NOVEL NEXT Chapter 184: Am I Beautiful?
Xue Qiang pulled a token from her space ring—the map Elder Jiang had given her. She channeled her spiritual qi, and a virtual screen appeared in front of her.
Feng Fan glanced at it as they ran and realized they were in serious trouble. Having a map inside the Death Plains was almost useless.
The map was distorted. Though Feng Fan hadn't seen it before, he doubted Elder Jiang would give them something worthless. Most likely, something within the Death Plains was interfering with it.
Feng Fan activated his spiritual qi vision. What he saw nearly made his jaw drop.
'This is a massive array!'
That's right—the Death Plains were surrounded by a huge array. If that were all, it would be surprising but not shocking. What truly stunned Feng Fan was the realization that this wasn't a natural formation. It was man-made!
'Who could create such an array… and why?'
Considering the vastness of the Death Plains, the array had to span millions of kilometers—an unimaginable feat. If someone like Elder Duan attempted to create such a formation, he could dedicate his entire life to it and still never complete it!
"Fanfan, the map isn't working," Xue Qiang said, snapping Feng Fan out of his thoughts.
Feng Fan smiled wryly. "Let's look on the bright side, it'll probably make it harder for them to track us too."
"Which direction should we go?" Huang Xue asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
Even as they spoke, they kept moving. Standing still would only make things worse. Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire
Feng Fan wanted to answer, but he had no idea. If this were Earth, he could just pull up Google Maps. But here? He didn't even know the layout of the land.
"Let's head west," Su Xiaoli suggested. "If we keep moving west, we'll eventually leave the Death Plains and reach the Mao Empire. From there, we can find the Dao Seeking School."
"But…" Huang Xue hesitated. "How do we know which way is west?"
"Don't worry," Su Xiaoli reassured her. "I've studied a lot of books since I was young. I can navigate by the stars, and I know the general layout of the regions within the Dao Seeking territory."
Feng Fan nodded in agreement. 'Even if the Death Plains' formation disrupts other arrays, it's unlikely to interfere with our view of the stars—unless it's also an illusion array.'
"It's still a few hours until nightfall. Let's keep moving as far as we can from where we fought the Blue Dragon Sect," Feng Fan said.
The women nodded in agreement, and they continued their escape. A few beasts crossed their path, but none were stronger than tier 3. For now, they handled them easily.
—
"Yin Jian, your time's up. Have you decided to surrender?" Mao Yuan asked, staring at the White Crow Sect members behind the barrier.
Just as Cai An, Deng Yi, Mao Yuan, and Qian Niu began negotiating with the White Crow Sect, Cai An received a message.
"What?!" he exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.
He then grinned and turned to Yin Jian. "It seems they've already left… Who would've thought you could sneak them out of your sect without us noticing? They were spotted near the border of the Qian Empire, close to the Death Plains. My people are already chasing them."
Yin Jian and Elder Jiang paled at the news. 'How were they found so quickly?!' they thought.
Realizing their targets were no longer there, the four of them vanished in an instant.
—
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the sky in hues of orange and purple, Feng Fan and the girls spotted a village in the distance.
'A village in the Death Plains?' The sight made Feng Fan frown. 'I thought no humans lived here.'
Despite their doubts, they found themselves unconsciously drawn toward it, as if something unseen was pulling them in.
The moment the last sliver of sunlight vanished and darkness took over, a thick fog began to seep from the village. It was faint at first, but carried an unsettling stillness that clung to the air.
Then, silence.
Not just the absence of voices—but of everything. The wind stopped. The rustling of grass that filled the Death Plains, gone. Even their own footsteps seemed swallowed by the creeping mist.
The abrupt shift jolted Feng Fan out of his trance. He stopped in his tracks, instantly circulating his suppression qi around his body. 'What the hell am I doing?'
Glancing at the girls, he noticed their vacant, hollow eyes as they continued moving toward the village, their steps slow and mechanical.
Feng Fan placed a hand on each of them, channeling his suppression qi into their bodies.
"Uh? What happened?" Xue Qiang blinked, her consciousness snapping back.
"How did… we get here?" Su Xiaoli muttered, her voice unsteady. Just moments ago, the village had been a distant silhouette on the horizon—now, it loomed right before them.
A chilling voice, hollow and lifeless, echoed behind them.
"Am I beautiful?"
The four of them spun around, their bodies tensing.
A woman stood there, dressed in tattered rags. If one ignored her face, her figure was breathtaking—thick, shapely thighs, a narrow waist, and curves that would make any man's heart race. Her bare stomach traced alluring lines under the moonlight.
But the moment their eyes traveled upward, horror set in.
Her face—if it could even be called that—was a grotesque patchwork of different features, sewn together like a macabre quilt. Only, instead of fabric, flesh had been stitched together.
Her face was calm, showing no emotion. This added a strange, unsettling touch to the atmosphere, like pasta with beans.
"Am I beautiful?" the woman asked again, her voice flat and mechanical.
Xue Qiang, Su Xiaoli, and Huang Xue watched her cautiously, their hands ready to grab their weapons at any moment. But Feng Fan smiled warmly and stepped forward.
"Yes, you're a very beautiful lady. If I'd been drinking water just now, I'd have spit it all out the moment I saw you. That's how stunning you are."
The stitched-face woman's expression didn't change, but something deep in her eyes seemed to shift.
"You are lying," replied the woman.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Feng Fan felt an invisible force latching onto him, trying to drain both his life force and cultivation forcefully.
Feng Fan circulated his cultivation technique frantically, channeling his suppression qi to resist the force draining his life force and cultivation. Fortunately, his suppression qi was strong enough to block whatever sorcery was at play.
The entire exchange happened in an instant, unnoticed by anyone else. Even his expression remained unchanged—he kept his warm smile as if nothing had happened.
However, his nonchalant demeanor made the stitched-face woman's expression darken. 'What's going on? Why isn't his life force or cultivation being drained? Could it be… he wasn't lying?'
Hearing her thoughts only deepened Feng Fan's confusion. 'She knows about the suction force… but why does she think it has anything to do with me telling the truth?
Suppressing his questions for now, he kept up the act.
"Beauty, how do we leave this place? I forgot my cake in the oven, so I need to get back as soon as possible."
Of course, he kept lying.