Misty Rain of the Old Times

Inside the illusion array, on a high protruding rock, the black-clad leader who was guarding the place had long forgotten everything that had happened before under Chen Xuan's mental suggestion. Even though he was conscious during the conversation, he forgot it completely afterwards, more thoroughly than many people forget when they wake up from a dream.

He sat there cross-legged, watching the dozens of people who were carefully searching outside the formation. Unaffected by the illusion, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He thought to himself that more meddlesome people had come to their deaths, even though there were far fewer of them than before, and it seemed that they had not come here by chance.

'Their purpose here seems clear; it wasn't a coincidence. Why are they here? Did they deliberately let that guy escape yesterday, attracting these people? We should have eliminated them as usual, otherwise, why would we have provoked them? But that's what we were ordered to do, and we can only follow orders. Could it be that letting that guy go exposed something, causing so many people to come? Therefore, it's very likely that more will come later. This is a bit troublesome.'

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and the leader in black frowned. There were more than just one or two outside, including innate masters who even made him feel uneasy. He immediately felt that things were going to get complicated, but with the advantage of the illusion array, it wouldn't be a big problem.

He didn't know what he had exposed, or even what he was preventing people from going deeper into the area he was guarding. He was just a gatekeeper; otherwise, he would have blurted it all out long ago under Chen Xuan's control.

With a quick thought, the black-clad leader indifferently ordered his subordinates, who had also noticed the situation outside, "Be alert! Anyone who sets foot inside the formation, kill them without mercy!"

"Yes"

At a single command, the guards sprang into action, ready to strike without hesitation if anyone set foot in. They had always done this; this time, it was simply a matter of killing a few more people.

After the order was given, the leader in black silently watched those people. With the formation in place, he was not afraid even if there were ten times more of them. Don't underestimate him just because he was only at the bottom of the innate cultivation level. With the advantage of the formation, he could kill them one by one!

The women outside, including Liu, already had a clear objective: the mountain pass was just ahead. As dozens of them carefully explored the area, a situation soon arose.

A gasp rang out as one of the three-person teams, who were searching for each other, stepped into the illusion array area and vanished into thin air right in front of his companions. The remaining two felt a chill run down their spines. This was too eerie in broad daylight; a perfectly healthy person could just disappear right before their eyes. They instinctively cried out in alarm and quickly retreated.

It happened right before my eyes. My vanished companion made a few unknown noises in the empty space ahead, and then fell silent.

Those outside had no idea that the person who accidentally entered the illusion had suddenly found themselves in a different environment. Before they could even figure out what was happening, a chill ran down their neck and their head snapped off, plunging them into eternal darkness.

They were caught off guard and died on the spot without even a chance to resist.

A figure appeared out of thin air in the illusion and then vanished just as suddenly, taking away the corpse of the dead person.

This situation immediately drew the scattered explorers together. They all looked on with surprise and uncertainty, but none of them dared to take any further steps.

"What happened?" Wu Daxia, one of the only two innate masters present, asked in a deep voice. He circulated his true energy, and the long staff in his hand made a faint humming sound. His skin was covered with a metallic luster, which shone coldly in the sunlight. He was already on high alert.

The two who had witnessed their companion disappearing immediately recounted what had happened. With the addition of other witnesses nearby who also provided additional information, the situation became clear.

They looked ahead in astonishment and disbelief, as almost all of them were from the lowest rungs of the martial arts world, and this was beyond their comprehension.

Standing a few feet away from the illusion array, Lady Liu shielded the girl in white behind her and looked ahead with a glint in her eyes, saying, "It seems my prediction was correct. There really is an array ahead concealing the true situation, which confirms what happened to Liu Yuyuan, who was the first to spread the news."

Although the term "array formation" is not exactly a secret, it is still unfamiliar to most people, and many look bewildered.

Wu Daxia's eyes were wary as he said in a deep voice, "Over the years, countless women have come and gone, and things have only gotten worse. Today, we followed the news spread by Liu Yuyuan and came here, only to find that even formations have come up. The people who did this, or rather, the forces they have, have already exceeded the scope of what we can continue to do. I, Wu, have been out there for many years, and it's not that I'm afraid, but there's no need to throw my life away in a situation that's beyond my capabilities. Heroine Liu, you come from a prestigious sect, which is not something we scattered soldiers can compare to. May I ask if you have any knowledge of such mystical things as formations?"

After he said those words, everyone's eyes turned to the heroine Liu.

