Villain Master, my disciples all want to backstab me

Compared to "Cangwu County", the scenery here is slightly more normal. It looks like just an ordinary valley.

However, there was a thin layer of gray fog lingering in the valley, making Bai Yuan and his group's vision a little hazy, and many places were not clear.

At this moment, a fierce gale surged from the depths of the chasm, lifting Bai Yuan's blood-red sleeves high. Furthermore, there were bursts of shuffling sounds of chains and various ghostly howls, all blending into a whistling chorus that filled the ears with a chilling feeling.

"Master, are these voices also hallucinations..."

Ye Shuang'er moved a little closer to Bai Yuan, holding Bai Yuan's belt tightly with both hands.

After what she had just seen in "Cangwu County", she no longer dared to look around at will. Instead, she curled up her body and hid behind Bai Yuan like a kitten, poking her head out from behind her shoulder and looking forward cautiously.

Considering Bai Yuan's current height, which was only about 1.4 meters, it looked a bit funny for Ye Shuang'er, who was about 1.67 meters tall, to do this. It was like an adult hiding behind a child.

Bai Yuan felt a little amused, but didn't say much. He just nodded to Ji Tingxue beside him and said, "Let's go."

"Once we cross this line, we'll officially enter the Cangwu Abyss. Don't forget what I just said... Especially you, Shuang'er. Keep the tea leaf Tingxue gave you in your mouth and wear the hairpin properly. If you really encounter anything strange later, it might save your life."

"……it is good."

Ye Shuang'er freed one hand and did as she was told, while the other hand still held Bai Yuan's belt. Bai Yuan felt that her stomach was a little tight, and she had the illusion that her clothes would be torn off at any time.

"...You'd better hold on to your shoulders. It's too inconvenient to walk like this."

Bai Yuan said this a little speechlessly.

"it is good."

The little girl nodded again and followed suit.

present.

The three of them, along with the white tiger beside them, stepped into the territory of [Cangwu Abyss] on the slightly soft soil in the valley with a faint rotten smell.

Chapter 123 Abnormal Route

rustle--

Footsteps moving forward.

At first, the fog was relatively thin. As Bai Yuan and his group walked through the valley, they could clearly see the sky, the dark clouds, and the raindrops falling from between the clouds. The torrential downpour quickly turned the valley floor into a muddy mess.

So, Bai Yuan sat back on the white tiger's back again.

She wasn't wearing shoes, just a pair of white silk shoes. She could use her spiritual energy to wrap her feet to prevent them from getting dirty from the rain and mud, but that was a bit of a hassle. Plus, walking on muddy roads all the time was a bit uncomfortable.

Ye Shuang'er also followed. Only Ji Tingxue walked on the left side of the white tiger, looking around vigilantly.

The three men and the tiger continued to move forward.

As time went by, the surrounding fog thickened, and visibility plummeted. The mountain road ahead of them began to slope noticeably, its altitude decreasing the further they went. In some places, there were even continuous drops of hundreds of meters. It was as if this road led not to the other side of a valley, but to a literal "abyss."

"Master..."

Ye Shuang'er seemed to have heard something again, but didn't dare to say it out loud. She just silently held Bai Yuan's shoulders tightly.

From that moment on, the rift valley was filled with a strong, blood-like smell of rust, accompanied by a sweet aroma of corruption.

As Bai Yuan raised a string of night-shining pearls, slightly dispersing the dense fog within a dozen meters, illuminating the road, he saw that the rock walls and the ground beside him were stained a dark red, like a clot of solidified blood. Within those seemingly naturally formed gullies in the rock walls were densely packed with human-shaped grooves.

"This is……"

"It's the 'Blood Coffin Stone'."

A flicker of starlight flickered from Bai Yuan's fingertips, brushing across the surface of the pearl. The cold white light was instantly tinged with a green hue. It reflected the dense, dark golden runes on the rock wall, connecting them like a fine spider web. Within each groove, curled up a corpse, still not fully weathered: male, female, old, young.

Strange purple mandalas bloomed in the empty eye sockets, looking particularly terrifying.

suddenly.

Ye Shuang'er's grip on Bai Yuan's shoulders tightened slightly.

Bai Yuan took a quick glance and noticed that the purple mandalas began to rotate slowly. In the center of each flower's pistil, there was a heart-shaped fleshy ball. In the center of the fleshy ball, a blood-red pupil opened, and it was now focused on the three people and the tiger.

Almost at the same time, thousands of shouts came like a tide, turning into substantial pressure that fell on them!

