Chapter 1 The Beginning

Several business cars stopped in front of the roadblock. The doors opened, and Xia Shuzhi Lian led the team out of the cars.

MPVs were the official vehicles. From Qian Gongzi, who "convinced people with virtue," to team leaders, they all used this type of car.

On the one hand, there were many high-end cars among MPVs, so they could find a car that matched any status. On the other hand, this type of car was the most suitable for leading a team.

Small cars had limited passenger capacity, while vans were too undignified. They couldn't have Lingjing Xingzhe go on missions in Wuling Hongguangs.

"Bang!" Zhang Yuanqing closed the car door, observed the thick fog a dozen meters away through the roadblock, and asked, "Have the people in the fog come out?"

"Within 30 meters of the periphery, you can enter and exit freely. Further in, you will lose your way. Currently, the citizens in the outer area have been cleared," Xia Shuzhi Lian said.

"It's not easy to explain such a large-scale Lingjing incident to the public," Zhang Yuanqing said in a casual tone.

This young aunt had an excellent figure. The close-fitting military green vest supported her full career line, her waist was very thin, and her legs were long. Wearing military boots, she revealed a heroic and cool temperament, like a cold female instructor.

Another female deacon, Hua Yu, also had a good appearance. Her face was round, with some baby fat, her skin was fair, and her eyes were round and big. She always had a sweet smile on her lips. At first glance, you would think she was the kind of well-behaved girl who was easy to bully.

Although she was a deacon, her temperament was fresh and gentle, not serious. She was around 25 years old.

"Block the things circulating on the Internet, and then have the official platform issue a rumor refuting statement, prohibiting discussion on major social platforms. After a long time, it will be suppressed. These are the things that the public relations department needs to worry about," Xia Shuzhi Lian patiently responded to the young Yuanshi Tianzun.

It sounds like the official rumor-refuting platform is dedicated to spreading rumors... Zhang Yuanqing muttered in his heart and saw that the burly Huo Zhisheng Zhe and Jiang Jingwei looked impatient, so he immediately said:

"Let's go in. Colleagues below the Saint level stay outside. If we lose contact and don't come out after dark, immediately notify the Hangcheng branch and ask the elders to take action."

Losing contact in the thick fog didn't necessarily mean they were trapped inside; it was also possible that the signal was interfered with by the fog. So he added "after dark."

After speaking, Zhang Yuanqing took out the Da Luo Xing Pan and naturally walked in front, leading the team into the thick fog.

Behind him followed Guan Ya, Jiang Jingwei, and Yin Shi Xue Qiangwei. The four Saints from the Hangcheng branch fell a few meters behind.

After entering the thick fog, Zhang Yuanqing took out the Da Luo Xing Pan. The black iron cast body was heavy and simple, and the surface of the disc was painted with the stars of the heavens with silver paint.

Pouring in the power of the stars, the silver-painted stars of the heavens were activated, projecting a brilliant galaxy into the air, like a holographic projection solidified above everyone's heads.

Zhang Yuanqing said:

"Follow the position of the stars, and we will never get lost."

The Da Luo Xing Pan did not have positioning or pointing functions, but the stars on its surface corresponded to the stars of the heavens, just like the real night sky.

Taking the position of entering the thick fog as the coordinate, referring to the map of Jinhui City on the mobile phone, and groping towards the museum, they would definitely not get lost.

Seeing this, the three Saints of Xia Shuzhi Lian finally felt relieved. Huo Zhisheng Zhe revealed a hearty and cheerful smile: "This method is feasible. Find the museum quickly and solve this mess. Haha, I take back what I said just now, Yuanshi Tianzun, you are still very useful."

"Of course, Yuanshi Tianzun was brought out by me," Jiang Jingwei in front raised her chin proudly.

Huo Zhisheng Zhe quickened his pace to catch up and asked curiously, "Little Princess, are you now Yuanshi Tianzun's captain?"

