Chapter 575: The Terrifying Shadow

Duan Rong sat cross-legged on the gray-white ground, beginning to sink into his Spirit Sea to condense a Soul Piercing Needle.

The rest of the group stayed near Duan Rong, resting while keeping watch.

It was daytime, the light was bright, and they were on the corpse of this god-demon. On this back, as broad as a plateau, everything was gray and white, with no weeds growing; but if there were any unusual movements, they could spot them from far away. Previously, they had seen that "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit from a distance as a strange, blurry red dot...

Su Xinjue looked at Jiang Hanyan with a somewhat embarrassed expression and said, "Hanyan, I'm sorry! I just stumbled under my feet and almost lost my footing, which is why I jumped away."

Everyone knew Su Xinjue was lying, but no one intended to expose her. At that moment just now, she wasn't the only one who had wanted to jump away. After all, seeing themselves getting closer and closer to that "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit, it would be a lie to say they weren't afraid.

Du Wan smiled and said, "It's fine, Xinjue, I was also preparing to jump away at the time. I just hadn't managed to move yet."

Upon hearing this, Su Xinjue smiled at Du Wan, looking infinitely charming for a moment.

While Su Xinjue and Du Wan were talking, Jiang Hanyan just stood there with a dull gaze, her eyes looking blankly ahead as if none of the others existed.

Seeing Jiang Hanyan's state, Guo Tian couldn't help but knit his brows, then walked behind her with a grave expression to look at the Ghost Infant's Kiss on her neck.

The Ghost Infant's Kiss was still in its original state, the delicate wrinkles on the lip print visible in every detail, but after looking at it for a long time, Guo Tian's eyelids suddenly twitched; the Ghost Infant's Kiss was so lifelike that, after staring for a while, it seemed like a living thing, as if it were squirming.

Lu Chu was standing right beside Guo Tian, also staring at the Ghost Infant's Kiss with a look of astonishment, and he suddenly said, "Why does this thing look more sinister the more I look at it!"

As Lu Chu spoke, he circled around to the front to check on Jiang Hanyan's state. His eyes were full of worry, and he suddenly reached out and waved his hand in front of Jiang Hanyan's eyes, but Jiang Hanyan had no reaction at all, still staring blankly straight ahead.

This state of Jiang Hanyan's was clearly very abnormal; it could no longer be described as being overly frightened.

Lu Chu looked at Guo Tian and said with a grave expression, "Jiang Hanyan's state is clearly related to that Ghost Infant's Kiss! Guo Tian, do you think she might turn into an Evil Spirit?"

"Ah!?"

Su Xinjue and Yang Sui had been standing not far from Jiang Hanyan, and upon hearing Lu Chu say this, they both couldn't help but move away a little, a look of terror flashing across their faces, looking very unsightly.

Guo Tian glared at Lu Chu and said, "Don't talk nonsense!" But at this moment, his own thoughts were churning as well.

Lu Chu then lowered his head and sighed, saying nothing more.

Guo Tian also had the same worry as what Lu Chu had said, but he could not abandon Jiang Hanyan just because of this hypothetical possibility. Doing so would be a huge blow to the overall morale. Once in a dangerous situation, people's hearts are prone to change!

Guo Tian looked at Su Xinjue and said, "Su Xinjue, keep an eye on Jiang Hanyan; if you discover anything unusual, report it immediately."

A look of reluctance appeared on Su Xinjue's face, but she still nodded and agreed.

The "unusual" that Guo Tian mentioned already implied that he partially agreed with what Lu Chu had just said. However, she and Jiang Hanyan were the only two women in the team, and since Guo Tian had specifically named her, she had no choice but to accept it, even if she was unwilling in her heart.

The group began to take turns keeping watch and resting, but only Jiang Hanyan stood there stiffly, her face rigid and her gaze dull. Su Xinjue sat cross-legged not far away, glancing at her every now and then.

Several hours later, the daylight gradually dimmed, and the twilight was already beginning to rise.

Just at this moment, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes. A trace of fatigue flashed across his face, and he exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Seeing Duan Rong open his eyes, the others all stood up one by one.

Guo Tian asked, "Is it condensed?"

"Just about." Duan Rong looked up at the dim sky and said, "It should be enough to handle tonight."

Duan Rong's words made everyone's hearts tighten. Ever since they encountered that "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit by the water pool, it was as if they had poked a nest of Evil Spirits, and they had been continuously harassed and attacked by them.

Seeing the twilight descending, they were about to enter the dark night.

Once they entered the dark night, the sinister power of the Evil Spirits would be even greater than during the day. After this night, whether they could all stand here in one piece was really hard to say!

Thinking of this, everyone looked with grave expressions at Jiang Hanyan, who was standing there stiffly.

Jiang Hanyan had been struck by the Ghost Infant's Kiss, and just how sinister that thing was remained to be seen. If Lu Chu turned out to be right and Jiang Hanyan also turned into an Evil Spirit during the night, then it would be equivalent to them carrying an Evil Spirit by their side...

