Chen Nan sighed as he looked at the Deathly Abyss. The ten experts had arrived full of confidence, eager to uncover the earth-shattering secrets hidden there. However, only three had escaped. It was one thing for Meng Ke'er to escape using her own intelligence, but Ling Yun, that despicable and shameless scoundrel, had actually managed to escape by sacrificing the lives and blood of his companions.
He sighed softly, "Good people don't necessarily get good rewards, and bad people don't necessarily get bad punishments. Me, a person who is neither good nor bad... hehe..." He truly had a few feelings in his heart.
The words of the nameless god and demon still seemed to echo in his ears. He forced himself not to think about them, because it was not the right time yet. He had no power to change anything before entering the realm of immortal martial arts. For now, he could only forget everything that the Death Abyss knew.
Chen Nan shook his head and muttered to himself, "They say that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune. Let's see what blessings await me."
He began to return along the original route. As he hurried through the thorny thickets, Chen Nan was somewhat dumbfounded. This place was full of towering mountains and treacherous terrain, hundreds of miles away from the city of sin. If he were to go back in the direction he remembered, he really didn't know how long it would take.
In these vast mountains, a slight deviation in direction could lead one into the deepest part of the mountains, making it difficult to find one's way back. Chen Nan frowned slightly, hoping that the blue dragon that the female Tyrannosaurus Knight had been waiting for him was still there. However, after walking five miles, he was disappointed; the dragon had long since disappeared.
With no other option, Chen Nan could only continue on foot, following the route he remembered. He prayed in his heart: Please, please don't deviate even slightly!
After leaving the deathly desolation, the mountains and forests gradually regained their vitality, shaking off the deathly silence. Five miles away from Death Valley, the sounds of birds and beasts could be heard.
Just then, Chen Nan suddenly noticed a bright light reflecting off the distant mountains and forests, which disappeared in an instant. He was startled, but then overjoyed. Based on his experience, he knew that it was the light reflected from sharp weapons such as swords. Seeing human traces in these vast mountains excited him greatly, and he guessed that it was someone sent by the Divine Wind Academy.
He was about to speak, but then stopped himself. He concealed his presence and moved forward cautiously. When Chen Nan reached the forest ahead, he could clearly sense the auras of several experts within. There were three people in the forest, their breathing long and deep, their inner energy powerful—all were high-level experts.
He became even more cautious, hiding behind a giant tree, concealing his presence, and remaining completely still.
The three people in the forest remained silent, yet they exuded a subtle killing intent, like cheetahs lurking in the shadows, quietly waiting for their prey to enter their ambush.
Chen Nan was alarmed, a growing sense of unease creeping in. He had a bad feeling; the people before him seemed to be genuinely waiting for someone to fall into a trap. He immediately thought of the cold-blooded and shameless Ling Yun, connecting all this to him. A cold glint flashed in Chen Nan's eyes, his pupils contracted sharply, and genuine rage surged within him. However, he didn't act rashly, remaining quietly hidden, observing the three from the shadows.
The three men in the forest seemed very patient, or rather, very "professional"—all excellent "hunters." An hour had passed, and the three of them still hadn't uttered a single word.
Two more hours passed in silence, the three people in the forest remaining motionless and making no sound. Gradually, Chen Nan grew anxious, and just as he was about to take action, someone finally spoke.
"Is it really possible for anyone to leave this death trap alive? I think it's impossible; it's very unlikely that the remaining people will survive."
"Nothing is impossible. There are no absolutes in this world. We don't need to overthink it. We just need to strictly carry out the orders from above and not let anyone get away with it."
A man who seemed to be the leader spoke up: "You two shut up. The other groups are very close to us. If they hear us talking, we'll be in trouble. Our task now is to remain silent, wait quietly, and as soon as the target appears, immediately signal the other groups to attack and kill the target."
The forest returned to tranquility.
Chen Nan was secretly alarmed. Just as he had expected, things were very bad. These people were actually planning to ambush and kill those who had survived their desperate attempt—it was utterly despicable!
Worse still, there were more than just three people lying in ambush here. Several other groups were also hiding nearby, so it was easy to imagine that the road back to the City of Sin would be fraught with danger and multiple ambushes.
