390: Crisis Begins

… …

“Boom!”

The fine rain dampened the leaves, and the thick mist was repeatedly washed away by the rain, yet it showed no signs of thinning. The group continued walking through the forest.

Xu Sanyan maintained a barrier of light around himself, keeping the rain out and his clothes dry. However, the Xiao family members behind him suffered. Their Qi was shallow, and they were reluctant to waste it so lavishly, so they could only endure the rain as they pressed forward.

“How much further?”

Xu Sanyan turned to look at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran calculated the distance. “Soon, we should be there by tomorrow morning.”

“Good, everyone hurry up. I feel something is off.”

Xu Sanyan’s brow twitched faintly. He had a strong premonition that something big was about to happen. At his current Realm, such a premonition was not groundless. When one’s cultivation reached his level, they would have omens of disaster.

Moreover, the surrounding mist had grown even thicker, almost reaching the point where one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face.

Even the Ghost Beasts were more agitated. In the past two days, they had endured no fewer than a dozen attacks. Although Xu Sanyan resolved all of them, many people still lost their lives. The original team of over four hundred people was now less than four hundred.

Wang Ying nodded in agreement. “Indeed, this year’s Mist Time is thicker than usual, and there are more Ghost Beasts. Something is definitely wrong.”

Xiao Ran turned and instructed, “Did you all hear that? Use all your strength to move quickly. We’ll be safe once we reach Qianqiu City.”

“Yes.”

Xu Sanyan no longer accommodated them, quickening his pace. Those who could keep up did, and those who couldn’t were on their own.

As a result, the team stretched out. Some Xiao family disciples, in order to keep up, abandoned the human slaves they were carrying and exerted themselves to catch up, moving even faster.

“Boom!”

The rain intensified, gradually changing from a drizzle to a heavy downpour. Raindrops connected into threads, further blurring their vision.

But what was more concerning was that the sound of the rain affected their hearing, reducing their perception of danger.

Fortunately, the remaining path was not far, and with caution, they should be fine.

“Ah!!”

“Help me!”

A sudden scream came from the very back of the team, a shrill sound filled with despair.

Xiao Ran looked at Xu Sanyan, who didn't even turn his head, gritted his teeth, and still didn’t look back.

At this moment, he could barely protect himself, so how could he have the energy to save others, even his own Family members?

Xu Sanyan naturally heard it, but he was no benevolent person; he had no time to concern himself with them.

Those who could keep up would live; those who couldn’t would die!

“Bang!”

Xu Sanyan waved his large sleeve, and surging Qi blasted open the dense forest ahead. The Ghost Beasts hidden within instantly had their heads explode and died.

Wang Ying and the others were startled; they hadn’t even noticed the Ghost Beasts hiding there.

Xu Sanyan didn’t spare them a single glance and walked straight through.

The mist in Luan Yun Mountain was extremely dense at this moment. Most of the Xiao family disciples had low cultivation and weak senses; they couldn’t see anything beyond ten meters.

Xu Sanyan was slightly better, able to see only a few dozen meters, but his Divine Soul was full, allowing him to sense dangers hidden in the shadows.

After a long while, dawn broke in the sky.

Qianqiu City was close at hand. Xu Sanyan stopped, his clothes still spotless.

Wang Ying, Xiao Ran, and the others beside him looked utterly exhausted. These past few days had worn them out. They had used every trick in the book to keep up with Xu Sanyan’s pace and avoid being left behind.

If they were like this, what about the Xiao family disciples? Originally around four hundred people, only over a hundred remained when they reached Qianqiu City.

Most of those who didn’t keep up were lost, and at this time, being lost was no different from death.

Not a single human slave remained. They couldn’t even look after themselves, so how could they have the energy to care for human slaves?

“What’s going on with this Mist Time?” Wang Ying asked, full of confusion.

Xiao Ran, beside him, also nodded with a solemn expression. “Something feels off. It’s more than twice as thick as last time, and there are too many Ghost Beasts.”

The Xiao family had been in Luan Yun Mountain for years and had experienced several Mist Times, but none had ever been this dangerous, almost wiping out their Family.

Although it was not much different from being wiped out at this moment, at least a good number of the Xiao family members were still alive.

“Young Master Lin is back! Quickly open the Formation!”

Someone saw Xu Sanyan through the Formation and quickly called out to open a gap, letting their group in.

Before Xu Sanyan could catch his breath, Wang Yu came up to him, holding a jade stone in his hand. He turned the jade stone over to show him and said, “Brother Lin, something bad has happened. The Ma family, Yang Family, and Sun Family have successively requested aid, but the mist is too thick, and we don’t dare send anyone out. What should we do?”

Xu Sanyan looked at the characters on the stone, his brows tightly furrowed for a moment. This item was similar to a mother-child stone, a tool capable of transmitting messages remotely.

Such trivial matters were causing trouble. Excluding Wave Breaking Mountain, which was later assigned to him, he only had four Families under his command. Now, three were requesting aid, and only one was relatively worry-free.

Eh?

Wait!

Xu Sanyan turned his head and asked, “Did the Xuan Family not request aid?”

The Xuan Family’s strength was even less than the Yang Family’s. Were they so lucky not to encounter Ghost Beasts?

“Uh…”

Wang Yu pursed his lips and quietly said, “I asked them…”

“What did they say?”

“They didn’t say anything…”

Xu Sanyan fell silent. No wonder they didn’t request aid; it was likely the Xuan Family had already been wiped out by Ghost Beasts, leaving no survivors, so there was naturally no need to request aid.

At this moment, someone shouted from afar, “Young Master Lin, the Family Head requests your presence.”

Xu Sanyan frowned. Why was he being called at this time?

But he couldn’t refuse, so he turned to the Wang Brothers and instructed, “First, settle the Xiao family. Wait for my message.”

“Yes.”

Xu Sanyan followed the person into the Inner city and walked straight to the Wang Family’s main residence.

It was still the familiar study, but this time, besides the Wang Family Head, there were others in the study.

“Greetings to the Family Head, greetings to the Grand Elder, Great Madam, Second Madam…”

Xu Sanyan greeted each of them. Including him, there were ten people in the study: four Madams, the Grand Elder, and the Family Head, along with several other Soul Refining Realm Elders.

Everyone nodded slightly to him in return. The Grand Elder’s smile was especially kind; he had a good impression of Xu Sanyan.

“Sit.”

The Wang Family Head pointed to a wooden chair beside him, his gaze sweeping around before finally resting on Xu Sanyan. He said in a grave tone, “We just discussed this, but since you didn’t hear it, I’ll say it again.”

“This year’s Mist Time is unusual. From now on, Qianqiu City will be completely sealed. No entry, no exit. No matter which Family requests aid, we will not respond.”

Xu Sanyan’s eyes drooped slightly, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

The small and medium-sized Families attached to the Wang Family contributed a considerable amount of tribute each year, which was crucial for the Wang Family’s development. Yet, the Family Head now chose to cut off an arm to survive, indicating the urgency of the situation.

“May I ask, Family Head, what has happened?” Xu Sanyan asked in a deep voice.

“Sigh…”

The Wang Family Head sighed wearily, his face full of fatigue, and waved his hand, signaling the Grand Elder to speak.

Managing such a large Family business was already difficult for him, and now with this incident, his burden was even heavier.