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Chapter 1821: Pounced Forward

“Roar!”

The Eclipse Demon Tiger leaped up into the air. Its tiger step stopped suddenly because the cloud of dust caused by it leaping forward obstructed its sight. When it was finally able to see clearly, its pair of tiger eyes were filled with fury!

This little human being dared to escape from him! How audacious! At that moment, it spun around quickly and swept its furious gaze around and fell on a figure in azure shrieking and running forward. Without waiting for its Master’s command, it roared and leapt forward to catch up to the figure.

“Roar!”

“Aaahhhh!”

The roar of the fierce beast, accompanied by the frantic screams of the young boy in azure spread out of the square. The three hundred or so people stared blankly as they watched the young boy being chased violently by the ferocious tiger.

That young boy was only at Foundation Formation Stage! That fierce beast was a peak level Beast Saint, how did that young boy escape from the tiger’s mouth earlier? He had been running around the square in circles with the fierce beast chasing after him, and yet it hadn’t bitten him yet?

The dirt and sand in the square was disturbed by the person and the tiger as they ran around in circles and swirled in the air, obstructing their vision. When they came to their senses, they looked at the Ghost Elder in front of them.

Did that Ghost Elder release his contract beast because he really wanted to take the life of that young boy? Although the people were vicious and inhumane, surely he wasn’t intending to his corpse for cultivation? Even if he was to be eliminated, surely such a brutal and direct method wasn’t necessary?

Even the strongest amongst them with the highest cultivation level wouldn’t be able to escape the mouth of the fierce beast, let alone that skinny young boy in azure clothes. The young boy in cyan hadn’t been killed yet because it still had physical strength. Once he had exhausted his physical strength, no doubt it would be a bloody scene…

The Ghost Elder’s eyes narrowed when he saw this and a sharp light flashed across his eyes. His gaze was fixed on the young boy in azure who was running wildly around the square as he was deep in thought.

The coercion the young boy radiated was indeed that of a Foundation Formation stage cultivator. Even as he ran around and screamed in panic, the pressure that spread from his voice was definitely that of a Foundation Formation stage cultivator.

Moreover, there didn’t seem to be anything surprising or special about his running. His running was panicked and hurried, and his pace was just ordinary. If there was anything special, it would only be that he ran faster than most people.

How should he say it? How was he to describe it?

He thought for a while and suddenly, it flashed into his mind. That’s it, the way the young boy was running reminded him of a frightened rabbit running around in panic with the tiger’s mouth following closely.

“Roar!”

The Eclipse Demon Tiger longed to breathe fire, its roars were getting stronger with each roar, and louder than the next. There was a trace of frustration and anger raging.

Damn human! Damn the young boy! It ran faster than rabbits! It didn’t believe that it wouldn’t be able to catch up to him!

“Ah! Help me! Help…. don’t bite me, don’t bite me…”

As Feng Jiu ran, she continued to shout in panic and panted like she was getting out of breath. Her speed had also seemed to slow down. Her azure robes were flying behind her as she ran and the Eclipse Demon Tiger leaped forward. It tried to bite her clothes but yet it somehow missed and instead it got a mouthful of dirt and sand. This was even more maddening.

“Roar!”

Humans! This King will have it out with you!

Feng Jiu who was running wildly seemed to have tripped on a stone and fell forwards. As she fell into the dirt and sand, at the same time, the Eclipse Demon Tiger seized the opportunity and pounced forward…

Chapter 1822: Merits

However, just at that moment, the young boy who had fallen onto the ground flexed his foot and kicked out fiercely and bravely.

His kick would have not made much difference, whether the kick was aimed at the Eclipse Demon Tiger’s legs or body, as he was only a Foundation Formation cultivator after all. However, he had aimed his kick at the vulnerable place where no man or male beast could withstand. Naturally, the effect was different.

“Aowooo!”

A sharp piercing scream escaped from the Eclipse Demon Tiger’s mouth as the kick had landed on an important part of its body. It was unable to exert any strength and the pain caused it to shrink back. Immediately after, it thumped heavily onto the ground in front of it.

“Boom!”

The Eclipse Demon Tiger had shrank back and pounced forward, but this time, its posture was a little different. Its front legs had retracted and its hind legs were clamped together tightly as it plunged to the ground. After it had plunged into the ground, it howled pitifully and its hind legs were trembling, as if the unbearable pain he was in had pierced through his heart.

The mouths of everyone who had witnessed this scene twitched and they subconsciously clamped their legs together as if they felt the pain as well. The Foundation Formation cultivator’s kick had been aimed at the most fragile manhood and it was not something anyone could bear. If not, the ferocious peak level Saint Beast would not have shrank onto the ground and howled pitifully.

The Ghost Elder’s eyes flickered as he glanced in surprise at the young boy who had dodged the attack and was sitting on the ground.

He hadn’t expected this young boy could survive under the claws of his fierce beast. It seemed that there was a reason that the Old Feng had sent over this young boy. Maybe it was because of his out of the ordinary speed and his out of the box thinking.

If that was the case, it would be a shame to let him die like this, might as well…

With a wave of his hand, the Eclipse Demon Tiger who had been lying on the ground disappeared into thin air in front of everyone’s eyes. Without saying a word, he turned around and left, leaving everyone staring at each other.

Feng Jiu lowered her head slightly and gasped for breath. In actual fact, her lowered face revealed a cold sneer.

When had she ever been willing to be at a disadvantage? Since he had released that beast to bite off one of her legs, then she would cripple his vulnerable body part. It seemed the fierce beast had suffered quite a bit from her kick. It would be difficult for the beast to use its vulnerable part again. Ha ha.

Since she was going to train to become a Shadow Disciple, then naturally she had to show her merits. If she showed weakness, she would be killed brutally. In this case, she didn’t mind showing him her abilities.

The Ghost Elder who had returned to his wooden hut allowed the woman behind him to massage his shoulders. His eyes narrowed as he instructed the few devilry cultivators who had followed him inside: “Make the arrangements, I want to see the people who have been eliminated three days later.”

“Yes!”

The devilry cultivators responded, then they turned and walked outside back to the square. They gathered the crowd and pointed to the forest beyond the square: “Do you see the forest in front of you? Go to the other end of the forest three days later. Those who are unable to reach the other end of the forest at the end of three days and remain within the forest will die!”

He spoke in a bloodthirsty voice as he glanced at everyone: “And it will be death by dismembering!”

Upon hearing this, Feng Jiu who had been standing at the back lowered her eyes. She knew that there would be obstacles along the way in order to reach the other side of the forest.

Chapter 1823: Breath Of Death

When the three hundred or so men heard this, they fell silent. Maybe they felt a little lost for their unknown future, or maybe it was because ever since they had been captured to this place and were fed poison, they were no longer in control of their lives.

At this moment, if they didn’t want to die, the only thing they could do was to fight hard to live. Even if they were Shadow Disciples and had to live under disreputable identities.

“How big is this forest? How long does it normally take to walk through the whole forest? Will we have any medicines or weapons to defend ourselves with? Is there a map? When we arrive at the other end of the forest, will there be someone there to coordinate with us?”

Within the crowd, a man in his mid-thirties asked those few questions in a calm voice and pointed out the most critical point. This attracted the attention of the few devilry cultivators, and even Feng Jiu glanced over at him.

The thirty-something man had a bloodthirsty aura around him and it was obvious that he was a very hard-hearted person. Even as he stood, his back was straight as a pen and there seemed to be a cheetah-like breath all over his body.

Feng Jiu was a little surprised that such a person would have been brought here. It seemed that the strength of the men who had been sent to capture these people were quite extraordinary!

One of the devilry cultivators glanced at everyone and said: “Though this forest is not that big, however, there have been people who have walked for over a month and not been able to make it out of the forest, and yet, there have been people who have made it out of the forest in three days. There are two copies of the map, but as for where they are, they are hidden in the forest and you will have to find it.”