The ice-blue ripples of the [Mysterious Ice Jade Hairpin] reappeared.

Ji Tingxue's two green tea leaves also released a cold current, but failed to completely dissipate the pressure.

Moreover, with the appearance of the "Pupil", the corpses lying in the "Blood Coffin Stone" suddenly trembled one by one, and broke out of the "coffin" in a twisted posture. Then they tore off their bones and used them as arrows, throwing them towards Bai Yuan and others!

call out--! !

Although they were thrown by a group of skeletons, the momentum of those "bone arrows" was extremely astonishing! Almost at the same time they were thrown, they flew over a distance of over a hundred meters and arrived in front of Bai Yuan and his group!

The white tiger's tail swiped, shattering several of the "bone arrows" fired their way. Ji Tingxue spun around and swung her sword, severing two more. Amidst the crackling sounds of bone breaking, the red phosphorescent flames attached to the arrow tails suddenly formed into distorted, terrifying human faces in mid-air, smiling eerily at Bai Yuan and the others.

"scare!"

Ye Shuang'er was startled.

Ji Tingxue glanced at the sword in his hand, frowning slightly as if he was recalling the touch just now.

"It's fake! Don't believe it!"

Bai Yuan spoke quickly, "Those aren't real corpses, but monsters transformed from the 'Blood Coffin Stone.' That stone can read our thoughts and emotions, using them as nourishment to transform into monsters of different forms. The more panicked and frightened we are, the stronger its power becomes... Let's go first! We'll talk after this!"

Following Bai Yuan's words.

More and more "corpses" emerged from the "Blood Coffin Stone." Some of them had just been illuminated by the Night Pearl, while the majority came from areas around them, still shrouded in gray fog and invisible. Their presence could only be detected by the crackling sounds of bones rubbing against each other and the clusters of red will-o'-the-wisp flames.

In the void.

The thirty-six star track arrays quietly took shape, like a brilliant galaxy, covering the three people and the tiger, and bursting with star-like brilliance.

——【Galaxy Fantasy Yarn】

Bai Yuan had used this defensive method before, back in Hidden Moon Mountain, to fend off Yu Qiuming's [Cold Poison Palm]. Ji Tingxue and Ye Shuang'er had witnessed it firsthand. So, while they were slightly surprised by the scale of the talisman formation, they didn't say anything.

Ji Tingxue touched the ground with her toes and landed on the back of the white tiger.

Then the white tiger took a step forward and rushed into the deeper part of the rift valley at a swift speed.

at this time.

A large number of "bone arrows" shot out like a violent storm, causing the gray fog to surge like waves. However, they were all blocked by the layer of starlight within a dozen meters of Bai Yuan's group. The "galaxy" then shook slightly, but not as violently as when it had received Yu Qiuming's palm strike.

——So, although these things look weird, they obviously have not reached the level of the eighth level of the Nascent Soul.

However, if there is real physical contact, it is hard to say what the consequences will be.

The white tiger is very fast.

In the blink of an eye, they had raced forward for thousands of meters. The Night Pearl floated high above them, dimly illuminating the foggy road ahead.

suddenly.

The white tiger's body shook violently.

The rock beneath their feet suddenly became as soft as rotten meat, collapsing as the tiger's claws trod. Just as they were about to be engulfed by the trap, the white tiger roared, spread its bony wings, and soared into the sky, carrying Bai Yuan and the others, plunging into the hazy gray fog ahead.

When I regained my balance, I found that there was no road ahead, behind, left or right, and there was only a dead silence shrouded in fog.

"Master, what should we do now?"

Ye Shuang'er asked in a low voice.

"...Let's move on first."

Bai Yuan frowned slightly. "The rules within this [Cangwu Abyss] are different from those outside. If 'it' doesn't want us to go deeper, then no matter which direction we go, we will return to our original starting point. On the other hand, if 'it' wants us to go in, then no matter which way we go, we will end up in the deepest part of the abyss."

"Everyone, be careful and try to avoid fighting. The spiritual energy here is much thinner than outside. The recovery rate of spiritual energy after fighting will become very slow, which is not in our favor."

——This phenomenon occurs at every “junction between life and death”.

[Cangwu Abyss] is still okay.

If it were another location, the [Netherworld Sea of ​​Bitterness] between Zhongzhou and Donghuang, the situation would be different. The latter was essentially devoid of spiritual energy and would significantly suppress the strength of those entering. Even a cultivator at the Spiritual Transformation Realm would be about the same as a Golden Core Realm, not to mention cultivators below the Golden Core Realm.

