298: Chapter 292 Deep into the Taiyin Mountains

The Taiyin Mountain Range was shrouded in a thick layer of dark clouds all year round.

Sunlight could hardly penetrate it.

This caused the mountain range to remain in a dark and damp state throughout the year.

The mountain wind howled, carrying a bone-chilling cold and a faint smell of decay.

The further they flew into the depths, the sparser the surrounding vegetation became.

In its place were all sorts of bizarre, withered trees and pitch-black rocks.

The air was filled with a faint poisonous miasma.

If an ordinary Cultivator were to inhale a mouthful, they would likely die on the spot.

However, the five people present were all Nascent Soul experts.

This bit of poisonous miasma posed no threat to them at all.

They only needed to raise their protective spiritual light to keep it at bay.

After flying for about two hours.

Ren Quanxu's figure suddenly paused, stopping above a deep, secluded valley.

"Everyone, we have arrived."

Ren Quanxu lowered his voice and pointed to the pitch-black valley bottom below.

The group looked in the direction of his finger.

They saw clouds and mist swirling below, filled with a sinister Yin Qi.

Vaguely, they could see countless massive white silk webs layered over the rocks and trees.

It was like a giant white cocoon, wrapping the entire valley tightly.

Even from afar, they could feel a heart-palpitating, evil aura continuously surging from the depths of the valley floor.

"Such dense Demonic Qi!"

Zhang Xing frowned, a flash of gravity in his eyes.

He could feel that the number of spiders below was likely even greater than they had anticipated.

True Lord Shenhuo snorted coldly, faint flames flickering around his body.

"Just a bunch of fur-clad, horned beasts. I will just burn them all to ashes."

"No!"

Ren Quanxu quickly spoke to stop him.

He glanced at True Lord Shenhuo with a nervous expression and explained.

"These spider webs are incredibly tough and highly toxic. If we use fire attacks, it will inevitably trigger intense poisonous smoke."

"If we alert those two Spider Kings, we will be in the light while the enemy is in the dark, and we will likely suffer a great loss."

Upon hearing this, although True Lord Shenhuo was somewhat displeased, he restrained his aura.

Although he was arrogant, he was not stupid.

He knew that in a place like this, if one was not careful and cautious, it was very easy to capsize in the gutter.

"Then, in Fellow Daoist Ren's opinion, what should we do?"

Xu Wen lightly flicked the whisk in his hand and asked.

Ren Quanxu took a deep breath, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Everyone, do not be impatient. Since I dared to bring everyone here, I naturally have preparations ready."

After saying this, he began to form seals with his hands rapidly.

His fingers danced, creating trails of afterimages.

He chanted under his breath, spitting out strings of obscure and difficult incantations.

Following his movements, the surrounding Spiritual Qi began to fluctuate violently.

A profound ripple emanated from his body.

"Rise!"

Ren Quanxu gave a low shout.

A yellow mist the size of a fist slowly drifted out from his chest.

The mist did not look like anything special, just like a clump of ordinary yellow dust.

But looking closely, one could discover that it contained countless tiny runes that were constantly moving and flickering in and out of existence.

The mist grew as it met the wind.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a vast expanse of yellow clouds that covered the sky.

Like an inverted sky, it instantly enveloped the entire area within a half-mile radius.

Chen Zhiwen felt his vision blur.

His previously clear vision instantly became blurry.

The surrounding scenery seemed to be covered by a thick veil, becoming indistinct.

What surprised him even more was this.

Being inside this yellow mist, he felt that the surrounding light seemed to have been swallowed up.

A feeling of being unfathomable and elusive arose spontaneously.

"This is..."

Chen Zhiwen was slightly startled.

He subconsciously released his Divine Sense, wanting to investigate the surrounding situation.

But he discovered that his Divine Sense was like a clay ox entering the sea; as soon as it left his body, it was blocked by the yellow mist.

Even the auras of the few people beside him became faint and elusive.

If he closed his eyes, he might even think he was alone in the Void Realm.

"What a brilliant Formation!"

Chen Zhiwen could not help but exclaim in his heart.

Although he was not proficient in the Dao of Formations, he could still see the extraordinary aspects of this Formation.

It could actually even block the Divine Sense of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

If used for sneak attacks or escaping, it was definitely a top-tier Sharp Weapon.

He turned to look at the other three.

He found that Zhang Xing, True Lord Shenhuo, and Xu Wen did not have much surprise on their faces.

They even wore expressions of taking it for granted.

Obviously, they had long known about this method of Ren Quanxu's, or had heard of it long ago.

"Fellow Daoist Ren's 'Flying Star Shadowless Formation' is truly well-deserved of its reputation."

Xu Wen stroked his beard and praised.

