Chapter 265: Danger Everywhere

Before they left, the middle-aged man in the military uniform informed them about the reward for drawing the map.

Within an area of 10 kilometers of the unexplored area, the team needed to note down the terrain and the creatures living there, and provide detailed reports on how dangerous it was.

If they successfully brought back a completed map, they would be rewarded with 10 million contribution points and the chance to purchase a piece of treasure from the otherworld.

Contribution points could be exchanged for money on the blue planet, but what attracted people the most was the chance to buy treasures from the otherworld. In the early stages of the exploration, Jiangnan province had collected many such things from the otherworld.

In order to give more martial arts practitioners the motivation to explore the wasteland, they had no choice but to use it as a reward.

…

More than 10 meters away from the entrance of the stronghold, the team was making a final check before setting off.

Chen Yiming observed his surroundings. In this area that was named the damp wasteland, one could only see wet soil everywhere. Strangely, there were no plants growing there.

There was no end in sight, and there was no shelter anywhere. It was as if it was a huge mouth that was waiting for its prey to enter.

In such an environment, the advantage was that one could spot any danger in advance and avoid them from far away. The disadvantage was that if one was surrounded by creatures from the otherworld, one could not effectively dodge them and would easily be chased down by them.

He repeatedly reminded himself, “This is the otherworld, not the blue planet. As my combat strength rivals that of a true master, I can’t help but feel a little arrogant, but I have to regain my cautious attitude.”

Zhang Cheng was a little nervous. He repeatedly wiped the long saber in his hand and looked at Xu Xiurong, who was packing her bag, and asked, “Are you confident?”

Xu Xiurong checked the tools she had packed to deal with the undead creatures. She stood up and carried her backpack. “The core of the undead creatures is their spirit. It’s not like the Xu clan hasn’t captured any spirits from the otherworld before. Believe me, it won’t be a problem.”

However, Zhang Cheng did not regain his confidence after hearing Xu Xiurong’s words. He had been confident before entering the otherworld and was ready to go all out, but when he was actually here, the feeling of being in an unfamiliar environment made him feel more and more helpless.

If not for the fact that he was a man and had an image to maintain, he would have wanted to stay in the stronghold and observe the situation first.

At this moment, more and more people came out of their tents. They looked at the four people who were preparing to set off not far from the entrance and whispered to their companions.

Without a doubt, Chen Yiming and the others’ actions were bold and admirable. It wasn’t daytime now, but late at night. Most people were hiding in the stronghold to defend themselves, but these four people were about to go out alone.

It had to be known that the stronghold had just been attacked by a flying creature. The fear it brought to everyone was still imprinted in their hearts.

Yuan Guangzhou spread out the map and studied it repeatedly before saying, “The graveyard is more than 30 kilometers away from the stronghold. For a team that moves alone, I think it’s much less dangerous with the cover of night.”

Hearing Yuan Guangzhou’s analysis, Chen Yiming felt that it made sense.

In the dark night, it was not only their line of sight that would be limited, but most of the creatures from the otherworld would also face the same situation. Even if they encountered each other, they would keep a distance from each other out of fear.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Sometimes, a predator would become the prey at the next moment.

Xu Xiurong glanced at the nervous Zhang Cheng and said, “From this place to the graveyard, it is just a wasteland. Although it looks dangerous, we’ve basically got a grasp on the situation. As long as we’re careful, it shouldn’t be a problem if our luck isn’t too bad.”

After saying this, she reminded them, “Besides, don’t we have a companion in the team who has concealment abilities? The dark night environment is more beneficial to us.”

…

In the damp wasteland, the areas that the humans did not know about included the underground passage, the graveyard, and the rocky plains.

There were many underground passages, and one or two caves could be seen every one or two kilometers. These caves were often hiding creatures from the otherworld.

The depths of the caves were connected to the underground passages. At the moment, the humans did not have the ability to find out what level the creatures inside were at.

Chen Yiming and the other three walked lightly on the wet ground, not daring to use their internal force for fear of attracting attention.

From time to time, they could see eyes glowing from the dark caves. The eyes were of various sizes, and it was unknown what otherworld creatures were hiding behind them.

“Tap! Tap!”

After the four of them walked about 10 kilometers away from the stronghold, creatures from the otherworld started to tail them. Sometimes, they would deliberately make the sound of footsteps and low roars to test the four of them.

The four people in the team could not help but hold their breaths. Their alertness was raised to the maximum, and they were ready to deal with any attacks coming from the darkness.

Even Chen Yiming was no exception. Even though he knew that the creatures following him were far from being a match for him, who knew what kind of commotion it would cause if he killed a large number of creatures from the otherworld?

On the blue planet, the master realm was an existence that controlled the fate of a country. However, it was not invincible in the otherworld. Otherwise, the large countries would have long expanded their territory into the otherworld.

After being tailed for more than 10 minutes, Zhang Cheng couldn’t help but suggest, “I think we should get Chen Yiming to conceal our presence.”

