Missing Thoughts Literature

Chapter 28: Straying into the Gray Forbidden Zone, Encountering Li Qiang (Page 1/2)

As the Spirit Sword entered the mist-filled forbidden zone, the swarm of cockroaches chasing behind it abruptly stopped. They circled the perimeter of the mist reluctantly, but ultimately dared not step inside, leaving with regret.

"Senior Sister, are you there?"

Within the mist, Yun Luo's voice tightened. As they neared the gray area, the Spirit Sword suddenly lost control, throwing the four of them off. Now, she didn't know where Qin Mushuang and the others were.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The mist was all miasma. Her throat hurt from inhaling too much. She quickly took out a Spirit Cleansing Pill and swallowed it, suppressing the miasma's erosion.

"Senior Sister, where are you?"

As she called out, she took out a Jade Slip, only to find that it was practically useless here, like a brick. Her compass also failed to function. Fearing she might trigger a formation, she shouted in place for a quarter of an hour, but no one responded.

Yun Luo took a bite of a spirit fruit, feeling a bit dejected. Despite all her precautions, she had still stumbled into the forbidden zone. She wondered how her Senior Sisters were doing.

"Forget it, I should think about how to escape."

She took out the map of the Gui Xu Secret Realm and deduced her location within the forbidden zone based on her entry point. After entering the secret realm, they had fallen, so logically, they should be on the edge of the forbidden zone.

Not wanting to wait for death, Yun Luo patted her butt and stood up, tentatively taking a step forward. One, two, three... No formation fluctuations. She breathed a sigh of relief, tied a red rope to a nearby tree trunk, and picked up a few stones, throwing them towards where she intended to go. After confirming the stones were fine, she stepped over.

An hour later.

Seeing the red rope on the tree trunk, Yun Luo gave a wry smile. She had been walking forward, yet she had returned to her original spot. She had already fallen into a formation. However, she didn't panic. Any formation must operate according to a pattern; by reversing its rules and disrupting the spiritual energy circulation, it could be broken.

There were two types of "ghost wall" illusions: one was an illusionary technique, and the other was spatial. Illusionary techniques required a firm will, while spatial ones required a certain skill. Clearly, Yun Luo had encountered a spatial formation. She happened to know how to break it with the Reverse Nine Steps technique.

She closed her eyes, concentrated, and sealed her five senses, using her spiritual sense to perceive the flow of spiritual energy. Then, she stepped out with her left foot towards the rear left. Her feet landed in sequence at specific intervals in the positions of Gan, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Zhong, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui. When her last step landed, she sensed a rift in the formation and unhesitatingly rushed through the gap.

"Ouch, damn it!"

The moment she broke out of the illusionary formation, Yun Luo hadn't even opened her eyes when she slammed into a wall of flesh. The other party seemed not to expect anyone else here and was knocked to the ground by her. Yun Luo opened her eyes to find herself straddling him. Before she could feel embarrassed, her eyes lit up. Wasn't that Li Qiang?

"Fellow Daoist Li?" She was overjoyed. He might be ugly, but he was powerful.

Pei Yanqing coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breath faint: "Fellow Daoist Yun, could you please get off?"

"You're injured? Sorry, sorry." Yun Luo got up with a look of apology.

So you're injured, no wonder you fell with just one push.

She quickly helped him up and found a gash on his waist, bleeding profusely. It looked like a scratch from a demon beast.

She took out a bottle of healing and hemostatic pills from her Qiankun Pouch, uncorked it, and offered it to him.

"This is a hemostatic pill, take it quickly."

Pei Yanqing smelled the clear, crisp scent of the pill. Without hesitation, he took it, swallowed it, and then circulated his spiritual energy to refine the medicinal properties.

A moment later, the bleeding on his waist stopped, his chaotic spiritual energy stabilized, and his complexion returned to normal.

Chapter 28: Trespassing into the Gray Forbidden Zone, Encountering Li Qiang (2/2)

He cupped his hands respectfully:

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Yun. I'll pay you the price for the pills when we get out."

