Ghostly Shadows in Severed Dragon Valley

Ever since learning that Butcher was a master, Yang Xiao had been too excited to sleep.

In the full light of day, Yang Xiao peered outside with dark circles under his eyes. The wind and sand were fierce, but they could not stop his resolve to press on.

He looked back into the cave just as Butcher opened his eyes. Today, there was a heaviness in his gaze.

The two set out early that morning, the blowing sand making it difficult to keep their eyes open.

"We're almost there," Yang Xiao said, looking back.

A mass of black clouds hung amid the boundless blue sky. Beneath it lay Severed Dragon Valley. The place was strange: though black clouds loomed overhead, it had never rained there.

Butcher looked toward the black clouds, his expression growing even graver.

Two great mountains stood at the entrance to Severed Dragon Valley. Their slopes were black, and a mass of black mist shrouded the valley mouth, hiding everything from view.

The instant they stepped into Severed Dragon Valley, the howling wind stopped. They turned to look outside, where yellow sand still swirled through the air. The wind had stopped only within the valley.

It seemed like another world within the desert, free of wind and sand. Even the sunlight grew considerably dimmer when it shone inside.

"Wait here," Butcher said, drawing his butcher's knife.

This was the second time Yang Xiao had seen the knife. Its blade was pitch-black. Holding it, Butcher looked like nothing more than an ordinary butcher.

The blade flashed in the butcher's hand, and a ring of light appeared around Yang Xiao. "This protective barrier will keep you safe. If I haven't come out after half a day, run. Run as far as you can, and never enter the desert again."

Butcher walked toward the valley mouth. His broad back seemed to grow ever larger in Yang Xiao's eyes before gradually disappearing into the black mist.

Yang Xiao looked outside the valley. The sky was steadily darkening, and almost half a day had passed since Butcher went inside.

When night had fallen completely, the black mist within the valley began surging outward. Like a savage beast, it swiftly swallowed him. He squeezed his eyes shut. Everyone who had entered Severed Dragon Valley before had died in this black mist.

After a while, the danger he expected still had not come. Yang Xiao opened his eyes. The mist had not devoured him; the protective barrier Butcher left behind held it at bay.

Surrounded by the black mist, fear rose in his heart. Everything was pitch-black. He could not see what lurked within.

Yang Xiao began to regret coming. Darkness surrounded him, and he could see nothing more than a foot away. He could no longer find the way he had come. Thinking about it now, how was he any different from those dragon-slaying youths? In his desire to begin cultivating, he had trapped himself here.

"Butcher! Butcher!" Yang Xiao shouted, hoping Butcher would come to save him. His voice seemed to be swallowed by the black mist. No answer came.

He knew Butcher probably would not return.

Time slipped away. He did not know how long had passed, but it had certainly been half a day. According to Butcher's instructions before leaving, it was time to head back.

He cast a reluctant glance into the depths of the darkness. This was the closest he had ever come to the marvel of cultivation, but he knew Severed Dragon Valley was no place for a mortal like him.

Following the direction he had come from, Yang Xiao stepped out of the ring of light and prepared to leave the valley.

Entering the black mist was like stepping into a pitch-dark night. He could not see his own fingers. The mist around him writhed in the air like something alive. Yang Xiao felt a chill seep from it into his body and shuddered. The cold seemed to radiate from within him, and his thick coat could do nothing to stop it.

He walked through the black mist for a long time, yet still saw no exit. He knew he was lost.

Yang Xiao felt his legs stiffening from the cold. Had the willpower forged by years of venturing into the desert not sustained him, he would probably have collapsed long ago.

Suddenly, several clusters of green light appeared ahead. Yang Xiao rallied his spirits and ran toward them.

When he drew closer, he saw a green flame floating in the air, just like the ghost fires the elders had spoken of in his previous life.

It was warm around the light. Just as he was about to approach, it swayed twice in the air, and a ghostly figure drifted out of it and flew toward him. Terrified, Yang Xiao turned and ran.

A chill crept up his back. Yang Xiao did not dare look behind him and kept running.

"Keh, keh, keh!"

A ghostly cackle rang out behind him. Yang Xiao jolted in terror, then abruptly picked up speed.

More and more ghost fires appeared around him. He fled in the direction with fewer of them, but even so, two more ghostly figures took shape within the flames and chased after him.

Suddenly, pain shot through Yang Xiao's shoulder. A tremendous force struck his right shoulder and knocked him to the ground. He had no time to worry about the injury, for the two newly formed ghosts were almost upon him.

He rolled across the ground, dodging the first ghost's claws, then sprang to his feet and kept running.

