256: Chapter 256 Trapped in a Ghostly Wall, Running from the Poison Circle

Fierce winds howled, and sand and stones flew through the air.

The wind was intensifying rapidly, and the tremors on the ground were growing increasingly intense.

It was like an earthquake striking, causing everyone affected within the entire manor to stumble and sway, barely able to stand steadily.

Meanwhile, the bushes outside the manor were similarly thrashed by the fierce wind, their thick branches twisting in agony and letting out low, creaking growls.

"What is going on? Is there an earthquake?"

Li Dingjian staggered on his feet and shouted loudly, casting a somewhat panicked gaze toward the professor and Fang Cheng.

He tried to get a definite answer from them.

But his voice seemed extremely faint in the howling wind, as if it could be blown away at any moment.

The professor's brows were tightly locked, and his expression at that moment was exceptionally solemn:

"Unclear... Perhaps an earthquake has occurred, or perhaps the Lu family has activated some mysterious means."

"After all, this manor conceals many secrets. To guard the golden bumpa bottle, there's no telling what kind of backup plans they might have set up..."

As he spoke, his sharp gaze swept across the surrounding anomalies.

The dense fog, like a surging tide driven by the fierce wind, rolled and churned rapidly, sweeping in wave after wave.

Instead of dispersing the mist, the wind made people's vision increasingly blurred, leaving only a patch of Chaos and darkness just a few steps away.

After looking around, the professor's gaze fell upon Fang Cheng, who stood steadfastly beside him.

Earlier, this mysterious man had repeatedly mentioned having an ominous premonition. Could his words really have come true like a prophecy?

Fang Cheng's pupils flashed slightly with a red light as he activated Eagle Eye Vision to inspect the changes in the surrounding environment.

His two lines of sight were like tangible sharp arrows, piercing through the holes of his mask and shooting into the ink-thick fog.

After correcting for the degree of light distortion, Fang Cheng's visual sensitivity and viewing range were greatly enhanced.

Even amidst such severe weather, he could still maintain his most basic visual capabilities.

He concentrated his mind to perceive the external situation, not letting slip a single trace of abnormal movement, ready at all times to deal with potential unknown dangers.

Faintly, he caught sight of many human figures swaying in the woods.

At first, Fang Cheng subconsciously assumed they were other treasure hunters drawn into the mix.

But when he focused and looked closer, a chill surged up from his spine.

Something was wrong!

Among those figures, there were indeed treasure hunters, but most of them exuded an indescribable eeriness.

Their body contours were severely distorted, looking nothing like the appearance normal humans should have.

The angles at which their limbs bent and the state of their bodies continuously stretching and shifting completely exceeded conventional understanding.

It was as if they were evil ghosts released from Hell, flickering in and out of sight and fluttering uncertainly within the howling wind and churning, dark fog.

Fang Cheng's heart stirred slightly. He closed his eyes and immediately magnified his other four sensory capabilities.

In an instant, a flurry of faint, illusory murmurs flooded into his ears.

Interweaving and entangling with the roaring wind, it sounded as though a spine-chilling thriller movement was being played in the dark Chaos.

Then, his nostrils flared slightly as he smelled a pungent scent of sulfur.

It was like a slick venomous snake burrowing into his nasal cavity, almost making him unable to help sneezing.

Not only that, Fang Cheng genuinely felt a strange energy fluctuation in the air, rippling in circles like a giant stone thrown into a serene lake surface.

Accompanied by the spreading ripples, strands of strange light invisible to the naked eye slowly seeped out and emerged from beneath the manor.

They nimbly shuttled and interwove, gradually outlining complex and mysterious patterns, resembling characters from an ancient heavenly book that concealed endless profound secrets.

"What did you see?"

The professor suddenly asked, his gaze fixed tightly on Fang Cheng, who was looking down at the ground.

Fang Cheng raised his head, squinted his eyes, and replied slowly:

"I saw... a huge Formation exists right beneath our feet, seemingly used to Seal a certain space."

Hearing this, both the professor and Li Dingjian changed their expressions.

At this moment, the wind suddenly subsided a lot, and the trees and buildings on the ground stopped shaking violently.

The entire manor seemed to instantly sail from a turbulent ocean into a calm and tranquil harbor.

Afterwards, intermittent voices faintly came from all around.

The people who were originally panicked and hiding poked their heads out again, opening their eyes wide and looking around in astonishment.

They let out a sigh of relief in their hearts, trying to figure out the reason for the sudden upheaval just now.

However, Fang Cheng knew that the Formation beneath his feet still existed, which meant the danger had not disappeared just like that.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up the walkie-talkie, preparing to contact Black Wolf and the others to ask where they were.

Then they would immediately evacuate this strange manor together.

But after pressing the call button, there was only static crackling in the walkie-talkie, and not a trace of signal was transmitted at all.

Fang Cheng's heart couldn't help sinking, and the ominous feeling in his heart grew even stronger.

