Mist Death Valley

Although the Golden-Haired Pig had been taken down by Zhou Heng and the others, most of the spoils had to be brought back to the sect. Still, no one would complain if they kept a little to eat.

Zhou Heng and the others built a fire and roasted one of the pig's legs.

It was a powerful tonic, and if they took it back to the sect, they wouldn't get any of it. Naturally, they wanted a taste while they had the chance.

The pig's leg weighed over a hundred pounds, but Zhou Heng and the others were cultivators, each with an enormous appetite. In less than half an hour, the seven of them had polished it off.

No one wanted to waste such a fine meal. They all quickly sat cross-legged and circulated their cultivation techniques to absorb the benefits of the demonic beast meat.

Strengths and weaknesses only became clear through comparison. When Zhou Heng finished cultivating and stood up, the others were still working hard at their practice. Even Han Yulian and Qi Guangyao were no exception.

No wonder the cultivation technique that had brought down a Spirit Gathering Realm expert was so extraordinary!

Half an hour later, Qi Guangyao finally finished cultivating and stood up. Han Yulian followed five minutes later, and it was another twenty-odd minutes before the others gradually stopped.

That was the difference.

Zhou Heng had no intention of exposing the secret of the Moon Shadow Heart Art. He pretended to sit in meditation for a long time before finally getting up. There was no way anyone could tell whether he was faking it.

After their earlier battle, the five members of the team had grown much closer. Han Yulian was also so charming that she set the hearts of the hot-blooded young men aflutter. The only problem was that Qi Guangyao was so irritating, always pestering her without giving up.

The next day, the team continued hunting. They were lucky and found something to hunt almost every day.

Zhou Heng still paid no heed to teamwork, charging ahead on his own. But it wasn't a bad approach: the other four simply supported him, and they were invincible every time. Han Yulian was very displeased, but she had nothing to say.

Five days later, Han Yulian finally couldn't take any more of Qi Guangyao's pestering. She proposed splitting the team, with Qi Guangyao and herself each leading half the group to hunt separately.

Qi Guangyao had come under the pretext of helping Han Yulian. After she'd pinned that grand responsibility on him, he had no way to refuse and could only agree with a dark expression.

After discussing it, they decided Qi Guangyao would take two people, while Han Yulian would lead the other three.

No one wanted to go with the arrogant Qi Guangyao. With no other choice, they drew lots to decide, making Qi Guangyao's face turn green with rage.

In the end, Zhou Heng, Mao Xianzhi, and Lu Qing drew Han Yulian, while the other two unlucky fellows were stuck with Qi Guangyao.

The two groups agreed to meet again in five days and return to the Nine Spirits Sect together before going their separate ways. Seeing Qi Guangyao's livid face, Zhou Heng and the other two silently mourned the pair who'd drawn the short straw.

Although they were down two people, the efficiency of their hunts hardly changed as long as Zhou Heng was with them. Mao Xianzhi and Lu Qing admired him even more.

Three days later, they came to a mountain valley. They had barely gone any distance inside when the weather suddenly turned bizarre, and hail began to fall. Zhou Heng and the others had no choice but to stop and take shelter beneath a large boulder that jutted out from the ground.

Before long, the ground was covered in ice. Some of the hailstones were as big as half a palm, leaving them dumbfounded.

The temperature dropped sharply. Even though Zhou Heng and the other two were in the Bone Refining Realm, they shivered from the cold. Only Han Yulian, who had reached the Blood Refining Realm, had such vigorous qi and blood that neither heat nor cold could affect her. She was completely unfazed by the bitter chill.

The hail fell for over half an hour before finally stopping. By then, a sheet of ice covered everything outside.

"We've never been to this valley before. Since we're here, let's explore it!" Han Yulian quickly made up her mind.

The four ventured deeper and deeper into the gorge. Dense fog filled the place, and visibility kept getting worse. A gloomy wind seemed to whistle through the air. As they walked, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and a torrential rain began to fall!

This time, there was nowhere to hide. Darkness surrounded them on all sides, and they couldn't even see the path. Where could they possibly take shelter?

The rain had come suddenly, but it stopped just as abruptly, and soon the fog had returned. Yet less than ten minutes after the rain let up, a gale suddenly began to howl without end.

"What kind of place is this? Why is it so strange?"

The four couldn't hide their confusion. This place was strange beyond belief!

"Oh no. Could this be Mist Death Valley?" Han Yulian's pretty face suddenly paled.

"What's Mist Death Valley?" Zhou Heng asked.

"Mist Death Valley is a perilous place in the Heaven-Leveling Mountain Range. It's shrouded in mist year-round, and of every ten people who enter, nine never come back out! But the legends say the fog covers the entire valley. Why has it suddenly drawn back so far inside?" Han Yulian looked puzzled. Otherwise, she would never have brought Zhou Heng and the other two in.

How dangerous!

Zhou Heng furrowed his brow, while Mao Xianzhi and Lu Qing began to tremble.

"Turn back at once!" Han Yulian decided without hesitation.

