As a result of their imposition of trust and reliance on Ye Xiuwen, everyone reluctantly accepted his and “Qin Shanshan"s” suggestion to make another attempt down the path once more.To their minds, they would already be out of this peculiar vicinity if the solution were as simple as making their way down that path once more. After all, would they really be lingering around these parts for a such a long time if they could help it? In fact, the truth of the matter was that they had already grown so frustrated with their predicament that they had all begun to question life and its purposes over the last few days.The only silver lining was that Qin Shanshan seemed to have recovered from her insanity today. As they walked down the path, she no longer flew into a fit of self-abusing frenzy. In fact, she had become far sullener than before, and she no longer annoyed and vexed people with her incessant flapping lips.In the eyes of the Dawn Sect disciples, Qin Shanshan"s name had already become synonymous with that of a troublemaker. If not for the fact that Qin Lingyu were Qin Shanshan"s brother, they might well have already left Qin Shanshan behind to languish in the wilderness and fend for herself.Yet these Dawn Sect disciples who spurned Qin Shanshan could never have guessed that the present “Qin Shanshan” was no longer the Qin Shanshan that they knew. While they were all still sound asleep, the real Qin Shanshan had already perished from the face of this earth.As they walked down the path, the Dawn Sect disciples had expected the same thing to happen as before, and they would find themselves arriving back at their starting point. However, something completely different happened this time.“Eh? Do you guys get the feeling that the fog around us seems to have thickened quite substantially?” One of the Dawn Sect disciples suddenly remarked.“Now that you"ve mentioned it, that does seem to be the case…” Another disciple paused in his steps and furrowed his brows.Everyone paused where they were and began glancing about at their surroundings. They had just realized that the fog around them had thickened substantially, and visibility was now at an all-time low.The Dawn Sect disciples were already incredibly frustrated and displeased at the peculiar predicament that they had found themselves in over the last few days. Now that a peculiar fog had joined the fray, the worsening of their predicament had substantially amplified the annoyance weighing on their hearts. Moreover, the escalating quandary that they were in also caused the disciples to reveal the traces of fear and anxiety that were stirring in the bottom of their hearts.Would they really be able to leave this place? Would the fog be concealing something dangerous within or behind it?It was as though the peculiar fog had followed the anxiety in their gaze and flowed straight into their hearts, clouding their minds and enshrouding their hearts with panic.Ye Xiuwen swept a meaningful gaze towards “Qin Shanshan”; and she detected his gaze on her body as well. She turned around and locked eyes with Ye Xiuwen, before raising her eyebrows smugly.It was as though she were saying – That"s right. I did all of this. What can you do about it?Naturally, Ye Xiuwen was the only one who could read the underlying meaning behind the imposter Qin Shanshan"s expressions right now.Ye Xiuwen sighed in his heart. Truth be told, he hardly wanted to dally for too long at this place. After all, he was none the wiser as to the whereabouts of his master and the other Heavenly Peak disciples; and he was unsure of whether the remnant Heavenly Peak disciples who had been caught and captured by the Dawn Sect were still alive or not. Thus, every moment that he dallied meant that his martial brothers would be in danger for a longer period of time.However, he knew that this was something which he could not afford to disclose to “Qin Shanshan”. For some strange reason, Ye Xiuwen found that the imposter Qin Shanshan possessed a personality that seemed to vacillate between good and evil, and he was unable to put a finger on where her morals lay. More importantly, Ye Xiuwen knew that he was unable to deduce whether “Qin Shanshan” was a friend or foe as yet. Thus, he had no choice but to continue observing her as things panned out.The fog thickened. Gradually, their visibility became completely obscured by the thick fog, to the extent that they were not even able to see their own outstretched hands. By this time, the disciples could only make out the vague silhouettes of their compatriots in the fog, and they were only able to ascertain each other"s existences around them by the occasional sleeves that flickered into vision, or by the sound of their voice in the nearby vicinity.This unexpected development weighed heavily on their hearts like a giant boulder. Their heightened spirits were now incredibly tense, as though they were afraid that a spirit beast would leap out at them and take their lives in the very next moment.Of everyone present, the calmest people were none other than Ye Xiuwen and “Qin Shanshan”. Ye Xiuwen was completely calm and collected because he knew who the culprit behind this unexpected development was. At the same time, he was also confident in his own abilities, so he knew that there was no need for him to feel afraid or panicked to begin with. On the other hand, “Qin Shanshan” was the person orchestrating