The intelligence came from an outer disciple who had returned from visiting relatives in the mortal world, mentioning that in a remote village called 'Kaoshan Tun,' about eight hundred li southwest, several villagers had inexplicably disappeared in the past two months. Initially it was hunters who went out alone at night, then even strong men working in the fields in broad daylight vanished without a trace. The authorities sent people to investigate but found nothing, simply attributing it to mountain spirits or beast attacks and perfunctorily closed the case. But this outer disciple was meticulous; outside the village in some grass, he vaguely sensed athat made him very uncomfortable cold aura. Thinking of the sect's recent vigilance toward demonic cultivator activities, he reported the matter.
This clue seemed trivial, seemingly far from the Shadow Snake Pavilion's 'Ten Thousand Souls into the Void' world-shaking conspiracy. But during this sensitive period, any anomaly related to 'disappearances' and 'cold aura' couldn't be overlooked. The task again fell on Tang Xiaoqi's squad.
It was still Liu Yun and Mu Qingfeng leading, with Chen Feng and Lin Wan accompanying, plus Xiaoqi. The five rode a sect-allocated transport artifact—a 'Green Leaf Boat' that wasn't fast but stable and could fly low—sweeping toward the southwest at great speed.
The further southwest they went, the more rugged the terrain and the scarcer the human settlements. Below was a continuous expanse of mountains and bottomless valleys, rich primordial atmosphere rushing toward them. After flying most of the day, following map guidance, the Green Leaf Boat slowly descended beside an overgrown mountain path.
'The mountain road ahead is narrow and not suitable for artifacts. We must walk into the village.' Liu Yunput away the Green Leaf Boat, gazing toward several wisps of cooking smoke vaguely visible in the mountain cove ahead.
Everyone restrained their auras, moving along the winding, bumpy mountain road. The air was filled with soil and vegetation scents, but Xiaoqi acutely sensed within this natural fragrance a faint, unsettling, obscure sensation mixed in. The jade pendant on his chest gave an extremely faint cool sensation. If not for his constant alert perception, he would have almost overlooked it.
'There's residual demonic qi, very faint, mostly scattered by the mountain wind.' Xiaoqi warned in a low voice.
Liu Yun and Mu Qingfeng exchanged glances and nodded, their expressions even more vigilant.
After about half an hour's walk, a seemingly quite dilapidated village appeared. Several dozen houses of rammed earth or wood-stone structure werescattered in the mountain cove's gentle area, most looking worn. At the village entrance, a crooked wooden sign weathered by countless storms stood, carved with three characters: 'Kaoshan Tun.' Approaching evening, the usual time for cooking smoke and children's laughter, the village was unusually quiet. Only several sporadic dog barks, sounding lifeless.
Seeing strangers entering the village, some villagers peeked from door cracks and windows, their eyes filled with vigilance, fear, and also a trace of numbness.
An elderly man with white beard and hair, leaning on a cane, was accompanied by several anxious-looking middle-aged men, trembling as he approached. He was the village chief.
'Gentlemen... are you officials from the government?' The village chief's voice was hoarse, carrying hope.
Mu Qingfeng stepped forward, his tone warm but carrying a naturally persuasive bearing: 'Old sir, we are not officials. We are cultivators from Qingxu Temple. We heard your village has had trouble lately and came to investigate.'
'Qingxu Temple? Are these... those immortals who can fly andearth escape?' The village chief's dull eyes suddenly blazed with light. The villagers behind him stirred,,knelt and kowtowed continuously.
'Immortals, save us!'
'Please, immortals, save Kaoshan Tun!'
Crying and pleading sounds instantly rose in a cacophony.
Liu Yun's brow furrowed, disliking such scenes, but she still spokesaid in a low voice: 'All rise. Tell us carefully, what exactly happened?'
In the village chief and villagers' fragmented, fearful narration, the outline of events gradually became clear. The disappearances began over two months ago. First was the village's best hunter, Wang Lao Wu, who went out at night to check traps and never returned. People searched for three days, only finding one of his straw sandals left behind. Then it was Zhang Widow's eldest son, who vanished while cutting wood behind the village. Then Li the blacksmith... In just two months, seven people vanished! All were strong laborers, alive not seen, dead not found.
The authorities sent two groups of people, searched the mountains, and invited monks and Taoist priests from a nearby small temple to perform rituals, but to no avail. Then, ten-something days ago, two more people vanished during daytime. Now, villagers were panic-stricken. Young men didn't dare go out alone, women and children tightly closed doors before dark. The entire village was shrouded in a shadow of death.
'Immortals, it's not a mountain goblin, nor a tiger (tiger)!' A pale-faced woman wailed. 'The day my man disappeared, I seemed to see... behind the mountain, a black shadow flashed by, fast like a ghost!'
'Right, I've also smelled it. Behind the mountain, sometimes at night astrange smell drifts over, fishy and foul, smelling it makes one's head swim!' Another man added.
The back mountain!
The squad members immediately caught the key point. Xiaoqi especially sensed that when villagers mentioned the back mountain and shadows, the cool sensation from his jade pendant seemed clearer.
'Take us to the back mountain.' Liu Yundecisivelyordered.
The village chief and several brave villagers hastily led the way. Behind the village was an even denser, gloomy old forest. Trees were tall, branches and leaves blocking the sky. Even in daytime, the forest interior appeared dimly lit, the atmosphere oppressive.
Just entering the forest's edge, Xiaoqi stopped, kneeling down to carefully examine the ground. On some slightly damp moss, he found traces almost impossible to distinguish—slightly darker marks that didn't look like animal tracks, but rather like some viscous liquid dried after leaving marks. He extended his finger, carefully approaching the marks, his fingertipspiritual power slightly touching.
An extremely faint,carrying corrosiveness and chaotic spiritualof intent cold aura tried todrilled into along his fingertip.
'It's demonic qi residue!' Xiaoqi immediately activated the faint purification power in his body to dispel that cold aura. He stood up, his expression grave as he said to Liu Yun and Mu Qingfeng: 'Very faint, but very pure. Different from the mixed demonic qi at the black market stronghold.'
Liu Yun knelt to carefully sense. Although she didn't have Xiaoqi's keen perception, her Foundation Establishment cultivation also allowed her to detect the anomaly. 'The aura is fresh, no more than three days. It seems that 'thing' was still active here recently.'
Mu Qingfeng's sharp gaze swept thedeep and dark forest floor: 'Being able to kidnap strong men in a short time without leaving traces—definitely not an ordinary spirit. This demonic qi... is no doubt connected to the Shadow Snake Pavilion. Are they starting toattack against these remote villages for living souls?'
This speculation made everyone's hearts sink. If the Shadow Snake Pavilion truly had begun large-scale attacks on mortals, to use them for that evil ritual, their madness and cruelty were simply shocking.
'Chen Feng, Lin Wan, escort the villagers back to the village and strengthen vigilance. Set up simple early warning formations around the village.' Liu Yun quickly assigned tasks. 'Mu Qingfeng Senior Brother, Xiaoqi, the three of us will follow this faint demonic qi trail into the depths of the forest. Be extremely careful—the opponent may be lurking in the dark.'
The setting sun's glow filtered through the dense forest's gaps, castingdappled and eerie light. The three formed a triangle formation, carefully walking toward the unknown darkness depths of Kaoshan Tun's back mountain. The faint demonic qi in the air was like an invisible poison snake, guiding them toward truth and unknown danger.