Ordinary People: Starting with the Chen Clan

With less than half a day left before the secret realm closed, the clone took out a mask from the storage bag and put it on.

After checking his person, he found no items related to his identity, and even his magical artifacts were just ordinary heavy swords and tortoise shells that could be found in any major market.

After making preparations, he disappeared into the mountains and forests, but the original stone hall where he came from had vanished without a trace.

However, he didn't wander around aimlessly. Instead, he started circling around the underground palace.

The compass needle in his hand never stopped moving.

They didn't have to wait long; they had just crossed a mountain when the compass needle in their hand suddenly snapped straight.

The clone's lips curled slightly, but its feet didn't move an inch; it simply waited quietly.

A whistling sound came from afar, followed by a tremor in the nearby woods.

Three figures were rapidly approaching, standing on an eight-sided Han sword.

As soon as he reached a distance of three zhang from the clone, he immediately jumped off the flying sword, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "We are late, please forgive us, patriarch!"

"Alright, that's enough energy. Just make sure you handle things well from now on!"

Before he could finish speaking, a jade slip landed in Chen Houwu's hand.

"I don't want the two people in the jade slip to leave this secret realm!"

"yes!"

The three of them didn't even ask about the two men's strength before immediately lowering their heads and responding in unison.

After giving the instructions, the clone took out a corpse-refining bag from his waist, put it on his head, and then the bag returned to the size of a palm and landed on Chen Houwu.

Feeling the coolness coming from his waist, Chen Houwu subconsciously grabbed a handful. Then his eyes twitched, as if he had thought of something, and he immediately moved the other storage bags into his sleeves.

"Time is running out, let's go straight to the entrance of the secret realm and ambush them!"

After putting away the storage bag, Chen Houwu's mind calmed down a bit. With a command, the group immediately disappeared into the mountains and forests.

Outside the secret area, Chen Xuanzhou was still chatting casually with Liu Chuanzhi.

Both of them had beaming smiles on their faces, as if in just a few short hours, they had gone from ordinary fellow disciples to old friends of many years.

At this moment, the three of them were flying away at full speed, and the flying talisman never stopped, just like when they entered the core area.

Furthermore, without the fog to conceal them, and with most of the wandering monsters already swept away, their speed increased by several notches.

After leaving the ring-shaped mountain range, the three of them slowed down their movements and stopped flying openly in mid-air.

Instead, it sped along the ground, which slightly slowed it down, but at least prevented the cunning old foxes around it from noticing.

Although they were not afraid of any ambush, the fact that it had delayed them and allowed the two men entrusted by the family head to escape meant they would have no face to return to the family head.

Because of their quiet movements and high speed, even if someone wanted to ambush them, as long as they weren't directly in front of the three of them, they would be left far behind and eaten in the dust.

So soon the three of them were able to see the dark hole in the air from afar.

Instead of getting any closer, Chen Xuanhong stopped several miles from the cave entrance and patted the sword box on his back.

The clanging sounds continued as four spirit swords lined up and stuck into the ground. He leaned against the heavy sword without uttering a sound.

His right hand rested lightly on a long sword, his gaze fixed on the distance.

As for the Chen brothers, Houwu and Houwu, they are currently busy setting up an array, which is certainly not the Inverted Five Elements Array.

How could two Qi Refining cultivators have such face as to be entertained by such a forbidden array?

Moreover, the secret realm is about to close, and relying on Chen Xuanhong alone is far from enough to safely set up such a large formation.

Array flags flew out in all directions, but Chen Houzhe didn't even glance at them. He was completely focused on an earthen-yellow octagonal compass in his hand.

A voice beside him shouted, "Fall! Gather! Turn!"

Three deep, resonant sounds rang out, and all the array flags on the ground disappeared into the ground. Chen Houwu's eyes narrowed, and he stared intently at the compass in his hand.

A series of clicking sounds suddenly came from the compass in Chen Houwu's hand. The outer ring of the octagonal compass started to rotate immediately as soon as the array flags disappeared completely.

One after another, earth-yellow runes, like mud monkeys, leaped out from the compass.

At the same time, tendrils of quicksand emerged from the ground, intertwining with each other and quickly transforming into a sea of ​​sand more than a hundred feet wide.

"without!"

Chen Houzhe pointed his right hand at the compass floating in front of him.

The clicking sound vanished instantly, and the outer ring of the compass immediately stopped moving, though it had expanded by more than one ring.

Even when a hand is extended to lift something, it appears somewhat small.

The moment his five fingers touched him, it felt like he was holding up a small mountain; Chen Houzhe couldn't even fly using his weapon.

With the compass attached, it landed directly in the middle of the desert.

All of this seemed to be within his expectations. He landed in the sea of ​​sand and sat down cross-legged. A rock rose up from the sand and lifted him up.

All of this was done in less than half an incense stick's time. During this process, some people arrived, but none of them dared to approach. Instead, they watched from a distance.

It wasn't that they were cowards; there were only two people who came, and they weren't even from the same sect. Besides, at a time like this, what difference would it make if they were from the same sect?

Although the formation is not yet complete, it is the best time to break through it, but what if someone else attacks from behind and uses you as a shield?

That would mean gaining nothing but harm, even losing one's own life, all for the benefit of others.

So the two of them just glanced at each other from a distance, without even intending to get closer.

The two were waiting for others to arrive so that they could gather enough men to charge into battle together, which would be the safest option.

"Fellow Daoists, the three of us from the Chen family have set up this formation not for spiritual herbs or other valuables, but simply to resolve a personal grudge."

Therefore, you two can rest assured to walk around to the rear passage from either side. I, Chen Houwu, swear on my own Foundation Establishment path that I will not interfere!

When the last sentence was uttered, the powerful words echoed for miles around.

This made the two hesitant individuals even more conflicted.

Before the two could hesitate for long, a figure quickly approached from a distance.

And it was clear that he had heard Chen Houwu's oath, even though he was a bit far away.

So the three of them didn't even exchange words, but just stared at each other for a few moments before each choosing a path to detour around the two sides of the formation towards the exit.

The three split into two on the left and one on the right, and headed towards the exit.

Although the two people on the left are on the same side, they are at least ten feet apart.

As expected, the three members of the Chen family did not make a single move from beginning to end.

It wasn't that they weren't tempted by these people's wealth and elixirs, but rather that they wouldn't entertain any delusions until they resolved Chen Xuanzhou's mission.

This is why they set up the formation at a certain distance from the exit.