A Man in Black slowly descended from the back of a Vulture.
His face was hidden in shadow, his features indistinct, but the chilling aura he exuded made one’s blood run cold.
The Man in Black’s footsteps were light and silent; with every step, the air seemed to carry a faint chill.
The Man in Black arrived before the Thatched Hut. The children inside held their breath, their hearts filled with terror and confusion.
Li Jun hid in the corner, staring intently at this uninvited guest.
“Hmph!” The Man in Black snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over every child in the hut.
He said nothing more, merely reaching into his robes to pull out several bundles of rope, and began chanting an Incantation under his breath.
“Go!” With his low shout, the ropes suddenly came alive, swiftly darting toward the children.
The ropes moved like snakes, incredibly fast, instantly gripping each child tightly.
Li Jun leaped up violently, trying to dodge, but the ropes were faster than his movements. In a short while, he too was securely bound.
“Ah! Let me go!” Sun Xiuer shrieked, struggling desperately, but the ropes acted as if they had a life of their own, continuously tightening until her legs and hands were bound fast.
The ropes bound their bodies like Spirit Snakes, restraining all attempts at resistance.
In an instant, the only sounds left in the Thatched Hut were heavy breathing and the "hissing" sound of the bindings. All the children were tightly bound together, unable to move.
A cold smile appeared on the Man in Black’s face.
He waved his hand and turned, leaving the Thatched Hut.
The giant Vulture’s talons descended from the sky, snatching up the entire Thatched Hut.
Thatch rained down, swirling in the air like dead leaves, scattering in the wind.
The Vulture flapped its wings and soared upward, carrying the Cage-like Thatched Hut into the air.
In the night sky, the giant Vulture’s wings resembled a massive black curtain, emitting a loud "whoosh." Li Jun and the other children were suspended in the air, their bodies swaying constantly with the Cage. Below them rushed the landscape of mountains and rivers, and behind them was endless darkness.
“Where are they taking us?” Li Jun’s heart was filled with dread. He forced back his tears, trying hard to remain calm, but the feeling of helplessness surged within him like a tide.
He understood; this Man in Black and the giant beast were not Immortals, but Demons.
The children in the Cage were bound tightly, resembling small worms.
Their faces were covered in grime and dirt, their fearful eyes fixed on the outside world—a world being torn apart by howling winds and monstrous shadows.
Every flap of the Vulture’s wings stirred up a gust of wind carrying a stench of decay.
The wind was laced with a certain type of Incantation power, slicing the skin and penetrating the Bone Marrow, as if trying to tear the Soul from the body.
Li Jun strained his eyes open; frost had formed on his eyelashes.
He saw one child tossed over by the wind’s turbulence, rolling inside the Cage. The child’s lip was scraped raw by the iron bars but could not make a sound.
Crying, screaming—these had been worn away during the first day and night. Now, in the raging wind, they were simply struggling to breathe.
As dawn faintly broke, the second night had passed. Li Jun and the others had all lost consciousness and were in a stupor.
The Vulture folded its wings and landed within a stone formation, then vanished from the spot with a whoosh.
Afterward, it flapped its wings and flew again, flying for an unknown duration, heading toward an unknown destination.
The sky was clear. Sun Xiuer woke up first and kicked Li Jun awake. Everyone was still in the Cage, and the Vulture was still flying, though its speed had gradually slowed.
Li Jun looked out. In the distance, the Mountain Shadow was rugged like the spine of a giant beast, and the terrain was steep and treacherous. Within the Mountain Shadow, there was a Mountain Valley.
A thick fog suddenly emerged in the Mountain Valley, and faint whispers could be heard within the mist, like someone reciting an Incantation.
“Ah, what is that?” someone cried out in terror.
Li Jun saw a Dark Shadow flicker within the mist—it was clearly a giant humanoid figure with horns growing from its back, flashing past the mountain wall!
“I saw it… something is watching us,” another voice trembled.
“Shut up!” a large boy next to him hissed angrily. “Don’t make a sound, in case it really comes.”
Before the words had even settled, the Vulture let out a screech and swiftly landed on the flat ground in the center of the Mountain Valley.
“Boom—”
Dust flew up, and pebbles shot out like arrows.
The children were jolted, losing their balance in the Cage; several bumped into each other, letting out muffled thuds.
The scene before them suddenly became clear.
The Mountain Valley was surrounded by high walls, sealed on all four sides, with only one narrow gorge leading to the unknown.
In the center of the valley stood a Demon Banner as black as ink, its surface woven from Human Skin, stained with blood, upon which ghostly shadows seemed to wander.
Wisps of black Baleful Qi drifted out from the banner, as if searching for prey.
An Old Man in Hemp Clothes wearing a mask stood beneath the banner, motionless as stone, until he finally made a sound.
“You have arrived, Martial Uncle Kang.”
The voice was not loud, but it cut through the air like a knife through ice water, chilling the bones.
The air suddenly became extremely quiet; even the Vulture stopped roaring, lowering its head, afraid to move.
The Man in Black jumped down from the Vulture, bowed with clasped hands, and said in a low voice, “Your junior nephew pays his respects to Martial Uncle Zhang.”
“Did you bring the things?”
