After a brief discussion, Han Xuhan and Qian Yun had come up with a rough plan.
Since this was only the second stage of the inheritance test and judging by the three types of orbs inside the foggy area, there was likely to be a third stage of the test too, it would be best to not rush forward.
So they had slowly explored their way deeper, doing their best to avoid any other cultivator. Han Xuhan wasn't particularly interested in the inheritance. And Qian Yun wasn't powerful enough to take on opponents all by himself. It was a mystery how so many wandering cultivators had been attracted to this world fragment. They noticed signs of fierce battles all over the place.
Broken armors, bloodstained bandages, and broken weapons...
The most important clue that had made them sure of their conjecture were the law fragments hastily engraved on any flat surface available to the wandering cultivators. They had even found multiple fist-sized orbs that resembled the emerald spheres shining in the fog. By examining the remnant qi inside the orbs and the recently used law fragments, they had gotten a gist of what had transpired.
After nearly an hour or so, Han Xuhan had heard the familiar voice not far away from their position.
Mu Ran?
Why the hell was he still lurking here? He had reached the second stage nearly eight hours ago!
Regardless, Han Xuhan was elated that he had finally found that guy. At least his own safety could somewhat be guaranteed as long as Mu Ran was around. During some point of their adventure, Han Xuhan had started seeing Mu Ran as his bodyguard...
After explaining who they were about to meet to Qian Yun, Han Xuhan ran toward the source of the commotion.
What greeted them was, however, an awkward sight.
Mu Ran was in his underwear, a half-torn, red loincloth that would drive a bull insane. He was in a striking pose with his arms flexing the triceps. Xuhan only recognized him because of the red bandana on his head.
There were two unconscious cultivators lying on the ground a few meters away in two opposing directions, their crumpled forms creating a stark contrast in the background.
"Boss, why are you naked? There are no girls in here! Don't tell me-"
Han Xuhan gasped as his eyes flickered toward the two guys lying on the ground. He couldn't help but ridicule this visage.
Mu Ran's expression darkened behind the mask in turn.
"Underling Xuhan? How did you get here?"
Mu Ran lost his composure and hurriedly strode over to the nearest unconscious guy. Then he started stripping him. Han Xuhan wanted to crack another joke. But noticing the dangerous tone in Mu Ran's voice, he decided not to goad him further.
"Ah well, the first stage wasn't that hard, right? I...erm-accidentally discovered how to decipher the texts and then just kind of winged it, ehehe."
Qian Yun gave Xuhan a grateful nod while Mu Ran was trying to wear the 'newly acquired robe'. If Xuhan had told Mu Ran that Qian Yun and he knew Mu Ran's big secret, then Mu Ran might not hold much goodwill toward Qian Yun. And in a perilous place like this, trusting your back to someone like that was akin to walking around with unstable explosives.
Mu Ran buttoned the robe up and then stared imperiously at Xuhan.
"Accidentally discovered? Winged it?"
Mu Ran's suspicion was palpable. He himself had to spend half an hour in there trying to examine if there was any law that might go against his law fragment; and that too despite being able to decipher the language of laws smoothly. He had had a lot of practice before taking up this particular mission after all. But what about his underling? Little Xuhan was supposed to be stuck at the first stage until Mu Ran finished his business here. How did he 'accidentally' end up passing through the first stage?
"Ah boss, the rest of us aren't as knowledgeable as you. I heard you solved the first stage within half an hour and left everyone feeling jealous! Wish I could do anything remotely so cool! But that was eight hours ago. Why are you still here fighting for the emerald orbs?"
Xuhan avoided the question with some bootlicking and drew Mu Ran's attention elsewhere.
"These orbs?"
Mu Ran held one of the fallen gem-like spheres up.
"As you might've realized already, they are valuable sources of power. In this inheritance test, there is a suspicious lack of treasures and rewards. So I thought I should collect everything I can get my hands on."
Hearing Mu Ran's answer, one thought ran through Xuhan's mind.
