"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Who is it?"
Still bleary-eyed, Chen Ming heard the knocking outside and called out impatiently.
"Junior Brother Chen, time to get up!"
Li Fengling stood outside his door and called to him.
"Oh, Senior Sister Fengling. Give me a moment!"
Recognizing the voice outside, Chen Ming answered.
Chen Ming rubbed his eyes, yawned, and stretched before getting up and dressing. He opened the door, glanced at Li Fengling, then went to the water vat, filled a basin, and began washing up.
"Senior Sister Fengling, what brings you here so early?"
Only after finishing his wash did Chen Ming walk over to Li Fengling and ask.
"Something good. Come with me!"
Li Fengling had been sitting on a stone stool. When Chen Ming came over to ask, she stood up and spoke.
Looking at her, Chen Ming had a bad feeling.
They summoned their flying swords and headed north this time, passing through the seven main peaks and crossing a river before arriving at a small town named Dongyang!
"Senior Sister, what are we doing here?"
Chen Ming asked in bewilderment.
"Hehe! Just wait, and you'll see!"
Li Fengling looked back with a smile and answered.
They entered Dongyang's only inn, the Fortune Arrival Inn, and found a room with a view outside. Opening the window, they watched the pedestrians on the street.
Chen Ming genuinely had no idea what they were doing. He could only watch along with her.
Before long, five bald monks in brocade-red kasayas appeared on the street. Led by a fat monk, they were walking toward the inn!
"Junior Brother Chen, see that fat bald fellow? That's Kuanrong, the eldest disciple of Abbot Qingyuan of Scenic Buddha Mountain."
Li Fengling pointed as she spoke quietly.
"Mm." Chen Ming gave only a quiet murmur. Having no idea what she intended, he could only watch in silence.
Just before the monks from Jingfo Temple reached the inn, a party of six approached from another direction. They wore black robes adorned with more than a dozen fiery-cloud patterns, markings so distinctive that a glance identified them as members of the Fire Cloud Sect.
"That's the Fire Cloud Sect's chief disciple, Fire Cloud Adept Du Yunyi."
Pointing at the alluring, curvaceous female disciple leading the Fire Cloud Sect's group, Li Fengling continued.
Just as Li Fengling finished speaking, seven people in red robes-six men and one woman-flew in from the south on their swords. Their leader was none other than Tang You of the Falling Moon Sect's Falling Moon Peak.
"Tang You and Senior Brother Yang Jielin need no introduction. That burly fellow who looks like a brute is Duan Lang from Wild Blade Peak. The short one on the left is Song Wu from Falling Flower Peak. The tall, skinny one is Jiang Dongsheng from Soaring Sword Peak. That sly-looking fellow with the grin is Ma Junren, Green Leaf Peak's famous smiling tiger. The last one, who looks plain and isn't nearly as cute as me, is Ning Rushuang from Silver Bamboo Peak."
Li Fengling kept introducing the members of the Falling Moon Sect. When she reached Ning Rushuang, she curled her lip and spoke in a snide tone.
"Why does it sound as though someone is speaking ill of me?"
An icy face suddenly appeared at the window, looking at the two of them.
"I was wondering who it was. So it's that little girl from Iron Bamboo Peak who never fills out."
Once Ning Rushuang saw that it was Li Fengling, she spoke with disdain.
"Hmph!"
Li Fengling was so furious that her teeth ached, and she ground them audibly. But there was nothing she could do-she could not win a fight against Ning Rushuang. She could only snort, turn away, and sit down at the table with her back to the window.
"What are you two doing here?"
Before long, Yang Jielin arrived, pushed open the door, and asked as he looked at them.
"Never mind. Since you're here, be careful. We move tonight!"
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Yang Jielin waved a hand and sighed.
Soon, Tang You and the other disciples from the Falling Moon Sect's various peaks arrived as well. After a brief conversation, they rested there, waiting to act that night.
