Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Probing

Since Lu Ming had spoken, everyone exchanged glances and walked towards the left.

This time, Lu Ming and Lu Chou did not walk at the forefront but remained in the middle, claiming it was to observe changes in the formation.

Naturally, Zhou Luo retreated to the rear of the crowd to conform.

Soon, various attacks emerged from the mist, falling like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, carrying terrifying might.

The cultivators, facing a formidable threat, all summoned magical artifacts and spiritual symbols to resist the formation attacks.

Zhou Luo silently watched; occasionally, when he noticed an attack falling, with casual swings of the Xuan Sky Sword, he could easily resolve it.

Indeed, there were advantages to being a formation master.

At least when breaking formations, one need not worry about formation attacks.

The further they advanced, the more ferocious the formation attacks became; their endless variety pressed the cultivators to the point of suffocation.

During this time, Lu Ming and the others finally stopped holding back.

Otherwise, they would have been devoured alive by the cultivators ahead.

Zhou Luo also began to fight; however, he deliberately hid his strength, only displaying the power of the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, and employed no other techniques.

When everyone saw this scene, they were about to say something; however, Zhou Luo stated that he was just a loose cultivator, and even practicing formations had already led to expenses exceeding his income; now, completely destitute, how could he afford things like spiritual symbols and techniques?

With him saying this, everyone found it difficult to say anything more.

After all, he was a formation master.

Time slowly passed; under the sharp attacks, casualties soon appeared among the group.

A cultivator had his throat slit by a sudden attack from the mist, blood spurting out as he fell to the ground with a thud.

As soon as he fell, the nearest several cultivators simultaneously reached out to grab the storage bag at his waist.

Finally, after fierce fighting, one of them contentedly obtained the other’s storage bag.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Luo let out a cold laugh.

Truly a ragtag bunch; even at such a critical time, they were still thinking of scavenging instead of rushing forward to evade the attacks.

But later, all these people’s storage bags would likely be his own.

Since they insisted on scavenging, it also saved him a great deal of time.

A short while later, another cultivator fell; having learned from the earlier example, everyone decisively made their move.

"I saw it first!" The burly man wielding a large knife roared, swinging the knife directly at a cultivator beside him.

"Do you think it’s yours just because you saw it?" The other party likewise summoned a magical artifact to block the attack.

For the sake of a storage bag, the crowd instantly descended into chaos.

Zhou Luo silently distanced himself from them.

Meanwhile, Lu Ming and Lu Chou wore expressions of anxiety.

He had not expected these fellows to be so utterly ununited; barely any time had passed, yet they were already on the verge of disintegration.

In that case, how could they possibly keep moving forward?

"Stop this! Don’t cause chaos, or we’ll all perish here!" Lu Ming shouted loudly.

His heavy voice made everyone pause for a moment, though their eyes remained feverishly fixed on the storage bags, filled with greed.

Lu Ming spoke sternly, "Look at the ground. Because of the chaos just now, more people have died. If you carry on like this, none of us will make it out alive."

During the scramble, two more cultivators had failed to dodge in time and were struck by the formation’s attacks, perishing on the spot.

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

"Alright, how about this: I’ll collect all the storage bags now, and once we’re out, we’ll split everything equally," Lu Ming proposed a solution.

But the group looked skeptical at the suggestion, far from convinced.

Lu Ming pressed on, "The Lu Family is vast and powerful. As a high-tier formation master, I hold an esteemed position in my clan. Do you truly think I’d covet mere trinkets?"

For now, stabilizing the group was his top priority.

His words eased a sliver of their doubts, though the mistrust lingered palpably.

Combining persuasion with threats, Lu Ming continued, "If you follow my instructions, I guarantee your escape. Otherwise, I’ll leave you behind."

Hearing this, no one present was foolish enough to ignore reality. They recognized their dependence on him and quickly voiced their agreement.

Observing this, Zhou Luo flashed Lu Ming a look of faint approval.

Truly a decisive man.

Though deep down, he still had some bad intentions.

Following that, Lu Ming gathered all the fallen cultivators’ storage bags. With the temptation now removed, the group pressed onward.

Only after one hour did the relentless assault gradually subside.

Of the survivors, only Zhou Luo still seemed completely at ease. The others were visibly exhausted, their spiritual energy severely depleted.

Originally, over twenty had entered. Now, only eleven remained—the losses were staggering.

But after paying such a steep price, Lu Ming finally located the formation’s core. A smile spread across his face as he prepared to dismantle it.

Right then, Lu Chou grabbed his arm and whispered privately, "Brother, there’s something up Xu Changsheng’s sleeve."

Lu Ming halted mid-step, his gaze flickering toward Zhou Luo resting nearby. Hesitantly, he murmured, "Meaning?"

"He either knows the operating principle of this formation or his strength surpasses the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. Otherwise, he couldn’t stay so unruffled," Lu Chou transmitted silently.

He’d been discreetly observing Zhou Luo all along.

Though Zhou Luo had appeared to struggle intensely, nearly facing disaster multiple times,

Lu Chou refused to believe that a mere fifth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator could emerge entirely unscathed without special protection—especially when a sixth-layer cultivator had just perished moments ago within this formation.

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes. "Let me test him."

He then approached Zhou Luo with a friendly smile, saying warmly, "Brother Xu, your good fortune truly shines. Remarkable that you’re unharmed."

"Just luck, all luck," Zhou Luo replied with a chuckle.

Lu Ming shook his head slightly. "Brother Xu, you’re clearly a man of profound capability. Not like the rest of us, already drained with less than half our strength upon arriving here."

After saying this, he shifted topics: "Now, even if one can see the formation base, one can do nothing about it, fearing a mishap. Please, Brother Xu, help destroy the formation base."

He deliberately spoke loudly to attract others’ attention.

As expected, the remaining people all looked at him.

"This is what I should do," Zhou Luo said with a serious face. Then he asked: "Can you tell me where the formation base is, Brother Lu? My skills are insufficient, and I truly cannot find it."

Lu Ming smiled lightly and pointed toward a direction: "It’s under that big tree over there."

Seeing that direction, Zhou Luo frowned.

He clearly sensed the formation base was in another direction.

The other party pointed to a wrong location; this was clearly to test him.

He subtly tightened his grip on the Xuan Sky Sword.

If not for worrying that these two members of the Lu Family had other methods, he would have long since dealt with them all.

Good.

Since you want to test me, I’ll go with the flow.

An expression of understanding appeared on Zhou Luo’s face, and he smiled: "Thank you for the guidance, Brother Lu. I’ll go now."

After speaking, he headed straight for that big tree.

Just as he left this calm area, the formation’s attacks descended again, targeting Zhou Luo.

Zhou Luo took out the Xuan Sky Sword, spurred spiritual energy, and occasionally swung sword light to block attacks, moving closer to that location.

Everyone was watching him.

In contrast to the eager looks of others, Lu Ming and Lu Chou wore cold expressions.

In the mist, various light blades sliced through the air with sharp force, engulfing Zhou Luo’s figure.

Everyone’s mental strength was blocked by the mist, so they couldn’t see the details clearly.

Lu Ming sat cross-legged on the ground and began to recover his spiritual energy.

If the other party could return safely, it would mean he was hiding tricks.

At that time, he could pretend he mistook and say so; after all, the other was only a middle-tier formation master and had no right to question him.

If the other died there, he lost nothing.

Boom, boom, boom—

Just as everyone was meditating and catching their breath, loud roars came from the pitch-black mist.

Everyone’s nerves tensed up.

Suddenly, Zhou Luo burst out of the fog.

"Brother Lu, I didn’t fail you; the formation base has been destroyed!"