The old woman in white, her flesh withered and sunken, looked like a corpse that had crawled out of a grave.
Her eyes held a strange, eerie gaze.
Chen Yu Lou had never expected to encounter such a situation.
Although he knew there was something odd about this old forest.
He never imagined that he would run into something like this.
He wanted to turn and flee.
But as the old woman's eyes locked onto him, he felt as if he was under a spell, unable to move a single muscle except his throat and eyes.
His entire body, flesh, bones, and sinews, froze and became immobile.
The old woman in white stared at him, her expression malevolent.
She was chewing on a bloody cat's intestine.
Her cheeks puffed up as she chewed, an unsettling sight.
She glanced at Chen Yu Lou twice.
Then, riding her snow-white donkey, she walked towards him.
Even Chen Yu Lou, who had traveled far and wide and seen much, had never encountered such a perilous situation.
Now, he was frozen in place.
And Zhang Chen, who knows what happened to him.
He was afraid he would be killed here.
His heart pounded with anxiety, desperately trying to move his finger, but it wouldn't budge.
Although he was a leader in his own right, held in high esteem.
The common folk here were deeply superstitious.
Chen Yu Lou had heard tales of sword immortals and immortal maidens.
Over the centuries, there had been countless extraordinary individuals in the world.
There were those who cultivated immortality, practiced swordsmanship, traveled thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, defying the laws of heaven and earth.
Their enchanted swords could take someone's head from a thousand miles away.
There were also immortal maidens who could transform paper into donkeys.
Could this old woman in white be one of those legendary figures?
“Damn it, I, Chen Yu Lou, known as the leader of the Xie Ling, am going to die in this old forest! Is heaven against me?”
Chen Yu Lou felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
He wanted to fight back with all his might, but he couldn't control his body.
He could only watch helplessly as the eerie old woman, riding her snow-white donkey, approached him.
At this moment.
Zhang Chen had already stopped breathing.
The true energy in his dantian circulated throughout his body.
He had never learned any breathing techniques.
But the Xuan Tian Gong, an internal cultivation technique.
As it circulated, it allowed him to survive even without breathing.
But it couldn't last too long.
Half an hour was the limit.
In Chen Yu Lou's eyes.
The old woman riding the snow-white donkey was a human figure.
But to Zhang Chen.
She was an old wildcat riding a white rabbit.
He let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed he had been right to stay on the outskirts, outside the range of the old wildcat's spells.
But…
This whole situation was undeniably strange.
The old wildcat's body was considerably larger than that of the young wildcat.
Just old and frail, who knows how long it had lived.
The white rabbit beneath it, who knows what method it had used, was surprisingly docile.
As it walked towards Chen Yu Lou, there was an aura of eerie strangeness about it.
In Zhang Chen's eyes.
Chen Yu Lou at this moment was truly bizarre.
He saw the old wildcat approach.
Yet, he couldn't move a single finger.
Like the spotted old cat earlier, he was a helpless lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
However…
By this time, the Banshan Daoist should have arrived.
Zhang Chen thought.
He activated his Purple Extreme Devil Eye, scanning the surroundings.
But what he saw startled him.
There was no sign of the Banshan Daoist anywhere?
“What went wrong?”
Zhang Chen furrowed his brows.
Although his Purple Extreme Devil Eye hadn't reached the second stage.
Just relying on the first stage, it was far superior to the eyes of ordinary extraordinary individuals in this forest.
Especially with its ability to observe minute details, it wouldn't miss a single thing.
Furthermore, his eyesight was exceptional, covering a hundred meters around him.
But now, looking around, he didn't see a single human figure?
Even the wind rustling through the trees.
Didn't reveal any footsteps.
“Damn it, he's not coming, is he!”
Zhang Chen frowned.
“Could it be because of my appearance, disrupting the process? Or is it simply because this is a stolen reality world, different from what I thought?”
But no matter what.
Chen Yu Lou couldn't wait any longer.
The old wildcat riding the white rabbit had reached him.
Its paw stroked Chen Yu Lou's belly.
It was about to rip him open.
Chen Yu Lou's entire body erupted in goosebumps.
He couldn't move.
But he could still feel.
The old woman's hand on his belly.
Made Chen Yu Lou, a hero, tremble with fear.
Everyone is afraid of death.
There's nothing shameful about it.
But Chen Yu Lou was filled with regret.
He had only just entered the Bottle Mountain.
He hadn't even found the Yuan Dynasty tomb.
And he was about to die in this old forest?
It wouldn't look good if this got out.
Just as he was about to be ripped open.
A strange "click" sound echoed.
Chen Yu Lou, an old hand in the game.
Just from the sound.
He knew it was the metallic friction of a mechanism being activated.
But why was there such a sound here?
He just moved a little.
Suddenly, he felt a strong force pulling him.
He was flung backward, with a "whoosh" sound.
With a "thump" sound.
Chen Yu Lou's body made a parabolic arc, landing directly on the muddy ground.
He had been pulled out of the circular range by this unknown force.
He was covered in mud, however.
Even his mouth had some dirt in it, a foul odor.
But he couldn't move a muscle.
His body remained stiff and unyielding.
But this incident gave him a clue.
The grave site, the place of the broken tombstone, formed a circular array.
Since ancient times, there has been the concept of "circular light."
A method of hypnosis and illusion.
Similar to the Western concept of hypnotism.
The lame old cat, obviously, was caught in this circular light technique, making it helpless.
But Chen Yu Lou didn't expect.
That this technique was so powerful.
Even he was mesmerized.
However…
Although he fell to the ground, covered in mud.
He felt a sense of relief.
He didn't know who had saved him.
But since they had stepped in to help, they shouldn't let him fall into danger, right?
But…
What method did this person use?
What was the sound of the mechanism?
Could it be a hook or a lock?
But he shouldn't be unable to sense ordinary hooks and locks, right?
Chen Yu Lou couldn't see it.
But it felt as if someone had grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him away.
It couldn't be a ghost or a spirit, could it?
Meanwhile.
Zhang Chen retracted his Heavenly Flying Claw.
Chen Yu Lou couldn't just die here.
But when he pulled him back.
When he landed on the ground, he was like a stiff corpse, motionless.
He was making a "hiss" sound from his throat.
He couldn't speak a word.
Had the circular light technique not been broken yet?
He took out a handful of flying needles from his clothes.
Just as he was about to act.
He heard a righteous song from the front.
Zhang Chen's eyes narrowed, he looked towards the front.
He saw three Miao people, dressed in Miao clothing.
It was the Banshan Partridge Whistle and his two junior sisters and brothers.