Nether Bone

The biting astral wind swept over the towering walls of Xiayu City, rolling up wisps of dust stained with dark red blood.

Zhang Tie's figure silently appeared, his black robes snapping in the wind.

His deep gaze swept over the once-prosperous, bustling giant city beneath his feet. Now, it was as silent as a massive grave.

Among the shattered walls and ruins, broken banners wrapped around fragments of bone and wailed in the wind. Vast patches of blood, long blackened, had congealed upon the mottled city walls, silently recounting the brutality of the battle that had taken place.

There was no one here—no, more precisely, this major human stronghold had long ago been completely seized by the demons and human traitors working together from within and without. The remaining soldiers defending the city were merely bait, the final trace of bloody sweetness in a carefully laid trap, all to lure Zhang Tie into the snare.

An exceedingly faint yet unceasing tremor came from beneath his feet, like a ferocious beast lurking deep underground and growling uneasily.

Feeling the vibrations, Zhang Tie's eyes narrowed slightly. A cold realization arose within him. If I were not a peak seventh-rank formation master myself, with spiritual senses far sharper than ordinary people, capable of detecting those nearly perfectly concealed killing formation auras amid this seemingly peaceful silence, I would probably have already fallen for it and suffered a solid setback.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed the cold bricks of the city wall. Their rough texture reminded him of the cruelty of reality. It seems I have now completely entered the demons' sights and become a thorn they must remove.

More than ten breaths passed as thoughts raced through his mind.

The corner of Zhang Tie's mouth suddenly curled into a cold, amused arc. The smile