After the Immortal Disappeared

Everyone who heard him laughed. Hee Lingchuan could feel their morale lift slightly, as the thin Primordial Power in his body grew a little denser.

’Although Primordial Power has a limited effect on these monsters, a boost in morale is a good thing, after all.’

He feigned a relaxed tone. "Just hold on a little longer. Reinforcements are coming."

A squad member with injured eyes couldn’t help but ask, "Do we really have reinforcements?"

"Of course," Door Panel said in a low voice. "We’re just the first wave. If we don’t make it out soon, the Marsh Warden will have to report to the military and send more troops. It’s already been..."

"Two double-hours!" Hee Lingchuan declared decisively. "Reinforcements will definitely arrive. We can’t lose heart and give this monster any more opportunities to strike!"

Facing an enemy that seemed unbeatable, they needed a chance, and they needed—

They needed hope!

...

She was lost in a beautiful dream.

Here, the sky was still blue, the grass still green, and the cherry tree in the courtyard had only just been planted. As the daughter of a wealthy family, she could wash her face with fresh spring water drawn just moments before, then moisturize her skin with rose essence oil mixed with milk.

Her personal maid would comb and wash her hair. The biggest worry in her life was her cousin saying a few nasty things behind her back.

The year the cherries ripened, bearing large, red fruit, she was betrothed in a suitable match, and the cherry tree was part of her dowry. She had a gentle husband and began a life of happiness and bliss.

And then...

Later, the cherry tree was a freshly planted sapling once more, and she was again a young girl with bright eyes and pearly teeth, growing up without a care in the world.

Then she married, and then she lived a happy and harmonious life.

Then it repeated, and repeated, and repeated.

But she never felt that anything was wrong. It all seemed so natural.

’Happiness is always formulaic, isn’t it?’

All she had to do was immerse herself in it.

Then one day, as she went to pick cherries, she discovered a shocking smear of blood on a leaf.

’Who could have accidentally cut their hand?’

Then she went around the cherry tree and saw her gentle, considerate husband lying in a pool of blood, his eyes staring at her, frozen in the final terror of his life.

She immediately covered her eyes and fell to her knees.

From the moment she lowered her hands, the world changed.

The city was conquered by enemies, her home was destroyed by the flames of war, her clan fell apart, and her family was scattered and killed.

She couldn’t even save the cherry tree, watching it turn to charcoal in the fire, just to give her a sliver of warmth in the dead of winter.

The days that followed were bitter and dark.

For a mouthful of food, she fought with wild dogs; for a place to stay, she slept with the three men of a family.

Later, she became a merchant’s concubine, but he used her to entertain his business partners. One of them, in a drunken stupor, beat her until she miscarried the child in her womb.

She spent her days drowned in tears, begging for some spiritual solace.

Thankfully, the compassionate Deities sent her lovely children.

Chubby and fair, never crying or fussing, good children who were always grinning at her.

Her life had meaning again.

Just then, a red rain began to fall, each drop stinging her face.

She held out her hands and saw they were covered in fresh red.

The children beside her began to wail, trying to pull her away. But someone suddenly emerged from the darkness, ignored the children’s protests, and shoved her into the rain, ordering her in a cold voice to force her eyes open:

"Wash your eyes and see what you’ve really given birth to!"

The red rain lashed her eyes, the stinging pain increasing tenfold. It hurt so much the nerves around her sockets throbbed uncontrollably, but her vision suddenly became clear.

Washed by the rain, the image of her children transformed before her eyes.

Her chubby babies became misshapen Evil Ghosts.

The kind of Fierce Ghosts that only appear in the deepest nightmares.

They surrounded her, calling her "Mother," sucking her blood and gnawing her flesh, each bite an agony that pierced her soul.

Then they clawed their way out of her belly, going on to devour one human after another.

Everyone cried at her, everyone cursed her.

’And before, I thought this was bliss?’

’So, this is the truth?’

One unbearable horror after another washed over her. She couldn’t take it anymore and let out a bloodcurdling scream!

...

Deep within the Mine Cave, in a hidden stone chamber.

There was nothing else here. On a natural stone platform lay a woman, her eyes shut, her expression serene. But thick, straight, tendon-like cords extended from her limbs and both temples, connecting to the four corners of the chamber.

Or rather, they were grown together.

When she occasionally trembled, the entire Mine Cave would tremble with her.

It was exceptionally quiet here, the air dry, without a single sound.

But the next second, she snapped her eyes open and screamed!

She was awake. In that instant, she saw her predicament clearly. Her fear didn’t lessen; it magnified.

’Everything I saw and heard in the red rain... was it all real?’

’Where am I? What have I fallen into? Why does my body ache so terribly, inside and out?’

She was, of course, aware of the strangeness of her temples and limbs, and she struggled with all her might. These fleshy tendons, which felt unnervingly slimy, seemed to have been stripped from some unknown creature.

It felt as if a second layer of skin had grown over her body.

Fortunately, she found that she could tear them off if she pulled hard enough.

As she was tearing at the last three tendons, she thought she heard a terrifying roar from the depths of the Mine Cave.

What was more terrifying was that she could understand it.

The creature was shouting at her: "Mother, don’t!"

The woman shivered and tore at the tendons even faster.

...

The red rain came quickly, but it also left quickly, stopping after just a short quarter-hour as the clouds dispersed.