The four retraced their steps, but after walking for a long time, they stopped dejectedly. They couldn't get out!

They hadn't gone far into the valley. By rights, they should have been able to leave after walking back for ten or fifteen minutes. The fact that they still hadn't gotten out was clearly abnormal.

Were they trapped in a ghostly maze?

How else could they fail to get out? This wasn't a labyrinth!

"It's the fog!" Zhou Heng suddenly said. "It's affecting our minds!"

The other three immediately understood. Mao Xianzhi said, "Then let's hold our breath!"

They did as he suggested, but it didn't work. Even a martial artist couldn't hold his breath long enough for them to escape the valley. Half an hour later, they were still wandering in circles.

It was already evening. With the fog already so thick, the surroundings had grown even darker, until they could scarcely see their hands in front of them.

"What do we do? Are we going to die trapped here?" Lu Qing's voice trembled. Hadn't Han Yulian told them that nine out of every ten people who entered never made it out?

"Let's rest first and eat something. We need to regain our strength. I'll definitely get you out of here!" Han Yulian said solemnly, though she wasn't even sure she believed it herself.

Zhou Heng sat cross-legged on the ground and tried to communicate with the Black Broken Sword in his dantian. It was a divine object; perhaps it could do something miraculous.

Humm!

A dozen or so minutes later, the Black Sword suddenly responded, releasing a wondrous, crystal-clear ripple.

Like a stone dropped into a still lake, the entire sea of fog suddenly churned into great waves, sending vast winds and clouds swirling.

"What's happening?"

"I don't want to die!"

Lu Qing and Mao Xianzhi cried out involuntarily. Mist Death Valley was notorious, and now this bizarre change was happening. How could they not be terrified?

Han Yulian was a little calmer, but she could hardly hide her panic. This was far beyond her understanding.

"Follow me!" Zhou Heng sprang to his feet. His eyes were astonishingly clear, and the fog could no longer block his vision.

The steadiness in his voice gave the other three courage. They were terrified, and having someone step forward naturally made them cling to him without thinking.

Zhou Heng strode ahead, with Han Yulian and the others following close behind. They had no confidence at all that Zhou Heng could lead them out. They were simply swept along by his confidence.

After walking about two li, the fog suddenly parted. Starlight spilled across the sky, and the world opened up before them.

They'd really made it out!

Mao Xianzhi and Lu Qing cheered. They threw their arms around each other, overcome with the joy of surviving a close brush with death.

"How did you do it?" Han Yulian found the young man in the Seventh Layer of Body Refining harder and harder to understand. Wait, hadn't this guy only reached the late stage of the Seventh Layer of Body Refining a few days ago? How had he already reached the peak? Had he eaten an immortal pill?

Only then did Mao Xianzhi and Lu Qing realize that Zhou Heng had led them out. They stared at him in astonishment. Who knew how many lives Mist Death Valley had claimed!

Zhou Heng smiled faintly. "Maybe my eyes are a little different from other people's. I can see things that others can't."

"G-ghosts?" Lu Qing stammered.

There were legends of people with yin-yang eyes who could see the spirits of the dead. Could Zhou Heng have been guided out of the gorge by those spirits?

At the thought, Han Yulian and the others shuddered involuntarily. The unknown was always the most frightening.

A mischievous urge struck Zhou Heng, and he solemnly nodded. Han Yulian's face turned pale, while Lu Qing and Mao Xianzhi clung to each other even tighter.

"You two wait here. I'm going in to take a look!" Zhou Heng had suddenly become interested in the valley.

"No!" Han Yulian immediately shook her head. "You got out once, but next time... those unclean things might not help you again!"

Unclean things?

Zhou Heng was taken aback before realizing she meant "ghosts." A smile appeared on his face. "It's fine. They're good friends of mine!"

Good friends with ghosts? No matter how you looked at it, that was creepy! Han Yulian and the others turned even paler.

"Then... I'll go in with you!" Han Yulian suddenly said.

"What?" Zhou Heng turned to look at her.

"I'm your team leader. I'm responsible for every one of your safety!"

"Aren't you afraid we won't make it out, Senior Sister Han?"

"Didn't you say you and... they were familiar?"

Zhou Heng was at a loss for words. Somehow, after all that, he'd talked himself into a corner too. He nodded. "All right!"

"Lu Qing, Mao Xianzhi, you two wait here for us!" Han Yulian called back to the two young men, who were still clinging to each other.

Lu Qing and Mao Xianzhi had no intention of going back into the gorge. They were afraid Han Yulian would ask them to come along, so when they heard her say that, they couldn't have been more relieved. They nodded eagerly.

Zhou Heng strode forward, and Han Yulian followed. But after just a few steps, she stopped and turned around.

Lu Qing and Mao Xianzhi feared she'd changed her mind and was about to make them go in with her. Instead, she said, "Have you two hugged each other enough?" Only then did they realize they were clinging to one another. They quickly let go, and a powerful wave of revulsion washed over them.

When they looked up again, Zhou Heng and Han Yulian had already vanished into the mist. The cold wind blew, and a chill rose in their hearts once more.