It was at this precise juncture that Gu Han had just perished, and the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Hells had suddenly taken ill with an inexplicable obsession, retreating into seclusion atop Mount Tianzhu and refusing to emerge...
Did that mean I would have to face Zhan Kuang alone?
The three of us together couldn't kill him. Now, it's only me. Can I do it?
Walking further ahead, they noticed that the vanguard had already made contact with the newly sighted village, only to stop abruptly for some unknown reason. Immediately, someone spurred their horse toward their position, riding with extreme urgency. It seemed they had discovered something, or perhaps encountered some strange, unexpected change...
Jun Mo Xie exchanged a glance with Mei Xue Yan; both were utterly perplexed. Having had no contact with the outside world for days, discovering human habitation was certainly cause for joy, but not necessarily a rarity. At this critical moment when the grand army was on the move, the sudden halt of the vanguard signaled a major crisis. But against the combined forces of the Heavenly Punishment and the Evil Monarch’s Mansion—an army composed of over one hundred thousand experts at the Venerable level and above—what could possibly stop them? Bandits, perhaps?
If there were truly robbers blocking the way... that would be ludicrously funny!
Or perhaps this world was just too insane? That some ill-advised petty thief would dare intercept the most powerful army on this continent! If one person alone could halt this massive force, even the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Hells couldn't manage it. Well, perhaps only the First Young Master of Nine Hells, returned to the Xuan Xuan, would possess such divine power!
Before long, the messenger arrived before them.
"Mansion Master, an extremely abnormal situation has developed in the village ahead. All one hundred-plus residents have been confirmed dead. Their manner of death is identical: all have been reduced to mummies!" The guard was drenched in sweat, clearly terrified by the inexplicable and bizarre occurrence!
Mummies?
Jun Mo Xie frowned, instantly recalling Zhan Kuang!
Zhan Kuang, having lost his physical body, was considerably weaker than the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Hells, perhaps even slightly inferior to Gu Han. However, his terrifying regenerative abilities and the capacity to absorb the life essence of living beings were enough to cause immense dread. If this truly was... With that thought, Jun Mo Xie shook his arms and immediately soared up from his horse. Hearing the abnormality, Mei Xue Yan followed closely behind. The two streaked across the sky like meteors, reaching the small village in an instant. Looking around, both women’s fury erupted simultaneously!
This was undoubtedly a very small village, perhaps housing only twenty or thirty households at most... Yet, within it now, not a single trace of living breath remained.
Bodies lay strewn haphazardly in their respective courtyards or along the narrow paths between dwellings...
Hovering mid-air, looking down, Jun Mo Xie’s thoughts shifted, and he landed with a whoosh, turning over one of the corpses before him.
His pupils contracted involuntarily: the entire body was dried out, completely devoid of any moisture.
According to the knowledge Jun Mo Xie had acquired in his previous life, the human body was primarily composed of water. The corpse before him was easily two-thirds smaller than a living person's body, resembling a mummy! Truly a mummy in every sense of the word!
Examining the other bodies confirmed the exact same situation!
Whether old, young, or in their prime! Everyone had died in this manner. Although the facial muscles were withered and shriveled, their expressions appeared remarkably serene, as if they had seen nothing at all, simply passing away in their sleep!
"What a cruel method of murder! They didn't even spare the children!" Mei Xue Yan bit her teeth as she looked at the corpse of a little girl on the ground.
"Judging by the signs of decay on the bodies, this tragedy likely occurred half a month ago, or perhaps even longer. Because of the extreme water loss, the bodies are already exhibiting some degree of weathering. It is fortunate that the complete loss of moisture allowed them to be preserved until our arrival," Jun Mo Xie slowly straightened up, his face grave. "Without a doubt, it was him! Only Zhan Kuang possesses the means to commit such a maniacal atrocity!" The flesh and vital essence within these human bodies had been completely devoured, but this could not be discerned merely by looking at the exterior. Recalling the description the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Hells had given of Zhan Kuang feeding on beast carcasses, Jun Mo Xie didn't need to consider further; he immediately reached a conclusion!
"Zhan Kuang? It was him? How could that be... Wasn't he...?" Mei Xue Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief that this could be true!
"It is truly Zhan Kuang, the one we drove into the volcano earlier!" Jun Mo Xie let out a deep sigh, his gaze heavy with worry. "He inherently possessed an undying and indestructible body. Now, having absorbed so much life essence... he is bound to be even more difficult to deal with than before..."
"Difficult or not, he must be dealt with. No matter the cost, such a devil must not be allowed to continue living in this world and bring ruin upon the populace!" Mei Xue Yan said fiercely. "We must utterly destroy him and restore peace to the cosmos!"
"Naturally," Jun Mo Xie smiled faintly, waving his hand to command his subordinates to bury all these corpses properly, laying them to rest.
The army resumed its march, and reports of shocking discoveries continued to pour in along the way.
Along this route, over fifty villages had been transformed into living hells! Both people and livestock had been turned into mummies! The total number reached a terrifying figure of seven thousand souls!
That was purely counting human lives; if livestock were included, the number approached twenty thousand!
The fury in Jun Mo Xie’s eyes intensified with every report!
Zhan Kuang, how could you be so utterly devoid of conscience and sanity?!
