Seeing that Ao Bing had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Shen Gongbao knew that no amount of persuasion would be of any use, so he stopped talking and turned to return to his carriage.

"Hmph, this guy actually said we'd be in danger. He's just worrying unnecessarily. Doesn't he even know where we are right now?"

"Exactly! He's supposed to be a Golden Immortal, yet he's so terrified. It's unbelievable!"

Looking at the carriage where Shen Gongbao was, some cultivators couldn't help but whisper among themselves, their words filled with disdain and mockery towards Shen Gongbao.

In the nearby forest, Crab General Crab Horizontal River, who had just led his shrimp soldiers on several patrol missions, plopped heavily on the ground, muttering complaints under his breath:

"Shen Gongbao is such a troublemaker. We could have had a comfortable night's rest here, but because of what he said, so many of us can't get a good night's sleep tonight."

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xie Hengjiang slowly stood up from the ground and sighed helplessly:

"Alright, alright. Since the Third Prince instructed us to patrol diligently today, let's all stop slacking off and keep our spirits up. Let's thoroughly explore the area within a ten-mile radius of our Sihai Tongbao Pavilion caravan!"

However, just as Xie Hengjiang finished speaking, he suddenly seemed to realize something was wrong, his expression changed drastically, and he cried out in alarm:

"wrong!"

"Where are the people from the fourth squad? Why haven't they reported to me yet?"

Just then, one of his underlings came to report:

"General Crab, something terrible has happened! There seems to be trouble ahead."

Xie Hengjiang's heart tightened, and he quickly asked:

"What happened? Tell me quickly!"

The shrimp soldier caught his breath, composed himself, and continued:

"General, I have just discovered that the road ahead of us has been shrouded in a thick fog, and the fog is getting thicker and thicker, making it impossible to see the road at all."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Hengjiang frowned sharply, thinking to himself, "Could it be that Shen Gongbao was right?"

He didn't hesitate and immediately went forward to check.

As he approached, he saw that the road leading to Chongcheng that they had been on had been obscured by a thick white fog. They could not see the shadow of Chongcheng, nor could they even see the trees ten steps away.

"What exactly is going on? When did this white fog start?"

The shrimp soldier said with a solemn expression:

"This road is the main road leading to Chongcheng. Our Sihai Tongbao Pavilion has traveled it countless times. The Third Prince and his group also traveled to Chongcheng via this road before. About an hour ago, some light white fog appeared on this road, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time. I just thought it was because it was getting dark."

"Half an hour ago, when the fourth squad returned from this road, they reported that they did not sense any magical fluctuations in those white mists. However, after the fourth squad entered again, they have not come out since."

While listening to his shrimp soldiers' description, Xie Hengjiang went to the white mist to investigate himself.

Just as his shrimp soldiers said, these white mists did not have any magical fluctuations.

Xie Hengjiang took a few more steps into the white mist.

He also found no clues.

but……

The moment Xie Hengjiang turned around, his brows furrowed immediately.

The path he had just walked through the white mist could not have been more than five steps, but even within those five steps, he could no longer see the person behind him clearly.

Moreover, this ambiguity is actually intensifying.

The white fog is expanding!

Crab Horizontal River quickly returned to his original spot, his face grave as he stared at the ever-expanding white mist. A strong sense of unease welled up within him, and he anxiously asked:

Have you tried to dispel this white fog?

The underlings nodded, then shook their heads:

"We've tried everything, from wind and fire to frost, but nothing works."

Crab River frowned immediately. He was fine with fighting, but asking him to think about these issues was really a bit difficult for him.

Just as he was racking his brains, one of his underlings suddenly suggested:

"Should we send those cultivators to scout ahead? Maybe they'll have other ideas."

Crab River's eyes lit up; he thought it was a good idea.

After all, those cultivators usually have unique spells and skills, and perhaps they can find a way to break the white mist.

"Okay, let's do it this way!"

Crab Horizontal River nodded decisively:

"Go and find a few cultivators right now and see if they can solve this white mist problem."

Half an incense stick later, the shrimp soldier returned, but his expression was indeed not very pleasant:

"General Crab, I just told everyone about the situation here, but none of them are willing to come."

"Nobody wants to come?"

Xie Hengjiang frowned; the situation he least wanted to see had finally occurred:

"What are they all saying? Why is no one willing to come?"

His underlings said:

"This time, I only contacted cultivators hired by our Four Seas Treasure Pavilion, but some cultivators said they were at a crucial stage of their cultivation and couldn't intervene, some said they didn't recognize me and thought I was lying, and some didn't even open their carriages..."

"This is outrageous!"

Crab Horizontal River was furious; he never expected those cultivators to be so uncooperative.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!