This guy was spewing bullshit again.
But he couldn't point it out without admitting that he knew about Mu Ran's ability to fuel his own law fragments. Speaking of that, how long would it take for Mu Ran to realize what a blunder he had made back in there?
"And who is this?"
Mu Ran pointed at Qian Yun, a slight unease creeping into his tone.
"Ah, this is brother Qian Yun. He is a friend who helped me pass through the circle of laws. We can trust him, temporarily. "
Mu Ran nodded as if he had understood everything now. No wonder little Xuhan could advance till here. He had managed to get a helper with a cultivation base of the fifth layer!
"I am glad to see that you're making such good progress even without my help, underling. Now, Let's go forward and finish this! We can talk about the rest of our stories on the way."
Mu Ran took out a broken blade embedded in the ground and raised his nose in the air like a proud cock.
The four of them started walking in a tight-knit group. Han Xuhan imperceptibly made a gesture to Qian Yun, who caught onto what he meant and slowly slinked backwards to give Mu Ran and Xuhan a chance to hold a private discussion.
"Boss, before we entered this place, you told me that you HAD TO accomplish something here, remember? Or there would be dire consequences, right? So why are you still hanging back at the periphery of the second stage? Don't feed me that previous bullshit answer again. We're on the same side!"
Mu Ran gave Xuhan a sideways glance and then looked back toward Qian Yun and Zhanxian walking behind them, a dozen meters away at the edge of the clearing made by the floating law fragments where their conversation wouldn't be heard.
"Xuhan, I understand that you're very curious about what I'm trying to do in here. But I myself am not totally sure of it either."
Han Xuhan looked at him in utter disbelief. Not sure about it yet he risked his life over it?
"It's sort of like this; I have some crucial information regarding what to expect, but it's not necessarily true. The person I got the information from visited this place a long time ago, and things have changed since then."
Han Xuhan caught the keyword in Mu Ran's explanation. Of course, Mu Ran was using guidance from his soul grandpa. It did fall into the chain of logic he had been following so far.
"But that's not why you've fallen behind, right boss?"
Mu Ran nodded, a contemplative expression appearing on his face.
"Indeed, it's not. However, did you notice that the Holy Land of Laws operates in rather extreme ways, underling ?"
Han Xuhan thought back to his experience here so far and had to agree. The forceful infiltration of people's dao base was way too much to accept. But at the same time, if it was up to him, that was the type of trap he himself would set in order to protect this place from powerful experts. So he hadn't paid much attention to this detail previously.
"Since you're in the second stage, it means you've already comprehended some of the law fragments from the circle of laws already. This means your dao base has already been imprinted with a seal of the Holy Land of Laws. This type of seals are nearly impossible to erase, so I can only offer my condolences. If you think about it, someone who would do such vicious things is either desperate or purely a sinister demon in human skin. So I'm a bit hesitant to be the first one to reach the center of the foggy area. This is one of the main reasons why I'm hanging back. By now, the rest of our opponents should have gotten closer to the center of the fog. The second stage is a very large area full of perils. So I don't have to worry about anyone suddenly completing the entire test before I can."
Han Xuhan opened his mouth to defend this 'demon in human skin' in Mu Ran's words, but he decided to not pursue the issue in the end.
"But you don't have to worry about this. Even if the expert who set this testing ground bears any ill will toward us, I have a way to handle it. And that reminds me, did you perhaps read what I wrote on the ground back in the stadium?" Mu Ran suddenly asked in a concerned tone.
"...Ah, about that, boss," Han Xuhan laughed sneakily, making Mu Ran even more uneasy than he already was. He had made a rash move back then and hadn't thought about the consequences of anyone managing to decipher his law fragment. It had seemed like a very unlikely possibility back then. Now he could only regret it.
"You don't need to worry at all! As your underling, how can I let others spy on your secrets? Before I passed through the first stage, I made sure that everyone inside the circle of laws was transported outside! None of them will ever know what you wrote down in there!"