His breathing grew increasingly ragged, and his strength began to fade. Though the wound on his shoulder had healed, the effects of blood loss still left him dizzy.

Suddenly, Yang Xiao stopped. A beast's skeleton lay sprawled ahead, blocking his path.

At that moment, a startled cry came from the ghosts behind him. He looked back and saw the three figures lingering in the distance. They seemed afraid to approach this place.

Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Though he did not know what kind of bones these were, they could keep him alive.

He walked along the edge of the skeleton, growing more astonished with every step. It was enormous. Two branching horns grew from its head, and its body stretched beyond the reach of his gaze. Beneath it were four claws. It looked like the remains of a true dragon.

He recalled the legend of the true dragon in the desert. Could this be the one? A dragon's skeleton, hidden within Severed Dragon Valley. No wonder no one had found it after all these years.

He looked back the way he had come. The three ghosts were still there, apparently unwilling to let him go.

Yang Xiao followed the dragon's body, hoping to pull out a bone and use it to break through. But the skeleton was too tough. He tugged for ages without loosening a single bone.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. One of the Dragon Horns on the dragon's head had broken off, seemingly smashed loose by someone.

He climbed up along the dragon's head. The Dragon Horn was a foot long and as thick as his fist. Holding it, he felt a warm power envelop him, driving the cold from his body.

"How incredible." Yang Xiao gazed at the Dragon Horn in delight. Ordinary people could go their entire lives without seeing a dragon, yet he already had a Dragon Horn in his hands.

Gripping the Dragon Horn, he walked outward. Before he had gone halfway, the three ghosts shrieked and fled. Yang Xiao smiled and chased them with the Dragon Horn for a while before stopping.

He continued forward, growing more alarmed with every step. All kinds of bones began appearing beneath his feet: human bones, wild animal bones, and enormous beast skeletons he could not identify. A brutal battle seemed to have taken place here.

Along the way, he discovered ten dragon skeletons in all. Their lengths ranged from a hundred yards to over a thousand. The longest had been pinned to a black mountain by a Spear.

It was hard to imagine what kind of being could have slain such a divine beast.

Now he felt some regret. Had he brought his Corpse-Binding Rope, he could have taken all the Dragon Horns back and sold them to those youths who came to slay dragons, making a fortune.

"Butcher!"

Yang Xiao shouted. He had spotted the Butcher atop a black mountain. His Beast Robe was in tatters, and seven or eight wounds marked his body. Blood ran down the black mountain, staining its slopes red.

Butcher stood with his back to him and did not answer, his gaze fixed ahead. Following Butcher's gaze, Yang Xiao saw a man on another black mountain.

The man appeared to be around thirty. A scar marked his face, and he wore lavish robes. His chest looked as though it had been burned, leaving it charred black. He held a golden saber and faced Butcher across the distance.

Suddenly, the man looked toward him. A cold smile curled his lips, and a streak of chilling light shot from his eyes. It was so fast that Yang Xiao had no time to react.

Just as the chilling light was about to strike him, Butcher appeared in front of him and cleaved it apart with his knife.

"You brat, didn't I tell you to leave if I didn't come back?" Butcher said with his back to him, his gaze locked on the scar-faced man.

Yang Xiao smiled bitterly. "It's not that I didn't want to leave. The black mist has surrounded everything outside. I couldn't find the way out."

"So that happened too," Butcher said. "Perhaps our intrusion has caused some unknown change here."

"Sky Marquis, let's make a deal. I'll teach you the Servant Scripture, and you pretend you never saw me. How about it?" the scar-faced man said.

"I have no use for a False God's methods." Butcher slashed at him, giving the scar-faced man no chance to speak.

"I call you Sky Marquis, and you actually think you're someone important? If I weren't gravely wounded, a mere Immortal like you would die beneath a single glance from this god." The scar-faced man's expression changed, and he swung his saber down. A thousand-yard blade of light cleaved toward them.

Butcher shot into the sky and swept his knife across.

At that very moment, Yang Xiao started in alarm and turned to flee. He had spotted the scar-faced man flying toward him.

But how could someone running on the ground outrun someone flying through the sky? Before he had taken two steps, he felt himself being lifted. Terror flooded his heart, and Yang Xiao swung the Dragon Horn behind him.

In the next instant, however, the scar-faced man seized his right hand. His grip was immensely strong. A light squeeze sent the Dragon Horn falling.

By the time Yang Xiao recovered his senses, he was already on the scar-faced man's mountain.

Butcher realized what had happened as well. The thousand-yard blade of light dispersed on its own in the sky. It had been the scar-faced man's ruse.

