Dust Remnant Heaven, Northeast Region.
Chu Jiang's group had been traversing the hilly terrain for half a day. The gray mist thickened and thinned unpredictably, while the spatial fluctuation they were tracking—similar to that of the desolate realm outside Qingshan Town—flickered in and out, impossible to pin down.
"There's the outline of an abandoned village ahead." Wu Yue's eyesight was exceptional, and she pointed into the depths of the gray mist.
"Let's take a look. There may be clues," the Heavenly Phoenix Girl said.
As they drew closer, they found the village utterly dilapidated. Most of the houses had collapsed, leaving only broken walls and crumbling ruins.
Yet strangely, from some of the still-standing doorframes and dead tree branches hung sparse strips of dark-red cloth, so severely faded they were nearly indistinguishable from rags, along with several completely ruined lanterns that retained only their frames.
Amid the dead gray desolation, that lingering touch of red was especially jarring.
"Someone came through here, and not long ago." Wu Yue crouched down and brushed aside a thin layer of dust with her fingertips, revealing several sets of disorderly footprints beneath. There had been more than one group.
"Move." Chu Jiang spoke. He vaguely sensed that something about the village felt wrong, yet the Past Mirror in his arms showed no unusual reaction.
They entered the village. On the threshing ground remained several obvious traces of people sitting in meditation to regulate their breathing, along with lingering ripples of spiritual power that had not fully dissipated.
At least three groups, cultivating distinctly different techniques, had briefly stopped here and confronted one another.
"Residual traces of the Holy Heaven Sect's 'Holy Light Curse'... imprints from the Qilin Ancient Kingdom's 'Kirin Step'... and that overbearing aura of true force from the Wang Family of the