Beneath the pitch-black night sky lay a village engulfed in flames. Dark-red tongues of fire burned unchecked, and mangled corpses were strewn across the village.
"Crackle, crackle..."
The sound of flames consuming the houses filled the air, along with the overpowering stench of burning and visible ashes drifting through the air.
It was as if a living "depiction of hell" had descended upon the world.
The villagers' corpses lay in grotesque positions. Strangely, not a single one had died by fire.
Ye Guyi walked lightly through the village, now reduced to ruins. Her elegant yellow palace dress fit her perfectly, making her seem as noble as an imperial princess—and utterly out of place here.
She surveyed the village, cruelly slaughtered in a bloodbath. Her pretty face darkened, and fury burned in her eyes like dark-red flames.
"What a bunch of animals!" she cursed under her breath.
Ye Guyi raised her head and looked toward the depths of the village, where faint screams could be heard.
She lightly tapped the ground with her toes, and her body shot toward the village's depths like a yellow cloud.
"Come on, let's get out of here and meet up with the Saintess. It'll be trouble if the authorities show up."
The black-robed figure casually flung away the lifeless body in his hands. "We're not far from Mingdu."
"Fine."
"This really isn't much fun. They didn't fight back at all."
The other two shadows present nodded. Ghostly figures swirled around them, biting into the surviving villagers on the ground.
As the villagers' life force was devoured, the shadows let out sounds of pleasure, as if they were feasting on delicacies.
Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out. The outermost shadow turned instinctively, and a flash of golden light stabbed at his