118: Chapter 118 Traitor, Someone Else Has Been Here!

Murong Bai waved his hand, his expression turning solemn.

"However, this battle has also exposed many issues. 'Shadow Fiend' seems to know more about our movements and strength than we anticipated."

"The killers they sent this time were powerful and coordinated seamlessly; they were clearly elites."

“Moreover, their objective was clear: they were coming for the core of the Seven Emotions Soul-Devouring Demon Orchid and you."

He paused and looked at Ye Chen.

"I suspect that someone in our team might have leaked information, or... Shadow Fiend has an informant within the Sect, and one with a high status."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone nearby who were regulating their breath changed.

A traitor?

An informant?

This was no small matter.

“What do you mean, Senior Brother?”

Lei Zhen asked in a heavy voice.

“It's just a guess,”

Murong Bai said slowly.

"But this mission was supposed to be confidential. Not many people knew our route, timing, or personnel. Yet Shadow Fiend was able to find us so accurately and set an ambush; it's impossible not to be suspicious."

"Furthermore, they seem to have some understanding of Junior Brother Ye's abilities; otherwise, they wouldn't have targeted him so specifically."

Everyone fell into silence upon hearing this.

Indeed, this attack was too coincidental and too precise.

“So what do we do now?”

Shi Yue asked in a muffled voice.

“This place has been exposed; we cannot stay long,”

Murong Bai said decisively.

“We must leave immediately, change our route, and head toward the Rotten Bone Forest.”

“Once we get there, perhaps we can make other discoveries or find a way to temporarily shake off our pursuers. Everyone, hurry; we set out in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.”

The group said no more, seizing the last moments to recover and organize.

After the time of an incense stick, the team assembled once more.

Everyone was injured and their auras were weak, yet their eyes were more determined and vigilant.

Continuous bloody battles had put this team through a true test of life and death, and their mutual trust and rapport had deepened by another layer.

“Let's go.”

Murong Bai identified the direction and took the lead toward the northeast, opposite to the upstream of the Dark Current Stream, where the fog was even thicker.

That area was marked on the map as even more dangerous.

But it was also the direction of the Rotten Bone Forest—the region that might hide clues to the Ancient Medicine Garden.

The team moved forward in silence; their speed wasn't fast, but they were more cautious.

Everyone was on high alert, wary of every rustle in the surroundings.

Ye Chen walked in the middle of the group, not far from Zhao Feng and Bai Yu.

While regulating his breath to recover, he was secretly on guard.

Murong Bai's suspicion about a traitor or an informant had cast a shadow over his heart as well.

Who could it be?

Was it someone in the team?

Or a high-ranking member within the Sect?

Elder Wang He of Golden Flame Peak?

Or a force infiltrated by Shadow Fiend?

Whichever it was, it meant the road ahead would be even more difficult.

He glanced at Murong Bai walking in front.

Then he peeked at Bai Yu beside him, who was fanning himself and looking leisurely, as well as Mo Ling, Shi Yue, and the others nearby.

Could these people really be trusted?

“Brother Ye, are you alright?”

Zhao Feng leaned in and asked in a low voice, worry etched on his face.

“I'm fine, just a minor injury.”

Ye Chen shook his head.

“That's good.”

Zhao Feng breathed a sigh of relief, saying with lingering fear,

“I was scared to death just now. That last move of yours, Brother Ye, was too... too terrifying. That Shadow Fiend leader was just gone...”

His eyes were full of admiration and a hint of awe.

“It was just luck.”

Ye Chen did not wish to talk more about it.

“By the way, Brother Ye, do you think a traitor as Senior Brother Murong mentioned is possible?”

Zhao Feng lowered his voice and asked cautiously.

“I don't know.”

Ye Chen glanced at him.

“But being careful is never wrong.”

“Mm.”

Zhao Feng nodded heavily.

The team trekked through the thick fog and rugged terrain for about four hours.

Along the way, they encountered several waves of poisonous insects and low-tier Yao Beasts, which were quickly dealt with by everyone without causing much trouble.

However, the continuous travel and combat made the already injured group even more exhausted.

Especially for Ye Chen, the side effects of forcibly using the 'Hunyuan Return to Void' began to manifest.

The stabbing pain in his Divine Soul and the sluggishness of his True Essence grew stronger, and his steps became somewhat unsteady.

“There seems to be a forest ahead; the fog seems a bit thinner.”

Shi Yue, who was walking at the very front, suddenly said.

Everyone's spirits lifted as they looked forward.

Sure enough, the grayish-white fog ahead became sparse.

The silhouettes of deeper, taller black shadows were vaguely visible.

Within the fishy-sweet, decaying scent in the air,

a thick, cold, damp, and deathly aura—like that of a ten-thousand-year-old tomb—began to mingle.

