Chapter 308: Body: I Crave!

At high noon, the scorching sun hung in the sky.

Leaving the east city wall and continuing east for over a hundred miles, the vegetation gradually thinned, and footprints of varying depths and sizes appeared on the ground.

As well as dung bombs, very likely hidden under withered branches and fallen leaves.

Fortunately, the five people on this trip were at least at the Dharma Aspect Realm, capable of traveling through the air, so they would not be lucky enough to step into those sinister traps.

And amidst that filth, one could see long-decayed white bones from time to time.

Some were from animals, others from the Human Race.

Regardless of their status or strength while alive, at this moment, they were nothing more than a pile of incomplete, scattered remains.

This scene was, in fact, silently telling visitors who had rashly strayed into this place that what lay ahead was no good land.

To survive, one must turn back as soon as possible.

Otherwise, one would become a pile of dry bones buried in the belly of a beast!

Yet, looking ahead, there were still many remains.

Most of these people came from Wanshou City and were the remnants of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

A portion of them did so to wash away the shame of their predecessors and clear the name of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

But more of them did so for the sake of their descendants.

They did not want their descendants to be like them, trapped in this dead city for their entire lives.

So they could only head east; it was a journey to their deaths, but also a quest for survival.

The Kings of the Eastern Wasteland trapped them here and established a rule:

"Unless Death Valley is destroyed, the remnants of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect shall not leave without authorization for generations."

Then, did no one want to escape?

Did no one want to flee this place and end it all once and for all?

After all, the Eastern Wasteland was so vast; if one found a desolate mountain or wilderness to hide in, it would be impossible to find them without paying a price.

The answer is, it cannot be done.

Because the rules of the Kings were not just a restraint, but a curse.

The Jiang Family were Great Shamans, but there were far more families in the Eastern Wasteland that could use the Witch Sacrifice Art; other families also had specialized Witch Sacrifice practitioners.

Ten of the Kings joined forces to cast a curse upon the remnants of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

This point could not be changed, even though Wanshou City had changed hands to Beigan.

Casting a curse is easy; breaking one is difficult.

Ren Yidao had learned this yesterday when he took his disciple to seek favors from Jiang Mingzhi, but even as the eldest Prince of the Jiang Family, he could not easily break the curse for Zhang Mang.

One must choose a suitable time and be equipped with the corresponding auxiliary items to have a hundred percent certainty of breaking the curse without harming the soul.

However, because he had to go to Death Valley today, Jiang Mingzhi politely declined Ren Yidao's request, but promised to break the curse for Zhang Mang and his grandfather after he returned.

And the five people on this trip were different from those who generously went to their deaths; they were merely a group of teammates who were together in appearance but divided in spirit, gathered for their own respective purposes.

Turn back?

That was certainly impossible.

The purpose of this group, each harboring their own secret agendas, was not just to break in, but to penetrate deep into Death Valley.

The journey was very quiet; no one spoke voluntarily, nor was there a need for anyone to liven up the atmosphere.

Following the agreed-upon formation, the group concealed their figures while advancing rapidly, and soon arrived before Death Valley.

Demons.

The mountains and plains were full of demons.

Some were cooling off under trees, some were sunbathing on rocks, some were hidden in rock crevices, and some were drinking water by the river...

However, many of them had not yet undergone Opening the Spirit and only possessed a faint trace of Demon Qi; they still had a long way to go before becoming true demons.

And at the two sides of the entrance to Death Valley, two Great Demons lay prone at the gate, with dozens of minor demons constantly attending to them.

The two sleeping Great Demons were both in the form of black tigers, blocking more than half of the cave entrance and leaving only a gap wide enough for two Demon Beasts to pass through.

However, that gap was actually quite large for the Human Race, and there would be no problem for the five of them to pass through side by side.

The real problem was those beasts that had not yet opened their intelligence.

These hundreds and thousands of eyes were like cameras that could trigger an alarm at any moment, covering the entire area.

How could they avoid them?

Those two tiger demons were only at the Dharma Aspect Realm; although their strength was not to be feared, once they were awakened, their journey could be brought to an immediate end.

The group did not act rashly; Hu Wanwan led everyone to a slope behind them, first cast a spell, and then whispered:

"Everyone, is there a way to deal with those two tiger demons? If possible, we had best not disturb them."

After speaking, he laughed and shook his head:

"Hu has spoken out of turn; how could such a difficulty stump you all? I meant to ask, do you have any way for us to pass together?"