Han Xuhan explained what he had done to Mu Ran, who was struck dumb for a few moments upon hearing him.
His underling was too useful!
Such a loose end has been taken care of so easily! Even though now Han Xuhan knew his big secret, Mu Ran could live with it.
Just when he was about to praise Xuhan for the clever scheme, a strange sound came from ahead of them.
"What was that ?" Xuhan asked, distracted and slightly frightened. The sound was a bit too loud for a cultivator or two to make while moving.
Qian Yun reached closer to them with long, hurried strides, accompanied by Zhanxian. Mu Ran took out his broken blade again.
The four of them vigilantly stared ahead while standing in a tight-knit formation.
The sound came again, but this time from their right. It was similar to the type of sound made by dozens of beasts running together, breathing heavily.
Again, they heard it, this time from their back. Han Xuhan had a sudden feeling of being surrounded by countless scary predators. And judging by Mu Ran's shaking hands and Qian Yun's sweaty palms, he wasn't the only one feeling a terrible sense of dread.
Soon, claws reached out from within the fog, followed by giant shapes.
Terrifying zombies in all sorts of sizes and shapes that could only be found in overly imaginative nightmares were surrounding them. Some of them were up to three meters in height despite being on all fours. Some of them had extra limbs that resembled demonic beasts in legends.
Bone spurs, mutilated wings, fat acid sacs, and many more frightening appendages could be seen all over their body. Compared to these zombies, the one they had faced outside the foggy area was like a cute puppy.
Following behind these nightmarish creatures was a lone figure who seemed to be controlling them. As the zombie army came closer, Mu Ran gripped his blade and Qian Yun took out a stack of papers from within his robe.
Han Xuhan considered asking Zhanxian to befriend his fellow undeads and ask them to spare their lives, but that wouldn't probably work out very well.
Suddenly, an unexpected situation took place. A female voice came from the shadowy figure behind the undead army and broke the intense silence.
"Mu Ran? Han Xuhan?"
After a brief discussion, Han Xuhan and Qian Yun had come up with a rough plan.
Since this was only the second stage of the inheritance test and judging by the three types of orbs inside the foggy area, there was likely to be a third stage of the test too, it would be best to not rush forward.
So they had slowly explored their way deeper, doing their best to avoid any other cultivator. Han Xuhan wasn't particularly interested in the inheritance. And Qian Yun wasn't powerful enough to take on opponents all by himself. It was a mystery how so many wandering cultivators had been attracted to this world fragment. They noticed signs of fierce battles all over the place.
Broken armors, bloodstained bandages, and broken weapons...
The most important clue that had made them sure of their conjecture were the law fragments hastily engraved on any flat surface available to the wandering cultivators. They had even found multiple fist-sized orbs that resembled the emerald spheres shining in the fog. By examining the remnant qi inside the orbs and the recently used law fragments, they had gotten a gist of what had transpired.
After nearly an hour or so, Han Xuhan had heard the familiar voice not far away from their position.
Mu Ran?
Why the hell was he still lurking here? He had reached the second stage nearly eight hours ago!
Regardless, Han Xuhan was elated that he had finally found that guy. At least his own safety could somewhat be guaranteed as long as Mu Ran was around. During some point of their adventure, Han Xuhan had started seeing Mu Ran as his bodyguard...
After explaining who they were about to meet to Qian Yun, Han Xuhan ran toward the source of the commotion.
What greeted them was, however, an awkward sight.
Mu Ran was in his underwear, a half-torn, red loincloth that would drive a bull insane. He was in a striking pose with his arms flexing the triceps. Xuhan only recognized him because of the red bandana on his head.
There were two unconscious cultivators lying on the ground a few meters away in two opposing directions, their crumpled forms creating a stark contrast in the background.
"Boss, why are you naked? There are no girls in here! Don't tell me-"
Han Xuhan gasped as his eyes flickered toward the two guys lying on the ground. He couldn't help but ridicule this visage.
