Chapter 108: The Mystery of His Survival. The Price Paid.

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Zhang Xu simply couldn’t take it anymore.

Throughout the journey, Zhang Xu was on edge, terrified at every step. Even the little courage he had mustered earlier to help Lin Yi, spurred by his prompting, vanished completely now. Facing the countless layers of densely packed demons and monsters before him, his remaining bravery fled utterly.

No matter how brave one is, such a terrifying scene is unbearable.

To Lin Yi, these were merely sheep to shear, yet to Zhang Xu, they were deadly foes.

The countless demons and monsters snarled, baring their teeth, each with a grotesque and varied form.

An overwhelming aura of ominous energy thickened the closer they approached.

The amount of ominous energy scattered in the air here was estimated to be over five hundred energy units.

This energy constantly assaulted Zhang Xu’s body.

Though Zhang Xu held a stone imbued with ominous energy in his hand, the relentless onslaught severely tested his mental fortitude.

Already timid by nature, Zhang Xu began to see faint hallucinations before his eyes.

Before them stood Brother Baike and the others, their bodies increasingly shrouded by ghostly shadows that covered them densely from head to toe.

Seeing Brother Baike and the others, Zhang Xu’s expression darkened. Though he vowed to save them, he was near tears.

He noticed that the black mist enveloping them thickened, their faces gaunt and ashen. Zhang Xu feared they might already be dead.

Lin Yi, however, discerned that Brother Baike and the others were still alive.

Beyond them, to Lin Yi’s surprise, there were the auras of over a dozen living people continuously emanating.

These dozen or so individuals were the five missing families from the tenth group of Shanghe Village.

Almost all the missing population, fewer than twenty, were still alive!

This was something Lin Yi had not anticipated.

Earlier, Lin Yi had already slain the ghost child.

Upon that child’s death, the “Nerve Severing” skill rewarded Lin Yi with a single-use yellow-grade fireball talisman.

Lin Yi had already come to understand much about the events surrounding the five missing families of Shanghe Village’s tenth group.

The ghost child’s real name was Han Erhao.

His nickname was Haohao.

Cute and mischievous were indeed the traits of this little troublemaker… On the previous night, Han Erhao, amused by the howling wind and swaying trees, thought it was the perfect time to scare someone—the eerie atmosphere fit perfectly.

After dinner, he told his family he was going to the toilet, then left the warm house.

In the countryside, toilets were far outside the house.

Wearing a mask, Han Erhao planned to scare Grandpa Zhang.

This so-called Grandpa Zhang was actually Old Zhang Han.

Living alone, with no company, he was the perfect target for Han Erhao’s pranks.

Han Erhao had scared Old Zhang Han many times before.

He was truly a mischievous child.

Once, while scaring Old Zhang Han, Han Erhao pushed him, causing the old man to fall flat on his face, nearly losing one of his remaining three teeth.

For that, Han Erhao received a harsh lesson—his family beat him severely, leaving his backside bruised and raw. That taught him never to push or shove elders, but his desire to scare them never ceased.

That night’s eerie atmosphere made Han Erhao feel that not scaring Grandpa Zhang would ruin the fun.

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After relieving himself at the outdoor toilet, Han Erhao, still masked, felt the wind was unusually strong and biting cold.

“Whoosh, whoosh…”

He shivered involuntarily, a little frightened.

But his mischievous nature prevailed, and he ran toward Old Zhang Han’s courtyard.

Before he could push open the door, he heard someone calling his name from behind.

“Han Erhao... Han Erhao...”

The voice sounded very familiar, somewhat like his grandmother’s, but hadn’t she already passed away?

Han Erhao shivered and looked back but saw nothing. Fear gripped him, and he hurried to push the door open.

Just as he reached for the door, Han Erhao noticed another hand beside his own.

That hand was covered with age spots, the nails darkened, and a copper ring adorned the middle finger.

Han Erhao knew that ring all too well—it was the same one his grandmother wore at her funeral on her middle finger.

It was said that when Grandpa left home, Grandma had moved the ring from her ring finger to the middle finger.

The ring was made from a fifty-cent copper coin, so some parts were unevenly hammered and bore coin imprints.

Han Erhao had long coveted this copper ring, yearning to wear it himself, so familiar to him.

Following his gaze, Han Erhao saw his grandmother, her face speckled with age spots, her pupils milky white, smiling gently at him.

In the next moment, Grandma opened her mouth and bit at him.

Pain exploded as Han Erhao’s mask fell to the ground.

The pain spread to his face; Grandma was gnawing on him. Han Erhao shouted, “It hurts... Grandma, it hurts so much, please stop biting…”

When Han Erhao opened his eyes again, he found himself, Old Zhang Han, and many villagers of Shanghe all beneath a tree.

Why was his body transparent?

His consciousness began to blur, and in a haze, he remembered how he and Old Zhang Han and others had slowly made their way to the Dove Hole.

