Chapter Forty-Eight: The Two Bodies Hanging Upside Down

Qin Feng was beginning to regret his decision.

Ever since he had entered the central region of the Cloud Wilds, he hadn’t made a single move for several days. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to act, but rather that he hadn’t found a single target.

Strange—uncannily so.

The beasts in the center of the Cloud Wilds were indeed far fewer in number than those on the outskirts, but it shouldn’t have been possible to wander for three days without encountering even one beast.

The central region of the Cloud Wilds was shrouded year-round, never seeing the sun. The atmosphere was thick with chill and dampness—a perfect environment for powerful monsters to thrive. There was no way it could be utterly devoid of life.

As the saying goes, when things are abnormal, there’s always something amiss.

A peculiar, oppressive sensation permeated the air, making it hard to breathe.

Sensing that something was wrong, Qin Feng acted decisively, heading for the outer regions to escape this place of turmoil. But to his horror, no matter how far he walked, he remained within the central region—unable to find a way out.

Qin Feng wasn’t one to mistake his route. That left only one possibility: someone had tampered with the central region of the Cloud Wilds.

If his suspicion was correct, the culprit must be a master far beyond his ability to handle.

“Who could it be?”

Since he couldn’t leave, Qin Feng simply stopped, his mind working swiftly to analyze the situation.

He hadn’t offended anyone in the Cloud Wilds, and no one knew his whereabouts. If someone meant to target him, they could have done so in the outer regions—there was no need for such elaborate tricks, setting up an illusionary array here just to frighten him.

From this, he surmised that the person responsible likely wasn’t after him specifically; he had merely stumbled into a trap at the wrong time.

Frowning, Qin Feng found a hidden spot and concealed himself, dissipating all traces of his internal energy before carefully extending his senses, lying in wait.

Qin Feng was patient and calm—he remained completely motionless for three days and two nights, crouched like a shadowy wolf in the darkness, even controlling his breathing.

As the saying goes, fortune favors the diligent. Finally, on the third night, a faint rustling reached his ears, like leaves falling swiftly from the trees. Though distant, Qin Feng’s keen senses caught the subtle noise. After discerning it carefully, he detected something more—a hint of a human scream and the low growl of an unknown beast.

Time passed.

The sounds gradually faded, but Qin Feng didn’t move; he made no attempt to investigate, choosing instead to remain hidden.

Sure enough, moments later, a faint snapping sound came from that direction, like someone stepping on dry twigs in the grass.

Qin Feng held his breath, waiting in silence.

When all was quiet again, he waited a little longer to be sure there were no further disturbances. Only then did he rise from his hiding place and slowly make his way toward the source of the sounds.

His nerves taut, senses fully extended, and body poised in a defensive stance, Qin Feng was ready for any sudden danger.

The forest was too bizarre, sending chills down his spine.

A deep sense of unease filled him—this was likely the most dangerous situation he had ever faced.

He had to be cautious—one wrong step could cost him his life.

“Getting closer…”

Though he moved slowly, Qin Feng felt as if he had been walking forever. In truth, the scene of the incident was scarcely a hundred paces from where he had been hiding, but with his nerves stretched so tightly, time seemed to crawl.

As the distance closed, a grisly sight met his eyes—even Qin Feng, with his steadfast mind, couldn’t help but avert his gaze.

Before him, two corpses hung upside down from a tree. Death itself was not frightening, but these two bodies were completely naked—so thoroughly, in fact, that even their skin had been flayed away.

The skinned corpses, with their exposed flesh, yellow-white fat, and sinew, were a nauseating sight. Suspended by vines from their ankles, dangling from a great tree in the ink-black night, they appeared especially grotesque and terrifying. Blood pooled and spattered the ground beneath them.

Qin Feng crept carefully, avoiding the blood, and scanned the surroundings with his senses. Only when he was certain there was no one else nearby did he approach the bodies.

A strong metallic stench filled the air—the corpses were freshly dead.

Yet, Qin Feng found nothing of value on them; their clothes and even their skin had been stripped away. What clues could possibly remain?

Still, from examining the bodies, he gleaned something: one was male, the other female. The slighter build, the slight swell of breast tissue, the bare lower body—these details stood out to his trained eyes.

After all, in his previous life, Qin Feng had studied forensic medicine; determining sex was child’s play.

