109: Chapter 109 How could they catch up with that?
It had only been a few seconds.
Lu Mengmeng suddenly gasped, exclaiming, "Hiss—! This Soul Power is rushing into my body like water from an opened floodgate; I don't even need soul crystals!"
The others also opened their eyes one after another, their faces full of surprise.
Feeling the Soul Power rapidly circulating within her body, Su Xiaoxiao couldn't help but whisper, "It really is a mist condensed from Soul Power. This is amazing!"
"Don't just stand there, hurry up and Cultivate."
As Lin Mo circulated his cultivation technique to absorb it, he explained to everyone, "Take out all your auxiliary cultivation potions and Medicinal Pills and use them. Opportunities like this are rare; those who don't know any better would probably think they've encountered some strange, eerie phenomenon and run away before they could even react."
He was already at Level 26 and wanted to use this surge of Spiritual Qi to hit his Bottleneck, hoping to reach Level 28 in one go.
If he could do that, he could Awaken his remaining Soul Skill slots and potentially Breakthrough to Level 30. If he was lucky enough to unlock a Heaven-Rank Soul Skill slot...
Tsk, tsk, tsk, he didn't even dare to imagine it.
Suppressing the excitement in her heart, Teacher Shen Yao looked at Lin Mo with a bit more approval, "This guy knows so much."
She was only one step away from becoming a Tier 5 Soul King, and this sudden mist of Soul Power might just be the opportunity to help her Breakthrough to Tier 5 Soul King.
Thinking this, she quickly took out a Lin Mo-brand soul condensing pill and popped it into her mouth.
The others were no exception.
With the natural bonus of the Soul Power mist, combined with the cultivation technique Lin Mo gave them, and the added boost from the soul condensing pill, the effects compounded.
The Soul Power within their bodies shot up visibly, just like an experience bar in a game.
Until the sky was completely dark, the mist in the forest gradually dissipated like a receding tide.
Only then did everyone snap out of that high-speed cultivation state.
Everyone's face showed a satisfying exhaustion, but their eyes were shining brilliantly.
"Whew—Level 28, almost touching the edge of Level 29..."
Lin Mo slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his face filled with unconcealable joy. "I shot up nearly three levels in one go; it was so worth it!"
"Awoo! Boss! I'm Level 30!" Lu Mengmeng jumped up abruptly.
She was the most talented among them, so it wasn't surprising that she was able to Breakthrough the Level 30 barrier with these multiple bonuses.
The seven of them had all gained a lot from this mist.
Niu Dachun steadily advanced to Level 25, while Su Xiaoxiao and Mu Liuli also broke through to Level 24.
Teacher Shen Yao's aura suddenly surged, and she successfully advanced to the Tier 5 Soul King realm.
Even Teacher An Nuolan took advantage of the momentum to raise her level by one, moving one step closer to the Tier 6 Soul Emperor.
Teacher An Nuolan glanced at the pitch-black mountain forest all around.
"Lin Mo, it's completely dark now. Should we continue on our way to catch up with Captain Gu Miaoyu and the others, or should we find a place to camp first?"
Lin Mo rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment, "Let's keep pursuing. They definitely couldn't have traveled fast when the mist started this afternoon; they might have stopped not far ahead. Besides, it's cold in the mountains at night, so they'll likely light a fire. We might be able to find their location by following the firelight."
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Teacher Shen Yao nodded in agreement.
Lin Mo released his Martial Soul, and after the seven of them jumped in, it shot straight into the sky with a whoosh.
They only circled around once.
Lu Mengmeng suddenly pointed in one direction. "Boss, look, over there!"
Everyone looked in that direction and saw firelight flickering ten kilometers away.
This was the benefit of having flight capabilities.
As long as they didn't encounter flying exotic beasts, traveling or searching for people was extremely convenient.
Everyone's spirits lifted.
Lin Mo didn't waste words and directly controlled the alchemy furnace to fly over.
Sure enough, after skimming over the treetops and passing through a dense forest, the faint smell of firewood drifted through the air.
"Found them! They're in that cave!" Su Xiaoxiao whispered.