The devilry cultivator paused and glanced at them. Then he sneered: “As for weapons and medicines, ha ha, before you officially become a Shadow Disciple, it is impossible for you to have any. All the weapons you have in the square right now will not be allowed to be brought into the forest, violators will die!”

After some more instructions were given, the three hundred something people were taken to the entrance of the forest.

As she looked at the weeds as tall as half a person amongst the disorderly grown trees, Feng Jiu couldn’t help but sighed secretly: This forest doesn’t even look like there is a path, in addition to not getting lost in this forest, she had to find her way out and avoid being hunted. These from the Shadow Night were really not good people.

She had an intuition, out of these three hundred and seventy eight people who were going to walk into the forest, she was afraid that there wouldn’t even be seventy eight who would make it out. She knew well that in order to be a Shadow Disciple, one had to be the elite of the elite. Only those who could avoid danger and still survive were worthy of becoming a Shadow Disciple.

Also, as far as Shadow Disciples were concerned, as long as they were elite, not many of them were needed, and once they took action secretly, she was afraid that the death rate would be very high.

Although she didn’t know the people in here very well, she couldn’t bear to watch them die for no reason, especially when some of them were only teenagers.

How could any teenager survive such a brutal elimination by death?

Moreover, as there were only two maps between nearly four hundred people, she was afraid that there would only be a lethal fight between each other once they had all entered the forest. When she thought of this, she breathed out softly.

Forget it, she would walk slowly lest she become a target of all the attacks that were bound to happen ahead.

Once she had made the decision to fall behind, she gradually separated from the group. The people in front of her hadn’t taken much notice of her either. They thought that a thin, weak young man naturally wouldn’t be able to walk through the forest as fast as he would be able to on a flat road anyway.

Two hours after they had entered the forest, a breath of death enveloped the forest quietly…

Chapter 1824: Join Forces

Many people became more vigilant because they knew that things weren’t going to be that simple. Those people wouldn’t just be preventing them from moving forwards, they would definitely be secretly making moves against them as well. If that were the case, they had to be extra careful.

“Swish!”

A sharp arrow pierced through the air into the group of people. Some people fell to the ground instantly and some avoided the attack. Some people fell to the ground as they hastily pushed and shoved each other out of the way. Some were grazed on their arms by the sharp arrow. But one person who hadn’t reacted quickly enough was shot through the heart.

“Uh!”

That man groaned and his eyes widened as he fell to the ground. His body twitched slightly and his eyes were unresigned, but eventually he took his last breath under the horrified stares of everyone around him.

Everyone’s heart was beating violently at this moment, as if it were going to jump out of their chests. They knew it was not going to be that simple, they just didn’t know when the killing would start.

“Look, there’s something!”

A man shouted and stepped forward to pull the arrow out. There was a little pouch hanging on the arrow. When he opened the pouch, he found a map.

“It’s a map.” He looked at everyone else and took in their expressions. Finally, he said: “Does anyone have anything to say?” There were a dozen or so people around him, and another dozen or so around, the others had gone in different directions.

He knew very well that this was not an easy journey, and at the very least, one person was likely to face more danger alone than if he were to join forces with everyone. At least their chance of survival would be much higher that way.

Although they were guarded against each other, they weren’t stupid. They knew that they would face more danger if they travelled alone, therefore, whether it was intentional or unintentional, they had ended up walking together. Now that they had heard this, they looked at each other.

“Since we’ve got the map, let’s proceed together! If we meet any danger, we can help each other out.” One of the men said.

“I agree.” Another person said.

“Yes.”

“Then it’s decided, but who will hold on to the map?”

When they heard this, they fell silent again and glanced at each other. Finally, their gaze landed on the person who was holding the map: “Let him keep hold of it! Since we are walking together it doesn’t matter who holds the map.”

However, as soon as he had spoken, five devilry cultivators suddenly rushed out with swords and attacked those people. Their opponents were fierce and swift, and they made it clear that they wanted to kill them. Moreover, their targets were not limited, whoever their swords pointed at face being killed.

Their intention was to disperse these people and eliminate some of them in the process. Only those who survived were worthy of becoming a Shadow disciple. Therefore, amongst these three hundred and seventy eight people, they estimated that only less than a dozen or so would survive in the end.

“Don’t leave, we will join forces against them!”

One of the men shouted. However, in the face of this sudden murderous intent, those people fled in all directions. Only a few people had summoned the spirit energy within their bodies and hit out at the devilry cultivators with their fists instead of fleeing for their lives, they wanted to survive using their fists!

The five devilry cultivators had also dispersed and chased after the various groups of people who had fled. They left behind one person, and in their eyes, that devilry cultivator was more than capable to deal with those people alone.

Because of his carelessness, his big knife was taken by those few people, and when it pierced through his chest, his eyes widened incredulously as he couldn’t believe that he was killed by these people!

Chapter 1825: Importance

The four of them panted as they looked down at the dead devilry cultivator. They glanced at each other and a smile appeared across their faces. The wariness between each other had disappeared, as if they were companions who had fought alongside each other for many years. They had worked well with each other in this first battle and came up victorious.

“Lei Xiao, Golden Core middle-stage cultivator. I was originally a casual cultivator and was captured due to my carelessness.” One of the men said and introduced himself to the other three men in front of him.

“Bi San, mercenary casual cultivator, Golden Core early-stage cultivator.” A man in his twenties said.

“He Sheng, casual cultivator, also a middle-stage Golden Core cultivator.” Another man said.

“My name is Lin Xi. I was captured when I snuck out to play. Unlike the few of you, I am only a Foundation Formation middle-stage cultivator.” The person who had spoken was an immature young boy about fifteen or sixteen years of age. However, his temperament must be quite extraordinary, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to have lived so well having been in captivity for two to three months.

They glanced at each other and nodded: “In that case, we shall help each other out along the way! Hopefully, we can all survive!”

After they had taken the belongings on that devilry cultivator, they continued on their way forwards. They didn’t have the map, so the only thing they could do was to keep moving forward. Fortunately, they had worked together and killed the Nascent Soul early-stage devilry cultivator. Compared with other people, they had more trust with each other because of this.

Soon after they had left, Feng Jiu walked forwards step by step holding a branch that she had picked up from somewhere. She used the branch to push aside the weeds that were blocking her way and observed her surroundings at the same time.

When she arrived in front of the dead devilry cultivator, a touch of surprise crossed her eyes but she continued walking forwards without stopping.

After she had walked for some distance, she suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream. The scream reverberated through the forest, after careful analysing, she was able to tell which direction the scream had come from.

Sure enough, there was an ambush!

She sighed softly in her heart and continued walking as she felt the chilling killing intent behind her. She glanced back and saw a Nascent Soul stage devilry cultivator approaching her with a longsword in his hand. When she saw this, she smiled at the Nascent Soul devilry cultivator.

When the devilry cultivator saw the smile on the young boy’s lips, he was startled. He thought to himself: Is this boy dumb? Can’t he see that he is about to die? How can he still smile?

The tip of the sword continued to move forward, but what happened the next moment shocked him.

The young boy just stood there unmoving as the sword continued to move forward. His face only turned sideways a little to avoid the tip of the sword and he raised the branch in his hand at an incredible speed and shot it forwards.

“Ugh!”

The devilry cultivator groaned and his whole body froze. A trace of blood spilled out from his lips as he stared wide-eyed at the harmless young boy in front of him who had a faint smile on his face, but yet was able to kill him in one move.

“Boom!”

The devilry cultivator’s body fell backwards. Feng Jiu removed the branch that was embedded in the devilry cultivator’s chest and watched as he twitched a few times before he died. She sighed softly: “You can’t blame me, it was you who came looking for death.”

After she had thrown the branch to the side and collected the devilry cultivator’s belongings, she continued walking forwards and her figure disappeared into the tall weeds…

After she had walked on for some distance, Feng Jiu was targeted by someone else again. The result of facing her only ended in death.