As for the cause of death…

Qin Feng’s brow furrowed.

Both had been skinned alive, dying from massive blood loss.

This was the work of demonic cultivators!

Qin Feng was no longer the ignorant youth he once was; he understood the methods of the demonic path.

Could there really be demonic cultivators lurking in the Cloud Wilds?

As he pondered, a sudden stirring within him caught his attention.

“What? The bloodline spirit?”

Qin Feng’s mind shifted, and he released his little black snake.

The creature was clearly drawn by the scent of blood, its innate hunger for flesh awakened.

“Could it be that these two had already reached the level of Iron Vein Masters?”

It was very likely. Qin Feng had come to the heart of the Cloud Wilds precisely to try his luck hunting monsters of the Demonization stage.

Now, the only thing that could arouse his bloodline spirit’s hunger was a cultivator at the level of Iron Vein Master, equivalent to the Demonization stage.

But these were corpses—freshly dead, yes, but mutilated…

Qin Feng hesitated, but the little black snake cared nothing for such qualms. Driven by instinct, it darted onto the male corpse and began to devour its essence.

Fortunately, the bodies were still potent—an Iron Vein Master’s flesh was strong, enough for the snake to feast for a while.

This feeding took a long time—if these hadn’t been corpses, Qin Feng would never have succeeded so easily.

Helplessly, Qin Feng offered a silent prayer for the dead, feeling a twinge of guilt.

It took almost the time for a stick of incense to burn before the male’s body was reduced to a desiccated husk.

Pinching his nose, Qin Feng felt awkward—his actions were little different from those of the demonic path.

At least the two had died first; that was his only consolation.

As the little black snake returned to his body, Qin Feng suddenly started.

“This…!”

A look of astonishment spread across his face. The power he sensed was deeply familiar. In an instant, he understood, and his eyes blazed with fury.

“This man must have been a disciple of the Qin clan!”

The Qin clan’s disciples all carried the Azure Dragon bloodline to some degree; the concentration varied, but this man’s was not weak. His identity was now obvious—an elite among the Iron Vein Masters of the Qin clan in Skywind City.

Although Qin Feng held little affection for the Qin clan, seeing one of their disciples murdered out here filled him with burning rage.

For a moment, anger overwhelmed all other sensations—the rush of power surging through his body.

When his mind cleared again, he realized—

This strength!

The essence of an Iron Vein Master was extraordinary indeed!

In that instant, Qin Feng felt a surge of comfort—every muscle, every bone, every cell in his body roared with life.

Sensing this unprecedented transformation, Qin Feng’s eyes shone. He understood immediately.

He was on the verge of breaking through!

But he was still missing something…

His gaze shifted to the female corpse. With a thought, the little black snake pounced.

At the same moment, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within several miles began to gather around Qin Feng.

Falling leaves hung suspended in the air, the insects’ chorus fell silent; for a heartbeat that seemed an eternity, Qin Feng’s mind was flooded with revelations.

Then, in the next instant, spiritual energy surged out of control, swirling toward Qin Feng in a vortex.

Not daring to hesitate, Qin Feng quickly channeled the Azure Dragon Iron Vein Art, assaulting the bottleneck that separated the Iron Vein Master from the next realm.

Though only a single step separated the tenth level of the Mortal Iron Vein from the first of the Human Iron Vein, the gap was vast as the sky.

Below the Human Iron Vein, each advancement was merely a change within the cultivator’s body; but to break through to the Human Iron Vein could trigger anomalies in the very world around.

This gulf was known among cultivators as the Heavenly Chasm.

To cross it was to gain the ability to commune with heaven and earth—a true entry into the path of cultivation. Those below were but martial mortals in the eyes of true cultivators, easily crushed.

Qin Feng’s body glowed with azure light, cocooning him in a radiant shell. Strangely, outside the cocoon, a thick black serpent circled endlessly, swallowing the essence of heaven and earth.

Within moments, the black snake began to change—growing in size, its scales thickening, and at its neck, another head slowly emerged.

His bloodline spirit was evolving!

Time slipped by, and in the span of a stick of incense—

“Ah!”

Qin Feng’s eyes snapped open. With a piercing roar, the leaves around him exploded outward, and with a thunderous shockwave, dust and debris flew as the surrounding forest was devastated.

“At last—I’ve broken through!”

…