55: A bizarre corpse

Four streaks of sword light soared into the sky, piercing through the morning mist and racing toward the western side of the White Cloud Mountain Range.

The mountains and rivers below receded rapidly as the astral winds howled.

Liu Rumei gripped Yao Delong's robes.

She felt the steady, mountain-like aura emanating from him, as well as the thick ripples of spiritual power.

Her heart felt at peace, yet she also harbored a trace of curiosity.

She leaned close to Yao Delong's ear and asked slyly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Junior Martial Uncle... that mysterious person in black from the day of the bandit suppression... it was actually you, wasn't it?"

Yao Delong's figure remained perfectly still as he controlled his sword, but his heart skipped a beat.

How did this girl find out? He turned his head slightly. "What makes you say that?"

"Hehe," Liu Rumei chuckled triumphantly.

"That night, I thought that black-clad person's build was a bit like yours, Junior Martial Uncle.

Later, didn't you go out for a few days? I happened to go looking for you for something, and outside your thatched hut..."

She paused, her voice dropping even lower with a hint of playfulness:

"I saw that rusty sword you used to use, just tossed in the corner.

It looked exactly like the sword the black-clad person used to fight that day!

The rust patterns were virtually identical!"

Yao Delong realized the truth. It was that rusty sword, which had followed him for many years but was rarely used, that had exposed his identity.

He hadn't expected this girl to be so observant.

"Junior Martial Uncle, you really hide yourself well!"

Liu Rumei's tone was filled with admiration and a sense of realization.

"No wonder the power of the Five Elements Basic Sword Art that night... was so terrifying!"

Yao Delong remained noncommittal, his lips merely curling upward slightly. "The past is the past; there's no need to mention it again."

"Mhm!" Liu Rumei nodded vigorously, her heart feeling even more certain.

This brand-new Junior Martial Uncle definitely held some unknown, great secret!

Her hand gripping Yao Delong's robes subconsciously tightened a bit.

After flying for about two hours, a massive, undulating mountain peak shrouded in thick, grayish-white clouds appeared in their line of sight.

The air began to be permeated with the scent of moisture and decaying vegetation, faintly mixed with an uncomfortable, fishy stench.

They were already deep within the outer reaches of the White Cloud Mountain Range.

"We're almost there!" the leading Liu Bai said in a low voice, lowering his flight altitude.

"The location of the missing Disciple's last transmission jade talisman is about fifty miles ahead, on the outskirts of that 'Misty Miasma Forest'."

The group landed one after another on a relatively dry hillside.

Before them was a dense forest shrouded in thick, grayish-green miasma.

The branches and leaves of the tall trees were twisted and knotted, and vines wound around them like pythons; the light was dim.

The air was filled with a pungent, sickly-sweet smell and a faint scent of decay.

The ground beneath their feet was slippery and muddy, covered in a thick layer of rotting leaves.

"Such heavy toxic miasma!" Luo Miaomiao's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she pinched a spell gesture with her fingertips.

A layer of pale blue water-curtain shield enveloped her, isolating her from part of the miasma.

Meng Lang also gave a low shout, an earthy yellow halo rising from his body.

Liu Bai and Meng Hu each circulated their spiritual power for protection, their eyes alertly scanning the surroundings.

Liu Rumei, having the lowest cultivation, immediately felt a bout of dizziness and quickly took out a Miasma-Avoiding Pill to swallow.

Yao Delong's expression was calm as the Great Evolution Mixed Yang Scripture within him circulated on its own.

Blazing Pure Yang spiritual power formed a layer of pale golden halo on his body's surface that was difficult to see with the naked eye. As soon as the miasma containing sinister toxins approached,

it made a slight sizzling sound as if it had met its nemesis, being burned and purified completely; it couldn't even get close to him.

"The miasma here is strange, and Divine Sense is also suppressed. Everyone be careful, do not wander off!"

As the leader of this trip, Liu Bai reminded them in a low voice and took the first step into the Misty Miasma Forest.

Luo Miaomiao followed closely behind.

Meng Lang and Meng Hu exchanged a look and also followed.

Yao Delong walked at the very back with Liu Rumei.

