A sword boat drifted aimlessly in the depths of the thick fog.
Without the reference of the sun, moon and stars, we would not know the difference between day and night, and the passage of time would be as unpredictable as the human heart.
Pang Jian would occasionally stand at the window on the third floor, watching coldly the drastic changes in everyone's mood.
Every once in a while, the expressions on the faces and the meanings in the eyes of the disciples in the Sword Tower and Black Valley below would change amazingly.
At first, everyone pointed the finger at... him.
It was said that it was because of his unnecessary action, because he jumped out of the sword boat to chase those green ants, which caused Qi Qingsong to order his men to follow him, causing the sword boat to deviate from its direction.
The accuser believed that if he had not disrupted the direction of the sword boat, everyone would not have been lost and would have reached the forbidden land of Juetian long ago.
I don’t know how much time passed.
It may have been several days, or even half a month, but Jianzhou still couldn't find its direction and was still drifting in the "strange fog".
The forbidden land, including the way back, seemed to be getting farther and farther away from everyone.
Everyone's patience was being worn out day by day, and those who had taken out the spiritual jade to meditate became more and more agitated.
"Everyone, stop practicing. Just keep the barrier in place. If you can never get rid of the strange fog, what's the point of improving your realm?"
An outer disciple of Black Valley suddenly shouted loudly that day.
His eyes were filled with despair. Under the gaze of everyone, he smiled bitterly: "Qi Qingsong, the sword boat should not wander around anymore. Without direction coordinates, the sword boat's flight is a pure waste of spirit jade."
"I have tried countless times, but I still cannot break through the strange fog and reach the forbidden land of heaven, right?"
"If the direction is wrong, the sword boat will still be spinning in the strange fog even if it flies for another year or two."
Qi Qingsong frowned on the third-floor stand.
The man who was hiding in the cabin, responsible for filling the array with spirit jade and setting the route for the sword boat, also came out after hearing this.
"You have a point."
The middle-aged man named Han Lu from the Sword Tower said to Qi Qingsong, "Since we entered the strange fog, we have consumed 19,000 spiritual jades. I still have 31,000 available. However, if the sword boat keeps moving, the spiritual jades will continue to be consumed."
He shook his head and said bitterly: "Eventually, there will be a day when it will be exhausted."
Qi Qingsong had no other choice but to say, "Then stop for now."
"Everyone, think of a way to see if the rare treasures in your hands can communicate with people outside the strange fog." Nie You from the Sword Tower shouted.
"I've tried it before, but I can't get in touch with him."
"When you are in the strange fog and lose all your five senses, how can you communicate with the outside world?"
"it's useless."
"… "
The disciples of Jianlou and Heigu all responded with sighs.
On the third floor, in Pang Jian’s room.
"Brother Zhou, do you have enough spiritual jade in your hand? How long can it last?"
Pang Jian leaned against the window, looking at the Sword Tower and Black Valley disciples on the deck, and saw helplessness, confusion, loss and... deepening despair on everyone's face.
"It's just to maintain the existence of the barrier. It can probably last for two months."
Zhou Qingchen, who had cast out the deep red Zegang Shield and never dared to withdraw it, became unkempt again, with a full beard on his face.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Who would have thought that this lightning-fast sword boat would get lost in the relatively safe strange fog above?"
"Brother Zhou, if you don't have enough spiritual jade, remember to tell me in advance."
"Well, I won't be polite with you."
Zhou Qingchen smiled.
Pang Jian nodded slightly.
He sent a thought into the storage bracelet and saw that there were still thousands of spiritual jades, plus... a large number of spiritual stones.
Because he didn't know when he could escape from the "strange fog" and couldn't establish a connection with the black tortoise, in order to save the relatively precious spiritual jade, he had been using spiritual stones to arrange a small spirit gathering array recently.
Then, he used his single spiritual power to form a green shield to isolate his body from the fog.
He was so cautious because the bodies of the seven people killed by Nie You and Ye Fei had already corroded into ashes.
This shows that even if there are no brain-eating green ants, if the flesh and blood body is exposed for a long time, it will still be slowly infected by some power in the strange fog.
With a thought, he concentrated on the sword order again.
In the small world within the sword order, the figures of thousands of fat men in blue clothes swinging swords have all disappeared.
Due to the disconnection from the Purgatory World, even a strong man like Li Zhaotian could not continue to inject power into the sword order, and the figures who were practicing sword techniques disappeared into thin air.
Time passes like water.
I don’t know how much time passed.
The sword boat anchored in the thick smoke still couldn't find the direction to the forbidden land of Juetian, nor did it know how to return. It could only hope to meet the people coming in later.
For example, the Demon Sect, Tianshuize, or the sects and forces from the First Realm.
"call!"
Like a candle flame extinguished in the wind, the spiritual energy barrier that a dull outer disciple of Black Valley had been casting for a long time disappeared.
"Wang Ji, you..."
Lu Lianchen from the Black Valley hurriedly approached him and shouted, "What's wrong with you?"
"My spiritual jade is exhausted."
Wang Ji lowered his head and said hesitantly, "I am the first person to use up all the spiritual jade, but I won't be the only one. Senior Brother Lu, you don't have to worry about me, because everyone will die and it is destined to be difficult to escape from the strange fog."
