Qiuniu gasped in shock upon hearing this.

"How bizarre! It can even destroy formations? We'd better pray we don't run into it."

Chen Yang chimed in.

"That kind of mutated monster is indeed rare; it shouldn't appear frequently. We previously..."

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze casually swept towards a hillside outside the barrier in the distance, and then he suddenly stopped.

At the same time, Su Meng gently tugged at Chen Yang's sleeve, pointed in that direction, and her voice trembled slightly.

"Senior Brother Chen Yang, the white demon you're talking about... is it... like that?"

Following the direction she pointed, everyone saw a conspicuous figure on the hillside in the distance, which was covered by the shadows of monsters. The figure was smashing through the low-level monsters blocking its way and rushing toward the safe zone with an extremely ruthless manner!

Its entire body was covered with a pale, bone-like carapace or skin, which gleamed with a chilling luster in the dim light. It was a size larger than the surrounding monsters, and the ground trembled slightly as it ran. The roars it emitted were deep and penetrating. It was none other than the white mutated monster that Chen Yang and Liu Piaopiao had encountered outside the Black Tower!

"I……"

Liu Piaopiao opened her mouth, then slapped her forehead in frustration.

"I have such a bad mouth!"

Qiuniu was dumbfounded.

"No way? It's...it's really here?! Is my mouth blessed?!"

Chen Yang's eyes instantly sharpened, and he made a decisive decision, shouting in a low voice.

"Go! Get out of here immediately! Head towards the back of the safe zone!"

Once the white monster breaks through the front defenses, all the monsters will pour in through the gap, causing chaos at the front. We can then break out from the rear! Xing San, Qiu Niu, and Su Meng, though shocked, trusted Chen Yang's judgment and command and immediately nodded in agreement.

Liu Piaopiao glanced worriedly at the many cultivators around her who were oblivious, still going about their own business, or just watching the demons charging ahead with nervousness, and whispered.

"Brother Chen, should we warn everyone? That white monster..."

"No need."

Chen Yang's tone was decisive.

"There are too many people. Once panic spreads, the scene will only become more chaotic and block escape routes. We can't take care of ourselves. We need to ensure the safe evacuation of our own people first."

Xing San also spoke to Su Meng in a gruff voice.

"Junior sister, now is not the time to be kind. We might not even be able to escape ourselves, how can we worry about others? Listen to Chen Yang!"

Su Meng bit her lip, but finally nodded.

Although she was kind-hearted, she understood that the situation was critical and that the primary task was to protect her own side.

Without further hesitation, the five took advantage of the fact that most people's attention was drawn to the increasing number of monsters ahead and the undetected white monsters, and quietly retreated, quickly passing through the bustling crowd and the simple buildings, moving towards the rear edge of the safe zone.

This safe zone is comprised of several interconnected villages and covers a considerable area.

They hurried along, avoiding several crowded and intrusive places, and finally arrived at the back of the area, which was relatively quiet.

The protective barrier here also emits a soft light, but the number of monsters gathered outside seems to be less than in front. Most of them are low-level monsters wandering around, roaring as they try to break through the barrier.

However, as soon as they arrived, they unexpectedly saw another group of people—the same group of young men in blue robes who had just been defeated by Chen Yang and left in a sorry state!
There were about six or seven of them left, gathered around an abandoned mill, their faces somber. They had obviously embarrassed themselves and had deliberately hidden in this secluded corner to minimize their presence and avoid being pointed at and gossiped about.

The young man in the blue robe spotted Chen Yang and his group of five at a glance. His face instantly turned extremely gloomy, and his eyes flashed with resentment and vigilance. He stepped forward, blocking his companion, and growled in a hoarse voice.

"Chen Yang! What else do you want?!"

"We've returned your items, apologized, and compensated you with spirit stones. Are you trying to kill us all?!"

His companions also clenched their fists or weapons, their eyes filled with fear, but they were ready to fight to the death.

Chen Yang glanced at them, his tone indifferent.

"Don't be nervous. We just like the peace and quiet here and came to take a look. We have no interest in causing you any more trouble tonight."

Upon hearing this, the young man in the blue robe relaxed slightly, but the wariness in his eyes remained.

He snorted coldly and said no more. He simply led his men to move a distance away from Chen Yang and his group, completely distancing themselves from them, as if afraid of being tainted by any bad luck.

Chen Yang was happy to have some peace and quiet, so he ignored them and focused his attention on the outer perimeter of the barrier.

There were indeed fewer monsters here, but the roars and howls were still deafening, and countless figures moved about in the darkness.

Time passed slowly, and the commotion in front of the safe zone seemed to grow louder, mixed with the exclamations of cultivators and the sounds of spells exploding, clearly indicating that the monsters' attacks were intensifying.

But back there, the monsters were still futilely trying to break through the barrier.

However, after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a strange thing happened!

A particularly loud, violent, and intimidating roar suddenly came from the direction in front of the safe zone!
The sound was extremely penetrating, even surpassing the roars of countless demons, and clearly resounded throughout the entire safe zone!
The moment that roar rang out, the demons that had been lingering and charging outside the barrier seemed to have received a supreme command. Their movements froze, and then they let out even more frenzied roars. They abandoned the barrier in front of them and surged forward like a receding tide!
In just a short while, the area behind the barrier, which had been shrouded in demonic shadows, became completely empty. Only a few low-level demons, who seemed slow to react, were still circling around in place, but they were quickly swept away by the torrent of their companions.

This bizarre scene stunned many cultivators in the safe zone who had been paying attention to what was happening behind them, and they began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"What happened? Why did all the monsters behind us run away?"

"They went ahead? What happened up ahead?"

"Is something calling them?"

"Who cares? It's better that they ran away; it'll be safer behind them now!"

At first, people were just confused and relieved.

But as the commotion from ahead grew more intense, the magical light flashed continuously, and even some shrill screams were mixed in, finally some sharp-eyed people noticed something amiss.

"Look ahead!"
What...what is that?!

"It's white! And it's huge!"

"It's attacking the restrictions!"
Good heavens, the barrier is shaking!

"not good!
That thing...that thing seems to be disrupting the formation!

Panic began to spread like a plague across the area ahead. People finally saw clearly that in the most densely packed area of ​​monsters at the front, a huge, pale, ferocious monster was frantically attacking the protective barrier with its body and claws!

It seemed to have some resistance to the attacks of the restriction. Although its body was scorched by the light of the array and was emitting white smoke, it was still extremely ferocious.

Meanwhile, more ordinary monsters gathered behind and around it, as if guarding a king, and launched wave after wave of more intense attacks in sync with the white monster's attack rhythm.

The protective barriers of the entire security zone began to fluctuate and flicker violently, emitting a hum that seemed to be struggling under the strain!
"It's over...it's a mutated monster!"

It can break the restrictions!

"Run! The barrier is about to break!"

"Run to the back! There are no monsters behind!"

Panic erupted! The cultivators in the front lines began to cry and scream as they surged backward, trying to get away from the soon-to-be-breached front.

The cultivators who were initially relieved were now panicked, unsure of where to run, and the entire safe zone was in chaos.

However, some people still hold onto a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).

"It should...it should hold, right? This is a large formation that can accommodate so many people!"

"Yeah, it's not that easy to break! Don't scare yourself!"

"Everyone, don't panic! Hold the array nodes and reinforce them with spiritual energy!"

Amid the chaos, various voices mingled together.

Chen Yang, on the other hand, had already made preparations.

He gazed at the ferocious white monster's figure and the violently fluctuating barrier ahead, then glanced at the empty wilderness behind him, now deserted as the monster retreated. He whispered to the four people beside him. (End of Chapter)