The off-road convoy sped across the eerie, dark red ground. As time passed, Chi Chen and his group had been out for more than five days. But apart from the initial attack by a mysterious group, to everyone's surprise, they hadn't encountered any mysterious events in the following four days.
At this moment, Chi Chen and the others were in a strange stone forest composed of numerous upright, protruding boulders covered with countless grains of sand.
Sitting in the car, Chi Chen watched the boulders rushing past on both sides. For some reason, he had a vague sense of unease.
"Captain Lu, something's not right. It's been several days, and we haven't encountered a single mysterious event yet!"
Qiu Yuan also spoke, looking at Lu Sheng with a somewhat solemn expression.
"Hey, Qiuyuan, you're always thinking about things that aren't going to happen. What, you're not happy unless you encounter something mysterious?"
Wu Gang, on the other hand, is a typical brainless brute, and naturally doesn't think as much as Chi Chen and the others.
Everyone rolled their eyes at Wu Gang. No wonder his ability was to petrify his body; it seemed that his stone head was indeed related to it.
Chi Chen thought Wu Gang was somewhat similar to Wang Hao, the one with the forbidden Holy Armor whom he met during the new recruit training. In any case, both of them were very intelligent, and if they met, they would definitely get along well.
Thinking of Wang Hao, Chi Chen felt a pang of emotion. He wondered how the other newlyweds were doing now. Although they had only spent less than two months together, they had gone through life and death together. After the ceremony that day, each of the newlyweds found their own place. He imagined that they were all working hard somewhere to protect the peace of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Lu Sheng also looked around. If the mysterious group really had set up an ambush for them here, it would not be a good thing for the entire convoy.
Lu Sheng also spoke up, offering his analysis:
“There are some anomalies. Logically speaking, the mysterious group under the red moon should be even more frenzied, but apart from their attack on us during the day on the first day, nothing happened for the next few nights. This is somewhat inconsistent with the mysterious group’s behavior. But perhaps they encountered some problems internally, which is why they couldn’t come to bother us anymore?”
"However, we don't need to worry too much. If there is anything unusual, the two leading teams will naturally notice. After all, those two teams have six Star Radiance Realm experts, so their strength is beyond question. Even if the area outside the city is mysterious territory, it will definitely not be easy for them to completely devour our team!"
Seeing that everyone looked somewhat serious, Lu Sheng added a sentence to reassure them.
However, when Lu Sheng mentioned the six powerful figures at the Star Radiance Realm, everyone looked at Chi Chen in unison, since Chi Chen had spent the entire previous night with those six.
Not only those six Star Radiance Realm experts, Chi Chen is now the undisputed darling of the entire team. Who doesn't smile when they see Chi Chen?
After all, Chi Chen's combat strength and healing abilities are truly remarkable, especially now that he has advanced another level. Who knows what level this monstrous genius has reached?
Even Lu Sheng now felt that this kid was probably capable of fighting him head-on.
Something's not right!
At the front of the convoy, Liao Fan looked at the surrounding boulders and spoke with a serious expression.
"Hmm, it's too quiet. We've been traveling for four days now, but we've only encountered the mysterious group once. Even though several nests are preparing for the mysterious advancement of the king-type creature in Nest No. 1, it's still too abnormal!"
Long Yuan also spoke in a deep voice, his mental power constantly scanning the surrounding situation, but behind those boulders, Long Yuan did not find anything unusual.
"Let's get through this stone forest as quickly as possible! We'll deal with whatever comes our way. If we advance for another three days, we'll turn back!"
Another Star Radiance Realm expert named Cui Dan straightened his slightly askew cloak and spoke up as well.
The convoy continued forward in this somewhat eerie atmosphere until the sun set and the red moon rose again. At that moment, they finally realized that something was wrong.
Because even now, they still haven't driven out of the area of that giant stone forest.
"No, although this giant stone forest covers a large area, we've traversed it before, and it's definitely not this long!"
Another Star Radiance Realm member in the group stood up from the car, his expression somewhat grim as he surveyed the surroundings under the night sky. His name was Zhang Jin, and he was the strongest among the six Star Radiance Realm members.
"Let me give it a try!"
Another person also stood up. His name was Chen Hui. His forbidden ability was the Star Radiance Realm, which was the most suitable for exploration among the six. He was the first to discover the mysterious group of people at the beginning.
Chen Hui raised his hand, and a group of bats appeared out of thin air in front of him, where there had been nothing before.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The swarm of bats let out a cry, then scattered in all directions, exploring the various parts of the giant stone forest.
How could that be?
Suddenly, Chen Hui's expression changed, and his face immediately darkened.
"how?"
Seeing this, Xu Tian and the others also stood up and looked at Chen Hui, whose face did not look good.
"The bats' sonar detected that those boulders don't exist at all. This area should be flat ground!"
Chen Hui's words startled the group. They looked at the giant stone forest on both sides, but the giant stones were nowhere to be found. How could that be?
Were they attacked by a forbidden mental attack? Or were they under a spell?
