CHAPTER 571: CHAPTER 562: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN EARLIER?_1

"I’m also wondering if the appearance of the skeletons has anything to do with the blood moon and the blood sun."

Lu Xingchen walked over at this moment.

Qin Feiyang turned to look at Lu Xingchen and smiled. "Brother Lu, you must have identified everyone’s weaknesses last night, right?"

Lu Xingchen didn’t answer. Instead, he said, "May I have a word with you?"

"What’s to stop us?" Qin Feiyang replied with a casual smile.

The three of them stepped aside, standing shoulder to shoulder on a hillside, gazing into the distance.

"Since you were dealing with the skeletons last night and I had nothing better to do, I figured I might as well observe."

"After all, there’s a saying: ’Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will always be victorious.’" Lu Xingchen said with a smile.

Qin Feiyang raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You really make no effort to hide your intentions!"

"Is there any need to hide them?" Lu Xingchen replied. "I think I know what everyone is thinking."

"I’m not like some people who say pleasant things to your face but are actually darker than anyone on the inside."

"Hmm?"

"Are you talking about us?" Master Fatty’s expression darkened.

"Whether I’m talking about you or not is something you can consider for yourselves," Lu Xingchen said meaningfully, then immediately changed the subject and asked with a smile, "Brother Qin, how are you considering our proposal for cooperation?"

"How would we cooperate?" Qin Feiyang asked.

Lu Xingchen’s eyes gleamed. "Let’s reach the other side together and enter the Imperial Capital together."

"Even if it’s just me and Boss, we’re confident we can reach the other side. Why should we cooperate with you?" Fatty asked dismissively. "What’s in it for us?"

"Indeed, with Brother Qin’s intellect and methods, his chances of reaching the other side are greater than anyone else’s," Lu Xingchen said. "But let me ask you both: if Dongfang Wuheng, Murong Xiong, and Dong Zhengyang join forces, would you still be confident?"

Fatty frowned. "We might not be confident, but are you?"

"Who knows?" Lu Xingchen shrugged, neither confirming nor denying, leaving them to guess his true thoughts.

Qin Feiyang looked intently at Lu Xingchen, pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I agree to cooperate with you."

"I knew Brother Qin was a man of foresight," Lu Xingchen said. "Here’s to a successful cooperation!"

With that, Lu Xingchen returned to his group.

Fatty frowned, puzzled. "Boss, what does he mean by all that?"

Qin Feiyang replied, "If I’m not mistaken, the person he was referring to is probably Dongfang Wuheng."

"No way!" Fatty immediately expressed his doubt. "Are you sure Lu Xingchen isn’t just trying to sow discord? Dongfang Wuheng has always behaved like a perfect gentleman. How could he possibly be dark-hearted?"

"You can know a person’s face, but not their heart. It’s always wise to be cautious," Qin Feiyang said.

If it really is Dongfang Wuheng, then all I can say is that man is incredibly skilled at deception.

「An hour passed quickly.」

Under Dongfang Wuheng’s leadership, everyone moved at top speed, surging towards the far end of the plain.

Surprisingly, they didn’t encounter a single skeleton along the way.

「Unbeknownst to them, the blood sun was setting, and the blood moon slowly began to rise.」

Just then, Lu Xingchen approached Qin Feiyang. "It would be best to suggest to Dongfang Wuheng that everyone rests for a while."

Qin Feiyang looked up at the blood moon in the sky. It hadn’t fully risen yet; only a sliver of its outline was visible.

Qin Feiyang nodded. "I was thinking the same. Let’s go!"

The two quickly caught up to Dongfang Wuheng.

Qin Feiyang said, "Senior Brother Wuhen, let’s have everyone rest where they are."

"Why?" Dongfang Wuheng was puzzled. Now that there were no skeletons, it was a perfect opportunity to press on.

Lu Xingchen said, "We suspect the appearance of the skeletons is linked to the blood moon."

"You mean, once the blood moon rises fully, the skeletons will appear?" Dongfang Wuheng asked, surprised and uncertain.

"Yes," Lu Xingchen affirmed. "It’s just a theory, but we can’t afford not to be cautious. Everyone has been traveling for an entire day; they’re exhausted, both physically and mentally. If the skeletons appear now, it could be disastrous for us all. So, we must rest and face those skeletons at our full strength."

"I don’t think so," Murong Xiong stepped forward at this moment and said. "My guess is that the skeletons were just a trial. And as everyone knows, trials usually only happen once. We already passed that trial last night, so the skeletons won’t appear again."

"Since these are all just guesses, frankly, I’m more inclined to agree with Senior Brother Murong Xiong," someone said.

"I also agree. There’s no need to stop and rest. That would be a waste of time."

The others behind them chimed in, voicing their opinions.

Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen exchanged a look, their brows furrowed.

Lu Xingchen scanned the crowd. "Are you sure you don’t want to rest?"

"What are you afraid of?" someone retorted, displeased. "Even if the skeletons do appear, we can handle them in our current state."

Lu Xingchen frowned and looked directly at Dongfang Wuheng.

Dongfang Wuheng glanced around, then turned to Lu Xingchen and said, "Sorry, but I respect everyone’s decision."

"Fine. Suit yourselves." Lu Xingchen threw out the words and returned to the crowd, his gaze warily scanning the surroundings.

