Mi Lu experienced that feeling once again.

It turned out that when pain reached its extreme, one couldn’t make any sound at all.

The tongues of fire furiously licked at them. Amidst the excruciating pain of his skin tearing, he could smell the scent of burning hair and flesh. He didn’t know whether it was his own scent or that of Wei Sheng.

Wei Sheng let go of his pant leg, howling in pain.

With his last ounce of strength, Mi Lu pulled Hulü Yan into his embrace.

Suddenly, he realized—

Maybe this was fate.

He had spent too much time with Hulü Yan. Even if they hadn’t lived together, they had already faced death together ten times over.

Even though the plot had changed, they were still about to die together.

It might be a result of the suspension bridge effect, but at times, in this false world created by the author, Mi Lu felt a strange sense of reality only when he was with Hulü Yan.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Mi Lu thought to himself.

Goodbye, Hulü Yan…

No, not goodbye.

He hoped that by breaking this predetermined fate of death, the cycle of reincarnation would end, freeing him from pain and ending Hulü Yan’s endless despair and hatred.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

As a result, Mi Lu didn’t notice that at some point, while he held Hulü Yan in his arms, Hulü Yan had opened his eyes in the distorted, scorching air.

At the same time, a terrifying power was brewing in Hulü Yan’s palm.

That force expanded rapidly, initially just a small vortex of air. Soon, it condensed into a solid black substance, like swirling fog, surging outward and expanding in the air.

In the blink of an eye, the black fog had grown ten times larger, like a giant gaping mouth, swallowing Hulü Yan’s hand and beginning to spread up his arm.

The next moment, the hand that had been limp and wrapped in the black fog slowly rose.

The nearby Fire Wolves and Eight-Eyed Chickens seemed to sense something, their biting actions halting. Waves of fear welled up in their eerie glowing eyes.

Not far away, several people stared blankly at the bizarre scene before them, too shocked to speak.

After a moment, Jing Tao was the first to react, pulling Ni Wenhui and Yu Ying back a few steps, stammering, “Wh-what is that?”

Ni Wenhui hesitantly replied, “Black fog?”

Jing Tao said, “Where did this black fog come from?”

Ni Wenhui couldn’t answer and fell silent again.

Yes, where did this black fog come from?

In this desolate wilderness, how could there suddenly appear a mass of black fog?

And the color of the fog was so thick it seemed alive, surging like a tidal wave, engulfing the Fire Wolves and Eight-Eyed Chickens with claws outstretched.

The flames spewed by the Fire Wolves illuminated half the sky, but now that very sky was being swiftly consumed by the black fog.

The fog spread outward, as if countless black hands were desperately clawing forward, trembling with excitement, and consumed with madness to devour everything in its path.

From afar, the scene was both spectacular and terrifying.

“Oh no, the black fog is coming toward us!” Shi Fang’s face changed dramatically. He had lived for decades but had never witnessed such a horrifying sight.

It was as if death itself was harvesting lives.

Even from a distance, he could faintly smell the eerie, ominous, deathly aura that permeated the black fog, making his heart race, his legs weak, and his breathing heavy, as if he were about to suffocate.

“Brother Shi!” Jing Tao said solemnly, “We need to leave!”

Shi Fang snapped back to reality and nodded.

Ni Wenhui hesitated, “But what about those three…”

“There’s nothing we can do for them now,” Jing Tao said, tightening her grip on Ni Wenhui’s hand and pulling her forward, “That black fog is no ordinary thing. If it catches up to us, we could lose our lives.”

As soon as she spoke, they suddenly heard the piercing cries of the Fire Wolves and Eight-Eyed Chickens from within the black fog. The sound was so sharp it made their ears ache.

What followed was the frantic flapping of the Eight-Eyed Chickens’ wings.

Shi Fang and Jing Tao exchanged glances, both seeing the fear in each other’s eyes.

The two of them, mid-level Foundation Establishment cultivators, had struggled against the Fire Wolves and Eight-Eyed Chickens. What kind of monster lurked within the black fog that could instantly suppress them, even causing them to flee in such panic?

Their instincts told them it wasn’t human.

Could a human possess such terrifying power? Moreover, they hadn’t felt any spiritual energy fluctuations at all.

As for the three of them—one was an ordinary person who hadn’t even started channeling Qi and was still unconscious, another was a beginner Qi Refining cultivator, and while Wei Sheng was close to the Core Formation stage, both his hands were broken, leaving him unable to escape.

How could such a trio create such a terrifying black fog?

It had to be some kind of monster!

Perhaps an even higher-level demonic beast.

The black fog, carried by the wind, quickly caught up to them.

Several Eight-Eyed Chickens flying ahead of the fog screeched in terror as they were pulled into the black fog, which was even darker than the night itself, filling the air with a thick stench of blood.

The last remaining Eight-Eyed Chicken seemed to sense death approaching. It abruptly changed direction, flying straight toward the weakest of the group—Ni Wenhui.

Jing Tao and Yu Ying’s faces turned pale as they brandished their swords, but the Eight-Eyed Chicken nimbly dodged.

Demonic beasts were divided into different levels.

Low-level demonic beasts were no different from regular animals, though generally stronger and more aggressive. But high-level demonic beasts developed consciousness, learning to cooperate as a team and even strategize against humans, understanding how to exploit human weaknesses.