People from prestigious sects naturally possess resources and backgrounds that ordinary people in the martial arts world cannot match, and they know more about their long-standing traditions than the average person.

If you look closely, you'll see that the female knight-errant and the girl in white beside her are distinctly different from the others in terms of both their attire and demeanor; their styles are so different they could be described as being completely different from the character models.

The girl in white also looked at her senior uncle, her eyes filled with curiosity. At seventeen or eighteen years old, she was no stranger to the word "formation," but only to formations that involved coordinated attacks between people. She had never experienced a formation that truly displayed profound effects, such as the formation in front of her that could make people disappear into thin air.

Hearing this, Lady Liu's eyes flickered, and she shook her head, saying, "Please don't look at me like that, everyone. You think too highly of me, Hero Wu. I don't know much about formations. I have heard that the Tai Xuan Sect has a lineage of formations, but whether it's true or not, I don't know. I've been to the Tai Xuan Sect a few times, and even with the hundreds of years of friendship between our two sects, I've never seen their so-called lineage formations. But I can't guarantee that they don't exist. After all, there's no smoke without fire."

In short, she probably didn't know either.

Feeling overwhelmed, Master Wu frowned and said somewhat irritably, "We're already here, what should we do? We can't just do nothing, can we? Are we going to wait for the people who got the news to arrive and see if anyone understands the art of formations before we make any plans?"

Those who roam the martial arts world, as long as they are not evil people, almost all have a heart full of justice and passion. Of course, this is just the surface meaning. To put it bluntly, it's about having a good reputation. The disappearance of a woman that shocked the world. They are almost able to get to the truth here. Once they can uncover it, how glorious it will be when the news gets out.
However, the prerequisite is that they have the ability. There are formations ahead that they don't understand, which makes things difficult. How can they not be anxious? If they wait for others to arrive to solve the current predicament, they can only get a taste of the spoils. They are really unwilling to do so, but they dare not act rashly.

Liu, the female knight-errant, naturally shared the same mindset. Besides upholding justice, she came here to help her junior disciple relax, but more importantly, to investigate the truth behind the disappearance of the sect's female disciples. Now that she had clues and was even close to the truth, she was determined not to give up.

After hesitating for a moment, under everyone's gaze, she pondered and said, "We must not act impulsively. None of us understand the formation ahead, but we can't just sit and watch without doing anything. There are also those who disappeared earlier, who came with us. Although we don't know their situation, we can't give up. So, while we wait for the others to arrive, we will use various methods to investigate the formation ahead. At least we need to understand its general location, why people disappeared, and what might be inside. Only by understanding these things can we proceed with our next move. What does everyone think?"

Everyone was undecided. Since she had already said that, what else could they do? So they all nodded and brainstormed.

With more people around, all sorts of ingenious ideas can be proposed. After a quick discussion, everyone agreed on a plan: to test the waters and avoid taking unnecessary risks, even if someone volunteered to sacrifice themselves.

Their agreed-upon method of testing the waters was similar to Chen Xuan's method of roughly delineating the boundaries of the illusion array using leaves. With a method in place, the rest was easy. Some threw stones, others threw branches, and gradually people actually figured out the boundaries of the array.

The group outside was busy with their tasks, while the guards inside the formation remained inactive. The formation was their advantage, and they couldn't take the initiative to attack. They were waiting for the people outside to lose their patience and go in to their deaths.

During the process, more than ten people arrived here after somehow getting the news. After a brief exchange and understanding of the situation, they also took action together.

Once the general area of ​​the formation was figured out, people became even more bewildered, because no one knew what was inside and dared not venture in rashly.

"Just sitting here like this isn't going to solve anything. It would be best to go in and find out what's going on. It would be even better if someone had a way to break the formation," Wu Daxia said, scratching his head in frustration.

However, there are always a couple of fearless individuals. Whether they're hotheads or just looking to show off, a young man in a tight-fitting outfit who wields a knife stepped forward, fearlessly declaring, "I'll go scout ahead for everyone and see what's inside. We won't go too deep; we'll just take one look and then immediately retreat. We'll learn something little by little."

"Brother, your noble character is truly admirable; I am ashamed to admit my shortcomings."

"What's there to be afraid of? We martial artists shouldn't be timid and hesitant. Let me go."

"Count me in"

Once someone takes the lead, others are not to be outdone, none of them wanting to be looked down upon. With so many people speaking up, the lively chatter and the resulting enthusiasm are like a shot of adrenaline.

