Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting.

Ring ring ring!

After about halfway through a stick of incense, the bell suddenly tolled.

Mingshanzi's expression changed abruptly, "Pull!"

Upon the command, several disciples immediately pulled the rope, Hidden Energy erupted underfoot, and they sprinted toward the riverbank.

But shortly after they started, their hearts sank.

The sound of the bell vanished, and the rope in their hands suddenly became slack.

Indeed, after pulling out the rope, the end was already severed.

The fractured end was rough and split, as if bitten by something, and it was covered with bloodstains.

"It was bitten by a human!"

A Daoist sniffed, stating with certainty.

Everyone's expressions turned extremely serious upon hearing this.

The dense fog not far away was like a mountain, obscuring the sky and sun, resembling a giant beast of the Barbaric lands, causing everyone to feel exceedingly oppressed.

"There's no time left."

Mingshanzi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Night is falling, tomorrow is the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, and the demon's plan may advance. We must enter to at least rally the troops."

"If we can contact Young Hero Li and his group, we might gain strong support."

Saying this, he turned and said, "Brother Ling Yun, I will take some people inside, while you and the others wait here to assist."

"If we don't return, do not approach, our Sect Leader will arrive in three days and tell him everything here!"

Ling Yun gritted his teeth, "Rest assured, brother!"

"Let me go too."

At this moment, Cheng Jianxin suddenly spoke.

Seeing everyone's worried looks, he laughed wryly and shook his head, "Don't worry, you handle the action, I'll just help keep watch."

Mingshanzi hesitated briefly, a look of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

He could tell that Cheng Jianxin was old and his vitality was waning, coupled with previous severe injuries, he was beyond rescue.

By entering, he only hoped to use his experience to help them avoid some calamities.

Once the plan was set, Mingshanzi led dozens of experts from Qingcheng, along with Cheng Jianxin and his disciples, cautiously walking into the dense fog.

Inside the fog, the scenery changed once more.

Compared to the outside, the visibility here was much better, everything within thirty meters could be seen clearly, but further away, everything became hazy, and shadows could barely be seen.

"Brother..."

The Kun Dao looked around, a hint of confusion in her eyes, "This place is odd, why does it feel like a dream?"

"Indeed."

"I feel the same way."

Others nodded in agreement.

Mingshanzi said in a deep voice, "The Dragon Palace Water Mansion is a Cave Heaven Secret Realm, existing between reality and illusion, only accessible through dreaming Divine Travel."

"That demon used some unknown means to pull the Dragon Palace into Chengdu, perhaps sharing similar characteristics."

Speaking, he turned to the side, "Sister Lan Chen, here the Divine Skills are suppressed, try to hear how far you can reach?"

The Kun Dao nodded and immediately performed a mantra.

Buzz buzz buzz!

The thirty-six Golden Needles in her hair trembled together.

The Daoist Nuns concentrated for a long time, then shook her head, "I can only hear movements within three hundred steps, beyond that, it's also suppressed."

"That's still acceptable."

Hearing this, Mingshanzi felt slightly relieved.

Although everyone's Divine Skills were suppressed, the Daoist Nun's Secret Technique, although limited, wouldn't leave them vulnerable to attacks from within the fog.

Everyone perked up, continuing forward.

They followed the footprints on the ground, quickly making a discovery.

"Look ahead!"

On the ground ahead, densely lying were numerous corpses, all in tattered clothes, many with heads chopped off by blades.

Among them were several garrison soldiers' corpses.

Their armor and clothes were shredded, and their bodies covered with bite marks.

"It's the people from the slums outside the city."

A Daoist said with a dark face, "They dared to attack the army and even bite people, could it be they are all cursed?"

The only consolation was the absence of any Qingcheng disciples among them.

"Keep searching!"

Mingshanzi's face was gloomy, leading the people forward.

But after about halfway through a stick of incense, they noticed something was wrong.

At this distance, they should have already reached the walls of Chengdu Prefecture City, but now, they were surrounded by wildlands.

Snowflakes drifted through the dense fog.

Looking back, their footprints from before had been covered by snow, making them blur.

It's still an Illusion Array!

With their rich experience, they immediately made the judgment.