Half an hour later, Chen Nan used the Divine Void Steps to silently circle behind a person, and gently waved his right palm downwards. The person collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.
Then, he moved silently through the forest like a ghost once again, and in just a moment, he ambushed the three of them and knocked them unconscious.
Chen Nan carefully dragged the three away from the forest one by one, and in what he considered a relatively safe spot, he woke one of them up. Seeing that the man was about to scream, Chen Nan slapped him, sealing his speech acupoint, and said coldly, "If you dare to shout, I'll skin you alive!"
The man did not yield and whimpered a few times. Chen Nan said nothing more and directly dislocated his shoulder blades, breaking off his two arms. The man was in so much pain that he was covered in sweat, and his two arms hung limply at his sides.
Chen Nan said coldly, "I don't want to waste words. You must answer my questions honestly, or you know what will happen to you."
What annoyed him was that this person was very stubborn and refused to give in. Although he couldn't speak, he kept making muffled noises and his eyes were filled with a fierce light, as if he was cursing.
Chen Nan slapped him unconscious and woke up another person, but unexpectedly, this person was just as tough as the previous one.
He woke up the last man, but the situation was the same; the man still refused to submit to him. Chen Nan was furious. If these men were upright and honest, it would be one thing to have such backbone, but they were all shady thugs, yet they were so foul and stubborn.
He began to subject the three to cruel tortures, dislocating their bones and dismembering their bodies, but the three remained tight-lipped and refused to speak, their eyes gleaming with malice as they glared at him fiercely.
Frustrated, Chen Nan, unable to extract any information, began searching them, but still found no valuable clues. Finally, after some thought, he crippled all three of them, then sealed their vital points and threw them into the bushes.
He crept back into the mountains, intending to quietly eliminate the inhabitants if he still found them, before making a detour back to the City of Sin.
The mountains and forests remained quiet, but Chen Nan knew that the road to the City of Sin was fraught with danger, and a huge net had already been cast, waiting for those who had escaped the deadly abyss to fall into its trap.
This time he was more careful, sneaking around and lying in wait. He knew that these people were probably all assassins working for him, and he couldn't get anything out of them, so he wanted to find out from behind them whether he could get any valuable clues.
He sensed the presence of another group in the forest, so he remained motionless and hid on the spot.
After a long while, someone finally spoke up: "Do you really think anyone can come out alive? I think it's impossible."
But then someone scolded, "Shut up! Do you want to die? Have you forgotten what we were told? We must not talk about anything, and we must not let anything slip by."
Chen Nan cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, at that moment, someone whispered, "How's it going on your side, Group One?"
Chen Nan thought to himself: This is bad.
The five people he had taken down were likely members of the same group, so there was no way anyone could answer at this point. He thought for a moment, then forced himself to reply, "Nothing's wrong."
"Huh?" A puzzled voice came from inside the forest, followed by a shout: "Oh no, someone has sneaked in."
Numerous sounds echoed through the forest as many figures rushed toward this direction. Chen Nan was speechless; he hadn't expected these people to be so well-organized. Having just escaped the death trap, he was now surrounded and attacked. A bloody battle was inevitable.
※※※
The City of Sin is in turmoil. After the secrets of the Dead Zone were exposed to the world, people's emotions were no longer at peace.
A few days ago, the top ten young masters set off for the Death Zone, but unexpectedly, bad news soon came. Apart from Meng Ke'er, the most outstanding successor of the Tantai Ancient Holy Land, and the young master of the Ling family, one of the top ten cultivation families in the Eastern Continent, who escaped, the rest were trapped in the Death Zone by the nameless god and demon.
Meng Ke'er was nowhere to be found, and all the news came from Ling Yun. The City of Sin was in an uproar, and fear and apprehension spread among the cultivators.
People felt sorry for the eight masters who failed to escape, and their admirers were filled with worry.
Everyone is hoping that the senior masters who have been cultivating in seclusion across the mainland will arrive soon. Things have developed to this point, and only those senior masters are qualified to go to the forbidden land to explore further.
The cultivators waited anxiously and fearfully.
