The Sea of Mist had a surface as smooth as a mirror, mist billowing around, with a view of only a hundred li, and no sound around—so silent it was chilling.
Long Chen and the other two slowly entered the mist, his spiritual senses fully activated, not daring to be careless.
"Wait, we've entered the range of the spy formation ahead." Xia Chen held the formation plate and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Boss, Guo Ran, put this invisibility talisman on you. This way, the peeping formation won't be able to see us."
As he spoke, Xia Chen took out three talismans, handing two to Long Chen and Guo Ran, and also stuck one talisman to himself.
"How could I still see you? Could it be that it has expired?" Guo Ran saw that Xia Chen didn't change anything after sticking it up, and couldn't help but ask.
"This invisibility talisman is specifically designed to counter the peeping formation. The kind of invisibility talisman you mentioned that deceives the naked eye requires you to strip naked." Xia Chen said irritably.
"Wow, does such an invisibility talisman really exist?" Then give me a few tickets. Guo Ran said excitedly.
"What are you doing?" Xia Chen said suspiciously.
"Ahem, it's nothing, I'm just curious. Don't look at me like that. Forget it, I don't want it anymore." Guo Ran saw Xia Chen looking at him with disdain and felt a bit guilty.
The three of them stuck their invisibility talismans and continued to feel inside. Xia Chen held the formation disk, carefully observing the situation all the way and making sure the direction remained unchanged.
You have to know, this is the Sea of Mist, the space chaotic, and it's easy to lose your way. Ordinary strong cultivators get lost and find it hard to get out.
However, after walking for more than an hour, the three remained calm without a trace of abnormality. They dared not go too fast and could only slowly feel their way inside.
As they went deeper, the mist grew denser, and visibility was reduced from a hundred li to only about ten zhang. For a cultivator, such vision was almost no different from that of a blind person—oppressive and uneasy.
Originally, Long Chen had activated his divine sense, but later realized that the thick fog consumed a large amount of soul power, so he stopped using divine sense to explore and left everything to Xia Chen.
"Someone is up ahead."
After a short while, Xia Chen suddenly let out a low gasp. Long Chen immediately activated his divine sense and immediately sensed a soul fluctuation.
"About two thousand li ahead to the right, at the edge of a lonely island, there is a person lying there, whose cultivation is around the seventh or eighth level of the Divine Lord Realm." Xia Chen said.
"Let's go take a look."
The three quietly approached, and sure enough, an island appeared ahead. On Xia Chen's formation disk, a figure appeared.
This figure wore black armor and a mask, quietly clinging to the back of a large tree, motionless, his aura blending seamlessly with the entire environment. If it weren't for the formation disk, even passing by might not have noticed him.
"Is this a secret sentry?"
Guo Ran was startled. Logically, there was still some distance to the core area.
Long Chen shook his head: "No, if it were a secret sentry, their bodies wouldn't be so stiff. His blood and energy flow noticeably faster, which means he's very nervous—unless he's already noticed us." "
That's impossible. I've already blocked all formations from peeking and concealed our aura. At this distance, he can't possibly spot us first." Xia Chen said confidently.
"Don't move yet, let's look and see." Long Chen said.
The three hid in the shadows, quietly observing the man. After a few breaths, he suddenly moved, like a bolt of lightning striking a rock.
"Pfft!"
Blood splattered, and a human head flew up. A man dressed identically with him was beheaded by his sword.
Long Chen and the others were shocked. What was going on? Could someone else have also slipped into the Sea of Mist like them?
After killing someone, the man took something out of the man's backpack and tucked it into his own pocket. With a swift movement, he vanished into the mist.
When everything returned to calm, Long Chen and the others quietly sneaked over to the dead man's side and discovered that he was also a disciple of the Nine Nether Hall, killed in a single blow.
Long Chen reached out and touched the center of the person's forehead. Fortunately, his soul had just dissipated, so Long Chen could still catch some of the scene.
"Nameplate... Trial ... Trial ..."
Long Chen suddenly understood. Their arrival coincided with the Nine Nether Hall's trial, and the trial site was right in this sea of mist.
Tens of millions of assassins are undergoing trials and assessments in this sea area, each holding a nameplate.
Each person must have at least nine nameplates to pass the assessment, meaning nine out of ten people will be killed and one will advance.
Nine nameplates count as passing, ninety plates are excellent. If you get nine hundred, you can directly enter the final trial ground, avoiding other major trials.
Long Chen didn't get any more useful information; that person's soul had already dissipated. However, having this was already a great help to them.
"It's a good timing. Take off this person's clothes and mask, and let's take a trial too. Let's see if these fake assassins can pass the test." Long Chen chuckled.
Guo Ran and Xia Chen were instantly thrilled upon hearing this. Guo Ran went to strip off his clothes, while Xia Chen began carving runes based on the man's vital energy. By sticking these runes, their blood and energy fluctuations were almost identical to this person's. Even the experts of the Nine Nether Hall couldn't detect anything unusual.
The three quickly found three corpses, stripped off their clothes and masks, put them on themselves, stuck Xia Chen's runes on them, and put on masks. At that moment, their auras were hidden, and even their own people could barely recognize them.
With this outfit in hand, the three of them swaggered toward the depths of the Sea of Mist. To avoid arousing suspicion, they split up, separated by less than a thousand li, heading in the same direction together.
With a loud explosion, an assassin who had ambushed Guo Ran was blown apart by Guo Ran's punch, causing a huge explosion. Long Chen and Xia Chen were startled.
"Be gentle. You're an assassin now, don't make such a big fuss." Xia Chen angrily sent a voice transmission to Guo Ran.
This guy thought he was outside, but with a single punch, he blew up the assassin from the Nine Nether Hall. The immense force pierced through the earth—this was too conspicuous. Was that really something an assassin could accomplish?
Guo Ran hurriedly apologized, momentarily forgetting that he was pretending to be an assassin; that strike just now was purely instinctive.
Long Chen and Xia Chen rolled their eyes in anger, wishing they could beat this kid up. Luckily, it was on the outskirts; if it had been inside, it would have been exposed. This guy is really thick-hearted.
The most infuriating part was that this guy used the power of the Supreme Arm, not only blowing the person to pieces but also shattering the nameplate on that person's body, leaving no hair behind.
To avoid causing a commotion, the three stayed in place and waited quietly for a while. Only after seeing that no powerful figures had come to check did they feel at ease and continued to explore further.
"Xia Chen, be careful!"
Suddenly, Guo Ran sent a voice transmission to Xia Chen. He saw a strange shadow appear behind Xia Chen at some point.