Chapter 85

"Master, what's this mist about?"

The scene before him left Su Xiaofan a bit shocked.

He had never seen mist form under the sun before, and this mist was particularly strange, invisible to the naked eye.

"Mist, where?"

Tong Dongjie, standing beside him, followed Su Xiaofan's gaze but saw no mist at all.

"Dongjie, you can't see it."

Jing Shizhen said, "Wherever there's a spatial rift, this kind of gas will surround it. Within the mist, all modern electronic devices are useless."

"Electronics can't be used here?"

Hearing Uncle Jing's words, Su Xiaofan's heart stirred. His father's phone was often unreachable; could it be because he was in such an environment?

"Ah, we who practice ancient martial arts are inferior to your lineage in this aspect."

Tong Dongjie sighed. Both were ancient lineages, but it seemed that ancient martial arts always fell short compared to the inner family.

"Just this? There are many more areas where you fall short."

Jing Shizhen smiled and said, "Your lineage of body cultivation is just a bunch of warriors, good for charging into battle, but not much else."

"Not entirely true."

Tong Dongjie mumbled, but didn't continue to argue with Uncle Jing, as he knew that the inner family lineages in ancient times were often strategists and military advisors, with many advantages, though they never took the field in battle.

"Master, is the Bermuda plane crash due to this?"

Su Xiaofan asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, compasses become ineffective inside." Jing Shizhen nodded.

"Uncle Jing, can it be resolved?"

Tong Dongjie was most concerned about this issue, as it would affect the future direction of his listed company.

"The area doesn't seem large, but we need to investigate where the spatial rift appears. It's not certain yet." Jing Shizhen observed the mist ahead, his expression very serious.

After about ten minutes, a few people with equipment caught up.

"Xiaofan, take two backpacks. Dongjie, if you're going in, take one too."

Jing Shizhen looked at the muscular young men and said, "You stay here, don't cross the riverbed."

The young men glanced at Tong Dongjie, as the one who paid them was the boss.

"Everyone, listen to Uncle Jing. Stay here, and you can go back to the car at night." Tong Dongjie was considerate of his subordinates.

"Boss, the backpacks are heavy." One of the young men took off his backpack.

The backpack, when placed on the ground, was about 1.67 meters tall, almost as tall as the young man. Seeing him sweat, it was clearly not light.

"I'll take it." Su Xiaofan stepped forward, picked up the large backpack with one hand, and slung it over his back.

There were three such large backpacks. Su Xiaofan took another one from one of the young men and stacked it on the one already on his back.

"It's just over 200 pounds, not too heavy." Su Xiaofan estimated the weight of the backpacks, which was well within his capacity.

Apart from the large size of the backpacks, which might affect his movement, the weight itself was no burden to him.

Seeing Su Xiaofan so easily carry two backpacks, the muscular men were all amazed. They knew the weight of the backpacks very well.

"Let's go, Xiaofan, watch your step."

Jing Shizhen waved his hand and jumped down the riverbed. Su Xiaofan didn't see him move his feet, but in the blink of an eye, Jing Shizhen was already on the other side.

"Hey, Master, what kind of technique is that?"

Jing Shizhen's move almost made Su Xiaofan's eyes pop out.

Although he felt lighter after unblocking the major meridians, he couldn't move as swiftly and ghostly as his master.

"That's your inner family's Earth Compression technique."

Tong Dongjie, standing beside Su Xiaofan, said enviously, "Although the ancient saying of compressing the earth into an inch is exaggerated, the Earth Compression technique is much more useful than our Swift Travel technique."

"Earth Compression? Brother Dong, can your ancient martial arts use techniques too?"

Su Xiaofan had heard of this term and the Swift Travel technique, which he knew from the Water Margin.

"Some techniques that don't require true qi can be used by us."

Tong Dongjie nodded and said, "Those who practice ancient martial arts mostly focus on physical training, using secret methods to vibrate the body, thus strengthening the organs, bones, and muscles."

"How do you vibrate the body?" Su Xiaofan was curious.

"Secrets are not to be shared, Xiaofan. Don't ask such questions outside."

Tong Dongjie glanced at Su Xiaofan, suddenly closed his mouth, and made a humming sound.

As the humming sound echoed, Su Xiaofan saw Tong Dongjie's muscles tremble, and a wave of energy, similar to true qi, appeared on his body.

