I want to tread the heavens

The warning of getting rich was like a cold needle, instantly piercing the stagnant air on the wasteland.

"Bloodstained demonic energy!" Zhou Tong's voice suddenly rose an octave, his beady eyes widened abruptly, and he instinctively took a half-step back, the map in his hand creaking loudly. "Brother Ling, your wolf... are you sure? This is the middle of nowhere..."

Wang Meng, who had been silent all along, gripped the thick-backed machete tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. Ali didn't speak, but her sharp eyes had already swept over the fork in the road half-hidden in the weeds, and her nostrils twitched almost imperceptibly.

Ling Xiao ignored Zhou Tong and dismounted from the Wind Beast. The soil beneath his feet was damp, cold, and soft, reeking of rotting roots. He walked to the fork in the road that Fa Cai had indicated and squatted down. A small patch of dense, withered yellow grass had been trampled down, the edges of the blades stained with a few dark red spots, now almost black, nearly blending into the soil, barely noticeable unless one looked closely. He extended a finger, not touching it, but holding it about an inch above the stain.

hum...

A faint yet extremely unsettling, chilling sting traveled up to my fingertips. It wasn't the cold of low temperatures, but more like countless tiny, malicious insects trying to burrow into my skin. Residual demonic energy, or rather… something more filthy, more violent. The "cold stench" did indeed match the demonic aura described on the bounty poster, but it seemed to be mixed with something else… a nauseating stench of "evil energy," like the smell of rust mixed with blood that had settled for countless years.

"There's no mistake." He stood up, his expression grave. "This isn't just a simple case of a Yin Demon harming someone. Yin Demons feed on essence, blood, and souls, and usually don't leave such obvious physical bloodstains. They prefer to leave their victims 'depleted.' This blood... looks more like the blood left by a living person who was injured and fled in panic."

"It's the blood of a living person, and the injury occurred no more than half an hour ago. The residual demonic energy is very fresh." He looked at Zhou Tong and the other two, his voice low but carrying an undeniable firmness. "The situation in Ghost Cry Town is unclear. This could be a survivor who escaped, or it could be the 'prey' of that thing. Following the trail might lead us to the source faster, and perhaps we can even save someone."

"Chase! Chase!" Zhou Tong's expression changed, his eyes darting around uncertainly. "Brother Ling, this...this isn't part of the plan, is it? Our mission is to wipe out Ghost Cry Town! The City Lord's Mansion didn't tell us to meddle in other people's business! What if...what if this is a diversionary tactic, or there's an ambush ahead..."

"If you're scared, just say so." Ali suddenly spoke, her voice as cold as her personality, but her gaze was fixed on Ling Xiao. "Captain, your spirit beast can track, and my sense of smell isn't bad either; we can cooperate. Putting aside the rescue, we can't let this lead slip by."

Wang Meng said in a low voice, "I'll listen to the captain."

Ling Xiao glanced at Zhou Tong. He understood the man's ulterior motives—he was afraid of trouble and danger. But right now, this unexpected clue might be more valuable than blindly entering the unknown Ghost Cry Town.

"The Windbeasts are too conspicuous. Stay here and tie them to hidden rocks by the roadside with tripwires," Ling Xiao quickly ordered. "We'll pursue them lightly. Fa Cai will lead, Ali will assist in the pursuit, and Wang Meng will provide support from the center. Brother Zhou," he looked at Zhou Tong, "you'll cover our rear and watch for any movements behind us. If anything changes, use the long whistle as a signal to retreat towards the main road. Any questions?"

His tone was calm, yet it naturally carried the imposing presence of a captain. Zhou Tong opened his mouth, but seeing that Wang Meng and Ali had already silently begun removing unnecessary equipment from the Wind Beast, he swallowed his words and muttered, "Fine... fine, whatever you say. But be careful!"

The two wind-riding beasts were led to a clump of jagged rocks by the roadside, their hooves loosely tied with leather straps. Ling Xiao carefully concealed his valuables, carrying only the broken sword on his back. Fa Cai had already darted onto the narrow grassy path ahead, his silver-gray figure appearing and disappearing among the thick fog and wild grass, like a silent ghost.

Ali followed closely behind Fa Cai, her gait peculiar, her steps extremely light, almost inaudible. Her eyes keenly scanned the ground and the grass stalks on either side. Ling Xiao and Wang Meng walked in the middle. Zhou Tong trailed behind, his eyes darting left and right, a small brass compass in his hand, its needle trembling slightly.

