Feng Xingzhi raised his hand, channeling his spiritual power in an attempt to disperse the mist before them.
However, that power seemed to strike cotton, disappearing into the mist as if being devoured.
Ji Yunxi gently patted Feng Xingzhi's hand in a soothing gesture. "Azhi, it seems this is no ordinary mist. We shouldn't try to confront it head - on."
Li Jiuge was still not fully awake, her head feeling dizzy. "Yunxi, why is the fifth level so difficult..."
"Not necessarily. In my opinion, the fifth level shouldn't be like this originally. Maybe someone is deliberately making things difficult for us."
Ji Yunxi always had a premonition that she was being watched, as if a pair of eyes were following her from afar.
Ji Yunyi was a bit worried. "Yunxi, we can't reach Qingxuan now, and this persistent mist has suddenly appeared. His situation must be grim. We should find him as soon as possible."
Ji Yunxi was naturally worried about her spiritual beast too. She activated the contract once again, and the inscriptions glowed behind her. But there was no response for a long time.
"No, Qingxuan still isn't responding to me."
Ji Yunxi frowned, a sense of unease creeping in. With no visibility, it was already difficult for them to move forward, let alone find someone.
Since their spiritual power couldn't disperse the mist, the group stood still, afraid to move.
Seeing Ji Yunxi getting a bit anxious, Feng Xingzhi comforted her. "Qingxuan's original form is a mysterious bird. Mysterious birds are born with eyes that can see through illusions. This mere mist should be no problem. Don't worry too much."
Ji Yunxi let out a sigh and nodded.
"What should we do next? We can't just stand in this fog forever. We don't even know when it will disperse."
"Let's just keep walking. Maybe the mist will clear as we move." Ji Yunyi, who was getting sore from standing, just wanted to move on.
Outside the forest, Lü Chengming was sitting on a chair, holding a cup of water brought by his attendant.
"How's it going?"
"They've been trapped in the fog, and all the exits around are guarded." Sang Qingzhou had a sly smile on his face.
Lü Chengming burst into laughter. "Well done!"
"Ji Yunxi, you're doomed for offending me!"
The group followed the trees beside them. But after walking for a long time, they were still surrounded by the thick fog.
Li Jiuge let out a sigh. Suddenly, she found that she could hardly see. She quickly tugged at Ji Yunxi's hand. "Yunxi! I... I can't see clearly!"
Ji Yunxi's heart skipped a beat. Could the mist be poisonous?!
She instinctively let go of Feng Xingzhi's hand, but fortunately, he quickly grabbed her back. "Don't let go. Let's form a circle so we can see each other."
Ji Yunxi then came to her senses, quickly gripping his hand again. She motioned for the others to quickly form a circle. They were so close that they could see each other's faces.
"Jiuge, don't be afraid. Let me take a look at you."
Ji Yunxi leaned closer to Li Jiuge's face. There was nothing abnormal about her eyes, and there were no signs of poisoning on her body either.
Li Jiuge was extremely nervous. If she really went blind, wouldn't she become a burden to them?
The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. She reached out her hand, trying to grab someone beside her, but she couldn't touch anyone. The faint shadows she could still see before were now getting even blurrier.
Feng Xingzhi noticed her groping around in a panic and offered his sleeve. "Don't panic. It should be okay."
"Yes, you're not poisoned. Maybe you're just having blurred vision?" Ji Yunxi was also confused. How could a person just go blind out of the blue?
Ji Yunyi suddenly remembered something. "Yunxi, all we can see now is white fog. Maybe we've been staring at the blank white for too long, and our eyes are just tired."
Feng Xingzhi realized. "That should be it. I remember there's snow blindness, which is caused by looking at the white snow for too long and hurting the eyes."
He tore a piece of cloth from his clothes and put it on Li Jiuge's eyes.
"Jiuge, from now on, just follow us. Don't take off the cloth until we get out."
With Li Jiuge's eyesight problem, it was even more difficult for the four of them to move forward.
The little beast poked its head out of Ji Yunxi's bosom. "Aww..."
Only then did Ji Yunxi remember the little thing in her arms.
"Is it... trying to get down?"
Seeing it struggling constantly, seemingly wanting to land on the ground, Ji Yunxi put the little beast down. To her surprise, as soon as it touched the ground, it walked firmly in one direction.
Feng Xingzhi's eyes lit up with surprise. "Xixi, let's follow it. It's a beast, and its eyes can see things we can't."
Without hesitation, the group followed the little beast. Li Jiuge, with her eyes covered, could only rely on her senses. After a while, she stopped the others. "Wait, we're going in circles!"
"What?!"
Ji Yunyi, who had to pull Li Jiuge along while running, was out of breath. Who would have thought that after running for so long, they were on the wrong track.
He immediately lost his spirit. "I should have thought of it. This little beast is so small. It definitely can't find the way!"
Ji Yunxi was also confused by what was happening in front of her and could only sit down to rest.
After catching his breath, Feng Xingzhi suggested, "Let's mark our way as we go and explore bit by bit. Maybe we'll find something. It's better than just waiting for death."
Changing their method, the group stood up and continued on their journey. Fortunately, this time they didn't return to the starting point, and the little beast had disappeared somewhere.
After what seemed like a long time, Ji Yunxi felt a sinking feeling in her heart. That feeling of being calculated came over her again.
There must be someone deliberately trying to trap them.
"We can't see clearly... that's because we're in the middle of it. What if we get out?" Ji Yunxi looked up at the sky and decided to go to a higher place to take a look.
She exchanged a glance with Feng Xingzhi and saw the support in his eyes. Ji Yunxi stood up and rushed out of the fog.
But even at a high place, she still couldn't see anything. Ji Yunxi didn't dare to leave, fearing that she wouldn't be able to return to the original place if she did.
Just then, an arrow suddenly flew from afar, piercing through the fog and heading straight for her.
Ji Yunxi quickly turned her head and dodged. She squinted her eyes and looked in the direction the arrow came from.
Sure enough, someone had been waiting for her. The fog here must be their doing.
Feng Xingzhi couldn't see what was happening in the sky, but he could hear the arrow cutting through the clouds. The three of them immediately stood up. They didn't dare to shout Ji Yunxi's name directly and could only wait anxiously.
"Xixi! Are you okay?!"
Fortunately, Ji Yunxi soon landed. "I'm okay. There's definitely something wrong with this fog. That arrow was aimed at us."
She was a bit angry. The enemy was in the dark while they were in the open. It was like being toyed with. Looking around, there was still fog everywhere.
Ji Yunxi said coldly, "If you have the guts, fight us face - to - face. Hiding in the dark is cowardly!"