The Bizarre Village

Dawn was just breaking.

Wen Sining, who had sat cross-legged and cultivated all night, let out a long sigh of relief as her fatigue from yesterday dissipated significantly.

“I will continue my investigation nearby today. If I still can't find any clues...”

“No, I can definitely do this.”

As if making a firm decision, Wen Sining subconsciously clenched her fists, then got up to investigate the nearby villages and wilderness.

The outskirts of the village.

Wen Sining carefully examined every clue, afraid of missing anything.

She had gathered very few clues over the past two days, only knowing that every time the children were snatched, the culprits would pass through this road and then vanish.

Unfortunately, no matter how thoroughly she searched, she couldn't find anything amiss.

Just as Wen Sining was feeling distressed, a gust of black wind howled past, accompanied by bursts of bizarre and eerie laughter that didn't seem to belong to the world of the living.

Before Wen Sining could think, she immediately retrieved her magic treasure to defend herself, but that freezing sneer, like a dead person's laugh from hell, echoed in her ears.

She suddenly looked up.

Lifeless, with bright red circles painted on both cheeks, baring white teeth and emitting a ghostly laugh, the face of a dead person was as terrifying as a ghost story from a nightmare.

“Hehehe~”

The bizarre ghostly laughter and the chilling face of the dead stimulated Wen Sining's nerves, causing her to stare right into its eyes, completely off guard.

Wen Sining sucked in a cold breath, her pupils dilating as she froze in place, before foaming at the mouth and fainting.

She had never encountered such a situation before; her past missions had always involved exterminating demon beasts, and she had never faced these half-human, half-ghostly entities.

The moment Wen Sining collapsed, the communication stone in her bosom flickered a few times before growing dim.

At the same time, the black gale swept through the village, stripping away all signs of life, even blocking out the sunlight in the sky.

There wasn't a single living soul in the entire village; it was filled with these half-dead, ghostly things.

With bloodless, pale cheeks, wearing white funerary hats, and bright red circles painted on both sides of their faces, they exuded deathly energy and bizarre smiles.

Some of them had no heads, some held their own heads in their arms, and some toyed with pitch-black hearts... yet they surrounded Wen Sining, dancing in bizarre steps and emitting sharp, mocking shrieks.

Then, the black-clothed men mentioned by the "old man" made their entrance.

Four men with black death-runes painted on their faces, dressed in tight-fitting black robes.

Their pale, bloodless cheeks were completely expressionless. Though their feet hovered in the air, they still left footprints. Carrying a black wooden coffin, they swayed as they walked up to the unconscious Wen Sining.

A large character for “Mourning” was written on the black wooden coffin in white. With the arrival of the four, round white paper money with square holes in the center began to drift down from the gloomy sky.

The “villagers” continued to dance, and then an extremely bizarre suona melody rang out.

“Doot! Doot! Doot!”

It was an accompaniment for the dead; the living should not disturb.

In the next instant, Wen Sining was placed inside the black wooden coffin, vanishing along with the four black-clothed men before the footprints the village "old man" had spoken of, without leaving a single trace of aura.

Once it was over, the "village" turned back into a village.

The dead became "living people."

It was exactly the same as before Wen Sining investigated for information—still that nauseating, uncomfortable village.

On the other side.

Wang Xuanyi suddenly opened his eyes, sensing that the prey had taken the bait.

Wen Sining was the bait arranged by Wang Xuanyi. As for this target, Wang Xuanyi had long heard outer sect disciples mention it and had been keeping an eye on its movements.

Many inner sect disciples had failed at the hands of this ghostly thing.

Although they had soul tablets protecting them and ensuring their safe return, it left behind indelible impressions and terrifying memories, driving quite a few of them insane.

The immortal sect had once sent Nascent Soul Realm experts to investigate, but after many twists and turns, they failed to find where this thing was hiding.

Wang Xuanyi had come alone a few times, but the thing refused to show itself, slippery as a loach; he couldn't catch its tail at all.

The mission department had reported it to the Sect Master, hoping a Peak Master-level expert would handle it, but with the decennial Immortal Sprout Assembly happening, they temporarily had no time to spare.

As a result, it could only be put on hold for the time being.

“I really didn't expect this. This time it was taken by the old geezer, and in the end, it fell back into my hands. Heaven is truly watching, letting me deal with you, you dead thing.”

Wang Xuanyi laughed wildly, and with a flash of his body, he arrived at the "village" where Wen Sining had fainted.

Unfortunately, the village was not a "village," nor was there any village at all. This place was utterly empty, without even the sound of chirping insects or birds, desolate and remote.

“Hmph, what are you pretending for? Do you think you can still run!”

“Open!”

With a shout from Wang Xuanyi, the dim communication stone in Wen Sining's bosom emitted specks of light, which eventually flared brilliantly, piercing through a certain restriction.

At that moment, the surrounding space warped. The environment, which had been under the blazing sun, instantly transformed into a gloomy and bizarre setting, exuding deathly energy.

Before him, a village of the dead appeared.

There was absolutely no sign of life.

“Hehehe, is the guest looking to stay...”

A waiter rubbed his hands and stepped forward to ask, but Wang Xuanyi couldn't be bothered with nonsense. With a bang, he crushed the waiter's head with one hand, turning it into powder that scattered away.

“A dead thing without even a drop of blood dares to act fierce here,” Wang Xuanyi said coldly.

Seeing this, the walking corpses before him no longer held back. They turned back into... ghostly faces, sneering and twisting their bizarre bodies as they lunged toward Wang Xuanyi.

“Hmph.”

Wang Xuanyi snorted coldly and spat out a golden light that instantly covered the entire space. Any dead thing touched by the golden light turned into black mist and dissipated.

In the span of a single breath, those half-dead things were gone.

“Doot! Doot! Doot!”

Along with the sound of a suona, the four black-clothed men carrying the coffin appeared once again, abruptly manifesting in front of Wang Xuanyi.

Then, their bodies were blown apart one by one.

They didn't even have a chance to resist.

“Will you come out, or do I have to drag you out?”

Wang Xuanyi's words echoed through the space, but no one responded.

After a few breaths, seeing that there was no response, just as Wang Xuanyi was about to break the spell, an androgynous voice echoed throughout the space.

“Junior, you are merely at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Just because you used a magic treasure to kill a few of my dead things, what right do you have to bluster?”

Suddenly, a round, ancient red cauldron appeared in this space, radiating a bizarre and wicked crimson light that made one feel uncomfortable.

Various black ghostly figures were engraved on the cauldron, some baring their fangs and claws, some twisting their bodies, others devouring humans and beasts—extremely bizarre and highly ominous.

“Kid, seeing my true form is the fortune of your three lifetimes.”

Inside the cauldron, blood bubbled as a human figure gradually solidified—it was a white-robed, white-haired old monster.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the cauldron, surrounded by dozens of blood-red tiny figures that leaped and danced in a cheerful rhythm.

“I want to go home...”

“Save me...”

“I don't want to die...”

Distorted human faces emerged from the cauldron one after another. These were the wails of the living before their deaths, and even more so, the essence blood condensed bit by bit from slaughtering countless people.