After dealing with the corpse of the white-feathered eagle, Li Tan continued forward. The young eagle was initially restless, but soon curled up inside his clothes and fell fast asleep. Before long, Li Tan detected a strange odor. He sniffed hard and realized it was blood.
His spiritual consciousness surged outward, swiftly scanning the surrounding hiding spots. After confirming there were no lurking beasts, Li Tan resumed walking, following the source of the blood smell. The further he went, the stronger the scent became, and soon he could distinguish it as distinctly human blood.
Undoubtedly, human cultivators must have clashed with the guardian beast of the spirit plant, only to be defeated and slaughtered.
Li Tan’s primary reason for rushing over was for the Spirit Plant; rescuing people was of little concern to him. In the Fallen Immortal Domain, far too many had perished for anyone to even attempt saving them all.
The nearby bushes and thorns had already been cleared by earlier travelers, allowing Li Tan to walk unimpeded. Soon, the stench of blood became so intense it turned his stomach.
A squishing sensation underfoot felt unpleasant, as if stepping on something soft and oozing. Looking down, Li Tan saw a wrinkled red chunk of flesh still bleeding, vaguely revealing short, bloody stumps.
It was a human finger.
Li Tan realized.
He lifted his gaze. Fresh, not yet dried blood splattered everywhere. Severed hands, legs, entrails, or heads staring blankly at the sky. The cool forest was shrouded in a faint red mist, and even the air seemed slightly distorted. A large swarm of hungry mosquitoes and flies circled overhead.
It appeared to be a group of mercenaries.
Li Tan noticed the standardized armor, helmets, and weapons left on the remains.
He silently walked forward, his expression unchanged, as if strolling casually in his backyard.
Suddenly, he stopped, his lips slightly parted in shock, his eyes fixed on the bloodied human head at his feet.
These were Zhou Tong’s mercenaries, the ones who had met misfortune.
Li Tan frowned, scanning the area with his eyes and spiritual consciousness, before relaxing slightly.
There was no corpse of Ming Ren; he had escaped.
Perhaps because Ming Ren’s personality resembled an old acquaintance, Li Tan intended to lend a hand, of course, only after finding out where he was.
Arriving at the edge of the slaughter scene, Li Tan started circling around. After walking a semicircle, he halted, tilting his head. Not far away, blood exposed by tree roots glimmered under the dappled light. Looking further ahead, bloodstains were visible even from a distance.
“It must be this way. I should hurry. With Ming Ren’s physique, he won’t last long with this amount of blood loss.”
Muttering to himself, Li Tan quickened his pace, moving like a white spirit through the dappled shadows following the blood trail. However, the bloodstains grew increasingly spaced apart until they abruptly vanished.
“Did you bandage your wound?
Was this act helping or harming yourself?”
Li Tan sighed helplessly, slowing his pace and continuing the search by instinct. If he couldn’t find Ming Ren after further effort, he would decisively give up and return to seize the spirit plant. After all, having only met once, going this far was already showing utmost kindness.
In the Fallen Immortal Realm, towering ancient trees and colossal stone pillars stood erect, their dense foliage blotting out the sky and completely sealing off the outside world. Without any light source, it was nearly impossible to discern the path ahead, much less evade the venomous insects and savage beasts lurking in the shadows. Yet, lighting a torch would be an even greater folly—akin to strapping on a megaphone and shouting, “I’m right here! Come and get me!” Thus, as Ming Ren and Zhou Tong fled from the pursuing beasts, they were essentially groping their way through utter darkness, having long lost all sense of direction. To call it an escape would be generous; in truth, they were stumbling blindly like headless flies.
Ming Ren supported the tall Zhou Tong with his right hand and leaned on a wooden stick with his left, struggling forward.
Ming Ren was well-protected, without a single wound, whereas Zhou Tong was covered in blood, one hand missing, and his foot wrapped in white gauze torn from Ming Ren’s clothes, now stained red, limping painfully.
Exhausted, Ming Ren wanted to lie down and sleep for seven days and nights but stubbornly kept himself upright. His frail body now bore the heavy burden of two lives—or rather, strictly speaking, three.
“Please abandon me, young master. Run south; if you’re lucky, you might encounter other mercenaries—cough, cough, cough,” Zhou Tong muttered weakly, his head drooping resignedly.
“Uncle Zhou, don’t say such things. Without you, how could I possibly escape?
We’re deep in the trapping zone,” Ming Ren clenched his teeth tightly, desperately trying to lift his body upward, as if attempting to break through the clouds and open the sky, yet unable to escape this tiny darkness.
Zhou Tong’s gaze shifted leftward, noticing the faint crimson stains on Ming Ren’s pale hand gripping the stick.
“It’s all my fault. Had I not been greedy, how could we have ended up like this, costing my brothers’ lives and dragging you down, young master,” Zhou Tong grew increasingly regretful, his tears falling heavily.
Ming Ren halted his nearly exhausted body, looking at Zhou Tong with concern: “Uncle Zhou, you mustn’t blame yourself. Anyone else in your position would have made the same decision.”
As Zhou Tong was about to speak, his foot gave way, his body collapsing downward with the armor scraping noisily, pulling Ming Ren down with him.
Zhou Tong coughed violently, pushing Ming Ren away who was rushing to help, and struggled to lean against a nearby tree trunk, panting heavily before speaking: “Young master, if you keep dragging me along, neither of us will survive. Alone, you still have a chance.”
Ming Ren’s gaze was resolute: “We leave together. If I abandon you today, even if I escape this place, how could I ever face the world claiming to be a gentleman?”
“Foolish!”
Zhou Tong angrily raised his voice slightly, but the small effort caused his body to convulse painfully again, triggering another coughing fit.
“Uncle Zhou, please don’t speak. I’ve studied medicine; I’ll go collect some herbs nearby to bandage you.”
Panicked, Ming Ren hastily stood up to move away, but Zhou Tong grabbed his sleeve.
Zhou Tong spoke earnestly: “Young master, please don’t be stubborn. Why risk your life for an old half-dead man like me?”
Ming Ren remained silent briefly, then smiled bitterly: “Separated from you, I probably won’t walk a few steps before becoming beast food. Where’s the hope in that?”
Zhou Tong gently shook his head: “Today is different. All the nearby beasts have been driven away by that monster. Just keep running south, and if you don’t encounter any…” Zhou Tong’s words abruptly ceased, his eyes wide open, his body trembling slightly, unable to conceal his fear.
Seeing this, Ming Ren’s entire body stiffened, slowly turning his head.
Standing silently behind them was a monster, five men tall and ten men long, with fur like steel, teeth like blades, and claws like knives. Fresh blood dripped silently from its tightly closed mouth, splattering down.
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