In less than half a day, more than a dozen devilry cultivators had died. This attracted the attention of the Ghost Elder…

Chapter 1826: Infiltrated

“More than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators have been killed in less than half a day?” The Ghost Elder narrowed his eyes and a deep thought passed through his eyes: “Have the corpses been brought back?”

“They’ve been brought back, they are just outside now. They’ve been placed in order of the time they were found.” A devilry cultivator said solemnly. With the death of these over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, they had lost more than half of the people they had sent out.

Moreover, the strongest level of the three hundred something cultivators was only Golden Core peak-stage. Yet, they had managed to kill over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators without alarming anyone, how could they not be shocked?

Could it be that there was a powerful person lurking amongst those three hundred something people? However, even if there was such a person, it wasn’t possible that he had been captured by them. What was going on?

The Ghost Elder walked outside and looked at the dozen or so corpses that were placed in front of the wooden hut. His gaze was sharp and fierce as he glanced at the corpses before he began examining the first corpse.

“A fatal blow to the chest, a small hole that is not made by a sword, nor a concealed weapon. From the size of the hole, it appears to have been made by a branch, and one that has a blunt end as well.” The Ghost Elder said as he examined the body: “Nascent Soul cultivators have strong protection to begin with anyway, it’s not easy to pierce his body with blunt edged branch. The person who managed this in one move is most definitely not a simple person.”

“Could it be that someone powerful has infiltrated the group of three hundred something people?” One of the devilry cultivators at the side couldn’t help but ask.

When he heard this, the Ghost Elder glanced at him and sneered: “Do you think I’m blind? If there was someone with this kind of strength within those three hundred something people, do you think I wouldn’t have noticed?”

After he had been lectured by the Ghost Elder, that devilry cultivator couldn’t help but lowered his eyes and dared not speak further, afraid that the Ghost Elder would vent his anger on him.

The Ghost Elder looked at the second corpse and saw that his fatal wound was caused by a sword, but there were no signs of a fight on his whole body. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes and looked further down the line of corpses. He saw that every one of them had been killed in one fatal move and were not killed by ambush. He concluded that this person was no doubt someone of the strength of a Celestial Strong Exponent.

Only someone of a Celestial Strong Exponent strength would be able to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator in one move. However, he didn’t think that any such person was within the group of three hundred something cultivators they had captured. On the contrary, this person must have infiltrated their territory.

“Send a few Celestial Strong Exponent cultivators into the forest to take a look, someone must have sneaked in. I would like to see who this person is, who has the audacity to sneak into the territory of our Shadow Night Palace!”

“Yes!” A devilry cultivator responded and hurried away.

The Ghost Elder paced back and forth with one hand behind his back. After a while, he gave more instructions: “Send another group of people in and have them split up into pairs. Tell them that they should only deal with the Shadow disciples accordingly and not kill them, lest there be none left at the end. Tell them to also look out for any suspicious person.”

“Yes.” Another devilry cultivator responded and left quickly.

“You go in and have some fun with those people as well.” The Ghost Elder glanced at the seductively dressed woman behind him.

“Since you can bear to let me go, then I will go!” The woman stepped forward and gently snuggled into the Ghost Elder’s arms. Her hands ran across the Ghost Elder’s chest teasingly and with a sweet smile on her red lips, she walked off towards the dense forest, swaying her water-snake waist.

The Ghost Elder narrowed his eyes as he stared at the figure of the woman who had disappeared into the distance, a faint light flashed across his eyes…

Chapter 1827: Seek Help

In the forest, Feng Jiu was being chased by a Nascent Soul cultivator. She ran away wildly and shouted: “Ahhhh! Help! Help…”

“Damn it! This kid, is he born in the year of the rabbit? He sure can run fast!” That Nascent Soul cultivator cursed. He had thought that the weak looking young boy would be an easy target and wouldn’t be qualified to become a Shadow Disciple. Since he had encountered him by chance, he thought that he would eliminate him.

He hadn’t expected that he wouldn’t be able to catch up to him running through the wild weeds and cluttered trees in this forest. The young boy who was scurrying away was only about ten metres or so in front of him but he was still unable to take his life. He couldn’t help but felt the anger rise in his chest. Now that he had set his sights on this young boy, he had to kill him no matter what!

“Ahhhhhh! Help! Help…”

As Feng Jiu ran, she pushed away the wild weeds in front of her, occasionally meeting one of two people along the way. However, when those people saw her being chased by a Nascent Soul cultivator, their expressions changed and they avoided her.

Their reaction was only natural of course. In this forest, it was hard enough to stay alive, why would anyone risk their lives to save another person? What’s more, the person who was chasing her was a Nascent Soul cultivator, most of the people in this forest were no match against a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Even then, if the Golden Core cultivators didn’t join forces, they wouldn’t even have any chance of killing a Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, there were always exceptions. Just up ahead, a few men who were travelling as a group heard the shouts and looked back. When they saw that it was the young boy who had been chased by the Eclipse Demon Tiger earlier on, they were a little shocked.

“It’s him, that young boy.”

“Yes it is. It’s been half a day, I didn’t expect him to still be alive.”

“He runs so fast, it’s no surprise that he’s still alive. Look, the devilry cultivator who is chasing him is a Nascent Soul cultivator too.”

“Should we save him?”

When this question was asked, the few of them looked at each other and smiled. At once, two of them retreated, one to the left and one to the right, unravelling a length of rope between them. The rope was placed on the wild weeds and wasn’t too obvious. The other two had leapt up into the trees stealthily and laid waiting.

When Feng Jiu saw this, she couldn’t help but glanced at them. She looked at the rope that had been placed on the ground but not been pulled up and was a little surprised. After she ran across the rope, she pretended to trip on a stone and fell forwards as if she had lost her balance.

“You brat! Let’s see where you can run to this time!”

The devilry cultivator laughed loudly when he saw her trip. The longsword in his hand plunged forwards and as he was just about to slash her arm, the rope that had been placed on the ground between the wild weeds was raised up. The two people on either side swapped positions and trapped the devilry cultivator in the rope. At the same time, the two men who were hiding in the tree jumped down with sharp blades in their hands and attacked the Nascent Soul devilry cultivator.

The devilry cultivator was stunned. He was about to use the longsword in his hand to cut the rope when he realised that they had used a diamond rope, and then he saw the swift murderous attack and immediately raised his longsword to block it.

“Clang!”

When the swords collided, a sharp crisp sound was created. However, when the swords collided, the airflow of the two men who had leapt down from the tree shot out at the same time, and the devilry cultivator tumbled backwards onto the ground into the wild weeds.

“Pfftt!”

Blood spurted out and the faces of the two men paled. Without stopping, they rushed forwards again. However, at this time, the devilry cultivator tugged on the diamond rope and flung the two men who were holding the rope out…

Chapter 1828: Don’t Hold Us Back

“Ughhhh!”

The two men were flung away and slammed into a big tree heavily. The two men had gotten back up from the ground and rushed forwards to grab the devilry cultivator’s legs in an attempt to topple him over. When they saw this, the other two men drew their longswords and charged forwards. At this moment, two more men had appeared from nearby and joined in the attack.

All of a sudden, four men changed to six men, as they teamed up to stop the devilry cultivator from killing them.

Feng Jiu who had fallen onto the ground watched on as the six men besieged the devilry cultivator. Her eyes flashed slightly, and in the next moment, she picked up the diamond rope and swung it forwards fiercely around the neck of the devilry cultivator who was held down by the six men.

“Ugh!”

The devilry cultivator suppressed his muffled cry and his face was flushed red. His body was stabbed with a knife and his hands and feet were held by someone else. Not only did his wounds hurt, but with the diamond rope around his neck, it was also hard to breathe.

“Go to hell!”

The man who was holding a knife raised it and stabbed the devilry cultivator fiercely, this time, into the devilry cultivator’s chest. He groaned as blood flowed out of his mouth. His eyes widened as his body convulsed and he took his last breath.

