The Wilderness of Witches, Foolish Heart Mountain.
The low hills encircled a deep pool. Putrid water collected within it, thick as oil. Countless holes riddled the rocks along its banks. Occasionally, a bird flew over the pool, only to drop in an instant and be eaten down to white bones by the water.
Many Barbarians were stationed in the hills, but none wished to approach the [Corrupt Saliva Pool]. Those with low cultivation would involuntarily leap into it if they stared at its waters too long. Only those at qi refining could resist.
Outside the hills, several hundred Barbarians had built a stockade and garrisoned it, with numerous strange beasts and venomous insects nearby at their command.
Two returning patrolmen approached slowly from the direction of Eastern Secret. Both wore animal hides, and one seemed badly wounded, supported by the other.
The Barbarians on guard called out loudly, questioning them in their own tongue, their voices chattering like birds.
The pair below had already reached the stockade entrance. Their heads hung low, hiding their expressions. Doubt gradually crept onto the guards' faces, and they questioned them again.
Silence reigned. The surrounding insects and beasts began to screech and roar uneasily. Everyone in the stockade noticed the two arrivals and sensed something amiss.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. One of the men below stepped forward and gently removed his disguise mask. He raised his head, revealing bright yellow eyes.
Cries of alarm rose within the stockade. Every Barbarian present recognized him, and their expressions changed. Some took out formation disks to activate the formation; others drove their insects and beasts forward to block the escape route.
Xu Fayan remained impassive. He took out a green-skinned gourd painted with lightning patterns and tapped it lightly. Nearly fifty sky-blue gnats poured out, their