Lin Ke flew toward the foot of the mountain where the Giant Strength Fire Prison Sect's buildings stood.
At the same time, he mapped out possible routes.
Among the dim mountain paths, Lin Ke spotted a few scattered villages.
Those were probably where the mortals living around the Giant Strength Fire Prison Sect resided.
He wondered whether they had been caught up in the destruction of the Giant Strength Fire Prison Sect.
Pushing off lightly with his toes, Lin Ke flew down from the treetops and passed one farmhouse after another, their doors and windows tightly shut.
Field ridges, wells, granaries, paths, and the distant barking of spirit hounds and cries of livestock-everything a village should have was here, except people.
Lin Ke swept the area with his Divine Sense but found no trace of any mortals.
He swiftly flew over the village again, confirming that no mortals were moving about.
Just as he was about to search for the next village-
He noticed the faint glow of an oil lamp inside a larger wooden house on the hillside.
He went over and knocked, but the moment his knocking sounded, the oil lamp went out.
Now even more certain someone was there, Lin Ke leaped lightly into the courtyard.
"Is anyone home?"
Calling out, Lin Ke walked straight into the house.
Clang.
A farmer attacked from the side with a hoe, striking Lin Ke squarely on the forehead, only to produce a metallic clang.
Lin Ke turned his head impassively, but he could not make out the man's face. Through the dimness, he discovered that their faces were smeared with a kind of black mud.
This mud could actually weaken a cultivator's Divine Sense probing. Had Lin Ke not been so close, he might never have noticed these mortals at