Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 131 Midnight Terror
Can we go now?

One by one, the independent cultivators emerged from the temporary hut, their faces showing a mixture of surprise and bewilderment, as well as unease.

Soon the entire campsite became noisy.

Immediately, some people packed their bags, called on acquaintances, and began their eager return journey in small groups.

Chen Li was also unwilling to stay in such a dangerous place any longer. After discussing it with Zhang Yan, Zhao Chang'er, and others, they decided to leave with the wave of people returning home. The more people there were, the safer it would be—this was the simplest of truths.

When we arrived, everything was orderly, but when we left, it became a chaotic mess, with people everywhere.

Although cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining can fly using magical artifacts, firstly, it consumes a great deal of spiritual energy and cannot fly very far, so it can only be used for short-distance travel; secondly, such wilderness areas are not safe to travel on, so one must always maintain sufficient spiritual energy.

Therefore, even a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining can only walk obediently.

Of course, none of these are problems for Chen Li.

His near-max level Wind Control Technique consumes very little spiritual energy and has a long duration. A journey of several hundred miles takes only a few spells. He can set off in the early morning and have lunch at home by noon.

However, he was not entirely alone after all.

He couldn't just abandon Zhou Hong and let her slowly walk back, could he? He couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.

The forest after the scorched earth was a barren wasteland, black as far as the eye could see. There were hardly any monsters, let alone wild animals. At first, the atmosphere among the group was a little oppressive, but it quickly became relaxed, and they chatted and laughed all the way.

Chen Li felt uneasy. He ate lunch on the road, simply eating some dry food without stopping.

For a Golden Core Ancestor to personally come, that must be an extremely important event. He just wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.

He only began to relax a little after making it smoothly into the evening.

In late autumn, the streams freeze into ice.

It gets even colder as night falls.

The land, scorched by the fire, was quite tranquil, with a thin layer of mist covering the ground. Groups of people hurried along, chatting and laughing, making it far from deserted.

As night deepened, the fog grew thicker and thicker.

"The fog is so thick today. I should have stayed overnight when we passed the abandoned temporary camp earlier," Zhao Chang'er said worriedly.

"It's not safe to stay in the middle of nowhere," Zhang Yan said dismissively. "I'd rather keep traveling!"

"What's there to be afraid of with so many people?" Zhao Chang'er asked.

"Haven't you noticed how quiet it's been along the way?" Chen Li suddenly asked. "Logically, there should be people all around us."

The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

The group immediately stopped.

Everyone looked at each other, seeing the unease on each other's faces.

"It seems we haven't heard any voices except for us!" an old cultivator who was with Chen Li's group said in a trembling voice. "The fog is too thick, we can't go any further, we might have gone the wrong way!"

Chen Li's expression was solemn. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt as if a cold gaze was fixed on him.

He touched a stack of exorcism talismans on his chest and found that they were slightly warm.

He took out a card and quickly threw it using the throwing technique.

"Snapped!"

The talisman exploded.

A wave of exorcising power swept around.

In the dim light, a shadow seemed to flash by in the thick white fog.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Hong asked, noticing Chen Li's actions.

There was a hint of tension in his voice.

"Everyone be careful, we've been targeted by evil spirits!" Chen Li said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically, and they all became wary.

"It's over, it's over, how could there be evil spirits here?" Old Xiu muttered to himself, "Could it be... that they escaped here?"

"Hey old man, stop jinxing it," Zhao Chang'er said irritably. "It's definitely not that one, otherwise we would be dead already."

Old Xiu quickly shut his mouth, looking embarrassed.

Chen Li seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

The reason this evil spirit didn't make a move was probably because it was wary of the stacks of evil-repelling talismans on its body.

The reason they were targeted was probably because of this; with so many exorcising talismans on their bodies, they were like torches in the darkness in the eyes of evil spirits, making them too conspicuous in a crowd.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The atmosphere was incredibly oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Chen Li's spiritual sense seemed to have caught a blurry figure, and he cast another exorcism talisman.

The fog stirred inexplicably every now and then, only to vanish again.

The stack of exorcism talismans on his chest grew hotter and hotter, even starting to feel slightly burning. Chen Li remained oblivious, even closing his eyes and relying on his spiritual sense to occasionally strike out an exorcism talisman.

Strengths of evil-dispelling power constantly cleansed the surroundings.

Zhou Hong embraced Zhang Shuniang, whose face had turned pale, offering her silent comfort.

In just five or six minutes, Chen Li cast more than a dozen exorcism talismans. The surroundings became increasingly quiet, with only heavy breathing clearly audible. Everyone stared intently at Chen Li.

Everyone knows that once Chen Li runs out of the exorcism talismans, it will be all over.

That's their death day.

One exorcising talisman after another was used up.

As the evil spirits gradually lowered their guard, suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed from Chen Li's palm.

"boom!"

A bolt of lightning pierced through the fog in an instant.

"what!"

A terrifying scream rang out.

Chen Li's heart skipped a beat, and with a "crack," it felt as if something in his chest had shattered.

