109: Chapter 19 Ghostly Encounters

"What's going on?"

"We've clearly been flying on our swords for a long time, so how did we end up back at the entrance of Tianji Village?"

"Could we have lost our way?"

...

The disciples of the Xuantian Sect looked at each other and whispered, their voices tinged with unconcealable panic.

A thick mist, like a gray veil, shrouded the fields, blurring the distant mountains and nearby trees into hazy shadows.

Even the wind seemed to have stagnated in this eerie mist, and the air was filled with a damp and heavy atmosphere.

"Ghost Wall?" Chen Zilong frowned slightly and muttered to himself.

His face appeared exceptionally calm in the mist, with only a flicker of barely perceptible gravity passing through his deep eyes.

Before he could finish his sentence, a delicate figure with a faint fragrance threw herself into his arms.

Tu Shan Xiaoxiao looked up with a face as exquisite as a porcelain doll, her eyes like autumn waters shimmering with a pitiful light.

Her small nose was slightly red, and her soft, sweet voice trembled:

"Senior Brother, Xiaoxiao is scared..."

As she spoke, she seemed to intentionally or unintentionally press her slender body closer to Chen Zilong.

Her full and soft chest pressed completely against his arm, a clear and warm sensation coming through the fabric.

This sudden soft contact brought Chen Zilong, who was lost in thought, back to his senses.

His body stiffened almost imperceptibly as he looked down at the naturally seductive girl in his arms, his tone a mix of helplessness and realization:

"Mhm... I really can't tell if you're truly scared or doing this on purpose."

"Little girl,"

Ye Xishui's clear voice rang out as she reached out a slender, jade-like finger and lightly tapped Tu Shan Xiaoxiao's forehead. "Stay away from your Senior Brother. Can't you see he's thinking of a solution?"

She stood as upright as an orchid, her white robes seemingly emitting a faint glow in the gray mist.

Her stunning face was calm and quiet, like carved ice or jade; only when she looked at Tu Shan Xiaoxiao did a faint trace of annoyance flash through her star-like eyes.

Tu Shan Xiaoxiao let out a soft snort, and instead of letting go, she held Chen Zilong's arm even tighter.

She even rubbed against him coquettishly, her red lips pouting slightly in a "I won't" manner.

Lu Bingyun, standing a bit further away, took in the whole scene.

She shook her head gently, her cold and elegant face showing no expression.

Only in her beautiful eyes, which seemed to contain frozen ice, did a faint trace of helplessness flicker.

Her aura was as cold as a solitary lotus on a snowy peak, and standing there silently, she was a scene in herself.

Just then, another female voice, tinged with charm and surprise, came from the mist:

"Oh? Aren't these the fellow Daoists from the Xuantian Sect?"

Chen Zilong looked toward the sound and saw a group of cultivators in vibrant attire slowly emerging from the thick fog; they were the disciples of the Hehuan Sect.

The leading female disciple was beautiful, with a natural charm in her eyes.

Chen Zilong stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting, his posture composed:

"Fellow Daoist, you also..."

Before he could finish, the members of the Hehuan Sect showed bitter smiles and nodded in acknowledgment.

No words were needed; they had clearly encountered the same predicament as the Xuantian Sect.

Lu Bingyun gracefully stepped forward a few paces, her hem moving slightly and bringing a light breeze.

She looked at Chen Zilong, her voice as clear as a spring hitting jade:

"Junior Brother Chen, my divine sense cannot penetrate this thick mist. Your divine sense is far superior to mine; why don't you give it a try?"

Chen Zilong nodded in agreement:

"That is only right."

He held his breath and focused. In an instant, a majestic power of divine sense surged out from his Sea of Consciousness.

A divine sense at the Nascent Soul Realm was already powerful enough to turn the ethereal into reality. A faint clear light rose around him, and in the blink of an eye, he condensed four exceptionally agile green birds from his divine sense.

The birds looked as if they were carved from green jade, their eyes sparkling with spiritual light.

They let out a series of clear chirps and then turned into four streaks of green light, darting toward the east, west, south, and north.

They instantly vanished into the boundless thick fog.

Everyone held their breath and waited as time slowly passed in silence.

Half an hour later, the four streaks of green light actually returned, reconverging in front of Chen Zilong. After flickering a few times, they dissipated into nothingness.

"How is the situation?" Lu Bingyun frowned slightly and asked in confusion.

A bit of puzzlement appeared on her cold face, her icy eyes filled with inquiry.

Chen Zilong's expression was solemn as he slowly explained:

"I extended my divine sense to its limit just now and carefully investigated the places it passed."

"However, there was nothing but boundless thick fog all around."

"It wasn't until my divine sense perceived figures ahead that I realized I had returned to the starting point."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and said with certainty, "We've encountered a 'Ghost Wall'."

"Ghost Wall?"

Ye Xishui repeated softly, her stunning face showing a hint of confusion as her crescent-moon eyebrows arched slightly. "What does that mean?"

Chen Zilong explained further:

"A so-called 'Ghost Wall' is actually a phenomenon of illusory movement where one ends up circling in place due to a complete loss of direction in poor visibility or complex environments."

"It's not necessarily the work of ghosts or monsters; it's more like being caught in a trap."

Ye Xishui was thoughtful and asked further:

"Then how do we break this situation?"

Her clear gaze fell on Chen Zilong, filled with trust and expectation.

Chen Zilong pondered for a moment and replied:

"There are many factors that can cause a 'Ghost Wall'."

"It could be a strong psychological suggestion affecting our judgment, or we could have unwittingly fallen into some sophisticated illusory array, or it's even possible that a high-level cultivator is interfering with our Sea of Consciousness through special means."

His gaze became sharp as he continued his analysis:

"For now, we first need to figure out which factor has caused us to fall into this situation."

"Perhaps everything we see is an illusion, or perhaps we are trapped in an array similar to a 'Lost Track Formation'."

"Or maybe it's because of the changes in Tianji Village that our minds have been affected, leading to cognitive bias."

His voice was low and clear, reaching everyone's ears:

"But one thing is certain."

"No matter how we try to leave, the entrance to Tianji Village is always right before our eyes."

These words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up layers of ripples in everyone's hearts.

Despair, like a cold tide, quietly washed over their hearts.

Could it be...

That they had to return to that eerie village again?

Recalling how those two Golden Core Realm cultivators had died mysteriously and silently, a chill ran up their spines.

At this moment, countless doubts also swirled in Chen Zilong's mind.

Why would a seemingly ordinary mortal village hide such heart-stopping horror?

What was the origin of that monster with an unpredictable form that only appeared at night?

What puzzled him most was that since such a terrifying presence existed in the village, why were there still mortals living there?

How did those unarmed villagers resist the monster's attacks at night?

This Tianji Village was truly becoming more and more bizarre.

The thick fog remained, shrouding all secrets in a blur.

Only the outline of the village entrance was faintly visible in the gray mist.

Like a silent, giant maw, it waited for lost souls to walk into its trap...

...