Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Based on the location information left on the crystal, Xia Jin quickly left Silver Sand City.

He took an extremely secretive route, deliberately choosing to traverse deserted paths. After all, in this Mirage Realm, caution was always the best policy; who knew what dangers lurked outside Silver Sand City?

As Xia Jin sped toward that location, she was secretly making plans in her mind.

At my current speed, I should be able to reach the location where the three Silver Sand Army captains last appeared before nightfall.

However, the endless shadows that appeared in the night gave him a bit of a headache.

Based solely on the image seen on that crystal, Xia Jin could make a preliminary judgment that the strength of those dark figures was definitely at the Creation Realm level.

Although he is now at the third level of the Immortal Ascension Realm, dealing with the so-called Creation Realm is as easy as crushing an ant. However, he cannot withstand the endless number of those black shadows. If he is trapped among them, even if he does not die, he will be severely injured.

"Alas! My strength is still insufficient, otherwise I wouldn't be so cautious! Oh well, let's take it one step at a time. If the three of you are lucky enough to survive until I arrive, you'll have a chance to live. Otherwise..." Xia Jin sighed helplessly, leaving a lingering shadow on the wasteland.

Less than two hours after leaving Silver Sand City, a continuous mountain range gradually appeared in front of Xia Jin, so large that he could not see the end of it at a glance.

"If we want to get to that place before dark, we probably have no choice but to cross it like this!" Xia Jin stopped and frowned as she looked ahead.

However, just as he was about to step into the mountain range, a strange chill suddenly ran up his back.

Xia Jin was startled and froze on the spot. How long had it been since he had felt this way?

Without the slightest hesitation, he almost instinctively slipped behind a boulder and cautiously looked ahead.

"What just happened? Why did I suddenly feel a sensation that made even my heart flutter?"

Xia Jin frowned, her heart still pounding.

He took a deep breath and activated the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture to completely conceal his aura.

In a short while, Xia Jin became one with the boulder, as if he had always been a part of this desolate mountain wilderness.

His gaze remained fixed on the only path ahead, not daring to relax for a moment.

Just then, an unsettling and eerie aura slowly drifted in from ahead.

Xia Jin's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw a piece of skin.

A dry, withered piece of skin, like an old person's skin that had been dried for many years, floated down from the void.

The thing was so light it seemed a gust of wind could blow it away, yet its movement was strangely unsettling. It seemed to be floating, yet also walking, as if something unseen was manipulating it.

Xia Jin felt like the hairs on her body were about to stand on end.

The old man's skin floated down slowly, paused in the air for a moment as if surveying its surroundings, and then wobbled and flew into a cave ahead.

"What is this thing? Could it really be a human skin peeled off a dead person...?"

Xia Jin hesitated; he wanted to leave.

I want to leave now.

This eerie place and this strange skin made him feel an unprecedented sense of unease.

However, just as he was about to retreat, a series of terrifying screams suddenly came from inside the cave.

"No, if you're going to leave, wait a bit longer!!" Xia Jin immediately abandoned the idea of ​​leaving and pressed herself tightly against the boulder.

Sure enough, the old man's skin soon flew out of the cave.

This time, Xia Jin saw it more clearly: the withered skin was actually gripping two enormous black shadows!

The shadowy figure was entirely black, with no facial features or limbs; it was merely a twisted, writhing dark mass struggling frantically under the grip of the old man's skin.

But the old man seemed completely unconcerned, lightly grabbing the two dark figures and flying away into the distance, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Xia Jin watched the old man's skin disappear into the distance, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

"Could it be... that the dark figures that appear at night are hiding in these caves during the day?"

He glanced thoughtfully at the dark opening.

But what exactly is that human skin?

Is it human? A demon? Or some kind of bizarre being he had never seen before?

Xia Jin shook her head, unable to understand.

The most important thing right now is to get out of this dangerous place as soon as possible and find the whereabouts of the three Silver Sand Army captains. That old man's skin has already flown far away; if we don't leave now, when will we?

He was just about to slip out from behind the boulder when

Deep within his consciousness, the incomplete Eastern Emperor Bell suddenly trembled slightly.

It was very light, very subtle, almost imperceptible. But Xia Jin felt it clearly.

Donghuang Zhong is stopping him.

Xia Jin felt a chill run down her spine and immediately abandoned the idea of ​​leaving. She pressed her body back against the boulder and remained motionless.

He knew that Donghuang Zhong would never issue a warning without a reason.

Time passed by, second by second.

After about seven or eight breaths, that eerie aura that sent chills down your spine once again permeated the void.

Xia Jin caught a glimpse of the old man's skin out of the corner of her eye, and it actually flew back unsteadily!

It floated in the void, seemingly surveying its surroundings. There was nothing on its wrinkled "face," but Xia Jin could clearly feel something emanating from that skin, sweeping across every corner of the area.

Xia Jin held her breath, circulating the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture to its limit, and her whole being seemed to have turned into a stone.

After a long time, the old man's skin seemed to have found nothing, and then it drifted away again, disappearing into the depths of the mountains.

"That treacherous creature... thank goodness I didn't leave."

Xia Jin gritted her teeth and cursed inwardly, a few beads of cold sweat already forming on her forehead.

But he still didn't move.

Sure enough, not long after, the old man's skin flew back for the third time.

This time, it circled outside for a longer time, its dry skin swaying gently in the wind, like a patient hunter waiting for its prey to reveal itself.

Xia Jin was completely convinced.

This thing is practically sentient.

He simply closed his eyes, immersing his mind completely in the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture, refusing to see, hear, or perceive. He allowed his entire being, from his aura to his very presence, to vanish completely into this desolate wilderness.

The old man's skin circled for a long time, but ultimately found nothing, and then flew away dejectedly.

Next, the fourth chapter, the fifth chapter...

The old man's skin seemed to be playing a cat-and-mouse game, flying out every now and then to check on things.

Xia Jin wasn't in a hurry. She quietly hid behind the boulder, letting time pass by.

Half an hour later, when the Eastern Emperor Bell in his sea of ​​consciousness showed no further movement, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

"They should... be gone by now, right?"

Xia Jin patiently waited for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and only after confirming that the eerie aura had completely dissipated did she carefully stand up, silently bypass the cave, and continue rushing deeper into the mountains.