Taking the opportunity of traveling through books

A shadow emerges, leading to a new path

After the men in black retreated, the valley fell into a deathly silence, the only sound being the wind's whimpering, as if it were weeping. I broke free from Hao Yang's embrace and stumbled to Wei Feng's side. He was pale, his breath was weak, and a deep wound in his chest, deep enough to see the bone, was still bleeding.

"Wei Feng! How are you?" My voice trembled and tears kept flowing down.

Wei Feng forced himself to open his eyes and smiled weakly: "I'm fine... cough cough... don't worry about me..."

"Don't talk!" I tore off my clothes and wanted to bandage his wound, but I found that my hands were shaking and I couldn't control them at all.

Hao Yang came over, took the cloth from my hand, and calmly bandaged Wei Feng. His face was also very ugly, but his eyes were unusually firm.

"We'll be fine." He comforted me softly, his tone full of unquestionable strength.

Master Hao was also injured, but he still forced himself to walk over to us and check on Wei Feng's injuries.

"The injury is very serious and must be treated as soon as possible." Master Hao frowned, "We can't stay here for long. Let's leave here first."

I supported Wei Feng, Hao Yang supported Master Hao, and we slowly walked out of the valley. Wei Xue followed behind us from a distance, saying nothing.

My mind kept replaying the battle scene, especially the signals exchanged between the men in black. There was no verbal communication between them, but their eyes and movements seemed to convey some kind of message.

I tried to recall the details of the signals, trying to find some clues. I found that the signals seemed to be related to the topography of the valley. One of the men in black pointed in a direction deep in the valley, the other nodded, and then... they retreated.

Deep in the valley... what's there? Why are they retreating? What are they waiting for?

The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt. I had a feeling something was going to happen.

"Wei Yao, what's wrong with you?" Hao Yang noticed that something was wrong with me and asked with concern.

I shook my head and suppressed the uneasiness in my heart: "It's okay, just a little tired."

I know this isn't the time to think about this. Wei Feng's injuries are serious, and we must find a safe place to heal him as soon as possible.

As we continued walking, the fog in the valley grew thicker and thicker, and visibility became increasingly low. I felt like I was walking in a fog, unable to see the road ahead or the direction of the future.

Just then, I suddenly felt a chill coming from behind. I turned around suddenly, but saw nothing.

"What's wrong?" Hao Yang asked nervously.

I shook my head: "Nothing, maybe I'm too nervous..."

But I knew in my heart that the feeling I had just had was definitely not an illusion. Something was watching us from the shadows...

"Wait..." I suddenly stopped and my eyes fell on a direction deep in the valley, "There..."

Hao Yang followed my gaze and saw a dark shadow vaguely appearing in the depths of the thick fog...

"What is that?" Hao Yang's voice was low and solemn.

Cold sweat trickled down my spine as the shadow vanished so quickly I wondered if I was hallucinating. But my intuition told me it wasn't just ordinary condensation. I suddenly remembered the system! It had signal analysis capabilities!

"System! Quick! Analyze the signals sent by those men in black just now!" I said to myself.

The system interface unfolded before my eyes, the progress bar scrolling rapidly, and my heartbeat quickened. After a few seconds, the system prompted: "Partial signal analysis has been completed, and it appears to point to a hidden passage deep in the valley."

A hidden passage?! Could it be that the men in black retreated to wait for an opportunity to enter this passage? I immediately told Hao Yang and the others about this discovery.

"A hidden passage?" Elder Hao pondered for a moment. "It seems this valley is even more complicated than we imagined."

Master Hao looked at Wei Feng worriedly: "His injury can't be delayed any longer."

After a quick discussion, we decided to split up. Master Hao would take Wei Feng and a few of the slightly injured disciples out of the valley first, to find a safe place to heal their wounds while also containing some of the mysterious organization's power. Meanwhile, Elder Wei, Hao Yang, and I would head deeper into the valley to search for the secret passage.

"This is too dangerous, Wei Yao, you'd better come with us." Hao Yang held my hand tightly, his eyes full of worry.

I shook his hand back and said firmly, "No, I must go. Only by figuring out the purpose of those men in black can we truly protect everyone."

Elder Wei also patted my shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I will protect you."

We briefly assigned our tasks and prepared to set off. Just then, several dark figures appeared again in the thick fog, running towards us at an extremely fast speed.

"They've discovered us!" I whispered, my heart sinking.

"It seems that they want to stop us from going to that secret passage." Elder Hao drew his sword, his eyes sharp.

"Protect Wei Yao!" Hao Yang stood in front of me and took a fighting stance.

The battle was imminent. The men in black were using vicious moves, clearly intent on killing us. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. Since I couldn't hide, I had to fight! I quickly activated the system and summoned a few gadgets. A flashbang was thrown, instantly illuminating the surrounding fog and temporarily blinding the men in black. Seizing this opportunity, Hao Yang brandished his weapon, his strong physique withstanding the enemy's attacks while waiting for an opportunity to strike back. Elder Wei unleashed his family's secret technique, trapping the men in black with beams of golden light.

While I was using system items to assist my attacks, I was vigilantly observing the situation around me. Suddenly, I noticed Wei Xue's figure retreating stealthily, as if trying to escape in the chaos.

"Wei Xue!" I shouted, "Where do you want to go?!"

Wei Xue was startled by me and her face turned pale instantly. She frantically said, "I... I'm not trying to escape. I just... want to find a safe place..."

