Chapter 1268
Unknown danger
Chapter 1268 Unknown danger
Shen Xiuyuan really wanted to break up with Ao Hen.
But now that Ao Heng has suddenly disappeared, it's hard for him not to be shocked.
"What's going on?" He turned to Yu Sinian with a hint of panic and asked, "Have we gotten ourselves into some unknown trap again, and ended up in a different place?"
He still remembered the predicament Yu Sinian had faced before.
Break through one layer, and there's another. Creating identical scenery doesn't seem difficult.
Yu Sinian immediately went to check the mark he had made on the tree: "The mark is still there, so he shouldn't be trapped in the formation..."
"What if the formation also includes your marked tree?" Du Xingyu always liked to contradict Yu Sinian, but it was also the question Mu Jingjing wanted to ask.
“…” Yu Sinian thought for a moment, “If those people from Lingzhen Pavilion came and adjusted the formation, then that’s possible.”
"How come I didn't think of that?!" Du Xingyu punched his palm.
They were so many souls last time, what connection do they have with ancient times? If it's a formation deliberately set up by the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, it's to block the treasure vault's entrance...
Wait a minute! The treasure vault seems to be related to ancient times...
“Something doesn’t seem right.” Shen Xiuyuan shook his head. “If those souls were really trying to stop the people from coming, there’s no reason why they would remove the array now that the key is gone, allowing people to pass through unimpeded…”
“It might not be completely smooth sailing,” Mu Jingjing shook her head and said, “We might already be trapped here, no longer in the original world.”
"But this place looks exactly the same as before, except one person is missing." Ling Yichen frowned. "How can we be sure whether it's us or that guy who's gone missing?"
"Wait a moment." Lin Fan released her drone army again. "One of the functions of the formation is to block. If the Thousand-Mile Eye can't fly out, it's most likely that we're trapped. If we don't encounter any obstacles, it means that everything is normal for us."
"But what if it's a very powerful formation with a large boundary?" Mu Jingjing asked. "Shouldn't a formation master be able to sense the formation?"
Yu Sinian shook his head: "It depends on the specific situation. Due to the limitations of the array's level and the skill of the person who set it up, sometimes it is indeed easy to identify the array, but sometimes it is not so easy."
"Logically speaking, if you could identify the formation last time, even if it has changed this time, the level shouldn't increase too much, right?" Ling Yichen asked.
“Not necessarily.” Shen Xiuyuan frowned. “This time, Lingzhen Pavilion isn’t trying to capture the person who got the key… Their treasure protection team leader is a Golden Core cultivator, so it’s highly likely that the key is in the hands of someone with a Golden Core or higher cultivation level. Therefore, upgrading the formation is reasonable.”
"If," Mu Jingjing asked, hands on her hips, "I mean, if it wasn't us who lost it, but Senior Brother Ao, does that mean he's already been captured?"
Everyone was silent for a while.
If even a high-level Golden Core cultivator like Ao Heng were to be taken down quietly, that would indeed be quite frightening.
But if that's really the case, there's no reason why they were together and nothing happened to them.
They are indeed innocent, but can Lingzhen Pavilion be so discerning and not doubt them at all?
“It has already flown out of the swamp forest.” Lin Fan kept staring at the controller. “The fastest one has already broken through the edge of the swamp forest. Theoretically speaking, this kind of formation should not break through geographical limitations, so it shouldn’t be us that were lost.”
"So fast?!" Ling Yichen craned his neck to look.
"That's right." Du Xingyu puffed out his chest with pride. "Our Lin Fan's clairvoyance is small and agile, it flies so fast... So, it's said that Ao Hen has disappeared?"
Upon realizing that someone was missing, he immediately stopped even calling out to his senior brother.
"Most likely." Lin Fan was still keeping an eye on the other drones. "Just in case, let the Thousand-Mile Eye go and check the town we came from. No matter how powerful the formation is, it's impossible to encompass the nearby towns and also conjure up the living people inside."