Mu Ran's expression darkened behind the mask in turn.
"Underling Xuhan? How did you get here?"
Mu Ran lost his composure and hurriedly strode over to the nearest unconscious guy. Then he started stripping him. Han Xuhan wanted to crack another joke. But noticing the dangerous tone in Mu Ran's voice, he decided not to goad him further.
"Ah well, the first stage wasn't that hard, right? I...erm-accidentally discovered how to decipher the texts and then just kind of winged it, ehehe."
Qian Yun gave Xuhan a grateful nod while Mu Ran was trying to wear the 'newly acquired robe'. If Xuhan had told Mu Ran that Qian Yun and he knew Mu Ran's big secret, then Mu Ran might not hold much goodwill toward Qian Yun. And in a perilous place like this, trusting your back to someone like that was akin to walking around with unstable explosives.
Mu Ran buttoned the robe up and then stared imperiously at Xuhan.
"Accidentally discovered? Winged it?"
Mu Ran's suspicion was palpable. He himself had to spend half an hour in there trying to examine if there was any law that might go against his law fragment; and that too despite being able to decipher the language of laws smoothly. He had had a lot of practice before taking up this particular mission after all. But what about his underling? Little Xuhan was supposed to be stuck at the first stage until Mu Ran finished his business here. How did he 'accidentally' end up passing through the first stage?
"Ah boss, the rest of us aren't as knowledgeable as you. I heard you solved the first stage within half an hour and left everyone feeling jealous! Wish I could do anything remotely so cool! But that was eight hours ago. Why are you still here fighting for the emerald orbs?"
Xuhan avoided the question with some bootlicking and drew Mu Ran's attention elsewhere.
"These orbs?"
Mu Ran held one of the fallen gem-like spheres up.
"As you might've realized already, they are valuable sources of power. In this inheritance test, there is a suspicious lack of treasures and rewards. So I thought I should collect everything I can get my hands on."
Hearing Mu Ran's answer, one thought ran through Xuhan's mind.
This guy was spewing bullshit again.
But he couldn't point it out without admitting that he knew about Mu Ran's ability to fuel his own law fragments. Speaking of that, how long would it take for Mu Ran to realize what a blunder he had made back in there?
"And who is this?"
Mu Ran pointed at Qian Yun, a slight unease creeping into his tone.
"Ah, this is brother Qian Yun. He is a friend who helped me pass through the circle of laws. We can trust him, temporarily. "
Mu Ran nodded as if he had understood everything now. No wonder little Xuhan could advance till here. He had managed to get a helper with a cultivation base of the fifth layer!
"I am glad to see that you're making such good progress even without my help, underling. Now, Let's go forward and finish this! We can talk about the rest of our stories on the way."
Mu Ran took out a broken blade embedded in the ground and raised his nose in the air like a proud cock.
The four of them started walking in a tight-knit group. Han Xuhan imperceptibly made a gesture to Qian Yun, who caught onto what he meant and slowly slinked backwards to give Mu Ran and Xuhan a chance to hold a private discussion.
"Boss, before we entered this place, you told me that you HAD TO accomplish something here, remember? Or there would be dire consequences, right? So why are you still hanging back at the periphery of the second stage? Don't feed me that previous bullshit answer again. We're on the same side!"
Mu Ran gave Xuhan a sideways glance and then looked back toward Qian Yun and Zhanxian walking behind them, a dozen meters away at the edge of the clearing made by the floating law fragments where their conversation wouldn't be heard.
"Xuhan, I understand that you're very curious about what I'm trying to do in here. But I myself am not totally sure of it either."
Han Xuhan looked at him in utter disbelief. Not sure about it yet he risked his life over it?
"It's sort of like this; I have some crucial information regarding what to expect, but it's not necessarily true. The person I got the information from visited this place a long time ago, and things have changed since then."
Han Xuhan caught the keyword in Mu Ran's explanation. Of course, Mu Ran was using guidance from his soul grandpa. It did fall into the chain of logic he had been following so far.