"Although this Daoist also knows a little about Formations, I could never casually set up such an exquisite concealment Formation."

Zhang Xing also nodded.

"With the help of this Formation, we have a bit more certainty in sneaking into that Yao Beast lair."

Ren Quanxu had already withdrawn his hand seals at this time.

His face was slightly pale; clearly, activating this Formation was quite a drain on him.

He took out a Medicinal Pill from his storage ring, swallowed it, adjusted his breath for a moment, and then began to explain.

"Everyone is too kind with their praise."

"This is the 'Flying Star Shadowless Formation' secretly passed down by my Tian Yin Pavilion, and it is formed by a set of portable Formation Plates."

Ren Quanxu pointed to the surging yellow mist above his head, his tone carrying a hint of pride.

"This Formation can not only completely conceal a Cultivator's aura and figure, isolating Divine Sense detection."

"More importantly, it also possesses extremely strong defensive effects."

"Even a full-strength strike from a Mid Nascent Soul Stage expert can be blocked to some extent."

Hearing this, Chen Zhiwen's surprise grew even greater.

Portable Formations were already rare to begin with.

Ones that could both attack and defend, and were of such a high grade, were even rarer than Phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

It seemed that the foundation of this Tian Yin Pavilion was indeed unfathomable.

And this Elder Ren's attainments in the Dao of Formations were definitely not just an empty reputation.

"However..."

True Lord Shenhuo suddenly spoke, breaking the group's praise.

His gaze was as sharp as a hawk, piercing through layers of fog to look into the distance.

"Although this Flying Star Shadowless Formation is marvelous and can conceal our auras."

In True Lord Shenhuo's hand, a crimson feather fan had appeared at some unknown time.

On the feather fan, scorching magma flowed, emitting a suffocating high temperature.

"But those two Spider Kings are, after all, Tier 4 Yao Beasts with exceptionally keen senses."

"And the intuition of Yao Beasts regarding danger is often even more terrifying than that of Cultivators."

True Lord Shenhuo turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the group, and finally landed on Chen Zhiwen, speaking with implication.

"Therefore, everyone must not be careless."

"Be ready for battle at any time."

"If those beasts discover any clues, this Formation will not be able to save your lives; we will still have to rely on the weapons in our hands to do the talking."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a shiver in their hearts.

They successively brought out their own Magic Treasures, secretly circulated their spiritual power, and raised their vigilance to the highest level.

Chen Zhiwen did not act big either.

With a movement of his mind, his natal Flying Sword quietly appeared in his sleeve.

The sword body was not unsheathed, but that touch of cold Sword Intent was already ready to be unleashed.

As the Formation fully operated.

The originally yellow mist began to slowly change color.

Eventually, it transformed into a gray color, perfectly merging with the dark environment around them.

Chen Zhiwen looked down.

He discovered that his own body had also become somewhat illusory at this moment.

It was as if he had been assimilated by this layer of gray mist.

Even if he was standing right there, if one didn't look carefully, they would not be able to discover that anyone existed.

"Is this like... a high-grade version of an invisibility technique?"

Chen Zhiwen marveled to himself.

This feeling of hiding himself completely gave him a great sense of security.

He had originally been somewhat apprehensive about this operation.

After all, they were going deep into the tiger's den.

But at this moment, looking at the mysterious Formation light curtain around him, his confidence in Ren Quanxu could not help but increase a little.

It seemed that this Tian Yin Pavilion Elder really had some true skills.

He was not the type of straw bag who could only brag.

"Let's go!"

Ren Quanxu gave a low shout.

He controlled the Formation, carrying everyone with him, and slowly drifted toward the valley below.

The group's speed was not fast.

Like an inconspicuous dark cloud, they silently slid into that abyss filled with danger.

The further down they went, the darker the surrounding light became.

The oppressive atmosphere also became heavier and heavier.

Because they had the cover of Ren Quanxu's portable Formation.

And coupled with the fact that everyone deliberately restrained their auras.

Those low-tier Yao Beast spiders patrolling the periphery did not discover the few baleful stars passing overhead at all.

Occasionally, a few black spiders the size of a washbasin crawled past on the nearby rock walls.

Their furry legs were only a few feet away from the edge of the Formation.

It made one's scalp tingle.

But they just blankly rotated their compound eyes, seemingly not noticing any abnormality.

Chen Zhiwen observed the surrounding environment carefully through the gray mist.

He discovered that along the way, the rock walls and withered trees were covered everywhere with that kind of white spider silk.

Some of the spider silk was already dry and yellow, clearly left behind a long time ago.

While some were crystal clear, with sticky droplets hanging on them, clearly just spat out not long ago.

"This spider silk..."