Turning his head to look, the two people beside him stood in place, their facial expressions constantly changing, revealing a hint of solemnity and doubt.

Judging by this appearance, although they were not using communication equipment, they seemed to be silently contacting their teammates in some special way.

When the two seemed to have finished their silent communication, Fang Cheng stepped forward and asked:

"Can you get in touch with the other teammates now?"

As he spoke, he shook the walkie-talkie in his hand and added by way of explanation:

"Ever since the earthquake started just now, this place seems to have blocked radio signals, and my walkie-talkie has completely failed."

Hearing this, the professor's already tightly locked brows tightened even further, falling into deep thought.

"We can still contact them."

Seeing that Fang Cheng's sharp gaze seemed to see through his actions, he pondered slightly and chose to admit it frankly.

Only after a brief pause, he changed the subject, and the worry on his face grew heavier:

"However, my teammates are in a much more troublesome situation right now. It seems they've encountered a ghost wall."

Hearing this, Fang Cheng couldn't help being slightly stunned.

Judging by the meaning of those words, the path leaving the manor also seemed to have run into problems.

...

In the heavily fog-shrouded forest, it was as if covered by a black curtain, making it almost impossible to see one's own fingers in front of them.

Lin Chuqiao took the lead, Bailing was in the middle, and Dachui brought up the rear. The three of them formed a single file line, cautiously groping their way forward.

Every step was taken with extreme caution, as if the ground beneath their feet could split open at any moment and swallow them up.

The ink-thick mist all around seemed to have a life of its own, constantly churning and shifting, blocking their line of sight completely.

Ever since the sudden earthquake a few minutes ago, the entire Miwu Mountain seemed to have been dragged into a mysterious and spine-chilling different dimensional space.

Not only had the fog become even denser and more viscous, giving people a sense of suffocation.

Even the mountain path beneath their feet that they were originally familiar with had become rugged and hard to distinguish, and the shapes of the surrounding trees appeared distorted and horrifying under the shroud of mist.

Amidst the dim outlines, it seemed as though some eerie shadows that didn't look like humans were hidden.

Everything was a sign that some unsettling and unpredictable change had clearly occurred here.

In order not to get separated from each other, Lin Chuqiao slowed her pace from time to time, gently pulling backward with her hand to signal Bailing behind her to keep up.

Bailing similarly reached back to grab the corner of Dachui's clothes, ensuring that the distance between each other always remained within a visible range.

Everyone pressed closely against each other, close enough to feel each other's breathing and heartbeat, for fear of getting separated in this maze-like place.

Once separated, they might completely lose their way in this boundless dark forest and never find the way back again.

"This ghost place, no matter how much we walk around, it's like we're spinning in circles in the same spot!"

Dachui had the most impatient personality, muttering softly in his mouth, exuding thick agitation and unease.

The iron hammer in his hand occasionally swung a few times, trying to dispel the mist pervading around.

But that mist was like maggots clinging to bones; just as it was scattered, it quickly gathered again.

Bailing's brows were tightly locked, holding a simple compass in her hand.

This was something she had specially prepared before departure, originally as an emergency measure in case she got lost.

Because Lin Chuqiao possessed extremely high perceptual abilities and could rely on this advantage to judge the route more accurately, the compass had never played a role.

Now it should be able to come in handy, but at this moment the needle was spinning wildly, completely unable to point out the direction.

"Something is wrong, the compass has also failed. The magnetic field here keeps changing. Sister Xiaochu, have we encountered a ghost wall?"

Her voice carried a bit of nervous panting as she looked pleadingly toward Lin Chuqiao walking ahead of her.

According to common sense, they should have walked out of the range of Miwu Mountain by now and come to the main road outside the mountain.

"Don't panic, rest in place for a few minutes while I try to contact the professor again."

Lin Chuqiao's expression was likewise solemn, but her tone appeared very gentle.

She knew very well that in such a perilous situation, as the guide, she had to remain calm and collected.

Just at that moment, the professor's voice suddenly resounded in her mind:

"Hello, Xiaochu, can you hear me speaking?"

This voice was like a faint yet clear radio wave, coming through layers of dense fog, instantly making Lin Chuqiao perk up.

She immediately responded in a deep voice:

"I can hear you, Professor. Just now, we observed the treetops according to the method you mentioned, but we still haven't found any markings."

The professor's voice seemed to be interfered with, interrupting slightly before the reply came over:

"Xiaochu, listen to me, this is an illusion Formation, your five senses and perceptions have all been interfered with..."

"Now try to calm your mind, feel the temperature differences of the land beneath your feet, and then keep walking towards the slightly warmer place. That direction leads to the village full of human presence, and you should be able to walk out of this mountain."

Hearing this, Lin Chuqiao perked up, hurriedly closing her eyes and striving to discard distracting thoughts, trying to feel the differences mentioned by the professor.

