Chapter 10 The Night Before the Grand Competition

As time progressed, the sect competition drew near.

"Junior Sister, why did Master suddenly ask us to come to the back mountain?"

Chen Zhou said with a frustrated expression, "Although I don't have to do farm work these days, I haven't had any real relief."

Every day, I was either forced to memorize sword manuals and practice swordsmanship, or I was listening to various elders preach.

You could have been lazy about these things, like memorizing sword manuals and practicing swordsmanship; you could have just pretended.

However, he had already become the direct disciple of the Third Elder. It is said that a long time ago, the Third Elder took a liking to Chen Zhou's talent in a certain place. However, in order to ensure that Chen Zhou could grow up safely, he claimed to the outside world that Chen Zhou's talent was average and told Chen Zhou to keep a low profile and maintain the appearance of an ordinary disciple.

This disguise lasted for more than ten years, allowing Chen Zhou to grow up safely and ultimately win first place in this sect competition.

If word got out that he was practicing swordsmanship by reciting the sword manual, a dozen or so people would gather around to watch how a genius practiced swordsmanship, ostensibly to observe and learn.

In that case, I won't have any time to slack off!

Chen Zhou couldn't help but sigh. It seems that even geniuses get tired.

"Master told us to go to the back mountain to find a kind of herb that can treat bruises. We'll take it to the Second Elder. We injured Han Feng, so we have to bear the consequences."

Jiang Ying's tone was helpless.

In search of that herb, Jiang Ying and Chen Zhou set off early in the morning and searched for an entire afternoon near the back mountain, but to no avail.

Left with no other choice, they had to climb up the back of the mountain.

Normally, there's nothing scary about the back mountain, but recently I heard that monsters have appeared there, and disciples from the Sword Cloud Sect who went there haven't returned.

Nobody knows what happened.

Therefore, Jiang Ying and Chen Zhou only searched the vicinity of the back mountain all afternoon and did not choose to venture into the back mountain to search.

However, little did they know that entering the back mountain at dusk was far more eerie and terrifying than entering it during the day.

"Junior brother, are you scared?" Jiang Ying asked slowly, nestled behind Chen Zhou.

After several days of systematic refinement, Chen Zhou's physical condition was far superior to what it used to be, and even the true qi in his body had become much richer, no longer the tiny bit of true qi he had before.

"Junior sister, don't be afraid. This one in a few thousand chance won't happen to us."

Chen Zhou looked around warily, always standing in front of Jiang Ying. Countless disciples of the Sword Cloud Sect entered and exited the back mountain every day. Among so many people, only a few were killed. Could such a probability happen to them?

On second thought, that doesn't seem right either. Due to the spread of rumors, the number of people going in and out of the back mountain has greatly decreased.

For example, right now, including Jiang Ying and Chen Zhou, there should be no more than ten people entering the back mountain at night.

"Let's hurry up and find it, then we'll go back as soon as we find it." Jiang Ying looked around nervously, then strode out and carefully searched along the mountain path.

Chen Zhou looked up at the sky. It was completely dark. With the help of the moonlight, they could barely see the road ahead and the roadside.

"Hiss hiss hiss..."

"Ah!" Jiang Ying didn't know what she heard. She was already nervously searching for herbs, and now she was so shocked that she sat down on the ground, her hand trembling as she pointed into the grass.

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Zhou immediately looked at Jiang Ying, and his expression turned serious upon seeing her.

"Corpse...body..."

Jiang Ying trembled involuntarily all over. She had never seen anything like this before, and being weak, she was bound to be afraid when faced with such a scene for the first time.

Chen Zhou didn't care where Jiang Ying was pointing. He ran to Jiang Ying's side first and covered her eyes with his hand.

"Junior sister, close your eyes."

Chen Zhou could clearly feel Jiang Ying trembling when he placed his hands over her eyes.

Not far away, moonlight shone on a strange tree branch. The branch was extremely thick and highly curved, pointing high into the sky, and at its top hung a corpse.

The corpses were dressed similarly to Chen Zhou and the others, making them disciples of the Sword Cloud Sect!

It wasn't just the corpses that were terrifying; even the tree itself was frightening.

Chen Dan practically grew up in the Sword Cloud Sect. Although Chen Dan was a transmigrator, his past memories remained in his mind.

In his memory, Chen Zhou had been to this back mountain many times, but he had never seen this tree before.

Moreover, this tree, with its strange shape, tall stature, and thick branches, is sure to be memorable.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."

Just as Chen Zhou was staring at the strange tree, side branches on the tree grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, constantly emitting eerie sounds.

At the same time, the corpse of the Sword Cloud Sect disciple slowly merged with the tree branch, as if it was he who caused the side branch next to him to grow.

Before long, the side branch had fully grown out, its length was almost the same as the other side branches, and it also pointed upwards.

"He only has one set of clothes left..." Chen Zhou said with a tremor in his heart.

"Junior Sister, it seems we're in trouble." Chen Zhou's expression was grim as he stared intently at a branch at the top of the tree.

On that branch.

There was a person standing there.

A man dressed in a black robe.

His entire body was shrouded in a black robe, with only his two hands exposed, each holding a long sword with blood dripping from it.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

Chen Zhou's hearing was so good that he could clearly hear the sound of the blood from the sword dripping onto the tree branch.

"What's wrong..." Jiang Ying was still in the midst of her fear and hadn't come to her senses yet.

"Junior Sister, when I let go, don't look at anything, just immediately go back down the mountain the way you came. Don't worry about anything, and if you can, go find Master right away!"

Chen Zhou's tone was grave; this time, he was in deep trouble. He might very well die here.

Judging from the current situation, the man in black on that branch is the mastermind behind the recent unrest in the Sword Cloud Sect, and this mastermind has now set his sights on the two of them!

Chen Zhou dared not be negligent in the slightest. After speaking, before Jiang Ying could resist, he released her and channeled his inner energy into her body, giving her a boost. In the blink of an eye, Jiang Ying left the spot.

"Junior Sister! Don't look back! Get down the mountain immediately!"

After seeing Jiang Ying off, Chen Zhou immediately shouted loudly. He did not believe he had the ability to protect Jiang Ying. He had to use such methods to get Jiang Ying to leave, and he also had to be able to delay her for a while. Otherwise, both of them would die here.

The man in black bent down and, in just a few movements, arrived in front of Chen Zhou.