I walk sideways in the game world

Chapter 151: Fog-locked Ruins, Lost in the Unknown

The island stood silently on the sea, like a sleeping giant, unmoved by the raging sea breeze. After weathering the turbulent waves, Ren Xiaoyao and his companions finally set foot on this unknown land.

As soon as we landed on the island, we were greeted by a damp, decaying odor that was strangely oppressive. The vegetation on the island was incredibly lush, with towering ancient trees blocking out the sun, and vines entwined around the tree trunks like giant pythons, leaving virtually no place to stand.

"The plants here seem... too lush." Pharmacist Li observed the surrounding environment, a hint of uneasiness in his tone.

"Yes," Ren Xiaoyao nodded and tightened his grip on the sword. "Everyone, be careful. This should be the entrance to the ruins."

They walked cautiously along an ancient stone path, the trees on either side surrounding them like a high wall. The dense canopy obscured the sky, leaving only specks of light filtering through the gaps. The path twisted and turned, and it was unclear where it led.

As they went deeper, the fog around them became thicker and thicker, and visibility was less than five meters.

"This fog is strange," Charlene said softly, "My perception is greatly weakened here."

"It seems the guardian of this ruin has begun to take action," Master Mo pushed his glasses, a gleam of light flashing through the lenses, "Everyone should be vigilant."

Ren Xiaoyao walked at the front of the group, gazing at the foggy road ahead, a strange uneasiness rising in his heart. He could sense something watching them from behind the fog, something cold and merciless.

"We must find a way to break this fog as soon as possible," he said in a deep voice, "otherwise..."

Before he could finish his words, there was a rustling sound from the front, as if something was moving quickly.

"What's that sound?" Everyone suddenly became nervous, drew their weapons, and looked around vigilantly.

"Be careful!" Ren Xiaoyao shouted and pulled Xia Lin behind him.

A dark shadow shot out from the mist, heading straight for Ren Xiaoyao... Its speed was so great that Ren Xiaoyao barely had time to draw his sword before he felt a surge of force. With a resounding "clang!", the shadow was deflected, and Ren Xiaoyao was thrown back a few steps.

"Be careful, it's a gargoyle!" Master Mo recognized the attacker at a glance.

With the dim light, everyone could see clearly that the black shadow was actually a monster carved from rock. It had bat-like wings, sharp claws, and a pair of eyes that flashed red.

The gargoyle let out a sharp roar and lunged forward again. Ren Xiaoyao brandished his sword and engaged it in a tangle. Although the gargoyle had powerful attack power, its movements were relatively slow. Ren Xiaoyao, relying on his agile body, was barely able to deal with it.

"Xiaoyao, use this!" Xia Lin shouted anxiously, handing him a simple mask woven from vines. "It's smeared with insect repellent herbs. Maybe it will have some effect on this fog."

Ren Xiaoyao took the mask and quickly put it on his face. A cool feeling came over him, and the mist in front of his eyes seemed to fade a little, but the effect was not obvious.

"These mists are too strange, and my herbs have limited effect on them." Xia Lin shook her head helplessly, her face full of worry.

Elsewhere, Master Mo was carefully observing his surroundings, trying to find a way to break through the fog. He discovered that, shrouded by the fog, some ancient symbols were faintly visible on the walls of the ruins.

"These symbols... seem to be some kind of ancient writing," Master Mo muttered to himself, "If we can decipher them, perhaps we can find a way out of this fog."

He took out a magnifying glass and a notebook from his backpack and began to carefully copy the symbols. However, these symbols were obscure and difficult to understand. Even with Master Mo's rich archaeological knowledge, it was difficult to decipher their meaning in a short time.

Ren Xiaoyao noticed Master Mo's actions during the fierce battle, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart, "Master Mo, how is it? Did you find anything?"

"These symbols are very ancient. It will take me some time to decipher them," Master Mo replied without even looking up. "Try to hold the gargoyle back as much as possible to buy me some time!"

Ren Xiaoyao nodded, swinging his sword even more fiercely. However, as time went on, his physical strength gradually declined, while the gargoyle seemed tireless and its attacks became more and more fierce.

"This isn't a solution," Ren Xiaoyao fended off the gargoyle's attacks while anxiously thinking of a solution. "We must find a way to break out as soon as possible!"

At this moment, Pharmacist Li, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "Wait, do you smell anything?"

Everyone was stunned and took a deep breath. A faint fragrance, mixed with a hint of decay, quietly filled the air...

Pharmacist Li's expression changed slightly. "It's the smell of 'Soul-Loving Incense'. Be careful, there might be something nearby..."