Meanwhile, the deans of the four academies dispatched some experts to search for Meng Ke'er's whereabouts, after all, she was one of the survivors, and they were afraid that something might have happened to her.
Ling Yun received praise from all the senior masters in the City of Sin, and was also admired by all the young masters. However, his life was not easy. If someone were to commit suicide and survive, his lies would be exposed, and his cold-blooded and shameless face would be revealed to the world.
Although he had already made some arrangements, he was still very worried!
Furthermore, while strolling alone in a garden within the Divine Wind Academy, he sensed a faint, yet familiar, killing intent. In an instant, he guessed who was lurking in the shadows—he knew it was Meng Ke'er!
In that situation, Ling Yun's mind raced, and he finally lowered his voice and said, "Is it Fairy Meng? Don't worry, I will never say anything wrong. I have always admired you. What happened in the Illusionary Realm is not real. You will always be the most sacred fairy in my heart. Also, please rest assured that if Chen Nan escapes from the Death Abyss, I will kill him with my own hands. I cannot tolerate that he once defiled the fairy in my heart."
Ling Yun was undeniably cunning, managing to save his own life while also leaving himself a clever backup plan.
Finally, the murderous aura gradually subsided, as if nothing had ever happened.
※※※
Blood mist filled the forest. Chen Nan and the experts lying in ambush in the forest had been fighting fiercely for a long time, and he had already killed two experts of the same rank.
At this moment, the weapons in his hands were all stolen: a longsword in his left hand and a long saber in his right. He wielded them with wide, sweeping strokes, slashing horizontally and vertically. The materialized sword energy and dazzling saber light were two zhang long, creating terrifying howls in the forest. He was invincible and no one could stop him.
But Chen Nan grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed. The number of experts surrounding him was steadily increasing, with more and more people coming from afar to join the fray. Now, a total of seven experts from different ranks were besieging him.
If this continues, he will surely die from exhaustion. Even with his profound skills, he cannot withstand the sheer number of people! There are so many experts of various ranks; one can only imagine how terrifying the power behind them is.
Just then, a whistling sound came from afar, and a figure rushed towards them through the dense forest.
Chen Nan sensed something was wrong. From the long, drawn-out howl, he knew the newcomer was extremely powerful and must be a master. The howl grew closer, and an old man in a gray robe appeared like a large bird, leaping several meters in a single bound, arriving ten meters away as if flying.
The old man with the gray cannon leaped into the air, his feet planted firmly in the air, and kicked out more than a dozen kicks at Chen Nan. Intense energy fluctuations rippled through the forest, and a powerful force surged toward Chen Nan like a tidal wave.
Chen Nan was shocked. He raised his sword and blade, slashing out more than a dozen sharp blades at the shadowy figure in the air. The two forces collided in mid-air, like waves crashing against the shore, unleashing bursts of violent energy fluctuations. The surrounding trees were knocked down in rows by the violent energy flow.
Chen Nan took several large steps back, and the old man in the air calmly landed. At this moment, only the two of them remained in the arena, while the others surrounded them.
Chen Nan knew things were going badly. The old man's cultivation seemed to be no less than his own, and with the surrounding experts of different ranks, if he were to fight head-on, he would truly suffer a bitter end.
"Old men, who are you people? Why are you lying in ambush here to kill me?"
The old man squinted at the picture book in his hands, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He sneered, "You're Chen Nan, aren't you? We don't need to tell you who we are. You're dead today!"
※※※
On a mountain peak five miles from the Death Zone, a peerless beauty in flowing white robes and with skin as white as snow was intently watching the movements in the forest. A gentle breeze stirred, and the ethereal beauty seemed to be riding the wind away.
However, at this moment, the fairy on the mountain peak had an icy expression, without a trace of a smile, and her eyes were as cold as lightning. A murderous aura was surging around her.
The woman in white was none other than Meng Ke'er. She had once secretly returned to the City of Sin, and then returned to these mountains, where she had been waiting on the only road back to the City of Sin.
She had already spotted Chen Nan in the forest, and the murderous aura she exuded was because of him. However, she did not reveal herself, as she did not want to be exposed to the people in the forest.