"The people I arranged didn't leave behind any warning marks either... Even if there really is danger, if that old ghost Yu and his few people could make it across, could we possibly be trapped to death here? Stop being so paranoid! Old Ghost Yu entered quite a while ago—we can't afford to dally!"
With that, Luo Xingnan transformed into an escape light and shot through the air, his followers closely behind him.
Sheng Yuanzi shook his head helplessly. Finding some truth in Luo Xingnan's words, he still waved his hand and sent a bolt of spiritual power into the chasm. The spiritual power parted the yin energy, causing a brief tremor, but nothing else unusual occurred.
Seeing this, Sheng Yuanzi picked up speed and hurried after him.
The group quickly flew across the chasm. As expected, nothing was amiss inside; it remained completely serene.
Sheng Yuanzi withdrew his gaze and lowered his guard, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle. But before the smile could fade from his face, he suddenly heard a very faint hissing sound.
"What's that sound?"
Sheng Yuanzi's smile froze, his expression instantly darkening.
Not only Sheng Yuanzi, but the others heard it as well. Looking all around, they quickly pinpointed the source of the noise: it was coming from inside two low mountains ahead of them.
Not far beyond the far side of the chasm stood two rocky mountains, like a pair of door gods guarding the wilderness.
The rocky mountains were bare. While not tiny, they paled in comparison to the distant mountains where spirit herbs grew, seeming entirely inconspicuous.
Sheng Yuanzi and the others had their attention fixed on the chasm. After all, these two mountains were exposed to plain view, where anything amiss would be clear to see. With nothing unusual in the abyss, none of them had imagined that the trouble would come from the mountains.
The sound had appeared abruptly, like the hissing roar of some monster.
The next moment, the ground suddenly began to tremble. Loud, piercing hisses broke out, echoing across the wilderness and rapidly threatening to pierce the heavens.
Immediately following, a plume of red mist erupted from the top of each mountain, surging into the sky with a whoosh.
A massive cavern seemed to be hidden within the mountaintops. The red mist appeared without any warning, seemingly endless, spreading instantly and blotting out nearly half the sky in a flash.
The two clouds of red mist converged between the mountains, blocking their way forward.
"There are snakes inside!" someone shouted, pointing at the clouds of mist.
"It's hook serpents!"
By now, the group could finally glimpse the tip of the iceberg behind the red mist.
The red mist was the breath exhaled by a serpentine demon beast!
This kind of serpent looked exceedingly bizarre. Shaped like snakes, each was at least over a hundred feet long. Unlike real serpents, however, the hook serpent had a bifurcated tail; both of the split tails were shaped like iron hooks, gleaming with a chilling, dark iron-like luster!
It was precisely because of this unique appearance that everyone recognized the hook serpents at a glance, and records regarding them flooded back into their minds.
Once reaching adulthood, this demon beast possessed strength at the peak of the Mortal Demon stage. With sufficient time cultivating, breaking through to the Demon Spirit stage was not difficult.
What they excelled at most was venom.
The red mist they exhaled not only served as a soft protective shield, cushioning incoming attacks, but was also intensely toxic. Even an immortal cultivator would be doomed if they inadvertently inhaled a single breath or exposed their bare flesh to the mist.
The two tail hooks carried an even more lethal venom capable of killing instantly, and they were extraordinarily hard, capable of taking hits directly from magic tools!
At this moment, the red mist blotted out the sky and the sun. Inside, countless serpent shadows writhed, making it impossible to tell how many hook serpents were lurking within, but there were at least dozens. Even if only a minority had broken through to the Demon Spirit stage, it would still spell massive trouble!
To say nothing of the possibility that there might be great demons at the middle or late Demon Spirit stage among them!
Luo Xingnan and Sheng Yuanzi exchanged a glance, thoroughly bewildered. Before the hook serpents appeared, there hadn't been the slightest trace of battle on or around the mountains. How had Yu Kong evaded the serpents' senses and quietly crossed through?
But now was not the time to ponder such things.
"Retreat to the cave!"
Neither dared hesitate any longer, making the split-second call to order a retreat!
The terrain here was open and wide. Once surrounded by the serpents and engulfed by the red mist, no one could guarantee making it out alive.
Only by relying on the narrow cave entrance could they set up formations calmly, divide the serpent pack, and systematically hunt down every hook serpent. However strong the hook serpents were, they were merely demon beasts. With so many Foundation Establishment cultivators present, they were not truly terrified of them.
Receiving the order, the group formed up into an array and swiftly fell back.
The hisses of the hook serpents rose and fell in waves as the red mist spread rapidly, closing the distance.
"Be careful not to get injured! Under no circumstances must these beasts catch the scent of blood!" Sheng Yuanzi suddenly remembered something and shouted a warning.
Rumor had it that hook serpents were extraordinarily sensitive to the scent of blood, especially that of human cultivators. Once they smelled it, they would plunge into sheer frenzy, practically becoming an entirely different species from their present state.
Before his words had fully faded, two loud blasts abruptly boomed beneath their feet.
Jolted in alarm, the crowd looked down, only to see two clouds of bloody mist erupting from the depths of the chasm.
Shattered flesh and bone fragments flew outward, mixed with blood, splashing in every direction.
Caught completely off guard, the crowd was instantly enveloped by the twin plumes of blood mist to their left and right.
"Crescent Fairy!" Luo Xingnan cried out, his face draining of color.
Sheng Yuanzi's expression was equally horror-stricken; he had clearly recognized Old Man Muteng as well.
At this moment, understanding struck them like a thunderbolt. No wonder there hadn't been any secret marks left behind, and no wonder there was no sign of a struggle...
Their spies had been exposed long ago. Yu Kong had known all along, yet acted as though blind to it, letting the spies transmit information to lure them inside.
This was clearly a trap meticulously laid by Yu Kong!
Its purpose might be to use them as bait for the hook serpents, or perhaps something even more insidious...
"Quick! Disperse the blood mist!"
Sheng Yuanzi was the first to react, shouting urgently as he sent out a blast of crimson flame in an attempt to incinerate the stench of blood. The others naturally dared not hesitate and hurriedly acted to wipe away the bloody scent.
Yet it was already a step too late.
The red mist pursued relentlessly right behind them. The moment the corpses detonated, the hook serpents caught the scent of blood.
Within the red mist, out of sight of Luo Xingnan and his allies, the eyes of the hook serpents suddenly turned scarlet, glaring fixedly at the cultivators above the chasm.
Their hissing roars instantly intensified tenfold, a hundredfold.
What was even more shocking: deep within the chasm, the yin energy suddenly roiled violently, and two gigantic serpentine silhouettes shot forth like arrows loosed from a bowstring, charging out of the abyss at astounding speed with heaven-shaking roars!
Meanwhile, Qin Sang and the others lurking in the shadows did not dare make a sound, terrified that the maddened hook serpents might detect their presence, lest they share the same fate as Luo Xingnan's group.
Qin Sang quietly watched Yu Kong's hiding place. Now that the hook serpents were completely focused on Luo Xingnan and the others, Yu Kong showed no intention of seizing the chance to slip around from the other side and quietly harvest the herbs.
Did he intend to remain here watching the battle, waiting until a victor emerged before making his move?
Chapter 289