The corpse of the mortal they had just thrown away in a haste had inflated into an intimidating size; almost three to four times the proportions of a normal human, sporting elongated limbs and a jaw rivaling crocodiles.
At some point during their conversation, the corpse had moved on to its four limbs and locked its sight on them.
The horror that had shrouded the man's eyes at the penultimate moment of his death had shifted, replaced by an instinct-driven, indifferent, brutal light.
Barely a dozen meters away from it, Han Xuhan noticed the all too familiar fog being pushed out of its nostrils and mouth as its barrel-like chest contracted and expanded rhythmically.
Han Xuhan's limbs were stiff, mind numb, feet cold, and throat dry. He couldn't even form a coherent thought, mind gone blank upon being eyed like a food source.
Thankfully, Mu Ran immediately took action, breaking Xuhan's half-second brain freeze and attracting the mummified zombie's attention.
His spear hit the monstrosity right in its half-open mouth.
"CAACKKHH!"
The yelp it let out was not a sound any human could produce. The zombie leaped away like a frog, its limbs sending dust and gravel toward them. It landed comfortably inside the deadly fog's embrace, eyes trained on its prey.
Feet shivering, Han Xuhan ran toward the portal as fast as possible. It was only tens of meters away. Sounds of metal against flesh were coming from behind. He didn't need to worry about Mu Ran's safety, nor could he afford that luxury.
If Mu Ran really fell in the battle, Xuhan would have zero chance to escape that zombified corpse anyway, judging by its speed and strength. Once he got out of the way, Mu Ran could escape to safety or do whatever was required to kill a zombie.
Exerting every bit of strength in his feet, Han Xuhan dived into the circular contour made of mud at the edge of the cliff and felt the sounds of fighting behind him stop instantly.
After a second of disorientation, Han Xuhan found himself at the edge of the pile of leaves in the middle of the familiar clearing. However, the sight that greeted him was almost scarier than the scene he had just left...
The clearing was surrounded by dozens of cultivators, all of them wearing similarly designed white robes, with an insignia of a blue star occupying the middle of their attire.
It seemed that these people were as surprised as Xuhan at the sudden occurrence.
All of them stared at him silently and the cumulative effect of so many glares made Xuhan seriously consider returning immediately to battle the monstrous corpse.
But right then, Han Xuhan's mind suddenly moved down a different line of thought. These guys were definitely not demonic cultivators. Which demonic sect would be dumb enough to walk around in numbers while flashing their sect's insignia and matching robes?
In that case, perhaps a conversation could be started instead of getting killed immediately.
And if Han Xuhan was confident of one of his skills, it was his skill of spewing bullshit to make things work out for him.
"Uhh..fellow cultivator? You are a cultivator, right?"
A hesitant voice came from the cultivators surrounding him. Han Xuhan immediately seized the chance.
"AH! Of course, as you all can see, I just came from the other side of the portal here. I'm Shen Kai, from a small sect nearby. If I may ask, which sect are you from fellow cultivators?" Han Xuhan's tone was laced with a serious sense of urgency.
The first person who had spoken to Han Xuhan looked him up and down and failed to find any familiar insignia on his clothes. He had changed his attire just before entering the portal because his formal robe had been torn in the fight against Shen Kai. That had been a good decision, in retrospect.
"We are from the Stardust sect. I'm sure fellow cultivator has heard of it..?"
Han Xuhan had barely been a cultivator for a month. He didn't even know all the pavilions of his own sect, let alone knowing the names of random sects far away from his home. So he shook his head with a self-deprecating smile on his face.
"Ah...fellow cultivator, I'm but an outer disciple of a small sect with nearly zero reputation in the vast world of cultivation. How can I know the names of such mighty sects from afar? I've never even met any other sect's representatives other than the one closest to my hometown."
Technically, Han Xuhan hadn't lied, other than faking his own name. He was a man of integrity. Why would he fabricate these sorts of lies? Lies always snowballed in a situation one had no control of. If he claimed that he knew this foreign sect, who knows what kind of questions might come next?
Honesty is the best policy! Ahem...
The cultivator who had spoken to him suddenly smiled.
"Hehehe, fellow cultivator, I was just testing your character. You didn't lie even as a form of being polite! I like that in my friends!"
One of his companions laughed. "Stardust sect, brother? Really? That's the best name you could come up with?"
"Yeah, what a stupid name for a sect to have," said another lad.