At the same time, Tong Dongjie's physique seemed to become more robust. He spread his body and jumped down the riverbed.

Unlike Jing Shizhen's mysterious technique, Tong Dongjie relied purely on physical strength. Su Xiaofan noticed that several stones were crushed under his feet.

"Seems ancient martial arts aren't entirely useless."

Su Xiaofan thought to himself. If he had a method to train his body, he wouldn't have to struggle with barbells anymore.

Lifting a barbell weighing over a thousand kilograms, with a 60-kilogram bar almost bent into an arch, Su Xiaofan sometimes feared the floor wouldn't hold.

Seeing that his master and Tong Dongjie had already crossed, Su Xiaofan didn't waste time and jumped down the riverbed.

Compared to the two, Su Xiaofan's movements were more cautious, carefully choosing his steps and walking step by step.

"Hmm? This gas feels a bit uncomfortable."

As soon as Su Xiaofan entered the misty area, he immediately noticed the difference.

The invisible gas seemed to exert an intangible pressure on him, making the backpack feel heavier.

The increased weight was still manageable for Su Xiaofan, but what surprised him was that the gas seemed to erode his body, trying to seep through his pores.

Taking a deep breath, Su Xiaofan activated his cultivation technique, instantly sealing all his pores.

"Hmm? The talisman is working?"

Su Xiaofan had been using the Qi Observation technique. As he felt the pressure, the energy in his wrist's Vajra Bodhi beads was activated, emitting a faint glow.

The glow spread over Su Xiaofan's body, instantly enveloping him, and the pressure from the mist disappeared.

"So this is what the talisman is for. No wonder Master never mentioned it."

Su Xiaofan had a moment of clarity. When he asked about the talisman's function, Uncle Jing always said he would understand it later. Now, Su Xiaofan had experienced it.

"Master and Tong Dongjie both have protective talismans."

Looking up at Jing Shizhen and Tong Dongjie, who had already reached the other side, Su Xiaofan saw that they were also glowing, indicating they had talismans protecting them.

Taking out his phone, Su Xiaofan was surprised to find it not only had no signal but was also completely shut down, and the power button didn't respond.

"You understand the function of the talisman now." When Su Xiaofan reached them, Jing Shizhen said.

"Master, what is this mist, and what effect does it have on the body?"

Su Xiaofan didn't ask about the talisman but observed the surroundings, feeling uneasy in the mist.

"This is the gas emitted by the spatial rift. We haven't analyzed it yet."

After entering the misty area, Jing Shizhen's expression became more serious.

"Some say it's a form of energy that can be used in many fields, but it's hard to extract. Countries have been researching it for years."

"Energy?"

Su Xiaofan sensed his repair system in his mind, but it didn't react, leaving him disappointed. It seemed the repair system couldn't absorb this energy.

However, Uncle Jing's statement might be true, as the plants and trees in the misty area were abnormally large.

Coming here felt like entering a primeval forest, with vines covering the mountain paths. To enter the mountains, they had to step on these vines.

"Have there been any research results?"

Su Xiaofan asked.

"Unknown, maybe yes, maybe no."

Uncle Jing shook his head. As an outsider, he couldn't know about such state secrets.

"What harm does this energy do to humans?"

When the gas enveloped him, Su Xiaofan felt a sense of danger, indicating it wasn't friendly to humans.

"It's very harmful to ordinary people."

Jing Shizhen said, "Without a talisman, an ordinary person would start hallucinating after three hours in this environment. If it exceeds twelve hours, even if rescued, they would suffer organ failure. If it exceeds twenty-four hours, they are usually beyond saving."

"The village indeed needs to be relocated."

Thinking of the checkpoint before entering the mountains, Su Xiaofan understood. The area had already been sealed off to ordinary people. If the spatial rift issue wasn't resolved, Tong Dongjie's development project couldn't proceed.

"Master, how long can we survive here without talismans?"

Su Xiaofan asked, realizing that after switching to internal breathing, the gas was blocked from entering his body.

"Our cultivation techniques can isolate and remove this gas."

Jing Shizhen glanced at Tong Dongjie and said, "Without talismans, Dongjie can probably stay for three days, and we can stay for about seven days, reaching our limit."

Jing Shizhen was very familiar with this environment, clearly not the first time he had entered such a place.