"They really broke up like that?"
"It's over, it's over, there's nothing left to watch. Hey, I didn't expect that there are such real people in this world..."
The crowd of onlookers finally dispersed, but some of the players were still talking about the scene that had happened before. Some of them are still speculating on the identities of the two people who had a good conversation with the departed party, while others are focusing on the NPC who has only appeared a few times. Some will plan the next trip. The team who set their sights on continuing to climb the mountain have begun to wonder whether the two players who disappeared in the fog had already understood the secrets of this layer of clouds, so they entered the maze alone. Some people even sneaked into the white barrier quietly, trying to follow the two people in front, but it didn't take long for them to come back with dark faces - the man and woman from before had already brought the The Nosier people who had not appeared since then disappeared into the layers of clouds.
Of course, they did not expect that Duan Qing and Xueling Huanbing would just move forward with their heads covered.
"The way this maze works is similar to disorderly teleportation. There must be some mechanism or magic that we can't understand." The two of them pulled Art, who was still shivering, and slowly groped forward. Go, but without the constraints of fighting, they can check out the mystery of this cloud little by little: "But according to my guess, the latter should be more likely."
"Because we don't have a magician?"
"It's not just for this reason." Duan Qing, who was walking in front while paying attention to the surrounding movements, explained without looking back: "There are also those devices we have encountered before, and... .....Did you notice anything strange?”
"What do you mean, this fog?"
"That's all." Duan Qing waved one of his arms around: "Let me ask more specifically... Do you feel that this place is a little cold?"
"Cold? Of course it's cold, but here..." As if realizing something, the woman suddenly stopped.
"By the way, this is it." Duan Qing snapped his fingers, but in such fog, only he could see this action: "We are here... about several thousand meters high in the sky ”
"When we were struggling to move forward in that snowy mountain, we were so cold that we could hardly walk. I even had negative effects on my body..." Thinking of the previous experience, Duan Qing's body involuntarily shuddered. A shiver: "But look now..."
"In comparison, it's very 'warm' here."
"Perhaps it's because... we are in clouds and mist, so it has the effect of keeping warm?"
"I haven't read much, but you can't lie to me." Duan Qing shook his head in amusement, and then continued to elaborate on his point of view: "And I remember Nan Tieshan said before that the local people call this fog ...Swirling Cloud Plank Road.”
"Of course the wind in the sky should be stronger than usual, but there is nothing here." He stretched out his hand to indicate the surrounding situation, and Duan Qing looked up above him: "There is no strong wind, no thunder and lightning, no rain or snow." .....Nothing at all."
He turned back and said, "Don't tell me anything about Falling Star Mountain's specialties. There are already enough specialties here."
"Maybe this is caused by Falling Star Mountain." The woman smiled slightly, but Duan Qing, who kept walking forward, naturally couldn't see it: "For example... maybe it's because of this mountain. What kind of magic and mechanisms were designed to control the surrounding airflow..."
"You really think so?"
"Hmm...let's think so."
"Very good." Duan Qing in front nodded slightly: "You agree with me."
"Don't use this method to get close." Xue Ling Huan Bing said with some annoyance and amusement: "Let's just get to the point."
"In the previous battle, I was blown away once."
Feeling that the woman behind him suddenly had a serious aura, Duan Qing shook his head needlessly and said: "Don't be angry, I'm fine now... But thanks to them, I'm in the sky outside the cliff... ....Feeling strong air currents."
"The wind outside is still normal."
The woman frowned, seeming to realize something.
"This layer of fog... is probably fixed here by some kind of magic. It must have a certain range, up, down, left and right..." Duan Qing gestured back and forth a few times: "As long as it goes beyond this range , the outside world is the normal world.”
"Is there anything that can do this?" Duan Qing spread his hands: "There is only one thing, and that is...unscientific magic."
"Well said." Xue Ling Huan Bing whispered: "But... this is meaningless."
"We need to solve this problem."
"Now that we have discovered it, we can naturally solve it." Duan Qing looked around and suddenly stopped: "Well..."