"Breakthrough!"

Mingshanzi let out a low shout, and immediately took a stalk of mugwort from his bosom, forming a mantra with his fingers, weaving it into a knot.

He was using the North Emperor Mountain Climbing Skill.

This technique requires little and is best at breaking through illusion arrays. It's simple and convenient, and recorded in "Baopuzi," making it widely known.

The others also performed the Mountain Climbing Skill simultaneously.

Once more advancing, they finally didn't lose their way and arrived at Fu River Pier after many twists and turns.

By the pier, they saw dusty ships docked and many corpses, including not only common people but also numerous garrison soldiers.

Amidst the swirling snow, corpses piled like a mountain, blood staining the ground, frozen into crystalline ice. Among them were a few disciples from the Qingcheng Sect who had gone to investigate earlier.

"Brother Bai Yun!"

A few Daoists saw this, and their grief and anger were overwhelming.

"Be careful!"

Mingshanzi was also angry, but he held them back.

Nearby the pile of corpses, a figure slowly emerged, taking a few swigs from a large wine jar.

This person was tall and wiped the wine from his beard.

"People from the Qingcheng Sect?"

"Perfect, come with me to save that brat Li Yan in the city."

There was no aura leaking from this person, but Mingshanzi couldn't help feeling tense, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Me?"

The man took another swig of wine and turned his head towards Chengdu.

"I'm called Yang Jian!"

...

Unlike outside the city, Chengdu Prefecture had a different scene.

"It's dark, look at the lights!"

"What a heavy snow, hahaha..."

A thick fog blanketed the city instantly. The townspeople were already in a strange state, now even more fevered, rushing into the streets.

The fog obstructed vision, which they mistook for nightfall.

The eerie snow was seen by them as an auspicious sign.

Today was market day, and as the fog descended, the sky darkened, and a variety of colorful lights were lit one by one.

As per the Shu Prince Mansion's order, the entire city was adorned with red lanterns, even with red drapes hanging around various colorful lights.

In an instant, the entire city's fog turned blood red.

The townspeople seemed to be lost in a dreamlike state, unaware of the bizarre sight, becoming even more insane.

They meandered, young and old together, down the streets, as if admiring the lights, with their eyes blood red and long drool trailing from their mouths.

"What the hell is this evil sorcery?"

Sha Lifei felt his scalp tingle, swearing angrily.

At this moment, they stood on the rooftop of a tall building.

Having been prepared, they did not contact the "Joyful God Money," and with profound Dao, they remained sane.

However, because of this, they stood out starkly amidst the crowd.

These crazed townspeople seemed able to smell their scent; once discovered, they would be frenziedly attacked.

"Oh~ oh~ oh~"

From afar, fervent cheers rang out.

That was the parade that was previously worshipping Ma Tou Niang.

But now, atop the bamboo sedan chair, the divine statue had been overturned and discarded, with a merchant bound tightly, his face filled with terror, on top.

This was another who hadn't contacted the Joyful God Money and remained clear-headed.

Amidst the crowd, he became an aberration, captured by the frenzied townspeople, who set up a wooden frame and sprayed kerosene on it.

Whoosh~

A blazing fire rose.

Li Yan and others had no time to save him, as the unfortunate wealthy merchant was thrown into the flames, becoming charred in an instant.

The tragic screams seemed to drive the townspeople into a greater frenzy.

"There's evil spirits in the city, find them and burn them!"

"Burn them, and Heaven will protect us!"

The townspeople, like madmen, with blood-red eyes, ran chaotically about the city, searching for those not cursed.

The sight was truly horrifying.

Even the senior members of the Bamboo Forest Six Leisurely were stunned.

Though they had roamed the pugilistic world, it was their first time witnessing such a scene.

"This... this is a Divine Nightmare!"

Wang Daoxuan's eyes widened, his voice trembling.

"Divine Nightmare?"

Li Yan asked quizzically, "What kind of spell is that?"

"It's borrowing divine power to bring nightmares to the world."

Wang Daoxuan clenched his fists tightly. "I saw this in the Scripture Pavilion at Wudang Mountain. I never thought this thing actually existed."

"Have you heard of the 'The Queen Mother of the West's order'?"

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