The second level of the Dragonfall Abyss, perhaps influenced by the aura of fallen true dragons, was teeming with black crocodiles, many of them possessing formidable strength.
However, slaying powerful giant crocodiles often yielded rare spiritual herbs, a significant portion of which were Dragon Breath Grass.
Since entering the second level of the Dragonfall Abyss, approximately five to six days had passed, and Xiao Fei had already acquired three stalks of Dragon Breath Grass, more than enough to complete his mission.
Furthermore, the Dragon Breath Grass he had transplanted into his space had all survived.
After discovering that his space could cultivate Dragon Breath Grass, his interest in this particular spiritual herb waned considerably.
Zhu Yu, beside him, remained enthusiastic, occasionally provoking the giant crocodiles along the riverbank.
The two had been following the river, and today they had reached its end, where the water flowed into a small lake.
By the lake, over a dozen cultivators from other families were already stationed.
"Could there be a third level here?"
Xiao Fei's heart was filled with doubt.
"What a coincidence, why is everyone here?" a family cultivator exclaimed.
"Is there really a third level here?"
"We don't know, we just followed a small river and ended up here."
"We were chasing a giant crocodile and ended up here."
"We sensed spiritual energy fluctuations here and came to investigate."
The various groups recounted their reasons for being there. It seemed to be a genuine coincidence, and their tones were sincere, not like they were lying.
This deepened Xiao Fei's suspicion. Could such a coincidence truly occur?
Or did these family cultivators possess some other secret they were unwilling to reveal?
With this thought, Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu exchanged telepathic messages. Both held a skeptical attitude.
Reaching a consensus, they decided to stay put and observe what these family cultivators were up to, waiting to see how things unfolded.
Thus, they found a corner to sit down and wait quietly.
The dozen or so family cultivators also seemed to have their own agendas, remaining by the lake without leaving.
Xiao Fei's consciousness entered his space; the few stalks of Dragon Breath Grass had all survived.
He had also planted a sample of all the spiritual herbs he had obtained in the Dragonfall Abyss during this period.
He had poisoned and killed quite a few cultivators recently, and the spiritual items he acquired were sufficient to gain entry into any of the four major sects.
His space was still piled with over twenty magical artifacts, all left behind by those deceased cultivators.
After battling the giant crocodiles, he felt that while the Golden Silk Great Ring Saber was useful, it was still somewhat inadequate when dealing with the thick-skinned giant crocodiles.
He rummaged through the pile of magical artifacts and found a golden, brick-shaped magical artifact.
He had seen someone use this artifact before; it would enlarge when summoned and should be excellent for smashing giant crocodiles.
He also found a shield, a high-grade magical artifact.
Defensive magical artifacts of high grade were rare; he had several defensive shields in his space, but they were only of medium grade.
The group waited by the lake quietly for two days. More and more cultivators from other families arrived.
They all claimed their presence was coincidental, offering various reasons.
After hearing everyone's explanations, Xiao Fei couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
At this point, these family disciples still wanted to hide things? Who were they trying to fool?
Cultivators were like this, generally selfish, wanting to monopolize any benefits.
Any fortuitous encounters or opportunities were kept to themselves and not shared.
Almost all cultivators who had entered the second level of the Dragonfall Abyss had arrived, and they were still offering such flimsy excuses.
Could there be such coincidences in the world?
However, as Xiao Fei pondered this, a thought suddenly struck him.
"What if everyone isn't lying, and it's all true?"
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
If everyone truly had no secrets and were merely guided here by various reasons, then the implications were significant.
As for why so many people were waiting here quietly, it was easy to understand.
Because everyone's thoughts were similar to Xiao Fei's initial assessment – they assumed others had secrets and they had merely stumbled upon them by chance.
At this moment, they felt they had stumbled upon someone else's good fortune and were waiting to observe, hoping to reap benefits if any arose, or simply to watch the spectacle if not.
Xiao Fei stood up, dusting off his pants.
"Zhu Yu, let's go look elsewhere! Perhaps we can find a few more spiritual herbs."
Zhu Yu's face twitched, but he said nothing and rose to follow Xiao Fei back the way they came.
"Zhu Yu, did you notice anything unusual?"
Hearing Xiao Fei's question, Zhu Yu seemed to have realized something as well. A chill ran down his spine, and even the Heart-Devouring Poison didn't feel as painful.
"Let's go! Let's check out other places!"
The two walked along the small river for a while.
Suddenly, Xiao Fei noticed that although they were moving forward, the scenery around them remained unchanged.
A small, crooked-necked tree by the roadside was always about a丈 away from them.
No matter how fast he walked, the tree remained at the same distance.
At this point, Zhu Yu also noticed the problem. They used their movement techniques to rush forward, but they were still treading in place.
"This is a formation!"
After exerting themselves for a long time without making any progress, they stopped their futile efforts and returned along the river to the lake.
By the small lake, the group of cultivators were all calculating their own moves, feeling a sense of strategic advantage.
The appearance of the small lake made it easy to imagine that there might be a third level in the Dragonfall Abyss.
Now that everyone had gathered here, and no one was willing to break the silence, they would just wait and see who would break first.
Xiao Fei glanced at the crowd still waiting for opportunities and asked loudly:
"Fellow Daoists, do you all feel that there is a great opportunity here?"
His question prompted some impatient individuals to stand up.
"Everyone is waiting here, what's going on? It's time to stop hiding things, isn't it?"
"Yes! I was chasing a demonic beast nearby and saw you all sitting here. Since no one would say anything, I could only follow and wait to see what happened."
"That's how I got here too. I asked several people, but no one told the truth; they all said it was a coincidence. How could there be so many coincidences?"
With Xiao Fei initiating the conversation, several people couldn't hold back and began recounting their experiences of arriving at the lake.
It was like seeing a crowd gathered in circles and being unable to resist joining to watch, only to find after a long time that nothing was happening.
One had to push their way to the inside to discover that two people were squatting on the ground, watching ants fight.
Cultivators were not foolish. They had initially been focused on the great opportunity, seeing the benefits and forgetting the risks, overlooking another possibility.
Now that this possibility occurred to them, some immediately rushed back the way they came.
After a moment, these individuals returned to the lakeside with grim expressions, clearly having encountered a similar situation to Xiao Fei's earlier experience.
"We can't go back!"
"The path back is blocked by a formation!"
"We seem to be trapped here!"
The cultivators looked at each other, unsure of what had happened.
Just then, the lake water churned violently, and the heads of massive crocodiles emerged from the surface.