"It seems...it's been passed back again."
"Really? How did you detect it?"
"I heard some sounds." Duan Qing curled his lips toward their rear: "Probably...the voices of the players waiting on the mountain road."
"Your ears are so sensitive." Xueling Huanbing also looked back at them: "But... if they rush in and climb the mountain together at this time, for us... it's really It’s a problem.”
"Don't worry, if we tried many times, we would probably be as desperate as them." Duan Qing whispered: "Look at their eyes, there is joy and pain, tension and seriousness, but there is no hope. This group of people... are probably all veterans who have not seen the end, but have not given up on climbing."
"Ha..." the woman sighed helplessly: "According to what you say, why are we still busy here?"
"You have to have faith, comrade." Duan Qing pretended to be serious and raised his lips: "If you don't work hard, how do you know you can't do it?"
"Hmph." The woman sneered, but she followed slowly: "Stop feeding others this chicken soup. How many people drank these useless things and then crashed to death on the south wall."
"Oh, you are such a negative person." Duan Qing, who was still trying to pay attention to the surroundings, laughed helplessly: "You are not even willing to make a joke, and you are still so depressed all day long. How can you be worthy of the name of a goddess? Even a big boy like me, who is so sunny, cannot shine on you..."
"Big boy?" The woman laughed again: "How do I remember... a certain little girl calls you uncle every day?"
"That's what she yelled out of ignorance. Don't take it to heart... Huh?"
The two people who were chatting randomly suddenly felt the flow of air around them. Just as the reaction that something might have happened came to their minds, a figure suddenly appeared next to Duan Qing and the three of them. Duan Qing looked closely and found that the player who suddenly appeared next to them seemed to be one of the people who had just been watching on the mountain road.
"Uh...hehe, hello, hello..."
Under the gazes of both Duan Qing and Xue Ling Huan Bing, the man named Brother You scratched his head in confusion, and finally retreated into the clouds and mist, not knowing where he went.
"Tsk, tsk, scare another one away." Duan Qing shook his head: "It's all because you have such a cold temperament. People are scared when they see it..."
"What are you talking nonsense about?" The woman finally couldn't help but put her hands on her hips and stared: "It's obviously you who made people run away with those big eyes. It's none of my business... and you kept him." What's the use? Can you help us get through this layer of clouds?"
"That's not necessarily true. He might be a magician and be able to see something..."
"I don't know how many magicians have been to this place. How come I haven't heard of anyone claiming to have passed this place." Xueling Huanbing continued: "And according to your previous guess, such a large magic fixation method, At least someone of Christine's level must be able to see it, but she is only proficient in water magic, so it's hard to say whether this place can be used..."
"etc."
The man holding the sword with one hand suddenly interrupted the other party's seemingly endless chatter: "What did you just mention? Water magic?"
"......What's wrong?"
"Don't interrupt. I just thought of something..."
Looking at the man who was pinching his eyebrows and thinking hard, Xue Ling Huan Bing lowered his head in amusement. She stood there and looked around, and finally glared at Art, who was also confused, and then reluctantly withdrew her gaze: "What did you think of?"
"The fog...is it caused by water magic?"
"Well, if you ask me, I can't tell clearly." Looking at the face that was thinking seriously, the woman touched her hair at a loss: "I'm not a magician. From a scientific point of view, If you think about it..."
"So, if we want to break through this fog, the first thing we need to do is not to find some magic mechanism, but to disperse the fog."
Duan Qing suddenly said something fluently.
"Yes, it makes sense." The woman responded and said, "Then what?"
"Dispel the fog." Duan Qing looked at the other party with a look of recollection: "Did you buy a stone from a merchant at the wooden house at the foot of the mountain..."
The two looked at each other for a long time, and finally Xue Ling Huan Bing broke the silence: "Ah!"
She hurriedly rummaged through her luggage: "Where is it, where is it...Fortunately, I didn't lose it."
"This is it."
