Dilapidated Village

They had just returned to Withered Locust Village at the foot of the mountain.

The relaxed smiles that had been on everyone's faces just moments ago stiffened bit by bit.

What met their eyes was a village that had become utterly dilapidated, with courtyard walls collapsed in large sections.

The streets and alleys were covered in withered branches and rotting mud.

Even the large residence where they had stayed yesterday was now a wreck, with rotten wood and broken tiles scattered all over the ground.

The entire village was deathly still, as if it had been abandoned for over half a year.

Xiong Hui swallowed hard and instinctively touched the weapon at his waist. "This isn't right. It was perfectly fine when we entered the village yesterday; how could it turn into this state in just one night?"

"How is this possible? Where is the village chief? Let's go find the village chief." Xu Long of the Azure Rock Martial Hall also spoke up at this moment.

"Let's go, to the village chief's residence." Peng Huo's expression was as gloomy as water.

The group quickly arrived at the village chief's home. The interior of the blue-brick tiled house was now covered in dust, as if no one had lived there for quite some time.

Seeing such an eerie scene, a chill crept up the spines of all seven of them.

Layered with the incident of the fake Yu Qianqian knocking on their door last night, the atmosphere grew heavy.

Lin Nan's expression sank as well, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the Blood Talisman on his person.

"This is truly evil and hellish!"

Yu Qianqian, also from the White Snake Martial School, grew nervous, her body involuntarily edging closer to Lin Nan.

When encountering such strange occurrences for the first time, everyone instinctively felt that the people from their own martial school were more reliable.

Suddenly, Lin Nan spotted a yellowed, brittle piece of paper pressed beneath the table.

"There is a piece of paper here."

Lin Nan leaned down to pick up the yellow paper and discovered several lines of dried, crooked handwriting scrawled on it with a brush.

"I am the village chief, Li Anping. By the time you see these words, I have already..."

"Six months ago, a group of young people in the village dug up an ancient tomb from the back mountain. They brought back a bronze cup from inside. We reported this matter to the officials in the city, and not long after, a man came to the village. He claimed to be..."

The handwriting became completely illegible and blurred toward the end, as if Li Anping had written it in a great rush.

"Let me see."

Peng Huo reached out and snatched the yellow paper from Lin Nan's hand.

Lin Nan frowned slightly, an inexplicable sense of irritation rising in his heart.

The others also crowded around, staring at the writing on the yellow paper.

"A bronze cup... a man... could it be that this Withered Locust Village was wiped out overnight because of this person?" Yu Qianqian speculated.

"Brother, let's go back! I don't want to stay here anymore."

Xu Qingqing's voice carried a sob. She had never expected that a simple collection mission would lead to such bizarre events.

"Fine, we're leaving right now!"

Xu Long nodded, looked at Peng Huo, and said urgently, "Chief Constable Peng, whatever happened here has nothing to do with us. Now that the Soul-Congealing Flower Dew has been collected, there is no need for us to stay."

"Very well, I will lead you out." Peng Huo nodded.

"Let's go."

Xu Long comforted his sister, reached out to push open the door, and was the first to step out.

The moment he stepped across the threshold—

Whoosh!

A black shadow leaped up from outside the door without warning, lunging fiercely at Xu Long with speed that left no time for reaction.

Xu Long's pupils constricted. Caught off guard, he could only hastily circulate his blood energy to protect his body, but a sharp claw had already hooked toward his throat.

Ssh!

At this critical juncture, Peng Huo and Zhou Yi both moved at once. They drew their respective saber and sword, their wrists flicking as they slashed rapidly at the black shadow.

"Breaking Gate Saber!"

"Gale Wind Sword!"

The blade light and sword shadows, wrapped in scorching blood energy, swept across the black shadow, emitting a sizzling sound as if roasting meat.

The black shadow let out a miserable shriek and crashed heavily to the ground from mid-air.

Only then did the group realize that the creature attacking Xu Long was a monkey-like beast covered in short, reddish-blue fur.

"It's a Corpse Wraith!"

Zhou Yi, being older and more experienced, immediately recognized the origin of the creature. He quickly stepped forward, his wrist turning as his blade swiftly severed the limbs of the Corpse Wraith.

The Corpse Wraith belongs to the category of mountain spirits and demons. They are mostly formed from the corpses of infants who died prematurely, hunters who fell to their deaths in the mountains, or monkeys and beasts that have been infected by the yin miasma of the forests. They possess no intelligence and only know how to thirst for blood and kill.

