After passing through the Illusion Array, the luxurious carriage adorned with black dragon carvings advanced another hundred meters along the path before coming to a halt.
He stepped off the carriage at a leisurely pace, his brows gradually furrowing as he surveyed the eerie surroundings.
Looking down from the sky, the enormous Black Abyss appeared to be a gigantic beast’s mouth, devouring all light around it. The ancient trees within a hundred paces of it were all gray and white, their twisted branches devoid of leaves, emitting intermittent ghostly Qi.
His will-spirit reached out to explore, and Xu Yuan could clearly sense some unknown mutation had occurred in the surrounding Origin Qi.
The books he had read stated that if one were to regularly absorb such mutated Origin Qi, their body would gradually undergo ghoul transformation.
Xu Yuan was pondering this when,
A roar, like the cry of a Demonic Beast, thundered from the sky and was deafening.
After the sound, the eerie forest, already devoid of fallen leaves, was shrouded in layers of shadows.
Looking up at the sky through the twisted branches of the surrounding trees, one could see dozens of giant birds with wingspans surpassing dozens of yards swooping low over the forest.
The wingspan of each bird was greater than that of Xu Changge’s massive Xuan Eagle mount.
At this moment, each of the giant birds carried a huge sack in their sharp talons.
The sacks were large, even bigger than the Demonic Beasts themselves, heavy, with some having blood seeping through them.
Xu Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly as he murmured softly,
"Don’t look any longer, boy, those sacks are filled with corpses," said the voice of the Saint’s Remnant Soul, light and carefree, ringing from the bottom of his heart.
On hearing this, Xu Yuan’s pupils shrank sharply.
The words of the Saint’s Remnant Soul turned into reality.
The great birds, under the control of the cultivators behind them, methodically dropped the sacks from their talons down towards the vast abyss.
The sacks, passing over the Formation above the abyss, were immediately incinerated, revealing the countless corpses within. But these corpses only appeared for an instant before being devoured completely by the ink-like ghost fog beneath them.
After consuming countless corpses, the black, eerie fog suddenly surged, colliding continuously with the huge Formation inverted above the abyss, the sound of sizzling burning echoing through the desolate and silent forest around!
Xu Yuan’s mind was filled with various books related to the ghost fog.
Corpses breed yin; given enough time, a strange fog is born. Sunlight cannot penetrate, nor can one see their own hands. Inside, cries and howls of ghosts echo; mortals who enter never return, while cultivators of shallow practice find it difficult to come back.
His old man is feeding the abyss with corpses!
"Heh..." A light chuckle came from the Saint’s Remnant Soul within, serving as a reminder, "Young Xu, someone is coming."
A withered old man with a cadaverous visage, as gaunt as a living ghoul, suddenly appeared in this weird, withered forest.
Almost at the same time,
A cold gleam flashed through the silent, withered forest.
A Black Sword radiating a chilling, grim aura appeared at the old man’s throat.
Ran Qingmo held the hilt of the sword, her gaze cold as she stared at the old man who had suddenly approached.
Xu Yuan watched the scene before him, his eyes slightly focused.
"He’s a Great Grandmaster, somewhat eerie."
Before Xu Yuan could ask, the elder accompanying him had already provided an answer.
The ugly, withered old man swept his lifeless gaze over Xu Yuan, then glanced at Ran Qingmo with the sword, his lips suddenly spreading into a strange smile.
The old man’s laughter was like the peeling of tree bark, eliciting an inexplicable thought in Xu Yuan of a ’hehe’ cackling sound.
Without changing expression, Xu Yuan lightly bowed towards the old man,
"Old Master... who might you be?"
Despite a blade at his throat, the old man’s voice was devoid of fear, still as coarse and hoarse as the scraping of old tree bark,
"I dare not claim to be a master, I am but a humble servant following the Prime Minister’s orders to guard this ghost fog. The Third Young Master simply calls me old Ghoul."
The withered old man paused, then grinned again,
"Third Young Master... would you kindly ask your lady to withdraw her sword?"
Looking at that eerie smile, Xu Yuan glanced at Ran Qingmo.
Ran Qingmo returned the glance and silently sheathed her sword.
Xu Yuan apologized on behalf of Ran Qingmo and still chose to address the other party as Old Master,
"Old Master, I apologize for the offense just now. Qingmo was only acting for my protection."
Once the blade was withdrawn, the withered old man shook his head and steadied himself to return the gesture,
"Knowing my unsightly appearance, I am the one who has sullied the lady’s sight," he said.
The withered old man slowly turned around and took the lead,
"Please follow me, Third Young Master. The elder son has already instructed me on the specifics. The carriage can be left here; there will be people to take care of it."
The narrow path shaded by gray, twisted ancient trees stretched for about another hundred meters, where Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo quietly followed behind the old man.
Silently they walked on, and all was quiet.
The voice of the Saint’s Remnant Soul rang out within Xu Yuan’s heart,
"This person is indeed loyal to your father, having guarded beside this ghost fog for thirty years. The ghostly Qi has entered his body, half-human, half-ghost, constantly tormented; I’d wager he doesn’t have many years left."
Xu Yuan watched the hunched, withered figure leading the way ahead, remaining silent.
Upon seeing the old man’s appearance, his Will-spirit had already sensed the eerie ambiance emanating from the man.
Some books had recorded such a condition.
His thoughts were somewhat complex.
Walking out of the forest in silence, the dozens of giant birds still methodically fed various corpses into the abyss below, circling the sky.