【Water Stone (remaining)】
[A gem that contains the energy of the water element, but after a long period of loss, the power within it has disappeared. 】
[It seems that in an environment with sufficient water elements, it can freely absorb the power around it and regain its vitality. 】
[Special Effect: Dispel the fog, unknown. 】
"This description..." Xue Ling Huan Bing looked at the stone steadily: "Is it different?"
"You can tell by looking at the changes on its surface!" Duan Qing grabbed the stone that was shining with aqua blue light and checked it back and forth: "Holy crap, are these clouds... really Is it full of water elements?"
"Do you remember... the diary we found in the Emerald Forest before?" The woman said thoughtfully: "The water element in this world seems to be good at making phantoms... ..”
"That is the research of someone from the Ancient Magic Empire." Duan Qing continued: "It is not a universal thing, but...since there are ruins in this place, then it belongs to the ruins of the Ancient Magic Empire. The possibility is very high..."
In his hand, the flashing aqua light on the surface of the black stone gradually stabilized. Correspondingly, the surrounding clouds and fog seemed to gradually dissipate. Where the three people were, the range that could be seen was It became a little further away.
"This is not only dispersing the fog, this is clearly swallowing the fog..." Duan Qing said these words with some sighs, and Duan Qing held the water stone and moved forward bit by bit: "Okay .”
"We finally took the first step towards a breakthrough."
"Humph, it's not up to me..." The woman behind whispered to herself, and then followed Duan Qing: "Remember to return it to me after use."
"Do I really look like a bad person?"
Duan Qing sighed helplessly, and then suddenly stopped again.
"What's wrong?" the woman behind asked.
"...You'd better see for yourselves."
Under their feet, on the ground of the sloping mountain road, the originally ordinary rocks were finally peeled off the veil of clouds and mist under the influence of that stone, revealing their true appearance - a series of radiant lines, intricate The ground was entangled with each other, with many complicated carvings in between, extending along the ground into the mist that they could not see. Under the faint light of aqua blue, those magic patterns are still shining with the white light of magic, and it is unknown what is flowing in them like blood.
Not far in front of them, lines composed of magic patterns stood upright from the ground like living creatures, intertwined with each other in the white clouds in front of them.
"This, this is..." The three people's eyes widened in surprise: "These things...has anyone seen them before?"
"It should be...covered by the fog. If we didn't have this stone..."
"Is this the true face of this maze?"
"How do I know, but I don't want to touch these things...and I don't want to damage them. If I break them, God knows what will happen..."
Several people slowly squatted on the spot and studied the magic patterns on the ground for a long time, but did not come up with any results. In the end, Duan Qing suddenly took out a piece of bread crumbs and threw it towards one of the pieces. White light flashed across the area, and the foreign object that broke into the lines disappeared in an instant. before their eyes.
"That's it!" Duan Qing slapped his thigh and stood up with a shout: "We were teleported back by these things before."
"So...as long as we avoid these magic patterns..." Xueling Huanbing's eyes also lit up: "Can we pass through these fogs?"
"Maybe, but looking at it..." Looking at the thorn-like network in the white mist ahead, Duan Qing took a deep breath: "It doesn't seem to be easy."
"Our journey along the way has never been easier." Xue Ling Huan Bing snorted disdainfully, but to the ears of the other two people, this sound was like a stimulant to boost their spirits: "Finally, we have such an opportunity. ..."
"How could you not go up?"
"...Let's go." Tie the stone tightly around his waist, Duan Qing tried to cross the first line of defense, and then gave a thumbs up to the two people behind him: "If If we delay for too long, that guy from Nantieshan will probably laugh at us."
"It's good that he's not dead, and... I hope he won't be stupid enough to run out on his own and experience the effects of this fog for himself."
"Yes, otherwise we have to go back and find him."
"Speaking of which, I'm becoming more and more interested in that mysterious businessman."
"Stop talking, my heart hurts..."
The three people talking to each other gradually disappeared in front of the clouds and mist as a small blue light surrounded them moved.
