Zhang Ergou and Li Xun exchanged glances, embarrassment coloring their faces.
For a moment, neither spoke.
"I'm here, hurry up and get me out."
Li Zhan felt his throat about to go hoarse, yet the three before him remained indifferent.
...
"No, something's strange here."
Zhang Ergou pointed to the spot where Li Zhan had just sat down and went to examine it.
Li Xun and Qu Yao looked at Zhang Ergou, not understanding his meaning.
They could only see that the spot was unremarkable, with no discernible difference.
"There's a formation here, be careful. Follow my steps, or stay put," Zhang Ergou said, tossing a spirit stone in one direction.
Indeed, the scenery before them changed dramatically, the street transforming into a vast square.
"A formation?"
Li Xun and Qu Yao's expressions turned grim.
They had no idea how to break formations: "What now, Zhang Ergou?"
Both were at a loss. After all, everyone had their specialties. Li Xun was a genius in swordsmanship, but he didn't know formations.
Qu Yao was utterly clueless about formations.
"Don't panic, I have some research into formations," Zhang Ergou said with confidence.
"You know formations too?" they both said in unison, but with vastly different tones.
Li Xun's tone carried doubt.
Qu Yao's was filled with admiration, her praise evident.
"It's a small matter."
The two watched as Zhang Ergou casually weaved through various paths, tossing several spirit stones in different directions. The scenery instantly reverted to how it was when they first arrived.
And before them sat Li Zhan, who had disappeared.
"Damn it, you finally found me! Did you hear me shouting?"
Li Zhan stood up and scrambled away from the stone as if fleeing.
"Did you shout?"
Li Xun shook his head, and Qu Yao wore the same expression.
"This is madness. I could see you all."
"You're saying you could see us just now?"
Zhang Ergou grabbed Li Zhan's arm.
"Yeah, you were all just walking around in front of me, but no matter how I shouted, you ignored me."
Li Zhan pulled his arm free and rubbed it.
"I understand now..."
"Understand what?" Li Xun asked urgently.
Qu Yao and Li Zhan also looked at Zhang Ergou.
"No wonder we were led around in circles; it turns out our opponent was always following us."
"Following us?" Li Zhan and the others were even more confused.
"Yes, as you just said, Li Zhan, you could see us, but we couldn't see you, and we couldn't even hear your shouts."
"We were being lured into circles all along, likely because the other party was hiding behind the formation, observing us in secret."
"Hiss!"
Hearing Zhang Ergou's explanation, Qu Yao, Li Xun, and Li Zhan all felt a chill.
"Jie jie!"
A sharp voice sounded from behind the four of them.
"Little brats, you're quite clever. I didn't expect you to see through my formation so quickly. Truly formidable youngsters."
"Who's there?"
Zhang Ergou and the others immediately turned around.
"Weren't you looking for me?"
The voice was ethereal yet real.
"What demon dares to cause trouble here? Show yourself!"
"Little brat, you want me to reveal myself? Then I'd lose all face. Jie jie."
The piercing laughter echoed in their minds, but they couldn't discern the speaker's location.
"Putting on a show."
In anger, Li Xun slashed his sword towards where the voice originated.
However, the sword energy vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, causing no ripple.
"Don't panic. Since the other party has spoken, our previous guess is likely correct."
Zhang Ergou stopped Li Xun, who was about to continue slashing, and said in a low voice.
"If we show impatience now, we'll fall right into their trap."
Li Zhan and Qu Yao nodded repeatedly, both agreeing with Zhang Ergou. Li Xun, displeased, sheathed his long sword.
However, his mood was clearly not good.
Seeing that Li Xun had calmed down, Zhang Ergou continued to observe his surroundings. Just as he suspected, after careful observation,
He discovered that this was not just a single formation, but a complex combination of various formations.
To break it, one had to find the formation's core.
Zhang Ergou leaped into the air, surveying the entire town: "A cunning plan."
No wonder they had been led around; the opponent had used the entire town as a foundation to set up a massive formation.
From the moment they stepped into the town, they had completely entered the formation laid out by the opponent.
Being within the formation, it was naturally impossible to immediately discern the opponent's tactics.
"Break!"
Zhang Ergou hurled his Ghost Spear, Tian Wen, which flew towards the center of the town.
"Little ghost, how dare you!"
A furious roar sounded, and a gray shadow streaked towards Zhang Ergou.
"I've broken countless formations, and you call this a mere illusion? Pfft."
Having been tricked by the opponent earlier, Zhang Ergou harbored some anger. Now that he saw the opponent appear,
Instead of retreating, he charged forward.
Bang!
Boom!
Two sounds rang out consecutively.
As Zhang Ergou's palm met the gray shadow's, the original scenery of the entire town was fully revealed.
The previously gloomy sky also began to clear.
Figures appeared on the streets of the town, though they seemed unnaturally stiff.
"Kid, you dare ruin this Venerable's plan, you'll pay with your life."
With that, the gray figure unleashed another palm strike, far more ferocious than the last.
Instantly, the world seemed to change color. Zhang Ergou hastily raised his palm to counter.
Bang!
Zhang Ergou's body plummeted towards the ground like a broken kite.
"Zhang Ergou!"
Li Zhan and Qu Yao cried out simultaneously.
As Zhang Ergou was sent flying, Li Xun's sword had already stabbed towards the gray figure's back.
"Petty trick."
Without even looking, the figure struck out towards his back, swatting Li Xun's sword away.
"Little brat, are you interested in following this Venerable?"
Ignoring Li Xun, whose sword was now gone, the figure flew to where Zhang Ergou had landed.
"Bah, dream on!"
Zhang Ergou glared at the opponent, struggling to his feet.
"You have backbone, kid."
The figure stared at Zhang Ergou, seemingly more and more intrigued, as if trying to see through him.
"Interesting, very interesting. You're actually a little fellow who possesses a spiritual fire."
Boom!
Zhang Ergou's expression changed drastically. Spiritual fire was his biggest secret, and this person could see through him with a single glance.
This made him even more vigilant.
"Who exactly are you?"
"This Venerable is Bei Ming of the Demon Race. Little fellow, are you interested in joining forces with this Venerable?" Bei Ming continued to press, appearing particularly fascinated by Zhang Ergou.
"You're from the Demon Race?" Zhang Ergou's face changed again.