"No!" Jiang Jingwei said, "Yuanshi Tianzun and I are not on the same team. Guan Ya and I are on the same team. She is my captain."

"What? How can a Fire Master with such pure blood be a team member for a scout? The Songhai branch must be targeting you. Why don't you transfer to the Hangcheng branch?" Huo Zhisheng Zhe said angrily.

Fire Masters always offend people inadvertently... Zhang Yuanqing looked back at Guan Ya and Xia Shuzhi Lian, who were frowning unhappily.

Outside the thick fog, the Queen sat in the business car, holding her mobile phone and browsing the forum, occasionally looking at the movements outside.

Surfing the Internet was one of her few hobbies, and most popular posts had her footprints.

Unsurprisingly, the bronze sculpture incident in Jinhui City, Jiangnan Province, was on today's hot topics. The official Xingzhe of Jiangnan Province posted a post describing the diffusion of thick fog in Jinhui City.

"Latest news, the Hangcheng branch dispatched five deacons and more than a dozen team leaders, but so far, one deacon led a team deep into the thick fog and lost contact again. Including the team that was lost in the thick fog last night, the number of colleagues who have lost contact this time has reached fifteen, and the situation has not been effectively controlled."

The comments below: "Outrageous, so many deacons can't handle it. The event level even exceeds most evil occupations' troubles. Are those colleagues trapped in the thick fog okay?"

"How could they be okay? The longer you stay in the thick fog, the easier it is to go crazy. It is not yet certain whether it will permanently change the mental state of innocent people. My friend lost contact in yesterday's action and there is still no news. I am so anxious. I never knew the deacons of the branch were so incompetent before."

"Upstairs, pay attention to your words. I am at the scene. This is what happened. The level of the thick fog is a bit high. The deacons have no way to distinguish the direction in the thick fog. It is easy to get lost in it. If you can't find the museum, you can't deal with the source in a targeted manner. This is the characteristic of the Mist Lord, there is no way. The deacons are preparing to wait for the support team from the Songhai branch to arrive and force their way through the thick fog."

"Distinguish the direction? Compasses are definitely not going to work. We need a Xingguan for this. But it seems that no major branch has stationed Xingguan. What can we do?"

"I feel like we can look forward to the support team from the Songhai branch. Eating melons online, remember to reply in time with new news."

"My head is still confused. Ancient tomb? Bronze sculptures? City-shrouding thick fog? Shouldn't these be in dungeons? What's going on with that ancient tomb? I always feel like there is a huge secret hidden behind it."

"Latest news, the support team from the Songhai branch is here. It's Yuanshi Tianzun. He provided a method to distinguish the direction. Phew, this mess can finally be resolved."

"Tianzun Lord is here? That's right, I almost forgot he was a Xingguan."

"Waiting for follow-up."

Such high popularity. As soon as they heard the captain was coming, these guys became blindly confident. The captain's position in the hearts of middle and lower-level members is unshakable, but this exposes the captain in Jinhui City. Seriously, if it attracts a big shot from an evil organization... the Queen frowned secretly.

The thick fog shrouded the area, and the visibility was less than five meters. It seemed that even the sound was shielded by the thick fog. Along the way, the group did not hear any sound.

Streets, greenery, vehicles, buildings...

"Soaked" in the thick fog, the world was silent.

Zhang Yuanqing held the Da Luo Xing Pan and walked forward quickly. Suddenly, the thick fog in front trembled, and a figure roared and pounced, attacking Zhang Yuanqing, who was holding the star compass.

Guan Ya beside him stepped out and kicked the attacker over, her long legs stepping on the opponent's chest.

This was a middle-aged man with an obvious receding hairline, bloodshot eyes, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth, and a beast-like growl coming from his throat. He had lost his self-awareness and turned into a highly aggressive beast.

Guan Ya examined him for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief:

"His mind is confused. He can recover after a period of recuperation. It seems that the bronze sculpture in the museum can only shallowly affect the targets in the thick fog."