"Hu has a magic treasure that can allow everyone to conceal their figures, but it can only be used once a day and can only last for the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. I want to wait until a critical moment to use it; do you have any other methods?"

The four looked at each other, and Jiang Mingzhi thought for a moment before speaking first:

"I also have a pill here, secretly refined by the Jiang Family; after crushing it, it can make all Demon Beasts below the Heaven Realm fall into a deep sleep for a quarter of an hour. I also want to wait until a critical moment to use it."

At this time, Ren Yidao interjected and asked:

"Does it only take effect on Demon Beasts?"

"Yes, it only takes effect on Demon Beasts; the Human Race will only find it foul-smelling, and it will actually sharpen their spirits."

Ren Yidao nodded lightly, sighing inwardly.

Oh no, it's aimed at me.

I'll have to be careful then; I mustn't get caught in the crossfire, or that would be a real disaster.

Chu Hairen took out a Jade Pendant and said:

"This precious treasure can conceal one's aura, but it also has a slight limitation. If used on someone other than myself, it consumes a great deal of Dharma Power. Even at my current realm, it consumes twenty percent of my Dharma Power at once."

Dharma Power—this was the most important thing for their upcoming journey. Once they entered Death Valley, they would have to be very calculating with their Dharma Power.

Gongsun Changshou, after thinking for a moment, said:

"I can lure the two of them away, and then run back on my own."

Others might not understand what Gongsun Changshou meant by this, and might even think she had some unique secret treasure.

But Ren Yidao, who already understood her nature, had already guessed the answer to the riddle.

That's right, the answer was in the riddle itself; Gongsun Changshou's plan really was just for her to go and actively provoke them, then lure the two black tigers away...

A very simple and crude method.

"Daoist? It's your turn."

"Me? Oh, it's my turn."

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Ren Yidao came back to his senses and nodded.

"As for me, I actually feel that you all don't need to overthink it. Everyone here is no longer a novice just starting out, so there is no need to worry so much; just act as you see fit."

"If someone can't even pass this hurdle, heh."

Ren Yidao's smile was very calm, but no one present failed to understand the implication.

"I think perhaps he is indeed not suited for this trial. It would both spare himself from danger and reduce the burden on others. What do you all think?"

The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each showing their own special talents.

Whoever cannot pass is the one who will be the most embarrassed.

The few people pondered for a moment and all silently agreed, feeling that this was actually the most reasonable approach.

"It should be so. Then Chu will take the first step."

Seeing that everyone had made up their minds, Chu Hairen acted first. As the Jade Pendant in his bosom flashed, the aura on his body vanished without a trace, and even his figure became blurred, almost impossible to see clearly.

With a light leap under his feet, his speed was extremely fast. Ordinary wild beasts could not detect him at all. He drew an arc in mid-air and landed directly into the gap between the two tigers, disappearing without a trace.

The group waited for a moment, and no other incidents occurred; Chu Hairen's infiltration was very smooth.

"Who is second?"

"I'll go."

Gongsun Changshou first glared coldly at Ren Yidao, then took a small metal bird artifact from the Storage Bag at her waist and threw it forcefully into the air.

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

The metal bird swelled in the wind, its size gradually increasing until, in the end, the top of its head alone was enough for a person to stand on, and its wingspan exceeded two zhang.

Gongsun Changshou leaped onto the head of the metal bird and flew toward the sky, rapidly climbing to a high altitude.

Because it was high enough from the ground, the metal bird could not be seen as strange from below, and it was no different from ordinary birds and beasts.

"... Cough."

Ren Yidao squinted as he watched Gongsun Changshou flying higher and higher. He suddenly had an ominous feeling in his heart and quickly said to the two people still waiting:

"Your Highnesses, you two should set off together; no need to wait for her."

Seeing that Jiang and Hu were still hesitating, Ren Yidao added intimidation to his voice:

"Quick!"

The two, their minds shaken, could not care about anything else and each used their own methods.

Jiang Mingzhi sprinkled some powder on himself and directly escaped into the earth, moving rapidly toward the entrance.

As for Hu Wanwan, he took out a Jade Pendant sealed with blood. After activating it, a faint Demon Qi emerged from his body. If one relied only on divine sense to investigate, they would only mistake him for an ordinary Demon Beast.

Relying on this aura, he moved rapidly through the shadows, catching up from behind, and passed the tiger demons at about the same time as Jiang Mingzhi, who had chosen earth-escaping.

"Daoist Ren let us go first, but what about him?"

After reuniting with the other two, Hu Wanwan immediately turned to look behind him, fearing that some accident might occur.