Chen Zhiwen narrowed his eyes; although his Divine Sense could not be released too far, it could still be used freely inside the Formation.

He keenly captured it.

On these spider silks, a faint Spiritual Qi fluctuation was vaguely emanating.

And there seemed to be some kind of special connection between them.

It was like a huge, invisible perception network.

"Careful!"

Chen Zhiwen suddenly transmitted his voice to everyone.

"These spider silks are not right."

"They seem not just for hunting, but more like some kind of early warning Restriction."

"Once one of them is touched, even a tiny vibration, it will likely alert the Yao Beasts of the entire lair."

Hearing Chen Zhiwen's reminder, everyone felt a shock in their hearts.

The heartstrings that had been somewhat relaxed were once again tightened.

Zhang Xing glanced at Chen Zhiwen, a trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.

Obviously, he had not expected that this young Sword Cultivator, who had always been taciturn, would have such keen observation skills.

Even he had not noticed this detail just now.

Ren Quanxu's expression also changed slightly.

He hurriedly controlled the Formation, becoming even more cautious.

Trying his best to avoid the spider silk hanging in the air, like threading a needle, he struggled to move forward through that dense white network.

"Many thanks for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Chen."

Ren Quanxu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and transmitted back.

"If we had accidentally bumped into it just now, I'm afraid we would already be surrounded by now."

Chen Zhiwen just shook his head slightly, signaling that there was no need for courtesy.

His gaze remained fixed tightly on the bottomless darkness ahead.

The feeling of unease in his heart did not decrease because they had avoided the spider silk.

Instead, as they went deeper, it became increasingly intense.

Deep in this Taiyin Mountain Range.

What exactly is still hidden here?

Five figures, just like this, wrapped in the gray mist.

Like a group of ghosts.

Little by little, they approached that unknown terror.

Passing through the boundless darkness, through that layer of thick gray mist, the scene before their eyes suddenly changed.

This was no longer the cold hinterland of the Taiyin Mountain.

Instead, it was like a dead, silent world sunk to the bottom of the deep sea.

The air was so humid that it felt like it could be wrung out like water.

This was a vast, boundless undersea swamp.

The soil under their feet was soft and muddy, emitting an aura of decay.

All around stood countless towering sea mountains.

The mountain bodies presented a strange, dark green color, reaching a hundred zhang high, thrusting straight into the unseen dome.

No sunlight could shine in at all.

The only light source came from the strange vegetation growing on the mountains.

Thousands of red and blue giant mushrooms broke through the soil.

They were like the only sign of life in this dead land, yet they exuded a heart-palpitating, bewitching charm.

The large mushrooms had their caps spread out, like pavilions by the roadside for people to rest, blocking out the sky and sun.

The small ones were also half a person tall, densely packed together.

They emitted a faint, ghostly fluorescent light, illuminating this swamp in a bizarre and surreal way.

Chen Zhiwen stepped on the soft mud.

A squelching sound came from under his feet.

He looked down at it.

In the muddy swamp, ghastly white bones could be seen everywhere.

Some were half exposed, while others were just a pale skull, with empty eye sockets staring fixedly upward.

These skeletons were mottled in color.

Clearly, they had been sleeping here for who knows how many years.

The flesh on them had long been gnawed clean, not even a trace of bone marrow left.

Chen Zhiwen's gaze tightened slightly; he easily distinguished the differences among them.

Most were the remains of Yao Beasts, with large bones and strange shapes.

But there were also some human Cultivator skulls mixed in.

Those skulls were as crystalline as jade; clearly, their cultivation during their lifetime was not bad, at least they were Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

"It seems that this is not only a lair for Yao Beasts, but also a graveyard for countless adventurers."

Chen Zhiwen thought to himself, raised his head, and cast his gaze past those skeletons, toward the deeper part of the swamp.

In the shadow cast by a huge mushroom forest, something seemed to be wriggling.

That was the hunter in the darkness.

Many large black spiders were lurking there.

These spiders were a full one or two zhang long.

Their eight long legs were as thick as the mouth of a bowl, covered with steel-needle-like black hair.

Their eyes were dull and lifeless, like two dead, silent stones, perfectly merging with the surrounding shadows.

Making it impossible for one to judge whether they were already in a deep sleep, or were quietly waiting for the perfect opportunity for prey to come to their door.

"Everyone, those are Black Abyss Demon Spiders."

Ren Quanxu's voice was extremely low, ringing in everyone's ears through voice transmission.

"Although they are just Tier 3 Yao Beasts, they are numerous and highly venomous; we must not take them lightly."

Just as his voice fell.

A sudden change occurred.

In the darkness ahead, countless pairs of red eyes suddenly lit up.

Like densely packed red lanterns, they instantly lit up this swamp.