This made the leading heroine Liu and hero Wu feel somewhat ashamed and embarrassed, as they had the highest cultivation but were not as decisive as the others.

Liu, the female warrior, raised her hand in a gesture of reassurance. After everyone gradually quieted down, she cupped her hands and said, "We are all people of the martial world, full of passion and not cowards. However, there is no need for reckless impulsiveness. We must be fully prepared. I have a suggestion: let the skilled ones test the edge first. If nothing unexpected happens, then we can go deeper. Even when we go deeper, we must not be careless. We should wrap ourselves with strong ropes. If anything happens, we can pull the ropes and get out immediately. What do you all think?"

"Miss Liu is quick-witted; this is a good idea. I think we should do it this way," Master Wu nodded in agreement with her suggestion.

Before they could even decide who would go first to probe, someone walked to the edge of the illusion array without saying a word. They had already probed the edge beforehand. Taking a deep breath, they stepped out without hesitation, their eyes wide with surprise. They watched as their leg disappeared into thin air, and then quickly pulled it out.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, his heart pounding, he turned around and grinned, saying, "It's truly amazing. My legs just disappeared, yet they're still there. It seems this so-called formation itself isn't dangerous. Of course, it's possible I was quick to retract them."

After witnessing this, Lady Liu and Hero Wu exchanged a glance and came to the same conclusion. Although they did not understand formations, they were not stupid and realized that the formation itself was not dangerous and that what they saw was just an illusion.

However, this made them even more worried, realizing that if the formation itself was not dangerous, then the danger lay with the people inside!
And indeed, when that person stepped in with one foot, a guard inside was watching indifferently, holding his breath and remaining still without cutting off the leg, clearly playing the long game.

"I'll give it a try too."

Seeing that the first person who tried it was fine, the others couldn't resist trying it out themselves, and stepped forward, but they were still wary.

Once one was in, another followed. People were like children playing with a fun toy. Some would step in with one foot, still outside, only to see their leg disappear before quickly pulling it back. Others would stretch out their arms or reach into their weapons, having a great time. This left Liu and the others wondering whether to intervene.

As more and more people ventured in without incident, they grew bolder. When someone poked half their body in, plunging their head deep inside before quickly retreating, they turned back with a look of horror and exclaimed, "You might not believe it, but do you know what I saw? It's unbelievable! Right in front of me, it was a ravine, but after crossing that area, all I saw was a gravel beach. It was like seeing another world!"

Upon hearing this, the others became even more curious, to the point that their original purpose for coming here was forgotten, and they all followed suit.

"Let me see... wait, what I see is a small grove of trees?"

"That's not right. I'm less than ten feet away from you, and all I see is a stream, with a rabbit drinking water by the side."

"This is amazing! Is this what the legendary formations are like?"

"Hahaha, I went in, and jumped out again. Nothing happened, right? I never thought that after wandering the world for over a decade, I would have such an experience. This is something I can brag about for the rest of my life."

"It's as if we don't exist. Everyone's here, what's there to brag about? But it's truly unbelievable that such a small space between us can create such drastically different environments."

Amidst the noise and bustle, people became increasingly bold, bustling in and out without going too deep. They simply experienced the scene from the 'doorway' and described what they saw.

This allowed those present to gradually understand what was inside. However, upon hearing people's descriptions, Liu, the female knight, and Wu, who had not acted rashly, felt a chill in their hearts. This was because everyone who went in saw different scenes, indicating that there was no correct way. Even if they went in together, it would be difficult to see their companions and they would get lost inside!

Those who were probing the edge of the formation were practically leaping between life and death. Limited by the illusion, they didn't see the cold gaze of the person hidden in the shadows, who looked at them as if they were already dead.

As some people grew bolder, driven by exploration and curiosity, they couldn't resist venturing a little deeper. Just as they were about to turn back immediately, a blade seemed to appear out of thin air beside them. With a slight hissing sound, blood spurted out and then all was quiet.

With her keen eyes and ears alert, Ms. Liu smelled a faint scent of blood and immediately knew something was wrong. She warned, "Everyone, stop! Be careful! Something's happened. Someone went in and hasn't come out!"

She had warned them quickly enough, but as soon as she finished speaking, before people could even react, the illusion in front of them, so realistic that it was impossible to distinguish from the real thing, rippled like waves on water, and the sound of arrows cutting through the air was incessant. Amidst the sharp whistling sounds, arrows shot out like rain... (End of this chapter)