However, as soon as he spoke, Xu Xiurong and Yuan Guangzhou objected. “Ordinary warriors and disciples can already move around freely in this area. If we can’t even deal with this, there’s no need for us to go to the graveyard.”

Zhang Cheng had the intention to object that those people came out during the day and in large groups. Their situation was completely different from their team who went out alone.

However, in the end, he shut his mouth and continued moving forward.

…

Above their heads, when everyone looked up, they could see three glowing balls that looked like full moons, each arranged in a triangle formation.

However, perhaps because they were too far away, the light they provided was similar to that of the moon on the blue planet. They could only see dozens of meters in front of them.

There were very few things in the damp wasteland that could be used as landmarks. The road ahead seemed to have no end to it. As they walked in this environment, it was inevitable that the fear in their hearts would increase.

In reality, Zhang Cheng was not the only one who was panicking. Xu Xiurong and Yuan Guangzhou were not much better.

There were many teams that had strength comparable with the team formed by Zhang Cheng, Xu Xiurong, and Yuan Guangzhou in the stronghold. If they set off at dawn, they would not have any advantage against the other teams.

Everything was to maximize the benefits of being the first batch of people to enter the otherworld.

“Sizzle…”

A sudden change appeared about 10 meters in front of them and caused the team to stop in their tracks.

“What is it?”

White smoke began to rise from the ground not far away, then quickly spread out as if it had a mind of its own and surrounded the four of them.

“It’s poisonous!”

This was everyone’s subconscious reaction.

They sensed that the sizzling sound was due to the soil dissolving. Not only that, but there was also something wrong with the white smoke. It was very likely that this was the source of the abnormality.

However, just as everyone subconsciously retreated, the ground behind them trembled. A suppressed aura appeared, and a creature was about to break out of the ground.

Chen Yiming and the others adjusted their positions slightly. They didn’t need to communicate verbally and each took charge of a different direction.

A few seconds later, with a bang, the soil exploded.

A long, worm-like creature pounced at the four of them from the white smoke. Its face only had a huge mouth that was about 10 meters wide, and it was filled with dense, barb-like fangs.

At this moment, white mist was emitted from each of the fangs, and there was still soil on them that had not completely dissolved away.

“I’ll deal with it.”

On the surface, Yuan Guangzhou was the strongest in the team. He took a step forward and charged forward, throwing a punch at the underground creature.

The speed of his fist was not fast. A red air wave formed by his internal force appeared and rose from his fist like steam from a boiler.

At that moment, the surroundings were illuminated and became a fiery red world, revealing the underground creature to all of them.

Its body was three to four meters wide, and the length that appeared above the ground was already more than 10 meters. The tremors underground were still strong, and it was unknown how much of its body was still hidden underground.

“Bang!”

The red air wave formed by his internal force struck the huge mouth of the underground creature.

The burning power and the dissolving power divided the area into two distinct domains that collided and exploded at the same time.

The attack from the huge mouth was blocked, and it was pushed back more than 10 meters. Yuan Guangzhou was also pushed back by the recoil, and he took more than 10 steps back before he could stabilize his body.

Chen Yiming frowned. Some of the humans from the stronghold had already reached the graveyard.

The area in between had already been swept clean. He did not expect to encounter an attack from underground creatures of this level not long after leaving the stronghold. It was clear how dangerous the otherworld was. There was no way to be certain of one’s safety.

“I have to be careful! I have to be careful! I have to be careful!” he warned himself.

“Leave us!”

Zhang Cheng was waiting for an opportunity to make his move. Taking advantage of the moment when the underground creature was stunned by the recoil, he slashed at the body below the huge mouth.

A powerful force exploded, and the white mist that had been broken by Yuan Guangzhou faced another heavy attack before it could recover.

A stream of purple liquid spewed out. Zhang Cheng had not expected to kill his opponent in one strike, so he retreated after landing his move. A small amount of the purple liquid splashed on his protective internal force and emitted a sizzling sound.

The underground creature was injured by the slash and fell to the ground. Its huge mouth opened and closed as it burrowed into the ground.

“Attack together!” Zhang Cheng and Yuan Guangzhou shouted at the same time.

The two of them took advantage of the fact that the middle of the underground creature’s body was still exposed above the ground to attack it from both sides.

“Crack!”

The defense of this underground creature was unexpectedly weak, and its body was broken by the attacks coming from both sides.

This time, even more purple liquid spewed out. It directly formed a small pool, and the soil was visibly dissolving.

However, just as everyone was watching to see if there was a chance to kill this underground creature, the lower half of its body burrowed back into the ground, leaving only a pool of purple liquid that was constantly dissolving the ground.

Silence returned to the area around the four of them. The creatures from the otherworld that had been following them had disappeared.

Zhang Cheng couldn’t help but smile. “It’s nothing much. Were we too nervous previously?”

On the blue planet, other than a few dangerous places, warriors who had mastered the transformation of their internal force could almost be said to be invincible.

