I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

The Shadow Assassin emerged from the darkness, holding a fragment of Bone Echo's staff. She tossed the fragment to the ground. "I killed him," Qin Yuan said, looking at her. "You knew all along that the heart was a weakness?"

"I know. But I can't hit you. Only you can." Shadow Assassin sheathed his dagger. "I'm not taking credit. Just letting you know, I'm next."

At night, Nidan sat next to Xiaohe, peeling taro. Xiaohe was a girl from the mutual aid society, with a round face and a cheerful disposition. She held a half-embroidered handkerchief in her hand. She had embroidered a taro for Nidan, but it was crooked and uneven.

"Are you scared?" Xiao He asked.

Nidan handed her the peeled taro. "Scared. But even if you're scared, you have to fight." He glanced at the handkerchief in Xiaohe's hand. "Is it finished?" Xiaohe unfolded the handkerchief, revealing an embroidered taro with the words "Peace" next to it. Nidan folded the handkerchief and put it in his pocket. "Eat it. You might not have a chance to eat it tomorrow."

In the distance, a red light appeared on the horizon. It wasn't the glow of dawn, but a blood mist. The blood mist spread from the horizon like a giant red cloth, obscuring the stars and the moon. The air was filled with the smell of rust and the sweet, pungent stench of rotting flesh. Blood Butcher had arrived.

The Shadow Assassin gripped his dagger tightly, standing beside Qin Yuan. "Leave this to me."

Qin Yuan shook his head. "You can't beat him."

Shadow Assassin said, "Even if we can't win, we have to fight."

Laughter echoed from within the blood mist, sharp and piercing, like fingernails scraping against a sheet of iron. "Flesh and blood, fresh flesh and blood!" Blood Butcher had no physical form; he was the blood mist itself. His voice surged from all directions, resounding in everyone's ears simultaneously.

Xuan Guang led the divine warriors into the blood mist. Their armor began to rust, their skin began to fester, and their nails fell off. Half of Xuan Guang's face was scorched by the blood mist; his skin melted like wax, revealing the muscles and bones beneath. He covered his face, didn't cry out, and continued to swing his sword. His blade struck the blood mist as if it were air, offering no resistance.

Lin Qing'er took out taro powder and herbs from her medicine box, mixed them together, and sprinkled them into the blood mist. The taro powder hissed upon contact with the blood mist, like water droplets splashing on a hot pan. The blood mist receded temporarily, but quickly gathered again. She shouted to the soldiers, "Sprinkle the powder! Don't stop!" The soldiers took the medicine packets from her, tore them open, and scattered them into the air. The powder drifted in the blood mist, which churned and retreated as if scalded. But the medicine packets were quickly used up.

Qin Yuan held a hammer in his left hand, the hammerhead coated with taro powder, and smashed it towards the point where the blood mist had condensed. The hammer struck, scattering the blood mist; the black powder mixed with the red blood mist, resembling mud. Qin Yuan's right arm was immobile, his left arm exposed, the blood mist clinging to his skin and beginning to corrode. His left arm smoked, blistered, and the blisters burst, oozing yellow pus. He gritted his teeth and continued swinging the hammer.

The blood mist coalesced into a human shape, revealing Blood Butcher's face. He had no skin, only red muscles and tendons; his eyes were two black holes, and his mouth was a gaping slit that stretched all the way to his ears. He grinned, revealing yellow teeth and black gums. "Enough playing. Time for a proper meal."

Lin Qing'er was busy preparing medicine in the rear. She crushed over a dozen herbs, including taro, honeysuckle, lobelia, dandelion, and mugwort, wrapped them in gauze, and stuffed them into the mouths of the wounded. The wounded soldiers, biting on the medicine packets, continued fighting. The medicine dripped from the corners of their mouths, mixing with their blood, making it indistinguishable.

She inhaled the blood mist herself, her lungs feeling like they were on fire. She coughed violently, coughing up black blood with foam in the clots. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and continued grinding the medicine. Mud Egg handed her a damp cloth and covered her mouth and nose. "You have to live too."