If not for the withered devastation on the ground, it would be as if nothing had happened at all.

But by now, the sky had grown dark.

"Don’t touch anything the red rain has fallen on," the Red General ordered his men. "Follow me."

The power of this red rain was comparable to a potent poison. The Great Wind Army Guards had seen its effects and naturally kept their distance.

But the Red General’s speed was astonishing. He vanished into the cave in a flash. By the time the others rushed over, they only caught a glimpse of his cape disappearing around a corner.

***

CRACK! With a crisp, sickening sound of breaking bone, the Jindu Cub snapped Xuu Chun’s neck.

He had missed an attack, leaving an opening his opponent seized. His comrades couldn’t rescue him in time.

Under normal circumstances, Hee Lingchuan, Willow, and the others could have covered him. But now, their stamina was completely drained, and it was a struggle to even swing a proper strike.

Meanwhile, the Jindu Ghost was getting faster and faster, moving at a speed the human eye could barely follow.

Hee Lingchuan’s saber and Duan Xinyu’s spear were both embedded in the Jindu Cub. Hee Lingchuan, in particular, had sliced open its hard belly armor, leaving a wound that bled profusely and exposed its innards.

But Xuu Chun was beyond saving.

Hee Lingchuan closed his eyes, his heart sinking to the depths.

They had already consumed all the edible medicine they carried. What they needed most was to sit down, meditate, and regulate their breathing to restore their Primordial Qi.

But that was impossible. The monster could ambush them from any corner of the rock wall. Daring to meditate would be suicide.

They couldn’t even lean against a wall to rest for a moment.

Now, with Xuu Chun dead, the Slowdown Technique immediately wore off. The Bone Puppets, which had been shuffling along, were now sprinting. Bypassing their bound companions, they howled and charged toward the group.

The next instant, the Jindu Cub locked onto Duan Xinyu and lunged straight for him.

It had been targeting Duan Xinyu for a while. As its combat experience grew, it had long since figured out he was the one who had thrown the Cannibal Vine. ’If I can just kill him, I can wrap this up for the day.’

Duan Xinyu’s face was ashen as he grit his teeth and held on. His Sword Technique was normally so dense that not even water could pass through, but he was now a spent force. Blood oozed from the seven or eight wounds on his body, his saber felt heavier and heavier in his hand, and a thought echoed in his mind:

’Give up. End it sooner.’

’Putting up a final, desperate resistance will still end in death.’

The moment that thought arose, his hands slowed. The Jindu Ghost seized the opportunity, swiping a claw at his neck to send him to the same fate as Xuu Chun.

Willow stabbed it from behind, hitting the Jindu Ghost in the spine, but it didn’t dodge or evade, intent only on taking down Duan Xinyu.

Door Panel shot out from the side, slamming into its ribs with both himself and his shield, sending it flying.

The Jindu Ghost rolled with the impact, disappearing into the rock wall.

Duan Xinyu gasped for breath. "You guys..."

After those two words, he didn’t know what else to say.

Hee Lingchuan took the moment to even his breathing, trying to recall the feeling of striking his saber in the Hanhe River Water. Back then, facing the raging currents, he had also endured a battle of attrition from all sides.

’Conserving stamina and Battle Intent is the top priority.’

He said in a low voice, "Everyone, watch your feet."

This cub liked to attack from underground, and stabbing the soles of people’s feet was very effective.

The words had barely left his mouth when it shot out from the ground, aiming for Duan Xinyu’s back, this time wielding a four-foot-long Bone Spear. Its sense of smell seemed incredibly keen, allowing it to accurately judge who had lost their Battle Intent.

A new batch of Bone Puppets had also arrived. Without Xuu Chun’s Slowdown Technique, they were moving with frightening speed, about to join their master.

Hee Lingchuan had already moved behind Duan Xinyu. When he swung his saber, it was as if the Jindu Ghost had served itself up to be chopped.

The head of the spear snapped off, along with half of the monster’s front paw, making it howl in agony.

The "Breaking Army" effect actually triggered at this moment, ignoring the Bone Armor’s defense to sever its paw in one strike.

’Something feels off...’

Hee Lingchuan hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Meanwhile, Duan Xinyu seized the opportunity to counterattack, barely managing to dodge two of the monster’s blows.

The group continued to work together tenaciously, but they could no longer muster the mental fortitude.

A person’s resilience has its limits.

They had struggled for so long, yet there was still no glimmer of hope.

’How much longer can this lightless battle last?’

Hee Lingchuan suddenly said, "Willow, hit it with an Ice Arrow!"

Willow froze. "It’s my last one."

It wasn’t that she was worried about the cost in silver; what was the point of using it now?

"Use it!"

Her captain had given the order, so she nocked and fired without a second thought.

Thanks to her solid fundamentals, she didn’t lose her aim even under these conditions, hitting the fast-moving monster.

The Jindu Cub took the arrow in its left arm, and ice immediately spread from the wound across its entire body.

It had been hit by one before and knew what to do. It didn’t try anything else, simply falling back into the rock wall at once.

With its "Mother’s" protection, it could recover quickly.

The group also knew that chopping it into pieces was useless at this point. It would just regenerate in the end—though not multiply like a leech.

Other cubs died when they were beheaded, but this one was different.

The youngest, most favored by the Ghost Mother, was truly extraordinary.