The Caterpillar in the Fairyland

When looking at the fog in the Land of Immortal Legacy from the outside, it appeared vast and dense. However, upon actually entering, one would discover...

The fog grew even thicker and more extensive!

It was simply impossible to see five fingers in front of oneself!

Let alone the people, objects, and scenery around, one could not even clearly see what they themselves looked like.

At a glance, there was nothing but a vast expanse of white fog. If not for the protective aura, one would probably be suffocated by the fog.

Being in such an environment was no different from being in complete darkness. People would instinctively feel afraid.

The moment they entered the fog, Qin Ran activated his Eye Art Illusory Realm, but whether due to some issue with his eye art or the fog itself, his vision did not extend very far even after unleashing his eye art.

He swept his gaze to the sides and could vaguely make out a few silhouettes moving about not too far away. They seemed to be Su Changqing and the others, but the poor visibility prevented him from being certain.

Things were growing somewhat bizarre...

"Hello? Can everyone hear me?" Su Changqing's voice suddenly emitted from the pearls they each held. "If you can hear me, please respond."

"Junior Sister Bai?"

"Junior Brother Chu Batian?"

He called out everyone's names one by one to confirm their presence.

"Brother Qin?"

Upon hearing his own name, Qin Ran hesitated briefly before responding, "I'm fine."

"Fellow Daoist Jian Yuanjie?"

"Fellow Daoist Qi Yun?"

After confirming that all were present, Su Changqing heaved a sigh of relief on the other end. "Everyone is safe."

He then instructed, "Please follow the guidance of the pearls in your hands and gather to me for now."

As his voice trailed off, Qin Ran sensed a directional force emanating from the pearl in his hand, faint but unmistakable. He allowed it to guide his steps toward its pull.

Glancing the way the pearl was leading him, Qin Ran could vaguely make out a silhouette standing there - most likely Su Changqing. He also noticed the other silhouettes moving in Su Changqing's direction.

The group advanced silently, like ghosts drifting through the fog. It was admittedly somewhat eerie.

Having only just entered from outside, they did not have far to travel. After walking some dozen-odd meters, Qin Ran arrived before the silhouette and drew nearer for a clearer look - it was indeed Su Changqing.

"Brother Su!" He greeted Su Changqing.

"Brother Qin!" Su Changqing nodded back.

Qin Ran's gaze swept the area. The other four emerged from the fog and gathered round - still Bai Ruoxi, Jian Yuanjie and the rest, with no one missing or added.

After a simple exchange of greetings, Jian Yuanjie frowned and asked, "With visibility so poor, how do we locate the Devouring Demon Willow?"

"I'm afraid we have no choice but to head deeper and search for it," Su Changqing replied. "Let us hope the fog does not blanket the entire Land of Immortal Legacy."

"The Land of Immortal Legacy spans boundlessly wide, it could take us forever to comb through it!" Chu Batian grumbled unhappily.

"Alas..." Su Changqing sighed and said, "Let's be on our way."

Lacking any better alternative, the rest could only follow as Su Changqing determined their direction and set off further into the Land's depths.

Before departing, Qin Ran surreptitiously dropped a stone etched with markings onto the ground.

"Everyone try to maintain the same pace," Su Changqing reminded them. "Don't move too fast or too slow, and don't drift away from the group."

"By heading in this direction, we should soon clear the mist..." However, that did not happen at all...

The blanketing fog obscured their sense of direction - no telling east from west, above from below, not even day from night.

They had barely walked for some time before realizing they had lost their bearings. Fixing their direction with arts once more, they pressed on with the search...

At first, there was still some idle chatter, but the group did not know one another well and soon fell silent. Trudging mutely through the murky void, they felt the stifling, smothering pressure of the fog weighing upon their spirits, filling their hearts with mounting unease over the obscurity and uncertainty that lay ahead...

After walking for a long stretch, they lost their direction yet again. Only then did they realize the spatial arts proving rather unreliable.

And by now, they had utterly no clue how far in they had ventured!

"Damn it all, I can't take this anymore!" Chu Batian suddenly erupted in a bellow, giving everyone a fright as all eyes turned to him.

They saw him taking to the air, energy swirling around him. With a sweep of his arm, a tremendous force erupted outward, blasting the enshrouding mist apart in an instant and clearing a vast stretch of unobstructed space around them.

"Such robust mastery of energy, Fellow Daoist Chu!" Jian Yuanjie praised.

The disappearance of that invisible pressure made everyone feel instantly relieved. Su Changqing also smiled and nodded approvingly. But upon glancing back down, his smile froze. Qin Ran was staring intently at something on the ground, prompting him to quickly follow the other man's gaze...

There in the grass were two caterpillar-like creatures, each as thick as a thumb, wriggling about.

"What manner of bugs are those?" Su Changqing asked sharply. What insects could thrive and remain unaffected within the Land of Immortal Legacy?

"I do not know," Qin Ran shook his head. And that was precisely why they gave reason for concern.

"Like I care what they are!" Chu Batian yelled. Leaping down from midair, he made straight for the worms...

"Don't, Junior Brother!" Su Changqing hurriedly shouted.

But Chu Batian paid him no heed. One kick instantly crushed both creatures dead.

"Such recklessness in a domain like the Land of Immortal Legacy!" Su Changqing berated him. "Have you no caution at all, Junior Brother?!"

"Hah! This fabled Land of Immortal Legacy, what's so impressive about it?! And these so-called immortals, I'll dig up their graves!" Chu Batian spat back. Cursing under his breath, he began striding back toward the group.

"C-Chu... Senior Brother Chu?" Bai Ruoxi suddenly stammered out, pointing a shaking finger at him.

"What is it now?" He had no patience for a woman's whimpering antics.

"Y-Your foot..." Bai Ruoxi gasped in horror.

Chu Batian glanced down, and to his shock, the foot he had used to stomp the worms had vanished entirely! Moreover, the invisible force making his foot disappear was creeping upward, ready to erase his calf, thigh and entire being!

Most bizarrely, despite losing his foot, he could still walk normally! It was as if his foot remained perfectly attached.

"How is this happening...?" Mortified, he scrambled desperately toward Qin Ran and the others.

But the moment he realized his foot was gone, it truly was gone for good.

His next step met only thin air, sending his entire body crashing earthward...

"The fog is rolling back in fast!" Jian Yuanjie warned urgently.

Su Changqing watched the mist enshroud them in the blink of an eye, a savage elemental force swirling at Chu Batian's heels, poised to swallow him whole the next instant.

Not daring to imagine the consequences, Su Changqing reacted on pure instinct. Fingers folded into a sword-point, he charged forward and severed Chu Batian's vanishing leg, pulling the man to safety.

Wasting not another moment, Su Changqing immediately beat a retreat once he had Chu Batian in grasp.

"ARGH!" Chu Batian howled at the sight of his missing leg. "My leg, my leg!"

But no one had time to bother with him as they all stood vigilant, regarding the roiling fog warily for further eccentricities...

Soon enough, the hole blasted open was once more filled, with no other strange occurrences manifesting.

Only now did Su Changqing turn to Chu Batian, relief flooding him at the sight of the disintegrating force halted. "How is it, Junior Brother?" he asked. "Do you feel anything else?"

Chu Batian seized Su Changqing by the arm, face twisted in agony. "It's gone!!" he cried. "My leg is gone!!"