The group continued to advance in the secret realm, but without the Azure Ox leading the way, their progress slowed considerably.
One day, after they had jointly defeated a Golden Core early-stage demonic beast, everyone bore wounds to varying degrees.
Fortunately, with Zhang Ergou's wood-element cultivation technique, healing became much simpler.
The group's injuries quickly healed; this was not the first time they had cooperated like this.
Zhang Ergou then distributed another Qi-replenishing pill to each of them, which they received and consumed.
After a brief period of meditation, their spiritual energy was restored, and everyone was in good spirits.
Through several days of synergy, their cooperation became increasingly proficient.
"There's movement ahead."
Suddenly, Zhang Ergou looked up towards a spot not far away.
Following that, Li Yao, who was at the Golden Core middle stage, also sensed something unusual, her expression turning grave.
Li Yao glanced at Zhang Ergou in surprise; she found this young man increasingly unfathomable.
Previously, she could keep pace with Zhang Ergou in terms of perception based on her own cultivation.
Now, it seemed that in just a few days, Zhang Ergou had made significant progress again.
She truly wondered how this young man cultivated.
He was indeed worthy of being called a prodigy.
The others had not sensed anything out of the ordinary, but upon hearing Zhang Ergou's words, they all became vigilant, ready to act at any moment.
*Whoosh...*
A sound echoed, and Zhang Ergou signaled for the others not to act rashly.
He then stealthily circled behind a giant tree.
*Whoosh… whoosh…*
A series of sounds followed, leaving fist-sized gouges on the thick tree trunk, piercing it completely.
Lin Yichen and the others exchanged glances, their eyes revealing shock.
Had it not been for Zhang Ergou's warning, and had they rashly continued forward, they would likely have been severely injured by now.
They remained vigilant and prepared for battle, awaiting Zhang Ergou's instructions.
Zhang Ergou hid behind a thick tree, peeking out, but saw nothing ahead.
After waiting for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, there was no further sound. Zhang Ergou was somewhat puzzled.
The mysterious attack from before, had he and Li Yao not perceived it quickly, they would have fallen victim. Yet, now there was no movement.
It was truly unusual. He dared not relax in the slightest. Waiting like this was not a solution, so Zhang Ergou signaled Lin Yichen and the others to follow.
He scouted ahead, and after walking another four or five kilometers, the group found nothing out of the ordinary, and gradually relaxed.
But as soon as they turned around, Zhang Ergou's expression turned extremely grim.
The trees that appeared before them were the very ones they had encountered not long ago.
The conspicuous gouges on their trunks now seemed exceptionally jarring. Li Yao, Lin Yichen, and the others' faces turned grim.
Their recently relaxed expressions became solemn once more.
"I think we've entered a formation."
Zhang Ergou's voice was low. Even with his sharp intellect, he hadn't detected the anomaly here. It seemed the cultivator who set up this formation was far superior to him.
"What should we do now?"
Xiao Qingyu pointed at the trees before them, indicating that they had spent half the day walking in circles.
"Have you noticed? This place is too quiet."
Zhang Ergou did not answer, but his remark made the others feel that something was amiss.
The mysterious attack earlier had diverted their attention, causing them to overlook the difference in their surroundings.
Now that Zhang Ergou had pointed it out, they realized something was wrong, and their expressions turned grim.
"Old Man Xue, is there any way?"
Zhang Ergou no longer paid attention to the others' reactions. Lin Yichen and the others mainly cultivated spells; how could they understand formations?
To escape this illusion array, they could only rely on Xue Shan Lao Ren's help.
However, Zhang Ergou called out for a long time. Xue Shan Lao Ren, who had been dozing in Zhang Ergou's sea of consciousness, slowly appeared.
"Little fellow, I was having a beautiful dream. Why are you waking me up?"
Xue Shan Lao Ren complained as soon as he woke up, clearly displeased with Zhang Ergou's disturbance.
"Senior, we've encountered a problem. Could you take a look?"
Zhang Ergou smiled fawningly, flattering Xue Shan Lao Ren.
Xue Shan Lao Ren rolled his eyes at Zhang Ergou, addressing him as "old senior" when he needed something, and "Old Man Xue" when he didn't.
However, Xue Shan Lao Ren didn't argue further and began to carefully examine the surroundings.
"Hmm, interesting."
Xue Shan Lao Ren murmured to himself, stroking his beard with a transparent hand, as if he had discovered something amusing.
"Senior, how is it? Do you have a solution?"
Zhang Ergou became anxious as he saw Xue Shan Lao Ren deep in thought.
"What's the rush? A minor formation like this can't stump this old man. I just find this formation somewhat familiar. It seems the existence of this secret realm..."
Xue Shan Lao Ren seemed to recall something and did not continue speaking.
Seeing Xue Shan Lao Ren's relaxed demeanor, Zhang Ergou felt more confident.
"Ergou, what do you say? Have you found a way?"
Lin Yichen and the others were unaware of Xue Shan Lao Ren's existence. Seeing Zhang Ergou appear more relaxed after a moment of contemplation, they immediately gathered around.
"Don't worry, wait a moment." Zhang Ergou smiled mysteriously and then remained silent.
Seeing that Zhang Ergou was unwilling to say more, the others could only patiently wait.
Not long after, under Xue Shan Lao Ren's direction, Zhang Ergou made his move.
Zhang Ergou formed a series of obscure hand seals, and then several finger-like beams of light shot out in the east, west, north, and south directions.
Then, Lin Yichen and the others felt the surrounding scenery change drastically, and beast roars echoed from all around.
Although distant, it was a stark contrast to the previous silence.
"Junior Brother Ergou, you understand formations too?"
Li Yao found Zhang Ergou increasingly incomprehensible. In just over ten days, Zhang Ergou had already shocked her multiple times.
"Heh heh, I know a little, just the basics."
Zhang Ergou chuckled. He was actually telling the truth; cracking the formation was entirely thanks to Xue Shan Lao Ren.
However, as others were unaware of Xue Shan Lao Ren's existence, they all assumed Zhang Ergou was being modestly dismissive.
Li Yao's gaze towards Zhang Ergou now held a trace of reverence, the kind reserved for the strong.
Lin Yichen and the others were also greatly surprised by Zhang Ergou's performance, but given Zhang Ergou's already monstrous talent, it seemed like his usual behavior to them.
They did not display any significant astonishment.
...
*Roar~*
After the formation was broken, and the group had traveled barely three li, furious beast roars came from ahead.
"There's movement!" they thought, their hearts pounding, and they all hurried forward.
After crossing a small hill, Zhang Ergou and the others discovered a beast with a fiery red body confronting about a dozen people.
Upon closer inspection, they realized the people confronting the beast were disciples of the Liu Hai Sect, led by Ling Feng'er.