This was the memory of the ghost child Han Erhao.

From this memory, it was clear that the ghost child was devoured by a ghostly entity, his flesh eaten away, his death by biting, before transforming into that skeletal form.

Because even before dying, there was hardly any flesh left on him.

Although in the memory, other villagers from Shanghe Village’s tenth group seemed intact, Lin Yi believed that since the evil spirit devoured Han Erhao, the others likely had not escaped unscathed.

But surprisingly, these people were still alive.

This perplexed Lin Yi.

Logically, after the demons and ghosts escaped through the broken exit of the barrier, they should have killed all these people to satisfy their hunger.

Yet now, it seemed only Han Erhao had died.

If one claimed the evil spirits preferred children, then why were two plump little girls among the missing families still alive?

Lin Yi was deeply puzzled.

“Brother Lin Yi… um… please act quickly… I… I swear… once we attack, we should quickly get Brother Baike and the others out. They don’t seem to be dead… this… Zhao Qilin is about to become a powerful cultivator at the Divine Realm. This…” Zhang Xu trembled as he looked anxiously at Brother Baike and the others.

Lin Yi nodded. Zhang Xu was right; the shaking ground around them was because the broken spatial barrier was collapsing.

Countless ominous energies were being drawn back to the original energy source—the massive pillar of light before them—causing the surrounding ominous energy to lose support and inevitably collapse.

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Just look up overhead—there was a large hole in the sky not far off, through which the chilling wind blew fiercely. The hole had expanded from a few dozen meters in diameter to nearly a hundred meters.

It was clear the fractured spatial barrier was fragile, teetering on the brink of collapse.

Lin Yi deeply wished he could freely wield the Tiger Ghost-Headed Blade, the relics, and other items to slaughter as many demons as possible.

But with Zhang Xu beside him, he had to hold back, making him restless as an ant on a hot pan.

“Forget it. The fractured barrier is the main threat. Those smaller demons are about to dissolve into ominous energy to nourish the barrier’s hazy consciousness. I’m not rushing. My first priority is to get Brother Baike and Zhang Xu out. As for the villagers, we’ll save them if we can… But how exactly?”

Lin Yi was stumped.

The fractured spatial barrier was a small pocket dimension sealed off by an energy wall, isolating all inside.

It seemed that Lin Yi and Zhang Xu had entered because they were standing above the barrier’s broken hole.

That broken spot was accessible since the spatial seal was gone, but elsewhere…

“Hmm… The fractured barrier is about to collapse; there must be other weak points. If not, I’ll just break one open. If my fists can’t break it, I’ll use the Tiger Ghost-Headed Blade. If the blade can’t cut through, I’ll use the relic. If that fails… well, then I’ll use ‘Nerve Severing’!”

“Yeah, no need to waste effort. I’ll just smash the barrier with ‘Nerve Severing’. That should punch a big enough hole for them to escape. Exactly.”

Lin Yi had a plan at last.

Without hesitation, he gave Zhang Xu a reassuring look. “Alright, Brother Zhang, stay here and wait. I’ll bring them over soon.”

Then Lin Yi charged toward the demons ahead.

The crimson light had already transformed countless demons into corpses, controlling them to fight again.

In the blink of an eye, the demons and ghostly shadows split into two camps.

At the energy source of the fractured barrier, the hazy consciousness continuously absorbed ominous energy. As a result, the demons and shadows controlled by Zhao Qilin multiplied, while those under the barrier’s consciousness diminished.

Over time, the stronger side gained strength as the weaker side waned.

The fractured barrier was about to lose!

At this moment, Lin Yi clenched his fists and charged like a man entering a no-man’s land.

With a “bang,” a punch shattered a cluster of ominous energy shadows. A swift kick crushed a cockroach-sized demon.

Colorful lights flickered as Lin Yi fought his way to Brother Baike and the others.

Then, his “Great Void True Scripture” pure yang energy burst forth repeatedly as he struck, three punches and two kicks later, all the ghostly shadows covering Brother Baike and the others were shattered!

Even after their shadows were dispelled, they did not awaken. Their eyes remained vacant, but their life force no longer waned.

“Alright, grit your teeth and wake up... Though I’ve sacrificed much, once you all leave, I can unleash fully—using relics, the Tiger Ghost-Headed Blade, fireball talismans… and ‘Nerve Severing’! Then I can finally have a proper fight and put Zhao Qilin and his gang in their place…”

Lin Yi felt a twinge of pain from his sacrifice.

This time, to wake Brother Baike and the others, Lin Yi planned to expend his spirit stones.

He wasn’t stingy—he had plenty of spirit stones and even a well of spiritual water.

This sacrifice was for future gains.

Once they left and he removed his badge, he would be free to deal with the arrogant Zhao Qilin and his cohorts.

If Zhao Qilin ever heard Lin Yi say this, he’d probably shoot him a disdainful look, scoffing with even more villainous swagger than any antagonist.