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Chapter 256 Being Trapped in a Ghostly Wall, Running from the Poison Circle

The wind howled, and sand and stones flew everywhere.

The wind was rapidly intensifying, and the tremors on the ground were becoming increasingly strong.

Like an earthquake, the impact caused everyone in the manor to stagger and almost lose their balance.

The bushes outside the manor were also being tossed about by the fierce wind, their thick branches twisting painfully and emitting a low, creaking sound.

"What's going on? Is there an earthquake?"

Li Dingjian staggered and shouted loudly, his eyes darting around in a flustered manner towards the professor and Fang Cheng.

I was trying to get a definite answer from them.

But the voice sounded extremely faint in the howling wind, as if it might be blown away at any moment.

The professor's brows were furrowed, and his expression was particularly grave.

"I don't know... Maybe it was an earthquake, or maybe the Lu family activated some kind of mysterious method."

"After all, this manor holds many secrets, and there's no guarantee that they haven't set up some kind of backup plan to protect the Golden Bomba Bottle..."

As he spoke, he sharply scanned the strange phenomena around him.

The thick fog, like a surging tide, rolled and surged rapidly under the drive of the gale, sweeping in wave after wave.

The wind did not disperse the fog; instead, it made visibility even more blurred, leaving only a chaotic darkness a few steps away.

After looking around, the professor's gaze fell on Fang Cheng, who stood steadily to the side.

The mysterious man had repeatedly mentioned having an ominous premonition; could his words have come true?
Fang Cheng's pupils flashed red light slightly as he activated "Eagle Eye Vision" to observe changes in the surrounding environment.

Two beams of gaze, like tangible arrows, pierced through the holes in the mask and into the thick, inky fog.

After the light distortion was corrected, Fang Cheng's visual sensitivity and viewing range were greatly improved.

Even in such severe weather, it can still maintain the most basic visual ability.

He focused intently on perceiving the outside world, not missing a single unusual sound, and was ready to deal with any unknown dangers that might occur.

In the dim light, I could see many figures moving about in the woods.

At first, Fang Cheng subconsciously thought it was another treasure hunter who had been caught up in the affair.

But when he focused his attention and looked at it more closely, a chill ran down his spine.

Something is wrong!
There were indeed treasure hunters among those figures, but most of them exuded an indescribable eeriness.

Their body shapes were so distorted that they didn't resemble normal human beings at all.

The angles at which the limbs bend and the constantly stretching and changing state of the body are completely beyond common sense.

Like demons released from hell, they appeared and disappeared erratically in the darkness amidst howling winds and swirling fog.

Fang Cheng's heart stirred slightly. He closed his eyes and then amplified his other four sensory abilities.

In an instant, a faint murmur entered their ears.

Intertwined and entwined with the howling wind, it seemed to play a chilling and terrifying symphony in the chaotic darkness.

Then, his nostrils twitched slightly, and he smelled a strong sulfur odor.

It felt like a slippery, venomous snake had crawled into his nasal cavity, almost making him sneeze.

Moreover, Fang Cheng could clearly feel a strange energy fluctuation in the air, like a boulder being thrown into a tranquil lake, creating ripples.

As the ripples spread, strange lights, invisible to the naked eye, slowly seeped out from the manor's underground and emerged.

They move nimbly, intertwining and gradually outlining complex and mysterious patterns, as if they were characters from an ancient celestial book, concealing endless mysteries.

"What do you see?"

The professor suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed on Fang Cheng, who was looking down at the ground.

Fang Cheng raised his head, squinted his eyes, and slowly answered:
“I see… there’s a huge array beneath our feet, it looks like it’s used to seal off some space.”

Upon hearing this, both the professor and Li Dingjian's expressions changed.

At this moment, the wind suddenly subsided considerably, and the trees and buildings on the ground stopped shaking violently.

The entire manor seemed to have suddenly sailed from a turbulent ocean into a calm harbor.

Then, faint, intermittent voices could be heard from all around.

The people who had been panicking and hiding all poked their heads out again, staring wide-eyed at their surroundings in astonishment.

They breathed a sigh of relief and tried to find out the reason for the sudden change.

Fang Cheng knew that the formation beneath his feet still existed, which meant that the danger had not disappeared.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up the walkie-talkie, ready to contact Black Wolf and the others to ask where they were.

Then they immediately evacuated the strange manor together.

However, after pressing the call button, there was only a buzzing sound from the walkie-talkie, and no signal was transmitted at all.

Fang Cheng's heart sank, and the ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger.

