Several people not far away were also surprised to see the white mist in the magic circle suddenly dissipate, and they only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the person who came out was Song Qingming.
The middle-aged scholar who had agreed to wait here with Song Qingming yesterday walked forward, bowed and said:
"When I first came here, I didn't see you from afar. I thought you had left here alone. I didn't expect you to be hiding in this formation. I don't understand formations, so please forgive me for offending you."
When the green-clothed woman saw the mist dissipate, she realized that she had just fallen into the magic circle set by Song Qingming. When she heard the middle-aged scholar being so polite to Song Qingming, she thought about how this man had just made her so embarrassed, and she immediately burst out with a few words of complaint:
"This person set up a formation at this intersection for no reason, trapping me for no reason. I thought I had fallen into some forbidden trap, but now it's my fault."
"Sorry. Sorry."
Seeing that the woman was a little angry, Song Qingming smiled and did not explain. He bowed his head sincerely and apologized for a while, which calmed the woman down.
"I have had a bad temper since I was young, so please bear with me. I see that you have arranged the formation so skillfully. Are you a formation master?" The middle-aged Confucian scholar continued to ask when he saw that Song Qingming had some knowledge of formations.
"I am indeed a low-grade formation master, but I am still a beginner and have only learned some basic formations. I am sorry to have embarrassed you fellow Taoists." Song Qingming said and bowed modestly.
"I think your formation is really rudimentary. If you wait any longer to unravel it, I will have to dismantle this broken formation of yours."
The woman in green seemed to be still unwilling to give in, causing everyone present to laugh.
"My name is Shi Chun, and this is my junior sister Yu Niang. I don't know how to address you, fellow Taoist."
"Song San"
Next, the other people came forward and introduced themselves to each other, and Song Qingming gradually became familiar with everyone.
It is late autumn now, and fallen leaves are everywhere in the Floating Cloud Mountains.
Song Qingming followed this group of cultivators and walked east for a day, then turned southeast and walked for another two days. Along the way, they met several groups of cultivators who were also on the road. They were getting closer and closer to Guiyunfang in the south of Fuyun Mountains.
After obtaining Liu Tianlong's storage bag, Song Qingming changed his mind and decided not to rush back to Qinghe County. He happened to be following this group of casual cultivators to Guiyuanfang, so he could deal with some magic tools, elixirs, and other items along the way.
Guiyunfang is considered the largest market in northern Wei State, and a gathering place for many independent cultivators. After asking around with a few people, I learned that no fewer than ten thousand independent cultivators enter the Floating Cloud Mountains from Guiyunfang every year. With hundreds of cultivators entering and leaving a place like this daily, it's difficult for others to track down a stranger in the Qi Refining stage selling low-level magical tools and spiritual objects, making it a perfect place for him right now.
Along the way, Song Qingming gradually became familiar with these people. The middle-aged Confucian scholar who led the team was named Shi Chun. Although his cultivation was not high, he had rich experience in hunting monsters. He was also the backbone of these people and often organized some fellow cultivators to enter the Floating Cloud Mountains to hunt monsters.
The woman in green is named Qin Yu Niang. She and Shi Chun are senior and junior brothers and sisters. They both became disciples of an old Taoist cultivator by chance and embarked on the path of cultivating immortals. However, their master passed away a few years after accepting Qin Yu Niang as his disciple. Over the years, the person who guided Qin Yu Niang in her cultivation was her senior brother Shi Chun.
The burly man with the highest cultivation level was called Zhang Tieshan. He was a cultivator from a foundation-building family in Zheng State. He was considered a cultivator born in a large family. He broke through the late stage of Qi Refining at the age of 30. He was a person with unlimited prospects and was expected to establish a foundation.
Unexpectedly, more than ten years ago, Zhang Tieshan's family was involved in the fight between the two major sects in Zheng State, and the mountain gate was destroyed. Only less than a dozen of the hundreds of cultivators in the family survived. Zhang Tieshan happened to be traveling at the time. After hearing the news, he fled directly to Wei State and became a casual cultivator. Without the cultivation resources provided by his family, his cultivation level could only stagnate for more than ten years.
A few years ago, Zhang Tieshan drifted to Guiyunfang and met the independent cultivator Shi Chun and his sister. The three of them got along well and always took care of each other, often going into the Fuyun Mountains together to hunt monsters.
