Separated
Nie Li spoke first, his voice low and his tone no different from usual. "You've heard about the Spiritual Origin Fruit, too."
Shen Fei hummed in agreement.
Nie Li turned his gaze from the ground and glanced at Shen Fei: "The seventh level will open in a day. Once inside, take the Spiritual Origin Fruit if you can. Don't force it if you can't. The selection test is a rule set by the ruler of the Nether Domain. He will choose people from inside and won't let everyone make it to the end smoothly. The Spiritual Origin Fruit are an extra; it's best to have them, but not having them won't affect the main storyline."
After listening, Shen Fei nodded without saying anything more. He glanced at the circular plaza deep in the camp, where the dark red ore at the top of the stone pillars was still quietly glowing.
One day later, the seventh level of the Nine-Layered Deathlands opened, and the selection test for the ruler of the Nether Domain officially began.
Luo Xiaoyao finished arranging the tents, Nie Li had found out about the Spiritual Origin Fruit, Duan Jian had recovered to about 70-80%, and Lu Piao and Du Ze were also recovering.
Everyone in the team knew what they were going to face next; no one asked questions, and no one complained.
A breeze blew in from the perimeter of the camp, carrying the dry, sulfurous scent from deep underground, causing the edges of the tents to flutter slightly.
Shen Fei stood beside Nie Li, his gaze shifting from the plaza to the densely packed tents in the distance. The people living in those tents, like him, were all waiting for the door to open the next day.
At the edge of the Nine-Layered Deathlands, the air was filled with a suffocating smell of sulfur and dry dust.
Dark red rock layers stretched out beneath our feet, with faint flames occasionally emanating from the cracks, as if a slow fire was still burning deep within this land.
There was no vegetation around, only bare rocks and sand, and the harsh environment made one instinctively feel depressed.
Shen Fei, Xiao Ning'er, Nie Li, Duan Jian, Lu Piao, Du Ze, Xiao Xue, and Ye Ziyun quickly packed their bags and equipment and, without lingering, stepped into this legendary, perilous land.
Not long after entering, the surrounding environment changed drastically.
The previously dim light was suddenly swallowed up by a thick fog. This fog was grayish-white and carried an indescribable chill; it did more than just obscure vision.
Shen Fei could clearly sense that the mist contained a strange power that interfered with the perception of Soul Force. Even his Black Gold Rank Five-Star perception was compressed to a range of less than two zhang around him.
The group initially maintained their formation and moved forward, but the fog was so thick that visibility was extremely low, and their calls to each other were quickly swallowed up by the fog.
Shen Fei frowned, and almost instinctively grabbed Xiao Ning'er's wrist. Xiao Ning'er's hand paused slightly, then she grabbed his fingers in return.
"Everyone stay close together. This is Mist of Lost Tracks; it's easy to get separated. If you do, we'll wait until it dissipates and then meet at the entrance."
Nie Li's voice came from not far ahead, steady and calm, but in this thick fog, even the transmission of sound became distorted.
Shen Fei responded and pulled Xiao Ning'er forward. After a short while, he suddenly felt that the surroundings were eerily quiet. Just a moment ago, he could hear Lu Piao's mutterings and Xiao Xue's responses, but now there was not a sound at all.
He stopped and suddenly spread his Soul Force outwards, only to find that there was nothing around him except for grayish-white mist.
"We got separated," Shen Fei said in a low voice.
Xiao Ning'er also sensed the abnormality, and her fingers gripping the Short Sword tightened slightly. Occasionally, the roars of unknown Demon Beast could be heard from within the mist, making it impossible to discern the direction.
To prevent the two from getting lost in the eerie fog, Shen Fei simply pulled Xiao Ning'er into his arms, letting her lean against his shoulder, one arm around her waist, the other gripping the hilt of his sword. "Stay close to me, don't let go."
Xiao Ning'er didn't struggle, she just hummed softly and let him protect her as they groped their way forward step by step in the thick fog.
I don't know how long we walked, maybe an hour, maybe two, but the gray-white fog ahead finally began to thin out, and our view gradually opened up.
Shen Fei stopped and looked around. Apart from Xiao Ning'er nestled beside him, there was indeed no one else in sight. Nie Li and the others had completely separated from them.
"It seems the two of us will have to go ahead first." Shen Fei released his hand, his tone calm.
Xiao Ning'er nodded and sheathed her Short Sword at her waist. "Yes, let's go. They're all quite strong; we'll be fine."
The two continued forward along the dark red rocky ground. After walking for a while, the terrain ahead suddenly dipped down, forming a relatively open valley.
Shen Fei stopped a short distance away, using the terrain as cover, and looked ahead warily.
There are six people facing off in front of us.
The six people split into two groups, the atmosphere tense and ready to fight at any moment.
One group consisted of only one person, a gaunt young man with a gloomy face, dressed in a gray-black outfit, and clutching a ghost-head knife; the other group consisted of five people, led by a young man in a white robe, accompanied by four companions.
Seeing Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er emerge from the side, the young man standing alone immediately turned around, his eyes filled with irritation and wariness. He cursed without hesitation, "Damn, another team! This is really weird today."
Before Shen Fei could figure out what was going on, the leader of the five people walked over.
The man wore a gentle smile, cupped his hands in a very polite gesture, and said, "Hello, I am Mu Lin from the Spiritual Cultivation Family. Since you are all here for the Spiritual Origin Fruit, I will get straight to the point."
He turned to the side and pointed to a dark cave entrance not far away. "None of us want to die here. There's a Legendary Rank 3-Star Demon Beast guarding that cave; none of us can defeat it alone. We're all Black Gold Rank cultivators, so why don't we join forces, slay the Demon Beast, and split the Spiritual Origin Fruit equally? What do you say?"
As soon as Mu Lin finished speaking, a burly companion behind him stepped forward, staring at Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er with hostility, and shouted, "Mu Lin, six of us are enough. If the other two come, aren't they just trying to steal our spoils? The more people there are to share the Spiritual Origin Fruit, the less we get. Why should we let outsiders interfere?"
Mu Lin frowned slightly, but before he could speak, his tall, thin companion beside him retorted somewhat guiltily, "Stop talking! That's Legendary Rank 3-Star Demon Beast! Can the six of us really guarantee a win? Having two more helpers to share the burden is better than us going to our deaths, right? You're only thinking about getting your share of the spoils, don't you even consider whether you'll survive?"