Turning my head, I saw the two people beside me standing still, their expressions constantly changing, revealing a sense of solemnity and doubt.

Judging from their appearance, although they were not using communication devices, they seemed to be communicating with their teammates quietly in some special way.

After the two seemed to have finished their silent exchange, Fang Cheng stepped forward and asked:
"Are you able to contact your other teammates now?"

He then waved the walkie-talkie in his hand and added:

"Since the earthquake started, it seems like radio signals have been blocked here, and my walkie-talkie is completely malfunctioning."

Upon hearing this, the professor's already furrowed brows tightened even more, and he fell into deep thought.

"We can still get in touch with them."

Seeing that Fang Cheng's sharp eyes seemed to see through his actions, he hesitated for a moment and chose to admit it frankly.

After a brief pause, the tone shifted, and the worry on his face deepened:
"However, my teammates are in a more complicated situation now; it seems like they've encountered a maze."

Upon hearing this, Fang Cheng was slightly taken aback.

This statement seems to imply that there's a problem with the way out of the manor.

....................................

The forest was shrouded in mist, as if enveloped in darkness, so dark that one could hardly see their own hand in front of their face.

Lin Chuqiao led the way, Bailing followed in the middle, and Dachui brought up the rear. The three of them formed a single file and cautiously made their way forward.

They took each step with extreme caution, as if the ground beneath their feet might crack open at any moment and swallow them whole.

The thick, inky fog around them seemed to be alive, constantly churning and changing, completely obscuring their vision.

Since the sudden earthquake a few minutes ago, the entire Misty Mountain seems to have been dragged into a mysterious and terrifying alternate dimension.

Not only did the fog become thicker and stickier, but it also gave people a feeling of suffocation.

Even the once familiar mountain path underfoot became rugged and difficult to discern, and the shapes of the surrounding trees appeared distorted and terrifying under the shroud of fog.

In the shadows, there seemed to be some strange shadows that did not look like humans.

Everything indicated that something unsettling and unpredictable had clearly occurred here.

To avoid getting separated from each other, Lin Chuqiao would occasionally slow down and gently pull back with her hand to signal Bailing behind her to follow.

Bailing also reached back and grabbed Dachui's clothes to make sure they were always within sight. They huddled together, close enough to feel each other's breath and heartbeat, afraid of getting separated in this maze-like place.

Once separated, they might become completely lost in this boundless, dark forest, never to find their way back.

"This godforsaken place, no matter how I walk around, it feels like I'm going in circles!"

Big Hammer was the most impatient, muttering to himself, his voice filled with anxiety and unease.

He would occasionally swing the hammer in his hand, trying to dispel the surrounding fog.

But the fog was like a persistent, insidious infection; it would quickly gather again as soon as it was dispersed.

Bai Ling frowned, holding a simple compass in her hand.

This was something she had prepared before leaving, originally intended as an emergency measure in case she got lost.

Because Lin Chuqiao possesses extremely high perception, she can use this advantage to judge the route more accurately, which makes the compass useless.

Now it can come in handy, but at this moment the pointer is spinning wildly and cannot point in any direction at all.

"Something's wrong. The compass is malfunctioning too, and the magnetic field here keeps changing. Sister Xiao Chu, are we trapped in a ghost wall?"

Her voice was slightly breathless with nervousness as she looked pleadingly at Lin Chuqiao, who was walking in front of her.

Logically, they should have already left the Misty Mountain area and reached the main road outside the mountain by now.

"Don't panic, rest here for a few minutes, and I'll try to contact the professor again."

Lin Chuqiao's expression was equally solemn, but her tone was very gentle.

She knew that in such a perilous situation, as a guide, she had to remain calm and composed.

Just then, the professor's voice suddenly rang in my mind:
"Hey, Xiao Chu, can you hear me?"

The voice, like a faint yet clear radio wave, pierced through the thick fog, instantly invigorating Lin Chuqiao.

She immediately responded in a deep voice:
"I can hear you, Professor. We just observed the treetops as you suggested, but we haven't found any markers."

The professor's voice seemed to be interrupted, pausing slightly before a reply came:

"Xiao Chu, listen to me, this is an illusion array, and all your senses are being interfered with..."

"Try to calm down now and feel the temperature difference of the ground under your feet. Then keep walking towards the warmer area. That's where the villages with more people are located, and you should be able to get out of this mountain."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuqiao perked up, quickly closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind of all distractions, attempting to perceive the difference the professor was referring to.

