Chapter 18: Encounter

“They ran into some trouble?” Li Qi looked at A Du, seeking his opinion.

“Let’s take a detour. No matter what it is, don’t get involved!” A Du immediately said. He had experience with such matters; it was never a good idea to rashly join in, no matter what they encountered.

Li Qi nodded. Since the other party had the ability to cope, they should take a detour. The less trouble, the better, and it was best to avoid any unexpected complications.

The two companions made up their minds, then decisively turned around and darted from the mountain path directly into the forest.

They would walk a section through the forest, then double back to the mountain path, bypassing that area. This way, the danger would be drawn away by the Merchant group, and they would essentially pick up the scraps.

However, just as they were about to enter the forest, they heard a burly man from among the Merchants shout: “You two lads over there! Don’t go into the mountain!”

Li Qi found the voice somewhat familiar. He looked up and saw a familiar face.

It was the burly man who had stood up to lecture him earlier today.

After he shouted that, he stopped speaking and focused on waving his choppers, striking them against each other, and continuously shouting.

Li Qi clearly saw that after the man performed this action, the progress bar of the barrier significantly sped up, which meant… the duration of its maintenance was greatly reduced.

In this situation… it was clear the other party was warning him at risk to himself!

“A Du! Stop! Don’t go into the forest!” Li Qi also immediately stopped and shouted loudly to A Du!

But A Du had already stepped halfway into the mountain.

Li Qi’s pupils constricted. He clearly saw a progress bar appear in the darkness, with the words “Attack” written on it.

Seeing that the progress bar was about to fill, he immediately accelerated, grabbed A Du’s backpack, and pulled him back!

But just as A Du escaped danger, he saw a foul-smelling, blood-red maw suddenly stretch out from the darkness of the forest. It was just a mouth, without even a head, as if the darkness itself had opened its mouth!

It was too late to sing now, but Li Qi’s mind stirred, and his body suddenly swelled. His muscles rippled, he clenched his fist, and punched upwards with all his might!

With a resounding punch, the ground vibrated. Li Qi only felt his fist go numb, as if he had hit a stone.

However, the large maw was directly shattered, turning into black mist that dispersed into the air.

With this punch, the surrounding forest suddenly began to stir!

“Roar!” The faint howl of beasts echoed in the forest. The originally silent and deep darkness actually flowed like water, swirling and dark, with rolling black Qi moving through the forest, making Li Qi intuitively understand what “demonic Aura” meant.

A Du’s face turned pale with fright. He immediately began to sing, shouting, “Resplendent Seven Luminaries, shining brightly above.”

This actually had some effect. Li Qi could see the enhancement progress bar on his body. At the same time, the surrounding black mist was also forced back a little.

As A Du sang this song, his body actually glowed faintly. Warm light emanated from his body, dispelling the cold and causing the black mist to retreat.

Li Qi understood with a glance that the song the other party taught him must be used in conjunction with a certain cultivation method, but cultivation methods could not be taught to outsiders, so only A Du could unleash the full power of this song.

The black mist was dispelled for a moment, but A Du also immediately took to his heels, rushing towards where there were more people.

Seeing this, Li Qi also immediately ran away.

Are you kidding? Not running would be foolish. There’s strength in numbers, and the way they were striking their knives so powerfully, it was clearly effective!

Li Qi took large strides, and with his great strength, he quickly ran to the Merchant group.

The Merchant group did not stop them; instead, they actively moved closer to them, their knives clanging continuously, the sound of weapons never ceasing.

A Du also scrambled over. The faint Yang Qi emanating from his body, combined with the clanging of weapons, suddenly made their Aura much stronger. The surrounding black mist and demonic Aura were forced back and could not advance.

Seeing this, Li Qi also began to sing loudly, chanting in that peculiar rhythm: “Resplendent Seven Luminaries, shining brightly above, Valiant Warriors, how magnificent!”

He had the Ox Strength Technique, his Qi and blood were abundant, and stimulated by this song, a steaming heat directly assailed him, like an air conditioner. His skin, already reddish from the Ox Strength Technique, became even more like red copper, not just red, but with a metallic luster.

The Yang Qi that Li Qi burst forth with was actually even more robust than A Du’s, who had a matching cultivation method!

With Li Qi and A Du coming to support them, the faces of the Merchant group members also showed joy. It seemed that perhaps they could get through this night safely?

The group had a great understanding, and although they couldn’t communicate with each other due to the continuous singing and shouting, both sides knew what to do now. They knew that even if they left now, they wouldn’t get far. Their main goal was to hold out until dawn, waiting for the sunlight.

This black mist could be dispelled by Yang Qi, and the Yang Qi of sunlight was tens of thousands of times more concentrated than that from a human body. When dawn broke, it would surely cause the black mist to completely dissipate.

So, the group formed a circle, ignoring their fatigue. The choppers in their hands, the shouts and songs from their mouths, they dared not stop for even a moment. Their arms ached, their mouths were dry, their throats hurt, yet they didn’t even have time for a sip of water.

At first, Li Qi could still rely on the Ox Strength Technique to unleash a large amount of Yang Qi, but after ten minutes, once the duration of the Ox Strength Technique passed, he instead became the most useless one. He could only be said to rely on his strong body and good endurance, so he could step in when others were exhausted.

Thus, the group endured for an entire hour in the darkness.

Looking at the moon phase at this time, it was still the hour of Zi (11 PM to 1 AM), a long way from dawn.

The clash of weapons and the boiling Yang Qi prevented the black mist from advancing an inch.

But this black mist seemed to be at odds with this group of people, unwilling to leave at all, circling and howling, as if waiting for this group to die of exhaustion.

After singing for an hour, Li Qi frowned and simply stopped. Anyway, he was the most useless one, and not singing wouldn't affect the overall situation too much.

He stopped, but he didn’t rest. Instead, he stood beside A Du and said to everyone, “This isn’t going to work. We won’t last until tomorrow. When we all run out of strength, that will be our end.”

As he said this, he scanned the crowd. In just an hour, A Du’s forehead was already sweating, and his voice, though not yet hoarse, was somewhat weak.

And striking the choppers against each other was even more physically demanding. Some of the weaker members of the Merchant group were already drenched in sweat and panting. They might be able to hold on for another two hours, but if they continued, they would surely collapse to the ground from exhaustion.

When Li Qi spoke, everyone looked at him, their hands still working. Clearly, they all knew the current situation, but they didn’t know how to change it.

After all, stopping would mean a threat to their lives.

“Everyone, listen to me, I have an idea,” Li Qi said to them.