The few men only let go of the devilry cultivator after he had stopped breathing. They then sat down on the ground and panted slightly. It was true that one person’s strength was small, and the more people there were, the stronger they were. With their united strength, even if their cultivation wasn’t good, they were still able to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator together.

“Take what he’s got and let’s leave quickly!” Lei Xiao said in a low voice. He stood up at the same time and glanced around.

The people around glanced at him but didn’t move. Although they had killed the Nascent Soul cultivator and gained quite a lot of things from him, they didn’t step forward to take anything this time. This was because the other people were probably on their own and it was only them who had formed a group.

When the two new people saw the young boy in azure sitting there foolishly after strangling the devilry cultivator, one of them pulled him up immediately: “Hurry up! If we don’t get going there will be more devilry cultivators catching up to us.”

Feng Jiu was hence dragged away by them…

Maybe it was because they had witnessed those men joining forces to kill the Nascent Soul cultivator, other people had also started forming groups too. Some groups had a few people, some had a dozen, and some groups had over twenty people. Because they had formed groups, their death rate had also dropped.

Feng Jiu who had been dragged to the front of the group finally recovered from her daze and looked around her. As they introduced themselves to each other, she sized them up and they also sized her up.

“Don’t you run very fast? How come you can’t run in this forest?” One of the men asked her with a rare smile. He was probably recalling the scene where Feng Jiu was being chased by the Eclipse Demon Tiger.

“The forest ground is uneven and there are many weeds, of course I can’t run as fast as I do on a flat surface.” Feng Jiu said and looked at the men. She asked: “Are you teaming up as a group? In that case, can I join your group?”

They looked at her when they heard this, and Lei Xiao said: “You appear to be the weakest out of all of us. You can join our team, but make sure you don’t hold us back.”

Feng Jiu smiled with joy and said earnestly: “I won’t, I won’t, I definitely won’t hold you back.” She would hold them back? What a joke.

“We still don’t have a map yet, I’m afraid that we will not be able to find our way out of the forest and might be lost in here for a while. Does anyone have any suggestions?” Lei Xiao asked and looked at everyone.

Chapter 1829: Body Filled With Poison

“I have experience in wild forests, I can lead you out of the forest even without the use of a map.” One of them said. It was one of the two new members of the group.

When everyone heard this, they glanced at each other and said: “Then let’s get going! Don’t waste anymore time here.” Time was precious here. If they didn’t make it out of the forest in the given time limit, they would most probably not be able to survive.

“That way.” The man who spoke earlier said. He led the way and everyone in the group followed.

Although this was a forest, however, other than the chirping coming from the tree branches, there wasn’t even a single beast that roamed the forest floor. As the Ghost Elder didn’t give them a fasting pill, naturally, once they had exhausted their energy, and with being hungry, their speed started slowing down.

“I caught a snake, it’s not much but there is enough to share with a few people.” Bi San walked over to the group of people who were resting under a tree with a motionless snake in his hand.

After they saw the snake, some of them began picking twigs and branches and some of them began scaling the snake skin, while some lit a fire. Together, they prepared to roast the snake and share it between them. Even if there wasn’t much to share between them, at least it was something.

However, after Feng Jiu glanced at them, she said: “Don’t waste your time, this snake is inedible.”

As soon as she had spoken, everyone turned and looked at her.

“Why can’t we eat it?” Bi San asked.

“This is a poisonous snake.” Feng Jiu replied.

“As long as the snake gall is removed the meat can still be eaten.” Bi San said. He handled the snake agiley and peeled off the snake skin: “I’ve eaten many poisonous snakes during my experiences outside. Even if I haven’t come across this kind of poisonous snake in the past, what is so different about this snake from other poisonous snakes?”

In his opinion, as long as it had been prepared properly, it could be eaten. How could it not be edible?

“The meat of this kind of poisonous snake is poisonous too. If you eat it, you will be paralysed and then you will die.” Feng Jiu replied. Her gaze fell on his blood stained hand and her brow twisted slightly: “The snake’s blood is poisonous too. Do you still want your hands?”

Everyone looked at Feng Jiu’s solemn face. She didn’t seem to be lying. They couldn’t help but hesitate as they looked at the skinned snake. Bi San was just about to say that it was fine when his hand went numb, and the snake fell to the ground. He couldn’t help but be startled.

When they saw this, there was no more doubt, and they asked Feng Jiu immediately: “You know medicine? Is there an antidote for the blood on his hand? If there is no antidote, what will happen?”

During their experiences on the outside, they had never come across a poisonous snake like this before. What sort of hellish place was this?

Bi San looked at his hands which had now turned reddish and purplish. Though his heart sank, he didn’t say anything. What else could he say? He had already been warned and yet he didn’t heed the advice. Who could he blame but himself?

Feng Jiu glanced at him and asked: “Where did you catch the snake from? There will most probably be an antidote near the place where the snake had appeared.”

“In front.” Bi San said and walked over to where he had found the snake.

Feng Jiu walked behind him and the others also followed. They looked at Feng Jiu with surprise as they walked behind them. They hadn’t expected this ordinary looking young boy to have any medical knowledge, and he seemed quite proficient too.

They followed quietly when suddenly, they saw the young boy in azure stop. At the same time, the young boy reached out and pulled Bi San towards him.

Chapter 1830: Snake Venom

“Sss!”

Suddenly, the sound of a snake spitting venom violently could be heard. A brightly coloured snake slithered out from within the grass and spat its bloodthirsty tongue as it stared at them.

When they saw the poisonous snake that had slithered out, they were shocked and looked at Feng Jiu in a new light. She had pulled Bi San back so suddenly, how did she know that there was a poisonous snake there? Her reaction was faster than any one of them.

“Let’s look for the antidote.”

Lei Xiao and a few others walked forwards, some with swords in their hands, while others held branches in their hands. It was easy enough for them to handle a few poisonous snakes with their cultivation levels.

“There is a herb plant with a red tip on its leaf next to the tree, that is the antidote.” She didn’t step forward but gave them instructions to pick the antidote instead.

A few of them walked up and chopped the snake in half and the other snakes slithered away. After they pushed the grass aside with branches and checked the area, they found that there were no more poisonous snakes. Only then did they step up and picked the herb.

“Chew the leaves and then swallow them and also apply some of the chewed up leaves onto your hands. Your hands should be fine after the time it takes to burn an incense.” Feng Jiu said.

Bi San did as he was told while the others sat under a tree and rested. After the time it took to burn an incense, his condition appeared to have improved, and the redness and swelling on his hands had also disappeared. He was secretly impressed.

The unremarkable looking herb plant had such a magical effect.

“Can this herb plant cure other poisons?” Lin Xi who was beside him asked. He thought that if it could cure other poisons then they should pick some more now just in case of emergencies.

Feng Jiu couldn’t help but laughed upon hearing this: “How can it? Where on earth does a herb plant that can cure all poisons exist? Moreover, this isn’t even considered a spirit herb, it doesn’t have much use.”

“You have medical knowledge.” Lei Xiao looked at Feng Jiu and said. When he had asked the question earlier, the young boy didn’t reply. Now, it wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement of fact.

“I know a little.” She replied with a humble smile.

Lei Xiao looked around and when he saw that there was no one around, he lowered his voice and asked: “Do you know how to get rid of the poison in our body? Is there an antidote?”

If they could cure the poison within their bodies, they wouldn’t need to remain under the control of the people from the Shadow Night Palace. As long as they got a chance, they could leave this place. However, it was problematic with the poison still within their bodies.

When the people nearby overheard, their hearts lifted slightly and they couldn’t help but look at Feng Jiu nervously. Yes! If this young boy could cure their bodies of the poison…

However, almost as soon as this thought entered their heads, they shook their heads secretly. How could this young boy possibly know the antidote? Wasn’t he also poisoned? The poison in their bodies activated once every half a month and if they didn’t take the antidote they would definitely die.

