The moon was dark and the wind high, black clouds shrouding the sky. There was no moon tonight, nor any stars. The entire sky was pitch-black.
Without a sound, before the corpse could even fall, it turned into a sheet of human skin and drifted gently to the ground, making not the slightest noise.
The skin was tossed into the grass, and like a phantom, the figure continued toward the camp.
The disciples patrolling the perimeter dwindled one after another. The camp remained oblivious, with only the crackle of wood splitting in the flames.
"Three!"
"Five!"
"Nine!"
In half an hour, the dark figure eliminated nine patrolling disciples, clearing out the surroundings.
Just then!
A disciple emerged from a tent to relieve himself, his sleepy eyes looking around.
"Tian Hua, Tian Dong, where the hell did you go?"
His loud voice rang throughout the camp, rousing everyone from sleep. The two accompanying elders stepped out of their tents, sweeping their gazes around with slight frowns.
He called for a long while, but no one answered. It was too strange.
"Elders, where did they go? Could Demon Beasts have broken in and eaten them?"
The man relieving himself hurriedly pulled up his trousers and raced back. Everything around them was pitch-black. Within his sight, trees rustled, swaying in the wind like demons and specters, making his hair stand on end.
"There's no trace of any Demon Beast passing through."
The Tian Household elder spoke. Demon Beasts were large; if they had passed through here, they would certainly have made some noise.
"There's a smell of blood!"
The Wan Household elder quickly moved closer. A faint scent of blood lingered in the air, and a gust of wind carried it straight toward them.
"Someone's attacking us!"
At that sharp shout, everyone drew their weapons without even having time to dress and formed a circle. Their surroundings remained silent. The killer had left.
More than twenty people rushed out in all directions, only to find nothing, not even the shadow of a ghost. The nine dead disciples seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a bone behind.
If someone had killed them, there should have been signs of a struggle. Everyone's hair stood on end. After searching the area, they returned helplessly to camp.
"Elders, could ghosts have eaten them?"
Rumor had it that when ghosts appeared, they devoured people without leaving even their bones. How closely that resembled the scene before them.
At the word "ghosts," the ordinary disciples shuddered. An icy chill burrowed through their pores into their bodies, raising goosebumps all over them as they trembled involuntarily.
"Stop talking nonsense. There must be an expert nearby."
The Tian Household elder remained calm and immediately silenced them. Once rumors spread, everyone would lose heart.
The elder's words eased their tension considerably. They dressed, no longer daring to sleep, and planned to hold out until dawn.
"May I ask which expert is passing through? If we've offended you in any way, please show yourself, senior, so we can apologize in person."
The Wan Household elder cupped his fists toward their surroundings. Had they trespassed on some expert's territory and brought this upon themselves? Courtesy first, force afterward.
"Apologize?"
The icy word drifted toward them from every direction. Unable to distinguish its exact source, everyone looked grave.
"Sneaking around like that-come out and fight if you have the guts! What kind of hero hides in the dark?"
The Tian Household elder snorted coldly. Having confirmed that someone was hiding nearby, he instead grew calmer, using provocation to draw the person out.
"Your taunts won't work on me. From now on, I'll kill one of you every cup of tea's time, until you're all dead."
As the words faded, deathly silence fell. No matter how they shouted, no voice answered. Only gusts of cold wind swept past, while the campfire on the ground flickered for lack of firewood.
"Elder, we're out of firewood."
Without the campfire, they would be plunged into darkness, becoming living targets to be slaughtered at will.
"You two, go over there and bring back some firewood."
At Elder Tian's command, two Tian Household disciples stepped forward. Both were at the peak postnatal realm. Though deeply reluctant, they still left the camp, not daring to venture too far.
The twenty-odd people gathered together, weapons in hand, looking around.
"Tian Lie, who do you think is working against us?"
The Wan Household elder walked over and asked with a frown. They had been in the mountain range for more than a day without encountering any experts. Nor would anyone in Canglan City declare war on their two households. This was too strange.
"I can't figure it out either. We've been very careful along the way and haven't offended anyone."
Tian Lie looked distressed. Six Tian Household disciples had died, a grievous loss that pained him deeply.
"Ah! Ah..."
While the two spoke, two screams came from the distance. The two Tian Household disciples who had gone to gather firewood suddenly vanished from everyone's sight.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Tian Lie and the Wan Household elder vanished from where they stood, rushing straight to the scene. Still, there were no signs of a struggle, and the bodies were gone. They exchanged a glance, seeing a trace of horror in each other's eyes.
This went beyond their understanding. Who possessed such ability, killing without a trace?
Killing was easy!
But for even the bodies to disappear afterward defied all reason. In their fifty years of life, neither had ever experienced anything so bizarre.
"Stop skulking around! Come out and fight us face-to-face if you have the guts!"
Tian Lie's eyes nearly split with rage. The two they had lost were among the Tian Household's finest elites, with an excellent chance of entering the Imperial Academy to cultivate. Their main purpose in bringing them along this time had been to use this opportunity to temper them properly and help them grow.
