Encounter

"Have they run into trouble?" Li Qi looked at A'Du, seeking his opinion.

"Let's take a detour. No matter what's happening, don't get involved!" A'Du said at once. He had experience with this sort of thing; rashly jumping in was never a good idea, no matter what one encountered.

Li Qi nodded. Since they were capable of handling it, they should go around. The fewer troubles, the better. It would be best if they could avoid any unforeseen twists and turns.

Having made up their minds, the two traveling together decisively turned around and darted straight into the mountain forest from the path.

They could walk through the woods for a while, then return to the mountain road and circle around that area. That way, the danger would be drawn to the merchant caravan, and they could reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

But just as they were about to head into the forest, one of the merchants, a burly man, stepped out. "You two boys over there! Don't enter the mountains!"

Li Qi found the voice somewhat familiar. Looking up, he saw a familiar face.

It was the burly man from earlier that day, the one who had stood up intending to teach him a lesson.

After shouting that, the man said no more. Instead, he focused on swinging his woodcutter's blade and striking it against the others', calling out continuously.

Li Qi clearly saw that after the man made that move, the barrier's progress bar visibly sped up. In other words... its remaining duration had shortened considerably.

Under these circumstances... the other party was clearly risking danger to warn them!

"A'Du! Stop! Don't go into the forest!" Li Qi stopped at once as well, shouting loudly at A'Du!

But A'Du already had one foot in the mountains.

Li Qi's pupils contracted. He clearly saw a progress bar emerge from the darkness, bearing the words: "Attack."

Seeing the bar about to fill, he immediately sped up, seized A'Du's back basket, and yanked him back in one fierce pull!

But just as A'Du escaped danger, a huge, blood-red mouth reeking of blood and rot suddenly stretched out from the darkness of the forest. There was only a mouth, not even a head—as though the darkness itself had opened its jaws!

There was no time to sing now. But with a thought from Li Qi, his body abruptly swelled, his muscles writhed, and he clenched his fist before throwing a savage punch!

With a bang, the ground trembled. Li Qi felt his fist go numb, as if he had struck a rock.

Yet that giant mouth was smashed apart at once, turning into Black Mist that scattered through the air.

With that punch, the surrounding forest suddenly began to surge!

"Roar!" Faint beastly howls rose from the woods. The originally silent, deep darkness actually flowed like water, swirling black and murky, while rolling black vapor drifted through the forest. Li Qi finally understood, firsthand, what "demonic miasma" meant.

A'Du's face turned white with fright. He immediately began to sing, shouting, "The brilliant Seven Luminaries shine above!"

It actually helped somewhat. Li Qi could see the enhancement progress bar on A'Du's body, while the surrounding Black Mist was forced back a little.

As A'Du sang, his body began to glow faintly. Warm light spilled from his body, driving away the chill and forcing the Black Mist to retreat.

One look was enough for Li Qi to understand. The song the other party had taught him clearly needed to be used together with some cultivation technique. But such techniques could not possibly be taught to outsiders, so only A'Du could bring out the song's full power.

The Black Mist was driven back for a moment, but A'Du immediately turned and ran, charging toward where the people were gathered.

Seeing that, Li Qi fled at once as well.

What a joke. Anyone who did not run was an idiot. There was strength in numbers, and the blades over there were being struck with such force that it was obvious they worked!

Li Qi took three steps as two, and with his great strength, quickly raced over to the merchant caravan.

The caravan did not stop them. Instead, they actively moved closer to them, their blades clanging without pause, the sounds of weapons never ceasing.

A'Du scrambled over as well. The Yang Energy radiating from the faint light on his body, combined with the clashing weapons, suddenly created a mighty display. The surrounding Black Mist and demonic miasma were forced back, unable to advance.

Seeing this, Li Qi also began to sing loudly, chanting in that strange rhythm: "The brilliant Seven Luminaries shine above; valiant warriors, how mighty, how grand!"

The Ox-Strength Technique filled him with abundant qi and blood. Stirred by the song, steaming heat burst from his body and rushed toward everyone like a blast from an air conditioner. His skin, already flushed red from the Ox-Strength Technique, became even more like red copper—not merely crimson, but carrying a metallic sheen.

The Yang Energy erupting from Li Qi was actually even more robust than A'Du's, despite A'Du having the matching cultivation technique!

With Li Qi and A'Du joining them, the people of the merchant caravan all showed delight. It seemed that they might actually make it safely through the night.

The group worked with perfect tacit understanding. Though they could not communicate with one another because they were constantly singing and shouting, both sides knew what they had to do. They knew that even if they left now, they would not get far. Their main goal was to endure until dawn, until the sunlight appeared.

This Black Mist could be dispersed by Yang Energy. The Yang Energy in sunlight was tens of millions of times richer than what human bodies possessed. Once day broke, it would surely disperse the Black Mist completely.

So the group formed a circle. They did not dare rest for even a moment. The woodcutters' blades in their hands and the chants and songs in their mouths could not stop for even half an instant. Their arms ached, their mouths went slack, and their throats burned, yet they did not even have time for a sip of water.

At first, Li Qi could rely on the Ox-Strength Technique to erupt with a great amount of Yang Energy. But once ten minutes had passed and the technique's duration ended, he became the most useless one instead. He could only rely on his strong body and good endurance to take over when the others were exhausted.

And so, the group endured for an entire Chen in the black night.

Judging by the moon, it was still the hour of Zi. Dawn was still a long way off.

Weapons clanged, Yang Energy boiled, and the Black Mist could not advance even an inch.

But the Black Mist seemed to have locked horns with this group. It refused to leave no matter what, circling and howling around them as though determined to wait until they all died of exhaustion.

After singing for a Chen, Li Qi frowned and simply stopped. He was the most useless one anyway; not singing would not affect the overall situation too much.

He stopped, but did not rest. Instead, he stood beside A'Du and said to everyone, "This can't go on. We won't last until tomorrow. Once we're all exhausted, that'll be our day of death."

As he spoke, he swept his gaze over the others. After only a Chen, sweat was already beading across A'Du's forehead. His voice had not yet turned hoarse, but it was clearly weak and lacking strength.

Striking the woodcutters' blades against one another was even more physically demanding. Some of the weaker members of the merchant caravan were already drenched in sweat and panting heavily. They might be able to force themselves on for another two Chen, but if this continued, they would definitely collapse to the ground from exhaustion.

As Li Qi spoke, everyone looked toward him, though their hands never stopped working. Clearly, they all understood the situation, but they did not know how to change it.

After all, if they stopped, their lives would be in danger.

"Listen to me, everyone. I have an idea," Li Qi told them.