"...The smell of 'Love Incense'. Be careful, there may be something more dangerous nearby!" Pharmacist Li's face changed slightly, and there was a hint of solemnity in his tone.

"Something more dangerous?" Upon hearing this, Xia Lin couldn't help but look around worriedly. It seemed as if countless pairs of eyes were hidden in the fog, which was chilling.

"The incense of love is a rare plant. Its fragrance can disrupt a person's mind, causing hallucinations and even disorientation," Pharmacist Li explained. "It usually grows in dark, damp places, and..."

He paused, looked around, and lowered his voice to say, "It's usually accompanied by some exotic beasts guarding it."

Ren Xiaoyao's heart trembled upon hearing this, and he tightened his grip on the sword. The gargoyles were already difficult enough to deal with, but if other unknown dangers were to arise, their expedition would be truly doomed.

Master Mo was still immersed in his study of ancient symbols and didn't seem to hear their conversation. Pharmacist Li was concentrating on studying the surrounding plants and soil, hoping to find some clues, but his results were also minimal.

As time went by, the fog showed no sign of dissipating, but instead grew thicker. Ren Xiaoyao, relying on his intuition and courage, led the team to grope forward in the fog, but they soon lost their way.

"We seem to be going in circles," Charlene said, looking at the familiar scenery around her with a hint of despair in her tone. "This fog is so strange, we can't get out at all."

Ren Xiaoyao looked around and found that they seemed to have come to a place similar to a courtyard, surrounded by towering walls with all kinds of strange patterns carved on the walls. It looked strange, eerie and terrifying under the cover of fog.

"Be careful!" Pharmacist Li suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead and saying, "What is that?"

Everyone followed his gaze and saw a huge black shadow looming in the depths of the fog. Accompanied by bursts of low roars, it was slowly approaching them...

Ren Xiaoyao's heart sank. He gripped his sword tightly and said in a deep voice, "Prepare for battle!"

The shadows gradually approached, their deep roars hammering at everyone's heart. Ren Xiaoyao shielded Xia Lin behind him, his sword gleaming with a faint golden light as he prepared for battle. Pharmacist Li quickly pulled several bottles of potions from his backpack and distributed them to everyone. "This is a potion to dispel the fog. It should hold off for a while."

At this tense moment, Ren Xiaoyao suddenly noticed a stone slab on a nearby wall that didn't fit in with the surrounding patterns. With a sudden thought, he said to everyone, "I'll go over there and take a look. Be careful!"

He rushed to the stone slab and examined it carefully. There were some strange patterns carved on the stone slab, which looked like some kind of text, or some kind of symbols. Ren Xiaoyao tried to sense it with his mental power, and suddenly, he felt a weak energy fluctuation coming from the stone slab.

"Could this be..." Ren Xiaoyao was delighted. He carefully identified the pattern on the stone slab and finally found a symbol that looked like an arrow. "Is this... a direction marker?"

He immediately told everyone about his discovery, and everyone was delighted after hearing it.

"Great, we are saved!" Charlene said excitedly.

"Let's go without delay!" Pharmacist Li also urged.

Ren Xiaoyao nodded and, following the instructions on the stone slab, led everyone in the direction of the arrow. However, after they had walked for about an incense stick of time, the scene before them startled them.

What appeared before them was a bottomless abyss!

"How could this happen?" Charlene exclaimed, involuntarily taking a few steps back.

Ren Xiaoyao frowned as he walked to the edge of the abyss and observed carefully. He saw that the abyss was bottomless and all around was pitch black. Only gusts of cold wind blew from the abyss, which made people shudder.

"This stone slab...is it a trap?" Pharmacist Li said with a grim expression.

"What should we do now?" Xia Lin looked at Ren Xiaoyao, her eyes full of worry.

Ren Xiaoyao was silent for a moment and looked around. Suddenly, he found that there seemed to be a hidden path on the right side of the abyss, leading into the depths of the fog.

"Maybe there's a road over here!" Ren Xiaoyao pointed at the path and said, "Let's go over and take a look!"

The crowd had no better choice but to bite the bullet and follow Ren Xiaoyao's footsteps. The path was rugged and difficult to walk on, with weeds and shrubs as tall as a person on both sides. The air was filled with a rotten smell. It was obvious that no one had been here for a long time.

"Be careful!" Pharmacist Li suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead, "It's a swamp!"

Everyone looked up and saw a vast swamp in front of them. It was muddy and stank, and bubbles occasionally rose from the muddy water, making people feel daunted...