"Brother!"

Xu Qingqing's heart-wrenching wail rang out suddenly.

The group turned their heads to see Xu Long with his eyes wide open, his hands clutching his throat as blood gushed out incessantly from between his fingers like a fountain.

"Please, save my brother! I beg you!" Xu Qingqing cried out in desperation.

"He's beyond saving."

Peng Huo glanced at Xu Long's condition and shook his head.

"Although the Corpse Wraith isn't a high-level spirit, it's equivalent to a martial artist at the first stage of Blood Qi. But this wound hit a vital point, and with the yin energy having entered his body, unless those physicians from the inner city were here..."

Peng Huo did not continue, but his meaning was clear enough.

"Constable Peng, how should we dispose of this Corpse Wraith?" Zhou Yi asked at this moment.

The red-blue creature on the ground had its limbs severed, black blood flowing all over its body. It lay on the ground, twitching slightly and gasping its last breath.

"Brother Zhou, you are older, why don't you handle it?" Peng Huo replied with a smile.

"No, no, no, Constable Peng, you are the leader of this mission, I cannot steal the credit from you."

"No, no, no..."

The two pushed the task back and forth, though they were both perfectly clear on the reality.

Killing demons and evil spirits causes malevolent yin energy to enter the body, which affects one's current martial path state.

It would take an unknown amount of Blood Qi to purge it.

To compromise one's own martial state for a low-level Corpse Wraith was not worth the loss, so neither was willing to do it.

"Stop arguing, I'll handle it!"

Lin Nan immediately stepped forward, holding his steel saber. With his Blood Qi surging, he thrust it fiercely into the Corpse Wraith's skull.

Hum!

A wave of malevolent yin energy, cold as bone-deep frost, quickly drilled into his body along the blade. A flash of fire from his internal furnace instantly converted it into Yin Energy Points, leaving his whole body feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Peng Huo, Zhou Yi, Xiong Hui, and Yu Qianqian were all stunned for a moment. Then, they looked at Lin Nan with strange expressions, as if they were looking at a pervert.

They had seen plenty of people afraid of death, but this was the first time they had seen someone actively seeking out suffering.

"You are truly a hero among the... young." Peng Huo remained silent for a long time before he could force out the words.

"I fight for justice, how could I let everyone be in danger!"

Lin Nan wore a look of righteous indignation.

Just then, Yu Qianqian's voice rang out with a hint of trembling: "Has everyone... noticed that it's getting foggy?"

The group looked around. It was noon, and by all rights, the sun should have been scorching, but the entire Withered Locust Village was now shrouded in a layer of gray, hazy mist, as eerie as the evening.

In Black Dragon City, fog was never a good omen. The elders in the city often said: whenever the fog rises, evil spirits are sure to follow!

"Let's go, delay brings change."

Zhou Yi's expression was grim. Among those present, only he and Peng Huo were experts at the third stage of Blood Qi, and they held a certain level of authority.

"No, I'm not leaving. I want to take my brother's body with me!"

Xu Qingqing let out a sharp, piercing cry.

Only then did the group realize that Xu Long had already stopped breathing. His eyes were wide as eggs, and he lay in Xu Qingqing's arms with a face full of unwillingness, seemingly unable to close his eyes even in death.

"Impossible. If we carry a corpse, we won't get far at all."

Zhou Yi rebuked her coldly.

"Senior brother, aren't we being a bit..."

"Shut up," Zhou Yi said coldly.

Xiong Hui opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not speak.

"Either you come with us, or you stay here to keep him company."

"You! You are bullying us too much! When I get back, I will tell the Azure Rock Martial Hall, and I will report you to the yamen!"

Xu Qingqing was trembling with rage, her eyes rimmed with red.

Zhou Yi ignored her and turned to walk toward the village entrance, not even bothering to consult the team leader, Peng Huo.

"If you don't want to die, follow me."

The group looked at each other, none daring to say more, and hurriedly followed. After walking about a few hundred meters, the fog grew thicker and thicker.

"Faster."

Seeing the village exit just ahead, a flash of joy crossed Zhou Yi's face.

The next moment, another black shadow rushed out from the gray mist, pouncing toward Zhou Yi like a mad tiger.

Another Corpse Wraith!?