What? We've entered the territory of Beishan Town?
"What are you waiting for? Turn back immediately." This time, without Huang San leading the way, Zhang Dabiao took the lead.
Because on the way in, some areas were intertwined with vines and completely impassable, so a path had to be hacked out.
After walking for more than half an hour, Zhang Dabiao stopped, his body stiffly rooted to the spot, and the mountain-splitting saber in his hand dropped to the ground.
I was more than a meter away from him, thinking he had encountered danger, and rushed over. When I saw the scene before me, I was not only stunned but also felt a chill down my spine.
Walking back for more than ten minutes, even if we hadn't returned to Huang San's lair, we should have reached another place. But what appeared was exactly where we had stopped earlier, because there was a withered, crooked old locust tree nearby.
Three words flashed in my mind: "Ghostly Wall." Only this could explain why we returned to the same spot after walking for more than ten minutes.
I injected my Xuan Yang True Qi into my eyes and activated my Ghost Eye. The forest, which had been pitch black moments ago, suddenly gained brilliance. There was black Yin energy, green vitality, and red life force... various colored energies intertwined in mid-air, but there was no ghostly energy.
Putting away my Ghost Eye, I couldn't help but frown. "Where is the problem?"
Zhang Dabiao, not believing it, picked up the mountain-splitting saber and said to me, "Little brother, wait here for a moment. I'll go again and see. I don't believe the place I return to will still be here?"
I wanted to tell him not to go and to let Bai Ling'er go, but Zhang Dabiao said he had made marks himself and would definitely be able to find his way back.
"You go with Huang San, so you can look out for each other."
Zhang Dabiao nodded in agreement. Huang San followed behind with some apology, and in a blink of an eye, they disappeared from sight.
Waiting is a long and torturous affair, but the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Ten minutes later, Zhang Dabiao reappeared before me, leading the way with the mountain-splitting saber.
"No way? Do we only have one path left, and we have to enter Beishan Mine Town?"
I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cellar, my heart turning cold. Beishan Mine Town! That was a famous death trap. For so many years, no one had entered and come out. To this day, I had never heard of anyone who had walked out of it intact.
Seeing Huang San's annoyed expression, I didn't want to blame him anymore. He didn't want to enter the Beishan death trap himself. The only possibility was that something around us was deliberately guiding us towards Beishan Mine Town.
"Huang San, think carefully. Did you notice anything unusual along the way?" I asked persistently.
Huang San touched the white whiskers on his chin with his front paws and fell into thought. After a while, he spoke, "When we turned just now, the scene in front of me suddenly darkened. I thought my old injury had flared up, so I didn't pay attention..."
"It must have been at that moment."
It was clear that someone didn't want us to leave and deliberately led us into Beishan Mine Town. Among our group, only Huang San knew the way. As long as he led us astray, we would definitely be led into Beishan Mine Town.
"Ling'er, fly up into the sky and see if there's anything recognizable nearby."
Bai Ling'er nodded and disappeared from sight with a "swish." Just as I was about to find a place to sit and rest, there was a "bang" from above.
Looking up, Bai Ling'er's body, as soft as noodles, fell from mid-air. I was so scared that I quickly reached out to catch her. Fortunately, she didn't fall to the ground. After rubbing her and pouring water on her head, I managed to wake her up.
After waking up, Bai Ling'er shook her little head and said, "I think I hit something and it knocked me unconscious."
Hit something?
Following the position where she had ascended, there was nothing there. Through the gaps in the tree canopy, I could still see the moonlight and starry sky above. You must know that Bai Ling'er's body is harder than steel. If she had collided with a tree trunk, the tree would have fallen, and she would have been fine.
After fully waking up, Bai Ling'er shook her body and took to the air again. However, this time she flew very slowly. When she reached a height of about five stories, she hit something again.
This time, because she was prepared, she retreated a small distance and then stabilized herself. Bai Ling'er pointed her tail at the invisible barrier in front of her and found that the barrier could be touched. It seemed to be some kind of barrier.
After making a judgment in my heart, Bai Ling'er flew back from mid-air.
"How was it?"
"There should be a flight-restricting barrier in the air. I should have fainted after hitting it."
"Flight-restricting barrier?"
Seeing my disbelief, Bai Ling'er opened her small mouth, and a white ball of light shot up into the sky.
Rumble—
Bai Ling'er's emitted cold ice flames hit an invisible wall, turning into a firework in mid-air, and a shower of white snow began to fall around.
"Huh? A Buddhist symbol."
At the point of impact, a golden halo appeared. The halo was composed of many golden threads forming a "卍" character.
"This is a Buddhist Evil Suppression Barrier," Zhang Dabiao said with surprise.
"You recognize it?"
"Yes."
"Then can you find a way out? I don't want to go to Beishan Mine Town."
Zhang Dabiao shook his head and said he couldn't. "I recognize it, but how would I know how to get out? I only know that this is a barrier set up by eminent Buddhist monks with great vows. It's usually used to seal great demons or trap great devils. As for how to get out, I have no idea at all! Buddhism is in decline now, so it's good enough that I can recognize it." Zhang Dabiao sneered, looking helpless.
"Tch! You got my hopes up for nothing." I casually found a withered, fallen tree and sat on it, thinking about the knowledge I had learned.
Barriers and formations, without exception, all utilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to set up a crisscrossing chessboard, and the trapped person is a piece on the chessboard. As long as the tail of the chessboard is found, all problems will be solved.
But where to find this tail, and how to find it, became a big problem. I had originally planned to rely on Huang San's familiarity to get out, but he led us into a ditch.
Bai Ling'er's flight also became useless. There was a barrier in the air, and the surrounding trees were several meters high, even more than ten meters high. Getting out was undoubtedly harder than ascending to heaven.
This also made me understand why so many people had come to explore Beishan Mine Town, yet no one had ever managed to leave alive.
Seeing that I was silent, Huang San drooped his head, listless like a defeated rooster. Zhang Dabiao also sat next to me and said, "If you can't think of a solution, let's walk further inside. Eminent Buddhist monks all have compassionate hearts, so they shouldn't trap us here to die."
"Who can say for sure?" I said, but I still stood up and prepared to walk inside to see.
The further we walked towards Beishan Mine Town, the sparser the trees became, and at the same time, more withered bones appeared underfoot. Most of them were animal bones, and some still had red flesh attached.
This surprised me greatly because it indicated that there were living creatures nearby. As for who or what it was, a ghost or a person, I had no way of knowing.
Zhang Dabiao and I simultaneously drew our weapons for defense. Bai Ling'er also flew into the air, her pair of human-like eyes shining brightly. Only Huang San cowered at my feet.
"Hehehe... Caw caw... Fresh food."