Han Xuhan felt like they were trying to misdirect him. That name couldn't possibly be the true title of their sect, right?
"Hahaha...brother Kai, It's okay. We don't want to give away our real identities here in these foreign lands. I hope you understand that," the first guy to exchange words with him explained.
"Since you've given us your name, I'll tell you mine. Call me brother Feng."
Meanwhile, Han Xuhan was getting impatient. He had no idea how long Mu Ran could hold on by himself against the zombie. The corpse gave off a very dangerous aura. Xuhan might not be good at fighting, but he wanted to help in ways he could.
"Ah, it’s truly a fortunate incident that I could meet brother Feng. This must be destiny! My companion is in grave danger inside that portal. We'd be very grateful if you helped us!"
"Grave danger? Can you elaborate?" Another one among the strangers spoke up this time, a woman this time.
Seeing the impatient look on Han Xuhan's face, brother Feng added after her, "it's not that we don't trust your words, brother Kai. But one can never be too careful. We need to consider whether we can handle the danger your companion is facing."
It was a necessary sacrifice. What these guys cared about wasn't him or Mu Ran, but the world behind the portal and whatever treasure was hidden inside the fog.
If Xuhan provided them with no precious information, then brother Feng and his peers wouldn't have any reason to risk their lives to help him.
People who understood and operated under the rule of equivalent exchange were easy to deal with.
Han Xuhan knew what brother Feng wanted, brother Feng understood what Han Xuhan wanted. There was no reason to act like savages and deceive each other when both parties could reap the benefits with a bit of silent cooperation.
And it took only an exchange of looks between Xuhan and brother Feng to understand each other's intentions.
Han Xuhan didn't hide much from them. Apart from his tussle with Shen Kai and Mu Ran's obsession with the foggy area, there was no reason for him to keep anything else a secret. Hearing that Mu Ran was fighting a zombified corpse of a mortal, these cultivators from the Stardust sect looked rather relieved.
"Rest assured, brother Kai. Even if the poisonous gas can turn a corpse into a zombie, it shouldn't be able to enhance its strength too unreasonably. We can help you."
Brother Feng exchanged a glance with the girl who had asked Xuhan for details and the two seemed to have come to a tacit agreement. With a gesture from him, nearly a dozen cultivators moved forward while the rest stayed in their positions.
Cautiousness seemed to have seeped into their instinct.
"Well, lead the way, Brother Kai."
Han Xuhan nodded and jumped back into the portal after sharing one last glance with brother Feng.
On the other side, Mu Ran looked like he was barely keeping his life at the edge of the cliff. The blade of his spear looked like it had been bitten by a t-rex. Han Xuhan silently counted his lucky stars that he hadn't tried to stay and fight this nightmarish creature.
"Boss, I got us some reinforcements! Retreat!"
Too surprised to even question how absurd Xuhan's yell was, Mu Ran simply dodged a deadly swipe of the zombie's elongated arm and ran toward the portal. It didn't take long for the so-called reinforcements to jump out of it behind Xuhan. While Mu Ran panted in exhaustion and Xuhan handed him some water he had been carrying around in a sack, the other cultivators slowly drove the zombie back with continuous attacks.
After brother Feng came in through the portal alongside the other female cultivator whose authority in the group seemed to rival his own, the two joined in on the confrontation excitedly.
Within a couple of minutes and with nearly zero injuries, the monstrous zombie was thrown off the cliff, into the bottomless abyss behind them. The two of them watched the battle with bated breaths.
From the battle, Han Xuhan could gauge that all of these strangers were in the upper tiers of the physique transformation realm.
Now that the danger had been taken care of, Han Xuhan could predict how things would advance from this situation.
It wouldn't be advantageous toward him and Mu Ran in the slightest. There was only one way out of this.
"Brother Feng, it seems to us that this mysterious world is far too dangerous for rookie cultivators like ourselves. My friend and I have decided to return to our sect and report this to our sect master. Both of us are injured. So it is hardly a wise decision for us to continue to explore alongside you. Goodbye!"
The person who was surprised the most by Xuhan's sudden announcement was Mu Ran himself. But an imperceptible elbow strike from Xuhan made him shut his mouth.
Brother Feng was taken aback as well, but he hid his surprise swiftly and nodded.
"Tell my brothers outside this exact line- 'Stars Are Shifting As Always'. That's your password. If you try to leave without saying it, they'll attack you. We fixed it just now in case you two betrayed us here and tried to escape. Goodbye!"