But that's absolutely impossible, because Liao Fan is a top expert among mental taboos. If someone used a mental taboo to interfere with their perception, Liao Fan couldn't possibly not have noticed, unless the other party was a powerful being at the Ruoyue realm.
But if that's really the case, why would the other party need to make things mysterious?
A powerful expert at the Moon Realm could easily annihilate their entire team; there was no way a single person could escape.
Long Yuan narrowed his eyes, flicked his cloak, and unleashed a beam of light that slammed into a distant boulder.
"boom!"
The beam of light collided with the boulder, and a loud bang was clearly heard by everyone. The boulder shattered into countless pieces and crashed to the ground.
"this..."
Upon seeing this, the others all looked at Chen Hui, their expressions filled with even more confusion. The boulder was clearly real.
"What happened?"
At the rear of the convoy, Long Yuan's sudden action immediately put the nerves of the people in the other off-road vehicles on edge.
"Is the mystery back again?"
Chi Chen looked at the boulder that had been shattered by Long Yuan's attack in the distance. Even though it was night, he couldn't detect any mysterious figure by the light emitted by the red moon and his spiritual perception. But Long Yuan certainly wouldn't have done something that would cause misunderstandings without a reason.
Longyuan and his group must have discovered something amiss.
"Everyone, stay alert! Something's fishy about this place!"
Just as Chi Chen and the others were wondering, Liao Fan in front of them also shouted.
In an instant, everyone's expression became serious. Even Liao Fan and the others only said the word "strange" without explaining exactly how strange it was, which meant that even they couldn't figure out what was going on.
"What should we do now? Keep going?"
Chen Hui controlled the swarm of bats to continuously probe the situation. Ahead of them, there was still the endless giant stone forest.
"Could it be that demon god from the Heretical Forbidden Zone? It's said that his forbidden ability can create a space that is both illusory and real!"
Xu Tian spoke up, revealing his guess: Illusion and reality are two completely opposite words, but under the taboo of that demon god, they can be combined seamlessly. In that demon god's demon space, the reality and illusion of everything are determined by his single thought.
"Impossible. Even if it were him, there would definitely be mental fluctuations the moment he unleashed the forbidden power. I couldn't have missed it. Besides, the demon god's injuries haven't healed yet. Given his personality, he wouldn't risk leaving the headquarters of the Heretic Forbidden Zone to intercept us. And even if it really is him, there's still the same problem: he couldn't have remained hidden for so long. With his abilities, even if he's injured, the six of us combined are no match for him!"
Cui Dan also spoke up, denying Xu Tian's guess.
"Damn it, what do we do now? We can't just stay trapped in this giant rock forest forever, can we?"
Long Yuan gradually became irritable; the current situation was indeed infuriating.
"Since they've created this strange situation, they're bound to take action. Thinking too much now will only increase our fear. Perhaps this is exactly the effect they want. Since they won't show themselves, let's wait quietly and order a rest. Traveling at night is already more dangerous, let alone now!"
Seeing this, Zhang Jin could only speak in a deep voice and order the convoy to stop in a fairly spacious open area. Now, they needed to stay as far away as possible from those strange boulders.
"Captain Lu, what exactly is going on?"
By the campfire, Wu Gang looked at the giant rocks standing around him and felt a little uneasy. They had been to this stone forest once before, but this time, it really made him feel uneasy.
"How am I supposed to know? Haven't you seen that Longyuan and the others still haven't found a clue?"
Lu Sheng also looked annoyed; this kind of unknown and eerie feeling was the most frightening.
Chi Chen, Lin Bai, and Qing Sheng looked around at the scene with some bewilderment. They did not expect to encounter such a situation on their first outing. They did not know whether to say it was good luck or bad luck.
Just as Chi Chen remained silent, a familiar, playful voice rang out in his mind, which immediately made Chi Chen's eyes light up and he felt slightly excited.
"Ah, I, Old Sun, have finally woken up again! Oh, kid, your cultivation level has improved again? But, hehe, kid, your situation is a bit dire right now!"
"Great Sage, you're awake? Where is the Queen... uh, where is Goddess Nuwa?"
Chi Chen answered excitedly in his mind.
"Hehe, she still has some time to live!"
The monkey chuckled again; its voice always carried a playful quality, as if nothing in the world could make it serious.
"Is that so? By the way, Great Sage, you just said that our situation is not good. Can you see anything wrong around here?"
Chi Chen felt a little disappointed when he heard that Nuwa had not yet awakened, but the monkey's awakening was enough to excite him.
The awakening of the monkey means that he now has another trump card to save his life. When he was still in the Radiant Realm, the monkey possessed him and he could easily kill a Mysterious being in the Ascending Realm. Now that he has stepped into the Solid Realm, if the monkey possesses him again, he can fight against a Mysterious being in the Star Radiance Realm, let alone the Ruoyue Realm.
"Hehe, kid, look at your pathetic self. If your spiritual power were sufficient to release me, Old Sun, let alone that Star Radiance Realm, even the Victory Sun Realm would not be able to withstand a single blow from me, Old Sun."
The monkey's disdainful sneer startled Chi Chen.