“No, I don’t.” She shook her head.

A few people sighed, unable to hide their disappointment, but yet they realised it was also quite obvious. How could anyone be able to easily cure this sort of poison the Ghost Elder had concocted? How old was this young boy? It was normal that he didn’t know how to cure the poison.

“Enough, we have rested for a while now. It’s time to get going. We have to leave this forest within three days!” Lei Xiao said as he led them away.

The breath of death permeated through the forest. Maybe the others didn’t notice it, but Feng Jiu did. There were more people in the forest now. Moreover, there were now Celestial Strong Exponents that had appeared secretly. However, although those people had infiltrated the forest, they didn’t attack them.

Chapter 1831: Fighting Over A Fruit

Was it because of the people she had killed?

She thought to herself: She had killed those people in one move, clean and swiftly. Those people had been Nascent Soul devilry cultivators. Surely they wouldn’t suspect that it was her.

As night fell, occasional screams could be heard through the darkness. No one had spent the whole night resting. After a short rest, they continued on their journey.

It was easy to get lost when walking in the night. Of course, the further into the forest they went, the more dangerous it became as well. Feng Jiu walked along in her group of seven, and gradually their numbers increased to ten and then thirty.

Maybe because there were so many of them, they were all vigilant and a little wary of each other. After all, they didn’t know each other, nor did they know what everyone was like. They had come together as a group for survival and to support each other. However, they didn’t know whether they would stay together in moments of danger, nor could they guarantee that the people around them wouldn’t push them out into the face of danger to protect themselves.

Feng Jiu followed the group and was definitely the most ordinary looking one and didn’t stand out at all. While everyone was resting, she sat in a corner and ate some grass she had found from somewhere.

In the eyes of those people who didn’t understand, they thought that she was so hungry that she had no choice but to eat grass. What they didn’t know was that she was eating a type of wild grass that could help bind her stomach.

“Here, for you.” Bi San took out a green coloured fruit the size of an egg from somewhere and passed it to Feng Jiu.

However, out of nowhere, a hand reached out and stopped him.

“It’s wasted giving it to that young boy to eat, you might as well give it to me.” A strong man said and took the fruit. He was about to eat it when Bi San stared at the man and reached out to stop the man’s hand.

“Who gave it to you? Give it back!” When he tried to take the fruit back, that man suddenly attacked him. Bi San retaliated immediately and the two of them started fighting.

If this was in the past, no one would have cared for a fruit. However, ever since they had been locked up in the square, other than training daily, they were never given enough food to eat. Not to mention after they had entered the forest and exerted themselves physically, they didn’t have water to drink, nor food to eat. Naturally, a fruit in their eyes meant a big deal at this moment in time.

After the surrounding people looked at them, they glanced at Feng Jiu. They were surprised that the two of them had started fighting over a piece of fruit, and were even more surprised that the man gave the precious piece of fruit to this young boy. After all, the young boy was probably the weakest person out of all of them.

Even if he were to follow their group through the forest, it was unlikely that he would survive till the end. It was as that man had said, a waste to give the piece of fruit to this young boy.

Feng Jiu continued to eat the grass, and the sourness of the grass was refreshing in her mouth. Her gaze swept over the surrounding people surreptitiously and took in their expressions one by one. Finally, her gaze fell on the two men fighting.

To be honest, she was also surprised that Bi San had given her the piece of fruit. There was no wild game in this forest, and not even a wild fruit in sight. She wasn’t sure where he had gotten the piece of fruit, but rather than eat it himself, he had offered it to her.

The other person, though, really opened her eyes. After all, he was a Golden Core cultivator, and yet he still fought over the piece of fruit?

Chapter 1832: Why Are You Still Alive Kid?

Had he gone crazy from hunger?

Maybe in their eyes, she had also gone crazy with hunger, that’s why she was eating grass!

When she thought of this, she sighed lightly in her heart and threw away the grass in her hand. As she stared at the two people, she thought silently to herself: It was going to be daylight soon, which meant they only had two more days left. She wasn’t even sure if they had even walked halfway through the forest yet. Would they be able to make it out of the forest in two days if they kept going at this speed?

“Hmph!”

A muffled cry came from the two men and when Feng Jiu looked back, she saw the Golden Core cultivator who had grabbed the piece of fruit had been kicked by Bi San, and the fruit had also been retrieved by Bi San.

“Get out of our team!”

Bi San shouted in a low voice, his sharp gaze was like a sharp knife. At that moment, his whole body was filled with bloodthirsty breath. It seemed like if that person had dared to take another step forward, he would have killed him.

Upon seeing this, that man clutched his stomach and stood up. Unwillingly and resentfully, he stared at Bi San, and then Feng Jiu, before he turned and left, disappearing into the wild weeds.

“Take it!” Bi San stood in front of Feng Jiu and handed her the piece of fruit with a solemn face.

Feng Jiu glanced at him and reached out to take the fruit, saying: “Thank you.”

Although she had food and water in space, and this amount of exertion hadn’t taken up much of her physical strength and energy, she had to appear awkward so that she wouldn’t rouse suspicion.

Bi San walked away with a stern expression on his face. He walked to the front and exchanged a few words with Lei Xiao and the others. Not long later, everyone was ready to get moving again. It was also at this moment that two Nascent Soul cultivators suddenly appeared from the tree above and sprinkled something from the black bag they held in their hands.

“Ssss! Ssss ssss!”

“Ah!”

“It’s snakes!”

“It’s poisonous snakes!”

In an instant, the people who had been sitting around resting dispersed quickly in alarm when they felt the slippery snakes on their bodies. Some who weren’t quick enough screamed as they were bitten.

“Ah!”

In the chaos, Feng Jiu was eating the fruit. Before she had time to swallow, she saw a colourful snake flung towards her. She immediately picked up the branch next to her and swatted the snake away. She stood up immediately and walked over to Lei Xiao and the others.

As she was walking, the snakes that had been thrown in her direction were swatted away by her. At this time, those two Nascent Soul cultivators had already left. Even if she had wanted to throw the snakes at them, she couldn’t see them anywhere in sight.

As she dodged the snakes, she noticed a poisonous snake around her feet that was slithering towards Bi San. Bi San was only looking up and hadn’t noticed anything on the ground. When she saw this, she pretended to avoid the snakes and stepped on the snake’s head in the chaos.

Once she had stepped on the snake’s head, the pressure from her foot had increased and the snake’s tail swung sideways a few times before it stopped moving. Lei Xiao and the others shouted in a low voice and left this area hastily. She followed them, and behind her, others also followed.

They walked away quickly. When they were roughly five hundred metres away from that place, they stopped. They saw that their original team of over thirty men had dwindled down to about twenty after the two bags of snakes had been dropped on them. They looked awkward and disheveled, and their faces were flushed with anger.

It was only natural. They had been captured and brought to this place only to be controlled by others. Even their own fates weren’t in their hands. From time to time, such things would happen and they felt suffocated with anger and yet they were also helpless.

“Damn them, they want to kill us all! One of the strong men shouted, his eyes swept across the group and fell on Feng Jiu. He was stunned: “Why are you still alive kid?”

Chapter 1833: Who Is Proficient In Arrays?

So many people were bitten by the poisonous snakes that fell from the trees and died, yet, this young boy who looked so ordinary and weak was stood here all fine and well. What’s more, he still held the half-eaten fruit in his hand. When he heard the strong man’s words, he looked up with a silly expression on his face.

How could such a foolish person have survived what had just happened?

Everyone else’s gaze fell on the young boy in cyan clothes simultaneously in surprise, but they didn’t say anything. If he was able to survive up till now, he must have some talent, otherwise, he would have been long dead by now.

Lei Xiao’s gaze swept over Feng Jiu’s body briefly, a trace of thoughtfulness flashed across his eyes. Although no one had noticed earlier, he had noticed that the poisonous snake on the ground that was about to bite Bi San had been stepped on by this young boy. When the young boy’s foot had lifted off, the snake’s head was squashed into the ground.

