Chapter 67 - 67 67 Hell in the Mountains

67: Chapter 67: Hell in the Mountains 67: Chapter 67: Hell in the Mountains Having sorted out his own complex feelings for the moment, Baili An carried Lin Guiyuan’s remains on his back and began searching downstream along the blood river. He sprinted along the way, his gaze, sharp as lightning, not overlooking any spot in the river as he searched swiftly. Finally, five miles downstream, he successfully found Lin Guiyuan’s head. Fortunately, Baili An was lucky; the Blood Lake connected to the Endless Sea. If a corpse or a head entered the sea, it would likely be torn to shreds by the sea demons or merfolk almost instantaneously. When Baili An found Lin Guiyuan’s head, numerous golden fish swam around it, seemingly supporting the head to slow its passage. However, in the corrosive Blood River, the gold scales of these fish were peeling off due to the decay. Despite suffering torments as if they were sliced by knives, the fish refused to leave, steadfastly protecting Lin Guiyuan’s head. In the river, many ferocious scale-armored fish tried to approach and nibble on Lin Guiyuan’s head. The few remaining golden fish stubbornly defended Lin Guiyuan’s head with their bodies, not straying even an inch. Even as their small bodies were torn asunder, the barely alive fish still mustered all their strength to resist the flow of the water. Only when those fish eyes saw Baili An’s approaching figure did they slowly show a human-like expression of relief. The scene before him shook Baili An deeply. Those golden fish were clearly creatures of the mountain. On ordinary days, Lin Guiyuan, as the son of the Mountain God, protected the myriad spirits of the mountain. Today, Lin Guiyuan was decapitated, with no proper burial; in gratitude, they used their own bloodied bodies to protect his severed head. With a few slashes of the Autumnwater Sword, Baili An precisely eliminated the monstrous fish in the river. He reached into the water to retrieve Lin Guiyuan’s head, and the few golden fish, whose bodies were torn to the point of exposing bones, made way for Baili An to pick up Lin Guiyuan’s head. And they… seemed to have fulfilled their final mission, their struggling bodies slowly floated up lifelessly, their fish eyes closing, losing all luster. Baili An let out a quiet sigh, scooped up the dying fish, and found an old tree under which he dug a hole to bury them. Lin Guiyuan’s gold robe was soaked in blood, staining it a bright red, obscuring its original color. He lay there, eyes closed in peace, his jet-black hair untethered from the Golden Crow hairpin, disheveled and damp, spreading on the ground. Baili An dug a larger pit next to where he buried the fish. He glanced at the black thread wrapped around his fingertips, and silently removed the thread. Spiritual Power condensed at the tip of the thread, sewing Lin Guiyuan’s head back to his body. This way, at least he wouldn’t be entirely dismembered… After burying Lin Guiyuan, Baili An dared not delay any further. He couldn’t imagine the extent of the crisis the Mountain Realm had fallen into at this moment. How could a mere group of scattered Righteous Sect disciples have driven Lin Guiyuan to this point? Baili An’s eyes turned frosty, like a slicing autumn wind. Wen Yu! Wen Zhendong! No matter what, he knew… these two must not be spared. Decapitated? Very well! Those two had successfully achieved just that! When Baili An finally reached the narrow gorge outside the Mountain Realm, he found the towering, cloud-piercing ridges had somehow been sliced in half. The wind howled through the wilderness, while the screeches of demons and evil spirits were incessant. The Barrier had already collapsed and was in ruins. Inside the mountain, demons and evil spirits swarmed like beasts scenting blood, crowding the place like hell on earth. The Corpse Tide, accompanied by a tide of beasts, came from all directions, surrounding the Mountain Realm completely, and some, in a frenzy, surged through the narrow path. Evil spirits crazily gnawed at the mountains and stones, widening the ravaged mountain path. Hidden in the depths of the forest, Baili An observed the scene with narrowed cold eyes. His gaze was uncertain, flickering between light and dark. Finally, he subdued a lowly corpse demon without consciousness from a weak point in the Corpse Tide. The corpse demon’s companions were equally devoid of awareness and wisdom, plodding step by step towards the tide, slowly squeezing into the mountain path. Baili An dragged the demon to a secluded part of the forest, drove his Autumnwater Sword through its heart, watched it turn to ash, then dressed in its tattered clothes with a shake, disguising as the undead. Wrapping a torn piece of cloth around his face, his eyes aflame with demonic intent, blood-red and foreboding. Not bothering to conceal the overflowing Demonic Qi of his corpse demon form, he joined the queue, making his way up the mountain path and into the Mountain Realm. His current sentiments were starkly different from when he first entered the Mountain Realm. Back then, he rode upon a Golden Crow divine bird, looking down at this beautiful, serene forest filled with silence and beauty. The woods were dense; vegetation was lush. But now, he infiltrated among the throngs of the Corpse Tide and Demon Tide. Ahead, ancient trees and vines, green grass—all had been scorched to a crisp by raging fires. Along the way, the trail was littered with mutilated corpses. There were White Ape carcasses, bird corpses, tiger and leopard bodies, and also… the lifeless forms of Merfolk, brutally dragged ashore and violated to death. They were no longer in their fishtail form, and who knew what methods were used by whom to cruelly transform their fishtails into bloody legs. Their tender bodies twisted unnaturally, each one with eyes wide open in death, unable to find peace. Beneath their eyes, tears of blood had fallen, leaving a ground littered with pearls of blood, their scantily-clad bodies a testament to the brutality of their assailants! Baili An’s blood, which no longer flowed in his veins, suddenly burned with a fire-like rage, boiling over like molten iron! It scorched his being! It seared his heart! To Baili An, these Merfolk women held familiar faces. In happier times, they laughed heartily, playing with fawns in the lake waters, their innocent and radiant joy still vivid in his mind. And now, they lay as cold corpses on the ground. Suppressing the fury in his chest, he could not let the anger rise to his head and lose his sense. Lost in the sound of wind chimes coming from somewhere, he contained his murderous intent, eyes glowing crimson as he followed the horde step by step into the depths of the Mountain Realm. “Master, Master… Look at this Golden Crow Vine, in that boy Lin Guiyuan’s hands, it could become a bow and a spear, but when others try to wield it, no matter how they channel Spiritual Power, it simply won’t change at all. Even a few times, the backlash of Spiritual Power hurts their palm, doesn’t it~” A soft, coquettish, and alluring female voice drifted through the rustling mountain leaves, reaching Baili An’s ears. Baili An’s gaze turned sharply colder. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Who else could own that voice but Wen Zhendong, Lin Guiyuan’s beloved? Although his heart was already certain that this master and disciple had killed the foolish youth Lin Guiyuan. Now, in her hands was Lin Guiyuan’s treasured Golden Crow Vine, which served as irrefutable evidence!