Leaving the City (Seeking Support)

The sky was dim.

Fang Xi raised his head and narrowed his eyes.

Ever since Black Stone City had fallen into the Demon Domain, no one in the entire city had seen the sun again.

During the day in the Outer World, the city was like a cloudy day, with a little light.

When night fell in the Outer World, the entire city sank into darkness so deep it seemed bottomless.

Outside the city gates.

Fang Xi stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze returning to the layer of Black Mist that separated the inside from the outside.

Beside him was the White Cloud Martial Arts School's convoy.

Tang Xuan pushed a handcart. Madam Bai sat atop it, her features breathtakingly alluring, though she was now gazing sorrowfully at the layer of Black Mist. There were also quite a few supplies beside her.

Liu Taotao, Mu Piaomiao, and the others carried bundles on their backs, all looking worried.

Even Zhang Junming was there, along with several homeless children.

"We've tried this Black Mist. No matter how we walk outward, we eventually return to where we started... Even if we dig tunnels, the Black Mist is underground too!"

Master Mu sighed and asked, "When are we leaving?"

"When the people arrive!"

Fang Xi waited in silence.

After roughly the time it took two incense sticks to burn, another group arrived.

It was a convoy of several dozen people, surrounding two carriages in the middle.

The curtain of the carriage at the front was lifted, revealing a Meat Mountain. It was Fatty Han himself. "Haha... Brother Fang... Once I received your message, Old Han immediately brought all his possessions to join you!"

Fang Xi looked at the two carriages, especially at the glossy, well-fed horses, and felt speechless.

At a time when people in the city were constantly starving to death, being able to feed livestock until they were this plump and robust was truly a little too inhuman!

Where the hell did this guy get his food... Oh, right, it was me. Then never mind!

He shook his head and looked at the people following him. His voice gradually grew solemn. "I only have one talisman. We have only one chance. When the passage appears later, seize it yourselves!"

Fang Xi came before the Black Mist and took out the Forbidden Breaking Talisman.

At that moment, the giant tree in the city seemed to sense something. Countless leaves rustled and trembled.

"Awooo!"

A Yao Wolf whose entire body was wrapped in vines threw back its head and howled. It spread its four legs and charged over.

Not only that, but in the central area of the city, there was also a giant python with half its body severed, a huge ape larger than a house...

These Demon Servants, who usually guarded the main body of the Yao Mo Tree, actually seemed poised to pour out in force!

It's panicking. It's panicking!

The corners of Fang Xi's lips lifted slightly. This scene instead strengthened his confidence. "Go!"

With his spiritual power poured into it, the Forbidden Breaking Talisman shot out. Countless silver threads burst from the talisman, twisting as they plunged into the Black Mist.

Whoosh!

The Black Mist churned violently, then a passage emerged.

Vaguely, one could see the blurred scenery of the Outer World, along with wisps of sunlight!

That was the radiance of hope!

"Go!"

Seeing this, Fang Xi gave Black Stone City one last look. He saw that the Yao Wolf had already reached the outer district, yet merely smiled calmly. Carrying Bai He, he transformed into a streak of lightning and swiftly swept into the passage.

"Follow him!"

Master Mu had just wanted to bring her daughter along when she discovered that someone was even faster!

It was Fatty Han!

Although he looked like a Meatball, his movement technique was astonishingly nimble. Like a ball, he rolled into the passage second, with an air of taking his rightful place.

"Go, go!"

Watching the passage gradually blur, seemingly on the verge of vanishing, Zhang Junming came to his senses as if from a dream. He carried Gou'er in one hand and Little Yun in the other, with another child on his back. His figure flashed repeatedly as he charged into the passage.

Inside the passage, everything felt utterly chaotic.

Time and space both seemed to have twisted.

But Fang Xi's expression was resolute as he continued forward.

Suddenly!

Intense sunlight poured down. Ahead, a broken official road appeared, with green mountains and farmland not far away... Everything suddenly opened up before them.

The Black Stone City behind them had long since vanished. In its place was a mass of Black Mist, like a huge black bowl inverted over the earth.

"We... made it out?"

Bai He raised her head and gazed at the blue sky and white clouds. Tears immediately streamed down her face.

It was not only from excitement. Her eyes had also been hurt.

After surviving for so long in a dim environment, suddenly coming into contact with sunlight could cause a condition of photophobia.

After Fang Xi came Fatty Han, whose movement was as round as a ball, followed by Zhang Junming, Master Mu...

A great stream of people poured out. Gazing at the green mountains and clear waters outside, they all wept bitterly. "We survived... We survived!"

At that moment, even Master Mu and Zhang Junming felt as though they had survived a great calamity.

While they were sighing with emotion, someone suddenly shouted, "Oh no... The passage is blocked!"

When people were fighting for their lives and squeezing through a single passage, blocking it and being unable to get out was a common occurrence.

"No, the passage is closing!"

Master Mu stared at the passage above the Black Mist as it continued to shrink. She was equally flustered and looked toward Fang Xi.

"The talisman's power is about to run out... I don't have a second one either."

Fang Xi shook his head.

It seemed that a first-order Forbidden Breaking Talisman could only temporarily open a passage through the Demon Domain, and the duration was not very long.

To completely break through the Yao Mo Tree's Demon Domain, I need at least a second-order Forbidden Breaking Talisman—and I have to do it before it advances!