"Just as the legend goes, those who are lost in the strange fog will eventually die in it."
"It will be gone forever."
Raising his head, he calmly looked at Lu Lingchan who took out the spiritual jade and handed it to him, and said, "It's useless. If you can't find a way to leave, death is only a matter of time. Junior Sister Lu, don't waste your resources on me. I... accept my fate."
Everyone looked at him with complicated eyes, looking at this man whose living body was exposed in the strange fog.
"laugh!"
A golden light flashed in Pang Jian's eyes, and then disappeared quietly.
He shouted from the third-floor window: "No green ants appeared."
"Wang Ji, tell us how you feel!"
Ye Fei from the Black Valley shouted, "You are the first person who has not been eaten by green ants and is still alive in the strange fog! If you can survive, it proves that we don't have to keep the barrier in place all the time! In this way, we can hold out longer, and maybe even until we are discovered!"
"That's right! Wang Ji, please hold on!"
"No matter what, tell us how you feel. We need to know how to survive!"
"Come on, Wang Ji!"
The disciples from Jianlou and Heigu looked at him from different positions, and many female disciples couldn't help sobbing as they encouraged him.
Those women were not really worried about Wang Ji's safety, but they felt a sense of sadness that empathized with him.
They obviously knew that what Wang Ji was going through at this moment would eventually happen to them.
If Wang Ji can't escape, then they will also die.
"I… "
Wang Ji, an outer sect disciple of Black Valley, silently felt himself, as if he was carefully experiencing the wonder of the strange fog surrounding his flesh and blood.
Then, he never made any more sound and died silently.
Pang Jian observed carefully but did not see any brain-eating ants appear.
Like everyone else, he could only see the ubiquitous "strange fog" that slowly seeped into Wang Ji's skin pores and entered his heart and lungs with Wang Ji's breathing.
Wang Ji died slowly, bit by bit, his flesh and blood slowly decaying under the gaze of everyone.
Until the dry bones turned into nothingness, as if becoming part of the gray smoke.
During this process, the atmosphere on the sword boat became extremely depressing.
Wang Ji's death was like extinguishing the only spark of hope in everyone's hearts.
"He's right. Everyone will die in the strange fog. It's just a matter of time."
"Ha! What they said above, that the Absolute Forbidden Land is in a safe and strange fog, is simply a lie!"
"The most terrifying strange fog in the world, the strange fog that enveloped the entire purgatory, how could they comprehend it!"
"No matter how many spiritual jades you have, they will eventually be used up. Everyone, get ready to die."
More and more pessimists are venting their negative emotions, and spiritual weapons, armor, accessories, and all items containing spiritual power have become meaningless.
They absorb as much spiritual power as possible from all things that can absorb spiritual power, taking the attitude of living one day at a time.
"Lu Lingchan."
Fang Boxuan took the initiative to walk to the side of Lu Lingchan, the leader of the Black Valley.
He smiled calmly, but said to the woman who looked sarcastic: "Huang Ying, you are right, I am Fang Xuan."
"I knew it was you!"
Huang Ying sneered.
"You are a slave of the Lu family. You didn't have the courage to speak to me like this before."
At this point, Fang Boxuan no longer tried to hide his true feelings and said, "Before our Fang family was wiped out, we were always superior to the Lu family among the aristocratic families in the Second Realm."
He said this while looking at Lu Lingchan, and then added: "You should agree with this, right?"
Lu Lingchan nodded gently, waved her hand to signal Huang Ying to shut up, and then said: "The reason why the Fang family was wiped out by the Demon Sect has always been a mystery. Can you tell me why?"
"Because of you."
Fang Boxuan said this with a smile, but there was no smile in his eyes.
Lu Lingchan was bewildered: "Because of me?"
"You and I have an engagement, but your talent for cultivation is so high that the Lord of Black Valley is extremely happy. Not only did he accept you as his personal disciple, he also planned to betroth you to someone in the desolate land of Northern Ruins. That person's master even came down from the First Realm to personally check out your aptitude and qualifications."
"He expressed that he was very satisfied, so he proposed a condition to the Demon Sect, intending to let me die quietly and completely end this engagement."
"He did this to prevent his disciple from having any grudges if he knew I was still alive. He was afraid that it would affect his disciple's realm breakthrough."
"My grandfather loved me very much and refused to agree to execute me secretly, so he sent me away secretly."
"So, our Fang family was bloodily purged by the Demon Sect."
Fang Boxuan smiled and told this extremely cruel truth.
Lu Lingchan looked at him quietly first, then sat down, closed her eyes, and remained silent for a long time.
"Aunt Huang, is this really the case?"
She asked with her back to Huang Ying.
"It's more or less the same." Huang Ying said coldly.
Lu Lingchan nodded and sighed, "Fang Xuan, I have no idea about this matter. I..."
"I don't blame your Fang family. Our two families are old friends. This matter has no right on your part. It was your master, someone in the Desolate Realm, and the Demon Sect that caused the extinction of our Fang family."
Fang Boxuan couldn't even maintain the fake smile on his face. There is nothing more sad than a dead heart. He said indifferently: "It's hateful. I have endured it until now, but looking back, I find it's meaningless."
…
(End of this chapter)