Chapter 113: Bone-Eating Wasteland

Having stepped into the demon realm again, despite being mentally prepared, Shi Ran still could not bring herself to look directly at what lay before her.

To avoid being tracked by the tracking demons, the two had already disguised themselves and found the most concealed entrance, yet the very sight of this land was enough to make one breathless.

Underfoot was not soil but some dark red, viscous substance that emitted a grating "puchi" sound when stepped on, as if treading on uncoagulated bruised blood.

The air reeked of thick sulfur, iron rust, and a deeper, more nauseating stench of decay, blending into a flavor potent enough to scorch the lungs.

The sky was an oppressive leaden gray, roiling like congealed filthy clouds; occasional cracks revealed not sunlight but a sickly, radiation‑haloed purplish‑red glow that tinged everything in sight with an ominous hue.

Twisted, bone‑like jagged rocks rose up, their surfaces coated with slick moss or unknown fungi that constantly writhed and oozed slime.

In the distance, faintly visible were strange plants that seemed forcibly fused of flesh and metal, slowly throbbing and breathing in the weak purple light. As far as the eye could see, hardly anything could be called "normal" or "vital"; only endless desolation, decay, and a malice that seeped into the bone.

Shi Ran had never seen such nauseating sights; her stomach lurched. She forced her gaze away, pressed her lips tight, and her fingers curled involuntarily, nails digging into her palms as she used pain to counter the overwhelming physical discomfort.

"After the ancient Immortal‑Demon War, both the cultivation world and the demon realm were devastated, especially the border battlefields!" Ling Xiao's voice was low and solemn, unusually clear in the dead silence. He keenly noticed Shi Ran's unease, his gaze sweeping over her pale profile, a hint of pity flickering in his eyes.

"But we must pass through here," Ling Xiao continued, explaining, "This place……is one of the fiercest ancient battlefields of that time. Violent energy, the fallen corpses of immortals and demons, shattered magical treasures, drifting resentments……all of it has soaked deep into this land, warping its essence. Hundreds of years have passed, and instead of recovering, it has……bred even stranger things. Ordinary demon‑realm regions are hazardous, but nowhere near as……'dead yet not still.'"

He deliberately stressed those last words, his eyes wary as they swept over the throbbing rocks and slime‑filled gullies around them. Everything here seemed to possess a dormant, malice‑filled vitality that could be roused at any moment.

Shi Ran drew a deep breath, trying to ease the sourness in her throat, but the mix of sulfur and rot only made her feel worse. She forced herself to speak, her voice trembling slightly: "This……is the Bone‑Eating Wasteland my master just mentioned?"

"Yes." Ling Xiao nodded, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, carefully gauging the direction, "Only by crossing this region can we reach our destination in the demon realm, the Gloomshadow Rift. Si Tong lives nearby by the rift. Remember, besides the tracking demons, the very environment here is the greatest threat. Any slight abnormal sound or improper fluctuation of spiritual power could awaken……something."

He paused, lowering his voice further, his gaze full of worry, his fingers lightly brushing Shi Ran's hair before snapping back and hastily curling his fingers: "Especially watch out for the Blood Marsh beneath your feet and those things that look like withered bones—the Soul‑Eating Vines; they are extremely sensitive to the breath of living beings."

Afterward Ling Xiao gestured for Shi Ran to follow, taking the lead with each step unusually careful, as if treading on the spines of countless sleeping monsters. Shi Ran forced herself to move her leaden legs, suppressing the great discomfort in her heart and her fear of this land, and kept close behind Ling Xiao.

She dared not let her gaze linger anywhere too long; the writhing ground, the throbbing rocks, the twisted shadows seemed to silently mock the two intruders. Deathly silence blanketed the wasteland, broken only by the faint sound of the viscous substance underfoot and her own hammering heartbeat.

Shi Ran's stomach clenched violently, the sour‑rot stench deep in her throat threatening to burst past her teeth. She clenched her lower lip until blood filled her mouth, barely managing to press down the surging nausea.

Each step felt like wading through a viscous, half‑congealed blood‑marsh, the "puchi" sound piercing the silence; every footfall made her heart jump, fearing she might disturb this sleeping nightmare.

Ling Xiao strode ahead, his body taut as a fully drawn bow. His movements were extremely light, each step precisely calculated to avoid the darker, slightly undulating blood‑marsh areas and the twisted, bone‑like thorns jutting abruptly from the viscous ground—the Soul‑Eating Vines.

His sheathed sword remained unsheathed, but the tip of the scabbard would occasionally tap the suspect ground ahead with the slightest touch, testing solidity. Neither spoke; the air hung heavy as lead, each breath burning the lungs, the mingled reek of sulfur and decay permeating everything.

"Stay exactly in my footsteps, not deviating by an inch." Ling Xiao's voice dropped to a near‑whisper, yet carried undeniable gravity. His eyes, hawk‑sharp, scanned the relatively open but fissure‑strewn expanse ahead.

Those fissures plunged bottomlessly, their edges oozing dark‑red viscous fluid that gave off a richer, sweet‑sour stench of decay.

Between the cracks stood several strangely formed "plants"—corpsebone trees. They were not mere vegetation but resembled countless twisted, semi‑petrified giant skeletons forcibly fused and spliced together into warped trunks, their surfaces coated with thick moss that continually oozed dark‑green pus, while a few sparse, bone‑shard‑like "leaves" reflected an eerie, unsettling glow under the morbid purple light.

The roots of these corpsebone trees sank deep into the blood marsh, as if sucking the land's pain and death.

The two carefully made their way through the grove of corpsebone trees, and Shi Ran's gaze was drawn unbidden to the largest of them. A huge, hollow eye‑socket outline was clearly visible on its trunk, its edges still adhered with wind‑dried, leathery tissue. An indescribable chill crept up her spine.

Just as they were about to skirt this horrifying corpsebone tree, a sudden change occurred!

"Watch out!" Ling Xiao's warning rang in Shi Ran's ears like a thunderclap.