“It's the outskirts of the Rotten Bone Forest.”

Mo Ling confirmed while looking at the compass in her hand.

“Everyone be careful. In the Rotten Bone Forest, there are not only more powerful poisonous creatures and Yao Beasts, but rumors also say there are ancient residual Restrictions and lingering Death Qi."

“Try to restrain your aura as much as possible, and do not easily touch anything that looks like skeletal remains or tombstones.”

The group became even more vigilant upon hearing this.

As they drew closer, the silhouettes of the black shadows gradually became clear.

It was a boundless forest composed of countless ancient trees of bizarre shapes and pitch-black color,

as if they had been steeped in potent poison and Death Qi for tens of millions of years.

The trees were tall and twisted, their branches like ghost claws reaching toward the dim sky.

The trunks were covered in nodules and hollows, oozing a thick, foul-smelling black sap.

On the forest floor, thick layers of rotted leaves and animal bones that had accumulated for unknown years were piled up.

Stepping on them was soft and slippery, producing a chilling "creak-creak" sound.

Even more heart-palpitating was the tangible, icy Death Qi permeating the forest.

It constantly eroded everyone's protective True Essence, trying to burrow into their bodies to freeze their blood and wear away their vitality.

Even with Ye Chen's Hunyuan True Essence, the speed of neutralizing this Death Qi became much slower.

“Such heavy Death Qi. Just how many living beings have died in this place...”

Su Yuwei's face turned pale as she murmured.

“Keep close, don't get separated.”

Murong Bai said in a deep voice, being the first to step into this ghost-realm-like Rotten Bone Forest.

The group followed closely behind, cautiously weaving between the massive, ferocious-looking ancient trees.

The light in the forest was dim, with only some moss and fungi emitting a ghastly green or eerie blue fluorescence.

They provided a weak light source, adding a few more layers of gloom.

From time to time, their feet stepped on the hard skeletal remains of unknown creatures, making a tooth-aching cracking sound.

The surroundings were terrifyingly silent, with only the suppressed breathing and footsteps of the group,

as well as the occasional faint sound from afar that sounded like bones rubbing together.

They walked for about the time of an incense stick.

Shi Yue, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped again.

He crouched down and carefully examined the ground.

“Someone has been here, not long ago—at most half a day. The footprints are very messy; there were at least three groups of people, and their cultivation isn't weak. Moreover... there are traces of a fight.”

He pointed to several chaotic footprints on the ground, a deep sword mark, and a few drops of dried, blackened blood.

Everyone's hearts tightened.

It seemed that besides them and Shadow Fiend, there were indeed others who had entered the Rotten Bone Forest.

And a conflict had already occurred.

“Can you tell which side they belong to?”

Murong Bai asked.

Shi Yue shook his head.

“Part of the traces were deliberately cleaned up, and the residual aura is very messy and hard to distinguish. However, looking at the direction and force of this sword mark, one side's sword technique seems to follow a feminine and treacherous path, somewhat like...”

He hesitated for a moment.

“Somewhat like the sword style of the Netherworld Sect or Shadow Fiend.”

Netherworld Sect!

Everyone's faces changed again.

The name of this ancient evil Sect, long buried by the dust of history, was mentioned once more, carrying a heavy sense of misfortune.

Could it be that Shadow Fiend had an even bigger plot in the Rotten Bone Forest?

Or was the entrance to the Netherworld Sect's ruins really nearby?

“Continue forward and stay alert. If we encounter other forces, try to avoid them and don't cause unnecessary trouble. Our primary goal is to find clues to the Ancient Medicine Garden and investigate Shadow Fiend's movements.”

Murong Bai said in a deep voice.

The team continued forward, but the atmosphere was even more oppressive.

Everyone felt as if a pair of invisible eyes were coldly watching them from the depths of this deathly silent forest.

...

They traveled another distance.

The trees ahead became sparser, and a relatively open clearing appeared.

In the clearing, more massive and strangely shaped beast skeletal remains were scattered about.

Some skeletons were as large as houses, clearly belonging to extraordinary giants when they were alive.

And in the center of the clearing, several incomplete ancient stone tablets, covered in moss and cracks, stood prominently.

On the stone tablets were carved some blurred and eerily styled runes and patterns.

They emitted a vicissitudinous and ancient aura that was out of place with the surroundings.

“It's residual inscriptions from an ancient ruin!”

Mo Ling's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward quickly to examine them carefully.

“These runes... seem to be some kind of Seal or guidance.”

She took out a Jade Slip and began to rub the inscriptions.

The others also gathered around curiously.

Ye Chen also walked to a stone tablet.

