Chapter 83: Tricked

Hong Yan’s brows furrowed. It was obvious that Zhuo Bufan had been setting a trap for them from the very beginning.

Just as Hong Yan was about to expose Zhuo Bufan’s scheme, Ye Qingchen waved his hand.

"Senior Sister Hong Yan, since I agreed to cooperate with them, I’m confident I can handle their tricks. We’re still working together and need to use each other for now. It’s not the right time to turn on them."

"Okay, I believe in you!" Hong Yan nodded, continuously scattering the Fog Clearing Powder to drive away the poisonous fog gathering behind them.

After moving forward for seven or eight minutes, they had nearly reached the center of the mist. The toxic gas here was at least two to three times denser than it was on the outskirts. Zhuo Bufan, who led the way, kept scattering Fog Clearing Powder, barely managing to dispel the poison in front of them.

"We’re using up the Fog Clearing Powder too quickly! We have to speed up, or we might not make it through the fog!" Zhuo Bufan’s brow tightened as he quickened his pace.

The nine people behind him tensed up and hurried to keep up. However, at that very moment—

SCREECH— SCREECH—

Piercing howls erupted from the fog, growing closer as they rapidly charged toward their position. Soon, monsters with sharp claws and ferocious faces appeared in their view, converging on them from all directions.

"Not good! There are monsters!" Hong Yan cried out in alarm.

These monsters were identical to the ones they had encountered in the outer passageway.

"Captain Wang Qiang, I’ll take care of the monsters ahead while you block the ones from behind! Everyone else, spread out left and right to meet the enemy!" Zhuo Bufan commanded. As he scattered more Fog Clearing Powder, he charged forward, cleaving the lead monster in two with a single swing of his blade.

"Got it!" Wang Qiang nodded and moved to the back of the group. He drew a large blade and began fending off the monsters attacking from the rear.

SWISH! SWISH!

After killing two monsters, Wang Qiang caught a glimpse of Zhuo Bufan and his four companions pulling away from their group. At that same moment, the purity of the Fog Clearing Powder Zhuo Bufan was scattering increased significantly, reaching at least seventy percent. As he spread it, the surrounding monsters seemed to become frightened, abandoning his group and turning to attack Ye Qingchen’s instead.

"Not good! We’ve been tricked!" Wang Qiang cried out as the realization hit him. Zhuo Bufan’s cold laughter echoed from ahead.

"Haha, you bunch of trash actually dreamed of splitting the treasure with us? Thanks for holding off the monsters. After you die, I’ll be sure to burn some extra paper money for you!"

A horde of monsters surrounded Wang Qiang, Ye Qingchen, and Hong Yan, while Zhuo Bufan’s group of five took the opportunity to head deeper into the fog.

"Bastard!" Wang Qiang clenched his fists so tightly their knuckles cracked.

He finally understood. From the very beginning, Zhuo Bufan had been plotting against them! Zhuo Bufan’s group must have entered the fog before but were stopped by the monsters. That’s why they used our team as stepping stones!

"Shameless!" Hong Yan’s whip lashed out, sending a monster flying, her face ablaze with fury.

Seeing the crazed monsters swarming them, the old Daoist and the fatty panicked. They frantically scattered Fog Clearing Powder as they rushed forward, pleading desperately.

"Senior Brother Zhuo, don’t leave us behind!"

"Senior Brother Zhuo, take us with you! We’re willing to slave away for you!"

Fury filled Hong Yan’s beautiful eyes. "You two fence-sitters! Cowards!"

Zhuo Bufan was stunned for a moment before his face broke into a smile. "Fine, come on. I’m magnanimous; I won’t stoop to your level. Follow us!"

There was still some way to go, and he needed more cannon fodder.

The old Daoist and the fatty were overjoyed and scrambled to join Zhuo Bufan’s team.

Behind them, only Ye Qingchen, Wang Qiang, and Hong Yan remained, surrounded by a frenzied swarm of monsters.

Wang Qiang’s heart filled with sorrow.

It’s over! We’re probably going to die here! Not only are we surrounded by deadly poisonous fog, but there are also countless monsters attacking. We have no hope of survival!

Yet Ye Qingchen appeared calm. "Senior Brother Wang Qiang, Senior Sister Hong Yan, please hold them off for a moment!"

With a wave of his hand, an Alchemy Furnace appeared before him. He lit a Fire Stone and tossed a handful of green-leafed grass into the furnace.

"An Alchemy Furnace?"

Seeing the furnace, Wang Qiang and Hong Yan’s eyelids twitched.

Did this guy really swipe an Alchemy Furnace from the Alchemy Room?

They soon had no time to ponder it, as they had to fight desperately against the swarming monsters.

Not far ahead, Chen Hui watched Ye Qingchen’s actions with a look of surprise. "Is this kid trying to refine Fog Clearing Powder? Could he also be a prospective Alchemist?"

The old Daoist sneered. "He’s no prospective Alchemist. Before we came to this Secret Realm for training, he had just taken on his first Spiritual Medicine Purification task!"

The fatty nodded in agreement. "That’s right! He’s only been in the Alchemy Room once. He’s a long way from being a prospective Alchemist!"

Hearing this, Chen Hui’s face twisted into a mocking grin. "So he’s a novice! It’s absolutely impossible for him to refine Fog Clearing Powder with a purity over seventy percent! Let’s go!"

Convinced the three of them were doomed, Chen Hui saw no need to waste any more time.

Zhuo Bufan nodded, and the group of seven moved on quickly.

A few minutes later, just as Wang Qiang and Hong Yan were about to be overwhelmed, a fresh scent emanated from the Alchemy Furnace in front of Ye Qingchen as a white powder appeared inside. Although they weren’t Alchemists, they could tell with a single glance that the Fog Clearing Powder Ye Qingchen had refined was much purer than Chen Hui’s.

BANG!

Ye Qingchen slapped the Alchemy Furnace, drawing the refined Fog Clearing Powder out from its trough. He poured most of it into prepared porcelain bottles, clenched the excess in his hand, and rose to his feet, flinging it forcefully all around them.

WAIL— WAIL—

The monsters that had been frenziedly attacking Wang Qiang and Hong Yan recoiled as if electrocuted. Howling in agony, they retreated and quickly vanished from sight.

Hong Yan, panting heavily, watched the monsters scatter like frightened birds, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Ye Qingchen, the Fog Clearing Powder you refined is unbelievably powerful!"

Wang Qiang was also in shock. "Ye Qingchen, what’s the purity of your Fog Clearing Powder?"

He could sense that the Fog Clearing Powder Ye Qingchen refined was on a completely different level from the powder Chen Hui had used earlier!

Ye Qingchen smiled at them. "If I’m not mistaken, the Fog Clearing Powder I refined should have a purity of at least ninety percent!"

"Gasp! Ninety percent!"

"That’s incredible!"

To reach ninety percent purity on only his second time performing Spiritual Medicine Purification? That’s monstrous!