The world's self-repair

The return journey was easier than the trip out.

All eighteen of them were elites with dual elements at the intermediate level. They had suffered a bit of a scare, but they were still in good physical shape and had barely used any magic energy.

In just three days, they covered half the distance they had traveled on the way there.

At this rate, they would reach the edge of the Sub-Safe Zone in another three days.

All that remained after that was roughly sixty kilometers through the Sub-Safe Zone, which would only take them a day.

They could return to the Safe Zone in four more days. That was quite fast.

Lu Zhenghe had already woken up. Whether he was angry or something else, he had barely spoken since waking, wearing such a sour expression that anyone who didn't know better would have thought they owed him five million.

Zhou Sining couldn't be bothered with that idiot. His mind was occupied entirely with where Lu Nian might be.

He still remembered that, in the original novel, they had only encountered Lu Nian on the morning after dealing with the Bewitching Demon Spider.

In other words, Lu Nian and his men had arrived in Jinlin City roughly two or three days after the team entered it.

They had now been on their return journey for three days, so Lu Nian should have only just reached Jinlin City.

If things followed their normal course, Lu Nian would search for them first. Only after discovering they were gone would he realize they had headed back and give chase.

That should buy the entire team at least a day or two.

If they picked up their pace from here, they might make it back to the Safe Zone before Lu Nian caught them.