The path wound its way uphill, deep into the hills. The fog grew thicker, clinging damply to faces and necks, carrying a strange, musty smell of dust and a faint, sweet tang, making one feel a tightness in the chest when inhaled. The surroundings were eerily quiet, not even the chirping of insects. Only the soft rustling of their footsteps on the weeds and damp mud, and their suppressed breathing, filled the air. The light was dim; though it was still afternoon, it felt as if night had fallen prematurely.

The thought of getting rich came intermittently, tinged with wariness:

"The bloodstains were intermittent and dripped irregularly. The injured person ran very fast and was in a panic."

"That 'cold, foul' aura followed us, like a tail trailing behind the bloodstains."

"The terrain ahead is becoming more complicated. There are more loose rocks. There's a collapsed pit."

"There are other smells... a very faint smell of turned earth, and... the smell of metallic corrosion. A lot of them."

Ling Xiao's unease grew stronger. This didn't seem like the work of a simple Yin demon. Yin demons, as energy entities, preferred places with heavy Yin energy and concentrated life force, such as towns or graveyards. For such obvious physical traces and complex mixed auras to appear in this desolate wilderness…

Suddenly, Fa Cai, who was walking at the front, stopped abruptly. Its fur stood on end slightly, and a low growl, barely suppressed, rumbled from its throat. It stared intently at a misty, rocky depression ahead.

Almost simultaneously, Ali raised her hand to signal to stop. She sniffed the air, her face slightly pale: "The smell of blood... is very strong. And... the smell of rotting earth. Very strong. It's in that depression up ahead."

Ling Xiao made a hand gesture. Under the cover of the fog and jagged rocks, the four of them crept over silently. Peeking out from behind a boulder about half a person's height, the sight in the depression made everyone's breath catch in their throats.

The depression wasn't large. In the center was a patch of dark reddish-black soil, which looked like it had just been turned over. Beside the turned-over soil lay three corpses.

No, to be precise, it's two and a half.

The closest corpse was a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes, lying face up with a large, gaping hole in his chest, the flesh rolled back at the edges, already dead. A little further away was another body dressed in tattered leather armor, like a down-on-his-luck guard, half of his body missing, the torn edges pale and devoid of blood, as if ripped off by something.

But what froze Ling Xiao's gaze was the third "one." It appeared to be a young man, slumped beside a boulder at the edge of the depression, head bowed. He wore leather armor in the standard uniform of Falling Star City patrol guards, but it was torn in many places, revealing skin that was bluish-black, stiff, and covered with eerie dark red patterns. His right hand was severed at the wrist, the cut not bleeding, but covered with a layer of dried black scab. His left hand, however, was deeply embedded in the soft, dark red soil beside him, his fingers twisted and curled, as if he were still trying to grasp or dig for something before he died.

A strong, pungent smell of blood and an indescribable stench—a mixture of rust, old grave soil, and a sweet, rotten odor—wafted from the depression, making one almost nauseous.

"It's...it's the patrol guards!" Zhou Tong's voice trembled with fear, and he almost dropped the compass in his hand. "How...how could they have died here?!"

Ali covered her nose, her eyes filled with horror: "It's not just death... Look at the soil, and the patterns on that young man's body..."

Ling Xiao could see it clearly. The dark red soil wasn't its original color; it was permeated with a turbid, filthy energy, emanating the same "cold, foul" malevolent aura as the bloodstains, but dozens of times stronger! The dark red patterns on the young guard's exposed skin were writhing extremely slowly and almost imperceptibly, as if they were alive, greedily absorbing the malevolent aura permeating the surrounding soil and air! The corpse had long since lost its life, yet it gave off a strange feeling of being "transformed."

"This isn't a Yin Demon," Ling Xiao said, his voice hoarse, enunciating each word clearly. "This is corpse refining. Someone here is using the residual malevolent energy of the ancient battlefield, combined with the essence and soul of the living, to refine 'fiend corpses'!"

The voice just fell.

"Uh...ha..."

A rough, hoarse panting sound, like a broken bellows, suddenly rose from the center of the depression, from beneath the dark red soil!

Immediately afterwards, the soil suddenly bulged upwards! A hand with bluish-black skin and black, hooked nails, enveloped in a dense, dark red aura of malevolence, burst forth from the earth!