The inscription was indeed blurry, but some twisted lines and symbols could vaguely be identified, exuding a cold, sinister feeling.

He reached out, wanting to touch the stone tablet to feel its material.

However, at the very moment his fingertips were about to touch the surface of the tablet.

A sudden change occurred!

Not far from his side, a pile of seemingly ordinary small beast bones suddenly exploded!

A shadow as fast as black lightning shot out from the bone pile, pouncing straight at Ye Chen's neck!

Its speed was so fast that it was even superior to the previous Void Shadow Cat!

What was even more terrifying was the moment the shadow attacked.

A terrifying mental shockwave, cold, evil, and filled with endless resentment and Death Qi, came like a tide.

It instantly submerged Ye Chen and the several people nearby!

That cold, evil mental shockwave, filled with resentful Death Qi, came without warning, yet it was exceedingly swift and fierce.

It felt as if they had instantly fallen into the Nine Serene Ice Caves, or as if thousands of wronged Souls were screaming shrilly in their ears, frantically tearing at their Divine Souls.

"Ah!"

Zhao Feng, Han Li, and Su Yuwei, who were closer to the bone pile, bore the brunt of it.

They all groaned simultaneously, their faces turning pale instantly, their eyes becoming vacant, and their bodies swaying.

Their protective True Essence fluctuated violently; clearly, their Divine Souls had suffered heavy damage.

Even Murong Bai, Shi Yue, Lei Zhen, and the others who were slightly further away felt their Divine Souls shake violently.

Illusions arose before their eyes, and their movements involuntarily stalled.

And Ye Chen, as the primary target of that black shadow, bore the most intense mental shock.

In an instant, he felt as if he were being dragged into a boundless dark ocean condensed from countless pains, despairs, and hatreds.

The Ice Lotus Imprint reacted to the stimulus, its warm Chaos radiance desperately resisting.

The phantom image of the blazing sun condensed by the Great Sun Visualization Method struggled to emit a faint pure yang light in the dark ocean.

Hunyuan True Essence automatically protected his body, dissolving the encroaching Death Qi.

But in the haste, and because his Divine Soul was already damaged and unhealed, his defense showed a momentary gap in the face of this long-premeditated, terrifying sneak attack.

It was that split-second gap.

The black shadow that had shot out from the bone pile was already pouncing before his neck!

Its speed was extreme; in the dim light, only a blurred outline could be seen.

It was shaped like a Bone Crow that was several times larger, its entire body pitch-black with exposed bones and two points of pale green Soul fire burning in its eye sockets!

Its beak was as sharp as a hook, flickering with a metallic glint, pecking straight at Ye Chen's throat!

The aura of death, bone-chillingly cold, enveloped his entire body.

It was unavoidable!

Ye Chen's pupils shrank, and in this moment of life and death, his powerful combat instincts and will forcibly suppressed the sharp pain and dizziness of his Divine Soul.

He did not try to dodge, nor did he have time to fully draw his sword.

He just suddenly turned his body, thrusting his left shoulder forward, while at the same time, the ice scar sword in his right hand moved at an extremely awkward yet incredibly swift angle.

Slashing upward from below, he struck back at the black Bone Crow's chest and abdomen!

Trading a wound for a life!

Or rather, trading a minor injury for a major one!

"Puchi!"

"Qiang!"

The two sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

The Bone Crow's sharp beak pecked fiercely into Ye Chen's left shoulder, penetrating through his protective True Essence and clothing, deep into the flesh, even touching the bone.

It brought piercing pain, and even more sinister Death Qi surged frantically into his body through the wound.

And Ye Chen's upward-slashing ice scar sword also precisely struck the Bone Crow's relatively fragile sternum joint.

Gray Hunyuan Sword Qi erupted, carrying the power of annihilation.

The Bone Crow let out a silent, shrill scream that rang directly in everyone's Souls.

A deep crack was slashed into its sternum.

The pale green Soul fire flickered violently; clearly, it had also suffered significant injury.

It seemed not to have expected Ye Chen to be able to make such a swift and ruthless counterattack under such a terrifying mental shock.

A furious shriek came from its beak as it suddenly pulled out, bringing out a spray of blood, and its body retreated rapidly.

It instantly vanished into another pile of bones nearby.

From the Bone Crow's sudden sneak attack to Ye Chen's counterattack, and then to the Bone Crow's retreat, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Only now did everyone manage to recover from that terrifying mental shock.

"Junior Brother Ye!"

"Brother Ye!"

Murong Bai, Zhao Feng, and the others cried out in alarm and quickly surrounded him.

They saw Ye Chen's left shoulder dripping with blood, and the flesh around the wound showed an abnormal greenish-black color.

It was necrotizing and withering at a visible rate.

