The black mist grew denser. It was daytime, but it felt like night. Qin Mu and the others could barely make out directions. Looking up at the sky, they could still see the sun, but it wasn't glaring at all—just a faint, circular halo in the darkness, dimmer than the moon's glow.
They looked around and could only see the green hills turned into hazy black mountains.
From behind came a clamor of voices. Someone shouted, "A few got away! Three men, three women, and a big lion... Don't leave! Pick up my head! Come back—"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He turned to look behind.
He saw a headless corpse stumbling through the black mist, clutching its own head in its hand.
The head was shouting loudly, its voice echoing through the mist, making it seem especially eerie.
Seeing this, Qin Mu felt a chill.
This black mist not only blocked vision but could also make people lose their direction—even separate heads from bodies.
"Everyone, be careful!" Qin Mu called out in a low voice. "There's something strange about this black mist. Don't separate!"
Upon hearing this, everyone moved closer together.
The black mist grew thicker, and they could no longer see the surrounding scenery.
Qin Mu took out a fire starter, wanting to light a torch, but found that the fire starter wouldn't ignite in the black mist.
"This mist can even extinguish fire?" someone exclaimed.
Qin Mu frowned slightly, thinking of a solution.
This black mist was obviously a formation, designed specifically to trap them.
If they couldn't break the formation, they would eventually be trapped here to die.
Qin Mu took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and began to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him.
Although the black mist could block vision, it couldn't block the spiritual energy.
After sensing for a moment, Qin Mu finally found a clue.
The core of this black mist formation was not far ahead of them.
"Follow me!" Qin Mu opened his eyes and walked in a certain direction.
Everyone quickly followed.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a stone tablet appeared ahead.
Three large characters were carved on the tablet: Nine Nether Gate.
Seeing this, Qin Mu understood.
So it was the Nine Nether Gate's formation.
The Nine Nether Gate was one of the six sects of the demonic path, skilled at manipulating ghosts and dark powers.
This black mist formation was precisely their specialty.
"Now that we know it's the Nine Nether Gate's formation, it's easy to break," Qin Mu said calmly.
He took out a talisman from his bosom, bit his fingertip, and let a drop of blood fall on the talisman.
The talisman immediately lit up with golden light, shining especially bright in the dark mist.
Qin Mu threw the talisman forward. It transformed into a golden lightning bolt in midair, striking toward the stone tablet.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the stone tablet shattered on impact.
At the same time, the surrounding black mist began to dissipate rapidly.
After a moment, the mist cleared completely, and sunlight once again poured down.
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, their faces showing the relief of surviving a disaster.
"Brother Qin, thanks to you!" someone said gratefully.
Qin Mu nodded, but his gaze turned toward the distance.
There, more black mist was gathering.
"This isn't over yet," Qin Mu said in a low voice. "The Nine Nether Gate won't let this go."
Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed again.
They knew that the real danger had only just begun.