The Demon Cave had lost its former tranquility and harmony.
The days of bright sunshine, clear waters, green mountains, birdsong, and fragrant flowers were gone, never to return.
In their place were gusts of chilling wind, a sky shrouded in haze, and a suffocating sense of oppression.
The surrounding mountain peaks seemed to have been devoured by a thick fog,
a fog that seemed to possess a physical weight, pressing down on one's heart and making it hard to breathe.
Zong Yajuan stood at the edge of a cliff, her gaze fixed on the bottomless darkness ahead.
Worry was written all over her face, her brows furrowed with deep suspicion. "I can feel it," she said in a low voice. "Something terrifying seems to be gradually awakening deep within the Demon Cave.
Its power is simply unimaginable.
It hasn't revealed its true form yet, but the mere hint of its pressure is enough to inspire fear."
In recent days, everyone on the Demon Cave had been living in terror.
From the sky, a bizarre fishhook would occasionally descend, each time accompanied by a piercing, air-rending sound.
The hooks seemed capable of piercing through any obstacle; no matter how people tried to dodge, they couldn't escape their pursuit.
Even King-level experts,
found themselves powerless and unable to defend against these sudden attacks.
Four of the ten members of the Time Girl Group were already injured, their bodies and minds under immense pressure.
As for the reporters who were originally responsible for livestreaming the Demon Cave's environment, they were in an even more pathetic state.
They huddled together, exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes, not daring to relax for a single moment.
The moment they left the protective range of the Time Girl Group, they could face a mortal threat.
After all, those strange fishhooks could descend again at any time, dragging them into the abyss.
Last night's tragedy was still fresh in their minds.
A female reporter, unable to stand her own body odor, had decided to go wash up in the woods.
She had been confident she would be back quickly, but the outcome was tragic.
Just as she had taken off her clothes, a fishhook shot down like lightning and snagged her body.
Before she could even make a sound, she was yanked into the sky and vanished into the haze.
A short while later, her dismembered remains rained down from above. The gory scene of mangled flesh and blood horrified the reporters present.
Those with weaker constitutions fainted on the spot, unable to bear the bloody and brutal visual shock.
Gao Yimin clenched her fists, her face also etched with worry.
She had once been full of confidence, but now she realized that the members of the Time Girl Group alone were probably not enough to solve the increasingly out-of-control situation on the Demon Cave.
She looked at Zong Yajuan and asked, "Has there been any word from Her Majesty the Queen?"
Zong Yajuan recounted their current predicament with a grave expression. "I suggested to Her Majesty the Queen over the phone that she dispatch Xiao Cangqing to support us,
but Her Majesty told me that Xiao Cangqing must remain to guard the Royal City against the potential threat of that mysterious rotting man.
He's vanished without a trace, and we have to be on guard for a surprise attack at any moment.
What's more, the frequent incidents of Evil Spirits causing trouble within the Great Jing Empire have complicated the situation.
Public opinion in the country has even started to point fingers at the Demon Cave, claiming that ever since we, the Time Girl Group, took over, the Demon Cave has fallen into unprecedented chaos.
They're accusing us, saying that in the past, under Chu He's protection, the Great Jing Empire was peaceful, but now, because of us, there's constant trouble.
Chu He has been poached by the Great Xia Empire. Rumor has it they found his birth parents; it turns out he isn't a citizen of our Great Jing Empire, but from Great Xia.
This news was a huge blow to Her Majesty the Queen. She's in a very foul mood.
So, I didn't mention too much about all this on the phone and just hung up quickly."
"Big Sis..."
Dai Ju suddenly broke the silence, her voice filled with a distinct tremor of fear.
Zong Yajuan, Gao Yimin, and the other members of the Time Girl Group all turned their heads, their gazes focusing on Dai Ju.
They could sense the terror in her tone, and their hearts tightened.
"Look! Isn't that the rotting man?"
Dai Ju raised a trembling finger, pointing deep into the woods.
Everyone's gaze followed the direction she was pointing. There, in the shadows of the forest, a burly figure could be faintly seen.
The figure seemed to be shrouded in an aura of decay, sending a chill down their spines.
Every rustle of the wind and grass shifted its silhouette, making them wonder if some terrible thing was spying on them from the darkness.
The rotting man stood there quietly, one hand resting on a tree trunk.
To their horror, the tree trunk began to decay at an astonishing rate, as if being consumed by an invisible force.
In the blink of an eye, the once-solid trunk turned into a pile of foul-smelling sludge, emitting a nauseating stench.
"All units, on alert! Prepare for battle!"
Zong Yajuan was the first to react. She swiftly drew her longsword and shouted the command.
Her voice echoed through the woods.
The other members of the Time Girl Group also drew their weapons, tightly gripping their longswords and daggers, ready to face the impending fight.
The reporters, who had been drowsing, were jolted awake by the sudden commotion.
They acted almost on instinct.
Their livestream equipment, as if with eyes of its own, instantly swiveled in all directions.
Soon, their gazes focused on the nearby woods, where a burly man stood, revealing a bizarre and hair-raising smile.
It was a smile that carried a malevolent power, making everyone who saw it feel a chill seep into their bones.
"Holy shit, there's trouble on the Demon Cave! Isn't that the Evil Spirit that wreaked havoc in Dalang City?"
"How did it get up to the Demon Cave? Could the rumors have been right? Are the Evil Spirits appearing in the Great Jing Empire really coming from the Demon Cave?"
"Everyone in the livestream can see it, how could this be fake?"
"I said it before, they never should have let Chu He leave the Demon Cave. All these years of peace were because of him."
"Fair-weather fan, what's the use of saying that now? Chu He already betrayed the Great Jing Empire and ran off to be a lapdog for the Great Xia Empire."
"Wasn't he forced out by the people in power in our Great Jing Empire?"
"The poster above has guts, saying what the rest of us are too scared to say."
The livestream's comment feed instantly exploded.
"The auspicious hour has arrived." The burly man moved slightly. His voice was deep and hoarse, like a curse echoing from the depths of Hell.
As he moved, a corrosive power spread rapidly from beneath his feet.
This power surged forward like a black flood. Wherever it passed, the ground could not withstand its assault and began to rot away quickly.
A thick, pungent, nauseating stench filled the air, making it almost impossible to breathe.
The spread was astonishingly fast; in the space of just a few breaths, it had already covered a large area.
The reporters standing at the front had no time to react before they were engulfed by this power.
Their flesh sloughed off their bones, and finally, even the bones began to dissolve into the putrid liquid.
Just as everyone was stricken with terror, an old man wearing a conical hat and a Sedge Coat suddenly appeared behind the rotting man.
His appearance was phantom-like—silent and sudden, yet he gave off an unfathomable aura.