The scar-faced man hurled Yang Xiao to the ground and planted a foot on his stomach, laughing loudly. "Now can we have a proper conversation?"

Butcher frowned and looked at Yang Xiao. "I'm sorry. I can't save you. He is an utterly evil man, and I cannot allow him to leave.

"If you have any final wishes, tell me. I'll fulfill them for you."

Yang Xiao said nothing. He knew Butcher had resolved not to save him. Nothing he said would matter.

At a time like this, he might as well die like a warrior.

The scar-faced man holding him captive darkened. Suddenly, he kicked Yang Xiao and snarled, "Don't try to fool me! You two were so close just now. How could you possibly refuse to save him?"

Yang Xiao smiled bitterly. "I haven't even known him for ten days. We're not as close as you think."

He saw a cold gleam flash through the scar-faced man's eyes. The man sneered. "In that case, there's no point keeping you alive. This god will kill you with one stroke."

With that, he raised his golden saber and slowly brought it down.

At that moment, Yang Xiao's mind went blank. He thought of his previous life, then remembered this one.

Once I'm gone, will the old man be sad? He probably will. And Aunt Lü... I'll never get to see her marry him.

"No!"

Yang Xiao screamed. A frenzied will rose from the depths of his heart and flooded his mind. Though his body was uninjured, it hurt terribly, as if thousands of knives were slicing his flesh.

He had never expected his strange illness to strike again in the final moment of his life.

Yang Xiao's strange condition made the scar-faced man stop. Before his eyes and Butcher's, Yang Xiao's eyes began glowing scarlet.

“This is a Bloodline!” the scar-faced man said.

“Peak Demonic Will!” Butcher blurted out.

"What did you say?" The scar-faced man recoiled a step in fright. A moment later, however, he regained his composure. "No, I've already become a god. Why should I still be afraid?"

The scar-faced man lifted Yang Xiao and gripped his throat. “Leave Severed Dragon Valley immediately, or this god will kill him.”

“Think carefully. If this god lives, Heaven Domain will merely have a few more mortals. But if he dies, that man might slaughter all of Heaven Domain.”

In the throes of his illness, Yang Xiao was ruled by that frenzied will. He punched and kicked at the scar-faced man, but a blue light blocked his blows before they could land.

Meanwhile, deep within the desert, black mist shrouded an area where a man sat with scarlet light shining from his eyes. Suddenly, he turned toward Severed Dragon Valley, his expression changing. “Why did Xiao go to Severed Dragon Valley? And why did his illness have to strike now?”

The man stood. The light faded from his eyes, revealing a piercing gaze. The black mist slowly contracted and was drawn into his body.

With one step, the man arrived outside Severed Dragon Valley. With another, he entered it.

Butcher was still facing off against the scar-faced man when a voice suddenly sounded overhead.

"You have some nerve."

Butcher and the scar-faced man looked up together. A black-haired, middle-aged man in black robes stood in midair, regarding them coldly.

The instant the scar-faced man saw him, he cried out, “Crazy Demon! No, War King!”

The scar-faced man backed away repeatedly, seemingly terrified of the newcomer.

“A mere False God dares hurt my grandson?” The newcomer vanished in a flash. Suddenly, the scar-faced man's back arched, and he hurtled backward for a hundred miles.

The newcomer caught Yang Xiao and laid him flat on the ground. He pressed a finger to Yang Xiao's forehead, and before long, color returned to his pale face.

Turning to Butcher, he said, “You... I remember you vaguely. The young officer who guarded the gates of the Imperial Capital back then.”

Butcher stepped forward. “My respects, War King. Thank you for your support all those years ago. I am now the Domain Lord of Heaven Domain.”

The newcomer waved a hand. “The War King is dead. Now there is only Crazy Demon Yang Zhan.”

"What I did back then took little effort. You needn't keep it in your heart."

Butcher opened his mouth, then swallowed the words he had meant to say.

Yang Zhan approached the scar-faced man, who lay motionless on the ground. A fist-shaped imprint marked his abdomen, and blood flowed from the wound.

Yang Zhan searched him, finally finding a book, which he put away.

He made a pulling gesture toward Yang Xiao's waist, and the waterskin flew into his hand. Holding its mouth against the scar-faced man's wound, he let the blood flow into it. Only when the man had become a dried corpse did he stop.

Putting away the waterskin, he lifted Yang Xiao and punched forward. The black mist scattered, revealing a passage leading out of the valley.

Yang Zhan walked toward the exit. "You two certainly have nerve, daring to venture into Severed Dragon Valley. Fortunately, this is only the outskirts. Had you gone any deeper, even I couldn't guarantee bringing you out."