Child of the Rot

When he left the apartment, the sky was not yet fully bright, but the demi-humans had already begun tending to the farm.

Before stepping into the woods, he stopped and glanced back at the apartment.

Flora was still standing by the door, quietly watching him. When she saw him turn around, she waved.

The corners of Chen Mian’s mouth curled up slightly. He waved back in the same manner, then turned and walked into the forest.

Even from so far away, he could still clearly see her expression.

His life really did seem different from before...

Chen Mian ventured deep into the Forest of Death, heading toward the anomalous area Ryan had reported. Near the apartment, the chirping of birds was as lively as ever. However, as he traversed the woods and drew closer to where the dragons had appeared, the forest fell silent. The chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects vanished completely, leaving behind an eerie stillness.

After ruling out the possibility that the dragons had come to the Forest of Death to find Velyan, Chen Mian felt that things were not so simple. For so many dragons to gather in the Forest of Death and show no signs of leaving after several days, it was definitely no small matter.

And this abnormality only intensified as he drew closer to his destination.

Grayish-brown trees began to appear in his field of vision. Every single trunk was completely desiccated, as if stripped of its life force. Even the weeds on the ground had withered and died, and the soil looked polluted, taking on a pale, ash-gray color.

Chen Mian squatted down and scooped up a handful of dirt. The moment his palm touched the soil, a faint black mist began to drift out of it. As soon as the mist brushed against his skin, it recoiled rapidly as if burned, dissolving into the air.

Chen Mian frowned slightly as he stared at the soil in his hand. This black mist was identical to the energy on Velyan’s wound, only much more diluted.

Was the dragons' presence in the Forest of Death related to this?

He followed the energy forward. The withered patches grew increasingly dense until even the soil began to be covered in fine, black lines that pulsed slightly like blood vessels.

After walking a long distance, he stopped before a rift valley.

Both sides of the rift were covered in massive claw marks and patches of soil that had been scorched into glass, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place a few days ago.

Surrounding the rift were five massive stone pillars piercing the earth from five different directions. Each pillar was carved with intricate magic runes, radiating mana fluctuations of different attributes.

Five distinct streams of mana converged above the rift, forming a massive five-colored magic circle that completely enveloped the valley.

However, the magic circle now seemed to be missing a corner. A faint black mist was slowly seeping out from the weakened barrier at the gap.

At this moment, a red-haired man sat cross-legged atop the red stone pillar.

Chen Mian’s figure vanished from the spot, reappearing silently before the man in the next instant.

The red-haired man snapped his head up, a massive magic circle appearing beneath them both. But once he recognized the newcomer, the powerful fire magic failed to trigger, slowly dispersing instead. “It's you?”

A dozen years was too brief a time. Leo naturally remembered this human who had wandered into the dragon nest... It was just that compared to over a decade ago, his aura seemed to have grown significantly stronger, likely reaching the mid-stage Mythic Rank.

“I live in the Forest of Death,” Chen Mian said, sweeping his gaze over the crimson stone pillar beneath Leo before looking down into the bottomless rift. “Is this why your Red Dragon Clan has been making such a fuss in the Forest of Death lately?”

“Yes.” Leo withdrew his gaze, letting it fall back into the depths of the rift. “The seal left behind from ancient times has loosened.”

Chen Mian followed his gaze. The bottom of the rift was covered in some sort of writhing black substance.

At the gap in the five-colored barrier, the black mist seeped outward like blood from an open wound, only to be partially dissolved by the barrier's energy after traveling a short distance.

“What is inside the seal?”

Leo’s tone carried a rare trace of gravity. “The Child of the Rot. A very powerful, evil creature.”

“The seal was jointly placed by several ancient races, and it needs to be reinforced periodically.” He pointed at the five stone pillars around the rift. “We, the Five-Colored Dragons, guard this section. We rotate every two hundred years.”

“During this rotation, someone secretly tampered with the magic circle, causing a gap to be breached. A portion of it has already escaped,” Leo said with a frown.

“A portion? This black mist all comes from a single creature?”

“Yes. The Child of the Rot can split infinitely, and the divided parts can survive independently. It is extremely difficult to deal with.”

“This thing clings to wounds, doesn't it?”

“You know about it?”

“A few days ago, I saved a Chaos Dragon that was corrupted by it.”

Leo’s gaze locked onto Chen Mian’s face. “You saved a Chaos Dragon?”

“I found her in the forest. Her body was severely corrupted by the black energy.” Chen Mian added flatly, “She encountered a black, misty, humanoid creature that couldn't be dispersed or killed. As long as one is injured, it will cling to the wound and devour their life force.”

“I advise you to kill her as soon as possible... even if she is a Chaos Dragon,” Leo said, his expression grim.

“Why would I kill her?”

“You should know she cannot survive.” Leo’s voice sank, his crimson vertical pupils locking onto Chen Mian’s face. “Any creature corrupted by the Child of the Rot will eventually become an extension of its will. She will slowly lose her life force right beside you, ultimately becoming a part of that thing.”

“You don't need to worry about that,” Chen Mian said calmly. “I've already cleansed most of the black energy from her. She can eat and sleep just fine now.”

“Are you serious?” Leo’s face was filled with disbelief. “I've never heard of a single precedent where the corruption could be removed. Not a single creature infected by it has ever survived, from ordinary beasts to dragons and ancient species. Even if it's just a tiny wound, the black energy will spread along it until they are completely assimilated.”

Chen Mian turned his head to look down at the rift. “Are there many of these things?”

“Not many. There are about a dozen sites on the Continent of Cecia, though I'm not sure about the oceans,” Leo said after a brief hesitation. “Currently, the dragon race and a few other long-lived races have dedicated guardians watching over them on land. If the creature in even one of these sites escapes, it will have a massive impact on the Continent of Cecia.”

“And what do you plan to do about the portion that has already escaped?”

Leo fell silent for a moment, his crimson vertical pupils appearing somewhat gloomy in the sunlight.

He sat back down on the stone pillar, his fingers mindlessly tapping the stone surface. Only after a long while did he speak: “...We can't deal with it.”

“It has escaped before, but never in such a large amount. It has no fixed form and doesn't emit any mana aura. Conventional tracking methods are completely useless. We can only wait for it to reveal itself... Based on past experience, it will wander the outside world for a while to find a host.”

“Then what would happen if we destroyed its main body?” Chen Mian asked, looking deep into the rift.