11. Hunger
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In the mist-shrouded pool of Nanwu Mountain, the deep waters stirred with rolling waves, exuding a pressure befitting nascent soul-stage cultivators. Ferocious spirits of the nascent soul realm from Nanwu Mountain lurked above the mist pool. Their relentless clashes left them bearing various scars, making it exceedingly difficult for any cultivator venturing into this place.
The faces of the Su family members were grim. Several ferocious spirits wearing the Su family’s emblematic attire were visible in the distance. At a glance, it was clear these were the elders who had entered Nanwu Mountain half a month ago and had since gone missing. Now, their faces were ashen and gray, their postures grotesque, their minds lost—they had become exiled ferocious wild ghosts.
“Young master...” one Su family cultivator said.
Su Yi gripped a spiritual artifact tightly, doing his best to conceal their presence. "They can’t be saved."
At this stage, their souls were basically dispersed—they were dead.
After careful observation, the mist pool was undoubtedly the critical point along the entire mist river of Nanwu Mountain. The cultivators from half a month ago must have reached the most crucial spot, where they were ambushed by the local ferocious spirits, losing their consciousness and turning into such spirits themselves. This place was very likely not the resting ground of a great cultivator’s ascension as expected. Surrounded by so many ferocious spirits, the bottom of the mist pool undoubtedly concealed something far more significant.
Su Yi’s expression remained unchanging, his eyes burning with determination as he calmly watched the martial contest unfolding in the distance.
The astrological divinations of the Cangxue Sect’s astrologer regarding the anomalies of Nanwu Mountain might not refer to a place of ascension, but to something far more extraordinary.
“Fortunately, Brother Su reacted quickly, letting us use the mist river to mask our presence,” a cultivator from the Lihuo Sect said with a respectful bow. “Those ferocious spirits fighting right now will surely exhaust themselves. When that happens, we can seize the opportunity.”
“Wait for them to finish fighting.”
“If they continue like this, they will be utterly drained. Then we can enter the pool to investigate.”
“What could be here that makes these ferocious spirits fight so fiercely?”
At that moment, a splash echoed from above the mist pool, seemingly awakening the ferocious spirits lingering above. The cultivators immediately grew alert.
Noticing the ferocious spirits’ movements, one cultivator said, “Brother Su, something seems to have fallen.”
An object tumbled down from upstream in the mist river, landing right on the shore where the cultivators hid. They had been relying on the rushing waterfall’s noise to conceal themselves. But with the object’s fall came a nauseating stench mixed with the aura of blood—an overwhelmingly strong scent of blood. Approaching cautiously, they saw a horrifying living corpse.
The cultivators of the Lihuo Sect staggered back several steps, hastily covering their faces. “What is that? The blood aura is so strong.”
“That should be a crafted living corpse...” Su Yi stepped closer, pushing the corpse aside with a look of surprise. Though the corpse appeared desiccated, as if dead for a long time, its blood was fresh and vividly red.
Something was wrong—the blood was unnatural...
Suddenly, he shouted, “Everyone, stay away from that thing!”
The cultivators quickly retreated. At the same time, a series of guttural roars rose from afar. The Su family cultivators glanced sideways and saw the ferocious spirits who had been fighting over the mist pool now turning their gaze sharply toward them. One lunged wildly, charging straight at their position.
Su Yi glanced sideways toward the distance, then looked upward. Something was there... He hurriedly peered through the thinning mist and seemed to see a blood-red figure standing on the bank above the deep pool. Just as he tried to identify the figure, other cultivators’ urgent voices rang in his ears.
“They’ve discovered us!”
“What’s going on!?”
“We were hiding well, weren’t we?!”
Su Yi quickly turned his head. As the ferocious spirits noticed the living corpse, the surrounding yin energy surged violently as if awakened by their will. The intensifying yin energy swept through, causing the weaker cultivators nearby to bleed from their orifices.
“Retreat! Quickly!” someone shouted.
After the living corpse fell, the ferocious spirits above the deep pool swarmed violently.
The cultivators’ already dire situation worsened. Their spiritual artifacts and treasured armaments began to crack under strain. Many cultivators, unable to maintain their spiritual power, retreated further.
Without hesitation, Su Yi swept the living corpse into the deep pool and pulled the cultivators back by several steps. Once the corpse hit the water, the ferocious spirits all charged after it—the scene was terrifying, like starving wolves pouncing on prey.
What exactly was that living corpse!?
“First, a large group of nascent soul ferocious spirits, and now this strange living corpse.”
“Didn’t you from the Lihuo Sect say this was a place of ascension?”
“But with such a bizarre mist formation guarding it, what on earth is hidden here...”
Since the spiritual veins’ decline a thousand years ago in the Eastern Huan cultivation world, secret realms and cave dwellings had become essential paths for advancement. The Four Sects and Eight Great Clans of Yishan had gathered scattered minor secret realms under their command, using the residual spiritual energy and veins left by great predecessors to guide current cultivators and sustain the spirit energy-starved cultivation world.
A minor secret realm like Nanwu Mountain, as confirmed by the Lihuo Sect’s intelligence, should have been the resting place of a cultivator whose power was not too high, with several nascent soul elders from the Su family guarding its perimeter. It shouldn’t be overly dangerous.
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