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Chapter 1253: Leading the Way
There were pretty much no weaklings among the ones who had made it thus far. They were also well-versed in the ways of the martial world. That was why they had been immediately mindful when they saw the fog; they had all left behind various markings along the way. When they had heard that some people were going to leave, they had actually felt a bit pleased with themselves. They had even thought of not disclosing anything and just letting the others remain trapped inside.
And yet, when they started to look around, they themselves couldn't find the signs they had left behind. They were completely flustered, so how could they be bothered to mock others? They all began to cry out in alarm.
Fear was infectious, so more and more people began to cry out. Even Shi Ling, Princess Suolun, Jin Shi, and the others were starting to feel a bit shaken up. They had left behind markings too, but they couldn't find them anymore either.


Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen said, “This fog is a bit strange; it seems to be connected to the power of the earth. The formation is always changing, so of course they cannot find the markings they left behind anymore.
“This formation is always changing? But why is it that we haven’t noticed the trees around us moving at all?” Yu Yanluo asked in surprise.
“This is why high-level formations are so profound. Those in the formation cannot sense that anything is off at all,” Yan Xuehen said. She added in praise, “I wonder which formidable figure created this formation. It truly is brilliant.”
Yun Jianyue snapped in dissatisfaction, “Can you stop your kiss-assery already? I know your White Jade Sect excels at formations, and since you’re the sect master, you’re obviously not bad at them either. Hurry up and figure out a way to get out of this thing.”
If she hadn’t been injured, there would obviously be no need for all of this trouble. She could just break it through brute force. At the moment, though, she could only bow down to reality.
Yan Xuehen blushed and said, “I still need some time.”
She squatted down and began to sketch with a tree branch. The lines depicted the paths they seemed to have taken just then, as well as the appearance of the forest when they had looked at it from the marsh. She was clearly carrying out complex calculations.
As she observed Yan Xuehen’s perfect side profile and her sparkling, radiant skin, even though Yun Jianyue usually fought with her, she still had to admit that this stone cold woman was beautiful. No wonder people always treated her like some goddess wherever she went.
On the other hand, the fiend race cultivators were also trying to figure something out. The Peacock race’s Princess Changning and the Peng race’s Jin Shi flew high up into the air, trying to see if they could break out of the fog and get a better view. However, they could only fly three feet into the air before crashing back down.
Both of them had fearful expressions as they said, “We cannot fly here.”
Some others tried to fly too. Even though they hadn’t reached the master rank, some of them were already at the ninth rank. Short-term flight wasn’t an issue. However, they discovered that none of them could fly at all.
Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and muttered, “Are these fiend race cultivators delusional? Did they only realize that they couldn’t fly now? They really are getting worse with each generation.”
Yu Yanluo said quietly, “I’m from the fiend races too
”
Yun Jianyue grinned and replied, “I didn’t include you.”
Zu An couldn't help but smile when he saw that. They had noticed that flight wasn’t possible as soon as they entered. It was clear that the special region had stripped people of their ability to fly. Just how incredible did one’s skills have to be to create something of this scale?
He was curious as to whether the Wind Fire Wheels could still be used. However, there were too many eyes present, and bringing them out might only draw unnecessary attention, so he decided against it.
Suddenly, someone in the other group shouted, “Who are you?”
Then, a large and tall shadow flashed past them and quickly disappeared into the fog.
“What happened?” Shi Ling asked unhappily. They had been discussing an important matter, and yet one of his subordinates had suddenly called out. Others might think that he didn’t have good control over his people.
“Replying to the prince, just now, I suddenly turned around and noticed that there seemed
 to be another person. I didn’t recognize that person, so I called out,” the one who had shouted said; he was from the Lion race. His face was deathly pale, and he was even shaking a bit as he spoke.
After they entered the fog, even though the cultivators had all looked as if they were going to be temporary allies, there was no way they would really be all that close. In order to guard against unknown dangers, they all stuck to others from their race or people they were close to. That was why the lion had been so frightened when he saw an extra person next to him.
“It is just one more person; do you have to look that scared?” Shi Ling replied with a snort. This really was making the Lion race look bad! Once we go back, I’m going to send this guy to the front lines to fight the Hyena race.
“Young master, he
 He
” The subordinate suddenly pointed at a companion next to him, his teeth chattering loudly.
The other princes exchanged a look. Their expressions changed as well.
The Lion Race expert looked fine from the front, but several cuts had opened up on his back. His internal organs had been eaten cleanly. What was strange was that he still retained his appearance from when he had been alive, standing perfectly straight. There was even a mysterious smile on his face, as if he hadn’t felt the pain at all.
“What the hell is this?!” the bear brothers exclaimed. Even they, who had nerves of steel, felt their throats turn dry.
“Is there some kind of beast hidden in here?” the Peacock race’s Princess Changning wondered. She was deathly pale, and had clearly also been scared quite badly. Just the thought of having all of her internal organs completely eaten from behind was terrifying.
“No, it seemed to be a humanoid thing,” the Peng race’s Jin Shi answered, shaking his head. His race was known for their sharp eyes. Unfortunately, the fog was just too strange, so even he hadn't seen the creature’s appearance too clearly. However, he was certain that it was humanoid.
The Lion race subordinate added, “Indeed, it looked like a person, but they were so fast that I didn’t see what they looked like. I remember that their entire body was an unnatural gray.”
“Trash! He was so close to you, and yet you could not see clearly?” Shi Ling cursed angrily. Then, he raised his head and looked around, but he didn’t notice anything strange at all.
In the distance, Yun Jianyue sneered. “That little lion is quite fierce, no? He isn’t that old, but his temper isn’t long at all.”
Yu Yanluo said, “The fiend races care about the purity of their lineage, and they worship the strong. They don’t care about methods of conciliation at all. That’s why, as long as he’s strong enough, no matter how terrible his attitude is, his subordinates still won’t dare to show the slightest thought of rebellion.”
Yun Jianyue said coldly, “As expected of a group of savage beasts. Uh
 I wasn’t talking about you.”
Yu Yanluo was speechless.
Zu An was starting to get really curious. Judging from the disdain Yun Jianyue showed the fiend races, did that mean she really didn’t have any fiend race blood inside her? In that case, what was her relationship with Yun Yuqing?
“Could it be that it was one of the ones who came in with us that secretly attacked us?” Qiao Heng wondered, glancing toward Duan Tiande, who was resting under a large tree’s shadow.
Duan Tiande sneered, “Don’t try to stir everyone up to avenge your personal grudges. We dark elves have never had a habit of scooping out internal organs.”
Off to one side, Ma Huang also quickly expressed his innocence. “This isn’t a habit of the Blood race either.”
A small fatty suggested weakly, “It’ll be dangerous for us to remain here, so why don’t we continue inside?”
“Sure, but do you even know where we should be going?” the others said disdainfully. Many people wondered, Whose subordinate is this fella? He doesn’t even understand the basic rules.
“Why don’t we try the southwestern direction?” The little fatty pointed toward some of the nearby trees.
“You know the way?” Princess Suolun asked, sizing him up curiously.
The little fatty shook his head and replied, “I don’t, but last night, I had a dream that there was a stuffed bun stand to the southwest, so I thought, maybe this direction might be better
”
The others had thought that he might have actually had some useful ideas. None of them had expected it to just be that kind of reason! They all began to curse.
“Beat it! You have no right to speak in this kind of place!”
“Which clan is he from? Hurry and take your kid back; it’s disgraceful.”