Can this monkey read his mind?
"Dead monkey?"
Chi Chen suddenly risked his life and shouted in his heart.
But the monkey didn't react, which relieved Chi Chen.
"Kid, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. When I, Old Sun, get out, I'll definitely let you taste the power of my stick!"
After a while, the monkey's voice rang out again, sending a chill down Chi Chen's spine.
Great Sage, you mustn't say such things.
"Chi Chen, what's wrong?"
Lin Bai, who was standing nearby, noticed Chi Chen's unusual behavior and turned to ask.
"It's nothing, maybe it's just a little cold?"
Chi Chen quickly waved his hand to indicate that he was alright.
This made Lin Bai even more puzzled. Cold? Although it was almost November, this place was even further south than the Great Xia Dynasty, so it wasn't cold. Besides, they were sitting by the campfire, so it was even less likely that they were cold.
"Ahem, Great Sage, let's get down to business. What's going on with this place?"
Chi Chen coughed twice and continued to ask in his mind.
"Hehe, kid, you're in an alternate dimension right now. If you stay in this space for too long, you'll be trapped here forever, and your bodies will gradually be assimilated by this space. Hehe, maybe the rock you're sitting on was once a living thing!"
The monkey's voice made Chi Chen jump up from the ground, looking at the rock he had been sitting on with a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Chirp chirp chirp, kid, how dare you laugh like that?"
Chi Chen's actions immediately made the monkey laugh out loud in its own language.
Upon hearing this, Chi Chen was immediately speechless. "As expected of you, you damn monkey! Why didn't Teacher Tang chant sutras to help you pass on to the afterlife back then?"
"It's alright, it's alright, the stone is just too hot!"
Seeing the strange looks he was getting from everyone, Chi Chen gave an awkward laugh and sat back down.
Lin Bai and Qing Sheng exchanged a glance, both sensing that something was wrong. Had Chi Chen damaged his brain when he advanced to the Solidification Realm?
Why is it sometimes cold and sometimes hot?
"Great Sage, please stop playing around and tell me how to break through this alternate dimension!"
Chi Chen suppressed the urge to curse the monkey in his heart and continued to ask.
"Hehe, kid, do I need to teach you this? Just find the source of the dimensional space and destroy it, then we can break through this space, right?"
The monkey's disdainful voice rang out, making Chi Chen's lips twitch again. If they could find it, would they have been trapped until now?
The key question is, along this journey, besides them, where else did any other living creatures appear?
"Hehe, who said only 'living' things can create this space?"
The monkey seemed to have seen through Chi Chen's thoughts once again, its tone filled with disdain for Chi Chen. This kid doesn't seem very smart.
"Great Sage, are you saying...?"
Chi Chen stood up again and looked around at the towering stone forest. Could it be that the source of the other-dimensional space was hidden inside these stones?
Indeed, if the other party could completely conceal their life force and mental fluctuations, even Long Yuan and his group would be unlikely to discover their existence.
"Chi Chen..."
Seeing this, Lin Bai and the others were about to ask Chi Chen if he had fallen ill tonight when they saw Chi Chen walking towards Long Yuan and the others with a serious expression.
A few minutes later, Zhang Jin and the others looked at Chi Chen in disbelief and asked in a deep voice:
"Chi Chen, are you telling the truth?"
Seeing this, Chi Chen replied:
"Yes, Uncle Zhang, I assure you that everything I said is true. As for how I know, I'm sorry, I can't tell you for now."
Chi Chen also knew that although he had won the praise of these big shots through his performance in the past few days, he was, after all, just a young man who had just entered the Solid Realm. It was normal for them to find it hard to believe that he had said something that even they, who were at the Star Radiance Realm, had not been able to discover.
But if Chi Chen were to say that he has a special monkey inside him, regardless of whether he would be breaking the confidentiality agreement with Zhang Rong and Xiao Rulai, Zhang Jin and the others would probably just think he's a mentally ill person with a broken brain.
"Okay, we believe you!"
But to Chi Chen's surprise, Zhang Jin and the others only gave Chi Chen a deep look before quickly believing what he said.
“You need to gather the rest of the people and vehicles here. The commotion that’s about to start could be quite significant! If you spread out, we won’t be able to protect you and your vehicles as well!”
Zhang Jin made a quick decision: if what Chi Chen said was true, then every second they stayed in this space would be more disadvantageous to them.
Having gained trust, Chi Chen quickly went to gather the rest of the group.
Why does my body feel so heavy?
"Me too! My feet feel like rocks!"
"What's wrong? I can't move! Help me!"
Just as Chi Chen told everyone to set off, several panicked cries rang out from within the group; their bodies seemed to be out of their control.
Damn it!
Upon seeing this, Zhang Jin and the others cursed loudly, confirming that Chi Chen was right.
But none of the six of them noticed when they entered this alternate dimension, which made them feel humiliated and angry.
Since the other party was going to use this method, it proved that the other party's realm was at most the same level as theirs. However, they hadn't noticed anything unusual at all, which made them furious at their own incompetence.
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