As the sun sets, Merin feels the trail grow sharper, the aura pulling him toward a looming green mountain that towers against the dying light.
He narrows his eyes, the fading glow painting the ridges in shadow.
"The aura leads there," he says, voice heavy.
Captain Zhang reins her horse beside him. "That mountain… It's crawling with demons. Few who enter return."
Merin doesn't slow. "Then that's where they are."
The squad tightens formation as they step into the mountain passage, the air damp and heavy with the metallic tang of blood.
Captain Zhang raises her hand, signalling her team to stay alert.
Merin's gaze sharpens—more corpses of demon wolves litter the path, their twisted bodies collapsed in unnatural angles, some still smouldering faintly from fire essence.
He mutters, "Xiao Yun is ahead of us."
Captain Zhang glances at him. "Then this place is already a battlefield."
Merin walks at the front, eyes narrowed as the trail of corpses grows denser—charred flesh, torn limbs, and claw marks etched deep into the stone.
The faint chanting grows louder, carried by the stale air.
They come across two forks in the passage. Merin halts, extending his consciousness. A faint fire aura clings to the right passage, sharp and chaotic—Xiao Yun's trail. He lowers his gaze and murmurs, "He already went that way." Then he turns left.
The squad follows closely, weapons ready, until the path widens into a cavern dripping with damp stalactites.
The instant they step inside, a skittering sound echoes above.
Half-wolf, half-spider monstrosities cling to the walls, their many red eyes glinting in the dark. Their spider legs twitch before they leap down, jaws snapping open, saliva hissing against the stone.
Captain Zhang raises her blade, but Merin is faster.
He draws his sword and slaps a Lightning Palm rune against his hand, the sigil burning bright. Electricity crackles up the blade, transforming it into a lightning sword that hums with raw power.
As the first monster lunges, Merin swings—the strike splits it in half, the lightning bursting outward and chaining to another creature mid-leap.
The cavern fills with the stench of burned flesh and the crackle of thunder.
Merin moves through them like a storm, each slash cutting down another abomination, their shrieks echoing off the cavern walls.
Captain Zhang and her squad push forward, fending off the stragglers, but it is clear—the monsters are being slaughtered by Merin alone.
After the last monster falls, the squad enters another passage and emerges into a vast cavern.
In its centre, twelve girls lie half-submerged in a thick pool of blood, their skin pale and their breaths fading—among them is Lin Mi.
At the edge of the pool, an old man chants in a guttural tone, blood seeping into his body as the girls wither.
Merin unleashes his Dreamisation on the man, but an unseen aura shields his soul.
His chest tightens—the aura is that of a Demigod.
With no choice left, Merin pastes runes onto his palms and forearms, then charges at the old man, lightning flaring under his skin.
Halfway there, he drops into a roll as a figure blocks his path.
A woman with hair split black and white, skin pale as a corpse, and the aura of an intermediate-stage Evil Celestial Master steps forward.
Merin's heart sinks—the old man is not alone, and her soul is guarded as well.
He activates the runes, both hands erupting into blazing lightning claws, and launches into combat.
She may outclass him in cultivation, but his speed and precision overwhelm her in minutes.
Her body breaks under his strikes, yet her flesh writhes back together, each wound healing too fast—like killing a cockroach that refuses to die.
Then Xiao Yun bursts into the cavern, his palm pressing down a seal rune that forces chains of light around her body.
Captain Zhang steps forward, her sword raised. "I'll handle her—go!"
Merin and Xiao Yun lock eyes, then sprint together toward the old man as the girls' auras wane.
Merin slaps fresh runes on his arms, lightning coursing down to his fists like rivers of light.
The old man's chant breaks into a snarl, and with a flick of his hand, a dark green arrow shoots forth.
The bolt tears past them, burning a hole straight through the cavern wall, stone melting where it lands.
Merin and Xiao Yun split apart, circling to close the distance from both sides.
The old man raises his hands, and the blood pool churns, crimson tendrils lashing out like whips.
Each strike is heavy with demonic force, forcing them to parry and retreat.
Merin's lightning claws slash apart one tendril, but three more rise to block his path.
Xiao Yun carves runes into the air, summoning a seal, yet the blood corrodes it before it can hold.
The old man laughs, his body glowing as the blood seeps deeper into him.
Merin dives forward, feet sparking as he tries to dash for Lin Mi, but a wall of blood erupts in front of him.
The moment he touches it, his skin burns, the corrosive energy eating through his lightning shield.
He grits his teeth and leaps back, the ground sizzling where drops of blood land.
