Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1124 - 1124 0657 Mysterious Thick Fog_2

Chapter 1124: Chapter 0657: Mysterious Thick Fog_2 Chapter 1124: Chapter 0657: Mysterious Thick Fog_2 Emperor Jianwu summoned all the princes including Emperor Yonghe, Emperor Wenzhi, and others. Together, the princes watched the halted edge of the dense fog, exchanging looks of confusion. None of them had ever encountered such a situation, nor had they heard of anyone who had. The fog moved as they moved and stopped when they halted. What did this mean? Was it toying with them or was there some other situation at play?

After discussing once more, the princes decided to conduct an experiment to see what was really happening. They couldn’t just stand there and let the fog wear them down.

The experiment was simple. There were over a hundred people in the group organized by the princes. They instructed the majority to halt, then had one person break away from the group and walk ahead. They wanted to see if this would cause the boundary of the dense fog to follow and move forward.

It wasn’t until the cultivator had walked one or two hundred meters forward, and the fog’s boundary still hadn’t budged, remaining in place, that Emperor Jianwu and the others quickly ordered another cultivator to break ranks and walk forward to join the first. Yet again, there was no movement from the dense fog’s boundary.

It seemed as if they had seen a glimmer of hope, so they sent the third, fourth, fifth cultivator—one by one—to walk ahead, away from the group.

The result of the experiment was very smooth until the tenth cultivator moved forward, and the unmoving fog suddenly became active again, rolling in like white waves, engulfing the sky and the earth, rushing towards the direction of the whole group.

Emperor Jianwu was alarmed; he had no idea what was going on. He couldn’t risk the entire group, so he hastily sent a message to the few cultivators that had broken away from the main force, ordering them to immediately rejoin the group and restore its full ranks.

Strangely enough, once those cultivators had rejoined the main group, the dense fog which had started moving stopped once again.

This outcome left Emperor Jianwu and the other princes exchanging looks of dismay, nearly in tears. They could never have anticipated such a result. The dense fog clung to them like a sticky, mischievous child who neither let go nor allowed them to do anything but be stuck there with it, unable to do anything else.

Without any other solution, Emperor Jianwu could only order the entire group to halt their advance and rest on the spot. Without finding a way to resolve the problem, the only thing they could resort to was this rather clumsy method.

Emperor Jianwu, Huoyang Emperor, Emperor Wenzhi, and Emperor Bahuang, a total of five princes, sat together discussing the predicament they found themselves in. They hoped to find a solution through collective wisdom.

The Huoyang Emperor and Emperor Bahuang had suffered a considerable loss at the hands of Shen Ziyu, and their bodies were still somewhat uncomfortable. Emperor Jianwu hadn’t wanted to disturb them, but given the grave situation, there was no avoiding it.

After understanding the situation, the Huoyang Emperor gave his resolution: not to worry about what was inside the fog or why it was following them. Since the fog maintained a constant distance from the main group, moving at the same speed, there was no need to pay any attention to whether the fog’s boundary moved. They just needed to keep moving forward until they entered the Saint’s Tomb. Could the fog possibly follow them inside?

The opinion of the Huoyang Emperor represented the views of quite a number of people. As soon as he shared his suggestion, it immediately gained the agreement of many.

However, just then, Emperor Bahuang offered a contrary opinion. He found the behavior of the fog eerily cunning, as if it had its own intelligence. If the fog indeed possessed intelligence, then its actions wouldn’t be without purpose.

Emperor Bahuang proposed an immature idea: the behavior of the fog resembled a cat playing with a mouse. Before eating the mouse, the cat would go out of its way to toy with and tease the prey, and only after having its fill of play might it consider consuming the mouse. If they encountered a cat that was particularly playful, it was possible the prey could be played to death and then left behind, as the cat might not even bother to take a single bite.

If the fog was indeed like such a cat, what would happen if it found that they were ignoring it, acting as though it didn’t exist? Could it become angry out of frustration, break the tacit agreement to maintain the same speed, and suddenly accelerate to swallow the entire group whole?

Following Emperor Bahuang, the other princes also presented their differing opinions. As the debate went back and forth, everyone had their own supporters, and yet no one could completely persuade the others with their arguments. Everyone stuck to their views, with no one able to convince another.

At this time, the only one who could possibly make a decision was Emperor Jianwu. Emperor Jianwu was the first prince who became an Immortal Slave under Qi Tian, and their relationship was the closest. This was also why the other princes tolerated Emperor Jianwu issuing orders on their behalf. If Emperor Jianwu could make a decision now, whether to stay or to go, they would not raise any objections.

However, at this time, Emperor Jianwu was at a loss. The situation he faced was too perplexing. Whether to move forward, which has its pros and cons, or to stay, which also has its pros and cons, he simply couldn’t weigh out which was better.

It wasn’t that Emperor Jianwu was indecisive; it was because the situation they faced was truly unprecedented. A poor choice could potentially lead to the annihilation of the entire army, an outcome Emperor Jianwu could not accept, and he also couldn’t explain it to Qi Tian.

The Huoyang Emperor said, “Jianwu, make a decision, will you? If you can’t make up your mind, why don’t we seek Master Qi’s guidance and see what he thinks?”

Emperor Jianwu quickly replied, “Master Qi is currently repairing the Wolf Teeth Knife. His time is precious; we should avoid disturbing him if at all possible.”

The Huoyang Emperor became anxious and said, “If we don’t seek Master Qi’s decision, what do we do? Are we just going to linger here indefinitely?”

Emperor Jianwu responded, “Let’s just stay put for now. As long as we stay still, so does the dense fog. For the moment, we are safe and nothing will happen.”

Before Emperor Jianwu could finish, a sudden cry of alarm rang out, “Not good, the dense fog is moving again!”

This shout was like several bombs thrown into the midst of the group, causing everyone to explode into action. They all jumped up and turned to look back at the dense fog that trapped them in place.

However, when they turned around, they saw that the fog hadn’t moved at all.

Emperor Jianwu’s expression immediately darkened as he commanded loudly, “Who was it that just shouted? Step forward.”

A cultivator stood up somewhat timidly and said, “Prince, it was me who shouted.”

Emperor Jianwu’s stern face demanded, “Do you realize that your reckless shouting has disrupted the morale of our group? Do you understand what the consequences of such actions could be?”

The cultivator stammered, “Prince, I know what crime it is to disturb the army’s spirit. But I really did not disturb it.”

Emperor Jianwu, frustrated, rebuked, “You dare to argue? Who was it that shouted the fog is moving again, if not you? Surely it wasn’t me?”

The cultivator quickly replied, “Prince, I truly did not shout without reason – the fog really did shift momentarily. When you ordered us to stop and rest here, I took a look back, and at the edge of the fog, there was a small tree, but now that tree has been completely engulfed by the fog.”