To be able to kill the snake so easily within the chaos just by stepping on the snake’s head with his foot, this young boy was not as ordinary as they had thought.

“Crunch!”

Feng Jiu took a bite of her fruit and ate it as she looked at everyone around her. Her gaze fell on the man who had made a big fuss and she looked at him with a baffled expression then said in a careless voice: “You’re still alive too! Why do I have to be dead?”

Upon hearing this, the strong man nearly choked and he stared back at him. What was the meaning of this, was he saying that he was no better than him? This damn kid was only a Foundation array cultivator and yet he had the cheek to speak to him, a Golden Core cultivator, with this sort of attitude. He didn’t know the immensity between heaven and earth.

“Ugh! Damn kid!” The strong man snorted but didn’t say anything more. After all, there were also righteous people who had been captured and brought to this place.

“Alright, let’s go! It’s dawn. Let’s get out of this forest first.” Lei Xiao said and glanced at Feng Jiu. He then said something to the strong man beside him and the group of them walked forwards again.

There were people in this forest who had obtained the map, and there were also people who had gotten lost and were walking around in circles. As they walked deeper into the forest, their sight was obstructed by smoke that permeated through the air.

“Help! Is there anyone there! Help!”

The group of people who were walking along had heard the cries for help, and it sounded like it came from more than one person. The few people in front stopped and looked at the misty fog in front of them.

“It looks like an array.”

“Yes, that’s right, it’s an array and those people are trapped inside.”

“The fog is so heavy that you can’t even see that there is an array ahead. I’m afraid it’s no ordinary array if it can trap those people in there.”

As Lei Xiao and a few others discussed if they should rescue those people, the people who were trapped realised that there were people outside the array and called for help once again.

“We had the map. If you save us, we can show you the map and use it together! You can get out of this forest with the map, but if you don’t have the map you won’t be able to get out.”

When they heard this, everyone couldn’t help but glanced at each other: “They had the map.”

“Let’s save them! It’s more convenient if we have the map.”

“But, what if they are lying to us?” Another person hesitated.

“We have to pass through here too. Let’s figure out how to get through first. Also, which one of you is proficient in arrays? Anyone who is please speak up.” Lei Xiao asked, his eyes swept across at everyone.

“I know a bit but I’m not proficient. Besides, it’s a Shadow Night Palace array, I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” A man said.

Chapter 1834: Who new how he got lost?

“I also know a little about arrays, but I don’t know what this array is like. I can’t guarantee that I can get past it.” Another man said.

When he heard those two men volunteer, another man said: “I am fairly proficient in arrays, maybe I can give it a try. There was a sense of self-satisfaction when he spoke.

Feng Jiu looked at them and after she had finished eating her fruit, she raised her hand and said: “I know a little about arrays too.”

However, everyone automatically ignored Feng Jiu. It was obvious that they looked down on him and felt that even if this young boy did know a little about arrays, it was probably only superficial knowledge. After all, the few of them who knew about arrays were Golden Core cultivators. How could he, who was a mere Foundation cultivator, compare with them?

“In that case, the both of you will come with me to take a look!” The man who said that he was proficient in arrays said to the other two men and walked on ahead.

When she saw this, Feng Jiu put her hand down sheepishly. Alright, in that case, since they didn’t need her help and ignored her, she would continue to pretend to be transparent.

The three of them explored the road ahead first and studied the array to determine what kind of array this was. The others waited for them and didn’t move. After a while, the three of them came back.

“Follow me! This array is not a big deal, it’s just an ordinary enchantment array. Although it has been slightly altered, it’s not a big problem.” The man who had said that he was proficient in arrays said and beckoned for everyone to follow him.

Upon seeing this, everyone looked at each other and then followed three men forwards and walked into the enchantment array. Once they had entered the array, the fog became so dense that none of them could see the person in front of them. Therefore, the people who were in front led the people behind them by letting them hold on to their sleeve. Feng Jiu was right at the back and didn’t hold on to anyone’s sleeve, nor was the person in front of her willing to let her hold his sleeve. Hence, she followed silently.

However, after they had walked for a while, she was slightly surprised, she raised her eyebrows and stopped walking. Although she couldn’t see clearly, she could hear footsteps in front of her. The voices of those people who were calling for help earlier had also disappeared.

Interesting.

The corners of her lips curled and she revealed a smile. Her spirit intent was released at this point. When she was sure that there were no Nascent Soul cultivators or Celestial Strong Exponents around her, she slowed down and walked leisurely within this array.

As for those people who were walking ahead of her, they felt that something was wrong after walking for a while and couldn’t help but stop: “Something’s not right! Why do we seem to be walking around in circles?”

“Where has the person calling for help gone? Why can’t I hear his voice now?” Lei Xiao who was at the front asked, and no one was able to answer him.

At this moment, the man who had said that he was proficient in arrays was breaking out in cold sweat. He murmured: “How can this be? How can this be? Why does this array seem to be continually changing? It wasn’t like this when we first walked in here!”

When they heard this, everyone knew that they were trapped and fell silent. At this point, Bi San who was at the front shouted: “Kid? Kid? You there?”

When he didn’t hear a response, he knew that it wasn’t a good sign. So he asked immediately: “Where’s that young boy? Has anyone seen him?” Bi San counted the number of men as he walked to the end of the line. When he got to the last person, he asked: “Where is the young boy who was behind you? Wasn’t he holding on to your sleeve? Why didn’t you say anything when he disappeared?”

“Who knew he disappeared? He didn’t hold on to my sleeve.” That man said a little indignantly.

Chapter 1835: Go Back To Look For Him

Maybe it was because the young boy in azure had saved him once, so along the way, he seemed to pay more attention to him than anyone else. Naturally, he had also hoped that the young boy would make it out of the forest alive. Now, with more than a dozen of them walking together, and yet they lost the young boy. Therefore, his expression darkened with annoyance.

Without saying another word, Bi San turned and walked back. In his opinion, if the young boy in azure wasn’t travelling with them, he would surely die within a short time. He had saved him once, he couldn’t just leave him alone.

“Bi San, what are you doing?” Lei Xiao and the others walked over to him.

“I’m going back to look for that kid.” Bi San replied.

“We will go with you! It will be better than you walking alone.” Lei Xiao said.

“Alright, let’s go together! He should be just behind, maybe he walks a bit slower that’s all. He shouldn’t have met with any problems.” Lin Xi said.

Upon seeing the few of them walk back, the people behind them shouted: “You don’t need to go back, even if you follow the path backwards you won’t be able to get out. The formation here keeps changing, if you are not careful you won’t be able to get back here.”

“Aren’t we trapped in here right now anyway? What’s the difference?” They said without looking back and continued walking forward.

After they watched the few of them leave, the dozen or so men stood there in silence. One of them asked: “Why are they so good to that kid? If he’s lost, he’s lost, it’s no big deal.”

“Earlier on, Bi San was poisoned with snake venom and that kid saved his life.” Someone replied and shook his head at the same time: “I’m afraid that it’s probably too late them going back now anyway.”

As for Feng Jiu, she didn’t know that Bi San and the others had turned back to look for her. She had squatted on the ground and was drawing circles with a branch. Though it looked like circles, it was actually the formation. She was analyzing the changes in the formation and the locations of its life and death.

Because of the ingenuity of the formation, the cries of the people who were trapped within the formation couldn’t be heard when it was changing. Therefore, as she was squatting there for a long time, after a while, she heard the faint cries of the people who were calling for help earlier.

“The formation changes after the time it takes to burn half an incense, so if you get here, it should be like this. If you want to walk out of here, you need to leave from here.” She murmured to herself softly as she held the branch and drew on the ground.

“Kid! Where are you?”

