Chapter 567: The Dark Night Descends

Several hours later, the pale yellow sky began to grow dim. This meant the dark night within the God-Demon Relic was about to descend.

Guo Tian looked up at the sky and said, "The dark night is coming! Let's rest and replenish our strength; the dark night is far more dangerous than the day!"

The group immediately sat down cross-legged in an open area.

They all took dried meat out of their backpacks and began to chew and swallow it.

The dried meat did not taste good, but it could replenish the Qi and blood they had consumed. After all, within this God-Demon Relic, they relied primarily on their solid physical strength.

They ate some dried meat and had only rested for a short while when the surroundings turned dark. The twilight within the God-Demon Relic had closed in from all directions.

This Chaos Stone Forest appeared even more eerie and desolate in the pale, gloomy twilight.

Guo Tian unscrewed the Fire Folder, blew out a flame, then pulled a torch from his backpack and lit it with the Fire Folder.

A ball of flame crackled in the twilight, illuminating everyone's faces.

Guo Tian said, "The night is not peaceful, so we will take turns keeping watch. We'll split into two groups, with Duan Rong and me as the group leaders. Does anyone have any objections?"

Du Wan said, "No objections."

Lu Chu smiled and said, "I have no objections either."

The rest of the people did not speak, which was taken as silent consent.

After they had arranged their formation, they continued to move forward.

Although the dark night of the God-Demon Relic was dangerous, they had to keep moving. Firstly, they had to reach the Central Altar and return within twenty days; if they didn't travel at night, they wouldn't make it in time. Secondly, even if they didn't travel, staying in one place during the dark night was just as dangerous, as Evil Spirits could find them at any time.

At this time, Duan Rong, Lu Chu, Du Wan, and Xu Hui were walking in the middle of the group; they were one group.

It was currently Guo Tian's group's turn to keep watch.

Guo Tian held a torch and walked in front, Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue walked on the sides of the group to keep watch, and Yang Sui held the second torch and walked at the very back of the group.

The night vision was dim, unlike the day; at this time, no one dared to look for Divine Medicine anymore. Everyone walked in a specific formation.

The torches at the front and back had already illuminated this part of the group.

Guo Tian walked at the very front holding a torch; he was burly and carried a wide-bladed saber on his back, standing there like a small mountain.

Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue walked while scanning the sides of the group and the thick darkness outside the torchlight with vigilance.

In this space, apart from the sound of the howling night wind, it was deathly silent, and the sound of the few people's footsteps echoed hollowly in the quiet space.

Walking at the back of the group and holding a torch, Yang Sui felt the most hair-raising. He turned his head from time to time to look behind him, his ears pricked up as if listening carefully to the movements behind him. Sometimes the night wind would stop and start, startling him into turning his head repeatedly, fearing that something was closing in from the darkness...

After walking in the darkness for more than an hour, the group gradually adapted. Even Yang Sui, who was walking at the very back, did not feel as hair-raised as before.

Moreover, a "moon" rose in the night sky of the God-Demon Relic. If that could be called a moon.

That moon emitted a ghastly green light, just like an eerie, curled-up green-furred rabbit. The green light was very dim and could barely provide any illumination; it only cast a faint, ghostly green glow over the already eerie Chaos Stone Forest, making it look even more chilling.

Yang Sui still turned his head from time to time to look at the thick darkness not far behind him, outside the reach of the torchlight, but he had long since grown accustomed to the howling of the night wind and the torch by his hand that scorched his cheeks. The pitch-black, thick darkness was indeed chilling, but people could get used to fear.

Since he didn't know when the Evil Spirits would come, there was no point in scaring himself all the time!

During the ten-day intensive training, the Evil Spirits section was one of the two major priorities.

The reason why Evil Spirits existed within the God-Demon Relic was that the laws within the relic were different. That is to say, the laws of the God-Demon World itself could give birth to Evil Spirits.

