Chapter 3 - The Black Mist Beast 黑雾兽

On the way to the outer mountain, Lin Xuefei's gaze quietly swept over Lin Yuan's right hand. That simple ring didn't emit an obvious spiritual energy fluctuation, yet it made her feel an indescribable sense of oppression.

"It seems to be sealed by a strange restriction and can't exert its true power for the time being..." She pondered in her heart, a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her calm expression and didn't show any abnormality.

"Why does this young man possess such a ring? Is his identity really just that of an ordinary servant disciple?" A thoughtful look flashed in Lin Xuefei's eyes, but she quickly resumed her indifferent expression.

The task of cleaning the outer mountain was not easy. The spiritual energy in the area was relatively thin, and there were overgrown weeds everywhere. Small spirit beasts could be seen from time to time. The servant disciples held brooms and dust-removing talismans, cleaning while remaining vigilant about their surroundings.

Lin Yuan squatted on the ground, sweeping randomly with the broom. He looked up at the others from time to time and glanced at Lin Xuefei, who was leading the team in the distance. He thought to himself, "This is really a tough job. Is the world of cultivating immortals really this competitive? Can sweeping the floor even be a task?"

Just as he was complaining in his heart, suddenly, a cold and gloomy wind blew from not far away, and a strange sound faintly came from the air, which was like a soft whisper and also like the low growl of some kind of beast.

Lin Yuan suddenly stopped his movements and looked up vigilantly: "What's going on? Something's not right..."

The other disciples also seemed to sense something strange and stopped their movements one after another, looking in the direction of the sound.

Lin Xuefei frowned and said coldly, "All of you, stay behind me."

She drew out her long sword, her gaze sharp as lightning, and stared intently into the depths of the forest. Lin Yuan was overwhelmed by her cold and imposing manner and thought, "Why is this sister suddenly so imposing? By the way... Why is the wind suddenly so cold?"

The next moment, a huge black shadow rushed out from among the trees. It was a monster that resembled a wolfhound. Its whole body was covered in black fur, and its eyes glowed with a blood-red light. Saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth, and its fangs were menacing, looking extremely fierce.

"A Black Mist Beast!" A disciple exclaimed, his voice filled with deep fear.

"Don't panic!" Lin Xuefei shouted coldly, "It's just a low-level strange beast. Form a formation to protect yourselves and don't run around!"

However, the Black Mist Beast didn't attack directly. Instead, it locked its gaze on Lin Yuan. It let out a low growl and suddenly pounced on him!

"Damn it!" Lin Yuan was terrified. He just wanted to turn and run, but he found that his legs were too weak to move.

Just as the Black Mist Beast's sharp claws were about to touch him, a cold light flashed, and Lin Xuefei made a move. The long sword slashed down sharply, forcing the Black Mist Beast back a few steps.

"What are you standing there for?" Lin Xuefei gave Lin Yuan a cold glance, and there was no emotion in her tone at all.

Lin Yuan came to his senses, managed to stand firm, and his heart was in a state of turmoil. He looked down at his ring and somehow felt that the target of this Black Mist Beast wasn't himself, but... the ring.

"This thing is really not simple..." He muttered in his heart.

After the strange beast was killed by Lin Xuefei, it became quiet around them. The servant disciples didn't dare to breathe loudly, and their faces were all pale. Lin Yuan, however, let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and looked at Lin Xuefei's cold expression. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

He squinted his eyes slightly and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Senior Sister, for saving my life. But the appearance of this Black Mist Beast is really strange. In my opinion, this matter might be related to the secrets of this outer mountain." Hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed in Lin Xuefei's eyes. She didn't expect that this seemingly ordinary servant disciple could have such an opinion.

"What do you think?" Lin Xuefei asked in a flat tone. Lin Yuan was delighted in his heart, knowing that he had successfully piqued her interest. Then he continued, "I once heard from ancient records that when some powerful magic treasures are sealed, they will attract evil things around them.

Although this ring doesn't show obvious spiritual energy now, perhaps it's precisely because of this that it attracted the Black Mist Beast."

