Chapter 346: Came to the Right Place

“Su Yan, what’s wrong?”

Ma Chulan immediately noticed that Su Yan seemed to be looking toward the Kong family.

Kong Nian, who was walking ahead, also noticed it at the same time.

Kong Nian looked directly at Su Yan with a cold expression.

Although she hadn't stepped forward during yesterday's incident, she wouldn't allow them to run wild either.

“Miss Su, is there someone on our side that you don't recognize? Or are you plotting something again?”

This sentence was a blatant provocation toward Su Yan.

Su Yan was not annoyed. “Why didn't I see that elder by your side this morning?”

The elder, of course, referred to Kong Xiang.

Kong Nian hadn't expected her to suddenly ask about Kong Xiang; her expression froze for a moment before she let out a huff through her nose.

“Didn't you hear Young Master Zhou say there is an age limit for entering the ancestral lands? Since Uncle Kong cannot enter, there is naturally no need for him to appear.”

Su Yan realized the situation. “Oh, so that's how it is. I thought he would come to see you all off.”

Kong Nian made no effort to hide her displeasure. She withdrew her gaze and strode forward, looking down on Su Yan with a contemptuous air as if she didn't want to deal with her.

Instead, Su Yan specifically spoke to Ruan Tao behind her: “Senior Brother Ruan, you don't look very well. Did you not sleep well last night?”

Given the relationship between her and Ruan Tao, it was absolutely impossible for her to show concern proactively, so after she spoke, the atmosphere around them became quite strange.

Ruan Tao had been walking with his head down, but upon hearing Su Yan call his name, a shadow flickered beneath his lowered eyelids.

However, he quickly recovered and looked up at Su Yan.

“Thank you for your concern, Miss Su. I am quite fine.”

His mannerisms and behavior were no different from usual.

He was certain that even if this Su Yan possessed heaven-defying abilities, she wouldn't be able to see through his current condition.

Su Yan smiled slightly. “As long as you're fine.”

Ruan Tao continued following in the group. Su Yan prepared to withdraw her gaze as well, but as she casually swept her eyes over Kong Yueqing, who was walking at the very edge, her gaze lingered once more.

“Su Yan, what is it exactly?” Ma Chulong came to Su Yan's side and asked in a low voice.

Su Yan's thoughts were interrupted, and a trace of doubt surfaced in her heart.

Could it be that besides the situation with Ruan Tao last night, she had also overlooked Kong Yueqing?

But she hadn't sensed anything wrong with Kong Yueqing...

“Su Yan?”

“It's nothing. I just felt that the Kong family seemed exceptionally quiet today,” Su Yan gave a random excuse.

Ruan Tao's side was temporarily harmless, and she hadn't figured out Kong Yueqing's situation yet, so she didn't plan to tell Ma Chulong now and cause unnecessary trouble.

Ma Chulan replied with a chuckle, “They lost so much face yesterday, so of course they have to keep a low profile today. Otherwise, could they still tear our faces off?”

She was extremely satisfied with Kong Yueqing, who didn't even dare to glance at them.

Su Yan didn't speak, but instead signaled to continue moving forward.

Zhou Chong led the way at the front, with Zhou Li and the others following closely behind.

After passing through a stretch of rugged mountain paths, fine beads of sweat appeared on everyone's faces.

Although they had prepared themselves mentally, they hadn't expected the Zhou family's ancestral lands to be located in such a deep, ancient forest.

By the time Zhou Chong stopped, two hours had passed.

Looking at the dense forest, Su Yan felt that no matter how she looked at it, it didn't resemble a burial ground.

She stared at this endless mountain forest and determined that it was all transformed by illusions.

The Zhou ancestors were indeed grand; they were able to claim an entire mountain forest for their own use.

Zhou Li took a slight breath, his expression turning solemn as he addressed everyone: “We have now reached the outskirts of the ancestral lands. Next, Zhou Chong will open the entrance. There will be risks once we go inside, so please stay close to us and do not wander off. Otherwise, you might very well get lost within the first checkpoint.”

The atmosphere became serious and tense.

However, the Zhou family did not act immediately, but instead told everyone to adjust themselves on the spot.

Su Yan found a random place to sit down. It wasn't that she was tired, she was just too lazy to deal with the others.

She noticed that Zhou Li kept checking the time and the mountain path they had taken, as if he were waiting for something.

After resting for about half an hour, just as someone was losing patience and asking why they hadn't started yet, two figures appeared in everyone's sight.

“Someone is coming.”

Someone shouted, and everyone turned their heads in unison to look.

As the two walked closer, Su Yan realized they were acquaintances.

Du Jinsong and Zhang Ximing.

Because of their special identities, everyone naturally recognized them. They had also attended Zhou Li's coming-of-age banquet, so it was expected that they would come.

Zhou Li and Zhou Chong greeted them warmly.

“Some family matters delayed us. We've kept everyone waiting,” Du Jinsong explained proactively after the pleasantries.

“It's fine, we only arrived not long ago ourselves.” Zhou Li's attitude was very humble, showing none of the arrogance of a young master. After speaking, he nodded to Zhou Chong.

“Everyone is here. Let's begin now.”

Everyone's nerves tightened. Under the gaze of many eyes, Zhou Chong began to recite the incantation to open the entrance.

A few seconds later, a sudden gale blew up, and immediately, the forest ahead instantly transformed into a different landscape.

The mountain forest remained, but the branches and leaves were withered and desolate. A thick mist rose up, reducing visibility to less than ten meters.

Even before they had truly entered, they could already feel a terrifying sense of losing their sense of direction.

They finally understood that Zhou Li had not been exaggerating just now.

“Let's go.” After Zhou Li spoke, he took the lead in entering with his family.

Kong Nian followed immediately without hesitation, and then everyone swarmed in.

“Su Yan, let's go in too,” Ma Chulong urged, since Zhou Li had said they must not get separated.

“Okay,” Su Yan agreed.

If the outside was freezing like the depths of winter, then this place was bone-chilling, as if their clothing could not block even a shred of it.

Furthermore, this cold was more sinister than the cold of the weather, making one's teeth chatter.

Ma Chulan kept tightening her collar, having wrapped herself up tightly, yet her body was still stiff from the cold.

The others were in no better state than she was.

“How can it be this cold?”

This coldness completely exceeded the range that ordinary people could endure.

But very quickly, both Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan noticed something "unusual" about Su Yan.

On her face, instead of seeing a trace of coldness, she looked more like she was excited.

Excited in such a harsh environment?

They could not understand it.

Su Yan was indeed excited, and very excited at that.

From the moment she stepped in here, she felt an incredibly powerful, Yin-chilling aura. The most likely cause of this chill was the presence of a massive number of evil spirits.

And what she needed most right now was to absorb the power of evil spirits to regulate the energy within her dual pupils. So, she had truly come to the right place!