However, according to the records of those who had entered the God-Demon Relic over the years, they generally encountered at most two Evil Spirits during the process of traveling to and from the Central Altar.

Some lucky groups only encountered an Evil Spirit's harassment once during the entire process.

In other words, the record for encountering Evil Spirits was one to two, and each time they entered the God-Demon Relic, the Evil Spirits they encountered were different.

As for why this was, the Sect had never reached a conclusion.

Because there were no Evil Spirits in the Jiuzhou World, and the God-Demon Relic was broken and incomplete, or perhaps only a fragment, the laws of the birth and longevity of Evil Spirits were impossible to study.

According to the deductions of Lin Youjian and the others, it was likely related to the size of the God-Demon Relic; that is to say, the size of this area of the God-Demon Relic belonging to the Taiyi Sect could only give birth to at most two Evil Spirits.

Their round trip to the Central Altar took a total of twenty days, and if they were lucky, there would be at most one instance of harassment by an Evil Spirit.

Why bother scaring themselves on the very first night?

Several hours later, the two groups rotated, and it was time for Duan Rong and his group to keep watch.

Duan Rong held a torch and walked at the front of the group, Lu Chu and Du Wan kept watch on the sides, and the pale-faced Xu Hui took the torch from Yang Sui's hand and walked at the back of the group.

Guo Tian's group walked in the middle of the team; at this time, all four of them were a bit exhausted, their eyelids drooping. Having been fully focused on the surrounding movements for several hours was also mentally draining, and Yang Sui couldn't help but yawn.

The surroundings were still silent, and the four of them were a bit tired from keeping watch, so they all started to doze off while walking.

After the two groups rotated again and walked for another hour, Guo Tian suddenly took out the map and said while walking, "There is a water source there; we should rest for a while and replenish. Because it is still a two-day journey to the next water source."

Duan Rong's expression shifted upon hearing this. He had seen the map; it seemed they were not moving slowly, as they had already reached the second water source.

Duan Rong looked up into the darkness ahead and indeed saw a faint glow not far away; that was clearly the dark reflection of a pool of water.

The group licked their dry lips, and none of them had any objections to Guo Tian's suggestion.

They had already rotated watch twice, and it was estimated that dawn was approaching. This night, they had hardly stopped their feet, and the distance they had covered was not short.

The group then held their torches and walked toward the pool not far away.

After approaching the pool, Guo Tian and Yang Sui stuck their torches into the crevices of the rocks beside the pool.

Under the torchlight, it could be seen that the pool was not large, only about half the size of the first pool they had encountered.

This was more than a circle smaller than the size indicated on the map before.

Lu Chu looked at the pool in front of him and once again recalled Duan Rong's previous judgment. Twenty-nine years had passed; it was normal for things like pools, which were prone to changing course, to have changed, or even to have disappeared entirely.

The group sat there to rest, but Xu Hui pulled a torch from a rock crevice and walked slowly to a spot not far from the pool.

He stared at the pitch-black pool, a flash of vigilance crossing his pale face.

In the group, he was responsible for the task of testing the water source. This was originally one of many unremarkable daily tasks.

But this pool was different from the one during the day.

During the day, the light was bright, and the water quality of the pool was very good; the yellow light penetrated to the bottom of the water, and the bottom of the pool was completely visible.

But now it was night; although this pool was not large, it was pitch-black, and he didn't know if anything was hiding inside.

Xu Hui was a cautious and sensitive person, which was why Liu Su had assigned the task of testing the water source to Xu Hui when distributing daily tasks before departure.

Liu Su knew this disciple of his very well. Although testing the water source was an inconspicuous task, it had to be entrusted to a reliable person.

Duan Rong saw that Xu Hui was somewhat hesitant, so he stood up, walked over, patted Xu Hui on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go, I'll accompany you."

Xu Hui turned his head, gave Duan Rong a grateful look, and said, "Many thanks."

