The Earth Sword issued a warning.
"Run away?!"
The message from the Earth Sword made Fang Yuan's heart skip a beat. This fog-filled place was indeed full of indescribable eeriness, but he never expected the Earth Sword to give such a straightforward warning!
Since the days of the Jianghai Palace, the Earth Sword had followed him through countless bloody battles without ever retreating.
Now, with Fang Yuan's peak cultivation in the Heaven and Earth realm, he was considered a powerful figure in the world. How could he possibly be forced to run away?
The Earth Sword may not have fancy mystical abilities, but its heavy blade was more reliable than any divine weapon—whether it was cleaving mountains or smashing the enemy's skull, this "brick" had never let him down.
What was most terrifying was that no one had ever been able to leave a scratch on the Earth Sword. Its origin was certainly not simple.
Now, if this mysterious item was urgently telling him to flee, should he?
No way, he wouldn't run!
After all, with so many life-saving trump cards in his hands, there was no need to escape. Even if the path ahead led to the Nine Hells, Fang Yuan would trample it flat and show the Earth Sword!
And if he couldn't, it didn't matter. He could always restart!
"Calm down, I know what I'm doing." Fang Yuan flicked the spine of the sword lightly, his voice carrying undeniable authority. "After following me for so long, you still don't trust my methods?"
The Earth Sword seemed to feel the weight in Fang Yuan's words, its trembling gradually subsiding. The bloodstains on the blade glowed faintly, as if responding.
After soothing the Earth Sword, Fang Yuan turned to Ruan Chaoan and said, "Keep up this pace, continue advancing."
"Yes, Your Majesty..." Ruan Chaoan swallowed hard.
The demonic energy that had clung to him like a malignant growth disappeared the moment His Majesty spoke. Normally, in a fog so thick one couldn't even see their own hands, an average cultivator would struggle to even protect themselves.
But His Majesty moved through the fog as though strolling in a garden, each strike effortlessly tearing through the demonic forces that tried to attack.
Ruan Chaoan obediently shrank his neck, adopting the posture of a willing bait. All he needed to do was follow orders.
The thick mist seemed alive, at times thin, at times thick, and the next stretch of the journey proved less fruitful in luring demons. None bit the hook.
The fog before them was so dense that even Fang Yuan couldn't make out what lay ahead. This made him furrow his brows slightly.
"Your Majesty..." At that moment, Ruan Chaoan suddenly realized something, halting his steps, his voice tight. "Shouldn't we stop? If we go any further, we might not find our way back…"
He had just realized that they had already lost their sense of direction. The thick fog around them seemed like a wall, making it hard to even distinguish the path beneath their feet.
However, this was likely due to his own weak cultivation. Surely, His Majesty had no problem with this...
As expected, Fang Yuan spoke calmly, "Don't worry…"
Ruan Chaoan was about to sigh in relief, but then he heard Fang Yuan add, "We're already lost."
Ruan Chaoan: "..."
After a brief silence, Ruan Chaoan suddenly cupped his fists and shouted, "As expected of Your Majesty! Even when lost, you remain this calm, as if facing the collapse of Mount Tai without changing expression!"
Fang Yuan laughed, patting his shoulder. "And you, for keeping such respect even in the face of life and death."
Indeed, even Fang Yuan couldn't tell which direction they were going. But so what? With his current setup, his margin for error was maximized.
"Being lost is a small matter. Let's continue forward," Fang Yuan said.
Ruan Chaoan's eye twitched. Was this really a small matter...?
Fine...
The two continued walking. But while they said they were moving forward, they had actually just picked a random direction. Since entering the mist, they weren't sure if they were still heading in the same direction.
Fortunately, at that moment, a red name appeared in Fang Yuan's view once again:
**[Qingming Demon Emperor]**
Another living being... That's great.
"Humans? How did humans get here?!"
The voice of the Qingming Demon Emperor exploded in the fog, filled with disbelief and tremors. In an instant, overwhelming demonic energy surged into the sky, causing the surrounding mist to swirl violently.
"Swish—"
A claw covered in green scales, shaped like a fish fin, broke through the fog and viciously grabbed Fang Yuan's arm. But unexpectedly, the claw didn't strike to kill. Instead, it radiated with binding demonic power.
"Tell me! How did you get here?!" The Demon Emperor's voice trembled with frantic urgency as the claw unconsciously tightened. "Take me out of here… hurry, get me out of this damned place!"
Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
Compared to the previous demons that only wanted to devour humans, this Demon Emperor seemed more eager to escape from this place.
"What a pity."
Fang Yuan's wrist flicked, and in an instant, spiritual power like chains wrapped around the claw. With a muffled boom, the entire mist was torn apart, leaving a gap—
A black fish demon with wings on its back was dragged out. As its gills opened and closed violently, its vertical pupils were filled with horror.
"You, you... what are you..." The black fish demon never expected that, as a dignified Demon Emperor, it would be so easily immobilized by someone.
Fang Yuan didn't give it a chance to speak. He cut straight to the point. "Where is this place?"
They couldn't just charge ahead recklessly. Since even the Earth Sword had issued a warning, this place clearly had some significance. It was time to ask a local demon about the situation.
"Wuxiang Bone Sea..." The black fish demon's gills expanded and contracted as its voice trembled.
It seemed they hadn't chosen the wrong place.
"Then what about these mists?" Fang Yuan continued.
"I don't know, I was born here like this!" The black fish demon struggled desperately. "I've lived in this damned place for 800 years and have never seen the mist disperse—"
"800 years?!"
Ruan Chaoan suddenly lost his voice. His eyes fixed on the flopping black fish, his face turning green and pale—
Three thousand years! He had struggled for three thousand years to reach his current level, and yet this creature, after only 800 years, was almost surpassing him in cultivation!
Was a human genius like him being outdone by a flying salted fish?
Ruan Chaoan felt frustrated. It was one thing to not surpass His Majesty, but now even a black fish had to one-up him?!