https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-178-The-Foundation-Establishment-Squad/12549626/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-180-The-Ancient-Formation-in-the-Stone-Forest/12549628/
Chapter 179: Ambush
Chapter 179: Ambush
In the following days, the group noticeably picked up their pace. This caused Chu Ning to furrow his brows slightly as the distance between them and the other two squads began to widen.
According to the previous arrangement made by Wen Linghua, the group had split into three squads, but the horizontal distance between them was supposed to be only a few dozen miles. This way, even if one squad encountered trouble, the others could provide support immediately.
Now, with their increased speed, Chu Ning's squad would likely be a hundred miles away from the rest in less than half a day.
Zhang Lu seemed nonchalant about it, while Zou Huqing wore a slightly worried expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words.
Chu Ning could only sigh inwardly and heighten his vigilance.
Fortunately, after half a day of traveling at this pace, they reached the edge of the Iron Meteorite Forest without encountering anything unusual.
Their speed was much slower compared to when Chu Ning and Cen Ziqin had come this way before.
However, the two of them had rushed directly to this location on their previous journey.
Now, as they were searching while traveling, it was natural for their pace to be slower.
At this moment, Chen Xinming, who was walking at the front, stopped in his tracks.
He surveyed the brown mist-shrouded forest ahead and extended his spiritual sense forward to probe. A look of surprise appeared on his face as he said, "Is this the Iron Meteorite Forest? Indeed, the restriction on spiritual sense here is severe. My spiritual sense can only reach twenty-four or twenty-five zhang outside my body."
Upon hearing this, Zou Huqing and Zhang Lu exchanged glances, both looking astonished.
Zou Huqing clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "Brother Chen has just started his Foundation Establishment, yet his spiritual sense can already reach over two hundred zhang. That's remarkable!"
Hearing these words, Chen Xinming merely smiled faintly, but he couldn't hide the pride on his face.
"You two are surely much better than me. I still have a long way to go compared to you," he said modestly.
Zou Huqing shook his head and laughed, "Brother Chen is too humble. I've been at the Foundation Establishment stage for many years, yet my spiritual sense is still inferior to yours."
Chen Xinming's face beamed with pride at these words, but he maintained a calm tone as he replied, "It's of no use here anyway. Let's just go inside and search slowly."
After a brief pause, he continued, "Since we can't move fast in this stone forest, there's no need to stay close together. Let's spread out horizontally, keeping a distance of twenty zhang between each of us. This distance should be safe enough, and we'll be able to cover more ground."
As he finished speaking, Chen Xinming took the lead and began walking forward.
Chu Ning and the others followed suit, spreading out slightly to maintain a distance of twenty zhang between each person as they entered the stone forest.
Zou Huqing positioned himself to the right of Chen Xinming, with Chu Ning to Zou Huqing's right, and Zhang Lu on Chen Xinming's left.
With this formation, either of the two cultivators could quickly support Chen Xinming if needed.
Chu Ning, apparently, was not a factor in their considerations.
After walking less than five hundred zhang into the forest, Chen Xinming spoke up, "What a strange place. Not only is our spiritual sense severely restricted, but it's also being depleted at an unusually fast rate."
As Chen Xinming spoke, Chu Ning examined his sea of consciousness. He couldn't help but marvel at the changes he was experiencing.
"The Divine Refinement Technique becomes even more fascinating as I progress through the third layer," he thought to himself.
Chu Ning had just realized that he didn't necessarily need to meditate to cultivate the third layer of the Divine Refinement Technique.
So, he decided to give it a try, and to his surprise, he discovered that although his spiritual sense didn't increase in this environment, the rapid depletion of his spiritual sense had stopped since he started cultivating the technique.
Therefore, hearing Chen Xinming's complaint, Chu Ning merely smiled lightly, unbothered.
Zou Huqing replied, "Brother Chen, let's quicken our pace and get through this Iron Meteorite Forest."
Chen Xinming, feeling the state of his spiritual sense, nodded in agreement, "Yes, this forest isn't as vast as the bamboo forest. We'll pass through it and wait for the other two squads on the other side."
As he spoke, he increased his pace even further.
The group hurried forward for several more li.
"Hmm?"
At this moment, a hint of doubt and alertness appeared on Chu Ning's face.
Out of caution, he had secretly released his puppet bird to observe their surroundings. Although it was focused on their immediate vicinity, Chu Ning had just caught a fleeting glimpse of something unusual in the bird's line of sight.
It seemed like a shadow had flashed by.
However, the shadow was moving towards the center, and the brown mist in the stone forest was too dense for Chu Ning to get a clear view.
Nonetheless, he spoke up seriously, "Fellow daoists, be cautious. I sense something amiss."
"What have you noticed, Fellow Daoist Chu?" Zou Huqing asked, picking up on Chu Ning's concern.
Chu Ning hesitated for a moment before replying, "I have a feeling that there might be someone around us."
"Someone? How come we didn't notice?" Chen Xinming questioned, his tone carrying a hint of skepticism.
