"Is this the road to the Ruins of Return?" Yaen asked with a solemn expression.

Yan Bing nodded: "Go in. The level of mental pollution inside is very high, but with Lu Ning here, you don't need to worry about mental pollution."

The three of them nodded.

Yan Bing stepped forward and was the first to enter the crevice, followed closely by Lu Ning.

The three of them exchanged glances, and they all saw tension and excitement in each other's eyes.

Perhaps they were the first team in human history to venture into the misty world to explore?

“I’ll go in first.” Yann stepped forward and was the first to enter, followed closely by Osiris and Aishalin.

…………

Upon entering the mist, Lu Ning's first sensation was a much stronger form of mental pollution than that outside.

The concentration of mental pollution here is more than twice as high as that in the ruins of the base city.

Normal ninth-level awakened beings probably couldn't survive here, and even saints would find it difficult to stay here for long.

Of course, such mental pollution was meaningless to Lu Ning.

The ground beneath Lu Ning's feet felt like the ground itself, but there was no trace of soil or rock below, only a calm, thick fog.

Lu Ning took a step forward and felt no different from walking on the ground.

Lu Ning stopped thinking about it and looked around again.

Unlike the other rifts they had encountered before, this spatial rift was not surrounded by those twisted monsters.

A thick fog swirled around the crack, and all was silent.

Looking at everything before him, Lu Ning felt as if he had returned to the fog he had been walking through.

Soon, the three of them entered the rift and felt the intense mental pollution. Their expressions changed slightly.

"Is this the Mist? The level of mental pollution is so high." Osiris frowned and couldn't help but say.

Yann glanced around and, seeing that there were no monsters in the mist, felt somewhat relieved.

He then asked, "Lord Yanbing, which way should we go?"

As far as Yann could see, there was no clear road.

Yan Bing calmly said, "Come with me."

She strode towards the right front, and Lu Ning and the others silently followed.

The journey through the mist was completely peaceful; not a single monster appeared.

As Lu Ning ventured deeper, he increasingly felt that this place was somewhat similar to the fog he had traversed.

However, he was unsure whether he had walked this path before.

…………

The group walked in the mist for an unknown amount of time.

Even saints find it difficult to resist the spiritual pollution of the mist.

Soon, Lu Ning noticed that white mist was already appearing inside the bodies of Osiris and Aishalin, who were relatively weaker.

By this time, it had become heavily contaminated and was beginning to develop into a disease.

Lu Ning immediately absorbed the mental pollution from the two people's bodies.

Next, even Yaen showed signs of excessive mental pollution.

Fortunately, Lu Ning was there. He continuously absorbed the mental pollution from the three of them, which allowed them to maintain normal mental health and avoid becoming ill.

Time and space seem to lose their meaning in the fog.

Apart from Yan Bing and his group, there was no sound, no day or night, and not even any monsters.

In addition, the fog was extremely dense. Even though Lu Ning was there and they wouldn't be contaminated, the three of them still felt increasing mental pressure.

"How much longer?" Osiris asked, his expression growing increasingly impatient.

"Soon."

Yan Bing said this and then didn't say anything more.

Osiris's breathing quickened, but he managed not to lose his temper, nor did he continue to ask questions or vent his anger.

Both Yann and Aishalin felt that their psychological pressure was much greater than before.

Only Lu Ning remained expressionless as always.

He had walked through this mist for two thousand years; he knew this environment all too well and was all too familiar with it.

It only lasted for a short while and had no impact on him.

…………

I don't know how much time passed.

The three of them, Yan and his companions, were getting increasingly irritable and seemed to be in worse and worse condition.

Just then, the fog ahead suddenly changed.

Although the fog was thick before, it was still somewhat visible that you could see the road ahead. But the fog not far away was so thick that it wouldn't dissipate, just like the fog wall we encountered in the fog of No. 101 before.

Yan Bing then spoke up, "The fog inside is extremely dense. The three of you must maintain your mental strength to protect yourselves at all times, and then stay close to me."

The three of them nodded.

Yan Bing didn't say anything more, but stepped directly into the thick fog.

Lu Ning and his three companions followed closely behind. Once inside the thick fog, their visibility was reduced to only about five meters in radius.

The group followed Yan Bing closely as they walked through the thick fog.

Lu Ning's gaze swept around, and just then, his gaze stopped, looking at a phantom in front of Yan Bing.

The illusory figure was a back view, a back view that Lu Ning recognized all too well—it was him.

Yan Bing passed through the illusory figure and continued forward, seemingly unaware of anything.

Lu Ning couldn't help but say, "Wait!"

Yan Bing stopped immediately, turned to look at Lu Ning, and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong?"

The three of them, including Ya'en, also looked at Lu Ning.

This was the first time Lu Ning had asked everyone to stop.

Lu Ning glanced at the group, then at his own illusory figure, and asked with some confusion, "Didn't you see it?"

The three of them, Yan and his companions, looked at each other in bewilderment.

Osiris asked, "What do you see?"

Lu Ning pointed to the location of his illusory image: "My illusory image is here."

The three of them, including Yann, were taken aback, then their eyes widened.

"What? Your phantom? Yours?" Ya'en looked in astonishment at the direction Lu Ning was pointing, only to find that there was nothing there.

Osiris and Aisharin were the same; they also saw nothing.

Only Yan Bing's eyes flickered, as he thoughtfully looked in the direction Lu Ning was pointing.

Seeing Yan Bing's different expression, Lu Ning couldn't help but ask, "Yan Bing, did you see it?"

Yan Bing shook his head, then said, "I am different from you; I cannot see these things, but... I should have some guesses."

Lu Ning's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "What guess?"

Judging from the appearance of this phantom, it is wearing the clothes he wore when he walked in the mist, which were obviously left behind by him when he walked in the mist.

Perhaps understanding the origin of this phantom will allow him to discover some of the truth.

The three of them, including Ya'en, also looked at Yan Bing with curiosity.

They never expected that Lu Ning would see their own phantom in this mist, and they were also very curious about the origin of this phantom.

Yan Bing calmly said, "This should be a remnant of time left behind when you passed through this place before."

Everyone was taken aback.

"Time Remnant? But Lu Ning doesn't have the power of time?" Osiris asked, somewhat puzzled.