Inside the cave. The firelight danced, but the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy.
Captain Gu Miaoyu and the three representatives of the aristocratic families sat around the campfire, each of them looking somewhat exhausted.
"Let each team report their casualties first." Captain Gu Miaoyu spoke up first.
Qin Family's Changfeng from the first echelon sighed and said first, "On my side, there are three seriously injured and five lightly injured. No one has fallen behind yet. Fortunately, we have healing potions and medical auxiliary Soul Masters, so it's not a major issue."
The representative of the second echelon followed up, "Our situation is about the same. The main issue was that the mist came too suddenly. Several times, we lost our direction while walking and ran straight into a nest of exotic beasts. Thanks to Captain Gu Miaoyu bringing people to rescue us in time, otherwise, I'm afraid we would have suffered casualties."
This was the truth. The thick fog interfered with their sense of direction, and the second team deviated from their route several times. If it hadn't been for Captain Gu Miaoyu's decisive decision to split the troops and retrieve them, they would likely still be spinning around in the fog, and the consequences would have been unimaginable.
When it was Captain Gu Miaoyu's turn, her expression darkened significantly, and her brows were tightly furrowed, "My third echelon... the losses are a bit heavy. One team has fallen behind; we haven't been able to contact them, and their fate is unknown."
"Pfft—" The Tu Family representative sneered, his tone carrying a bit of disapproval. "You can't blame that on you, Captain Gu Miaoyu. Who told the Eastern Martial Soul Academy to send such a weak team just to make up the numbers? They can only blame their own bad luck."
"You can't say it like that." The Qin Family elder frowned and retorted in a deep voice, "Who could have predicted that such a thick fog would suddenly rise in this mountain forest? Furthermore, since they joined the team, they are fellow travelers; it's not right to just watch them die."
Captain Gu Miaoyu raised her hand and pressed her temples, her tone heavy, "It's useless to say these things now. When dawn comes and the fog disperses, I will send people back to search and rescue."
On the side, Bai Yuntian was poking at the campfire with a stick, sparks popping upwards. Just now, hearing that the Eastern Academy team had fallen behind, he felt so relieved. "Those few brats who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth, it's best if they died in the mouths of exotic beasts, so they don't get in the way..."
This secret joy hadn't even warmed up in his heart. A dull thud suddenly came from outside the cave, as if something heavy had slammed onto the ground.
"Alert!" Captain Gu Miaoyu reacted extremely quickly and gave the order.
Everyone inside the cave instantly tensed up, circulating their Soul Power, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Just then, a crisp, slightly playful voice came from outside the cave, "Hey, is anyone there?"
Then came the trembling voice of the soldier in charge of guarding the cave entrance, "It, it's actually you all!!"
Hundreds of gazes turned towards the cave entrance in unison.
"Don't shoot, we're on the same side!"
A moment later, everyone saw Lin Mo and the other six walking in slowly from outside the cave. Everyone looked energetic.
Among them, the big thunder loli was still gnawing on half a piece of uneaten wild fruit.
"Ho... how is it you all?!" Captain Gu Miaoyu looked at the seven people who had suddenly appeared. She was so shocked that she couldn't even speak coherently, her eyes full of disbelief.
She had been planning to send people to search tomorrow morning? But this team actually found their way back on their own? That's too amazing, heh...
The stick in Bai Yuntian's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter." The smug expression on his face froze, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.
How is it possible? With such thick fog and exotic beasts crawling everywhere, these guys are actually fine?
"Hehe, hello everyone, have you eaten yet?" With hundreds of eyes watching, Lin Mo felt a little embarrassed and could only brace himself to greet everyone.
"Hmm... return to the team!" Captain Gu Miaoyu put away the surprise in her eyes.
"Understood!" Lin Mo and the seven of them scurried to find a spot in the cave and started setting up their tents.
Watching them, they didn't look like they had just experienced life and death at all. It took a long time for everyone to recover.
This team... is strange. No wonder the Eastern Academy dared to send them for this mission. Just for the fact that they could find the main force at night, they had the qualifications...