Chapter 48: Challenging the Limits of Life [Please Keep Reading!]

On the eastern side of Tashan, Xia Hong continuously felt along the cliff face, occasionally looking up at the mountain’s midsection, a flicker of impatience in his eyes.

Soon, Xia Chuan and Yuan Chuan arrived from the north and south sides, each leading two men.

“No entrance found on the south.”

“Neither on the north.”

Xia Hong’s face darkened—he had searched the entire east side and found no entrance to Dashih Camp; only the west remained.

A short while later, Yue Feng arrived with Lu Yang and Qiu Peng.

“No entrance on the west, no traces at all—it’s not there.”

Xia Hong’s brow furrowed tightly. All four directions—east, south, west, north—had been searched, yet still no entrance to Dashih Camp. How was this possible?

“It makes no sense. Dashih Camp’s base must be here on Tashan. My father told me so before—how could we miss it?”

Hearing Xia Chuan’s words, Yuan Cheng nodded. “I heard the same from my father. It must be here on Tashan. We’ve checked every wall on all four sides—could they have flown into the sky?”

At the word “flew,” Xia Hong froze, then looked upward—and suddenly understood.

“Of course!”

Tashan was unlike other mountains—it wasn’t pyramid-shaped, but a straight, vertical hill, its top only slightly narrower than its base.

Xia Hong’s gaze made the others realize it too.

Everyone looked upward. Yue Feng, with sharp eyes, was the first to spot something:

“Leader, there’s a vine here—it seems connected to the top.”

Xia Hong hurried over, took the vine from Yue Feng’s hand, and gave it a light tug. Immediately, several chunks of snow slid down from above.

“It’s here. Follow me up—be careful.”

After testing the vine’s strength and confirming it was secure, Xia Hong climbed up immediately. Xia Chuan, Yuan Chuan, and the other nine followed behind him.

The five-meter-wide wooden board, buried under snow on the mountain’s peak, was unmistakable. Xia Hong glanced casually and spotted it—he rushed to stand above the cover.

“Aaaah…………”

As he neared, faint screams echoed from within. Xia Hong’s face changed instantly. He pulled a fist-sized black ink block from his chest.

“All of you—get your stone axes out!”

Seeing the nine men produce their axes, Xia Hong quickly smeared the black ink onto each blade.

The ink was miraculous: though seemingly rock-hard, it liquefied on contact with the axe edges. By the time all nine axes were coated, only a marble-sized residue remained.

The black ink was, of course, Ninghuoyou—the substance that ignited upon contact with the anomalies.

Xia Hong drew his small dagger and coated the last bit of ink onto it, then turned to the group and ordered: “Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng—you two come down with me. I’ll check the situation first. The rest stay up here. If I shout for help, strike anything that climbs up—no matter who it is!”

Everyone nodded.

Xia Hong took a deep breath—he didn’t know what lay inside, so this was the only plan. He stepped forward and yanked open the wooden board.

“Aaaah…………”

“Shi Dong, are you insane? Don’t kill me!”

“Spare me, Shi Dong! Stop! Don’t kill anymore!”

…………

A three-meter-wide opening revealed itself. The continuous screams became clear.

As suspected—Shi Dong was truly under the control of the anomalies.

Xia Hong leapt into the opening. Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng followed close behind.

Inside the cave, a thick stench of blood surged into their nostrils, striking their brains. All three gagged.

“Wuuuuhhhhh…………”

Muffled whimpers reached Xia Hong’s ears. Fighting nausea, he looked down—and saw Shi Qing lying on the ground, thrashing wildly, his eyes fixed on the bonfire, clearly signaling him to save the others.

His mouth was sealed by something unknown; his body was bound by countless white threads—not wrapped around him from outside, but piercing through his flesh, pinning him in place.

“You two free Stone Leader—I’ll go save them!”

The moment he entered the cave, Xia Hong had already witnessed the massacre at the bonfire. With Shi Qing’s signal, he wasted no time—he charged straight toward the anomalies, still slaughtering with gleeful brutality.

Perhaps blinded by bloodlust, the anomalies didn’t notice Xia Hong’s approach and continued killing the civilians.

Only when Xia Hong reached his side did it drop the freshly severed head in its hand, then whirl around, glaring at Xia Hong with murderous rage.

“It’s you again, little brat—repeatedly ruining my plans.”

Xia Hong glanced around briefly, his brow tightening. Fury surged within him.

His rage was not ignited by the anomalies’ insults.

His rage came from the people—from the corpses—from the countless severed limbs and torsos scattered around the bonfire—from the civilians writhing in agony, dying slowly on the ground.

A quick scan told him at least a hundred had died.

Men and women, adults and children.

Even infants still nursing.

Many with fatal wounds lay screaming, breathing shallowly, clearly dying. Xia Hong even noticed one man, severed at the waist, his face twisted in terror and pain, still twitching on the ground.

Those killed instantly seemed almost lucky.

Xia Hong clenched his fists, his fury rising.

Though he had seen the anomalies’ atrocities before, this scene surpassed even the massacre at Daxia Camp—more bloody, more terrifying, more merciless.

These anomalies attacked humans without discrimination—devoid of emotion, let alone conscience.

Their very existence defied the very limits of biology.

The deaths of Xia Ding and the logging team, the seventy-two lives lost in the first camp massacre, and now this horrifying scene before him—

All old grudges and new hatreds combined, Xia Hong’s rage boiled over. He glared at the anomaly controlling Shi Dong and snarled:

“Monster! I know you like hiding in the shadows. Pray you’re never caught—if I find you, I’ll roast you alive on a torch, day and night, until you’re reduced to ash!”

Xia Hong knew the Shi Dong before him was not the anomaly’s true form.

Without another word, he drew his dagger and lunged forward in a flash.

The anomaly, already grim-faced at Xia Hong’s words, now roared in fury and shot several transparent white threads straight at him.

The moment Xia Hong saw the threads, he remembered how Shi Qing had been bound by them—he dodged several, then raised his dagger and slashed at the nearest one.

Ssssshhhh…………

To his surprise, the dagger ignited the thread on contact, sparks flying.

He immediately realized—the threads carried anomalous properties.

Now unburdened, he swung his dagger horizontally, no longer dodging, slicing through every thread that came his way. In just three or four breaths, he stood before the anomaly.

“Collecting some interest first, monster. Wait—your time will come. I’ll kill you myself!”

Xia Hong’s eyes blazed. His dagger slashed through the air.

Though he had just broken through Digging Earth Realm and his base strength was barely over ten thousand jin, the Tai Zhan Fist Style combined with his blade allowed him to unleash a force twenty percent beyond his base.

This strike shattered everything in its path.

The anomaly, desperately raising its arms to block, was split clean through—arms and head severed together. The force was so great that even after its head flew off, the rest of its body remained standing.

Only after four or five breaths did a small flame begin to creep up its neck, where the Ninghuoyou had coated it.

The flame spread, growing fiercer—mirroring the inferno burning in Xia Hong’s heart.

Please, keep reading! Let’s push higher in the second round—we’re almost a thousand! Thank you to everyone who’s stuck with me. I know the new book’s been rough, but thank you for coming in every day. As always: once this phase passes, I’ll unleash everything. Just give me your support now—I need this second round to climb higher. Thank you!

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(End of Chapter)