"But that's not why you've fallen behind, right boss?"
Mu Ran nodded, a contemplative expression appearing on his face.
"Indeed, it's not. However, did you notice that the Holy Land of Laws operates in rather extreme ways, underling ?"
Han Xuhan thought back to his experience here so far and had to agree. The forceful infiltration of people's dao base was way too much to accept. But at the same time, if it was up to him, that was the type of trap he himself would set in order to protect this place from powerful experts. So he hadn't paid much attention to this detail previously.
"Since you're in the second stage, it means you've already comprehended some of the law fragments from the circle of laws already. This means your dao base has already been imprinted with a seal of the Holy Land of Laws. This type of seals are nearly impossible to erase, so I can only offer my condolences. If you think about it, someone who would do such vicious things is either desperate or purely a sinister demon in human skin. So I'm a bit hesitant to be the first one to reach the center of the foggy area. This is one of the main reasons why I'm hanging back. By now, the rest of our opponents should have gotten closer to the center of the fog. The second stage is a very large area full of perils. So I don't have to worry about anyone suddenly completing the entire test before I can."
Han Xuhan opened his mouth to defend this 'demon in human skin' in Mu Ran's words, but he decided to not pursue the issue in the end.
"But you don't have to worry about this. Even if the expert who set this testing ground bears any ill will toward us, I have a way to handle it. And that reminds me, did you perhaps read what I wrote on the ground back in the stadium?" Mu Ran suddenly asked in a concerned tone.
"...Ah, about that, boss," Han Xuhan laughed sneakily, making Mu Ran even more uneasy than he already was. He had made a rash move back then and hadn't thought about the consequences of anyone managing to decipher his law fragment. It had seemed like a very unlikely possibility back then. Now he could only regret it.
"You don't need to worry at all! As your underling, how can I let others spy on your secrets? Before I passed through the first stage, I made sure that everyone inside the circle of laws was transported outside! None of them will ever know what you wrote down in there!"
Han Xuhan explained what he had done to Mu Ran, who was struck dumb for a few moments upon hearing him.
His underling was too useful!
Such a loose end has been taken care of so easily! Even though now Han Xuhan knew his big secret, Mu Ran could live with it.
Just when he was about to praise Xuhan for the clever scheme, a strange sound came from ahead of them.
"What was that ?" Xuhan asked, distracted and slightly frightened. The sound was a bit too loud for a cultivator or two to make while moving.
Qian Yun reached closer to them with long, hurried strides, accompanied by Zhanxian. Mu Ran took out his broken blade again.
The four of them vigilantly stared ahead while standing in a tight-knit formation.
The sound came again, but this time from their right. It was similar to the type of sound made by dozens of beasts running together, breathing heavily.
Again, they heard it, this time from their back. Han Xuhan had a sudden feeling of being surrounded by countless scary predators. And judging by Mu Ran's shaking hands and Qian Yun's sweaty palms, he wasn't the only one feeling a terrible sense of dread.
Soon, claws reached out from within the fog, followed by giant shapes.
Terrifying zombies in all sorts of sizes and shapes that could only be found in overly imaginative nightmares were surrounding them. Some of them were up to three meters in height despite being on all fours. Some of them had extra limbs that resembled demonic beasts in legends.
Bone spurs, mutilated wings, fat acid sacs, and many more frightening appendages could be seen all over their body. Compared to these zombies, the one they had faced outside the foggy area was like a cute puppy.
Following behind these nightmarish creatures was a lone figure who seemed to be controlling them. As the zombie army came closer, Mu Ran gripped his blade and Qian Yun took out a stack of papers from within his robe.
Han Xuhan considered asking Zhanxian to befriend his fellow undeads and ask them to spare their lives, but that wouldn't probably work out very well.
Suddenly, an unexpected situation took place. A female voice came from the shadowy figure behind the undead army and broke the intense silence.
"Mu Ran? Han Xuhan?"
