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**
About half an hour later.
Everyone had basically recovered.
"How are we going in?"
Xian'er was the first to rise. She gazed into the distance at the endless mountain range shrouded in cold mist, and softly asked, "Can we just fly straight in?"
"No, the outer mist is fine, but the deeper you go the thicker it gets. If we lose our sense of direction, we could easily get lost inside."
Feng Zun Zhe stepped forward, glanced at the hazy mountain range, and shook his head. "And within that cold mist, there are also many strange magic beasts. We'd be easily ambushed. If we make too much noise, we'll alert the Hall of Souls."
"Besides, who knows what kind of defensive measures the Hall of Souls has in place. If we charge in from above, we'll be spotted immediately."
Hearing Feng Zun Zhe's words, everyone nodded in agreement.
"This season is when the Death Soul Mountain Range's Cold Qi is at its peak. But we don't have the luxury of waiting until it fades, so we'll have to go through the mist."
Feng Zun Zhe narrowed his eyes slightly, sweeping his gaze across the outskirts of the mountain range. "Around the Death Soul Mountain Range, there are some smaller sects and factions. My guess is, most of them have already been secretly taken over by the Hall of Souls."
"So when we go in, we have to avoid them as much as possible. No one can discover our tracks. If we happen to bump into someone—"
"Leave that to me." Tie Jian Zun Zhe interrupted with a hoarse voice, his expression blank.
Feng Zun Zhe silently nodded.
This mission was far too important. If anyone really ran into them, then it would just be their misfortune.
"Then let's get moving," Wei Yang said.
At his words, everyone stood and gathered together.
"I've been to the Death Soul Mountain Range before, so I'm somewhat familiar with it. I'll lead the way." Feng Zun Zhe's face was solemn as he spoke in a low voice.
"Alright," Wei Yang nodded.
"Once inside the range, don't wander off. Stay close and be careful, let's go."
As soon as his voice fell, Feng Zun Zhe moved first. His figure leapt up, soaring like a great roc, and shot out from the mountaintop.
In an instant, he dove into the misty forest wrapped in cold fog. Behind him, Wei Yang and the others followed closely.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
In the blink of an eye, their figures darted into the mist and vanished from sight.
Inside the cold, fog-filled forest.
White mist filled their vision.
In such an environment, visibility was extremely low. Even using soul perception, one could only probe a few hundred meters around. Beyond that, things became hazy.
Even Wei Yang's powerful perception could only stretch a few thousand meters here. Anything further became indistinct.
"This mist is something else," Wei Yang raised his brows as he noticed this.
After all, his soul realm was at the peak of Spirit Realm! For the mist to restrict his perception to just a few thousand meters, that was no small matter. With such poor visibility, no wonder people risked losing their way.
In the forest.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
From time to time, the cold mist echoed with low, bestial growls. Suddenly, faint sounds of air being torn rang out.
A dozen or so black figures sliced through the mist, swiftly flashing toward the depths of the mountains.
As they pushed deeper, Wei Yang and his group occasionally ran into trouble. But those were quickly handled with ease. Of course, the biggest problem they faced was still locating the Hall of Souls.
The Death Soul Mountain Range was simply too vast. With the fog hindering them, finding the Hall of Souls's exact position quietly inside was no easy task.
The map Xuan Kongzi had given them was useful at first, but the deeper they went, the less effective it became.
In the end, Wei Yang and the others could only rely on themselves, slowly feeling their way forward. Naturally, this slowed their progress considerably.
This season was when the cold mist in the Death Soul Mountain Range was at its thickest. Some of the markers on the map were either hidden in this environment or destroyed.
Time passed, and as night fell, the light grew dimmer.
Feng Zun Zhe looked at the darkening surroundings and furrowed his brows slightly, whispering, "It's getting dark, we can't keep searching."
"The magic beasts of the Death Soul Mountain Range at night are extremely vicious. Once they lock onto you, they cling like maggots to bone, almost impossible to shake off. If we stir up too much noise, not only will it attract more beasts, it could also alert the experts of the Hall of Souls."
Hearing this, no one spoke. After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yan could only nod slightly.
Though he was anxious, he also knew Feng Zun Zhe wasn't wrong. Seeing no one object, Feng Zun Zhe secretly let out a breath of relief. Though he was a senior, in this team it was strength that determined authority.
Luckily, both Wei Yang and Xiao Yan, these two young men, weren't the type who couldn't listen to reason.
He gestured toward Tie Jian Zun Zhe. The latter gave a slight nod, flicked his wrist, and some dark things shot out of his hand, scattering far away.
"These are droppings from high-rank magic beasts. Spread around us, they can ward off harassment from low-rank beasts."
Feng Zun Zhe said softly, "Everyone rest here tonight. We'll continue tomorrow. A branch hall of the Hall of Souls won't be small. This mountain range is vast, but finding it is only a matter of time."
The group dispersed, each finding a place to rest.
Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile, shook his head, feeling quite stifled. He had thought their group came with such momentum to teach the Hall of Souls a harsh lesson. But upon arrival, they found they couldn't even locate the Hall of Souls's base. That was truly ironic.
Even though his heart was heavy, Xiao Yan could only suppress it. Quietly, he walked over to sit beside Wei Yang, leaned his back against a tree trunk, and slowly closed his eyes to rest.
The atmosphere was silent. After so much travel, no one spoke. Everyone kept their eyes half-closed, taking a short nap.
The night deepened.
The forest was pitch black, so dark one could barely see their hand in front of their face. Even the moonlight couldn't penetrate the shroud of mist to fall down.
At night, the Death Soul Mountain Range felt especially cold and eerie. From the distance, the constant cries and howls of beasts echoed one after another, making one's hair stand on end.
Wei Yang slowly opened his dark red eyes, exhaling softly.
Though he appeared to be dozing, his perception had never stopped, carefully scanning everything within several thousand meters. Now, after confirming there was no immediate danger nearby, he relaxed just a little.
At that moment.
Beside him, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, glancing sideways.
Noticing Xiao Yan's gaze, Wei Yang tilted his head slightly to glance back, then withdrew his eyes, speaking quietly, "From the looks of it, you seem a bit restless inside?"
"Not exactly restless, just a little frustrated." Xiao Yan nodded, scooted a bit closer, and spoke softly.
In front of Wei Yang, he didn't bother to hide or pretend, but spoke the truth directly. After all, in his heart, Wei Yang was different from the others.
Xiao Yan opened his mouth, as if wanting to say more, but in the end it became only a soft sigh.
"I know you're anxious about Yao Lao." Wei Yang lifted his hand and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, gently comforting, "Endure a bit longer. We've come all this way. Rescuing Yao Lao is a matter of just these next two days at most."
Xiao Yan let out a sound of acknowledgment, leaned back against the tree, stretched out his legs, exhaled, and slowly relaxed.
After a moment, he lowered his voice, "These past few years, I've always felt guilty, in pain. Back then, it was because of me that Master stepped forward to block that Hall of Souls Protector."
As he spoke, his fists clenched tight, nails digging deep into his palm without him noticing. His voice grew hoarse, "Do you know? I truly wish it had been me they took away instead."
That low, rough voice was like the wounded howl of a lone wolf.
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