Chapter 190 - 178: Speculations about the Boundary Stele

Chapter 190: Chapter 178: Speculations about the Boundary Stele

Li Heng didn’t know what was in the dense fog behind him, but the row of soldiers and the banner captain, a Soul Energy Grandmaster, were right there in front of him!

There was a chance of encountering other dangers in the dense fog behind him, but if he didn’t run, he would be facing danger head-on!

After briefly weighing the two options, Li Heng chose to bolt immediately. Besides, if things got really bad, he could still hide inside the Dungeon.

Because he fled so decisively, Li Heng was moving too fast. As a result, he didn’t hear what the banner captain from Li Liang City’s South City Gate said afterward, focused solely on running.

After the two of them plunged into the dense fog, Li Heng lost sight of Bai Shasha. His vision was obstructed in the fog, and visibility dropped to near zero.

Even though visibility was low, Li Heng could hear the clanking of armor from the running behind him and the sound of synchronized footsteps, so he continued to push deeper into the fog.

"Longbowmen, flat-point arrows! Long Spear Guards, advance!"

While in the fog, Li Heng suddenly heard the voices of the Li Liang City guards. He frowned and quickened his pace.

But not long after he sped up and sprinted straight ahead, the fog suddenly changed. The dense mist began to thin, and the commotion behind him quieted. The clanking of armor and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

"Village Chief! Li Liang City has issued a new wanted notice to all the surrounding villages and towns. The bounty is the highest it’s been in decades!"

"Excellent! Excellent! Just a mere Soul Warrior, and he has a bounty of nearly one hundred million Soul Crystal Coins! If this person appears anywhere near our village, it’ll be a blessing from the heavens for Xiaoshi Village!"

"I heard they caught that villain, but in the end, he was..."

...

Just as the fog began to thin and the sounds of "pursuit" behind him dwindled, they were replaced by the conversational voices of Shi Dazhuang and the villagers.

The voices were full of emotion, and Li Heng listened intently. But just as they reached a critical point, the sounds vanished completely.

The light mist before him also began to dissipate, and his visibility improved significantly. But the first thing Li Heng saw was something that stunned him—the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele!

He didn’t know exactly how far he had just run, but his speed hadn’t been slow while using the Wolf Walk Technique. He couldn’t say for sure, but it had to have been at least a li or two.

He’d run so far, only to end up back at the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele!

’Is this thing playing ’ghost wall’ with me?’

’Forget it! The more I think about this, the more my head hurts. Maybe... I’ll just spend some time in the Dungeon. Things might be back to normal when I come out?’

Seeing the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele once again, Li Heng felt a strange emotion well up inside him. He didn’t want to rack his brains thinking about it anymore.

Instead of fighting a battle of wits with this Smoke Illusion phantom—whatever it was—he might as well go farm some divinity points or take a good look around the Ancient Dust Continent.

Most importantly, he had already gleaned a crucial piece of information from this illusion: the Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon was deeply connected to this Secret Realm, and it also had a certain influence on him.

Furthermore, the Ancient Dust Continent was a Dungeon that recorded nodes. Because of this, Li Heng was also wondering if he should be a bit more low-key or conservative the next time he entered.

"No! Don’t come any closer! My flesh doesn’t taste good!"

Just as Li Heng was wondering which Dungeon to enter, Bao Yaoyao’s voice suddenly reached his ears, filled with misery.

’Bao Yaoyao?’

Hearing the voice, Li Heng looked toward its source.

He saw Bao Yaoyao running slowly toward him, holding her long saber, but behind her was only a patch of fog and nothing else.

When he first heard Bao Yaoyao’s voice—just that first part—Li Heng thought she had run into some kind of trouble and had his Empty Cicada Longsword and throwing knives ready.

But after hearing her next sentence and seeing the situation with his own eyes, Li Heng lowered his weapons. He then stood quietly in place, watching Bao Yaoyao battle her wits against the fog.

"Classmate Li Heng... Big shot! Help me! Two Tier Two Soul Beasts are chasing me! They want to eat me!"

A gust of wind swirled around her feet as Bao Yaoyao, shouting as she ran, suddenly spotted Li Heng in the distance. She immediately sprinted toward him with all her might!

But as far as Li Heng could see, there wasn’t a single Tier Two Soul Beast behind Bao Yaoyao—not even the shadow of a common Secret Realm Creature. There was only the gradually thinning fog.

Since the distance to Bao Yaoyao was closing, Li Heng simply stood beside the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele, gripping his weapon but making no other move.

To be honest, Li Heng definitely wasn’t standing there just to appreciate a certain... bouncy running style. In his eyes, Bao Yaoyao wasn’t in any real danger; there was only a patch of thinning fog.

Seeing this, a theory about the fog suddenly occurred to Li Heng. But it was just a fleeting thought, and he quickly suppressed it, continuing to watch Bao Yaoyao and her earth-shattering run.

"Big shot! Both Soul Beasts are Tier Two! I can hold one of them off! I’m counting on you for the rest! These Soul Beasts, if they think they can eat me that easi... huh?"

Bao Yaoyao sprinted all the way. As she reached Li Heng’s side, her words sped up. Then she spun around, executing a saber technique, the long saber whirling in her hands. The entire sequence was as smooth as flowing water.

But when she turned, all that met her eyes was the thinning fog. Where were the Tier Two Soul Beasts?

"This... Where are the two tigers?" Staring at the thin mist, Bao Yaoyao froze in place, her grip on her weapon even loosening.

After a moment, Bao Yaoyao seemed to realize something. She suddenly leaped backward, raised her saber to face Li Heng, and demanded, "Are you really Li Heng or not! Tell me, when did Li Heng and I first meet!"

...

’Li Heng knew Bao Yaoyao was a girl with a wild imagination, but he hadn’t realized it was this bad. Her impressive bust really must come at a price.’

Though he was internally mocking Bao Yaoyao’s imaginative powers, Li Heng still answered succinctly, "The Secret Realm college entrance exam. I was caught in the rain, my clothes were drying."

PHEW~

Hearing Li Heng’s answer, Bao Yaoyao let out a sigh of relief. She then moved a little closer to him and said with a hint of apology.

"Classmate Li Heng, I’m so sorry! You guys all disappeared suddenly, and I was left alone in front of two cages. Then two tigers chased me the whole way. But... I don’t know if it’s because my strength is too low, but the whole thing felt a little unreal."

After hearing Bao Yaoyao’s words, Li Heng nodded. He figured she had also been affected by the Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele, and it seemed the illusions they encountered were all different.

"It’s fine. Classmate Bai Shasha and I also had a bizarre experience, and it felt unreal too. But since we..."

CLANG~

CLANG~

Just as Li Heng and Bao Yaoyao were talking, the grating sound of metal on metal suddenly echoed in their ears.