The sky over the Southern Border was still a strange, blood-red.
Across the land, enormous fissures spread like savage scars, bearing witness to the brutality of the battle that had just ended.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and an unshakable sorrow.
Li Xiaoyu stood atop the ruins, gazing at the distant Ancient Demon-Suppressing Cave shrouded in black mist. For a long time, he did not move.
Behind him, Lu Xueqi, Lin Jingyu, Zeng Shushu, and every member of the Dawn Squad remained silent.
Exhaustion and unwillingness were written across their faces.
Xiao Bai's figure drifted down beside Li Xiaoyu.
She gazed at the cave brimming with malice, her eyes grave.
"What should we do now?"
Only after a long while did Xiao Bai speak.
"We can't just let this go."
Li Xiaoyu turned to look at Xiao Bai, flames burning in his eyes.
"We absolutely cannot stand by and watch that fiend recover his strength in there."
"Otherwise, when he comes out again, all life across the Divine Land will be plunged into misery."
Xiao Bai fell silent at his words.
She knew Li Xiaoyu was right, and she also knew just how perilous the Ancient Demon-Suppressing Cave was.
"Do you know what kind of place the Ancient Demon-Suppressing Cave is?"
Xiao Bai looked at him and spoke slowly.
"It is the source of all malice in the Southern Border, and the foundation of the Beast God's power."
"The cave is home not only to countless beasts corrupted by malice, but also to the scheming Lich Heimu."
"Inside, the Beast God can replenish his strength without end."
"But if we go in, we'll have to resist the intrusion of that malice, which seeps through every crack, at every moment."
"With our strength draining while his grows,