The Eight-Eyed Chicken before them was much larger, its feathers more vibrant. It was clearly the leader of the group.

Its target was obvious—Ni Wenhui.

Desperate for survival, it didn’t hesitate to endure a stab from Shi Fang’s sword.

Ni Wenhui was already exhausted. Although she held a sword, she no longer had the strength to swing it.

As the Eight-Eyed Chicken closed in, its massive form blocked out the light, casting her into total darkness.

Tears of fear rolled down her cheeks as she let out a cry. She wanted to close her eyes, but the courage she’d summoned to push Jing Tao away earlier had drained her of all resolve.

Am I going to die here?

She was terrified.

She didn’t want to die.

Yet the expected pain never came.

There was only the sound of tearing, like fabric being ripped apart, and as the darkness split, flickering flames pierced through the gap.

It wasn’t fabric that had been torn apart but the Eight-Eyed Chicken attacking her.

The blood and organs that fell to the ground weren’t anything else either—they belonged to the Eight-Eyed Chicken.

Warm, sticky liquid splattered all over Ni Wenhui’s face and body, thick and disgusting, sliding down her skin.

Ni Wenhui stood rooted in place like a wooden figure, her mouth slightly open, her wide eyes staring at the young man who had just torn apart the Eight-Eyed Chicken with his bare hands.

The young man’s long, black hair billowed in the wind. His face was sharp and thin, but that did nothing to detract from his stunning, breathtaking appearance.

However, his eyes were closed, his long lashes lowered. It was impossible to know whether his eyes were even more beautiful than his face.

Ni Wenhui blinked slowly, and then she realized—the young man—

Wasn’t he the one being held by that young master in the carriage? Hadn’t he been poisoned by a demonic beast? How had he woken up? How had they not been harmed by the demonic beasts just now?

Still in shock from her near-death experience, Ni Wenhui’s brain couldn’t process everything. Enduring the stench of blood, she managed to speak, “You…”

Before she could finish, Jing Tao darted forward, pulling Ni Wenhui behind her.

Yu Ying and Shi Fang also rushed to Jing Tao’s side.

Jing Tao was already at her limit, but she gritted her teeth, summoning the last of her strength to glare at the young man, “Who are you? Did you create that black fog?”

Ni Wenhui quickly interjected, “Jing Tao, I don’t think the black fog has anything to do with him…”

Before she could finish, Jing Tao cut her off, “Look behind him.”

Ni Wenhui followed her gaze, and when she saw the scene behind the young man, her face paled even more.

The black fog was eagerly surging into the young man’s body.

No, to be precise, the young man was slowly absorbing the black fog.

The fog that had almost covered half the night sky had now been mostly absorbed. As the black fog dissipated, the smoldering flames and the scattered bodies of the demonic beasts came into view.

So, the black fog really was his doing?

But Ni Wenhui couldn’t feel any spiritual energy fluctuations, nor could she sense the young man’s cultivation level.

Yet he was clearly just an ordinary person!

So why did he have such terrifying power?

Their Cloud Mist Sect wasn’t strictly righteous; they occasionally dabbled in darker paths. But even the most nefarious practitioners Ni Wenhui had encountered could never do something like this without using spiritual power.

Before long, the young man had absorbed all of the black fog.

It was as if he hadn’t heard Jing Tao’s question. Without a word, he turned and began walking back in the direction they had come from.

Jing Tao wanted to stop him, but Ni Wenhui grabbed her arm.

Ni Wenhui’s expression was a bit odd as she glanced at the young man’s retreating figure, then shook her head at Jing Tao, “He just saved me.”

“But he…” Jing Tao bit her lip, realizing the power difference between them. After a moment of hesitation, she let it go.

At this moment, Shi Fang spoke up, “They don’t seem to be from the Medical Hall.”

Yu Ying exclaimed, “What about Wei Sheng?”

Shi Fang’s expression was grim, “Only Wei Sheng is from the Medical Hall, but he doesn’t seem to be with them.”

They waited for a while, then quietly returned to the place where they had fled earlier. Apart from the blood and the corpses of the demonic beasts, they found Wei Sheng’s body.

Wei Sheng had been eaten by the beasts, leaving only half his body and his head. His face was frozen in a grotesque expression, his eyes bulging as if he had suffered unimaginable pain in his final moments.

As for the other two, they were nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, in the Immortal Valley of Echeng County, which had been quiet, things were suddenly growing lively for some reason. Lamps were being lit one by one, and the sounds of footsteps and chatter grew louder, echoing in the night.

Soon, the entire valley was brightly illuminated.

In a luxurious hall, a dozen people who had just been startled awake stood around in small groups.

Some were disheveled, others hadn’t even had time to fix their hair. Despite their messy appearances, they all wore serious expressions, their brows furrowed as if something terrible had just happened.

Ming Deyi, the leader of the Medical Hall, lived in a remote area and was the last to arrive at the hall.

As soon as he entered, he heard the murmuring voices of those present.

“What’s going on? It seems like something happened in Jiu Yao County.”

“Could it be that someone has reached the Great Ascension stage?”

Author’s Note:

Let me explain: because of his unique physique, the protagonist differs from regular cultivators. If the ritual had succeeded, those with golden fingers would have been subservient to him. However, the ritual failed, so the protagonist became the only bug in the cultivation world (my personal addition).