Chapter 1 The Beginning
Zhuge Wen was attacked, and he immediately turned his palm to strike back, but no one was behind him. His palm hit a thick ancient tree.
"Zhang Ergou, I know it's you. Stop playing tricks and come out!" Zhuge Wen shouted loudly to the surroundings, ignoring the wound on his shoulder.
The answer was silence.
"Zhuge Wen, what are you yelling about? Where is Zhang Ergou?" Jiang Tian's voice came from not far away. Although they could hear each other, they couldn't see each other.
Bang!
"Zhuge Wen, why did you kick me?" Jiang Tian said irritably after being kicked and stumbling.
"I'm here, how could I kick you?" Zhuge Wen responded to the sound.
"You two, stop arguing. Was it Zhang Ergou who did it in the dark?" Zuo Tian's voice came from the southeast.
"Quick, who has a night-shining pearl? Take it out and shine it!" a voice suddenly rang out in the darkness.
Whoosh!
As Jiang Tian was about to take out his night-shining pearl, he was slashed away by a sword. The forest, which had just been illuminated, plunged back into darkness.
"No, if this continues, we might all fall here," Zuo Tian said again. "I feel my spiritual energy is draining severely. Could it be this black smoke?"
"I have the same feeling," Zhuge Wen said, covering his shoulder with difficulty.
They were three dignified inner disciples at the early Golden Core stage, yet they hadn't even seen a single hair of Zhang Ergou. The team they led had already lost forty Foundation Establishment cultivators.
If this news reached the inner sect, they wouldn't be able to hold their heads up for at least half a year.
The resentment of the three towards Zhang Ergou intensified.
On the outskirts of this area, Lin Yichen, Xiao Qingyu, and others who had just arrived looked at the area shrouded in black mist with their mouths agape.
They had also heard the violent explosion just now. Because they were not as familiar with the Beast Forest as the inner sect disciples, they arrived a little later than the inner sect disciples.
Lin Yichen, Xiao Qingyu, and Wang Teng led their teams, intending to rescue Zhang Ergou, but upon seeing the area surrounded by black smoke and being unable to see anything inside, they were stunned.
"Damn it, what was that sound just now? Such a big commotion?"
"It sounds like something exploded. Could it be that Zhang Ergou fellow?" Su Dan Novel Network
Wang Teng crossed his arms. Now, they had no way to go in and could only stand on the periphery to see if any stragglers escaped.
"You're right, apart from that Zhang Ergou kid, no one else would have such a grand scheme," Xiao Qingyu nodded, slinging his two large hammers over his shoulders and leaning against an ancient tree.
"What should we do now?" Lin Yueru frowned prettily.
"Wait!" Lin Yichen, who spoke sparingly, uttered a single word, then leaped gracefully onto a tree branch.
"Zhang Ergou's situation is unclear now, and we're just going to wait like this?" Wang Teng asked.
"Then you go in and find him?" Lin Yichen glanced at Wang Teng.
"Forget I said anything," Wang Teng lowered his head, propped his great saber on the ground, and leaned against the same ancient tree as Xiao Qingyu.
......
In the darkness, a sound of breaking wind rang out. Zhuge Wen, still clutching his shoulder, was hit on the head with a club again, and he let out a muffled groan.
His head spun, and Zhuge Wen exploded in rage. He had never felt so humiliated.
In the darkness, regardless of whether he could see, Zhuge Wen unleashed several palms in all directions, making the ancient trees tremble.
"Zhuge Wen, what are you going crazy about?" Coincidentally, Jiang Tian was also hit by one of Zhuge Wen's palms. Fortunately, he had thick skin and excellent defense, so he wasn't injured.
However, this made him even more annoyed than he already was.
At this moment, Zhuge Wen didn't have time to answer his question, because in the same spot, his head was once again struck with a heavy dull blow.
This time, his luck was not as good.
Plop!
Zhuge Wen's body fell straight to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Zhang Ergou quietly crept around from behind the tree to Zhuge Wen's side, took out the Immortal Binding Rope, and tied him up first.
Then, Zhang Ergou looted Zhuge Wen's storage ring and all his valuable possessions.
Afterward, he bound him tightly to an ancient tree.
Having done all this, Zhang Ergou quietly turned and circled back to Zuo Tian's area. As he walked, he transformed, taking on Zhuge Wen's appearance.
Arriving beside Zuo Tian, he saw Zuo Tian cautiously looking into the darkness. Zhang Ergou came up with a plan.
If he confronted Zuo Tian head-on, he would definitely not be his opponent. If he then attracted Jiang Tian and the others, it would not be worth the loss.
Circling behind Zuo Tian, Zhang Ergou did not reveal himself. Instead, he turned and went to the side of the inner sect disciples who had been knocked unconscious by the迷烟 (mí yān - bewildering smoke).
Zhang Ergou quietly plundered the storage rings and valuables from those inner sect disciples one by one. Then, the Immortal Binding Rope he bought from Wu Dafei came into play.
He tied those inner sect disciples together in pairs, like bundles of zongzi, and then silently hung them one by one on the trees in the area where Zuo Tian and Jiang Tian were milling about.
Bang!
Just as Zuo Tian turned around, preparing to go find Jiang Tian and Zhuge Wen, a huge human-shaped meatball descended from the sky.
Zuo Tian hastily retaliated, but his spiritual energy was already almost depleted. The power of his palm strike was greatly reduced, and he was directly stunned by the two people bound together, who crashed into him.
Taking advantage of Zuo Tian's attempt to get up, another huge human-shaped meatball fiercely slammed down. Zuo Tian, who hadn't stood up yet, was knocked down again.
"What happened?" Zuo Tian heard Jiang Tian's voice, but he was too exhausted to reply, having been hit twice in succession.
Even with his early Golden Core cultivation, he couldn't take it.
It was because the black smoke egg that Zhang Ergou had exploded earlier was too powerful, consuming a lot of his spiritual energy. Now, even his protective aura was weak.
Bang!
With another loud noise, Zuo Tian fainted straight away......
Seeing that no one answered his calls, Jiang Tian began to panic. The unknown was the most terrifying.
"Zhuge Wen, Zuo Tian, are you alright?" The answer was silence.
"Heh heh, Senior Brother Jiang, don't worry, you'll be seeing them soon?" Zhang Ergou's voice drifted from several directions.
"Who? Zhang Ergou, is that you? What did you do to Zhuge Wen and Zuo Tian? Did you kill them?" Jiang Tian shouted angrily into the darkness.
Seeing no movement around him, he furiously unleashed a barrage of attacks on his surroundings.
"I'm telling you, killing is forbidden in the Beast Forest, or you will face the wrath of the entire sect," Jiang Tian threatened Zhang Ergou in the darkness, his voice full of bluster.
It was ironic that a dignified inner sect disciple at the early Golden Core stage was so frightened by Zhang Ergou; it was indeed a satire.
"Is that so, Senior Brother Jiang? That depends on whether you have the life to see that day arrive."
Zhang Ergou sneered.
Then, several huge dark figures descended from the sky......