Lin Xuefei fell into thought. After a moment, she nodded slightly: "I'll keep this in mind for now. Don't give such an absurd answer next time." Lin Yuan was annoyed in his heart but respectfully replied, "Yes, Senior Sister."

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在前去外山途中,林雪霏的目光悄然扫过林远的右手,那枚古朴的戒指并没有散发出明显的灵力波动,却让她感到一丝难以言喻的压迫感.

"似乎被一种奇怪的禁制封印,暂时无法发挥其真正的力量..." 她心中暗自思忖,目光中闪过一丝疑惑,不过很快便恢复了那副波澜不惊的模样,没有表现出任何异样.

"这个少年为何拥有这样的戒指?他的身份,真的只是一个普通的杂役弟子吗?" 林雪霏眼中掠过一抹深思,但很快又恢复了冷漠的表情.

清扫外山的任务并不简单,区域内的灵气较为稀薄,又杂草丛生,时不时还能看到些小型灵兽出没.杂役弟子们拿着扫帚和除尘符,一边清理,一边警惕四周.

林远蹲在地上,拿着扫帚胡乱扫着.他不时抬头看看其他人,又瞄了瞄远处带队的林雪霏,心里想着:"这可真是个苦差事,修仙世界难道就这么卷吗?扫地都能成为任务?"

就在他心里吐槽时,忽然,一阵阴冷的风从不远处吹来,空气中隐约传来一阵怪异的声音,像是轻轻的低语,又像是某种野兽的低吼.

林远猛地停下动作,警惕地抬头看去:"这什么情况?有点不对劲啊..."

其他弟子似乎也察觉到了异样,纷纷停下动作,向声音传来的方向张望.

林雪霏眉头一皱,冷声道:"全部退到我身后."

她拔出长剑,目光如电,紧盯着树林深处.林远被她的冷峻气场震住了,心想:"这姐姐怎么突然变得这么强势?话说... 为什么这风突然这么冷?"

下一刻,一只体型硕大的黑影从林间窜出,那是一头形似狼犬的怪物,浑身毛发乌黑,双眼透着血红的光芒.它的嘴角滴着涎液,獠牙森森,看起来凶狠至极.

"黑雾兽!" 有弟子惊呼出声,声音里透着浓浓的恐惧.

"别慌!" 林雪霏冷声喝道,"它只是低阶异兽,结阵保护自己,不要乱跑!"

然而,黑雾兽并没有直接攻击,而是将目光锁定在林远身上.它低吼了一声,猛地扑了过来!

"卧槽!" 林远大惊失色,刚想拔腿跑,却发现自己腿软得动不了.

就在黑雾兽的利爪即将触碰到他时,一道寒光闪过,林雪霏出手了.长剑凌厉斩下,直接将黑雾兽逼退几步.

"愣着干什么?" 林雪霏冷冷地瞥了林远一眼,语气中没有丝毫温度 .

林远回过神来,勉强站稳,心里七上八下.他低头看了看自己的戒指,心里莫名觉得这头黑雾兽的目标不是自己,而是... 戒指.

"这玩意儿还真是不简单啊..." 他心里嘀咕.

异兽被林雪霏斩杀后,周围恢复了安静.杂役弟子们大气都不敢喘,个个脸色煞白.林远却长舒了一口气,擦了擦额头上的冷汗,看了看林雪霏那冷若冰霜的表情,忽然心生一计.

他微微眯起眼睛,低声说道:"多谢师姐救命之恩,只是这黑雾兽的出现太过蹊跷,依我看,此事或许与这外山的隐秘有关." 林雪霏闻言,眼中闪过一丝诧异,没想到这个看似普通的杂役弟子竟能有这般见解.

"你有何看法?" 林雪霏语气平淡地问道.林远心中一喜,知道自己成功引起了她的兴趣,便接着说道:"我曾听闻古籍记载,有些强大的法宝被封印时,会吸引周遭的邪祟之物.这戒指虽然如今灵力不显,但说不定正因如此,才引来了黑雾兽."

林雪霏陷入了沉思,片刻后,她微微点头:"此事暂且记下,下次不要再给出这么离谱的回答." 林远心中懊恼,表面上却恭敬地应道:"是,师姐."