At the same time, Huanmao and Fengming both flew up, unleashing spirit energy without reservation towards them.
Hong En was a cultivator in the Linglun stage, and his entire body was engulfed by Fengming's Nether Fire, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Your opponent is me."
Chu Lingwei blocked those who were going to rescue Hong En, her Ice Jade Frost Sword blocking his path. "If you want to save him, you must get past me first."
"You are Chu Lingwei."
The Huatian realm cultivator's eyes widened as he saw the sword in Chu Lingwei's hand. He had seen this sword before; it belonged to Chu Lingwei, the personal disciple of Beichen Feng, the dean of the Cultivation Academy.
"Since you know me, I can't let you leave today either."
Killing intent flared in Chu Lingwei's eyes. The person before her recognized her, so she couldn't let them escape.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, it's a misunderstanding. Please show mercy." The Huatian realm cultivator inwardly cursed his bad luck. Who else could they have offended but Chu Lingwei?
"Unfortunately, it's too late."
Chu Lingwei snorted coldly, and her sword plunged towards the Huatian realm cultivator's chest.
Fengming immediately spat out Nether Fire, burning these people to ashes.
"Weiwei, why didn't that person fight back just now?" Fengming was surprised that the Huatian realm cultivator didn't retaliate.
"He guessed my identity and didn't dare to fight back."
Chu Lingwei glanced at Hong En, who was already lifeless, then sheathed her sword and summoned her flying artifact. "Let's leave here first."
The Hong Family.
"Who killed my En'er?"
A roar echoed from a secret chamber in the Hong family. Their last descendant, whom he had kept close to him, had still met his end.
"Ancestor."
The head of the Hong family, upon hearing the report that Hong En's nameplate had shattered, immediately rushed to the ancestor's secret chamber.
"Hurry and investigate! Whoever killed my En'er, I will make them pay a heavy price!" The Hong family ancestor exuded rage, causing the entire Chenhe Town to tremble.
"There really is a Supreme realm expert here."
Huanmao stared in the direction of the Hong family and couldn't help but sigh.
"So what if there is? We have one too." Fengming snorted. Shuiyi was also a Supreme realm mighty figure, and her combat power was much stronger than that of an ordinary Supreme realm cultivator.
"They're catching up."
Chu Lingwei stood up, sensing faint auras approaching them.
"What should we do? Fight them?" Fengming stood up, his whole body brimming with excitement. "Quickly summon Shuiyi, we don't have to fear him."
"Let's just go into the forest."
Chu Lingwei thought of the Hong family and her eyes flickered. She deliberately left traces of their presence where they could be found and quickly entered the forest.
"Weiwei, you want them to follow us into the forest?" Huanmao was puzzled.
"If they know that the killer of Hong En has entered the forest, they probably won't trouble innocent people outside." She had killed Hong En, so they could come after her; she didn't want to implicate others.
Four hours later, the pursuers behind them were still following at a moderate distance.
Chu Lingwei looked at the thin mist rising in front of her. This was likely the mist they spoke of that could cause people to lose their way.
"Weiwei, do we really have to go in?" Fengming jumped onto Chu Lingwei's shoulder and glared at the pursuers not far behind them, truly wanting to burn them to death.
"Yes, we're going in."
Chu Lingwei urged her flying artifact forward into the depths of Chenhe Forest.
Upon entering the mist, Chu Lingwei sensed that something was amiss.
"This isn't just mist; it's more like a formation."
The mist here was merely the surface. Now that they were within it, streams of spirit energy flickered in and out of existence, rapidly moving them in another direction.
"This formation is so powerful!" Huanmao became interested. He had never seen such a formation before and had already begun searching for its core.
"Maomao, quickly find a way! We're already very far from where we entered the forest!" Fengming cried out, clinging tightly to Chu Lingwei's body, worried that the formation would separate them.
Chu Lingwei summoned her Ice Jade Frost Sword to try and cleave the formation, but the spirit energy she unleashed was directly repelled.
"This is not only a high-level formation, but also a teleportation array." Chu Lingwei stopped her movements and closed her eyes to sense their speed of movement, not knowing where they would be transported.
They had arrived.
Chu Lingwei opened her eyes again. She was still within the forest, the spiritual energy here was dense, and the surroundings were eerily silent.
"Someone has entered so soon." A laughter sounded behind Chu Lingwei.
Chu Lingwei was startled; the person behind her had appeared without her detecting it at all.
"Who are you?"
Chu Lingwei turned around to see an extremely aged old woman standing behind her. Her eyes glowed green, and she leaned on a snake-shaped cane, scrutinizing Chu Lingwei from head to toe.
"Come, follow me."
The old woman snorted and turned to leave.
"Weiwei, she's not human, she's probably a demon." Huanmao transmitted his voice quickly. He could still distinguish between humans and demons.
Chu Lingwei understood. She hadn't expected to arrive in demon territory.
Was this still Chenhe Forest?
She quickly followed the old woman, maintaining a distance of ten paces.
"You don't want to ask anything?" The old woman's voice drifted from ahead. She was the first human cultivator to enter here and remain silent.
"If the old woman wishes to tell me, she will tell me."
Chu Lingwei surveyed her surroundings. The spiritual energy here was dense, yet it carried an indescribable atmosphere. It seemed she had been teleported to this demon territory by the formation.
The old woman simply smiled.
"Why didn't you heed the warning and enter the mist?" Entering Chenhe Forest during misty weather had been a rule for a hundred years.
"I was being pursued and had no choice but to enter." Chu Lingwei lowered her gaze. So, the reason behind not entering Chenhe Forest when it was misty was this.
The old woman did not reply further but quickened her pace.
"Heh heh, Snake Grandma, you've brought back another human cultivator?" After walking for nearly an hour, a child of about three or four years old suddenly jumped in front of the old woman. He kept staring at Chu Lingwei behind her, and upon seeing Chu Lingwei's face, his eyes showed disdain. "Why is it a woman?"
Chu Lingwei: "..."
"Go and invite the elder." The Snake Grandma did not stop due to the obstruction but continued to stride forward.
"Okay, I'll go now." The child gave Chu Lingwei a sinister smile, turned, and disappeared.
"Weiwei, this place is a bit strange." Fengming clung to Chu Lingwei's shoulder and whispered.
"This should be demon territory." Huanmao was on high alert. Although they were spirit beasts, they were different from demons.
Chu Lingwei had the same guess; they must have arrived in demon territory.