Zhong Lanze disagreed: "Senior sister, ever since the demon bear incident, you've become suspicious and paranoid. I think there's something wrong with your mindset."

Ye Qin'er didn't like hearing this and retorted, "Is there something wrong with my mindset or with your brain? If a mountain suddenly appeared in the swamp, don't you feel anything is wrong?"

Zhong Lanze's temper flared, but before he could retort, Pan Ruhai said, "Don't you guys think there's something wrong with this mountain?"

Hearing that his senior brother and sister had the same idea, Zhong Lanze stopped arguing.

He turned his head and asked, "What's wrong with it? It's just a black rock mountain, with a lot of black rocks standing on it. What's the big deal?"

Ye Qin'er just instinctively felt that something was wrong with the mountain, but she hadn't figured out exactly what was wrong.

But after hearing what Pan Ruhai said, I also carefully observed the mountain.

Just as Zhong Lanze described, it was a black rocky mountain with jagged rocks, but the undulations of the mountain were rather strange.

If I had to describe it, the shape of this rocky mountain looks very smooth, unlike the solitary peaks and cliffs commonly seen on ordinary mountains. From a distance, it even looks like there is a huge black cave.

Pan Ruhai took a few steps back, created a protective shield for himself, and put on his magic weapon and talisman.

Ye Qin'er and Zhong Lanze were both startled, but they immediately followed suit and asked after they were ready, "What exactly did Senior Brother discover?"

"It seems we've entered an illusionary formation," Pan Ruhai said in a low voice.

Ye Qin'er and Zhong Lanze looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Pan Ruhai sighed and said, "I said, didn't you even bother to calculate the time?"

His reminder made them realize that their backs were soaked with sweat.

They entered the swamp at dawn, cautiously exploring, setting traps, and searching for the Black-Scaled Python. After failing to find it, they followed the Blackwater River, gathering spiritual herbs and killing several demonic beasts, including a rare vine demon...

With so much to do, how could the sun have just begun to set?

The illusion created by the Dream-Soothing Grass was truly impossible to guard against. They had no idea when they fell into the trap, as they were simply immersed in the pleasure of constantly collecting the spiritual herbs.

Now the truth has been revealed.

Seeing that they stopped advancing, the small black mountain shook violently. After a cloud of dust rose, a pair of lantern-sized emerald green eyes and a huge body about ten feet long appeared before them.

"Ghost-Eyed Crocodile!"

"Quick, split up and run!"

The three of them only had time to say those few words before they split up and fled for their lives.

Before he had flown very far, a huge suction force appeared behind him. Zhong Lanze turned around and was so frightened that he lost his balance and almost flew backward.

The giant crocodile opened its massive jaws, and a whirlwind swept up, pulling them into its mouth.

The wind was so strong that even Qi Refining disciples who hadn't reached the Foundation Establishment stage and couldn't fly for long periods of time couldn't break free.

The three of them stopped worrying about explosive talismans and threw all the Thunder Beads behind them. Pan Ruhai even threw out a Heavenly Thunder Bead.

This was a method he had never used before, no matter how many dangers he had encountered.

Two more hours passed, and still no one returned. Ah Jiang began to feel something was wrong and a sense of fear crept in. The surroundings were extremely quiet, and he felt as if he were on a deserted island.

Just then, she noticed signs of a magical battle. In addition to the ground shaking and the flames of explosions, a bolt of purple lightning fell from the sky.

Not only here, but also around here, several distress fireworks rose one after another, as if everyone had agreed to set them off at this moment.

At first, Ah Jiang was puzzled: Which group of cultivators had encountered a demon beast? They weren't far away. Should he go and take a look?

But the distress fireworks that followed left her bewildered. These were distress fireworks, not a fireworks display. What did all those bursts of light in the sky mean?