He seemed casual, but his powerful Divine Sense—which far exceeded his peers and was even comparable to the Early Golden Core Stage—had already quietly spread out.

Like invisible ripples, it penetrated the layers of miasma, scanning every dark corner.

In the miasma-filled forest, on the branches of rotten dead trees, several spots of dark red, eye-piercing blood were like hideous brands.

The surrounding vegetation was flattened, and the ground was left with deep claw marks and scorched marks from spiritual power impacts—

the traces were chaotic and violent, clearly indicating they had encountered an extremely powerful Vicious Beast attack!

"The bloodstains are still fresh; it's right ahead!"

Liu Bai's expression was grave as his fingertips rubbed a blood-stained rotting leaf.

Before he could finish his sentence, Meng Hu and Meng Lang quickly exchanged a sinister look.

They were plotting how to separate Yao Delong from the group.

However, Liu Bai and Luo Miaomiao were no ordinary people; acting rashly would be too risky.

"Move! Stay on guard!" Liu Bai shouted lowly, taking the lead to track along the bloodstains.

Everyone followed closely behind, suppressing their breathing, their nerves taut.

About an hour later, the heavy scent of blood almost overwhelmed the stench of the miasma.

Pushing aside a cluster of hanging vines smeared with dark brown liquid, a gruesome corpse appeared before everyone's eyes.

The corpse lay face up in the mud, the chest and abdomen completely ripped open, the internal organs nowhere to be found, leaving only a terrifying empty cavity.

The limbs were twisted, and the face was frozen in a state of extreme terror.

The Pill Cloud Peak Inner Sect Disciple clothing on the body had been torn beyond recognition, but it could still be barely identified.

"Ah!" Luo Miaomiao covered her mouth and cried out softly, her water-blue eyes full of horror.

"It's Senior Brother Tang San! Senior Brother Tang San of Pill Cloud Peak, who was at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage!"

Seeing this tragic sight, Meng Hu's face instantly turned pale, and his feet subconsciously moved backward as his Adam's apple bobbed.

His voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling:

"What... what kind of thing did this? Senior Brother Tang was at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage!"

Should we... should we continue going deeper?"

Fear almost threatened to drown his reason.

"Senior Brother Tang has only just fallen!"

Liu Bai endured his discomfort and quickly checked before saying solemnly,

"The blood hasn't completely solidified yet; that vicious creature might be nearby!"

He nimbly placed Tang San's broken corpse into his Storage Pouch.

"What are you afraid of! Senior Brother Tang was from Pill Cloud Peak; they aren't good at combat to begin with!

With so many of us here, and with a Sword Cultivator like Senior Brother Liu, are we still afraid of a beast?"

Meng Lang patted Meng Hu's shoulder, seemingly to encourage him, but his eyes actually darted toward Yao Delong.

With a hint of imperceptible malice, he intended to incite the group to continue so they could find an opportunity to strike.

Hearing this, a flash of Sword Intent appeared in Liu Bai's eyes, the pride belonging to a Sword Cultivator being stirred:

"Junior Brother Meng is right! There's no time to lose; focus your minds and speed up!

We must rescue the remaining two Junior Brothers and sisters!"

He was the first to speed up, his figure becoming blurred in the miasma.

Yao Delong's gaze swept over the massive claw marks and bite marks left where Tang San had fallen, his pupils constricting slightly.

Because his cultivation progress had been slow in the past, he frequently consulted ancient texts of the Azure Cloud World.

Combining those with his memory, a notoriously fierce name immediately surfaced—Blood Demon Mongoose!

A Rank Five Yao Beast!

Its juveniles already had Foundation Establishment Perfection strength, its growth stage could reach the Early Golden Core Stage, and an adult was a ferocious Middle Golden Core Stage!

This creature was cruel and cunning, loved to eat the internal organs of living things, and was extremely vengeful!

"This one must be a juvenile; otherwise, there would definitely be three corpses lying here right now, and that adult Yao Beast is probably..."

Alarm bells rang in Yao Delong's heart.

But on the surface, he was even calmer than Liu Bai by three points, only quietly protecting Liu Rumei even more closely.

At the same time, the Great Evolution Mixed Yang Scripture within his body circulated silently, Pure Yang spiritual power ready to be unleashed.