Zhiyun Temple

Like other temples, Zhiyun Temple is relatively clean because it was recently rebuilt, and the murals inside haven't been replenished yet.

So far, Jhin has only appeared once. His identity and abilities Vastaya are unknown, but his destructive power is undeniable. When Miyue returned, the Zhiyun Temple was reduced to ruins.

Kled deeply hated Jhin, the one who had destroyed Sion: "That damned guy, how come such a powerful explosion didn't kill him!"

"He might have already died, but was resurrected, just like Zed."

"Perhaps, we made a special trip to the battlefield before we came..." Darius said, recalling what had happened not long ago:

After hearing that Jhin had appeared, Kled, Darius, and the others went to the battlefield to investigate and discovered a Magic Circle there!

Since none of them understood the function of the Magic Circle, they called Swain over. After studying it, he determined that it was an energy-gathering magic circle, meaning that someone had collected Jhin's remaining energy here and resurrected him!

As for Jhin's state after his resurrection, no one knows yet, because only a few Shepherd from the Zhiyun Temple have seen him so far, and they only caught a glimpse of him briefly while fleeing for their lives.

The puppet-like body, the mask, and the living weapon led to the inference that it was either Jhin or Vastaya.

If Jhin is here for revenge, then everything is fine. But if he teams up with the other Vastaya and gets involved in other conflicts, then it will be troublesome, because it will greatly disperse our fighting power and make it difficult to focus our firepower to eliminate them.

Therefore, we cannot just wait here indefinitely. It would be best to find him, or at least let Varus confirm the Vastaya's identity!

Everyone agreed with my idea, so we split into four teams to search. Kled and his two subordinates Silvan and Jikerd, were always in a three-person team, and this time was no exception.

Fiora is strong enough now, she, Jarvan, and Shvana are in a three-person team, Darius, Rappor, Katarina, Talon, and Garen in a five-person team, and Varus and I are in a two-person team.

Taliyah is not yet able to undertake such a dangerous mission, so she stayed at the Zhiyun Temple with Miyue and three Shepherd. Miyue has already set up a protective array here, so there shouldn't be any accidents for the time being. Moreover, we can communicate through our thoughts and can come back to support us at any time.

After the assignments were made, we each set off, agreeing to meet up again each evening.

Varus and I were the fewest in number, but the easiest to maneuver, so we chose the relatively complex southern region, where there are dense forests and many villages. If Jhin is still the same as before, he will definitely attack humans.

My prediction was spot on; I found the victim shortly after Varus and I began our operation.

At first, we saw a flock of carnivorous birds pecking at a large tree, so we went over to check and found that several people were hanging upside down in the tree!

The climate here is hot and humid, and their corpses have already decomposed, attracting many scavengers. Only someone as depraved as Jin Gan could come up with such a perverse behavior!

As we continued south, we discovered several similar horrific scenes, all of which involved brutal killings.

Jhin used to enjoy turning people, especially children, into monsters, but now he probably finds it too troublesome, so he just kills them instead!

Varus, however, had a different idea. He said that among his former companions was an Ascended enjoyed torturing and killing his enemies, and his methods were exactly the same as the current one!

That Ascended, or rather, the Vastaya now, Yerlanriel Yeranriel, and like Varus, he hailed from Naremajet.

His Ascended Form is a cat-man, with a massive yet exceptionally agile body, powerful sensory abilities, and sharp claws and teeth, making him a formidable enemy!

As for whether Varus gained any other abilities after he fell into the Vastaya, Varus is unsure; they never saw each other again after the Void War ended.

Yerlanriel had a great fondness for torturing his enemies. Back when he was still Ascended, he never delivered a fatal blow to his enemies, but instead tormented them until they were completely exhausted before stopping.

That was a genuine act of mercy, though it was cruel. But Yerlanriel rarely kills, and it seems he won't show any mercy now.

Sensing-type enemies are indeed troublesome; they are difficult to find if they don't show themselves unless our senses become even stronger.

Of course, I should give it a try. Half a day has already passed, and I plan to use my Spiritual Power to probe the area and then return to Zhiyun Temple to see if the other three groups have made any discoveries.

In the end, I couldn't find any unusual aura. I didn't know if Yerlanriel was hiding or not in the south. Just as Varus and I were about to return, we suddenly heard a noise nearby!

We rushed over and saw a leopard running away!

An ordinary leopard wouldn't attract our attention, but this leopard was sometimes on all fours and sometimes on twos, which looked quite comical!

Could this be Yerlanriel? Varus wasn't sure if this was what he would look like after becoming Vastaya, so he could only chase after him and see for himself.

The leopard seemed to be injured; its left foreleg was always limping, which was why it often landed on both legs. However, it was still running very fast. After a while, Varus and I split up and surrounded it before we were able to stop it!

After we cornered the leopard, it bared its sharp teeth. I saw that it did indeed have a wound on its left foreleg, which was now inflamed.

Strangely, it was dressed in simple clothes and wore a necklace, clearly indicating a close relationship with humans. Neither its appearance nor its aura could be that of Vastaya!

"Don't be afraid, little one, we won't hurt you. Can you understand me?"

"Awooo!" The leopard didn't respond and pounced straight at me!

Its aura was fierce, but not enough to pose a threat to me. I fought it with my bare hands and quickly subdued it.

Suddenly, the leopard vanished without a trace! At the same time, I realized I was holding a young girl in my hand!

No, this is no ordinary girl, because she has a long tail, like a lizard!

"Ouch, it hurts when I'm hurting, and you still say you won't hurt me!" The girl spoke with a slight lisp, which sounded quite amusing.

"You know how to talk, don't you? Why didn't you answer me earlier?"

"You silver-loving people are the most annoying; you're definitely not going to be friendly!"

"Okay, I'll let you go then. Don't run away, I have something to ask you."

I carefully released her, afraid she would run away again, but the girl only licked her wound and then asked me:

Do you want to ask about the tongue?

"What are you... a human? Or an animal? Why are you injured?"

"I'm Niko, and I got scratched by a Big Cat!"