Due to its proximity to the Heavenly Poison Swamp, the nearby village was named Poison Marsh Village. Once a fairly peaceful place, it had now turned into a living hell. The moment Xiao Yan and Yun Dai entered, they were assaulted by the stench of rotting corpses. The village streets were littered with mangled remains.
"These corpse monsters feast on humans. While being scratched or bitten turns a person into one of them, most of these poor folks didn't even have the time to mutate. They were devoured by what used to be their own people." Yun Dai explained as he pinched his nose and looked around at the strewn limbs.
"Looks like everyone in the village either became food… or turned into corpse monsters." Xiao Yan sighed lightly. There had to be thousands of residents here. That meant they were potentially facing a horde of over a thousand corpse monsters. 'Never thought I'd be reenacting Resident Evil on the Dou Qi continent.'
As that absurd thought crossed Xiao Yan's mind, strange rustling came from the surrounding houses. One by one, corpse monsters crawled out and surrounded them.
"Tsk, surrounded already? This might be tricky." Yun Dai flicked his fingers, summoning a silver longsword into his hand. A layer of gray Dou Qi condensed around him, forming a thin armor-like veil.
Noting the Dou Qi veil, Xiao Yan judged Yun Dai to be at least a Dou Master. However, he didn't summon his own Dou Qi armor. Instead, he simply drew his Heavy Xuan Ruler. He had no intention of revealing his true strength so soon. These corpse monsters were weak; posing as an ordinary Dou Practitioner was enough for now.
These creatures weren't powerful individually—any Dou Practitioner could handle several at once. What made them troublesome was their lack of pain and the corpse poison they carried. If their blood splashed on someone, or if they managed to scratch or bite, infection and transformation were almost guaranteed.
Fortunately, both Xiao Yan and Yun Dai were well aware of the risks and didn't allow any of them to get close. Working together, they quickly cleared the horde. After chopping down the last one, Xiao Yan pulled out a white cloth and wiped all the poisonous blood from his Heavy Xuan Ruler before sheathing it.
"Looks like our luck's decent. These things probably exhausted themselves earlier, or this wouldn't have gone so smoothly." Yun Dai exhaled. "Still, I doubt these things came out of nowhere. Someone—or something—has to be behind them."
"Maybe..." Xiao Yan murmured. But deep inside, he thought of the Nether Poison Flame. 'Could these monsters be tied to it somehow? Maybe they're even a product of it.'
If it truly was connected to the Nether Poison Flame, then corpse monsters wouldn't be the only things it could create. With the power of a Heavenly Flame, controlling even a Dou King-level being wasn't impossible.
Rumble! Just as that thought struck him, the ground ahead suddenly collapsed. A massive skeletal hand burst from the pit, clawing viciously toward them.
Xiao Yan dodged instantly using Explosive Step. Yun Dai also relied on his movement Dou Technique. The skeletal hand was slow—both of them evaded it easily.
But before they could breathe easy, Xiao Yan suddenly sensed a shadow looming above. Another skeletal hand came crashing down from the sky.
This one was much faster. Even with Explosive Step, there was no avoiding it. Left with no choice, Xiao Yan swung his Heavy Xuan Ruler upward with full force. But the blow only caused a violent backlash, throwing him backward. The skeletal hand remained undamaged and slammed both of them into the earth.
To their surprise, the ground beneath Poison Marsh Village was hollow. They fell into a vast underground cavern, which resembled a giant labyrinth.
"That skeleton's strength was insane..." Yun Dai grumbled as he got up. Looking around, he asked, "What is this place?"
"No idea." Xiao Yan shook his head. He narrowed his eyes at the surroundings. Ever since entering the village, he'd felt a strange sense of discord—and now, that feeling was even stronger. 'Maybe this place… is the hiding place of the Nether Poison Flame.'
Even down here, they encountered more corpse monsters—stronger than the ones above. They no longer dared engage directly, relying instead on movement Dou Techniques to flee through the passages.
Eventually, they emerged into a wide, open hall. At its center stood an ancient altar, atop which burned a gentle green flame.
"Is that a Heavenly Flame?" Yun Dai's eyes widened in shock. "Could it be… all of this was caused by it?"
"So it really is..." Xiao Yan let out a quiet sigh as he stared at the green flame he had spent more than half a year searching for. He turned toward Yun Dai and said slowly, "You're not Yun Dai, are you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Still pretending? Hun Daier?" Xiao Yan's eyes grew cold. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you?"
"Hahaha! Truly worthy of the Mad Flame Saint. You noticed the flaw this quickly." Yun Dai removed his human-skin mask, revealing the face Xiao Yan loathed more than any other. "But even if you figured it out, what difference does it make? This time, I won't repeat the mistakes of the past."
"You're doing a great impression of her." Xiao Yan shook his head. "It's just a shame… you're not her."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Hun Daier froze, confused. "Don't tell me I scared you silly?"
"It's not me who's foolish… it's you. You don't even realize this is all an illusion." Xiao Yan turned his gaze back to the green flame and said softly, "Not just you. That flame, this underground hall, the corpse monsters outside, the village above—none of it's real."
"From the very beginning, none of this truly existed. Everything is a projection born from my subconscious. That's why zombies—creatures that shouldn't even exist on the Dou Qi continent—could appear. That's why, when I thought you were Hun Daier, you really were."
"I'll admit, this place is far more treacherous than I imagined. In fact, you folks from the Chu Yun Empire have something to be proud of. This is the only place that's managed to poison me… and I didn't even notice it was happening."
(End of Chapter)
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