The news Elder Mu Li brought roused Han Li from his peaceful cultivation.
Disturbances in the Abandoned Abyss, a settlement on its outskirts slaughtered, strange traces of aura left behind... none of this could be coincidence. Had the demonic will on Kunwu Mountain escaped its confinement? Were other beings that had fled through the Spirit Realm Gate responsible? Or had some horror born within the Abandoned Abyss itself been awakened? Whatever the answer, it meant this place was no longer safe.
"How far was the slaughtered settlement from your race's territory? Were there any other clues left at the scene? Residual spatial fluctuations, for instance, or distinctive traces of spiritual power?" Han Li pressed.
"Roughly three thousand li to the southeast, near a dangerous place called the Rotten Leaf Swamp. The scene... had almost been obliterated entirely. The lingering baleful aura and power of deathly stillness were exceedingly pure, and seemed capable of eroding spiritual power and vitality. The plants had all withered, and the rocks had weathered away. There were no obvious spatial fluctuations, but from a great distance, I sensed an exceedingly faint hint of... withering and decay. It seemed vaguely to share the same origin as the Everlasting Creation Spring here, yet was its utter opposite." Elder Mu Li's expression was grave.
"The same origin, yet its opposite?" Something stirred in Han Li's mind. The Everlasting Creation Spring contained tremendous wood spirit vitality; its opposite would be the ultimate in withering and deathly stillness. Could this be some being connected to wood spirit power that had instead gone to the extreme of destruction?
"Furthermore," Elder Mu Li added, "some warriors farther away vaguely saw several indistinct black shadows coming from the depths of the Abandoned Abyss before the slaughter occurred. They moved extremely fast and concealed their