These two from Beigan were indispensable; missing either one would affect his plan.

However, when Hu Wanwan looked behind him, he could not help but widen his eyes.

In his eyes, Ren Yidao seemed to have used nothing at all and walked out from his hiding place in a swaggering manner.

Yet those wild beasts, which should have been alert, treated him as if he were nothing, letting him pass by their sides step by step.

Some small beasts even rolled over his insteps, but they had no reaction at all, as if what was beneath them just now was merely a somewhat soft stone.

What is going on?

But just as Ren Yidao was walking slowly forward, a figure finally chose the right angle and fell from the sky.

Whoosh—

Gongsun Changshou was likely planning to launch a surprise attack from the air and then kill the two tiger demons with a single blow under her palm.

Watching that figure smashing toward the cave entrance like a cannonball, he shook his head helplessly.

"Master, I probably understand why you didn't ask her to go to Feiyun Ravine."

"With her around, you must have had many extra troubles for no reason."

Just at the moment before Gongsun Changshou landed, Ren Yidao opened his mouth helplessly:

【Sleep.】

In an instant, swaths of wild beasts began to fall outward in a spreading pattern from him, emitting snoring sounds.

All the wild beasts present, without exception.

Ren Yidao himself was not idle; he raised his hand and waved, releasing the Dao God that had not yet manifested, letting It rush over at the critical moment to catch the falling human bomb in Its mouth.

Ah—mmph!

Gongsun Changshou: Eh?

Why am I stuck?

The Dao God white fox did not give her time to think; it flicked its neck, forcefully throwing her directly into the cave entrance, and then wiped its mouth with its paw, looking quite disgusted.

If I bit her, won't I be infected with that terminal illness called "not smart"?

And just as Gongsun Changshou landed, his mind full of confusion, Ren Yidao also happened to finish his final step and entered Death Valley.

【Wake up after half a minute.】

After he left, the wild beasts outside the cave entrance continued to sleep soundly for half a minute, then woke up at the exact same moment.

They did not perceive what had happened at all, and did not notice the one minute they had lost from their lives forever.

The two tiger demons also opened their eyes, but after seeing that everything was normal, they let out a huge yawn and continued to sleep soundly.

That is how the security guards at the gate of Death Valley are: they work when there is work to do, and sleep when there is nothing to do; their daily life is just that dull and boring.

After entering Death Valley, Ren Yidao ignored Hu Wanwan's flattery and curious questions, instead narrowing his eyes, his body slightly tense.

After leaving the east city wall, Ren Yidao had clearly felt the Demon Qi gradually strengthening along the way.

But it was not until he truly stepped into Death Valley that he truly understood what a demon den was.

That invisible Demon Qi did not need him to actively absorb it at all; it was already automatically surging into his body.

Here, Ren Yidao had a peculiar feeling.

He felt like a shriveled sponge that had been dried out in the desert for a long time, and then finally, one day, was thrown into the sea.

Even though he himself had no intention of doing anything, his body, which had long been hungry to the extreme, had already reacted on its own.

His mouth said no, but his body was truly honest.

It was hungry.

And it had been hungry for a very, very long time.

His body seemed to have been awakened by the Demon Qi, compensating for itself in a retaliatory manner.

Swallow!

Absorb!

Then, before this desire could be satisfied, it was forcibly suppressed by Ren Yidao.

Not allowed to eat, hold it in!

He did not completely cut off the absorption of Demon Qi, but suppressed ninety percent of it, leaving only ten percent to be absorbed into his body.

First, he was not sure if absorbing a large amount of Demon Qi in a short time would have a negative impact on his mind.

Second, the current occasion was not right.

If the others saw any clues, it would be hard to explain.

Be cautious; slow and steady is the King's Way.

Ren Yidao was like a deeply hidden, repressed pervert; although he was extremely hungry inside, he still put on a calm and indifferent appearance on the surface.

He even remembered his Role-playing, lifted his chin at the bewildered Gongsun Changshou, and sarcastically remarked in a flat tone:

"It seems that Fellow Daoist Gongsun's methods are not very clever."

"You!?"

Gongsun Changshou was stunned for a moment and was about to react accordingly, but was held back by Hu Wanwan, who prioritized the big picture, stopping this yet another conflict.

"You two! This is Death Valley! Even if you have any grudges, it won't be too late to settle them after we get out!"

Watching the two of them snort coldly, Hu Wanwan cursed with extreme malice in her heart.

If you can even make it out alive, that is.

I'm going back today, so I'm updating early; the stockpile is completely gone—