After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 196 The Illusion of the Mist

"Xiao Zhi, what do you think of the world outside the Red Earth? I remember when I first came out, I felt like I was in another world." After leading Ye Zhi out of the Misty Forest, Shen Xu asked with a smile.

"I feel the same way. The environment here is so much better than the red soil environment. It's almost no different from the outside world," Ye Zhi said with emotion.

"What are your plans for the future?" Shen Xu then asked.

"Shen Xu, what about you?" Ye Zhi asked in return.

"Of course I'm going to join in the fun. I heard that Aoki will share the sword selection spots with the other four alliances. I'd like to see how they manage to do it."

"Aoki Club?"

"They've taken over the Red Jade Society's position. The person you met at the beginning wearing the demon mask was a member of the Green Wood Society. I heard they're quite strong," Shen Xu said with a smile.

"So that's how it is. Aren't you afraid of being eliminated if you go to join in the fun? Or are you a seeded player in the Sword Selection?"

"I'm just an ordinary sword selector. I went to join in the fun simply because I've had enough of the Kunyuan Secret Realm. I don't like this place. Besides, I'm a sword selector emitting a red glow, so I think many of them must be looking forward to seeing me."

"You must have quite a bit of Kun Yuan Qi, right? If you eliminate me, you'll basically pass the sword selection. Want to give it a try?" Shen Xu asked with a light laugh.

"Shen Xu, stop joking. I'll go with you."

Two days later, Shen Xu brought Ye Zhi to the Tianhe Society's headquarters, but it was already deserted, which made Shen Xu frown.

"I originally planned to visit some old friends in Tianhe first, but I didn't expect that they had even moved away. And we didn't run into anyone along the way, which is a bit strange."

"Something must have changed within the secret realm. Could it be that the great enemy the Four Directions Sword Alliance spoke of has appeared, and they've all gone to fight that enemy?" Ye Zhi guessed.

"Very likely, let's move on to the next stop! Hopefully we can find someone to ask along the way."

……

With the Sword Selection coming to an end, very few people remain in the Kunyuan Secret Realm, and the vast majority are concentrated within the five major alliances.

But by this point, none of the swordsmen who could survive in the wild were easy to deal with.

Looking at the red light emanating from his body, Shen Xu couldn't help but smile: "Xiao Zhi, are you sure you don't want to give it a try?"

"I might try it later, but compared to killing Kunyuan Beasts everywhere, I think it's more fun to travel around with you, so I'm not planning to turn against you right now," Ye Zhi replied with a smile.

"Haha, I reckon someone will be looking for us soon. Why don't we wait here for them? After all, I still have some questions for them," Shen Xu suggested.

"Let's leave quickly! It wouldn't be good if we attracted too many people," Ye Zhi said, frowning.

"That's true. I can't leave the secret realm before I see the biggest excitement."

After some time, a group of people still surrounded Shen Xu and Ye Zhi.

"I didn't expect to find two hot commodities at this point. With the two of you, our ranking will probably rise even more." The young man in white at the head of the group said with a smile.

"Ranking? You know your ranking?" Shen Xu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"You two just came out of seclusion? You don't even know about the ranking stele. But you should go back to Heavenly Sword City and ask others first!" After the young man finished speaking, he called on everyone to attack Shen Xu and his companion.

However, to their surprise, their meticulously coordinated attack missed its mark. Shen Xu and Ye Zhi, after being attacked, vanished like ghosts, turning into wisps of mist that quietly dissipated.

Just as they were stunned by the sight before them, the mist quickly gathered and condensed again, transforming once more into the clearly visible figures of Shen Xu and Ye Zhi.

This scene immediately left the group of young people with expressions of disbelief.

"What a realistic illusion!" The young man frowned immediately.

"I'd like to ask, where is that stone tablet?" Shen Xu asked politely.

After a brief silence, the young man in white shouted angrily at the black-haired young man beside him, "Third brother, burn him!"

"Good! Wildfire!" In an instant, a raging inferno erupted from the longsword in his hand, like a roaring fire dragon, sweeping away with astonishing heat.

The surrounding air seemed unable to withstand such intense heat and began to twist and deform violently.

In the blink of an eye, the long sword, wreathed in blazing flames, had already approached Shen Xu and Ye Zhi. Accompanied by a piercing "sizzle" sound, thick white mist suddenly rose up, instantly engulfing everyone.

The flames on the black-haired youth's longsword gradually dimmed as the mist enveloped them, until they were completely extinguished.

Just then, another young man saw this and struck out with both palms, unleashing a violent, fierce, and incredibly swift palm wind.

The powerful wind, like an invisible blade, forcefully tore through the thick fog. In the blink of an eye, the fog dissipated, revealing the figures of Shen Xu and his companion, who had been shrouded in it.

The group of white-clad youths surrounding Shen Xu all changed their expressions drastically upon seeing the two figures again.

"I'd like to ask, where is that stone tablet?" Shen Xu asked politely again.

"The ranking stele is on Qingyun Mountain ahead. You can see it after walking along this road for another day, but that is also where the five major alliances are located, so you two should be careful," the white-robed youth replied respectfully.

"Thank you for the reminder, friend!" After Shen Xu finished speaking, everyone saw the two figures turn into mist and gradually disappear.

"Boss, who exactly is he? I've never seen him before," someone couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know either. Among all the Sword Chosen, I only know Xingchen from the Green Wood Society and Song Yuming from the Unaffiliated Sect who can perform such illusions, but where did this person come from!"

"So your illusion magic is this amazing!" Ye Zhi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as they walked along the road.

"Actually, it's not a real illusion, but by definition, it is indeed a type of illusion," Shen Xu explained.

"I don't understand, but I'm really curious to see where I'm ranked," Ye Zhi said with some anticipation.

"I'm definitely not on it, because there's hardly any Kun Yuan Qi in my jade tablet." Shen Xu took out his jade tablet, as if no more Kun Yuan Qi had been deposited into it since he killed that demonic python.

Ye Zhi looked at Shen Xu's jade token with some curiosity and asked, "Don't you want to go through the sword selection? You're so strong, you can definitely get a spot."

"I'd rather make money now!" Shen Xu felt the yellow circular pattern on his chest and recognized it as a timed teleportation array.

He didn't know how much time Kunyuan Palace had given him, but if he failed to obtain enough Yuan Liquid within the allotted time, he estimated that only death awaited him.

"Are you very poor?" Ye Zhi couldn't help but ask.

"I'm dirt poor!" Shen Xu said with a wry smile.

"I have some Nourishing Essence Pills here, would you like some...?"

"Forget it, I'm cursed, I'm destined to never save money, even if you lend it to me I won't be able to keep it."

"I can't believe there's such a miraculous curse in the world!" Ye Zhi exclaimed in amazement.

Shen Xu joked, "I, the Red Light Sword Selection, will take you to their headquarters to check the rankings!"

“You’ve been so arrogant all this time, you must have offended a lot of people. I’ll have to keep my distance from you when we get there,” Ye Zhi said with a smile.

"Who said I'm arrogant? I've always been very low-key, okay? Didn't you see how polite I was just now?" Shen Xu immediately retorted.

In fact, Shen Xu and Ye Zhi got along very well. After all, he was traveling with a beautiful woman with such a good personality, which was much more pleasant than him wearing a mask and running around everywhere.

Moreover, he felt that there was definitely something wrong with that demon mask, as it was subtly influencing his personality.