this entire unexpected development, and there was even less of a reason for her to be afraid of what she had personally created.In fact, “Qin Shanshan” had already released her divine sense and sent it probing about her surroundings as she delightfully “observed” the expressions of the Dawn Sect disciples. She could see that some were trembling, while others were masking their fears by their incessant chattering with each other. At the same time, they would glance nervously at their surroundings from time to time. It was as though these disciples couldn"t help but wish that they would faint and pa.s.s out in the next moment in the hope that they would wake up to find out that this had been nothing more than a nightmare. As she took in all of these expressions, “Qin Shanshan"s” heart was filled with delight and pleasure.“Qin Shanshan” had for the longest time despised these Dawn Sect disciples who had sucked up to the strong and influential, while despising the weak. A person was the byproduct of his environment. Their respective masters were not saints to begin with, and it was no surprise that these disciples turned out worse than their masters, each in their own rights. That said, apart from Qin Shanshan whom she had already dealt with, she had no personal vendetta against each of these disciples. Thus, she adopted a measured approach and felt that it sufficed to put them through some hards.h.i.+p and torment their hearts for now.This was also the only way she could temporarily ventilate some of the frustrations and indignation weighing on her heart.“I"ve had enough! What kind of a strange, peculiar place is this?! I don"t want to keep going anymore!” One of the Dawn Sect disciples exclaimed amidst all the fog. In his anger, he stamped his feet and plonked his b.u.t.t to the ground as he sat down.“That"s right! Whose stupid idea was it to go down this path again? We"ve never succeeded before to begin with. And look what kind of trouble we"ve got ourselves into now? With this peculiar fog in our eyes, we can"t even see where we"re going. Heck, we don"t even know whether we"ll be able to make it out alive right now!” Another Dawn Sect disciple echoed in frustration.It was as thought the first disciple had triggered the opening of the floodgates. Soon, each of the Dawn Sect disciples began to cry out and complain with indignation and frustration. At the same time, they began to blame Ye Xiuwen and “Qin Shanshan” for having made the decision to make another attempt down the path.Ye Xiuwen chose not to refute their allegations. After all, he was already well aware of the true characters and personalities of these disciples from outside the Heavenly Peak, and he knew that these were not people that he would have consciously a.s.sociated himself with. Thus, Ye Xiuwen knew that there was no reason for him to be enraged by their slanderous speech.In any event, Ye Xiuwen was after one outcome and one outcome only – and that was to infiltrate the Dawn Sect and rescue his martial brothers from the Heavenly Peak with the help of these Dawn Sect disciples.On the other hand, it was “Qin Shanshan” who grew increasingly displeased the Dawn Sect disciples continued to complain. She had always hated it when people forced her to swallow a bitter pill. If others gave her an inch, she would give them a mile; but if others took a bite at her, then she would most certainly do all she could to even the score.Besides, it was not as though she had brandished a knife at their throats and forced these Dawn Sect disciples to walk down this path. It was these cowards who had insisted on following Jun Ziwen to begin with – who else could they blame but themselves?Thus, “Qin Shanshan” snapped her finger. The fog had initially only surrounded the disciples and obscured their vision, and it did not harm them by any means. But now that “Qin Shanshan” had snapped her fingers, the fog suddenly came to life and began to attack the disciples.“Ahh--!” One Dawn Sect disciple felt as though he had been pushed by an immense force, and his entire body was thrown forward as he slammed face forward into the ground so hard that his organs felt like they were forcibly s.h.i.+fted.“Who was that?! Who"s attacking me?!” He clutched at the most painful parts of his body as he turned his head around and cursed and swore. Yet apart from the thick, roiling fog behind him, he saw absolutely nothing else.Then, one by one, the other disciples began to cry out in pain, as though echoing him in response – “Ah--!” “Argh!” “Ow, that hurts!” These cries continued to ring out around them incessantly. It was evident that others had suffered the same fate – they had all been pushed and tossed about by an unknown force.A large bead of sweat rolled off the forehead of the Dawn Sect disciple who sustained the first blow as he struggled to get up once more. Just as he was about to berate the invisible a.s.sailant, he was one again sent flying by the unknown force.This time, he saw it clearly. The ent.i.ty that attacked him was not a person – it was the fog that was around him. The fog had congealed into a ma.s.sive, fist-shaped figure and struck him on the back, sending him flying a distance away.