Jun Ci chose to believe what Duan Chen said.
He would, of course, maintain his belief.
However, on their way in the direction Duan Chen wanted to go, he found unexpected difficulties.
The place where they were originally located could be considered the edge of this invisible arena, this desert arena.
That was why the man had hidden himself within the air wall of this edge.
Even though he had retreated into his own small space, he was still discovered by the sharp senses of the two of them.
But as they headed in the direction Duan Chen had designated, they found more and more puppets around them.
And they were becoming denser and more crowded.
Duan Chen could see that there were people appearing around him to varying degrees, but he paid no mind.
The two of them, Duan Chen and Jun Ci, were completely distinct from everyone else in this group.
Yes, distinct.
These puppets and the living people in this desert arena were all like numb zombies, occasionally moving unconsciously, occasionally standing still, staring blankly at the sky.
In any case, they all shared vacant eyes, being swept along by the crowd without any independent judgment.
And at this moment, the two people swimming against the current were the absolute outliers.
Outliers were to be purged.
Duan Chen felt as though he were the protagonist in the movie Inception.
Dragging his teammate's hand, he walked against the direction of the dreamers' dreams amidst a crowd of people within the dream.
The dream's expellers would soon appear.
But that was just a movie, after all.
Yet in reality, even without the appearance of dream expellers, a chain reaction had already been successfully triggered.
The eyes of the still-living people as they looked at the two individuals were filled with astonishment, and some with mockery.
But they quickly returned to their original fixed states.
Only the two of them remained, persisting against the current.
And the puppets following them grew in number.
The expressions on each puppet's face became more vivid, more lifelike, and even more fervent.
Their gazes at Duan Chen and Jun Ci were filled with an indescribable fervor.
It was the fervor of seeing heretics.
Heretics?
Thinking this, Duan Chen's heart skipped a beat.
But he quickly suppressed the feeling, as he had no time to dwell on it now.
Jun Ci felt some pressure, as the puppets were almost touching his face.
Yet these puppets did not attack, they simply followed in silence, their speed increasing.
He found it difficult to struggle and unbearable. He said to Duan Chen in a muffled voice, "How much longer do we have to go? If we don't get there in a few more minutes, we'll probably be drowned by these puppets."
He wondered what would happen then.
Duan Chen's voice came back, firm, "Don't worry, there won't be any problems."
"However, you'll probably have to be prepared."
Prepared?
Prepared for what?
Before Jun Ci could react, he suddenly felt Duan Chen grab his collar and yank him up fiercely.
Unleashing Swift Steps, Duan Chen had already deactivated his ocular abilities. He dragged Jun Ci by the collar, as if carrying a large doll, and charged wildly through the crowd.
Some puppets were directly sent flying by him, soaring high into the air.
Living people in front of him could not stop his momentum.
The Thousand Illusions Pandora transformed into its shield form, but at this moment, the shield form was not for defense, but for better headlong charges.
"I say, you..."
Jun Ci was caught completely off guard by Duan Chen's actions. He was like a rag doll, pulled by Duan Chen through the air, his feet dangling and repeatedly kicking the faces of the unsuspecting puppets.
Soon, he could see enraged expressions on the puppets' faces.
He didn't know if it was because of his feet randomly kicking them or because they were angered by the actions of the two of them.
But in any case, they had indeed enraged all the puppets in the desert arena.
If one were to look down from above, one would see, in the center, the most densely populated area, two figures swimming against the current, like salmon swimming upstream.
And from all sides, countless tiny ants of various colors were gathering towards them.
Forming a surrounding pattern like ants crossing a river.
Duan Chen at the center could clearly feel the increasing pressure.
It was as if they should not exist here, as if they were sudden, intrusive anomalies being forcefully squeezed.
But he gritted his teeth and, fiercely, dragged Jun Ci forward.
After a brief moment of stunned confusion, Jun Ci had now recovered, constantly using his weapon to fend off the surrounding puppets, clearing the way for Duan Chen to advance.
However, what the two of them were trying to do was still too difficult.
Duan Chen's expression changed.
Because he could clearly sense that among the puppets attacking him, there were attacks originating from fellow Spirit Hunters.
That familiar spiritual energy was not something a puppet could wield.
He gritted his teeth, unable to comprehend why such a thing was happening.
Jun Ci, standing beside him, had clearly also sensed the sudden spiritual energy.
His expression instantly turned cold, completely devoid of the casualness he had when he was with Duan Chen, even when being tossed around by Duan Chen holding his collar, it had only seemed like helplessness, not this somberness.
He spoke softly, "Don't worry about me. Just charge forward. I'll find a way to devour the spiritual energy attacking you."
"Devour?"
Duan Chen felt a pang of worry, but he didn't overthink it. Now, he could only continue. Otherwise, the two of them might be completely submerged here.
Jun Ci took a deep breath. As he watched the direction from which the spiritual energy attacking Duan Chen was coming, a deep, dark gloom flickered in his eyes.
He wasn't a good-tempered person to begin with.
The next time the spiritual energy attack arrived, he opened his five fingers, aimed them in that direction, and countless ink-like shadows spread out, as if a bowl of ink had been inexplicably splashed.
The ink flowed from his fingertips, directly devouring the spiritual energy attack launched by that person.
A sudden pallor appeared on Jun Ci's face, followed by a flushed redness, but it was an unhealthy flush. Even his lips showed an extreme redness.
It was the distended, bloated fullness caused by excessive consumption.