Zhang Yuanqing also breathed a sigh of relief, "It may also be a large-scale bewitchment, but it can only do this much."

As long as it wasn't like the Lust God General, causing permanent mental damage, that would be good.

The group continued to move forward, confirming the direction through the Big Dipper while calibrating their trajectory according to the city map on their phones. The deeper they went into the thick fog, the more crazy citizens they encountered, and the more corpses lying by the roadside and in the green belts.

Although they knew that casualties were inevitable in such large-scale events, the hearts of everyone inevitably felt heavy.

Fortunately, these crazy citizens only attacked living things based on instinct and would not destroy city facilities, otherwise the losses would be even more serious.

A quarter of an hour later, they finally arrived at their destination, a gray-white marble archway with a brass plaque that read "Jinhui City Museum."

Behind the archway were steps and a square. The main building of the museum was hidden in the thick fog and could not be seen clearly.

Zhang Yuanqing put away the Da Luo Xing Pan and was about to go up the steps when he was stopped by Xia Shuzhi Lian.

The cold and glamorous female instructor smiled, "The three of you from Songhai stay behind to prevent sneak attacks. I'll take the lead."

The sweet and quiet Hua Yu consciously moved forward and walked with Xia Shuzhi Lian.

Was this because they were worried that their strength was not enough and that they would encounter danger if they walked in front? It was quite considerate... Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, and then he heard Huo Zhisheng Zhe say:

"The level of the thick fog is above level 4. The three of you have just become Saints, and your strength is not enough. Just provide support."

Fire Masters always spoke directly.

Hua Yu and Xia Shuzhi Lian looked helpless and could only explain helplessly, "Don't mind."

In other words, they actually agreed with Huo Zhisheng Zhe's words.

"I'm used to it!" Zhang Yuanqing smiled.

His answer made Hua Yu and Xia Shuzhi Lian show smiles of empathy.

Seeing that the matter was out in the open, Xia Shuzhi Lian simply said:

"According to existing intelligence, the bronze sculpture only exhibits two characteristics: bewitchment and thick fog. It is not clear whether it has life. If it does, its level is at least five."

"This is too dangerous for you, especially Yuanshi Tianzun. You are a key training target of the Five Elements Alliance. If anything happens, our Hangcheng branch can't afford the responsibility."

Okay, he had just become a patrol team member and was on his first mission, and he was already being looked down upon... Zhang Yuanqing was a social person and nodded repeatedly:

"Deacon Xia Shuzhi considers everything thoroughly. We'll act according to your ideas."

Jiang Jingwei looked unconvinced, but Guan Ya pressed her down.

The two sides switched camps, led by the three deacons from the Hangcheng branch, and entered the square along the steps.

After walking a few steps, several figures appeared in the thick fog ahead, accompanied by beast-like, unconscious roars.

Then, low roars came from all directions, and the calm fog quickly trembled. The surrounding figures were looming, and their numbers were dense. They were surrounded.

The square outside the museum was full of citizens with confused minds.

Figures rushed out of the thick fog and entered the five-meter visibility range, swarming towards everyone like ants.

"Don't do anything! They are all ordinary citizens," Hua Yu said loudly, wearing a white dress.

Then, she half-squatted down, pressed her palms on the ground, and the square stone bricks "cracked" and shattered one after another. Vines broke through the stones and grew rapidly.

They were like tentacles, flailing wildly and entangling the violent citizens, tying them up.

Hua Yu got up and said, "Let's go!"

Continuing forward, the group soon passed through the square and entered the interior of the museum.

The thick fog was even heavier here, and the visibility had dropped to three meters. If the person in front walked a little faster, only a silhouette would remain.

The lights in the museum were bright, but the light could not penetrate the thick fog. Instead, it was constantly refracted by these dust-like particles, making the gray-white fog very bright.

"There's a bloody smell!"

Xia Shuzhi Lian at the very front frowned.

