Time passed as quickly as ever. Xu Yuehuai and the others waited in place. Fu Ziyi summoned all the ghosts in the area from the ground and began to manipulate them to search for what he wanted. He sat expressionlessly in his seat, with a smug look on his face, as if he had done something earth-shattering. The others tacitly accepted his arrogance.
The group hadn't rested for long when the ghost brought news. Shi Mu gave a thumbs up, "Senior Brother Fu is amazing! He managed to complete such a difficult task in such a short time!"
After spending so many days together, Shi Mu has become much more familiar with them. Now she speaks without stuttering or being shy, and even has the energy to praise Fu Ziyi.
Fu Ziyi didn't speak, but the expression on his face betrayed him.
The ghost, who was never considered good-looking, led the way. The path ahead became increasingly difficult, and eventually, the others had to crawl up on their hands and feet. Fu Ziyi felt he had never been so disheveled, and Nangong Yu felt he had never been so inelegant.
The group walked and stopped intermittently, finally reaching a huge, deep pool before nightfall. Black mist filled the ground, and a black, watery substance gurgled and steamed. This rising vapor was the cause of the miasma in the forest. Shi Mu stared at it, eyes wide with disbelief, "What is this? It looks...it looks so strange..."
Looking at the endless expanse of black water, Xu Yuehuai finally realized just how vast this forest truly was. Previously, she hadn't had a real sense of its size, but now, witnessing this scene, everyone felt a growing sense of shock and vigilance.
"Everyone be careful, don't come near, eat this all." Xu Yuehuai took out another bottle of Wan Du Dan (a type of poison pill).
The poisonous gas here was very strong, and she was worried about it, so she took another pill just in case. This time, no one refused. They didn't expect to encounter such a thing here, and they hadn't prepared this type of pill, so they couldn't take out any pills for the time being.
The last batch of pills was used up back in Taiping Mountain.
"What do we do now? This thing is indestructible. It's so big, it's beyond our imagination." Nangong Yu looked at the thing inside and felt his whole body trembling and extremely uncomfortable. Everyone else felt the same way.
Xu Yuehuai also found herself in a predicament; to be honest, she had never encountered such a situation before.
After a moment of confusion, the group decided to set up a tent nearby to stay overnight. Given the high level of danger, they chose a spot that was neither too close nor too far away, where they could keep an eye on the situation. There was also a rock there, from which they could see what was happening over there.
Xu Yuehuai stood on the rock, looking preoccupied, towards the direction of the black water. The miasma was still rising from the black water, which was the reason why the poisonous gas in the forest had lingered for so many years.
She had read in a book how to deal with miasma: simply kill the spirit beasts in the pool, and the miasma would naturally disappear, because the miasma originated from those spirit beasts. Clearly, this one she encountered was very different.
There were no spirit beasts inside, so there was no question of killing any spirit beasts. They didn't even know why this thing was emitting so much poisonous gas.
Shi Mu, who was in charge of grilling food for everyone, saw that Xu Yuehuai was still standing there without moving after he finished grilling. He had an idea, took the grilled corn and walked over to Xu Yuehuai, and put it in her hand. "Senior Sister, food is the most important thing. Even if there is something urgent, you have to eat first."
Shi Mu kindly advised Xu Yuehuai, who took the things from Shi Mu's hands, took a bite, smiled, and only then did Shi Mu leave with peace of mind.
Xu Yuehuai's worries at this time were not unfounded. She thought that in the next few days, they probably wouldn't be able to get out of this place, and might even have to stay here to the bitter end.
As it turned out, her wish came true.
While everyone was still asleep at night, something emerged from the darkness, quietly, without disturbing anything. Then, a scream woke everyone in the tent.
Xu Yuehuai is not on night duty tonight; Shi Mu will take over. Everyone feels that Xu Yuehuai is the backbone of the team and cannot fall down; he needs to get some rest. Shi Mu is the youngest member of the team, so let him work hard.
Shi Mu was also happy to agree, and even patted his chest to assure them, "Don't worry, with me here, nothing can hurt you. You can go and rest!"
Shi Mu was very happy. He felt that no one treated him as a weakling and took care of him. They didn't say things like "Shi Mu's cultivation level is low, so let him do this kind of thing." This made Shi Mu very happy.
He sat on a large rock, constantly observing the black water, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the tent. This was the first time he had done something like this, and he was filled with excitement mixed with indescribable emotions. He wanted to do this well, but he found that both his upper and lower eyelids were drooping.
Shi Mu propped his head up with his hands, constantly reminding himself that he couldn't fall asleep, because if he did, Xu Yuehuai and the others would be in danger.
In a moment of carelessness, he didn't even notice that a stream of black water had unknowingly reached him and, taking advantage of his inattention, stained his feet. As soon as he touched it, Shi Mu felt a sharp pain in his body and screamed. It was this scream that woke everyone from their sleep.
Xu Yuehuai was the first person to come out of the tent. She quickly walked to Shi Mu's side, checked on Shi Mu's condition, and found it was not good. Xuan Chi and Baili Xiuwen also came out afterward. Xu Yuehuai handed Shi Mu over to the two of them and asked them to help Shi Mu leave.
The tent was surrounded by a fence-like structure, and a fire was lit around it to reduce the density of the miasma and make it easier to see what was around us. However, the sky was still dark, and visibility was inevitably affected.
When Xu Yuehuai was investigating the past, he discovered a long trail of corrosion on the ground that extended all the way into the black water.
Xu Yuehuai immediately understood what was going on. After checking that there was no black water around, she quickly returned to the house to check on Shi Mu's condition. Baili Xiuwen gave him some simple treatment, and Fu Ziyi helped out as well.
"What's the situation outside? Has it been investigated thoroughly?" This is undoubtedly the question that everyone is most concerned about.
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