The area between the graveyard and the stronghold was similar to the wilderness on the blue planet. After enduring the pursuit of a group of creatures from the otherworld, he had finally vented his frustration.

Xu Xiurong glared at him angrily. “You’re getting ahead of yourself too quickly. Do you have any self-awareness?”

Zhang Cheng still maintained his smile and spread out his hands. “I’m just telling the truth. If we really encounter an enemy we can’t deal with, it’s useless to deal with them the way we did before.”

This made sense. The higher one’s cultivation level, the stronger their overall ability would be. Naturally, their perception would be sharper.

The four of them had just stepped into the damp wasteland, and even some weak creatures from the otherworld were avoiding them. It seemed unnecessary.

Yuan Guangzhou also nodded. He acknowledged Zhang Cheng’s abilities to a certain extent. As the big boss behind a pharmaceutical giant, he had not felt so aggrieved in a long time.

At this moment, Chen Yiming sensed a slight tremor coming from the ground in advance. He glanced at Zhang Cheng, who had jinxed it, and released his illusion-based internal force to cover their surroundings.

Seeing Chen Yiming’s actions, the three of them had puzzled expressions on their faces.

“Stay where you are and don’t make a sound.”

Chen Yiming gestured for them to be quiet.

As soon as he finished speaking, the three of them realized that the ground was trembling slightly.

In just half a second, the soil on the ground within a kilometer of the four of them began to shake violently. The commotion was much greater than before.

“…”

Zhang Cheng was instantly dumbfounded.

Was it trying to get rid of humans? How far were they from the stronghold?

On the blue planet, they could launch coordinated attacks against other creatures. In the otherworld, near a human village that was just starting out, would they be chased away? Did they have to give in to the otherworld creatures?

In response to his thoughts, 10 huge mouths emerged from the ground nearby and stood tall, constantly turning around to search for the four people’s auras.

Zhang Cheng, Xu Xiurong, and Yuan Guangzhou’s bodies stiffened, and they held their breaths.

They had the confidence to deal with one or two of the underground creatures, but if there were 10 of them, they would probably have to scatter and escape in all directions. Even then, if they fled on the damp wasteland, it was hard to guarantee that they would not attract the attention of more and more creatures from the otherworld.

Thinking of that scene, the three of them started to blank out.

Chen Yiming’s expression was solemn as he sized up the underground creatures.

With the current situation of the humans, it was very difficult for them to deal with an attack from underground. This was especially true since they still wanted to forcefully expand their forces even though they knew that the creatures were around the stronghold.

Unless these underground creatures did not belong to this area previously, it was difficult to understand the rationale.

The air was filled with the smell of blood. The huge underground creatures weren’t far from Chen Yiming and the others, but due to the influence of the illusory internal force, they couldn’t find their positions.

Furthermore, they seemed to be unintelligent and did not try other methods, such as destroying everything around them.

After being in a stalemate for nearly 10 minutes, the 10 huge underground creatures all burrowed back into the ground, leaving large holes in their wake.

After sensing that the creatures had left, Chen Yiming waved his hand and dispersed the illusory internal force. “It’s alright now.”

Zhang Cheng’s legs went weak and he fell to the ground. He let out a long sigh. “I was almost scared to death!”

Xu Xiurong snorted coldly. She was very angry that they were almost forced to escape back to the stronghold.

Yuan Guangzhou had a serious expression on his face as he said in a low voice, “When we accepted the mission, we were already reminded to be careful. However, we’re used to the situation in the wilderness on the blue planet, so we didn’t pay much attention to the area near the stronghold.

If we had raised our guard to the highest level from the start and sneaked all the way to the graveyard without thinking of saving our strength to deal with the undead creatures, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble.”

The others in the team didn’t know that Chen Yiming had an endless supply of internal force, so they all wanted to use his abilities as a last resort.

The four of them didn’t stay for long. For the rest of the journey, they took the initiative to ask Chen Yiming to use his illusory internal force and moved forward in stealth mode.

They did not deliberately approach the creatures from the otherworld that were wandering in the night, but they already had a deeper understanding of the area around the stronghold.

The surface of the damp wasteland was slightly desolate, but the underground passages connected to the caves were very lively. Almost all the entrances to the caves were filled with creatures lying in ambush.

In addition, after the four of them left the stronghold for about 20 kilometers, they noticed some changes in the damp wasteland.

They encountered an unknown species of ancient trees that were about 100 meters tall. There were many of them, and one appeared every few hundred meters to a kilometer.

Around these ancient trees, there were stone houses with barbarians living inside.

Other than the barbarians, there was another creature living around the ancient trees. Due to the darkness of the night, they could only see its rough outline.

It was a little like the chimpanzees on the blue planet. Its limbs were thick and strong. The one Chen Yiming and the others had seen was sleeping at the base of an ancient tree.

If not for the fact that the sound of its snoring could be heard from a few kilometers away, they might not have noticed it.