"I'm fine." Lin Qing'er pushed his hand away and continued grinding the medicine.

Qin Yuan was entangled in the blood mist, which seeped into his wounds—the burns on his left arm, the scratches on his face, the abrasions on his chest—all of them were being corroded simultaneously. He used his left hammer to smash the blood mist on his arm, splattering flesh and exposing the muscle beneath. Lin Qing'er rushed over and stuffed a packet of medicinal powder into his wound. The powder reacted with the blood mist, emitting white smoke, and the blood mist retreated from the wound, like a scalded snake withdrawing into its hole.

Qin Yuan, covered in blood, said to Lin Qing'er, "You saved me." Lin Qing'er looked at him. "The less you use your right arm, the less often I'll save you."

Blood Butcher discovered that Lin Qing'er's medicine countered his own, and specifically lunged at her. Blood mist condensed into a giant hand, grabbing at Lin Qing'er. Shadow Assassin attacked from the side, his dagger piercing the head formed by the blood mist. The dagger was coated with taro powder; the blood mist emitted smoke and a shrill scream at the point of impact. But the blood mist quickly reformed, sending Shadow Assassin flying, crashing into a tree and breaking its trunk.

Lin Qing'er was enveloped in a blood mist. She clutched a packet of medicinal powder, enough to sustain her for the duration of an incense stick's burning. After that, the powder would run out, and she would be swallowed by the blood mist. She tore open the packet and sprinkled the powder all over herself; the white powder covered her hair, face, and clothes. She stood like a snowman in the red blood mist. She was prepared to perish together with it.

Qin Yuan rushed in from outside the blood mist. His right arm was useless, and the muscles of his left arm were corroded to the bone; he was covered in blood. He used his left arm to shield Lin Qing'er, the bone of his left arm exposed, white, with bits of flesh still clinging to it. The blood mist corroded his left arm, hissing and crackling. He gritted his teeth and carried Lin Qing'er as he rushed out.

Lin Qing'er cried out in his arms, "Put me down! I can fight!" Qin Yuan wouldn't let go. His left arm felt lighter and lighter—not lighter, but the flesh was being corroded away, leaving only bone. He used the bone to hold her as he ran outside.

Blood Butcher caught up, the blood mist transforming into a giant hand that seized Qin Yuan's right arm. His right arm was already necrotic and numb, but the black markings remained. Qin Yuan used his right arm to grab the blood mist in return. He detonated the black markings on his right arm. A torrent of malice erupted from his right arm, black and red intertwining like two snakes locked in combat. Blood Butcher screamed, "What is this?!"

The blood mist was maliciously devoured. It surged, boiled, and evaporated as if doused with sulfuric acid. Blood Butcher was forced back into human form from the blood mist state, covered in blood, kneeling on the ground. His body was red, muscles exposed, and skinless. He raised his head, his dark, hollow eyes staring at Qin Yuan. Mud Egg ran from afar, carrying a dark taro in his arms, larger than his head. He hurled the taro at Blood Butcher's head. The taro struck its target squarely, the head exploding, red fragments scattering everywhere. Blood Butcher's corpse turned into blood, seeping into the ground, leaving only a pool of dark red liquid.

The black markings on Qin Yuan's right arm spread to his right cheek, and his right eye turned pure black, while his left eye remained normal. He lay on the ground, looking at the sky. The sky was gray, and the fog had not yet dissipated. He said, "Five more."

At night, Soul Chains silently infiltrated the Allied forces' rear. He had no physical form, but was a cloud of gray smoke, like smoke billowing from a chimney, but thicker and denser. He burrowed into people's minds, taking control of their souls. Those controlled turned their eyes gray, their pupils disappeared, and their faces became expressionless. They picked up knives and slashed at their comrades.

In the middle of the night, chaos erupted at the camp. A miner was stabbed by his own brother, but he didn't retaliate, only asking, "Do you recognize me?" The controlled man remained silent, and the stabbing continued. Li Qing, leaning on his crutch, directed, "Tie them up! Don't kill them!" The miners used ropes to tie up the controlled men, but there were too many of them, and not enough ropes.