The other two were both wandering cultivators who had been hanging around the Floating Cloud Mountains for many years. One was Wu Tianmu, who had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, and the other was Zhang Baiyun, who always had a wine gourd hanging around his waist. He was also the oldest person among the group, over seventy years old, and had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.
Among the few people, Shi Chun and his sister were more talkative and kept chatting with Song Qingming all the way. Zhang Tieshan seemed a little taciturn, probably because he had experienced family changes. Wu Tianmu didn't say much either, but occasionally urged everyone to speed up, as if he wanted to return to Guiyunfang as soon as possible to sell the monster materials he had obtained.
Zhang Baishan, an old drunkard, never left his liquor along the way. He was always muttering to himself in a weird way, often pretending to be mysterious. His drunken words made everyone laugh.
In the afternoon, when they were passing through a forest, Zhang Tieshan, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly shouted to everyone, "Everyone be careful, there seems to be a monster following us."
When Song Qingming heard this, he was very surprised at first, as he himself had not noticed anything. Then he thought that cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining can generally project their spiritual consciousness outward, so it is very reasonable that Zhang Tieshan can sense the movements of monsters farther away.
Sure enough, not long after, a high-level gray demon wolf, leading seven or eight mid- and low-level demon wolves, surrounded the crowd. Seeing this, everyone hurriedly took out their magic weapons and skillfully formed a circle.
"This is a wind wolf beast, capable of using wind blade magic. Don't be afraid, everyone. There aren't many of them, and we can hold them off. Tieshan will hold off the high-level one first, and we'll take care of the rest. This demon wolf is extremely fast, so stay close together to avoid being attacked by a single one. Using fire and earth magic will be more effective."
Shi Chun, as expected of someone who had been hanging around the Floating Cloud Mountains for many years, instantly recognized the origin of the monster and told everyone how to deal with it, allowing the people who had just been a little panicked to quickly gain the confidence to fight.
First, Zhang Tieshan shouted loudly and used a huge sword to block the leading high-level demon wolf. The man and the beast soon fought together.
Then Song Qingming and Wu Tianmu took the lead and each released an earth wall spell to block the remaining low- and middle-level demon wolves in front of the crowd. The several earth walls they created also greatly slowed down the speed of the attack of this group of wind wolves.
Among the remaining eight wind wolves, only three were mid-level, and the other five were low-level. Wu Tianmu, Zhang Baishan and Song Qingming each chose a mid-level wind wolf, and the remaining five low-level wind wolves were handed over to Shi Chun and his sister. Everyone faced the monsters, and the battlefield was suddenly divided into five groups.
The most powerful among this group of monsters is the high-level wind wolf beast that Zhang Tieshan faced. Its cultivation has almost reached the peak of the Qi Refining Stage. No one present is sure to defeat this monster if they fight alone.
The high-level wind wolf beast's magical powers are stronger than Zhang Tieshan's, and it has already gained the upper hand. The wind blades it releases from time to time also make Zhang Tieshan a little flustered, but it is not easy for the demon wolf to defeat him in a short time. Although Zhang Tieshan is a little embarrassed at this time, he can still hold back this high-level demon wolf.
The mid-level wind wolves that Wu Tianmu and Zhang Baishan faced were also quite powerful. Although both of them showed their strength at the beginning of the battle and used their signature skills, these two demon wolves were not easy to deal with, and they could only maintain a balance on the battlefield for the time being.
Only the mid-level wind wolf beast that Song Qingming faced was slightly weaker in strength, and it seemed that it had not been long since it broke through to the mid-level. Song Qingming's cultivation and magic power were much higher than its own. As long as he fought steadily, defeating the opponent was only a matter of time.
Senior Brother Shi Chun and his sister also had a slight advantage. When several wind wolves started to attack, they killed one together. Then they surrounded them in a group but could not do anything to them. Instead, they were forced to retreat due to the perfect cooperation between the two.
Compared with Song Qingming, Shi Chun and the others have a greater advantage and are more likely to quickly open up the situation.
In this life-and-death battle, the strength of both sides is not much different. It all depends on whether Zhang Tieshan can stop the high-level wind wolf beast and wait for Song Qingming or Shi Chun to eliminate the opponent first and break the deadlock in this battle.