As the sunset's lingering glow and evening colors shone through the window, everyone rose and headed out of the inn.
The Fire Cloud Sect and Jingfo Temple groups were also there. After a few words of casual conversation, the Fire Cloud Sect disciples summoned their spears and flew away on them!
At the sight, Chen Ming became curious about what the Jingfo Temple monks would ride, and watched intently.
I thought they'd use wooden fish!
The Jingfo Temple monks took off their kasayas, tossed them into the air, and sat on them as they drifted away. Watching this, Chen Ming thought to himself.
"What are you standing around for? Let's go!"
Seeing that everyone else had left while Chen Ming was still standing there in a daze, Li Fengling patted his shoulder and spoke.
The two hurriedly summoned their flying swords and followed. Before long, everyone reached a mountain deep in the wilderness, where several flames shone ahead.
Where the flames burned stood a cavern, with four monks sitting before it. The light came from torches they had lit and planted around the entrance.
Everyone landed in front of the cavern and first asked about the situation. Then they gathered dry wood, made some torches, and headed inside!
Not long after entering, they heard a dizzying, mournful howling. The Jingfo Temple monks hurriedly recited the Tranquil Heart Mantra, while the Fire Cloud Sect disciples chanted their own incantations and the Falling Moon Sect disciples used the Clear Heart Art.
Seeing this, Chen Ming immediately pulled several paper talismans from his storage pouch and stuffed them into his ears. When they had little effect, he took out two Qi Gathering Pills and plugged his ears with those before he finally felt better.
They continued forward. Before long, the three groups reached a fork with exactly three openings and stopped there.
They now had two choices: choose one of the three openings and enter together, or split up, with each group taking a different passage.
In the end, they chose to take one passage per group. The Fire Cloud Sect took the middle opening, Jingfo Temple the right, and the Falling Moon Sect the left.
"Watch out! It's an Illusion Formation! Fall back!"
They had barely entered the passage when Tang You shouted!
As the Falling Moon Sect disciples swiftly retreated, Chen Ming, who had not heard the warning, saw everyone move behind him. Just as he was about to follow them back, a white light flared. His reaction had been too slow, and he was trapped inside.
His vision blurred. Looking up, he saw towering peaks rising tens of thousands of feet and stretching beyond sight. Standing beneath them, he was as insignificant as a speck of dust.
In an instant, his body kept growing taller, until the entire world seemed to lie beneath his feet.
It was a beautiful world. Countless exotic flowers, rare plants, and primeval forests brimmed with vitality, and he could feel the mighty life force of the whole world pouring forth without cease.
Suddenly, white mist surged wildly from every corner of this world. Almost in an instant, everything became still, and the entire world was utterly sealed in ice. He could even see beautiful flowers frozen solid, like ice sculptures carved by the finest craftsmen.
Terror filled his heart. Had there been even the slightest chance, he would have fled this place long ago. But now he seemed to have lost control of himself and could not leave no matter what he tried.
At that moment, even his mind and consciousness seemed frozen within this icy world, unable to stir.
Suddenly, a tremendous peal of thunder descended from the sky.
The entire white world instantly darkened. Vast, unimaginable bolts of lightning flashed in every corner of the sky, seemingly endless, seemingly inexhaustible.
Thick bolts tore through the air and struck the land frozen for a thousand miles, blasting everything into rubble.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck toward Chen Ming. He instantly used Shrouding Smoke Steps, darting more than a dozen meters away. Looking back, he saw a large crater where he had been standing, its edges scorched black, with faint arcs of electricity still flickering around it.
As he looked back, another thunderclap rang out, and another bolt hurtled toward him. He could only dodge aside again.
Yet all the Falling Moon Sect disciples could see was Chen Ming darting left and right inside the entrance, and they watched in silence.
"Senior Brother Tang, is there any way to break this Illusion Formation?"
Watching Chen Ming's predicament, Li Fengling could not help asking.
"Unless we find the formation, only the person inside can break it."
Tang You said.