The passage was narrow to begin with, and with so many people approaching from the other side, there was no way to avoid them.
Since he could not avoid them, he had to greet them first, lest they mistake him for someone lying in ambush.
Chen Lin hesitated for a moment, then immediately called out, "I am Chen Shuangmu of Guyuan City. Where do the fellow Daoists ahead hail from?"
With that, he took out the Luminous Pearl.
Clatter!
The footsteps ahead abruptly stopped.
In a place like this, everyone was highly vigilant.
"So you are a fellow Daoist from Guyuan City. Are you from the Qingyun Sect or the Mount-Relying Sect?"
It was still that same man's deep voice.
After some thought, Chen Lin decided against impersonating a disciple of either major faction. There seemed to be quite a few cultivators in these underground passages. If he ran into their real disciples, he would never be able to explain himself.
"I belong to neither sect. I am merely a rogue cultivator. Are you gentlemen not from Guyuan City?"
The man's voice sounded again. "So it is Fellow Daoist Chen. We are all rogue cultivators from Pingyang City. Since we are all rogue cultivators, why not team up? Those red heretical entities are everywhere in this underground space. With more people, we can watch out for one another."
So they were rogue cultivators from Pingyang City.
Chen Lin was somewhat tempted. He had trouble hanging over him right now, and blending into a group would conceal him better than acting alone.
But after some thought, he declined. "There is no need to team up. I still have companions in the passage beside this one, and I need to find them. I will not trouble you any further."
With that, he