Suddenly, she heard Bi San’s voice. Feng Jiu was slightly surprised and looked up. She couldn’t see anyone in the vast expanse of white fog in front of her, nor was she able to tell which direction the voice came from. However, she had just walked in a circle, so she should be able to walk over to them easily.

She stood up and rubbed away the formation she had drawn on the ground with her foot before she walked forward. However, she had only walked a short distance when she heard a muffled groan and caught the scent of blood.

Her eyebrows wrinkled up slightly as she released her spirit intent and swept across her surroundings. A Nascent Soul cultivator was attacking one of the people who had been trapped inside this formation, and Bi San and the others were headed straight into the chaos.

Upon seeing this, she quickened her footsteps and walked forward. Maybe a few Golden Core cultivators stood a chance at survival by joining forces outside of this formation. However, inside the formation, they would only be killed.

Bi San, Lei Xiao and the others also caught the scent of blood in the air at the same time and they thought that Feng Jiu had met with harm. They quickened their footsteps and hurried towards the sound. However, unexpectedly, within a few metres of walking forwards, a sword with a fierce aura struck out towards them. The bloodthirsty murderous intent approached them and the coercion of the Nascent Soul cultivator shocked them and rendered them unable to move…

Chapter 1836: The Fatal Blow

The aura of death shrouded him that instant. The terrifying Nascent Soul cultivator’s pressure made him drench in a cold sweat. He tried with all his might to tell his body to move, but his whole body froze stiff as if being stuck inside the millennium ice. He looked unflinchingly at the sharp sword thrust towards his glabella.

“Bi San!”

When Lei Xiao saw this scene, he was still a short distance away. Just when he thought Bi San would be killed, Bi San let out a muffled groan. Bi San, who had been standing straight and stiff, suddenly bent down and fell to the ground.

“Ugh!”

With a groan, the man fell to the ground. Before Bi San regained his consciousness, Leng Xiao already rushed from behind and dragged him to the other side. Without the slightest hesitation, several of the men quickly huddled together to resist the Nascent Soul cultivator’s pressure.

However, for some unknown reason, the Nascent Soul cultivator made up his mind to kill them. The pressure that he released was so great. Even if they wanted to resist, they were unable to withstand it.

“Pfffttt!”

Blood sprayed out from their mouths. The blood and vital breath inside their bodies were chaotic. Under the pressure, they fell down to the ground in succession and were unable to stand up.

Once the Nascent Soul cultivator, whose cultivation was one rank above them, released his pressure, they found it difficult to breathe. It was as if they were pressed down by Mount Tai. The Nascent Soul cultivators who fought with them in the past were not so powerful even when they released their pressure. By merely releasing his pressure, they immediately realized that this man wanted them all dead!

“You insignificant Golden Core cultivators want to survive? Hundreds of people died in my hands, not to mention a few of you. Die!” The Nascent Soul cultivator’s fierce and indifferent voice rang out. His sword, containing the sword intent, attacked the three of Bi San and his companions.

Just as those several people were ready for death, they suddenly saw a shadow swept out so fast like a ghost that they could not see clearly. They only perceived inside the fog that the figure swept out and grabbed the Nascent Soul cultivator at a lightning speed.

“Who are you?!”

The Nascent Soul cultivator’s gloomy voice was heard. But after this question was asked, there were no more movements.

Several of them sat on the ground in shock and were unable to come to themselves for a moment.

Who was it? Who saved them? With such skill and speed, the person was definitely a strong exponent above the Celestial rank. If that kind of strong exponent really came in, would they be saved?

“Why are you all sitting on the ground?” Feng Jiu came out from the fog. Looking surprised, she watched those few people who were in a daze. She looked around and asked, “Why are there only a few of you? Are you separated, too?”

It took them quite a long time to gradually come to their senses. They stood up and looked around. It’s gone, the dangerous coercion had dissipated. The Nascent Soul cultivator must have been killed. But who was the person who saved them?

At this moment, no one thought of Feng Jiu who appeared in front of them. After all, how could a young cultivator be able to do such a thing? They didn’t even suspect that it was her and ruled her out.

“We’re here looking for you. Are you alright?”

Bi San asked. After he had calmed down, he couldn’t help glancing down at his feet. Earlier, as death was approaching, someone shot something onto his feet, causing him to plop down and avoided the fatal blow.

Chapter 1837: Leaving the Array

How high was the man’s cultivation to be able to knock him down in this dense fog and save him? Besides, wasn’t this the Shadow Night Palace’s territory? How could someone else sneak in here?

“I’m fine. I walked around and found you were all gone. I explored this place on my own, then came over when I heard the noise.” As Feng Jiu answered him, she sniffed the air and walked forward about two or three meters. “Quickly come over, there is a dead body here.”

Hearing this, they immediately came to the place where Feng Jiu stood. They found several dead bodies on the ground. Their corpses had not stiffened yet. They must have been killed by that Nascent Soul cultivator before.

“There’s something here.” Feng Jiu took out an item from someone’s bosom and spread it out. She couldn’t help smiling. “It’s a map.”

“Let me see.”

After taking a look, Lei Xiao was delighted. “Sure enough, it’s a map!” Through the fog, he consulted the map and soon called everyone’s attention. “This is our current location. We’re half the way through. We seem to be heading in the right direction.”

“It’s in the right direction. But, leaving this formation array is the most troublesome thing.”

“Don’t worry about that. Just follow me.” Feng Jiu smiled and told those few people, “Let’s go! You won’t get lost if you follow me.”

They looked at each other, then followed her without saying anything. Inwardly, they didn’t hold out much hope. After walking a certain distance, they unexpectedly ran into a dozen people that they had met earlier.

“Did you make a detour to go back here?” A man was a little surprised when he saw them. After all, this formation array was not easy to navigate. But when he saw the young man in blue, he glared. “It’s you again?”

The young man got lost, but unexpectedly he found his way again. This kid must have been very lucky!

“It’s me!” Feng Jiu smiled with her eyes narrowed. “Would you like to go with us?”

Since there was nothing they could do, in the end, the crowd also followed her. Even if they couldn’t walk away, at least they wouldn’t get separated. However, to their surprise, in less than an hour, they actually came out of the formation array.

“Out, we came out? Really?” A man looked back with wonder. When he looked at Feng Jiu, his gaze was somewhat complicated.

“I told you. I know a little something about arrays!”

Feng Jiu smiled with her eyes narrowed into crescents. Her appearance was simple and honest. When they heard this and then looked at her, those dozen people were so angry that they wanted to beat her up.

When they thought about it, the guy had already told them but they didn’t believe what he said and deliberately ignored him. How could they blame him at this time? In the end, they could only swallow their sullenness.

“Let’s go! There is a water source this way.” Lei Xiao pointed to the left.

When the others heard this, they asked, “How do you know?” Each one of them directed their gazes at him. When they saw him taking out a map, their pupils constricted.

“A map? You managed to get the map?” They remembered that the people who had called for help inside the array earlier seemed to shout that there was a map.

“Correct. I got this map inside the array. Let’s go! Don’t waste time.” Lei Xiao said, taking everyone to the water source. But, unexpectedly, more than thirty people in messy clothes came out and surrounded them.

 Chapter 1838: Discussing Cooperation

Seeing this, Lei Xiao and his party stared at them warily while making a defensive stance at the same time.

“What do you want to do?” Lei Xiao asked them calmly.

At this time, a few men came out of the crowd. They glanced at Lei Xiao’s dozen people team and waved to the people around to pay attention to the surroundings.

One among them spoke in a deep voice. “Don’t worry. We don’t want to do any harm. Since you’re able to reach this place, it’s clear that you’re exceptional. There’s one thing – we’d like to cooperate with you.”

Lei Xiao and others glanced at each other. Feng Jiu, who stood in their midst, also took a glimpse at those men. Whatever flashed in her mind didn’t leave any trace in her eyes.