Guo Tian glanced at the twilight closing in and said, "We must go! We cannot delay the journey any longer!"

As he spoke, he had already taken a torch out of his backpack, then blew on the Fire Folder to light it and ignited the torch. Yang Sui also brought over a torch and lit it with the flame.

Two clusters of yellow, bright flames burned with a *whoosh* in the darkness, illuminating everyone's grave and gloomy faces.

Guo Tian rearranged the guard formation. After all, with Jiang Hanyan having an incident, Su Xinjue had to watch her. And Duan Rong had been condensing the Soul Piercing Needle for several hours and was very tired, so he also needed to rest.

Duan Rong, Jiang Hanyan, and Su Xinjue gathered in a group in the middle of the team, while the other five kept watch on the perimeter. Everyone had a feeling that this dark night would not be peaceful. Keeping extra watch could at least reduce some of the scrambling.

Once the formation was set, the group set off on their way.

Guo Tian held the torch and looked sideways at Duan Rong, saying, "Duan Rong, you also keep an eye on Jiang Hanyan; she looks like something is not right."

Duan Rong looked at Jiang Hanyan beside him with a grave expression; at this moment, Jiang Hanyan's eyes were hollow, as if she were a shell without a soul.

As night fell, the group walked forward along the back of the god-demon, which was as broad as a plateau.

Not long after, on the pitch-black, oppressive, and low-hanging night sky, a moon as dim as a green-furred rabbit had already risen. The gray-white ground all around was shrouded in a faint, sickly green color, looking quite eerie.

This god-demon's body was extremely large; walking from its tailbone to near the back of its neck was quite a distance!

The group made hollow footsteps on the god-demon's body, which echoed in the tranquil night...

Although they had been feeling uneasy and quite panicked, as if something were lurking in the darkness all around, several hours passed and they had been safe all the way. They could see they had already reached the central area of this plateau, where the terrain was slightly depressed.

By the light of the torches in front and behind, Duan Rong looked from time to time at the Ghost Infant's Kiss on the back of Jiang Hanyan's neck.

Along the way, he had been thinking about one question.

During the day, they had wanted to bypass the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit. That Evil Spirit suddenly launched an attack and entangled Jiang Hanyan with its hair.

There were eight of them, yet the target the Evil Spirit chose to attack was Jiang Hanyan, and only her alone.

Was this just a coincidence? Or was it that Jiang Hanyan was the person that Evil Spirit was looking for?

If it wasn't a coincidence! Then, why did the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit want to find Jiang Hanyan specifically? Was there something special about her?

Could it be because of this Ghost Infant's Kiss?

Why did this Ghost Infant's Kiss have such a great attraction to the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit? To the extent that it was willing to risk danger and chase after them even while suppressed during the day.

Duan Rong was deep in thought when he suddenly heard a *thud* sound beside him!

He turned his head and saw that Jiang Hanyan had already been dragged down. Her waist and neck were wrapped tightly in squirming hair. Those hairs were like dense, swarming black snakes, winding tighter and tighter, and they were trying to drag her away!

The "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit had actually come again!?

Su Xinjue had also discovered the abnormality, and she screamed in terror.

At this moment, Jiang Hanyan had already been dragged past her feet, and it looked like she was about to be dragged through the gap between Lu Chu and Du Wan, who were keeping watch there, and pulled into the pitch-black darkness.

In that split second, Lu Chu and Du Wan lunged forward almost simultaneously and grabbed Jiang Hanyan. The three of them were pulled toward the darkness together. At this moment, Guo Tian also flew over and pressed his burly body down there. With Guo Tian pressing down there and his heels digging into the ground, the speed at which they were being pulled into the darkness finally slowed down slightly.

Duan Rong's gaze was cold and sharp. He grabbed the torch from Yang Sui's hand at his side, took a leap, and jumped out, throwing the torch toward the depths of the darkness where the eerie hair was emerging while still in mid-air!

The torch spun, sparks flying in all directions as it flew into the depths of the darkness, carving out a ball of yellowish-bright light.

Within that yellowish-bright light, a terrifying figure, crimson as blood, was shockingly standing there! Countless strands of hair, like wild grass or black water, were growing and spilling out from beneath its Red Bridal Veil...

As the torchlight swept past, everyone saw the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit in the darkness! A wave of terror struck their hearts, and their scalps couldn't help but tingle as if struck by an electric rod!

Seeing an Evil Spirit during the day versus seeing one deep in the darkness in the middle of the night—the feeling is completely different!

The moment the torch illuminated the terrifying figure of the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit, Duan Rong's Soul Piercing Needle had already been fired from mid-air!

The Evil Spirit also knew of the danger, but the Soul Piercing Needle arrived the instant it was fired; there was no avoiding it!

The moment Duan Rong saw it, the Soul Piercing Needle had already struck the mass of dense darkness beneath its feet.

A puff of curling white smoke rose up immediately!

The "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit's figure retreated violently, those strands of hair like wild grass dragging behind it, writhing and twisting incessantly...