If you had merely slaughtered Xuan cultivators, even with brutal methods, it might have been somewhat understandable, as their existence posed a threat to you. But the ones you are killing now are all innocent, defenseless common folk!
And Zhan Kuang’s sole motivation for attacking is nothing more than plundering vast amounts of life essence to repair his body and augment his own power! Such a heinous, insane crime is absolutely unforgivable!
Zhan Kuang, even death would not atone for his sins!
The army gradually advanced into the Tiannan territory. This region was already quite populated, but even here, several large-scale massacres were uncovered! Over five thousand civilians had died tragically!
Throughout the journey, Jun Mo Xie and his party grew increasingly indignant. By the time they reached this area, the accumulated rage had almost reached a boiling point!
After this, there were no more such tragedies ahead.
Jun Mo Xie kept his divine sense fully open during the entire march, and at night, he had even searched millions of li north, south, east, and west for any trace of Zhan Kuang, but he found absolutely no clue. This situation caused Jun Mo Xie’s brow to furrow ever tighter...
The sooner this scoundrel is executed, the better for the common people. Any delay might result in catastrophic harm comparable to an invasion by foreign races!
From the day he first decided to fight Zhan Kuang, only a few dozen days had passed, yet over thirty thousand lives had been lost. What cruel and terrifying means of slaughter! This fiend's brutality was unprecedented!
After nearly a month of arduous travel, the entire army returned to the Tiannan Base!
Dugu Xiao Yi, Guan Qing Han, and the others had naturally been waiting with anxious anticipation. Seeing Jun Mo Xie and his group return now, they were overjoyed and rushed out to greet them.
But when they observed Jun Mo Xie’s expression—more grim than they had ever seen it—they couldn't help but feel strange. The alien races were annihilated, and the Three Great Sacred Lands had also perished in that conflict; what could possibly trouble their Young Master so deeply now?
When Mei Xue Yan recounted the incident of the mummies encountered along the way, everyone gasped in unison. Although the women were exceptionally powerful, all having ascended to the ranks of peak experts, their actual experience and combat prowess were quite shallow. Hearing of such an unbelievably terrifying event, they couldn't help but feel fear creeping in.
Jun Mo Xie, with an exceptionally somber face, issued a continuous stream of orders: all flying Xuan Beasts were to remain on high alert, deployed across the entire realm, and report immediately upon receiving any relevant intelligence. He also formally notified the secular nations about Zhan Kuang's information. The next step was patient waiting for news.
Simultaneously, he intensified his own cultivation. Jun Mo Xie had a premonition that dealing with Zhan Kuang would undoubtedly be an extremely arduous and bitter battle! If he were not fully prepared, the one who would suffer greatly might very well be himself!
When Miao Xiao Miao heard the news, being from the Illusory Mansion, she was deeply worried, fearing Zhan Kuang might invade the mansion and cause havoc. Based on Jun Mo Xie’s description, Zhan Kuang's current power level meant no one within the Illusory Mansion could match him!
Although Jun Mo Xie harbored the same concerns, he had to comfort Miao Xiao Miao: No matter how insane and morally bankrupt Zhan Kuang became, he still had to consider his own descendants. Rashly engaging the Illusory Mansion in a major conflict was certainly not his initial intention, nor his optimal choice...
Miao Xiao Miao was slightly relieved but still felt time dragging agonizingly slowly.
Despite the confident manner in which Young Master Jun consoled Miao Xiao Miao, Jun Mo Xie’s own state of mind grew even heavier.
He had already concluded that the Misty Illusory Mansion had deliberately refrained from sending anyone to participate in this Struggle for Heaven battle, and it must be related to Zhan Kuang. The current silence from the Illusory Mansion surely indicated that some major event had transpired!
Otherwise, whether out of respect for the past fellowship with the Three Great Sacred Lands or because of their alliance with his own faction, the Misty Illusory Mansion should have acted!
Yet, a huge question gnawed at Jun Mo Xie’s mind.
Others might not know, but he was aware. Although there was no one in the Illusory Mansion who could match Zhan Kuang’s current strength, the Miao family housed a super expert: the only surviving direct disciple of the First Young Master of Nine Hells in this era, and Zhan Kuang’s former teacher—Miao Qing Cheng!
Miao Qing Cheng was undoubtedly a super expert countless times more formidable than Zhan Kuang, the only True Saint level powerhouse in existence today. Even if her power was greatly diminished for various reasons, forcing her into seclusion, she should not tolerate Zhan Kuang behaving so recklessly! But if that were the case, how could the Illusory Mansion's inaction be explained?
Days passed, one after another, yet still no news emerged...
On one such day, Qiao Ying, who had yet to emerge from her grief, suddenly came to find Jun Mo Xie.
Since returning from Mount Tianzhu, Qiao Ying had remained taciturn, barely uttering a word all day. As a martial world figure, while she didn't wash her face with tears due to extreme sorrow, the silence she maintained was enough to weigh heavily on the hearts of those who observed her.
"Looking for me? Is something the matter?" Jun Mo Xie had spent a considerable amount of time cultivating within the Hongjun Pagoda, preparing to break through to the eighth level. Upon hearing that Qiao Ying had come to see him, he immediately ceased his practice and flashed out.