Zhang Qi stepped out of the cave, the rock beneath his feet cold to the touch.
The world outside seemed covered by a thick, blood-red filter.
The daylight was dim and tinged with an ominous crimson, as though it had passed through a vast pane of glass soaked in blood.
The distant mountains and nearby woods were all stained with that eerie hue. Even the air seemed viscous, and with every breath, a rusty, sickly-sweet smell rushed into their noses.
"What the hell is going on?"
Zheng Zha's voice was low and strained. His nostrils flared. To him, that bloody smell was more than just an odor.
It was also a source of power—
Like an invisible tentacle creeping up through his veins.
An indescribable restlessness surged inside him. It was the instinct of the [Sanguine], a thirst for blood intertwined with resistance to it.
In theory, he had enhanced himself with the Main God's mutated Sanguine bloodline, so this should never have happened.
For this to happen, the energy drifting through this world's air alone had to be enough to stimulate his Sanguine genes.
It was hard to imagine what could have happened to cause this.
"We need information now."
Chu Xuan pushed up the glasses on his nose, their lenses reflecting the blood-red daylight.
Zhang Qi nodded and turned his gaze toward Zhan Lan.
Zhan Lan closed her eyes, veins bulging slightly at her temples as her psychic power spread in every direction like an invisible net.
A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and pointed. "There's a town about twenty kilometers in that direction. There are quite a few people there, too."
"Any enemy psychic controllers?"
Chu Xuan nodded, then asked.
"I haven't sensed any yet. They probably don't have a psychic controller stronger than me."