Xiao Yun tries to cut directly through with his sword, but every slash only makes the pool swell larger.
The cavern shakes as the old man's voice grows louder, the ritual nearing completion.
Merin's jaw tightens—they can't even get close.
Merin grits his teeth, lightning sparking around his arms as he slashes away another wave of blood tendrils.
The stench of iron is suffocating, every drop of blood carrying corrosive force that eats through stone and spirit alike.
Beside him, Xiao Yun plants a rune in midair, his sword bursting into a soft green flame that swallows the darkness.
The fire cuts a path for a moment, hissing as it burns through the blood—but the pool roars back, throwing another surge at them.
Merin's palm collides with it, lightning exploding outward, but even that only slows the tide.
The old man chants louder, veins bulging as the blood fuses with his body, his skin glowing a sickly red.
"Damn it—!" Xiao Yun charges, his green fire sword carving arcs that scatter blood across the cavern floor, only for it to slither back into the pool.
Merin keeps defending, eyes darting for any opening, but every step closer is met with a wall of blood sharper and faster than the last.
Xiao Yun's aura suddenly flares wildly, shaking the cavern, flames burning higher than before.
His expression twists, sweat running down his face as he fights to stay in control.
Then a cold, ancient voice echoes in his mind—Grandma Yao.
"Don't struggle, child. I am taking over your body."
Xiao Yun's pupils ignite with green fire, his stance shifting, blade steady as a mountain.
The aura that bursts from him slams into the cavern, equal to the old man's own.
Merin feels the shift instantly, lightning flickering faster across his arms.
"This is it…" he mutters, recognising the chance.
While Xiao Yun clashes head-on with the old man, green fire colliding with waves of blood, Merin dashes low, weaving through the chaos toward the blood pool.
Merin dives straight into the blood pool, the rancid stench burning his lungs as the thick liquid claws at his flesh.
The moment his body touches the pool, a thousand invisible mouths latch onto him, devouring his vitality with ravenous hunger.
He grits his teeth, forcing his vitality ability outward, wrapping the girls in its glow as he hauls them one by one from the churning blood.
Lin Mi's pale face flashes before him, her eyes half-shut, her small hand trembling as he pulls her free.
"Hold on!" he growls, lightning surging through his body to keep himself moving even as his strength drains away.
Each girl feels like a mountain on his shoulders, the blood trying to drag them back into its depths, but he refuses to let go.
By the time the last girl is out, his limbs shake violently, his skin is ghostly white, and his hands and knees collapse into the pool's edge.
The blood clings to him, his veins bulging as a terrible headache rips through his mind—his soul energy burning away under the strain of his own ability.
He gasps, soaked in red, his vision splitting, as though his very consciousness is about to be torn apart.
Behind him, the ritual breaks.
The old man roars, "NOOO!" his body swelling, veins bursting open as blood gushes from every pore.
His form twists, bones cracking, flesh stretching until a hulking monster of sinew and blood towers above the cavern.
Its eyes glow dark green, its mouth stretching far too wide, dripping poison as it snarls at Merin and the unconscious girls.
The old man's body swells until it bursts apart, blood spraying across the cavern as a hulking abomination rises from the remains.
His aura surges, thick and suffocating, reaching that of a high-ranking Celestial Master, shaking the walls as stone splits and cracks.
With a guttural roar, a whip of congealed blood lashes out, snapping through the air like thunder.
It smashes into Xiao Yun, hurling him across the cavern and slamming him against the wall with bone-shaking force.
The monster's lower body liquefies into mucus, sliding grotesquely across the ground as its upper half lurches toward Merin and the unconscious girls.
Its jaw trembles, and from its mouth comes a distorted chant, "Sacrifice… forgive… sacrifice…"
Merin staggers on his knees, blood dripping from his temples, his soul screaming under the strain of keeping the girls alive.
But then his perception sharpens—he sees it clearly.
The old man's soul is no longer wrapped in a protective aura.
Now, it is naked. Vulnerable. A prey.
Merin's eyes flare with resolve.
He forces his trembling hands into the blood, channels the last of his strength, and activates Dreamisation.
A surge of power tears through his mind as he drags the abomination's soul screaming out of its body, pulling it into the vortex of his dream space.
The monster's body thrashes violently, collapsing into the ground with a final, echoing shriek as its consciousness is ripped away.
Merin clenches his teeth, seals the soul inside the dream realm, then collapses beside Lin Mi and the other girls.
His body shudders once, then goes still—his mind consumed by the terrible strain of burning through his soul energy.
He falls into unconsciousness, soaked in blood, his chest barely rising with shallow breaths.