The two of them came to the side of the pool together. They stood there, staring at the pool water for a while, only to see a strange green-furred moon floating amidst the rippling water.

Duan Rong said, "It should be fine, Xu Hui, go ahead and test it."

Xu Hui nodded, took out a Silver Needle, bent down, gently stirred the Silver Needle in the pool water, and then he changed to another spot and continued to probe the water with the Silver Needle.

Throughout the entire process, Duan Rong stood there, his gaze fixed on the water surface like a blade; at the slightest sign of anything unusual, he would immediately call out to stop Xu Hui.

Xu Hui circled the pool, tested several spots, and finally stood up, smiling faintly at Duan Rong: "The water is fine."

The pool was not large, and with only a furry green moon floating there, nothing seemed amiss.

Duan Rong said, "That's good!"

After Xu Hui finished testing, the group came to the edge of the pool to fetch water.

Everyone used a Silver Cup to scoop a cup of water, then sat on the scattered rocks by the pool, chewing on dried meat taken from their backpacks while drinking the water.

After a while, Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue suddenly stood up.

Jiang Hanyan said, "Xinjue and I are going over there for a moment, wait for us here."

Upon hearing this, Guo Tian was slightly stunned and asked in astonishment, "What are you going over there for?"

Guo Tian's meaning was very clear; it was now the dead of night, and Evil Spirits could appear at any time. At such a moment, leaving the group was clearly very dangerous.

Seeing Guo Tian asking her, Jiang Hanyan's face flushed slightly, but she ignored him, simply pulled a torch from a crevice in the rocks, and walked into the darkness with Su Xinjue.

"This..." Guo Tian stood there, stunned, not knowing why Jiang Hanyan acted this way; he even stood up with some hesitation.

Because Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue were in his group, and they were two women, Guo Tian was quite worried that something might happen to them.

Seeing Guo Tian stand up and watch Jiang Hanyan walk into the darkness, Lu Chu suddenly pressed down on his shoulder and laughed, "Senior Brother Guo, the two of them are going over there to solve a problem. Do you want to follow them too?"

"Solve a problem? Solve what problem?!" Guo Tian still hadn't reacted, while Du Wan over there was already giggling.

Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue were actually going over there to relieve themselves.

It was fine during the day, as they could keep watch for each other and relieve themselves in slightly more secluded places.

But for this entire night, the two of them had to hold it in. Because the eight people in the group had been gathered together, keeping watch in shifts.

The men in the group simply relieved themselves by the side of the road, and once finished, they would immediately walk back without falling behind. But the two of them couldn't do that and had to hold it in the whole time. Now, at the pool, having drunk some water and eaten some food, they really couldn't hold it anymore and had to go to that place not far away to take care of it.

Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue walked to a pile of scattered rocks. Standing there, they could see the torchlight shining at the pool not far away, and in the quiet darkness, they could even hear the voices of Lu Chu and the others.

Jiang Hanyan held the torch, shielding Su Xinjue behind her, letting her squat down there to take care of it first...

Guo Tian finally realized what was going on and sat back down with an embarrassed expression.

Once everyone finished eating and drinking, they put away their Silver Cups, just sitting there to rest for a while and wait for Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue to return.

Duan Rong looked up at the pitch-black sky; judging by the time, it should be almost dawn.

Just then, a figure suddenly emerged from the darkness not far away, with a slender waist and a green water-colored dress.

"Is that Su Xinjue!?"

The moment Duan Rong saw Su Xinjue, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

Firstly, Su Xinjue had returned too quickly. Jiang Hanyan and she had only just left, and yet she had returned right on her heels. Secondly, she had returned alone; not only was Jiang Hanyan not by her side, but the torch they had taken was also missing, and this woman had just walked out from the thick darkness.

Just as a sense of foreboding rose in Duan Rong's heart, Su Xinjue was already walking toward them.

The person closest to where Su Xinjue emerged from the darkness was Lu Chu, who was sitting on a rock looking at a map.

