After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 241 Twin Rivers Mist

Because they had been delayed in Baiyu City for some time, by the time Shen Xu and his group arrived in Wangyun City, the sky was already shrouded in night. After resting briefly in Wangyun City for one night, the group arrived near Shuanghe Village the next morning.

The morning mist, like a woven tapestry, gently caresses the ancient village, as if a mysterious veil has been drawn over it.

A gently flowing river runs through the entire village, shrouded in mist, creating a dreamlike scene. The houses in the village stand quietly on both banks of the river, seemingly asleep.

In the thin mist, everything became blurred and indistinct, even the space itself became illusory, giving one a sense of unreality. The trees surrounding the village were also shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing as if leading to an unknown world.

"Have you noticed anything amiss?" Bai Lu asked the group, looking at the tranquil Shuanghe Village ahead.

"It's too quiet! Although the river runs through the village, there's no sound of flowing water at all, which is very unusual."

"Given that the mission description states everyone who entered the village drowned in this river, I suspect there's something seriously wrong with this river," Ye Zhi guessed.

"The people of Wangyun City said that the Sword Alliance sealed off an area of ​​nearly a hundred miles around Shuanghe Village a long time ago and cleared out all the residents in this area. This is not the kind of setup that a Class C mission would need to make."

Moreover, even the people of Wangyun City don't know what exactly happened here. The Sword Alliance must be hiding something from us." Guan Bi frowned deeply.

"We're already here, there's no going back, so we can only go in and take a look," Shen Xu said with a hint of helplessness.

He knew the Sword Alliance wouldn't give them a simple task, but he had to take the risk for the sake of the Longevity Pill.

"That's all we can do. I think the fog in the village is a bit abnormal. Shen Xu, you go first and I'll bring up the rear to prevent anything from attacking us," Bai Lu said in a deep voice. She clearly understood that this mission was extraordinary, since ordinary missions wouldn't require them to use teleportation jade tokens.

Just as the five entered Shuanghe Village, many high-ranking members of the Heavenly Sword Battle Hall appeared on a high ground on the outskirts of Shuanghe Village.

"Begin inscribing the magic array!" Wang Rong commanded.

Just after Wang Rong gave the order, a circular magic array began to emerge little by little, centered on Shuanghe Village below, with its intricate array patterns radiating a dazzling silver light.

"Not good!" the array master in charge of constructing the array couldn't help but exclaim.

"What's wrong?" Wang Rong asked, frowning.

“The interdimensional teleportation array cannot be imprinted on Shen Xu’s body. It seems that an interdimensional teleportation array already exists on him. Forcibly imprinting it on him would probably be life-threatening,” the array master said with a solemn expression.

"Then ignore him and just make sure the others can come back," Wang Rong said coldly.

On the ancient stone bridge, moss-covered surfaces reflected the hazy white mist, creating an eerie atmosphere. In the village, everything was unusually quiet; even the usual crowing of roosters and barking of dogs had vanished, save for the occasional bird call, which pierced the mist, sounding hollow and distant.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew by, and the mist began to drift slowly, as if something were moving through it. The atmosphere in the village became even more eerie, sending a chill down Shen Xu's spine as he scouted ahead.

He could sense that the mist he controlled was slowly flowing in one direction, and the direction of the mist's flow was very likely the source of the anomaly.

Although he felt it was foolish to actively head towards the source of the mutation, they had no choice but to come here to investigate its origin.

Just then, he suddenly noticed that the jade pendant Wang Rong had given him was glowing, which puzzled him greatly. Wasn't it supposed to only activate when there was a life-threatening danger? Could it be that they were already in a deadly crisis without realizing it?

Stopping in his tracks, Shen Xu turned to look at the group of people beside him. Several faint lights flickered in the thick fog. Although he couldn't see their expressions clearly through the fog, he could sense a restless atmosphere in the group.

"What's going on? Why did the pattern on my teleportation jade token turn into light streaks and flow onto my arm after it glowed?" Ye Zhi said in surprise.

“Mine too!” Bai Lu’s tone was also somewhat surprised.

“If I’m not mistaken, this pattern should be the complete array pattern that the Sword Alliance uses to ensure our safety,” Guan Bi said.

"The question is, why did the Sword Alliance insist on waiting until we entered Shuanghe Village before imprinting the array patterns?" Li Xiaoyi asked.

Looking at the jade pendant in his hand that hadn't disappeared, then at the jade ring that had vanished from the Qiling White Crane's foot, and the intricate array patterns that covered its entire right leg and emitted a faint glow, Shen Xu silently put the jade pendant into his storage ring.

"It's probably related to their plans!" Shen Xu said with a sneer.

"Plan? Do you know what the Sword Alliance's plan is?" Bai Lu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"We'll find out what they're up to once we get to the bottom of this!"

As the group continued forward, a slowly flowing river appeared before them, with thick fog lingering above it for a long time.

Upon seeing the river, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

"Have we turned back? Shen Xu, are you sure you're leading us the right way?" Bai Lu immediately questioned.

“No, we clearly crossed a stone bridge. Even if we turned back, we should be on the other side of the river, not on this side. Besides, there are no houses near this river, which is very unusual!” Guan Bi said.

"Should we turn back and take a look?" Ye Zhi suggested.

“This river might be another river, and don’t forget the name of this village,” Li Xiaoyi reminded them.

"That's so strange. From the outside, it looks like one river, but why does it become two rivers after we come in?" Bai Lu asked, puzzled.

“Let’s walk along this river! If there’s something wrong with this river, we might find something if we find its source, after all, this village isn’t very big,” Shen Xu suggested.

“Okay!” Bai Lu replied.

As Shen Xu continued to advance along the river, he felt the distribution of the surrounding mist becoming increasingly chaotic. Parts of the mist he was manipulating would suddenly disappear, which reminded him of the severed limbs and dismembered bodies described in the mission description.

"You all need to stay close to me and not take a wrong step. There might be a spatial rift ahead!" Shen Xu warned solemnly, already guessing what lay at the end of the river.

"Shen Xu, are you sure it's a spatial rift?" Bai Lu asked, somewhat disbelievingly.

"I'm not sure, but you'd better stick close to me," Shen Xu said gravely. In the current situation, one wrong step could cost him his life.

Upon hearing his words, all the women fell silent.

Carefully avoiding the areas where the fog disappeared, Shen Xu would test every inch of space in front of him before taking any further steps.

In his previous life, he had heard that the space of the True Origin Continent was very stable, and that spatial rifts would only appear in some extremely special areas.

However, the only reason for the appearance of spatial rifts in inland areas like Shuanghe Village is that Shuanghe Village is connected to a sizable secret realm.

He didn't believe the Four Directions Sword Alliance was unaware of this, but they still sent him to this place without saying anything.

If his guess was correct, from the moment he entered Shuanghe Village, he entered an area where two spaces overlapped, which is why there was one river outside but two rivers inside.

Moreover, it's highly likely that he had no way out, otherwise, so many Qi Condensation Realm cultivators wouldn't have chosen to risk their lives to venture into the spatial rift near the river.

The spatial rifts are silent, invisible, and shapeless; one wrong step and you are doomed.

"A completely unknown secret realm, they're really generous!" Shen Xu's eyes grew even colder.