Yun Luo waved her hand.

It was hard enough to meet an acquaintance in the forbidden zone. If he could lead her out, what was a bottle of pills?

"Fellow Daoist Li, why are you here? Do you know how to get out?"

Pei Yanqing was silent for a long time before saying:

"How did you get in?"

He remembered that before the secret realm opened, the elders of the Heavenly Deduction Sect had repeatedly warned them not to approach the forbidden zone.

Speaking of this, Yun Luo's face filled with sadness.

"I was chased in by a swarm of cockroaches, along with my Senior Sister and the others. I don't know where they are now."

"Can you help me find them? If not, even escorting me out would be fine. I'll give you a reward."

As long as she could get out, she could contact Elder Qingheng and have the sect members come to rescue her Senior Sister and the others.

Pei Yanqing had already found what he was looking for in the mist and was preparing to leave.

"No need for a reward. However, this mist also suppresses cultivation, but the demon beasts within are not restricted. I can only try to lead you out."

Yun Luo was already very satisfied and nodded quickly.

"Then thank you, Fellow Daoist."

Pei Yanqing sat quietly for a moment before getting up. Yun Luo accidentally saw his blood-stained waist through the tear in his clothes.

His muscles were firm, well-defined, and quite fair.

But thinking of his face, Yun Luo didn't look any further.

She only had three requirements for men.

Handsome, handsome, and handsome.

After setting off, Yun Luo followed closely behind Pei Yanqing, her footsteps perfectly matching the places he stepped.

After walking for half a day, they were still in the mist.

It seemed she had misjudged earlier; she wasn't at the edge of the Gray Forbidden Zone.

Fortunately, Li Qiang's spiritual sense seemed very strong, able to accurately bypass formations.

Even if he couldn't bypass them, he could quickly break them.

She couldn't help but wonder what his cultivation level was.

Were all cultivators from the Upper Three Sects this powerful?

"Let's rest for a bit."

Halfway through, Pei Yanqing suggested resting. Yun Luo sat down on the ground and poured a bottle of Spirit Returning Pills into her mouth.

This half-day wasn't just simple travel. Every step required spiritual energy if they encountered formations.

Her spiritual energy had just been depleted.

Feeling a bit hungry, she took out a honey-roasted chicken and tore half of it, handing it to Pei Yanqing.

"Fellow Daoist Li, fill your stomach."

Pei Yanqing was stunned. Since cultivating to the point of abstaining from grains, he hadn't eaten anything except for occasional sips of spiritual tea.

He had almost forgotten what food tasted like.

"Thank you."

Seeing her eat with such enjoyment, he couldn't bear to refuse. He took the roasted chicken and began to eat.

Thinking that she still had to rescue her Senior Sister and the others, Yun Luo ate quickly, finishing half the roasted chicken in a few bites.

"Fellow Daoist Li, let's keep going."

Pei Yanqing threw away the chicken bone and continued to walk ahead.

After walking for about another hour, Yun Luo suddenly smelled a foul, fishy odor in the air, and the atmosphere suddenly turned chilling.

Pei Yanqing stopped in time, unsheathed his spirit sword, and moved two steps closer to Yun Luo.

A chilling hiss echoed through the air.

Hearing the sound, Yun Luo's scalp tingled. She looked up and saw a pair of vertical pupils, as large as lanterns and glowing with a faint green light, appear behind the man.

It was a giant python, as thick as a water bucket and about thirty feet long.

Almost instantly, a snake tongue as thick as an arm whipped towards them.

Yun Luo rolled to the side at top speed, simultaneously drawing an oil-paper umbrella from her Qiankun Pouch.

Pei Yanqing pulled her along, but the snake tongue still grazed the umbrella's surface, instantly cracking its ribs.

Her heart leaped. This umbrella could withstand a full-power blow from an early Nascent Soul cultivator, yet it cracked after just one sweep.