Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 498: Chapter 222: Mist Beast Attack and Cracking the Traveling Palace

They hadn’t gone far before the path ahead split into nine forks again.

At the same time, the path grew narrower, to less than two feet wide.

It was barely wide enough for a single Cultivator to pass.

Faced with such unique terrain, many Cultivators hesitated.

Even the team organized by the Zhang Family, one of the Eight Great Families, stopped to reorganize their formation.

Seeing this, Yu Zhenyang immediately followed their plan and moved to the very front of the team.

Ma Wenbo intentionally took a step back, falling to the very rear.

They had once again chosen to avoid the paths taken by what looked to be stronger competitors.

However, since many Loose Cultivators had the same idea, the path they chose ended up having a fair number of people on it.

Fortunately, everyone consciously maintained a safe distance from one another, so it wasn’t crowded.

This period of peace, however, lasted for only a short forty-five minutes.

"Ahhh—!"

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream rang out from behind them.

Xiao Chen immediately turned around, only to see a Loose Cultivator who had entered the Secret Realm alone, now missing his left arm.

The man hurriedly staunched the bleeding while simultaneously summoning a Defensive Spirit Shield.

The Shield wasn’t aimed at the Cultivators in front of or behind him, but was positioned to block the mist to his left.

"Watch out for the mist! There’s a Tier Three Demon Beast in there!"

The Cultivator behind the injured Loose Cultivator quickly shouted a warning, also summoning a Spirit Shield to protect himself.

He had seen it clearly from his position: a strange Demon Beast had appeared out of nowhere and instantly shredded the Protective Profound Light Engraved on the man’s Spirit Robe.

But because the mist obstructed both sight and Divine Sense, no one could see where the Demon Beast was now.

It was impossible to know if it had fled or was lying in wait to ambush its next target.

"Let’s move closer together! Cover our flanks!"

Yu Zhenyang not only summoned his Ringed Water Shield at once but also remembered to turn back and give orders.

A Spirit Shield’s protective area wasn’t small. Two Cultivators standing close together, each guarding one side, would be safer than a person traveling alone.

But with five people in their team, they could only form two pairs.

Cao Mingjie had already taken a step back to stand with Ma Wenbo.

Yu Zhenyang considered for a moment, then simply took out a Guiyuan Thick Earth Talisman and held it in his hand. He said, "Golden Light Taoist, please watch over Mr. Qiu’s right side."

"I’m a Body Cultivator. Those beasts probably won’t dare to touch me."

It was actually a good suggestion, but Xiao Chen didn’t like being crowded by others.

He was used to fighting alone and wasn’t accustomed to coordinating with teammates.

So he shook his head and refused, "Why don’t you do it, Yu. I can handle myself."

Qiu Fanghui, in truth, didn’t quite trust Xiao Chen and had wanted to stand back-to-back with Yu Zhenyang for defense anyway.

Hearing this, he immediately took two steps forward and stood beside him.

Yu Zhenyang had wanted to persuade him further, but seeing this, he couldn’t say more.

He changed the subject and instructed, "In that case, Golden Light Taoist, you can walk between our two pairs. Junior Brother Ma, you move up a little closer. Let’s tighten the formation."

Originally, there had been a full hundred zhang between him and Ma Wenbo.

This was a precaution so that if they encountered an accident, especially a large-scale Magic spell or trap, someone would be unaffected and able to provide timely rescue.

But now, with the danger coming from the mist on either side, shortening the formation would help them support each other.

It was mainly for the safety of Xiao Chen in the middle.

’It’s not really necessary, but the thought is nice.’

Worried about the Demon Beasts lurking in the mist, most of the Cultivators slowed down and raised their guard.

The few Cultivators who wanted to pass through quickly were forced to move slowly along with the crowd.

Perhaps this caution paid off, as nothing happened for quite a long stretch of the path.

Soon, however, the Cultivators at the front discovered that the path ahead was starting to wind.

It was no longer a straight line, but had become a series of switchbacks, like a bolt of lightning.

They had to change direction every ten zhang or so, and the mist completely cut off their line of sight to the front and back.

Before Xiao Chen’s group could even enter that section, another scream echoed from within.

What was different this time was that it was immediately followed by the sound of violent explosions.

"BOOM! BOOM!..."

The sounds of battle lasted for about ten breaths before the area ahead fell silent again.

The Cultivators behind them cautiously advanced, but no new sounds were heard.

Soon, Xiao Chen and the others also reached the winding area. Here, they could still see fragments of a Spirit Shield scattered on the ground.

From the lingering traces of Magic, they could tell it had likely been a Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivator.

But from the looks of it, his fate was likely grim.

"Guiyuan Thick Earth, protect my body!"

Cao Mingjie directly activated a Talisman, which condensed into an earthen-yellow halo around him.

He was only at the Early Stage of the Golden Core realm, so seeing this situation naturally made him a little worried.

Although a Tier Three Talisman was costly to use, he couldn’t be stingy when it was necessary.

"BOOM!"

"Thousand-Edged Spike!"

"Mad Saber Seven Breaks - Army Breaker!"

...

Soon, more explosions erupted, and different shouts could be heard from both ahead and behind.

Only then did everyone realize that the Demon Beasts hiding in the thick fog were not only on both sides, but also numerous.

They were now attacking multiple Cultivators simultaneously, all along the line.

The Loose Cultivators without a team were especially targeted.

In an instant, the Five Elements Spiritual Qi in the entire passage went wild. A shifting gale blew through, carrying the fresh stench of blood that grated on everyone’s nerves.

However, no Demon Beasts surprisingly appeared in the ten-zhang section of the path where Xiao Chen was.

So, although he could hear fierce battles raging all around him, he couldn’t see the specific situation clearly.