The Land of the Fallen Immortals at night has always been a forbidden zone for humans, where all kinds of ferocious beasts are extremely active. Under the cover of darkness, they can unleash abilities several times stronger than during the day.
However, the entire team from Tianlang Sect, except for Li Tan, remained surprisingly unalert. After all, during the day, most nearby fierce beasts had already been nearly wiped out, and due to territorial instincts, it was generally believed that no new beasts would enter from outside.
The task for today’s cultivation practice was also completed, and as usual, Li Tan was assigned to record the details. Throughout this, Sima Luo stood nearby with wide eyes, desperately trying to find any evidence of deception. However, Li Tan’s skills left him speechless.
At seventeen or eighteen years old, one shouldn’t have such extensive experience. So where did all this knowledge about the Fallen Immortal Realm come from? Could it really all be from books?
Is there really such an incredible book?
Sima Luo gradually realized that Li Tan was far more complicated than he initially thought. Zhang Zhihui must have had his reasons to grant him the position of guest elder despite the opposition from various elders.
Additionally, there was the news about curing the Grand Elder’s madness. Previously, overshadowed by the guest elder appointment, it hadn’t drawn much attention. Now that he had calmed down and thought about it again, it was truly astonishing.
Everyone knew that even a third-star alchemist from the Daxia Imperial Capital had been unable to cure the Grand Elder’s madness, only managing to delay it. Yet, within just a few days, Li Tan claimed to have cured it.
Who exactly was this person?
The more Sima Luo thought, the more convinced he became that Li Tan was no ordinary individual. His image in Sima Luo’s mind grew increasingly blurred and unfathomable.
“What are you daydreaming about, Senior?”
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the disciples who had been waiting in line had already dispersed.
“Nothing,” Sima Luo replied, taking the notebook from Li Tan and flipping through it casually before closing it. “That’s all for today. Tomorrow is the last day of our practice. Rest well.”
Li Tan hesitated for a moment before saying, “Senior, I feel somewhat uneasy.”
“Uneasy about what?”
“I’m worried about everyone’s safety tonight. We’ve only assigned two disciples to keep watch.”
“Just rest well. Don’t be so suspicious. Didn’t Li Zhang inspect the area many times this afternoon? If there were any third-stage fierce beasts, they would have shown themselves already. Those stupid creatures wouldn’t deliberately wait until nighttime.”
“That may be true, but I still feel uneasy, Senior. Do you remember the map markings? Several nearby locations were marked with sightings of third-stage fierce beasts, so why is this place the only exception?”
“Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. We can’t possibly understand how fierce beasts think. Alright, go rest.”
Li Tan remained silent for a while, realizing there was little else he could say, and then returned to his tent.
“I’ve already scanned the entire valley with my spiritual sense, almost digging through the earth. Why am I so concerned? Am I just too sensitive?”
Shaking his head to dispel the distracting thoughts, Li Tan entered a meditative state.
The night was quiet, and the two unfortunate disciples assigned to night watch were already dozing off, having completely forgotten their duties.
Suddenly, a faint strange sound caught the attention of one of the guards, who glanced around sleepily.
“What’s wrong?”
The other guard asked.
“Oh, nothing. I must have misheard.”
Believing it was just a hallucination, he quickly succumbed to sleep again.
The two disciples sat back to back, shivering in the cold night wind.
Just as they were about to fall asleep, a cold, sticky liquid dripped onto one of their necks, not ordinary water.
Saliva?
Feeling a wave of nausea, half his sleepiness vanished. He nudged his companion with his hand back.
“Hey, are you asleep?”
Receiving no response, the pressure on his back slightly increased.
Looks like he really fell asleep.
After a moment’s thought, he decided not to bother and closed his eyes to embrace the dream world again.
However, the liquid on his neck kept flowing, soaking into his clothes. He could smell a faint unpleasant odor.
Unable to endure it any longer, he angrily stood up and turned around, ready to scold his companion for playing tricks on him.
As he stood up, his companion slumped to the ground face-first into the dirt, showing no signs of waking up.
He kicked with his foot. “Hey, wake up! Stop pretending to sleep. I know it’s you!”
But his companion remained motionless, something was clearly wrong. He took a nervous step forward.
Plop.
His foot stepped into a puddle of filth.
It hadn’t rained, so where did this water come from?
His heart began to race slightly, panic creeping in as he shouted, “Stop playing around! Wake up now!”
Still no response. He had no choice but to squat down, pulling his companion’s sleeve to turn him over. At that moment, the moon, which had been hiding behind the clouds, emerged, casting silver-white light.
When he saw his companion’s face clearly, his expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with terror. His legs gave way, and his bottom made intimate contact with the ground.
At that moment, something icy cold pressed against his neck, like ancient ice, freezing his body and consciousness. A sharp pain followed.
Later that night, Li Tan abruptly stopped meditating. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t calm down, as if something extremely important awaited him, yet he couldn’t remember exactly what it was, causing him unbearable anxiety.
Lifting the tent flap, Li Tan stepped outside. The cool breeze slightly calmed his confused mind.
Looking around, all the tents were immersed in darkness, occasionally revealed under the moonlight.
The inner sect disciples were all asleep, and even the two night guards appeared to be asleep.
“If fierce beasts really attacked now, we’d probably all be dead.”
Sighing, Li Tan walked around the camp. Turning a corner, he suddenly heard a raspy voice like a mosquito bite: “Li… Li Tan.” The voice came from the east, from Sima Luo’s tent.
“What’s going on?”
Muttering softly, Li Tan lifted the tent flap and entered. His gaze swept across the scene, and shock surged through him like an electric current.
The bed was soaked in black liquid, and Sima Luo lay collapsed in it, making a final effort to lift his head toward Li Tan’s direction.
“Senior!”
Li Tan cried out in alarm and rushed over.
The black liquid was human blood, and Sima Luo’s chest had a gaping wound, bleeding profusely.
It was already too late to save him. He was barely keeping his heart beating with his last reserves of qi.
Li Tan’s heart sank, but he remained calm as he asked, “Senior, what exactly happened?”
“You… you were right to be… worried…” Sima Luo exhaled his last breath.
Li Tan straightened his body, gently closing his eyes with a hand over his forehead, finally shutting the eyes that remained open in unwillingness.
“Sima Luo was a peak innate expert. How could he be killed without even a chance to cry out? To achieve this, the assassin must possess a cultivation level surpassing that of a grandmaster. No, it wasn’t a human. The wound must have been inflicted by a savage beast. But this afternoon, I had already scoured the entire valley thoroughly.”
With a grave expression, Li Tan stepped out of Sima Luo’s tent and shouted, “Fierce beasts are attacking at night! Everyone, wake up!”
However,
Not a single person responded to him.
The twenty-odd tents stood like twenty graves, silently exuding a chilling aura of death.
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