A figure had emerged from the darkness nearby, and Lu Chu's peripheral vision naturally swept over it; he turned his head and saw Su Xinjue walking over.

Lu Chu's expression froze. He saw that Su Xinjue was looking at him, with a strange, stiff smile on her face.

Lu Chu asked, "Xinjue, why did you come back alone? Where is Jiang Hanyan?"

As Lu Chu spoke, he looked behind Su Xinjue, but there was only thick darkness there; where was there any sign of Jiang Hanyan?

Seeing that Su Xinjue was only a few steps away from Lu Chu, Duan Rong suddenly shouted, "Lu Chu, get out of the way!"

"Ah!?"

"She is not Su Xinjue!?"

Hearing Duan Rong's shout, Lu Chu's expression turned to shock, and he immediately noticed that Su Xinjue was walking toward him not only with a strange smile on her face, but a stiff, unchanging smile, just like a human face mask.

The way Su Xinjue was walking at this moment was also somewhat stiff, not her usual graceful posture.

Lu Chu immediately jumped backward, avoiding the Su Xinjue who was approaching him.

Besides the fact that he also felt Su Xinjue's oddness, another layer was that he was quite convinced by Duan Rong's previous judgments; he believed that if Duan Rong hadn't seen something, he wouldn't have told him to get out of the way for no reason.

After Lu Chu dodged, Su Xinjue turned her body stiffly, still wearing that strange smile, and looked at Lu Chu.

Duan Rong stood not far away, looking at that "Su Xinjue" with cold eyes, and asked sharply, "What exactly are you?!"

That "Su Xinjue" seemed to understand Duan Rong's question; her strange face, which had been looking at Lu Chu, suddenly turned to look at Duan Rong.

At this moment, everyone else had also stood up, looking at Su Xinjue and Duan Rong with uncertain expressions.

In their view, although the person in front of them had a somewhat strange expression, it was clearly Su Xinjue! But why did Duan Rong say she wasn't Su Xinjue, and furthermore, Duan Rong's question just now used the word "thing," not "person."

Could it be!?

Just as the expressions in everyone's eyes changed, Lu Chu felt a chill in his heart; he glanced at Duan Rong and asked, "Duan Rong, you just said she isn't Su Xinjue!?"

As Lu Chu spoke, he had already put more distance between himself and the "Su Xinjue."

At this moment, everyone present felt their hair stand on end.

Duan Rong said coldly, "Of course she isn't Su Xinjue! Because the shoes she is wearing are not Su Xinjue's at all!"

Everyone looked down and saw, beneath the "Su Xinjue's" water-colored dress, a pair of embroidered shoes as red as blood looming into view.

At this moment, the "Su Xinjue's" face still wore that strange smile, but her deep eyes were now surging with intense, venomous malice.

The moment that venomous malice surged from the "Su Xinjue's" eyes, Duan Rong suddenly flicked his right hand; in the darkness, a plum blossom shadow bloomed by his hand, and three Phosphor Crystal Flying Needles were silently shot out, piercing toward the "Su Xinjue's" strange face.

Those three Phosphor Crystal Flying Needles suddenly hovered in place just a few inches from Su Xinjue's face, and then a strange, deep laughter rang out in the quiet night, sounding now near and now far, making one's hair stand on end...

The moment the laughter began, an extremely chilling aura radiated from Su Xinjue's body, and the surrounding air seemed to turn cold in an instant... A thick mass of darkness formed at the soles of Su Xinjue's feet...

Everyone could not help but shiver, and the three suspended Phosphor Crystal Flying Needles were as if corroded by something, turning into powder and scattering away...

By this time, Su Xinjue had already vanished, and standing there was, shockingly, a bride in a deep red wedding dress wearing a Red Bridal Veil; that strange laughter was coming from beneath the veil, yet it sounded as if it were coming from a bottomless, dark well, filled with a strange, humming echo...

(End of chapter)