"A safe place?" I sneered, "The safest place right now is right next to us! Wei Xue, you'd better not play any tricks, or don't blame me for being rude!"

She bit her lip, not daring to argue, and could only return to us obediently. I stared at her warily, feeling that something was wrong with her, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

The battle continued. In the thick fog, the figures of the men in black drifted like ghosts. Their attacks were fierce and brutal, each one aimed directly at our vital points. I continuously used system items: flash grenades, smoke bombs, small explosive talismans... a variety of items were used in turn to disrupt their movements as much as possible.

Hao Yang stood like an indestructible wall between Elder Wei and me, using his strong body to resist the enemy's attacks. He had several wounds on his body, and his clothes were stained with blood, but he showed no intention of retreating.

"Be careful!" I exclaimed. A man in black came around behind Hao Yang and stabbed him in the back with a sword.

At the critical moment, Elder Wei took action in time, and a golden light hit the man in black, knocking him away.

"Yang!" I shouted anxiously.

Hao Yang turned his head and gave me a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, don't worry." During the battle, he held my hand tightly and said, "We can definitely find a solution, don't worry." His firm eyes gave me strength.

Elder Wei's secret technique is powerful, but it also consumes a great deal of energy. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his face turned pale. I know we must break out as soon as possible.

I used the system scan again, trying to find the enemy's weakness. Suddenly, I noticed that a man in black had a strange tattoo on his wrist when he attacked. The tattoo looked like a black bat, and it was particularly eye-catching in the thick fog.

"Bat tattoos!" I yelled. "Watch out for people with bat tattoos, they could be the key!"

Hao Yang and Elder Wei immediately understood what I meant and focused their attacks on the men in black with bat tattoos. Sure enough, these men in black were significantly stronger than the others, and their attacks were more coordinated, seemingly the commander of this group of men in black.

We concentrated our firepower and finally knocked down several men in black with bat tattoos. As they fell, the others seemed to lose their fighting spirit and began to flee in all directions.

"Chase!" Elder Wei gave the order and we immediately chased after him.

The thick fog gradually dissipated and we finally broke out of the encirclement.

"Let's go deep into the valley!" I pointed in the direction indicated by the system with a firm tone.

We walked along a hidden path, which was steep and difficult to follow, heading deeper into the valley. The surrounding trees were so tall that they blocked out the sunlight, making it look eerie and gloomy.

After walking for about half an hour, we arrived at a cliff. Engraved on the cliff was a massive bat tattoo... The giant bat tattoo on the cliff mirrored the one on the wrists of the men in black. I touched the cold stone wall with my hand, and a chill ran from my fingertips to my heart. "Looks like we've found the right place."

Elder Wei carefully observed the surrounding terrain and mused, "This mountain wall may seem ordinary, but it actually holds a hidden secret." He pointed to the right eye with the bat tattoo, "This place seems a little different."

I looked in the direction Elder Wei pointed, and sure enough, the color of the stone wall was slightly darker near the bat's right eye. Hao Yang walked forward and pressed hard on the stone wall. There was a loud "boom," and the mountain wall slowly opened to the sides, revealing a pitch-black passage.

A cold, damp air, mingled with a pungent, musty odor, nauseating. The passage was pitch black, pitch black. I quickly activated the system's flashlight, and a bright beam illuminated the path ahead.

"Be careful!" Hao Yang grabbed me and protected me behind him.

The passage was dark and damp, and the ground was covered with moss, making it easy to slip. We walked carefully along the passage. There were some strange symbols carved on the walls on both sides of the passage.

"These symbols... I seem to have seen them somewhere." I frowned and tried to recall.

Elder Wei raised his flashlight and carefully examined the symbols on the wall. His expression gradually grew serious. "These symbols aren't ordinary words, but an ancient formation."

"Array?" I was shocked. "Could this be an array?"

"It's very likely." Elder Wei nodded. "Also, I seem to have some impression of this formation..." He pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "I remember! This is the 'Netherworld Ghost Formation'!"

"The Netherworld Ghost Formation?" Hao Yang and I asked in unison.

"That's right." Elder Wei's tone was filled with worry. "This is an extremely dangerous formation. It is said to lead to the underworld. If we accidentally trigger it, the consequences will be disastrous."

I used my flashlight to illuminate the surrounding walls and discovered that the symbols were indeed very similar to the patterns of the "ghost formation of the underworld" that Elder Wei had described. My heart began to beat faster, and an ominous premonition came over me.

"What should we do now?" Hao Yang asked.

Elder Wei pondered for a moment and said, "We must find the core of the formation as soon as possible and break it before we can leave here safely."

We continued along the passage, carefully studying the symbols on the wall. The passage twisted and turned, seemingly endless. The air was filled with an oppressive atmosphere, making it difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze behind me and I shuddered. I turned around suddenly but saw nothing.

"What's wrong?" Hao Yang noticed something was wrong with me.

"I...I feel like someone is following us..." I whispered.

Hao Yang immediately became alert. He looked around but didn't see anything unusual. "Maybe it's your illusion."

I shook my head, convinced I wasn't mistaken. The feeling of being watched was very real. "No, I'm sure..." Before I could finish my words, I heard a rustling sound coming from deep within the passage. I grabbed Hao Yang's arm, and Elder Wei also looked in the direction of the sound with vigilance. The flashlight beam flickered, illuminating a small area around the corner ahead. Something seemed to be moving there...