"...."
Speechless, Han Xuhan and Mu Ran bade farewell to the group of cultivators from this so-called Stardust sect and left as fast as possible.
Looking at their backs that had vanished into the portal, the female cultivator who had spoken to Xuhan frowned.
"Martial brother Feng, we could have used them to explore further into the foggy area. They looked quite naive and enthusiastic. The allure of some treasures should have made it easy for us to use them as cannon fodder. With some assurances and a bit of coercing, they might have volunteered even."
Feng Jun smirked superciliously. The look on his face surprised his group.
"Hehe...didn't you just say that they looked enthusiastic? Then why do you think they suppressed their greed and backed off despite having no visible injuries? Or did you believe him when he said they were injured? Did you fail to notice that the cultivator who was fighting the zombie actually held a slim advantage over it despite being tired?"
Everyone suddenly looked enlightened by Feng Jun's words and an expression of sudden realization appeared on the girl's face.
"You're saying that Shen Kai kid understood that we might use them as cannon fodder? That's why he ran back so fast?"
"Big brother Feng Jun, you're so perceptive! If we hadn't agreed to let them go, those kids might have deceived us once we enter the foggy area!"
"Hehe, brother Feng Jun has always been the smartest among us. Is that a surprise?"
The group of cultivators fervently praised Feng Jun's wisdom while he forced an awkward smile on his face. He had a feeling that things wouldn't end so simply like that. But he couldn't see any way for those guys to return and explore their way into the poisonous fog by themselves.
Outside the portal, Xuhan and Mu Ran sat on top of a distant tree branch while Xuhan explained the situation to Mu Ran. But Mu Ran grew even more agitated after his explanation ended.
"But I need to go in! Even if it's dangerous, I must do it! If I can't find it... Xuhan, just listen to me. If I fail to accomplish a certain mission inside the fog, I may not live for long. I can't tell you what it is, but I have to go in again. I understand if you don't want to risk it..."
Han Xuhan sighed and patted him on the back.
"Boss, put some trust in me! After all, I was supposed to be sharing the benefits with you when the exploration is over.
Do you think I gave up that easily?
Not a chance."
The corpse of the mortal they had just thrown away in a haste had inflated into an intimidating size; almost three to four times the proportions of a normal human, sporting elongated limbs and a jaw rivaling crocodiles.
At some point during their conversation, the corpse had moved on to its four limbs and locked its sight on them.
The horror that had shrouded the man's eyes at the penultimate moment of his death had shifted, replaced by an instinct-driven, indifferent, brutal light.
Barely a dozen meters away from it, Han Xuhan noticed the all too familiar fog being pushed out of its nostrils and mouth as its barrel-like chest contracted and expanded rhythmically.
Han Xuhan's limbs were stiff, mind numb, feet cold, and throat dry. He couldn't even form a coherent thought, mind gone blank upon being eyed like a food source.
Thankfully, Mu Ran immediately took action, breaking Xuhan's half-second brain freeze and attracting the mummified zombie's attention.
His spear hit the monstrosity right in its half-open mouth.
"CAACKKHH!"
The yelp it let out was not a sound any human could produce. The zombie leaped away like a frog, its limbs sending dust and gravel toward them. It landed comfortably inside the deadly fog's embrace, eyes trained on its prey.
Feet shivering, Han Xuhan ran toward the portal as fast as possible. It was only tens of meters away. Sounds of metal against flesh were coming from behind. He didn't need to worry about Mu Ran's safety, nor could he afford that luxury.
If Mu Ran really fell in the battle, Xuhan would have zero chance to escape that zombified corpse anyway, judging by its speed and strength. Once he got out of the way, Mu Ran could escape to safety or do whatever was required to kill a zombie.
Exerting every bit of strength in his feet, Han Xuhan dived into the circular contour made of mud at the edge of the cliff and felt the sounds of fighting behind him stop instantly.
After a second of disorientation, Han Xuhan found himself at the edge of the pile of leaves in the middle of the familiar clearing. However, the sight that greeted him was almost scarier than the scene he had just left...
The clearing was surrounded by dozens of cultivators, all of them wearing similarly designed white robes, with an insignia of a blue star occupying the middle of their attire.
It seemed that these people were as surprised as Xuhan at the sudden occurrence.
