After receiving the payment, King Shangping let out a chuckle. "All right, since we're all inside, per our earlier agreement, everyone may split up or form their own groups. A word of reminder — getting in here wasn't easy, so it's best not to turn on each other. This is a land of plenty. Take what you will. Each person will find their own fortune. Don't force anything."
The words sounded nice enough, but nobody took them too seriously.
Some people knew what King Shangping was really like. Pretty words aside, if he came across something good, he might very well be the first to strike down his own allies.
Jiang Chen had no interest in forming a group. He didn't even bother listening to the rest of King Shangping's speech. He shot Huang'er a look, then led Lin Yanyu and drifted away.
After walking for a while, Lin Yanyu hurriedly spoke up. "Fellow Daoist Huang, why haven't you taken the Eight Treasures Curse-Breaking Pill?"
Jiang Chen chuckled. "What makes you think I haven't?"
Lin Yanyu smiled ruefully. "That pill has a very strong smell. Once you take it, there's a distinctive scent that lingers for a quarter of an hour. Anyone can smell it."
Jiang Chen smiled. "Let's go. We don't need the Eight Treasures Curse-Breaking Pill. It'll work just the same without it."
Lin Yanyu wanted to press the matter, but Jiang Chen and Huang'er had already broken into rapid strides, shooting forward at tremendous speed.
Lin Yanyu scrambled to follow, only to discover that their pace was astonishingly fast. Even at his absolute limit, he could barely keep up.
"Fellow Daoist Huang, wait for me!" Having just entered a brand-new world, Lin Yanyu felt rather unsettled.
Before long, the various groups that had entered the wilderness spread out like five hundred crucian carp tossed into a vast river — not even a ripple to show for it.
Indeed, the wilderness was so boundless that five hundred people, or even five million, would produce the same effect. It was simply enormous — ten times, even a hundred times larger than all of human territory combined.
A quarter of an hour later, not a single person remained at the entrance.
After a short while, a figure suddenly darted out from within and landed at the entrance. After glancing around, the person produced an object and hammered it down onto King Shangping's formation flags.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The relentless bombardment quickly shattered King Shangping's formation base. Once the base was destroyed, the formation was rendered completely useless.
After dismantling King Shangping's formation, the figure unleashed a divine ability, brought forth a treasure, and struck the gap in the outer barrier several times in succession.
The gap that had already been patched up was blasted wide open once more.
Having finished, the figure stood at the breach for a moment, surveying the scene, then vanished in a flash.
Roughly half an hour later, the cultivators who had originally left began trickling back, one after another, unwilling to give up. The valley entrance was now deserted.
These rogue cultivators who had returned were extremely cautious, fearing that King Shangping and his group might suddenly appear and slaughter them without mercy.
After watching for a while, they noticed the gap in the barrier was open and that the original five hundred had long since entered.
"Damn it — they got to go in, but we can't? On what grounds? We go in a step later. Any of you brave enough to try?"
"Brave enough? If you're going to die, you're going to die — might as well go for it. Let's move!"
"Hold on. Look at that gap — something seems off. If they really went inside, why didn't they seal it back up? I suspect it might be a trap. There could be a net waiting for us in there."
These words gave quite a few people pause.
But there were also the fearless ones who shouted, "A net, my foot! They went in, every last one of them thinking about getting rich. Who would be bored enough to lay a trap? You think they're some united front? They're all scheming against each other — a bunch of selfish opportunists!"
"That's right. Come on, let's go in and have a look. Even if there's a formation, with our numbers, we've got the strength to break through."
"Not necessarily. Everyone knows what King Shangping is like. His mastery of formations is absolutely monstrous. If he set up a formation inside and we rush in blindly, we're dead for sure."
"If you're not going, then get out of the way and stop with the cold water. Any man among you, charge in with me!"
"Right! Charge in together — whoever hangs back is a coward. We die together, or we strike it rich together!"
The crowd at the valley entrance grew larger and larger.
A group of pioneers had already reached an agreement. With a collective shout, they charged into the breach all at once.
Once the first batch went in, a second followed, then a third...
Over the course of half a day, wave after wave poured through — at least twenty or thirty more batches. Nearly all the cultivators who had previously left, save for a handful of the truly timid, had flooded back in.
Meanwhile, those already inside, including Jiang Chen, had absolutely no idea what was happening back at the entrance.
...
At a fork in the path, Jiang Chen and Huang'er came to a stop, waiting for Lin Yanyu to catch up, gasping for breath.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, this is where we part ways. Seven days from now, we regroup at this spot. Whoever arrives first waits here for no more than three days. If there's no reunion by then, we meet up outside."
Lin Yanyu had just caught up when he heard they were splitting off, and he couldn't hide his dejection. "Fellow Daoist Huang, I genuinely want to follow you..."
"We have important matters to attend to. They're quite dangerous, and there's no need to drag you into the risk. Besides, you wouldn't be suited for it." Jiang Chen was blunt about it, not beating around the bush.
Lin Yanyu felt disappointed, but after a moment's thought, he nodded. "Very well then. I'll make it back here in seven days. Fellow Daoist Huang — Lin wishes you a safe journey."
"Take care of yourself as well."