After a moment, she captured a hint of subtle difference, opened her eyelids, and her gaze revealed a trace of hope as she walked toward the judged direction.

Seeing this, although Bailing and Dachui felt somewhat apprehensive in their hearts, they could only follow.

However, they walked in this direction for a long time, and the surrounding fog not only did not dissipate, but instead grew increasingly dense.

Those distorted ghost shadows flashed by from time to time, and eerie whispers echoed in their ears, seeming to gradually approach them.

"What is going on? This method simply doesn't work!"

Dachui couldn't help complaining, his face full of frustration.

Lin Chuqiao knitted her willow brows tightly, her heart also filled with doubt as she communicated with the professor again:

"Professor, I did as you said, but we are still trapped in the woods with no signs of finding a way out."

"Don't worry, the illusion Formation might be even more complex than I anticipated."

The professor's voice still sounded steady, trying to soothe their emotions:

"Take another look around to see if there are any luminous objects or abnormally bright areas. That might be the key clue to breaking the illusion Formation."

Lin Chuqiao opened her eyes wide, observing her surroundings carefully.

In this thick, un-dispersable mist, besides the occasionally flashing ghost shadows, where were there any luminous objects?

Everywhere was dead silent, and even the calls of Night Owls had vanished, so quiet that it made one's heart creeped out.

Just at this moment, a rustling movement broke the dead-silent atmosphere.

Several looming human figures appeared in the mist like ghosts.

Moreover, they seemed to be drifting toward them rapidly, and their numbers were growing increasingly large.

Lin Chuqiao's heart tightened as she immediately lowered her voice to remind them:

"Bailing, Dachui, get ready for battle. Those ghost shadows seem to be approaching our side!"

The three of them quickly went back-to-back, forming a defensive Formation, staring intently at their surroundings.

When those figures walked closer and the mist dispersed slightly, Lin Chuqiao was shocked to realize that the other party was actually a group of living people.

But before they could start communicating, upon seeing Lin Chuqiao's group, those people wore faces full of terror, as if they had seen the most horrifying sight in the world, and shouted at the top of their lungs:

"Run quickly, those ghost shadows eat people!"

Lin Chuqiao's heart started with a shock as she subconsciously raised her eyes to look.

She saw that behind them, at some unknown point, certain extremely eerie shadows had quietly emerged.

Some had hunched figures, resembling elderly people on the verge of death; others were slender and distorted, like monsters wantonly pulled and reshaped by evil magic.

These shadows had vague postures, and their faces were not very distinct, resembling evil ghosts crawling out from the eighteenth level of Hell, choosing people to devour.

Just a glance from afar was enough to feel an eerie aura that made one's spine chill and consciousness tremble.

What was even more terrifying was that behind these ghoul-like shadows, there was an even denser black fog rolling in with the force of a landslide, as if it wanted to swallow everything in the world into endless darkness.

Shrouded by fear, the crowd fled in all directions in panic.

Lin Chuqiao, Bailing, and Dachui did not hesitate and also joined the large fleeing party.

The panicked footsteps and terrified shouts intertwined, making the already spine-chilling atmosphere feel as desperate as the arrival of doomsday.

The few unlucky fellows running at the very back seemed to be grabbed by cold tentacles stretching out from the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, they fell into the encirclement of ghost shadows, and then, accompanied by a short and shrill scream, they were ruthlessly swallowed by the wave of black fog, disappearing completely.

These treasure hunters who usually stirred up wind and clouds and possessed special abilities were completely powerless in the face of this unknown eerie phenomenon, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Listening to the bursts of screams coming from behind their heads, the crowd did not dare to stop their footsteps in the slightest.

As long as they were a beat slower, their lives would be claimed by evil ghosts, dragging them into the endless abyss of darkness.

Until that wave of black fog that seemed to swallow heaven and earth suddenly stopped without warning, only then did they dare to stop their footsteps, resting in place while panting heavily.

Lin Chuqiao truly couldn't run anymore at this point, supporting her knees with both hands while her chest heaved violently and erratically.

Panting hurriedly, she swept her gaze around and found that the accompanying team had about half fewer people than before.

Some seemed to have gotten lost in panic during the escape, losing themselves in the boundless, misty forest.

Others were unfortunately swallowed by the black fog wave, becoming sacrifices of this eerie place.

Fortunately, Bailing and Dachui were still by her side, which made Lin Chuqiao feel a bit more at ease.

Resting for a moment, she fixed her gaze on the area behind her that had become calm and tranquil.

Those eerie shadows lurked within the black fog, looming and baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, yet they no longer pressed forward, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.

Meanwhile, the other side, also shrouded in mist, was visibly darker and more chaotic, resembling a bottomless black hole exuding a dangerous aura.

The two sides were distinctly separated, like forming a poison circle that no one dared to cross, trapping the crowd and the ghost shadows on opposite sides.