Seeing these poor fools who had no idea what awaited them, Ye Lin silently mourned for them. At the same time, a powerful sense of danger welled up inside him.
Not one of the twenty people who had gone on this mission had returned alive. What did that mean? The Evil Demon's cultivation was far beyond the Qi Refining Realm. Even if he went, he'd just be throwing himself into the jaws of death.
The reward might be tempting, but he'd have to live long enough to claim it.
Ye Lin had already made up his mind: he'd coast through the mission.
"All right. Since everyone understands the situation, go make your preparations."
The Sect Master waved his hand from the seat above. The disciples, brimming with fighting spirit, filed out of the main hall, and Ye Lin followed them.
Once he returned to his quarters and took care of everything, Ye Lin headed for the Outer Sect.
He planned to head to the Dark Abyss in the middle reaches of the Hundred Thousand Mountains and claim Lin Ziyou's opportunity. With the Nirvana Fruit, the Phoenix would be that much closer to hatching.
"Have you heard? Senior Brother Li Shan fought the Evil Demon yesterday and was ultimately slain. All the blood and energy were drained from his body, leaving him a dried corpse. It was horrifying."
"Who hasn't? In just half a month, eighteen Outer Sect senior brothers have fallen in battle. I heard the sect was furious about this incident and is sending Inner Sect disciples."
"They say a direct disciple is going along, too. With a force that huge, they're sure to wipe out that monster."
Listening to the Outer Sect disciples whisper among themselves, Ye Lin's heart tightened. Had the Evil Demon situation really become this serious? He couldn't help feeling a growing sense of urgency.
After leaving the sect, Ye Lin took out the God-Hiding Bead. Once he activated it, it concealed his figure, and he disappeared into the forest.
The Dark Abyss was a strange place in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. There was not a trace of spiritual energy there, and neither Demon Beasts nor Human Race cultivators wanted to go near it.
"Just as the rumors said. There's no spiritual energy here at all, as if someone had simply plucked it out of the air."
Stepping into the Dark Abyss, Ye Lin looked around and spoke softly.
The Dark Abyss might have a fine-sounding name, but it was just a deep ravine.
"Sure enough, it's the Nirvana Fruit."
Just then, Ye Lin spotted a bright red Spirit Fruit on the cliff face ten meters below. Since the Dark Abyss was so desolate that even birds wouldn't shit there, the Nirvana Fruit had remained unpicked.
Ye Lin carefully made his way down the cliff. When he reached the Nirvana Fruit, he plucked it, then returned to the ground.
"Why does this place keep making me feel uneasy? The farther down I go, the stronger the feeling gets."
Standing on the ground, Ye Lin stared into the bottomless ravine below and murmured.
As he'd climbed down, the feeling had grown stronger, as if something terrifying lurked below.
"Forget it. My cultivation is low right now. Better not get curious about something like this."
Ye Lin shook his head, then hurried away.
When he reached the sect, the Outer Sect was bustling. Twenty Inner Sect disciples stood ready to depart, while the other Outer Sect disciples gathered to see them off.
The sect's order had been to descend the mountain tomorrow to slay the demons, but they couldn't wait.
They were only in their twenties, and despite having cultivated all this time, they'd never seen what an Evil Demon looked like. Besides, who at that age hadn't dreamed of becoming a great hero?
More than anything, though, it was the enticing reward that had them eager to go.
"Move out!"
At the shout from the man in front, the twenty Inner Sect disciples set off from the Azure Cloud Sect.
"Hmph, Evil Demons? With the Inner Sect taking the field this time, let's see how much longer you can strut around!"
"The Inner Sect disciples are all at Qi Refining Level 9, and they've got a Foundation Establishment Realm direct disciple backing them up. What a lineup! They're just Evil Demons—pathetic trash."
Watching the Inner Sect disciples leave the mountain gate, the Outer Sect disciples chattered among themselves.
Looking at the twenty poor fools, Ye Lin thought it was a pity. Their Fate Ranks were all pretty good, but not one of them had an opportunity.
How could they have an opportunity when they wouldn't live much longer?
"I'm one of the people assigned to go down the mountain this time, so the sect will definitely investigate. I might as well follow them, then look for a chance to slip away."
Watching the twenty figures ahead, Ye Lin considered his options.
The sect kept a record of everyone who had been in the main hall. If he didn't go, it would be hard to explain when they checked.
So Ye Lin followed the twenty figures.
"Junior Brother Ye, where did you go just now? We went to your quarters looking for you, but you weren't there. We thought you'd fled at the last moment."
The Inner Sect disciple leading the group turned to Ye Lin with a frown.
"This demon-slaying mission is important, so I was preparing a few things."
Hearing Ye Lin's answer, Wang Li nodded. An Inner Sect disciple needed to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Then he stopped asking.
Asking someone outright about their life-saving trump card was a major taboo. That held true even between sworn brothers who'd risked their lives for one another. Your life was your own.
"Brothers, according to the information the sect gave me, the Evil Demons have been appearing in Wang Family Village, Li Family Village, and Zhao Family Village. We'll split into three groups and advance."
After reaching the foot of the mountain, Wang Li turned and addressed everyone.
As for the Evil Demons attacking cities, that was no job for them. They were only here to clear out the minor pests plaguing the villages.
The higher-ups of the Azure Cloud Sect weren't fools. They wouldn't send their backbone to die for nothing.
"There are twenty-one of us, including Ye Lin. We'll split into three groups of seven, one group to each village."
Three minutes later, everyone had sorted themselves into groups. Ye Lin's group was headed for Wang Family Village.
Ye Lin was secretly delighted. He knew the layout of Wang Family Village well, so he could make his escape when the chance came.
On the way to Wang Family Village, a burly man up ahead turned to look at Ye Lin.
"When the fighting starts, stay behind us. Remember, if you get killed, none of us will save you. Don't become a burden."
The burly man finished speaking. Ye Lin silently nodded. There was no point arguing with a dead man.
"Hmph. I really don't know why someone at Qi Refining Level 8 came along to join the fun."
"He's obviously here for the reward. If Outer Sect disciples knew about this, forget Qi Refining Level 8—even people at Qi Refining Level 5 would come running to join in."
After he said this, the other five burst into laughter.
Watching them laugh, Ye Lin sneered inwardly. Go ahead and laugh. Let's see if you're still laughing later, when you're standing before the King of Hell.
When they entered Wang Family Village, they were met by a thick stench of blood. The moment they stepped into the village, the sight before them left them stunned.
Corpses littered the village. Every one of them was a dried corpse, like bones wrapped in a layer of skin. It was a horrifying sight.
"What... what happened here?"
Some of the disciples were already having second thoughts. They'd spent all their time cultivating at the Azure Cloud Sect—when had they ever seen anything like this?
The fact that they hadn't wet themselves was impressive enough.
"Spread out and search. See if anyone's still alive. If you run into an Evil Demon, shout for help."
The burly man spoke, and the others nodded and scattered in every direction.
Seeing this, Ye Lin finally understood how these fools would die.
When faced with an unknown situation, their first instinct wasn't to stick together, but to split up. They were practically inviting the Evil Demon to pick them off one by one.
And if they ran into the Evil Demon, they were supposed to shout? They probably wouldn't even get the chance.
Halfway there, Ye Lin used the God-Hiding Bead to conceal himself. Unless the Evil Demon was at the Golden Core Realm, it wouldn't be able to detect him.
Before you continue