Chapter 569: Chapter 569: Backing Down on the Verge of Battle?

“Pill… Pill Alliance? Elder Chen?” The young man, paralyzed with fear on the ground, was too stunned to speak.

An elder from Lingyun Sect cursed under his breath, kicked him aside, and then, with an apologetic smile on his face, he bowed to Elder Chen. “I’m truly sorry, this young one lacks experience. He didn’t know you’d be here, Elder Chen, and he insulted you. We’ve offended you greatly. I hope you, Elder Chen, will let this pass. I sincerely apologize to you on behalf of everyone here.”

The young man who was kicked to the side was completely dumbstruck. What the hell just happened? Did he just rudely yell at someone from the Pill Alliance?

He must be crazy to do such a thing!

The young disciples behind the elder also looked afraid. Their Lingyun Sect was just a mid-tier force; they dared not offend the powerful Pill Alliance.

“Even your sect master greets me respectfully. But this lad, on the other hand, dares to act this way.” Elder Chen remarked coldly.

The elder almost burst into tears. “Elder Chen, please forgive us. You’ve just arrived in Demon Suppressing City and there’s a nice inn here. We can give it up for you and the Pill Alliance to rest.”

Immediately, the elder summoned his disciples to tidy the inn. He picked up the terrified, pale-faced young man and respectfully escorted Elder Chen and his group into the inn.

The incident with Lingyun Sect was a minor hiccup. After settling into the inn and resting for one night, they moved on with their journey.

On the second day, Demon Suppressing City was particularly bustling, as forces from all over Xuan Country had basically all arrived.

The Demon Suppressing King finally showed himself, had a meeting with the leaders of various forces, and then they proceeded towards Hundred Beast Mountain.

The most elite Beast-killing Guards under the Demon Suppressing King banner personally escorted everyone. However, their responsibility only involved escorting everyone to the entrance of Hundred Beast Mountain; they would not go in with them.

Hundred Beast Mountain had many entrances. All groups were dispersed and entered from different entrances to avoid running into each other prematurely.

Accompanied by a group of Beast-killing Guards, Fang Lin and eight others arrived at a desolate entrance. A dense forest lay ahead.

Even before they entered the mountain, an overwhelming wave of Demon Qi engulfed them, causing discomfort to everyone.

If it were ordinary people standing here, they would have already been clouded by the Demon Qi, becoming delirious.

Luckily, these individuals were all Pill Refiners and had prepared pills to resist the Demon Qi.

The Beast-killing Guards, who had been living here for many years, were used to this kind of Demon Qi and were completely unaffected by it.

“We will leave you here. You are now in the territory of Hundred Beast Mountain. You can choose when to enter. Our task of escorting ends here.” The captain of the Beast-killing Guards told Fang Lin and his group.

Fang Lin and the others exchanged glances in silence. Especially Zhou Zhishui, a Commandery Princess of the royal family. Although she was determined to be here, hesitations arose when she faced the prospect of entering a place known for certain death.

Being a woman and a member of the royal family, she’d lived a sheltered life. It was extremely difficult to survive in such a dangerous place.

Apart from Zhou Zhishui, the four stewards seemed fine. Given their older ages, they looked solemn but still calm.

As for the other three Pill Alliance prodigies, although they were young and didn’t want to show fear, their faces involuntarily betrayed their fear when they thought about entering Hundred Beast Mountain.

The Beast-killing Guards sneered at them. In the guards’ view, these young people from Xuan City were tender and delicate. Entering Hundred Beast Mountain? That was simply suicide.

But Fang Lin surprised them because they couldn’t see any trace of fear or tension on his face.

“This lad is probably just putting on a brave face. Once he enters Hundred Beast Mountain, I bet he’ll be pissing his pants.” The Beast-killing Guards whispered among themselves.

Fang Lin looked at Zhou Zhishui and the others, asking, “So, what now? Do we go in now, or do we wait a little longer?”

Zhou Zhishui glared at Fang Lin, but right now, she was indeed hesitating. Should she enter Hundred Beast Mountain?

“Let’s… let’s wait a bit longer, for some mental preparation.” One of them said. From the look on his face, he was too nervous to even speak clearly.

Fang Lin didn’t mock them. After all, they were all young people in their twenties who hadn’t experienced much. Suddenly asking them to enter a place like Hundred Beast Mountain would naturally create fear.

Fang Lin was different. He had experienced many grand scenes in his previous life and had already visited risky places like the Endless Dungeon and Ghost Mountain Blood Lake in this life. He had experienced a lot and was already able to remain unfazed even when faced with grave dangers.

“Are you not scared, lad?” The captain of the Beast-killing Guards asked.

Fang Lin chuckled, “Of course I’m scared. But what’s the use of being scared? Does being scared help us survive in there?”

“You surprisingly take it easily. But let me give you all a piece of advice. It’s better not to go in there. If you do, I’m afraid none of you will come out alive.” The captain of the Beast-killing Guards said with a smirk. His words were full of contempt for everyone.

Fang Lin just smiled and didn’t mind. It was quite normal for them to look down on him and the others.

All of a sudden, Zhou Zhishui said, “I have decided. I will go in now.”

Hearing her words, the other three prodigies were taken aback and then showed expressions of shame.

Zhou Zhishui, a woman, had shown such courage, so how could they, as men, still be afraid?

“And you?” Fang Lin looked at the three of them.

“We won’t fall behind.” They said.

“If you want to enter, do it quickly. We need to go back and report.” The Beast-killing Guard captain said.

At this point, the four Pill Alliance stewards led the way. They held their weapons tightly in their hands and led the way.

Fang Lin and the others followed behind them cautiously, slow-paceing into the forest.

Meanwhile, in every other entrance to the Hundred Beast Mountain, similar scenes were playing out.

Some people completely broke down upon the moment of stepping into the mountain. They were terrified to go in and had to opt out.

These people were not few. Even some of the individuals who had been high hopes of by various forces, shrank back from the challenge, causing many to sigh with disappointment.

Of course, some people saw this withdrawal before the battle as a wise decision, although it might look bad for face-saving reasons. At the very least, they could keep their lives.

In the Demon Suppressing City, the Demon Suppressing King, dressed in black robes, sat at the head of the hall. The hall was filled with people from various forces.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I have always disagreed with the opening of the Hundred Beast Mountain. But now that His Majesty has agreed, I won’t make further comments. However, if any disciple under your command can’t walk out of Hundred Beast Mountain, it merely indicates their lack of strength or luck.” The Demon Suppressing King spoke loudly, his voice as robust as a big bell.

“The prince is right.” The crowd responded.

Overlooking the crowd, the Demon Suppressing King suddenly broke into a smile. “Oh, I forgot to inform you all. I entered Hundred Beast Mountain half a month ago and found many unusual things happening inside.”