An idea suddenly surfaced in Fang Xi's mind, and he immediately shook his head with a wry laugh.

Without reaching Foundation Establishment, why would he go after the Yao Mo Tree unless he had nothing better to do?

At that moment, the passage within the Black Mist finally began to close.

The last person to come out was Tang Xuan of the White Cloud Martial Arts School!

He stopped the handcart and looked around, suddenly seeming somewhat lost. "Junior Sister Liu Taotao... She's still back there. She even pushed me out... What will happen to her?"

If not for Liu Taotao, he had been pushing the handcart with someone on it and would never have been able to squeeze out!

"Life and death are decreed by fate!"

Fang Xi sighed and turned to leave.

This place was still too close to the Yao Mo Tree. If the demon reacted, expanded its Demon Domain, and spread it here, things would become truly troublesome.

Seeing him leave, the other survivors seemed to have found their backbone and hurried after Fang Xi.

They also wanted to get as far away from this Demon Cave as possible!

Night fell.

Fang Xi roasted two pieces of Taisui Meat and was eating them one bite at a time.

He had a huge appetite now and could barely fill his stomach with anything other than special demon meat.

At the other bonfires, everyone else was gnawing on the roasted meat they had hunted as though they had been driven mad by hunger.

Even Mu Piaomiao had completely abandoned any ladylike demeanor. She wrestled with a roasted rabbit in her hands, biting straight through the bones and gnawing so loudly that they crackled!

Master Mu had at least managed to preserve some table manners. After finishing the roasted meat, she wiped the grease from the corners of her mouth and looked at Fang Xi. "Where shall we go next?"

"Do you have any suggestions, Master Mu?"

Fang Xi countered. He was genuinely unfamiliar with Daliang.

By now, he could only determine that Black Stone City lay within Dingzhou.

As for the mountains and rivers, geography, local customs, and people, he had truly only heard of them and had never seen them.

"Hmm. Black Stone City is finished. Now that demons are running rampant and the people are suffering... perhaps only the Dingzhou capital, Sanyuan City, could still be considered relatively stable."

Master Mu offered her suggestion. "The Dingzhou Army guards Sanyuan City, and Yuan He Mountain's main sect is located nearby... It has remained peaceful for over a hundred years."

"By the sound of it, that does seem like a good, peaceful place to go."

Fang Xi did not care where they went.

However, he did not necessarily have to travel with these people.

After all, one had to guard against others.

He claimed that the spiritual pills and talismans he used to deal with demons had all been purchased, and that was indeed the truth. But what if someone did not believe him?

What if someone reported him to the government or Yuan He Mountain?

Therefore, Fang Xi had already decided that once they reached the outskirts of Sanyuan City, he would part ways with this group.

"Haha, Brother Fang, you're going to Sanyuan City?"

A Meat Mountain rolled over from not far away. It was Fatty Han himself!

Fang Xi could not help admiring this man. Not only had he successfully escaped, but thanks to the carriages, his entire household of concubines had also come out intact.

Fatty Han said, "Old Han may not be a local tyrant in Sanyuan City, but I do have a few channels there. Brother, you saved me from fire and water today. Just come to Old Han in the future—there's nothing Old Han won't do!"

"Mm!"

Although they had traded several times and Fang Xi was certain that the other man was reasonably trustworthy, he still did not completely believe him and merely brushed the matter aside.

The next morning.

The survivors dispersed in twos and threes, and Zhang Junming also came to bid farewell.

Zhang Junming clasped his fists. "Thank you, Brother Fang, for saving my life. But I won't be going to Sanyuan City. Among these children, only Little Yun still has relatives. I have to take her to seek refuge with them! The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow forever. Until we meet again!"

"Until we meet again!"

Fang Xi clasped his fists in farewell.

After Zhang Junming led the group of little demons away, only the White Cloud Martial Arts School and Fatty Han's two groups remained.

"Hehe... I can lend you a carriage. You can return it once we reach a place with people ahead."

Fatty Han waved his hand with extraordinary generosity.

The countless riches of gold and silver in Black Stone City had become no different from bricks and dirt during the later stages of the Demon Domain. Anyone with a little initiative could make a fortune.

Still, a carriage was genuinely useful at a time like this, so Fang Xi did not refuse. He arranged for Bai He and some of the women, such as Tang Xuan's lover, to ride in it.

The group slowly set off.

They had walked for less than half an hour when Fang Xi raised his hand. "Stop!"

"What happened?"

Master Mu and Fatty Han immediately hurried over, their expressions wary.

"There's something going on."

Fang Xi closed his eyes. With his enhanced hearing, he faintly heard cries coming from behind.

"Help... Is anyone there..."

"Behind us!"

Fang Xi used his movement technique and vanished in an instant, sweeping toward the rear.

Master Mu and Fatty Han exchanged a glance before following in confusion.

After they rounded a hill, they too heard a boy's voice.

"Great Hero Master Mu... Big Brother Fang... Help me... Sob..."

"That seems to be the child who followed Zhang Junming, called A-Gou—no, Gou'er." Fatty Han stroked his chin, feeling somewhat shaken.

Fang Xi's hearing was not only clearly superior to his own, but far beyond it!

To make an enemy of someone with such keen senses would inevitably be extremely dangerous and terrifying.

Fortunately, they were not enemies, but friends!