All of them stared at him silently and the cumulative effect of so many glares made Xuhan seriously consider returning immediately to battle the monstrous corpse.
But right then, Han Xuhan's mind suddenly moved down a different line of thought. These guys were definitely not demonic cultivators. Which demonic sect would be dumb enough to walk around in numbers while flashing their sect's insignia and matching robes?
In that case, perhaps a conversation could be started instead of getting killed immediately.
And if Han Xuhan was confident of one of his skills, it was his skill of spewing bullshit to make things work out for him.
"Uhh..fellow cultivator? You are a cultivator, right?"
A hesitant voice came from the cultivators surrounding him. Han Xuhan immediately seized the chance.
"AH! Of course, as you all can see, I just came from the other side of the portal here. I'm Shen Kai, from a small sect nearby. If I may ask, which sect are you from fellow cultivators?" Han Xuhan's tone was laced with a serious sense of urgency.
The first person who had spoken to Han Xuhan looked him up and down and failed to find any familiar insignia on his clothes. He had changed his attire just before entering the portal because his formal robe had been torn in the fight against Shen Kai. That had been a good decision, in retrospect.
"We are from the Stardust sect. I'm sure fellow cultivator has heard of it..?"
Han Xuhan had barely been a cultivator for a month. He didn't even know all the pavilions of his own sect, let alone knowing the names of random sects far away from his home. So he shook his head with a self-deprecating smile on his face.
"Ah...fellow cultivator, I'm but an outer disciple of a small sect with nearly zero reputation in the vast world of cultivation. How can I know the names of such mighty sects from afar? I've never even met any other sect's representatives other than the one closest to my hometown."
Technically, Han Xuhan hadn't lied, other than faking his own name. He was a man of integrity. Why would he fabricate these sorts of lies? Lies always snowballed in a situation one had no control of. If he claimed that he knew this foreign sect, who knows what kind of questions might come next?
Honesty is the best policy! Ahem...
The cultivator who had spoken to him suddenly smiled.
"Hehehe, fellow cultivator, I was just testing your character. You didn't lie even as a form of being polite! I like that in my friends!"
One of his companions laughed. "Stardust sect, brother? Really? That's the best name you could come up with?"
"Yeah, what a stupid name for a sect to have," said another lad.
Han Xuhan felt like they were trying to misdirect him. That name couldn't possibly be the true title of their sect, right?
"Hahaha...brother Kai, It's okay. We don't want to give away our real identities here in these foreign lands. I hope you understand that," the first guy to exchange words with him explained.
"Since you've given us your name, I'll tell you mine. Call me brother Feng."
Meanwhile, Han Xuhan was getting impatient. He had no idea how long Mu Ran could hold on by himself against the zombie. The corpse gave off a very dangerous aura. Xuhan might not be good at fighting, but he wanted to help in ways he could.
"Ah, it’s truly a fortunate incident that I could meet brother Feng. This must be destiny! My companion is in grave danger inside that portal. We'd be very grateful if you helped us!"
"Grave danger? Can you elaborate?" Another one among the strangers spoke up this time, a woman this time.
Seeing the impatient look on Han Xuhan's face, brother Feng added after her, "it's not that we don't trust your words, brother Kai. But one can never be too careful. We need to consider whether we can handle the danger your companion is facing."
It was a necessary sacrifice. What these guys cared about wasn't him or Mu Ran, but the world behind the portal and whatever treasure was hidden inside the fog.
If Xuhan provided them with no precious information, then brother Feng and his peers wouldn't have any reason to risk their lives to help him.
People who understood and operated under the rule of equivalent exchange were easy to deal with.
Han Xuhan knew what brother Feng wanted, brother Feng understood what Han Xuhan wanted. There was no reason to act like savages and deceive each other when both parties could reap the benefits with a bit of silent cooperation.
And it took only an exchange of looks between Xuhan and brother Feng to understand each other's intentions.
Han Xuhan didn't hide much from them. Apart from his tussle with Shen Kai and Mu Ran's obsession with the foggy area, there was no reason for him to keep anything else a secret. Hearing that Mu Ran was fighting a zombified corpse of a mortal, these cultivators from the Stardust sect looked rather relieved.
"Rest assured, brother Kai. Even if the poisonous gas can turn a corpse into a zombie, it shouldn't be able to enhance its strength too unreasonably. We can help you."
Brother Feng exchanged a glance with the girl who had asked Xuhan for details and the two seemed to have come to a tacit agreement. With a gesture from him, nearly a dozen cultivators moved forward while the rest stayed in their positions.