“What kind of cooperation? Don’t forget that we are only prey in the hands of those people. It is still unknown whether we can get out of this forest alive.” Bi San snorted and stared at them with a hostile look.

Even though these people weren’t bloodthirsty and savage at first, after several months inside trying to survive, they were all like ferocious beasts. It’s difficult to trust them.

“That’s why we should cooperate.” A man who had a fair complexion opposite them spoke out and looked at the crowd. “Are you willing to really give your life to the Shadow Night Palace’s people, without even the ability to control your own life and death?”

The crowd was silent. Of course, they weren’t willing. But, what could they do now?

Feng Jiu’s lips curved up slightly and her eyes flashed with interest. Interesting, what were their plans? Did they plan to revolt? They weren’t that stupid, were they?

They were unable to escape relying on their own strength. Besides, Ghost Elder was not easy to fool. It’s very difficult for them to escape. What’s more, their bodies were riddled with poison that couldn’t be solved by ordinary people.

“What do you mean by cooperation?” Lei Xiao asked in a composed manner. At the same time, he observed them and took a guess at their intention.

The man with the fair complexion looked at several people around him, and then answered him. “There’s news that you must not know. That is, those who get out alive will eventually stay to advance in their cultivation. It’s not a simple cultivation, but supported with medicinal pills, so as to improve strength and combat effectiveness rapidly.”

That man paused for a while before he continued. “In addition to some of the Shadow Disciples who will enter the four great sects, the others will be trained as elites. That is to say, as long as we get through and pass the test afterwards, in addition to getting stronger with the help of medicinal pills, we will have a chance to live.”

“We want to cooperate with you by helping each other and lower the death of our allies as much as possible. When our strength is improved, we can escape here with the help of all the people. As for the poison in the body, I once heard a friend say that there is a Ghost Doctor whose medical skills can bring the dying back to life and is proficient in poison. We can find him and ask him to detoxify us.”

Feng Jiu was surprised to hear this. She looked at this fair man with a glance. It’s surprising that this man knew of Ghost Doctor. Moreover, where did he get all the news?

“Where did you get all the news?” Bi San next to her asked what she wanted to inquire.

Hearing this, his eyes flashed slightly and his expression looked a little awkward.

Chapter 1839: News

The others were baffled to see the stilted expression on his face. Just tell it like it is. What topic makes an adult man so awkward? Besides, they’re all men here.

“How did you get to know about this news?” Lei Xiao asked while looking fixedly at the man. “If you have something to say, just tell us. Don’t be so timid.”

“Who is being so timid?” He glanced at him begrudgingly. He coughed and said, “I got the news from that Ghost Elder’s woman.”

Everyone was shocked. “That woman? You don’t say! Even if she knew, why would she tell you the news?”

His face flushed slightly as if he was taking a deep breath, yet he kept mum for a long time.

Feng Jiu couldn’t help blink. She stared at the man with rapt attention and surprise in her voice. “Did you seduce her?”

“Who seduced that woman?”

He denied it hastily. When he saw that everyone was staring at him, he coughed. “It was that woman who wanted to seduce me, so I beat her at her own game and got a lot of information out of her. The news is definitely true.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded. It made sense, especially since the man had had a fair complexion and not bad-looking either. At first glance, he had the looks of a pretty boy and much more attractive than the Ghost Elder.

“But, you mentioned Ghost Doctor earlier. Is this person truly skilled in medicine?” Lei Xiao asked.

“Mm, according to my friend, there is no poison in the world that Ghost Doctor can’t solve.” He answered in an affirmative tone, evidently trusting his friend.

Feng Jiu touched her face, feeling a bit flustered. She’s standing here and these people were singing her praises without even knowing it. Well, it’s kind of embarrassing.

The crowd gathered around and discussed it, and finally decided to take a chance. So, after a brief introduction, fifty or sixty of them followed the map and continued their journey.

Throughout the journey, Feng Jiu learned that the team that consisted of over thirty people had already gone through a thorough reorganization. There were no devious people among them, and neither was her group of a dozen people. So, those fifty to sixty people formed a party. Although they encountered danger along the way, they managed to get through it safely.

In addition, there were experts in all domains among them. They were also very firm and persistent in nature, so it’s apt to call them good seedlings.

“There’s a water source ahead of us. When we get there, we will have a rest for a while.” The man with the fair complexion, Hao Junhao, opened his mouth and pointed to a place not far ahead.

“Do you have a map, too?” Lei Xiao asked them.

“Yes, we have one copy.” They nodded and glanced at Lei Xiao. “Do you have the other copy?” They had a look at the map the other party took out at that time, but they didn’t expect that both maps would fall into their hands.

“Not bad.”

Lei Xiao replied and stopped speaking until they all reached the water source. Those people sat down and had a rest. A while later, a few of them took a look around vigilantly.

Bi San and He Sheng looked at each other, got up and walked around. Seeing this, Feng Jiu followed them. When they arrived at a place a little farther at the front, they saw that someone had already arrived here one step faster than they did.

When they saw the man sitting at the water source, Bi San and He Sheng looked at each other with unconcealed shock.

Chapter 1840: Giving Advice

They arrived at this place with maps at hand as well as travelling companions. This man was alone, yet reached the water source ahead of them. It showed that he was exceptional.

The man sensed their presence and took a glance at them. After a glimpse, he looked away and ignored them. After taking out a bamboo tube and filled it with water, he was about to continue walking.

Bi San and He Sheng called out to him in unison, “Brother, please wait a moment.” They chased after the man.

Feng Jiu observed the man furtively with obvious appreciation in her eyes. This man was indeed capable. He looked to be in his thirties, his clothes were stained with blood and a knife at the ready in his hand. It was clear that he had killed people on his journey.

Most of the people sent in Ghost Elder were Nascent Soul cultivators. This man could defeat cultivators of that calibre with his sole strength, killing enemy champions whose strength surpassed him by a great length. His explosive power was extraordinary.

“What for?” That man looked back and squinted at them. His aura was very terrifying.

Feng Jiu couldn’t help but smile. This man’s imposing manner wasn’t inferior to the eight Feng Guards at her side. His ferocity was revealed unconsciously, so without attacking, he already intimidated his opponents.

She didn’t expect to meet crouching tigers and hidden dragons among those captured people.

“We are a big team comprised of dozens of people. Brother, would you join us? This way, we can take care of each other.” Bi San invited him. This kind of person must certainly be recruited.

“No need.” The man refused directly, walked on, and soon disappeared in front of them.

“I recognized this man. It’s the man who could kill champions possessing greater strength. Last time, he was in the spotlight as the most favoured seedling. I didn’t expect that apart from his good combat effectiveness, he also had a good sense of direction. Without having a map, he can reach this place. How remarkable.”

Bi San withdrew his gaze, his voice filled with unconcealed regret. It’s a shame they couldn’t take that outstanding man on their team.

However, Feng Jiu did not speak. She just listened and watched quietly. Then, she went back with them and sat down in a place, listening to Bi San and He Sheng tell the others about the man they had just met.

“Alright, let’s go, we have enough rest. After getting out of the forest, we can take another break.” Lei Xiao stood up and had everyone set out for the journey. The group quickened their pace and moved on.

In the early morning of the third day, seeing that they were about to pass through the forest, Feng Jiu who used to be reticent during the journey, suddenly came forward.

“I think we can split up here.” At this sudden remark, everyone was surprised.

“What do you mean?” Bi San inquired.

The gazes of those fifty to sixty people also fell on Feng Jiu. Obviously, they had no idea what she meant. No one thought too deeply and they also didn’t try to guess what other people were thinking when they saw them all in a group of dozens.

Feng Jiu glanced at them and spoke in a voice that was neither loud nor soft. “I think they captured us and brought us here with the intention to train and cultivate us to be Shadow Disciples. They certainly don’t want us to have too much involvement with each other. It’s not easy for them to control. It’s also prone to accidents.”

They were not fools. Once they heard Feng Jiu’s explanation, they immediately understood.

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