The terrifying figure in the mist seemed to be enraged by Chen Li's attack, and instead of retreating, it advanced swiftly like a phantom.

The exorcising talismans on his chest began to heat up rapidly, as if they were on fire. Chen Li's scalp tingled, his hair stood on end, and he was so shocked by the terrifying aura of the evil spirit that his whole body stiffened.

He couldn't react at all.

In an instant, the evil spirit was right before their eyes.

"It's over!" Only one thought flashed through Chen Li's mind.

Just as he was about to die, the evil spirit suddenly stopped just inches away from Chen Li. White smoke and a burnt smell rose from its body, and the air became distorted.

This evil spirit was shrouded in a faint shadow, with withered skin, dry and yellow hair, and tattered rags hanging from its body, making it a terrifying sight!
"This is because they are afraid of the exorcising talisman..." A thought flashed through his mind.

"Damn it!" Chen Li gritted his teeth and withstood the terrifying pressure. His lips twitched, and he raised his hand to deliver a palm strike.

The evil spirit flashed by, like a phantom, and instantly dodged.

But the next moment, Chen Li channeled all his spiritual power, and suddenly drew his sword. The sword flashed like lightning, and the blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp whistle.

"when!"

The sharp blade struck the opponent, but was blocked by the shadow on his body, leaving him unharmed.

"I don't believe it." Chen Li was also enraged by fear, and a light a hundred times more dazzling than the sun shone from his eyes, turning night into day in an instant.

The evil spirits seemed to be quite afraid of light.

The flash of light made him freeze instantly.

After refining his marrow, Chen Li reacted incredibly quickly. Seeing an opening, he seized the opportunity to pounce, concentrating all his strength into one, and thrust his sword at the evil spirit. The thrusting sword was the fastest and most powerful sword technique among all his sword skills.

In an instant, a sonic boom suddenly rang out.

The longsword pierced the viscous air like a terrifying bolt of lightning.

The evil spirit regained its senses, only managing to shift slightly.

"boom!"

A pale, eerie arm was instantly shattered.

"what!"

The evil spirit let out another terrified scream, and then Chen Li felt a blur before his eyes and lost sight of it.

"Where have you gone?"

Chen Li used another flash spell, his eyes scanning the area like searchlights.

But he couldn't find the other party anywhere, whether in front of him or behind him. Then he realized that even the severed arm that he had just blown off was gone.

Only a few specks of black blood remained on the spot.

"How is this possible? Did it grow legs or something?!"

He looked wary.

A very long time passed.

The burning sensation from the thick stack of exorcism talismans on his chest gradually subsided.

Chen Licai realized that he had completely scared away the evil spirit.

He felt a sense of relief and almost fell to the ground.

It was only then that he noticed everyone lying haphazardly on the ground. Chen Li was shocked and quickly went over to help Zhou Hong up. After checking on her, he was relieved to find that she had only fainted.

"Then... what about the evil spirits...?" Zhou Hong asked weakly as she regained consciousness.

"Don't worry, the evil spirit has left." Chen Li asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing serious, just a bit of a headache," Zhou Hong said, rubbing her head.

"Please sit for a while, I'll go wake up the others."

"Mmm!" Zhou Hong responded softly.

Next, Chen Li woke everyone up one by one.

"I'm still alive!" Zhao Chang'er pinched his thigh hard, exclaiming in surprise, "Thank you so much, Fellow Daoist Chen, for saving me!"

Chen Li waved his hand: "No need for thanks. This is not a place to stay for long. Let's leave now."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Old Xiu hurriedly stood up and said, "Evil spirits are the most vengeful. Once they have their eyes on you, they will haunt you like a knife to the bone, and they will not rest until you are dead."

Zhang Yan helped Zhang Shuniang up: "Look, the thick fog has dissipated."

The surrounding fog gradually thinned.

Clearly, the dense fog earlier was not a natural occurrence.

There was no one around, and it was quiet.

“It seems like we’ve been going in circles all along,” Zhou Hong said. “We’ve completely separated from the main force.”

"They shouldn't be far behind!" Chen Li said.

……

The group resumed their journey.

On the way, Chen Li took out the pendant from his chest and discovered that the mysterious red jade he had obtained from the great-grandson of the Zhou family, which could be used to resist mental attacks, was now covered with cracks.

"Kacha!"

I didn't use much force with my hands.

The red jade shattered into several pieces and fell to the ground.

"No wonder, when the evil spirit let out that terrified scream, everyone else fainted, but I was the only one who was unharmed," Chen Li thought to himself.

"What a pity...it's completely useless!"

Chen Li looked pained as he tore off the rope and threw it on the ground.

Not just this jade pendant.

He had used up more than thirty exorcism talismans. As for the remaining hundred or so, he checked them and found that most of their spiritual power had been consumed, making them almost useless. It was a heavy loss.

Fortunately, he's still alive.

Fortunately, he had a lot of talismans to ward off evil spirits.

Otherwise, this time the odds are probably against us.

The group quickened their pace and hurried along, finally catching up with the tail of the main group just before dawn.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)