Following the smell, the group passed through the lobby and saw a pile of severed limbs and arms at the entrance of the exhibition hall. None of the corpses were intact. Some had their heads chopped off, others were cut in half at the waist. Organs and intestines were scattered all over the floor, and blood had dried on the smooth marble slabs.

"Yunmeng!!"

Xia Shuzhi Lian saw a familiar face among the incomplete corpses.

Her expression changed drastically, and she hurried forward.

Zhang Yuanqing followed the sound and saw the cold and glamorous female instructor holding a woman's head, her face twisted, her eyes wide open. She seemed to have encountered extremely terrible things before her death, and her terrified expression was forever frozen on her face.

Was she Yunmeng? The missing Saint, was she dead like this?! Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank, and he asked in a low voice:

"Are these people all colleagues from the Hangcheng branch?"

The taciturn "Hou De Zai Wu" nodded, his face full of grief:

"All sacrificed."

All sacrificed.... Alarm bells rang in Zhang Yuanqing's heart.

Guan Ya walked to the body of Deacon Yunmeng and looked carefully, calmly analyzing:

"Everyone was killed by sharp weapons, cleanly and neatly, and except for Deacon Yunmeng, everyone else looked very calm. This shows that they fell into some kind of illusion before they died. They may have been bewitched."

"Deacon Yunmeng reacted before she died, but it was too late and she couldn't survive. Deacon Xia Shuzhi, what level was she?"

Xia Shuzhi put down her friend's head and took a deep breath:

"Level 4, eighty percent experience."

Guan Ya immediately said:

"Then, the enemy's combat power is at least level 5, with fifty percent experience."

Xia Shuzhi shook her head:

"Yunmeng is a Plague God. She has a passive ability to ignore physical attacks, but she still died without any resistance. The enemy's combat power should be at level 5, with more than ninety percent experience, infinitely close to level 6, or even level 6."

"Everyone, the danger of the mission is higher than we expected."

Everyone looked around solemnly. A terrible crisis was hidden in the thick fog. Perhaps inadvertently, someone among the colleagues present would lose their lives.

Huo Zhisheng Zhe spat hard on the ground, his face full of ruthlessness:

"Let's go inside and take a look. I want to see how powerful that thing is."

After speaking, he strode into the exhibition hall.

Everyone hurriedly followed. The exhibition hall was lined with display cases, and the items stored in the cases were mainly pottery and porcelain such as pots, stoves, bottles, and cups, with a small number of calligraphy, paintings, and bronze tripods.

In the depths of the exhibition hall, the group discovered another pile of severed limbs and arms. The dead were the archaeological team and the filming crew.

Zhang Yuanqing bent down and picked up the camera. He found that it still had power and said quickly:

"Everyone, come and take a look. There are videos in the camera that they took before they died."

Everyone swarmed up.

Zhang Yuanqing released Xiao Doubi and Gui Xinniang, and asked the two spirit servants to cooperate with the Yin Shi to stand guard to prevent the enemy from sneaking attacks.

Then, he clicked to play the video.

In the video screen, the first thing that appeared was a two-meter-high bronze sculpture wearing armor, holding a three-foot bronze sword and staring with copper bell-like eyes, with an extremely ferocious face.

The texture of the armor and the facial contours were extremely rough, and the manufacturing process could only be considered average, but Zhang Yuanqing and others noticed that the bronze sword was extremely sharp and had been edged.

The voices of the archaeological team came from the video, and the content was academic content such as the craftsmanship of the bronze sculpture and the style of the armor.

At this moment, a young voice sounded from the video, interrupting the discussions of the archaeological team.

The screen switched accordingly, and the photographer gave the camera to the young man who was speaking.

The young man's face was strange, and he said:

"I heard a strange sound..."

"What sound?" his companions asked.

The young man replied: "I heard that voice say, those who break into the immortal gate's demon-sealing land will be killed without mercy..."