“They are all in the Cage, not one missing,” the Man in Black replied quietly.
Martial Uncle Zhang nodded slowly. “Very good.”
He turned, his gaze falling upon those timid eyes in the Cage.
“Good stock,” the old man nodded slightly, his face showing little expression.
Afterward, the Man in Black began to unlock the Cage attached to the talons. Struggling figures twisted inside as they were thrown out one by one—these were Li Jun and the others.
Their eyes were filled with fear and unwillingness, but no one dared to make a sound, nor did they wish to draw attention.
Every time the Man in Black waved his hand, Li Jun and the others were tossed out of the Cage by a Formless Force, as if they were insignificant objects.
His expression was cold, devoid of any pity.
The Man in Black leaned down and whispered something into the Old Man in Hemp Clothes’ ear. The Old Man in Hemp Clothes nodded in response.
The Man in Black mounted the Vulture and gradually ascended, until he disappeared at the edge of the sky.
The Old Man in Hemp Clothes stood in place, watching the Man in Black ride the Vulture away into the horizon. After pondering with his eyes closed for a moment, he turned and walked toward Li Jun and the others.
He slowly raised his hand and pointed toward the sky.
“Crack—”
The surrounding trees suddenly collapsed on their own accord. Lines of dark red Formation Patterns emerged from beneath the ground, sealing off the entire Mountain Valley, before the dark red color turned transparent.
The bleak wind was like a blade, stirring the overgrown weeds.
On the ground, more than ten raggedly dressed children were bound tightly, their eyes filled with terror.
In the Mountain Valley, a Stone Platform shaped like an Altar burned with Deep Blue flames, casting the darkness in a dreamlike, illusory light.
Beside the Stone Platform stood a mottled Wooden Stake, stained with blood, surrounded by scattered patches of dried skin and bone fragments.
Li Jun’s little companions were certainly not the first victims.
The Old Man in Hemp Clothes slowly stepped out of the Dark Shadow, his eyes like dry wells, completely placid.
He slowly drew a brown Short Blade from his waist. The blade glowed red, and the snake pattern on the hilt seemed to writhe in the Deep Blue fire, faintly emitting a low murmur.
He grabbed Huang Zhongxin, who was closest to him, as if lifting a dead chicken, and lifted him up.
Huang Zhongxin trembled all over, already emaciated from hunger, covered in sweat, and further restrained by an invisible force, unable to struggle.
“Mmm—Aaaah—” Huang Zhongxin’s legs shook, but he was fixed as if nailed into the Void, unable to move an inch. He was too terrified to speak.
The Old Man in Hemp Clothes gently raised his hand and pointed a finger. The Void seemed to ripple, and Huang Zhongxin was lifted by a strange force, slammed heavily onto that solitary Wooden Stake!
“Mmm!! Mmm-wooo-wooo!!” His mouth was then stuffed tightly with a block of wood, leaving him only able to emit muffled, miserable groans.
The Old Man in Hemp Clothes slowly took out a black Jade Bottle from his sleeve. The bottle was bone-chillingly cold, black as ink, as if sealing the spirits of the damned from hell.
He uncorked the bottle, and a pungent odor mixing rotten corpses and medicinal stones burst out. Upon smelling it, everyone immediately began to vomit uncontrollably.
“Wake up,” the Old Man in Hemp Clothes murmured softly.
From the Jade Bottle, several small black scorpions, about the size of a palm, crawled out. They were covered in black armor, their stingers glowing with a faint cyan light. As soon as they emerged, they circled and jumped around the bottle opening.
“Go.”
He blew gently, and the scorpions, as if receiving a command, shot out with a whoosh, carving strange arcs in the air, and flew straight toward Huang Zhongxin.
Huang Zhongxin watched them approach, twisting his body desperately, but could only watch helplessly as the first scorpion climbed onto his chest, crawled along his collarbone toward his ear, and then suddenly drilled into his ear canal!
“Woooo-wooo-wooo-wooo!!!”
His eyeballs bulged, veins popped on his neck, and he let out heart-wrenching wails, but no one could help him. The ropes held everyone fast, and they could only watch as he was gnawed and corroded alive by those scorpions.
The second scorpion burrowed into his nostril, making an almost inaudible clicking sound as it crawled, while Huang Zhongxin’s body began to convulse violently.
Tears mixed with blood streamed from his eyes, yet he could only watch everything unfold inside him.
The Old Man in Hemp Clothes licked his lips, his expression growing more excited.
“Tsk… The scent of flesh and blood is good. This liver and gallbladder should be enough to nurture a ‘Blood Shadow Scorpion Mother.’”
He raised the Short Blade in his hand and skillfully sliced a piece of flesh from Huang Zhongxin’s chest, as if carving wood—however, horrifyingly, the wound did not bleed.
Then the second cut, the third cut...
Huang Zhongxin convulsed, spitting out a mixture of saliva and blood, his face contorted, his eyes filled with a desperate desire to live, but they gradually dimmed.
“All of you, watch closely,” the Old Man in Hemp Clothes said softly, his voice like an iron spike piercing everyone’s heart. “Appreciate the art of death.”
Everyone’s eyes were wide open, their faces pale; some were so frightened they wet themselves.