"No hurry. We'll have a chance to meet."
The voice drifted elusively, its source impossible to discern. The two returned to camp. The fire was growing smaller and smaller, already barely visible.
When the final wisp of flame vanished, their surroundings plunged into utter darkness. The slapping of leaves and branches sounded like countless palms rubbing together. Everyone's heart rose into their throat, terrified that they would be the next to die.
"Form a formation! Hold hands! I refuse to believe he can charge into our formation and kill anyone."
At Tian Lie's command, the remaining twenty people joined hands, forming a circle. The moment the attacker appeared, everyone would attack him together. It was the clumsiest method, but also the most effective.
Holding one another's hands bolstered their courage. They only needed to endure until dawn, when they would be able to see just who was hiding in the dark and ambushing them.
Time ticked by, leaving only a few minutes before a cup of tea's time had elapsed.
Only they truly knew what that waiting felt like. No one knew when death would suddenly descend. Waiting for death was the most terrifying thing of all.
Liu Wuxie wanted them to live in fear every moment. Killing them easily would let them off far too lightly.
A breeze swept past. A pitch-black figure blended perfectly into the night, his feet tracing the Seven Stars as he moved close to the ground. His body was actually gliding through the air.
Swish!
A saber struck without warning. A cold gleam swept past, and in less than a tenth of a breath, the figure vanished.
"Wan Qiong, why did you let go of my hand?"
A Wan Household disciple suddenly shouted. The hand gripping his right hand had disappeared. Thinking Wan Qiong had suddenly released him, he asked.
No one answered. Inexplicably, one person was missing from their midst. The Wan Qiong he called for had already become a sheet of human skin.
Now the crowd fell into chaos. Even with them holding hands, their opponent could still kill at leisure. This was already beyond human limits. Only an evil spirit could do such a thing.
"Impossible! Even someone in the spirit cleansing realm couldn't do this!"
Tian Lie looked frantic and let out a furious roar. No one answered him. Everyone's heart sank to rock bottom, a chill spreading from the soles of their feet throughout their bodies.
A cup of tea's time passed!
Another person died mysteriously.
From terror to numbness, they could no longer feel fear, waiting for the next death to come, wondering whose turn it would be to disappear.
"Devil! Are you a human or a devil? Get out here! I'm not afraid of you!"
A Wan Household disciple suffered a mental collapse and suddenly charged out, hacking wildly with his longsword. He had fallen into a frenzy and lost all reason.
"Wan Bai, come back!"
The Wan Household elder shouted for him to return. Dawn was drawing ever closer. They would surely make it through.
Unfortunately!
Just as Wan Bai was about to speak, a streak of blood spurted out. Before all their eyes, his body disappeared bit by bit, turning into a sheet of human skin. A gust carried it away, dropping it in the distance. Only now did they see clearly why the dead had left no bones behind.
"A devil! He must be a devil that crawled out of hell! I want to go home!"
Another Wan Household disciple ran out, charging madly into the woods, wanting to escape the Sunset Mountain Range.
The Sunset Mountain Range was most dangerous at night, with Demon Beasts everywhere. This area lay close to a cliff, and no Demon Beasts came here. Martial artists who entered to train all liked to make camp in this spot.
"Come back!"
Before the shout had faded, the fleeing Wan Household disciple fell to the ground, shriveling bit by bit. They saw a black shadow flash past before their eyes.
Tian Lie gave chase at full speed, but once again found nothing. The black shadow vanished mysteriously, its speed utterly uncanny. Someone in the xiantian realm was not even qualified to get close.
Time slipped silently by. With over two hours left until dawn, only ten remained of the party of more than thirty. Fear was written all over every face.
"Elder, I can't take it anymore."
A Wan Household disciple suddenly drew his weapon and placed it against his neck. With a sweep of his longsword, he slit his own throat, blood spurting high into the air. He would rather choose suicide than endure the torment of being hunted.
This was psychological warfare, and Liu Wuxie executed it to the fullest. Several others stood on the brink of madness and could lose their minds at any moment.
Watching a disciple of his lineage kill himself before his eyes, the Wan Household elder let out a furious roar.
"I don't care who you are! For killing my Wan Household's disciples, I'll cut you into ten thousand pieces!"
The Wan Household elder charged out in a single stride, his innate spirit sweeping in all directions. Trees toppled one after another. Tian Lie followed, and the two stood back-to-back.
"So you're allowed to kill me, but I'm not allowed to kill you? Your two households really are domineering."
This time, they heard him clearly. The voice was not far away. A pitch-black figure stood on a tree trunk ten meters from them, the saber in his hand giving off a faint gleam. By that gleam, they determined his exact position.
"Who exactly are you? Your voice sounds familiar. Do we know each other?"
Tian Lie judged from the voice. He must have heard it before, but could not recall it right away.
A cold laugh came from the distance. "Of course we know each other. You've gone to such pains to pursue me for so long, yet you don't even know who's killing you. How laughable."
The dark figure suddenly swooped down, heading straight for the two of them.