Seizing the Initiative

The moment Zhang Tie flashed backward, the surrounding marshland suddenly trembled violently.

Immediately afterward, dozens of thick wooden spikes burst from the ground like spears with overwhelming force. Their sharp tips gleamed with chilling light as they whistled past Zhang Tie's clothes by a hair's breadth.

The two narrowly evaded the fierce attack at that critical moment.

Yet before they could even catch their breath, a massive dark-green net descended upon them with a howling wind, like dark clouds pressing down from above.

The net covered a vast area, its edges hidden within the swamp mist. It completely shrouded the path ahead, airtight as a net cast over heaven and earth, leaving them nowhere to escape.

Zhang Tie's heart sank as he realized that the two of them had fallen into an ambush.

Thinking back on the strange occurrences along the way, he understood that this was undoubtedly a carefully planned trap, each step linked to the next.

They were in a swamp filled with poisonous fog. The dense miasma was like an invisible barrier, heavily suppressing their divine sense. That was precisely why their enemies had been able to lie in wait without making a sound and evade his detection.

He sighed inwardly, knowing the situation had become critical.

Then his lips moved slightly as he softly uttered a single word: "Shift."

That one word seemed to contain some mysterious power.

Just as the net was about to fall and trap them completely, ripples suddenly spread through the surrounding space, as though a massive stone had been thrown into a tranquil lake.

Amid the flickering spatial distortions, their bodies abruptly turned illusory like morning bubbles before vanishing from where they stood.

"What is going on? Doesn't Fellow Daoist Zhong intend to explain himself?" As the words fell, a young