Seeing the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit retreat, everyone's faces turned deathly pale!

Duan Rong stood there, looking toward the depths of the darkness with a cold gaze.

He had a feeling that the Evil Spirit had not gone far and would strike again at any moment!

Duan Rong turned his head and said coldly: "Move quickly! That thing hasn't gone far! It's still nearby!"

Hearing this, everyone jumped up with a start, formed their formation, and continued forward, though their calves were trembling slightly.

Duan Rong was in the middle of the group, watching the surroundings while looking at Jiang Hanyan beside him.

This was the second time!

The Evil Spirit was still attacking only Jiang Hanyan! If the first time could be called a coincidence, then two times in a row could absolutely not be a coincidence!

Moreover, judging by the Evil Spirit's posture, it wanted to abduct Jiang Hanyan!

Looking at the Ghost Infant Kiss on the back of Jiang Hanyan's neck that seemed to be writhing, many of the logical chains Duan Rong had previously deduced became active again.

The "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit chose to attack only Jiang Hanyan out of the eight people, and there was only one reason for that: Jiang Hanyan had been struck by the Ghost Infant Kiss.

The "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit wanted to abduct Jiang Hanyan because of that Ghost Infant Kiss.

Behind that lay another logic. That is, there must be some kind of connection between the Ghost Infant Evil Spirit and the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit!

Duan Rong's gaze suddenly shifted, and his stomach churned with nausea.

He suddenly thought of one thing.

The "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit's belly was ripped open, and it was empty inside!

The Ghost Infant had clearly crawled out from the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit's belly!

Duan Rong suddenly recalled that the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit had been making an eerie sound by the water pool. "Child... my child..."

Seen in this light, the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit had actually been looking for the Ghost Infant all along!

Yet the Ghost Infant kept a wide berth from the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit's Red Bridal Veil and was very afraid of it, which showed that the Ghost Infant had been avoiding the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit's search.

At this moment, Duan Rong finally understood one thing.

Why the Ghost Infant Evil Spirit was hiding in that pitch-black corner and had coated the nearby stone walls with the leaves of the Green Flame Grass.

If Duan Rong's guess was correct, the scent of the Green Flame Grass leaves could likely mask the Ghost Infant's aura, preventing the "Ghost Bride" from tracking it.

If it were not so, Duan Rong could not imagine why the Ghost Infant would be so strange as to coat the entire stone wall with Green Flame Grass leaves.

Following this logic and deducing it all the way through, the Ghost Infant's purpose in leaving that Ghost Infant Kiss on Jiang Hanyan became very clear.

The Ghost Infant knew that their group was heading into the depths of the God-Demon Relic; it left a lip print on Jiang Hanyan using its own Evil Spirit essence so that they would act as a decoy, luring the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit away.

As for whether the Ghost Infant's purpose in using them to lure the "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit away was just to hide, or if it had other moves, that remained unknown.

The Ghost Infant Evil Spirit's essence was lurking in the lips, and what it left on Jiang Hanyan was also a lip print similar to the Evil Spirit's essence.

The "Ghost Bride" Evil Spirit must have sensed the dense aura of the Ghost Infant on Jiang Hanyan, which was why it followed them all the way and attacked her time and again.

Suddenly, Du Wan, who was on the right side of the group keeping watch, swallowed with a terrified expression; his face turned even paler, and he said with a stutter: "It's... over there..."

Hearing this, everyone turned their heads, only to see a figure crimson as blood standing shockingly in the darkness not far to the right of the group.

That crimson-as-blood divine figure was shrouded in a layer of dim green light, indescribably terrifying and eerie!

Lu Chu took a look and said: "This thing has actually been following us the whole time!"

The group walked a few more steps with terrified expressions, then Guo Tian suddenly turned around, looked at everyone, and said: "Let's stop for a moment, I have something to say."

Hearing this, the group's footsteps faltered, their hearts filled with panic, and they looked at Guo Tian with strange expressions. The Evil Spirit was right there in the darkness nearby, and you want to stop now?!

Seeing the looks on everyone's faces, Guo Tian remained unmoved, his face cold as he said: "We can no longer keep Jiang Hanyan with us!?"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned! They hadn't expected Guo Tian to suddenly throw out such a statement at this critical juncture.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted as he looked at Guo Tian. Clearly, Guo Tian had also discovered that the Evil Spirit was coming for Jiang Hanyan.

Guo Tian didn't waste any words and said decisively: "Jiang Hanyan has been struck by the Ghost Infant Kiss; what variables may follow, I will not state for now! But the Evil Spirit has attacked twice, both times targeting Jiang Hanyan; this is absolutely not a coincidence! If we keep Jiang Hanyan with us, that Evil Spirit will keep following us! It's like a persistent ghost!"

Hearing that the Evil Spirit would keep following them, everyone's expressions turned very ugly!

In this world, what could be more terrifying than a cold, eerie Evil Spirit following right behind you?

(End of this chapter)