Beautiful mountains and clear waters, blooming flowers, bright sunshine, and fluttering butterflies.
All beautiful symbols are now in mortal danger.
"Could it be that this fog is causing people to fall asleep?" Tuoba Hong asked.
Zhou Ling: "You'll know once you try."
Zhou Ling jumped off the bamboo roof, her long, flowing hair styled in a princess cut was blown into an arc by the wind, and she was instantly enveloped in mist when she landed.
She stood still, lowering her eyes to carefully perceive the scene.
Tuoba Hong, lying on top of it, called out, "How are you? Are you alright?"
A few seconds later, the skeletal claw-like weapon hooked onto a gap in the bamboo building, and Zhou Ling used it to climb up, her cold face tense and her expression weary.
"It's because of the fog; it's densest at the bottom."
Jiang Nuo: "If we're shrouded in fog, we can't see anything. Perhaps if we look up further, we'll be enveloped in the same fog."
Si Yong leaned lazily against the roof door, laughing heartily, "If you ask me, I'd rather go back. We're all here to die anyway."
"Especially you, kid, don't let the old man's last bloodline be wiped out."
He smiled lazily at Si Yan, his eyes filled with unmistakable mockery.
Si Yan's face darkened. "Do you want to die here?"
"Who will die is still up in the air..."
Si Yong abruptly shut his mouth as Jiang Nuo's dagger lifted his chin, the cold blade drawing near before he could even react.
"Those who insult me to my face," Jiang Nuo's cold voice held a hint of a smile, yet it sent chills down one's spine, "Are not just facing death."
May you rest in peace, Amen.
Who exactly is this person? They seem to know Si Yan both well and not so well.
Could it really be an illegitimate child? Oh my god...
Si Yong... can't win.
He was angry, but it was obviously no use. He covered his bleeding nose and remained silent, squinting at the thin mist below.
Jiang Nuo was also puzzled, feeling that this person had changed compared to the previous two times, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.
The group of guests jumped off the bamboo roof and instantly disappeared into the thin mist.
Just then, a strong wind picked up, and the bamboo house rattled and banged. Jiang Nuo pulled Si Yan closer on alert and frowned as she looked in the direction the wind was coming from.
The flowers everywhere exuded an even stronger fragrance, and the petals fluttered in an extremely strange and astonishing number, being blown into swirling vortexes by the gale in the air.
"It smells even better!" Tuoba Hong shouted, his voice carried away by the wind, only faintly reaching his teammates' ears. "It smells so good it makes me want to vomit!"
Zhou Ling, who was already not used to the smell, tensed up to the extreme, feeling a growing sense of nausea.
In the fierce winds, it was difficult to even move an inch; they held onto each other to prevent anyone from being blown away.
Just then, the swirling petals under the bright sunlight suddenly dispersed, falling like petals scattered by a celestial maiden. Among them, they seemed to see a door that was faintly glowing.
"Was it just my imagination?" Tuoba Hong rubbed his eyes. "Did you see a door?"
Zhang Quan: "I saw it."
His instincts as Half-Corpse Soul made him repulsed by the door's existence, but this feeling clearly stemmed from...
He looked at Jiang Nuo and saw that his expression was tense, his usual calm demeanor gone.
To be honest, even Si Yan rarely saw Jiang Nuo with such an expression—like a child seeing their most hated toy but still having to play with it, but after all, the toy itself is not wrong; the one who gave the toy is wrong.
I gritted my teeth, but there was a sense of helpless anger.
"Oh my god, what is this?! Is this a gate to another world?!"
Could it be that the Sleeping Village is actually trapped inside the door? They want to know what's behind it!
[I'm getting excited! God Nuo, Nogren!]
Jiang Nuo just felt incredibly frustrated.
If you sensed 024's presence earlier, it was just a subtle feeling that you couldn't see or touch, and with Si Yan by your side, the real feeling of encountering the instance again wasn't very strong.
But this door is a real door leading to a dungeon, and judging by its color... it's a five-star hell dungeon.
Destroy it.
Jiang Nuo's eyebrows drooped, and she leaned against Si Yan, letting out a deep sigh.
" Si Yan, it seems we really are about to enter a dungeon."
He spoke very softly, and even though the strong wind had stopped, no one except Si Yan could hear him.
Si Yan comforted and protected her lover who was leaning on her shoulder, "This also means we're closer to the truth you want to know."
"That's true." Jiang Nuo nodded, then sneezed.
He turned to look at the flower vines that were spreading further towards the middle of the road in the strong wind. In the hazy mist, they looked like living venomous snakes, and the fragrance of the flowers was so strong that it seemed to penetrate into every pore of the human body.
Jiang Nuo crouched down and used a dagger to cut off a section of the flower vine.
An astonishing thing happened: the cut on the vine secreted sap and grew at a visible speed. In just ten seconds, it grew back to the length it was before Jiang Nuo cut it.
Jiang Nuo was still holding the half-cut flower vine in her hand. "Such a fast growth rate."
Feimina gently stroked the soft petals, her clear voice tinged with surprise, "Magic..."
She looked up at the others standing there, and finally at Jiang Nuo, "The sleeping magic comes from here, underground where the flower vines grow."
Because of the different cultivation systems they practice, apart from Jiang Nuo, no one else could accurately sense the presence of magic.
Tuoba Hong scratched his head, "What should we do? Are we going to dig three feet into the ground? Wouldn't that mean hollowing out the whole village?"
He tried to sense the soil underground with his mental power, just like Feimina did, but he found nothing.
Feimina: "I still think we should go to the very center of the village; the dormant magic in the soil will disappear after purification."
Given their current state, not everyone might be able to walk to the central temple-like building while fully conscious.
Before they could even come to a conclusion, Si Yan pulled Jiang Nuo back a few steps abruptly, exclaiming, "Something's about to crawl out!"
Upon hearing the warning, everyone stepped aside. Zhou Ling pulled Feimina along, and the two girls held hands and retreated, their faces wary.
The ground where they had just stood suddenly bulged up, and a huge fleshy hand emerged from the ground.
The fleshy hands were pale and swollen, with fingernails the size of a human head, covered in mud and black snakes, carrying the stench of the earth and an even stronger fragrance that made one dizzy.
"What the hell is this?!"
Tuoba Hong jumped and moved a little further away, but as soon as he landed and stood firm, another fleshy hand reached out.
Jiang Nuo: "Is there a giant underground?"
He leaped up, stepping on the fingers of his chubby left hand that were grabbing around wildly, and once again unleashed the toy sword.
But like the flower vines, the fleshy hands regenerate rapidly after being cut, with a sticky liquid constantly seeping out. It looks particularly glaring in the sunlight, like oil soaking in water, and the smell becomes increasingly putrid and greasy.
Si Yan was disgusted and frowned, pinching her nose, trying to control herself with her Spiritual Power, but even if she and Jiang Nuo worked together to cut off her entire hand, it was to no avail.
The third time they watched a fleshy hand grow, everyone's face went blank.
Feimina stamped her foot. "Magic has no effect on this... monster!"
Physical attacks are ineffective, and magical attacks are harmless.
Even Si Yong, who had always felt it was none of his business, began to get irritable and once again leaped to dodge.
[Giants everywhere, observing limbs...]
I can attest that this thing is even more disgusting than the Colossus; at least the Colossus won't regenerate!! And it won't attack people on its own!
God Nuo has made another move!! Has he figured out a plan?!