“This…what the h.e.l.l is this d.a.m.ned thing?!” Fear washed over the heart of the Dawn Sect disciple, and he immediately sprinted away as far as he could with his tail tucked between his legs. At the same time, the fog behind him transformed into a ma.s.sive mouth that was filled with razor-sharp teeth as it gave chase after the Dawn Sect disciple.The disciple hardly wished to find out what would happen if he were swallowed by the ferocious being with vicious-looking teeth. He simply ran for his life as fast as his feet would take him. His earlier complaining att.i.tude was completely gone by now, and it had well been displaced by the abject fear in his heart.The other Dawn Sect disciples amidst the thick, roiling fog ended up with a similar fate as well. All of them began to run for their lives as though they were being chased by a ferocious, faceless beast, completely casting aside any considerations for their own dignity and image.Their floundering acts were completely juxtaposed with the unflappable calmness which Ye Xiuwen possessed as he remained rooted to the ground. Ye Xiuwen was already in the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation, and he was fully aware that there was nothing the fog could do to hurt him.Even though the fog around him had similarly congealed into a strange-looking spirit beast that was gnarling and hissing at him, he hardly felt threatened by the beast one bit.Thus, he glared back at the spirit beast with a placid expression on his face and hardly a ripple in the depths of his eyes.Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the spirit beast simply vanished, and another silhouette gradually appeared and took its place – it was “Qin Shanshan”. She glanced at Ye Xiuwen before curling her lips into a mischievous smile as she remarked, “I didn"t expect you to be completely unfazed by this.”“Why should I be afraid? It can"t do anything to hurt me, can it?” Ye Xiuwen explicated dispa.s.sionately.“Hehe. Alright, I"d thought that there was a chance that its appearance would give you a shock.” The orchestrator of the entire incident pouted her lips and shrugged her shoulders.“I"ve seen worse. This isn"t considered too much to me.”Ye Xiuwen was telling the truth in this regard. He had seen far more fearsome creatures within the Death"s Gorge. In fact, there were several encounters within the Death"s Gorge which had caused him to think for a fleeting moment that he was at the end of his road. Fortunately, his master was an incredibly formidable cultivator who dabbled with the discipline of refining pills in his spare time, and he had time and time again been rescued from the jaws of death through his master"s miraculous medicines.“Qin Shanshan” had taken a keen interest to knowing more of these allegedly “worse” spirit beasts that Ye Xiuwen had just briefly mentioned. Thus, she blinked her eyes curiously and minced her way over to Ye Xiuwen"s side as she asked what these creatures looked like.Ye Xiuwen glanced at “Qin Shanshan” who revealed a quizzical look in her eyes, before he placidly retorted –“Before I go on, aren"t you going to stop teasing these people for a little while? First, you trapped me together with them in your peculiar formation array, and then you attempt to scare me with your strange fog. Do you still have many of these tricks up your sleeves?”“Qin Shanshan” raised her eyebrows quizzically, and her eyes were now filled with a trace of coldness. A grimace crept up the corner of her lips as she retorted, “What is that to you? Are you very close to these people? Can you not bear to see them suffer any longer?”Ye Xiuwen calmly responded, “After observing us for such a long time, aren"t you able to judge for yourself what kind of relations.h.i.+p I maintain with these people? Furthermore, I"ve got some urgent matters to attend to at the Dawn Sect, and I"ve got no time to waste patronizing you and your wicked fetishes right now.”“Wick--…wicked fetishes?!”“Qin Shanshan” was rendered completely speechless by Ye Xiuwen"s refutations – she was in a rush as well! That said, she knew that her actions were carefully crafted and calculated not to waste too much time, and she knew that she could afford to let these disciples suffer a little bit to receive the just desserts for their actions.Who could have thought that Jun Ziwen would describe her actions as “wicked fetishes”?!“Qin Shanshan” widened her eyes and gritted her teeth, “Re-lax! It"s going to end soon!”Her intention had always been to use the fog to send the Dawn Sect disciples running in the direction that they had to travel to begin with. After all, given the initial lackadaisical and lethargic att.i.tude of the disciples, who knew how long it would take them before they could finally arrive at the Dawn Sect"s grounds? When all was said and done, the fearsome fog might well have forced them to move quicker than they otherwise would have.After glaring at Ye Xiuwen, “Qin Shanshan” walked on in a huff. Then, having taken a few steps forward, she suddenly whipped her head around and glared at Ye Xiuwen once more as she barked, “If you continue to behave like such a boring old man, you can dream on if you"re thinking of attracting a life partner!”As she finished speaking, she walked away with long strides, leaving Ye Xiuwen with the image of her willfulness and headstrong att.i.tude.Of course, what “Qin Shanshan” had failed to consider was the fact that the real Qin Shanshan had initially conscripted Ye Xiuwen to her team precisely because she had taken a fancy towards Ye Xiuwen"s looks.
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