Lin Fan vaguely remembered a few people from that town. She didn't believe any formation could perfectly replicate the people she had just met.
“Generally, formations rarely extend beyond a designated area. Not only do they consume a huge amount of energy, but excessively large formations that exceed the boundaries of the swamp forest will attract attention, which is counterproductive,” Yu Sinian said. “So, judging from the situation, Ao Hen must have encountered some unexpected circumstances.”
The fact that Ao Hen disappeared is generally a cause for celebration. However, the problem lies in the unknown circumstances surrounding this high-level Golden Core cultivator, who vanished without a trace. For others with lower cultivation levels, the uncertainty and danger remain.
They don't necessarily want to find Ao Hen, but they do want to know what he went through.
Furthermore, if Ao Heng's accident happened by the lake... does that mean the formation that triggered the soul might not have been altered? But why couldn't they trigger it? So is something still wrong?
"Senior Brother Ao?" Shen Xiuyuan took a few steps forward and called out.
But he only dared to walk to the point of parting, and dared not go any further from where he was lying down.
Crouching down to look, the ground was covered with fallen leaves, unlike sandy ground where traces are easily visible.
Shen Xiuyuan looked around but couldn't figure it out. He turned to the others and asked, "Is there any way to find out where he disappeared from?"
"Who would know?" Du Xingyu shrugged. "His talent is something only demon cultivators would have. Why would a normal person bother to practice that?"
Lin Fan's nose is indeed sensitive, but it's far from being as keen as Ao Hen's, which is comparable to a dog's nose.
Now her nasal cavity is filled with the smells of various plants, decay, and earth, but there is no human touch.
Honestly, unless a normal person smells particularly bad or particularly fragrant, it's really hard to notice their body odor when you're very close to them.
Nevertheless, Lin Fan lay down on the ground and sniffed carefully.
"How is it?" Shen Xiuyuan asked.
Lin Fan shook his head: "It smells all damp, hot, and rotten; you can't smell any 'aohen' at all. By the way, what does 'aohen' smell like?"
Shen Xiuzhong was stunned and looked at the others blankly.
"Hahaha," Du Xingyu slapped his thigh, "Alright, alright, let's just say we don't have that kind of nose, so let's not take on that kind of job. Why don't you smell me? You never know when you might need me?"
As he spoke, he grabbed the sleeve of Lin Fan's upper arm and brought it close to Lin Fan's nose.
Lin Fan was getting up from the ground when, without noticing, someone was brought right up to his face.
Although Shen Xiuyuan quickly reached out and pulled him away, the smell still rushed into her nostrils.
The smells of sweat, herbs, and fire... it wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it certainly wasn't pleasant either. Lin Fan took two steps back.
Beside him, Yu Sinian held a fragrant pill in his palm and fanned it towards Lin Fan.
Upon seeing this, Du Xingyu immediately clenched his fist at him: "You surnamed Yu..."
"Alright, alright!" Shen Xiuyuan carried the person away, "You can't move around here, or the person might disappear again and we won't be able to find them."
What can destroy a person is even more dangerous to them.
Du Xingyu immediately stopped struggling, but rolled up his sleeves and raised his fist at Yu Sinian.
"Let's go back into the woods first," Lin Fan said. "Our main goal is to get back into that soul array. If we try the same route a few more times and the speed still doesn't work, we'll wait a bit longer."
Yu Sinian nodded: "I didn't stay here long before, and now there's even less need to linger in a situation where the danger is known."
Everyone had no opinion.
Jin Tong seemed reluctant to see Ao Hen disappear, turning back several times on her way back to the woods. Shen Xiuyuan saw this and remarked that the young girl was still young and kind, offering words of comfort.
As darkness fell, the woods soon became pitch black.
For safety reasons, everyone set up camp on the spot and waited until dawn to try again.