There were even wisps of cold Death Qi, like living things, eroding into his body along his Meridians.

Ye Chen's face was pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but his eyes remained calm.

He quickly took a Detoxification Pill and a healing Medicinal Pill.

At the same time, he circulated the Hunyuan One-Qi Art, his Hunyuan True Essence surging toward the wound on his left shoulder like a millstone.

It wrapped, decomposed, and annihilated the cold Death Qi.

The Dark Red Ember in his Wheel Ocean also emitted a wisp of warm vitality, injecting it into the wound to counter the erosion of his life force by the Death Qi.

The spreading speed of the greenish-black color at the wound instantly slowed down, and the trend of necrosis was halted.

But to completely expel the Death Qi and heal the wound, he still needed time.

"It's the 'Rotten Bone Nether Crow'! A Peak Third-Stage, possibly even touching the threshold of the Fourth-Stage, Yin-Death Yao Beast! They excel at concealment, mental attacks, and manipulating Death Qi! They usually live in groups and are one of the most dangerous hunters in the Rotten Bone Forest!"

Mo Ling's expression was grim as she quickly explained the origin of that black Bone Crow.

"The mental shock just now was its innate Divine Ability, 'Nether Crow Wail'! It specifically targets the Divine Soul and is impossible to guard against!"

"This place is not suitable to stay! Rotten Bone Nether Crows rarely act alone; there must be more of its kind nearby!"

As if to prove her words.

The surrounding mountain-like piles of various giant bones began to rustle and move.

Immediately after, pairs of pale green Soul fires lit up one after another in the gaps, hollows, and shadows of the skeletons.

Cold, evil gazes filled with greed and stillness locked onto the group in the center of the clearing.

A rough count revealed as many as twenty or thirty pairs!

"We're surrounded!"

Lei Zhen gasped and tightened his grip on his Lightning Hammer.

"Form a circular formation! Back to back!"

Murong Bai barked, his shining white longsword unsheathed, its cold sword light sweeping toward those restless Soul fires.

Everyone immediately gathered back to back, forming a defensive circle facing outward, weapons in hand and True Essence erupting.

They watched warily as the various bone-type Yao Beasts slowly crawled out from the remains.

Besides the Rotten Bone Nether Crow that had ambushed Ye Chen, there were also Skeletal Hounds, which looked like giant dogs with nothing but skeletons and sharp claws and teeth.

There were Blade-Edge Bone Snakes, which resembled giant pythons but with every segment of their bones as sharp as a blade.

There were even some twisted bone beasts like stitched monstrosities, seemingly pieced together from the remains of various creatures and emitting an even denser Death Qi.

These bone beasts all had pale green Soul fires burning in their eye sockets; the weakest among them were at the Second-Stage, while the strongest reached the Middle Stage of the Third-Stage.

Combined with their large numbers and the fact that they had surrounded everyone, the situation instantly became critical to the extreme.

"Damn! These ghostly things were lying in ambush here all along!"

Shi Yue growled, his rock-like protective True Essence becoming even thicker.

"That stone tablet just now was probably a bait!"

"No use talking about that now! Fight our way out!"

Lei Zhen's hair and beard bristled, and purple lightning crackled and popped.

"Junior Sister Mo Ling, is there a way to counter these bone beasts?"

Murong Bai asked while remaining alert to the surroundings.

"Bone-type Yao Beasts fear solar thunder, dread pure yang true fire, and are also afraid of powerful mental attacks and purification power!"

Mo Ling spoke extremely fast.

"But the Death Qi here is too heavy, which gives a bonus to their strength and suppresses our yang-attribute power!"

"Senior Brother Lei Zhen's lightning arts are effective! Junior Brother Ye's True Essence also seems to have a restraining effect on Death Qi! Junior Sister Su's water-attribute healing techniques can try to purify the encroaching Death Qi! Everyone else, try to attack their Soul fires or joint connections!"

Before her voice fell, the bone beasts had already launched their attack.

"Roar!"

"Hiss!"

Amidst silent Soul shrieks and the sound of bones grinding, the Skeletal Hounds, Blade-Edge Bone Snakes, and Stitched Bone Beasts...

...pounced toward the group from all directions.

Pale green Soul fires drew streaks of light in the darkness, as sharp bone claws, bone blades, and bone spikes...

...tore through the air, carrying cold Death Qi.

"Kill!"

Murong Bai was the first to meet the three Skeletal Hounds pouncing from the front, his sword light like a streak of silk.

He instantly shattered one of them, but the sword blade was also eroded by Death Qi, its light dimming slightly.

Shi Yue let out a roar and punched a charging Stitched Bone Beast back, its bones shattering.

But his fist was also tainted by Death Qi, sending a stinging and numbing sensation through him.