Just as Chu Ning was about to speak again, Zou Huqing quickly moved closer to Chen Xinming and said, "Brother Chen, since Fellow Daoist Chu has warned us, we should indeed be more vigilant."
As he spoke, Zou Huqing reached Chen Xinming's side.
Chen Xinming was about to continue speaking when—
That palm struck the white light.
The white light flashed and disappeared, and at the same time, Chen Xinming was sent flying forward several zhang.
"Zou, what are you doing?"
Chen Xinming turned his head, his face changing drastically as he shouted at Zou Huqing.
It turned out that the one who had just attacked was Zou Huqing.
However, Chen Xinming seemed to have a decent defensive treasure, as he was able to block the other party's offense in that instant.
Zou Huqing's face revealed a bizarre smile within the brown mist, and he did not answer Chen Xinming's question. Instead, he quickly rushed towards Zhang Lu.
Chen Xinming was still puzzled when his heart suddenly became alert.
Before he could react, the next moment, a sharp light attacked him from above.
Chen Xinming immediately lunged forward and activated his defense.
However, this attack was extremely fierce, and the defensive shield on Chen Xinming's body couldn't withstand it.
In just an instant, it shattered, and before he could even fight back, he was sent flying.
At the same time, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
On the other side, Zou Huqing had already engaged with a stunned Zhang Lu.
Chu Ning, who was about twenty zhang away, looked at this scene, and a startled expression flashed across his face.
The next moment, when Chu Ning saw what was happening, he turned and ran without hesitation.
At this moment, the attacker who had struck Chen Xinming appeared, revealing a figure clad in a brocade robe.
Chu Ning's eyes narrowed, and he immediately recognized the man as Song Li, whom he had met once before.
Seeing Song Li in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, Chu Ning knew without thinking that Chen Xinming's fate was sealed.
And next to him was another cultivator at the peak of the early stage of Foundation Establishment, almost at the mid-stage.
Chu Ning knew that taking the offensive at this moment would not be a wise choice.
As he quickly put distance between himself and the others, Chu Ning hastily took out a signal flare from his storage bag, the same ones that had been distributed to everyone earlier.
However, when Chu Ning injected his spiritual power into it, his expression changed.
The signal flare showed no response.
"This..."
Recalling that Zou Huqing had received these signal flares from Wen Linghua and then handed them to him, Chu Ning silently cursed.
"That Zou Huqing, what a clever move. He swapped out these signal flares right under Wen Linghua and my watchful eyes without us noticing."
Since he couldn't send a signal, Chu Ning didn't hesitate any longer and immediately fled using flight.
Song Li did not pursue him at this moment. After sending Chen Xinming flying, he quickly appeared beside Zou Huqing and Zhang Lu.
In his hand was a spear over thirty zhang long, with a snake-headed spear tip and a shaft carved with patterns, emitting a dazzling golden light.
With a wave, a golden light blasted towards Zhang Lu.
Zhang Lu, who was already caught off guard by Zou Huqing's sudden attack, could barely block this strike, and he was directly impaled.
After finishing this, Song Li flashed back to Chen Xinming's side.
At this moment, Chen Xinming stood up, his face pale.
He held a signal flare in his hand, and as he injected his spiritual power into it, a light shone from the flare.
However, Song Li casually sent out a golden light that intercepted the signal.
Seeing this, Chen Xinming's face changed drastically.
He threw the signal flare on the ground, quickly took out a blood-red pill, and swallowed it.
At the same time, a beautifully crafted, radiant fan appeared in his hand.
Chen Xinming glared at Song Li and the slowly approaching Zou Huqing, his face grim.
Gnashing his teeth, he said, "Song Li, so you were really hiding here.
Zou Huqing, good! How dare you ambush me? You've got some guts."
"Chen Xinming, the genius of the Chen family... Humph!"
Song Li's face was gloomy and carried a hint of madness.
"If you die here, I wonder how Chen Hong will feel.
First, my son Song Feng was killed, and now my Song family will be exterminated. Today, I will make you pay for your crimes with blood."
Hearing this, Chen Xinming glared at him furiously.
"Old man Song, stop spouting nonsense.
It's true that the extermination of your Song family was a joint effort, but what does Song Feng's death have to do with us?"
Song Li's face turned even gloomier at these words.
"It has nothing to do with you? If Song Feng hadn't been secretly harmed by you all, how could my Song family have come to this?"
Song Li thought of Song Feng, who had left that day and never returned, and how he had sent Song Cheng and Song Ye to the Reincarnation Ancient Cave, only for them to meet with an accident.
His heart bled at the thought.
If Song Cheng were still here, even if the Song family's strength had been damaged,
the Liu and He families wouldn't have dared to turn against them.
"Go and die!"
Song Li didn't say much more. He waved his spear, and a golden light slashed towards Chen Xinming.
But to his surprise, Chen Xinming, who had been seriously injured by his previous attack, suddenly had his blood energy surge, turning into a bloody shadow and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"This..."
Song Li was slightly stunned, but he soon coldly huffed.
"Trying to escape?"
As he spoke, he gave chase without hesitation.
(End of Chapter)
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