With the Gold Seal on them, the bewildering formation did indeed let them through. Kong Lanting clung tightly to the young girl's hem, feeling only that their route twisted every which way, without any sense of descending. Yet a quarter of an hour later, his calves abruptly flexed as he actually stepped onto solid ground.
The fog here was so thick that he truly could not see his hand before his face.
The air had almost condensed into cold water. If they dared lift their hems even slightly, droplets immediately formed on their skin. Most unnerving of all was the strange, almost tangible, razor-sharp chill pervading their surroundings.
It was as though countless invisible, icy blades lay hidden in the fog, ready to slice their skin open at the slightest movement.
"Senior Sister Guan..." Kong Lanting's face had gone white.
Guan Qianyan had already clapped a hand to her sword in an instinctive reaction. Though quite bold, the girl had also sensed that something was wrong. But having come this far, retreating was absolutely out of the question for her. She pursed her lips. "...Lanting, climb back up first. I can go the rest of the way myself."
"...No way," Kong Lanting whispered. "Besides, you won't give me the Gold Seal."
"...Here!" the girl snapped.
"Still no way." The boy caught her hem again, and the two slowly inched forward. "The fog's so thick here. How are we supposed to find Senior Brother Jingbi's stone pillar?"
"I asked around. He's imprisoned on 'Jia Nine,' the pillar right in the center. It's very, very thick, like a small peak." Guan Qianyan watched their surroundings warily, speaking in a tiny voice as though afraid of disturbing something. "Its distance from the cliff is very precise: exactly ninety-seven zhang. Our strides are easy