Cautiousness seemed to have seeped into their instinct.
"Well, lead the way, Brother Kai."
Han Xuhan nodded and jumped back into the portal after sharing one last glance with brother Feng.
On the other side, Mu Ran looked like he was barely keeping his life at the edge of the cliff. The blade of his spear looked like it had been bitten by a t-rex. Han Xuhan silently counted his lucky stars that he hadn't tried to stay and fight this nightmarish creature.
"Boss, I got us some reinforcements! Retreat!"
Too surprised to even question how absurd Xuhan's yell was, Mu Ran simply dodged a deadly swipe of the zombie's elongated arm and ran toward the portal. It didn't take long for the so-called reinforcements to jump out of it behind Xuhan. While Mu Ran panted in exhaustion and Xuhan handed him some water he had been carrying around in a sack, the other cultivators slowly drove the zombie back with continuous attacks.
After brother Feng came in through the portal alongside the other female cultivator whose authority in the group seemed to rival his own, the two joined in on the confrontation excitedly.
Within a couple of minutes and with nearly zero injuries, the monstrous zombie was thrown off the cliff, into the bottomless abyss behind them. The two of them watched the battle with bated breaths.
From the battle, Han Xuhan could gauge that all of these strangers were in the upper tiers of the physique transformation realm.
Now that the danger had been taken care of, Han Xuhan could predict how things would advance from this situation.
It wouldn't be advantageous toward him and Mu Ran in the slightest. There was only one way out of this.
"Brother Feng, it seems to us that this mysterious world is far too dangerous for rookie cultivators like ourselves. My friend and I have decided to return to our sect and report this to our sect master. Both of us are injured. So it is hardly a wise decision for us to continue to explore alongside you. Goodbye!"
The person who was surprised the most by Xuhan's sudden announcement was Mu Ran himself. But an imperceptible elbow strike from Xuhan made him shut his mouth.
Brother Feng was taken aback as well, but he hid his surprise swiftly and nodded.
"Tell my brothers outside this exact line- 'Stars Are Shifting As Always'. That's your password. If you try to leave without saying it, they'll attack you. We fixed it just now in case you two betrayed us here and tried to escape. Goodbye!"
"...."
Speechless, Han Xuhan and Mu Ran bade farewell to the group of cultivators from this so-called Stardust sect and left as fast as possible.
Looking at their backs that had vanished into the portal, the female cultivator who had spoken to Xuhan frowned.
"Martial brother Feng, we could have used them to explore further into the foggy area. They looked quite naive and enthusiastic. The allure of some treasures should have made it easy for us to use them as cannon fodder. With some assurances and a bit of coercing, they might have volunteered even."
Feng Jun smirked superciliously. The look on his face surprised his group.
"Hehe...didn't you just say that they looked enthusiastic? Then why do you think they suppressed their greed and backed off despite having no visible injuries? Or did you believe him when he said they were injured? Did you fail to notice that the cultivator who was fighting the zombie actually held a slim advantage over it despite being tired?"
Everyone suddenly looked enlightened by Feng Jun's words and an expression of sudden realization appeared on the girl's face.
"You're saying that Shen Kai kid understood that we might use them as cannon fodder? That's why he ran back so fast?"
"Big brother Feng Jun, you're so perceptive! If we hadn't agreed to let them go, those kids might have deceived us once we enter the foggy area!"
"Hehe, brother Feng Jun has always been the smartest among us. Is that a surprise?"
The group of cultivators fervently praised Feng Jun's wisdom while he forced an awkward smile on his face. He had a feeling that things wouldn't end so simply like that. But he couldn't see any way for those guys to return and explore their way into the poisonous fog by themselves.
Outside the portal, Xuhan and Mu Ran sat on top of a distant tree branch while Xuhan explained the situation to Mu Ran. But Mu Ran grew even more agitated after his explanation ended.
"But I need to go in! Even if it's dangerous, I must do it! If I can't find it... Xuhan, just listen to me. If I fail to accomplish a certain mission inside the fog, I may not live for long. I can't tell you what it is, but I have to go in again. I understand if you don't want to risk it..."
Han Xuhan sighed and patted him on the back.
"Boss, put some trust in me! After all, I was supposed to be sharing the benefits with you when the exploration is over.
Do you think I gave up that easily?
Not a chance."