Zu An gave the little fatty a look out of curiosity. He had clearly never seen that person before, so why did he have a sense of familiarity?
At the same time, Yan Xuehen quietly said, “I have managed to obtain some clues. We should head in the southwest direction for now.”
Yun Jianyue said mockingly, “Stone cold woman, your skills seem to be getting worse. Even some short fatty deduced that faster than you.”
“Ah, is that so? I was not paying attention,” Yan Xuehen said, looking in that direction with shock. Unfortunately, the little fatty was already nowhere to be seen.
Zu An couldn't help but speak up for Yan Xuehen’s sake, saying, “Big Sis Yan clearly came to that conclusion at the same time.”
Yun Jianyue didn’t seem as if she intended to change her attitude at all. “What kind of identity does she have? Is it not embarrassing enough for her to reach the result at the same time as someone else?”
Zu An sensibly chose to close his mouth. He decided that it was better for them to look in the southwestern direction first.


When the others saw that, Shi Ling voiced his surprise. “They even believe the words of an idiot?” He didn’t know that Yan Xuehen had reached the same conclusion on her own and just thought that they had been listening to the words of the fatty from earlier.
Qiao Heng said, “Either way, we have no idea what to do either. Why don’t we just follow them and give it a try?” Since Zu An had saved him before, he subconsciously felt a degree of closeness.
Shi Ling said proudly, “Proceeding recklessly for some random reason is truly unwise. Why not just let them scout out the situation to see how it goes?”
Princess Suolun frowned slightly and said, “This fog is too strange. If enough distance forms between us, we will lose track of each other. Even if they really did discover something, we would not know of it.” She took the initiative to follow Zu An’s group after speaking. Prince Yin Sha, who was at her beck and call, naturally stuck to her.
With someone taking the lead, one after another, people all began to follow Zu An’s group. Only Shi Ling and his subordinates stood in place, all alone.
“Young master, are we going to stay here?” a subordinate asked.
“Do you even have a brain? Everyone else has already left, if we stay here, won’t we just be waiting for that weird monster to ambush us?” Shi Ling shot back, smacking his subordinate with a palm. Then, he followed as well, albeit unhappily.