If it weren't for the two "daughters of destiny" watching over him, and if it weren't for the fact that he held a bunch of trump cards...

Bai Yuan did not dare to step into this place before breaking through the Nascent Soul stage.

present.

The white tiger continued to fly forward.

Gradually, the fog around them grew thicker, like a giant veil, trapping them in it. All sounds and images vanished, as if the entire world contained only the three of them and the tiger.

Occasionally, a few faint blue ghost fires would emerge from the mist, rushing over with an ambiguous shriek, causing the star track array to shake slightly, and then turn into little sparks and fall into the depths of the mist.

Although this level of attack wasn't enough to destroy the talisman array, Bai Yuan still frowned. Just as the spiritual energy was becoming thinner, the star power within the Cangwu Abyss was also extremely weak. Spiritual energy could still be restored with external forces like "Restoring Energy Pills," but if the Star Track talisman array was damaged, there was no way to repair it before leaving.

However, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire, or the Nine Nether Hell ahead, she has no choice but to give it a try.

big deal...

Die again. In the worst case scenario, there is always the almighty "Doraemon" to back you up.

I don’t know how long I flew.

at last.

Just as Bai Yuan and his group were about to lose their patience with the absolute, dead silence, the surrounding fog suddenly began to thin. Sounds and images began to reappear.

hula-

The white tiger folded its bony wings and slowly landed on a raised rock platform.

Further ahead, a vast, lush, verdant forest stretched as far as the eye could see, nestled at the bottom of the abyss. Most of the tree trunks were red, appearing crystal-clear and towering—truly towering trees. Some reached a thousand meters in height, like pinnacles stabilizing the sea.

In front of them, even the white tiger looks very small.

Not to mention Bai Yuan and his group.

In addition, there are dark green vines that climb up these tree trunks, presenting a strange symbiotic posture.

Ye Shuang'er opened her eyes wide and watched the scene, and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief: Although this forest looked a little weird, it was at least much more pleasing to the eye than the previous scenes.

However, Bai Yuan did not relax, but just raised his hand to signal the two to be quiet.

Quiet.

Absolute silence.

The jungle, which should have been teeming with life, was now eerily silent. Not even the faintest whisper of the wind could be heard, let alone the chirping of birds. An eerie atmosphere permeated the air.

(Sure enough, this isn't the normal route to enter the Cangwu Abyss...)

(Is it due to the impact of the "Cangwu County Incident"?)

Bai Yuan's mind was in turmoil.

According to the summary posted in the previous life's guide, if no special events are triggered, after passing through the gray fog, you will enter the heart of the [Cangwu Abyss] and find the clues left by Jiang Taixu when he came here. Then, defeat three elite monsters and a mini-boss in sequence, and after traveling through two or three small maps, you will track down the Jiang family ancestral hall where the [Dayan Five Elements Wheel] is stored.

This route isn't unique, and will change depending on the player's actions along the way. However, unless you're deliberately playing it wrong, there are generally only three or five possible variations.

But once the event is triggered...

Then the number of possible routes will increase from three or five to seventeen, greatly increasing the uncertainty of exploration!

Even for hardcore gamers, it's difficult to unlock all seventeen routes. Furthermore, the so-called "seventeen" are only the routes that players have explored, and it's unclear whether this represents the full range of routes. Rumor has it that there are actually twenty-six hidden routes!

The "Dead Forest" in front of us belongs to one of the seventeen routes.

But Bai Yuan was not sure if there were other variables.

"...It seems we have to go through this woods."

"Try to suppress your breath as much as possible. Don't make any noise or touch anything directly. Stay close to me."

When saying this, Bai Yuan looked at Bai Hu carefully.

To suppress her aura and avoid touching anything she shouldn't, she would have to cancel the Star Track Array. She would only use the minimum amount of spiritual energy to cover her body. Ye Shuang'er and Ji Tingxue did the same.

In that case, the three of them would be fine because of their body shapes.

But the white tiger is a bit big, and more importantly, it is not wearing "clothes", so it is hard to guarantee that it will not rub against the surrounding trees and vines.

However, there is a way to solve this problem - under Bai Yuan's gaze, a dark red Gengjin evil spirit rose around the white tiger, forming a thin layer of armor covering the entire body, even wrapping the tail, which was considered an added protective layer.

Although this does not guarantee that it will not hit anything, as long as it does not hit it directly with its body, there is still room for it to turn around.

After preparation.