Standing amidst the ruins at the foot of Red Ridge Mountain, Li Muyang had a grave expression.
Shen Yan had safely arrived at the Tianyuan Continent and met with Liu Li Fairy, which was good news.
When Li Muyang completed the “Demon Mist Imperial Capital,” he had requested Nie Yubing, the last princess of the Tianyuan Dynasty and descendant of the Evil Vein, to look after the possible arrivals from Blood Lotus Sect to the Tianyuan Continent.
Shen Yan and her party crossing the Misty Sea to reach the Tianyuan Continent was an extremely perilous matter.
The Misty Sea was mysterious and strange; only known to Li Muyang included the Dragon God Fairy, the numerous ancient specters led by the Dragon God Fairy, as well as the undying Holy Spirits from the Peaceful Realms.
Even True Man of Green Leaves, hailed as the foremost figure of this era, had long lost contact after entering the Misty Sea.
Whether Shen Yan and her group could successfully cross the Misty Sea, Li Muyang himself was not certain.
Now, seeing the traces left by Shen Yan in the ruins, Li Muyang felt somewhat relieved.
But following that, intense confusion set in.
The Ancient Resentment Well is the stronghold of the Evil Gods; this place is not affected by the Heaven and Earth Seal, and True Immortal Level combat power still exists here.
Those Ancient Evil Gods sealed in this place are all exceedingly strong and terrifying.
Just their avatars projected to the Mortal World were already too much for the people to resist.
If one were to fight the Evil Gods, it could only be done in the Mortal World.
Otherwise, the strongest cultivators from Earthly Cultivators who are only at Heavenly Eternal Realm, if they enter the Ancient Resentment Well and casually encounter any Evil God with True Immortal Level power, would face certain death without a place for burial.
The gap in power is too immense.
Neither Liu Li Fairy nor Shen Yan are fools; they would not be ignorant of the dangers involved.
Why, however, knowing the perils inside the Ancient Resentment Well, would they still choose to venture in?
And to coincidentally come to Red Ridge Mountain…
Li Muyang searched in the mountain, hoping to find more traces of the battlefield.
“Could it be that General Zhong was corrupted and has now endangered the Mortal World, necessitating his elimination?”
Apart from this possibility, Li Muyang could think of no other reason.
General Zhong was originally a being from the Mortal World and understood the Tianyuan Dynasty very well.
If he is completely corrupted and turned into an Evil Spirit, even if not powerful, the harm he could cause might even surpass that of an Evil God.
In the ruins, Li Muyang searched earnestly, not overlooking any clue.
Even driver Ding Liang, with his limited understanding, was rummaging through the ruins, where the traces of the battlefield extended beyond this deserted village and into Red Ridge Mountain.
It was evident that the battle that took place here had a wide range, with many participants involved in a massive melee.
Just from the sword marks left by the Mysterious Sword Sect’s Sword Cultivators, after careful identification by Li Muyang, at least thirty people were confirmed to have been here.
And there seemed to be even more on the side of the Evil Spirits; the ashes of the corpses left by the Evil Spirits on the battlefield amounted to over twenty piles.
These were just the ones turned to ash after death; the living Evil Spirits feared to be even more numerous.
Then thinking about that Heart Demon that mysteriously ran to Heshan Town…
“Could it be that General Zhong was slain, and the Evil Spirits within him dispersed like birds and beasts?”
Observing the traces on the battlefield, Li Muyang attempted to deduce the outcome of that time.
The good news is, judging from the traces of the battlefield, Liu Li Fairy and her group seemed to have won.
But of those hundred or so Evil Demons, like the Heart Demon that fled alone, it’s unknown how many more there are.
In the thorough search, the sun gradually set in the west.
Ding Liang cautiously reminded, “Sir, it is getting late; we should find a town to stay in…”
Spending the night in the wilderness is extremely prone to encounter harm or face Evil Spirits.
This was a common understanding among the beings of the Ancient Resentment Well.
When a population in a settlement reaches a certain number, contrary to expectation, they are less likely to be harmed.
People speculate that with more human presence and vitality, Evil Spirits can be frightened away.
While it’s true that Evil Spirits are driven away, it’s not because of the vitality of people.
At places where large populations gather, if people get agitated at night, they will collectively transform into terrifying evils and attack a single target.
Ordinary people, who show no abnormalities during the day, transform into fierce evil creatures at night. Hundreds or even thousands of these creatures surge out to attack, causing even common Evil Spirits to retreat.
“…Why does it feel like this pattern is more like a self-protective mechanism evolved by the local Human Clan?”
Li Muyang murmured to himself.
Initially, he thought it was terrifying that the mortals of the Ancient Resentment Well turned into Evil Spirits.
But the more he understood, it felt like the locals turning into Evil Spirits was a sophisticated self-protective mechanism.
During the day, the Evil Spirits do not emerge, allowing mortals to move freely.
At night, when the Evil Spirits roam, the mortals also turn into highly frenzied Evil Spirits, launching focused attacks on any intruding target.
Even the mighty wild Evil Creatures would have to retreat when encountering such an all-out madness of the village.
“Could this self-protection mechanism also be something left by Zhi Wei?”
Li Muyang frowned.
By transforming humans into Evil Spirits, they avoid being harmed by other Evil Creatures.
This unconventional and mysterious method is quite in line with Little Wild Grass’s way of doing things.
If the mortals of the Ancient Resentment Well didn’t have this self-protective mechanism of turning into Evil Spirits at night, they might have long perished in the relentless darkness.
Seeing the day drawing to a close, Li Muyang asked Ding Liang to leave alone and stay overnight in the nearest town.
He planned to inspect the battlefield overnight and track the escape routes of the Evil Creatures.
But just then, two fine horses galloped from afar.
The riders on the horses were dressed in scholar’s robes, wearing amulets from the Jiang Family of the Red Leaf Valley, unmistakably members of the Jiang Family.
The sound of their galloping horses alerted Li Muyang, who was inspecting the battlefield in the valley.
After watching in secret for a while, Li Muyang stepped forward with the driver Ding Liang to meet these two Puppet Masters of the Jiang Family.
“Do you have any business here?” Li Muyang, displaying his ally identity with the Jiang Family’s amulet, asked.
The appearance of the Jiang Family’s Puppet Masters here was somewhat strange.
Could they also be coming for General Zhong?
If so, perhaps he could gather some information from them.
But upon seeing Li Muyang, the two Puppet Masters immediately dismounted and bowed politely.
“Not at all, not at all, Mr. Mu Yang, we are here by the command of the Grand Master to seek you out.”
“We heard that Mr. Mu Yang has been slaying Evil Spirits all the way here, entering Guo Country, and had a conflict at Heshan Town with Black Feather Pavilion. The Grand Master is extremely worried and would like to invite Mr. Mu Yang to retreat to Red Leaf Valley temporarily to avoid the sharp edge of Black Feather Pavilion.”
The two Puppet Masters were both cultured and extremely polite.
They recounted the events at Heshan Town and the movements of the Black Feather Pavilion.
It turns out that after Li Muyang killed three Puppet Masters of the Black Feather Pavilion at Heshan Town, the Black Feather Pavilion, through some means, quickly identified the murderer as Li Muyang.
And they also found out that Li Muyang was wearing the Jiang Family’s amulet.
Thus, unable to trace Li Muyang’s whereabouts, Black Feather Pavilion sent people to Red Leaf Valley to accuse the Jiang Family and seek justice.