A moment later, she noticed a subtle difference, opened her eyes, a glimmer of hope in her gaze, and walked in the direction she had determined.

Seeing this, Bailing and Dachui were a little uneasy, but they had no choice but to follow.

However, after walking in this direction for a long time, the surrounding fog not only did not dissipate, but became even thicker.

Those twisted, ghostly figures flashed by from time to time, and eerie whispers echoed in their ears, seemingly approaching them gradually.

"What's going on? This method just won't work!"

Big Hammer couldn't help but complain, his face full of frustration.

Lin Chuqiao frowned, her mind filled with doubts, and spoke with the professor again:
"Professor, I did as you said, but I'm still trapped in the woods and there's no sign of a way out."

"Don't rush, the illusion array may be more complicated than I expected."

The professor's voice remained calm as he tried to soothe their emotions:

"Take another look around for any glowing objects or unusually bright areas; those might be the key clues to breaking the illusion array."

Lin Chuqiao opened her eyes wide and carefully observed her surroundings.

In this thick, impenetrable fog, apart from the occasional ghostly figure, there was no luminous object to be seen.

All around was silent; even the hooting of owls had ceased, creating a chilling stillness.

Just then, a rustling sound broke the deathly silence.

Several figures, appearing and disappearing like ghosts, materialized in the mist.

And they look like they're rapidly drifting towards them, and their numbers are increasing.

Lin Chuqiao's heart tightened, and she immediately lowered her voice, reminding him:

"Bailing, Hammer, get ready for battle! Those ghostly figures seem to be approaching us!"

The three quickly stood back to back, forming a defensive formation, and focused intently on their surroundings.

As the figures drew closer and the fog lifted slightly, Lin Chuqiao was surprised to discover that they were actually a group of living people.

Before they could even exchange a word, the group of people, upon seeing Lin Chuqiao and her companions, were filled with terror, as if they had witnessed the most horrific sight in the world, and they shouted at the top of their lungs:

"Run! Those ghostly figures will eat people!"

Lin Chuqiao was startled and subconsciously looked up.

Behind them, some extremely eerie shadows had quietly appeared.

Some were hunched over, like old men nearing the end of their lives; others were thin and twisted, like monsters being torn and reshaped by evil magic.

These shadows were blurry and their faces were not clearly visible, like evil spirits climbing out of the eighteenth level of hell to devour people.

Just by looking at it from afar, you can feel an eerie atmosphere that sends chills down your spine and makes your mind tremble.

Even more terrifying, behind these demonic shadows, there was an even thicker black fog, rolling in with overwhelming force, as if to swallow everything in the world into endless darkness.

Overwhelmed by fear, the crowd scattered and fled in panic.

Lin Chuqiao, Bailing, and Dachui did not hesitate and joined the fleeing group.

The chaotic footsteps and terrified shouts mingled together, making the already terrifying atmosphere seem as desperate as the end of the world.

The few unlucky guys running at the very back seemed to be grabbed by cold tentacles reaching out from the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by ghostly figures, and then, accompanied by a short and shrill scream, they were mercilessly swallowed up by the black mist and disappeared completely.

These treasure hunters, who were usually powerful and possessed special abilities, were completely powerless against this unknown and bizarre phenomenon, like lambs to the slaughter.

Hearing the screams coming from behind them, the crowd dared not stop their feet.

If you're even a fraction of a second slower, you'll be haunted by evil spirits and dragged into an endless abyss of darkness.

Only when the black mist, which seemed to be swallowing the heavens and earth, suddenly stopped without warning did they dare to stop and rest on the spot, panting.

Lin Chuqiao was too exhausted to run anymore. She braced herself on her knees with her hands, her chest heaving violently.

She was breathing heavily, and her eyes swept around, noticing that the group she was traveling with was about half the size of the previous one.

Some seemed to have gotten lost in the chaos of their escape, lost in the vast, misty forest.

Some were unfortunately swallowed up by the waves of black mist, becoming victims of this eerie place.

Fortunately, Bailing and Dachui were still by her side, which made Lin Chuqiao feel a little more at ease.

She rested for a moment and looked intently at the area behind her that had become calm.

Those eerie shadows, hidden in the black mist, appeared and disappeared, baring their fangs and claws, but no longer approached, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.

On the other side, also shrouded in mist, the darkness was clearly more intense and chaotic, like a bottomless black hole, exuding a dangerous aura.

They were clearly separated, forming a poisonous circle that no one dared to cross, trapping the people and the ghost on opposite sides.

(End of this chapter)