Qin Feiyang said nothing more and quickly rejoined Ren Wushuang, Fatty, and Shen Mei. He immediately took out four Battle Intent pills and Healing pills.

"Take these, quickly. I have a bad feeling the skeletons will definitely appear soon," Qin Feiyang said, handing the pills to the three, his expression somewhat grim.

Without hesitation, all three took a Battle Intent pill and a Healing pill and consumed them.

Fatty then sneered, "These people are truly ungrateful."

Ren Wushuang sighed. "They may be the prodigies of Spirit State, but they rarely venture out for practical experience. When it comes to crisis awareness or survival skills, they can’t compare to you."

"Everyone, pick up the pace! We should reach the end of the plain before dawn!" Dongfang Wuheng called out from ahead of the group.

"It won’t be that simple," Lu Xingchen muttered from within the crowd.

CRACK!

Suddenly, a faint sound reached everyone’s ears.

Are they here? Qin Feiyang’s heart tightened. He looked up at the horizon; the blood moon had now fully risen.

CRACK!!!

Immediately afterward, the ground all around them, including beneath their feet, erupted. White shadows burst forth from the earth.

What else could they be but skeletons?

Several skeletons even burst from the ground at the feet of Qin Feiyang’s group.

"Watch out!" Qin Feiyang shouted, striking like lightning, swiftly shattering the skulls of those skeletons and extinguishing the flames in their eye sockets.

At the same time, Lu Xingchen also engaged the skeletons in battle.

The two of them were prepared, so they counter-attacked immediately.

But the others, who had firmly believed the skeletons wouldn’t reappear, failed to react in time.

"Ahhh..."

"Help me..."

Screams of pain and cries for help instantly pierced the night sky!

The skeletons, like a pack of starving wolves, surged from the ground and began a frenzied slaughter, their chilling, sinister cackles filling the air!

In the blink of an eye, fifty or sixty people were cut down, their blood painting the ground!

Worst of all, due to their earlier complacency, the group had lost all formation and was now completely scattered.

"What is everyone doing?" Dongfang Wuheng roared, snapping back to his senses at the sound of the screams. "Fight back!" He charged towards the skeletons in the midst of the crowd.

There really are skeletons! If only I’d listened to Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen’s advice, we wouldn’t be in such chaos now.

"Beasts, die!" Murong Xiong also charged furiously at the skeletons, his face flushed with shame and anger.

It was he, once again, who had insisted they shouldn’t rest. He had hoped to redeem himself, but instead, Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen had been proven right: the skeletons had returned.

This was undoubtedly an invisible slap, stinging his face. He felt like a pathetic clown.

Therefore, he vented all his shame and fury on the skeletons.

BOOM!

CRACK!

A few moments later, by the time everyone managed to frantically deal with the skeletons in their immediate vicinity, over ten more people lay dead.

However, at the same time, the skeletons from the surrounding area closed in on them, a seemingly endless, terrifying tide!

"Don’t panic!" Dongfang Wuheng bellowed. "Quick, form up!" He led two young men to the front, blocking the skeletons charging from that direction.

Murong Xiong and Dong Zhengyang also led people to cover the left and right flanks.

"Sis, stay with me," Qin Feiyang instructed Ren Wushuang, then, with Fatty, quickly moved to cover the rear.

Several tense moments passed before the formation stabilized.

During that time, inevitably, more people died慘死.

"Senior Brother Wuhen, what do we do?" Everyone was panicking.

"Damn it!" Dongfang Wuheng was seething. While fighting off skeletons, he yelled over his shoulder, "Junior Brother Qin, Junior Brother Lu, according to your theory, when will these skeletons disappear?"

"When the blood sun rises," Lu Xingchen said.

"What?"

"We have to last the whole night?!"

"After traveling for a whole day, everyone’s exhausted! How can we possibly hold out until then?"

Despair instantly filled everyone’s faces.

"Hmph!" Fatty snorted. "Who was it that was boasting just now that they could handle it? Why are you all wailing now? Master Fatty can only say, you deserve this!"

I already warned them, but who listened? Now they’re scared? Too bad, it’s too late!

"Senior Brother Qin, Senior Brother Lu, we know we were wrong!" someone from the crowd pleaded. "We shouldn’t have listened to Murong Xiong’s misguided words! Please, can you think of a way to help us?"

Hearing this, Murong Xiong, already deeply ashamed, wished the earth would swallow him whole.

Fatty smashed a skeleton with a punch and said, "Boss, Master Fatty forbids you from meddling in their affairs again."

"I wasn’t planning to," Qin Feiyang shrugged, focusing all his attention on fending off the skeletons, completely ignoring the pleas from the others.

Lu Xingchen also paid them no mind. Both he and Qin Feiyang were furious.

What were they doing earlier? Now they know to ask for help? The world doesn’t work like that. If you make the wrong decision, you have to pay the price.

Seeing their indifference, the others looked on in misery, their hearts filled with helplessness.

Dongfang Wuheng turned to Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen, frowning. "Both of you, it’s true we were wrong before. But what’s done is done. Why hold a grudge now?"

Lu Xingchen shook his head and sighed. "It’s not that we don’t want to help; it’s that we can’t."

"Aren’t you both Top Grade Alchemists?" Dongfang Wuheng roared. "Can’t you contribute some of your Top Grade pills?"