Chapter 290: Traps

"The people I assigned didn't leave any warning signs... Even if there's danger, just with those few people under Yu Kong, they could get through. How could we possibly be trapped here? Stop being paranoid. Yu Kong has been in for a while, we can’t afford to be slow!"

With that, Luo Xingnan transformed into a streak of evasion light and shot through the air, his companions quickly following behind.

Sheng Yuanzi shook his head helplessly. He somewhat agreed with Luo Xingnan's point, but still, he waved his hand and sent out a surge of spiritual power toward the abyss. The spiritual power broke through the ominous aura, causing a disturbance, but nothing unusual happened beyond that.

Seeing this, Sheng Yuanzi increased his speed and chased after them.

The group quickly flew over the abyss. As expected, there was no abnormality inside—it remained eerily calm.

Sheng Yuanzi withdrew his gaze, lowered his guard, and let out a self-deprecating smile. However, before the smile could fade from his face, he suddenly heard a faint hissing sound.

"What’s that sound?"

Sheng Yuanzi’s smile froze, and his expression darkened.

It wasn’t just Sheng Yuanzi—everyone heard it. They all looked around, soon locating the source of the sound, which was coming from two small hills ahead.

Not far across the abyss, two stone mountains stood, like the twin gate gods of a desolate wasteland.

The stone mountains were barren—neither extremely small nor particularly large, but compared to the distant mountains full of spiritual herbs, they seemed insignificant, barely worth noticing.

Everyone had been focused on the abyss, as these two mountains were easy to see from a distance, and any situation there would be clear. With nothing odd appearing in the abyss itself, no one had expected the trouble to come from the mountains.

The sound had appeared suddenly, like the roar of some monstrous creature.

In the next instant, the ground trembled violently, and the hissing noise grew louder, echoing across the plains. It soon seemed to reach the sky.

Then, from the peaks of both mountains, two plumes of red mist erupted and shot into the air.

The peaks seemed to hide caves, and these red mists appeared without warning, spreading infinitely, quickly obscuring half of the sky.

The two plumes of red mist met in the middle of the mountains, blocking their path.

"There are snakes inside!"

Someone shouted, pointing at the mist.

"It's a Hook Snake!"

At that moment, the group finally saw the true nature of the red mist.

The red mist was exhaled by a snake-like demonic beast!

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The appearance of these snakes was bizarre, with bodies like snakes, each one at least several dozen feet long. However, unlike true snakes, the tails of Hook Snakes were split, with two forked ends that resembled iron hooks, gleaming with a dark, cold luster.

Because of their unusual appearance, the group immediately recognized the creatures as Hook Snakes, and memories of the beasts' records flooded their minds.

These demonic beasts, upon reaching adulthood, possessed peak Ordinary Demon Realm power, and with prolonged cultivation, breaking through into the Demonic Spirit Realm was not difficult.

They were masters of venom.

The red mist they exhaled not only acted as a protective shield, helping them deflect incoming attacks, but also contained deadly venom. Even cultivators of immortal cultivation could face disastrous consequences if they accidentally inhaled it or exposed their bodies to it.

The forked tails were laced with lethal poison, and their toughness was exceptional, able to withstand attacks from artifacts!

At that moment, the red mist covered the sky, and countless snake-like shadows writhed within it. It was impossible to tell how many Hook Snakes were hidden inside, but at least dozens of them were present. Even if only half of them had reached the Demonic Spirit Realm, it would still pose a great threat!

Not to mention, there might even be some middle- or late-stage Demonic Spirit Realm demons among them!

Luo Xingnan and Sheng Yuanzi exchanged a puzzled glance. Before the Hook Snakes appeared, there were no signs of battle on the mountain—how had Yu Kong avoided detection by the Hook Snakes and passed through so quietly?

And how had their hidden scouts failed to leave any warning signs?

But now was not the time to ponder these questions.

"Retreat into the cave!"

The two of them didn’t hesitate any longer. They made a quick decision and ordered a retreat!

The terrain here was wide, and once surrounded by the snake horde and trapped in the red mist, no one could guarantee they'd make it out alive.

Only by relying on the narrow cave entrance could they calmly get into formation, divide the snake horde, and slowly hunt down the Hook Snakes. No matter how strong the Hook Snakes were, they were still just demonic beasts. With so many Foundation Building cultivators, it was unlikely they'd truly be afraid of them.

The group received the order and formed a formation, quickly retreating.

The hissing of the Hook Snakes echoed back and forth, and the red mist spread rapidly, closing in on them.

"Be careful not to get injured, and absolutely avoid letting these vile creatures smell blood," Sheng Yuanzi suddenly recalled something and shouted.

It was said that Hook Snakes were highly sensitive to the scent of blood, especially human cultivator's blood. Once they caught the scent, they'd fall into a frenzy, and the Hook Snakes now were nothing like the ones they had dealt with before.

Before his words had finished, two loud explosions came from ahead.

Everyone was startled, and as they looked up, they saw two plumes of blood mist erupting from the abyss.

Fragments of flesh and bone flew through the air, mixed with blood, splattering everywhere.

Immediately, two plumes of blood mist enveloped their path, one on the left and one on the right.

"Crescent Moon Fairy!"

Luo Xingnan's expression changed drastically, and he gasped in shock.

Sheng Yuanzi's face also showed extreme horror, clearly recognizing that Mu Teng had arrived.

They suddenly understood why no warnings had been left and why there hadn’t been any signs of battle...

Their hidden agents had long been exposed, and Yu Kong had known all along, choosing to ignore it while letting the information spread through their spies to lure them in.

This was clearly a trap carefully designed by Yu Kong!

The purpose might have been to use them to attract the Hook Snakes, or perhaps there were even more sinister intentions at play...

"Quick! Erase the blood mist!"

Sheng Yuanzi was the first to react. He shouted urgently and quickly unleashed a blast of crimson flames, trying to burn away the bloody scent. The others, of course, didn’t dare to slack off and quickly began to disperse the blood smell as well.

But they were too late.

The red mist relentlessly pursued them. Just as they were trying to erase the blood scent, the Hook Snakes had already caught the scent of the blood at the moment the explosion of bodies occurred.

In the midst of the red mist, where Luo Xingnan and the others couldn't see, the Hook Snakes’ eyes suddenly turned blood red, fixating on the group in the abyss.

The hissing sound instantly intensified by dozens, even hundreds of times.

What was more terrifying was that deep within the abyss, the ominous aura suddenly began to churn violently. Two massive snakes shot out like arrows, accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, surging toward them with astonishing speed!

Qin Sang and the others, who were hiding in the shadows, dared not even breathe, fearing that the frenzied Hook Snakes might catch their scent. Otherwise, they too would meet the same fate as Luo Xingnan and the others.

Qin Sang quietly observed Yu Kong’s hiding spot. Now that the Hook Snakes had been fully drawn away by Luo Xingnan and the others, Yu Kong did not seize the opportunity to sneak around the other side and quietly gather herbs.