PWE – Chapter 99 A Man Resembling Zhan Zeyan

Xiao Wange quickened her steps and walked to the edge of the pit.

As she drew closer, the putrid stench in the air seemed to grow even stronger.

She couldn’t help wrinkling her nose and raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose.

Worried that Zhaozhao might be affected by the smell as well, she quickly cast a spell on him.

With this spell in place, the rotten, foul odor in the air could no longer reach Zhaozhao.

She wanted to cast the same spell on herself, but she still needed to investigate the situation. If she isolated herself from these smells, she was afraid she might miss important clues. So she endured the nauseating discomfort and allowed the stench to wash over her.

She picked up a tree branch from beside her foot and leapt down into the pit.

The pit looked very dry, seemingly without any trace of corpse fluid at all.

But…

She bent down and used the branch to dig into the soil in front of her.

After digging a dozen or so times, strangely colored liquid immediately began to seep out.

The liquid carried an overpowering stench of decay, causing Xiao Wange to gag involuntarily.

Although she had seen this substance many times before, every time she encountered it, she was still overwhelmed by the smell.

She quickly raised her other hand to cover her mouth and nose, taking a few rapid deep breaths.

After the liquid seeped out, it seemed to possess awareness of its own, actually creeping toward Xiao Wange’s feet.

Xiao Wange’s expression darkened. She straightened up and quickly moved aside.

But the liquid slithered across the ground, rapidly chasing after her feet.

There wasn’t much of it—just a few drops. If one didn’t look carefully, it would be impossible to notice it in this pit full of scorched earth. Most likely, when the village Party secretary and the others fell into the pit earlier, they were in too much of a hurry to climb back out and never noticed this substance. That was why they hadn’t known there was corpse fluid in the pit.

Of course, many people had never seen corpse fluid before. Even if they had, they probably wouldn’t know what it was.

Xiao Wange’s brows tightened slightly. She raised her hand and swiftly struck the corpse fluid with a spell.

The spell slammed into it, and in an instant the corpse fluid turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.

Her eyes darkened. The baleful aura clinging to this corpse fluid was extremely heavy. The bodies buried beneath this pit must have died in terribly tragic ways; otherwise, the baleful energy would not be so intense.

She tapped the ground with the tip of her foot and leapt back up to the edge of the pit.

Standing there, she raised her hand and formed a hand seal, quickly casting another spell into the pit.

That spell caused the bodies buried below to surface.

These corpses must have been buried not long ago, as decomposition had only just begun.

Each body had a hole in its chest—their hearts had been ripped out. Their limbs had also been severed.

Xiao Wange’s brows knitted tightly. There were more than a dozen bodies here. Where had so many come from? None of the surrounding villages had reported so many missing people.

And since their hearts had clearly been removed and eaten, the one who killed them was undoubtedly a demon.

Which meant that the so-called “big shot” was a demon.

Naturally, if it weren’t a demon, it wouldn’t have colluded with that rat demon. A proper cultivator would never associate with such a despicable creature.

Yet there was no trace of that big shot’s aura nearby. Aside from birds perched in the treetops and wild chickens and rabbits hidden in the grass, there were no other living beings around.

She glanced at the corpses again. A vicious spell had been cast on them, one that intensified their baleful energy and allowed that energy—nourished by the spiritual energy of the mountains—to gradually develop awareness.

That was why the baleful aura earlier had chased after her feet.

She raised her hand and cast another spell, clearing the baleful energy from the corpses, then turned and flew toward the mountaintop.

She wanted to search the forest for traces of that big shot. After killing so many people, she feared he might strike at ordinary villagers again.

Her speed was extremely fast, and she soon reached the summit.

The trees at the mountaintop appeared even more lush than those below.

The spiritual energy in the air was also denser.

She took a deep breath. For cultivators or demons alike, this kind of place was an excellent site for cultivation.

If that big shot were cultivating in this mountain range, he would certainly choose this spot.

However…

After taking a breath, her brows suddenly furrowed deeply.

There was actually the aura of Zhan Zeyan in the air!

It was very faint—so faint she had almost failed to notice it.

She was surprised. When Zhan Zeyan had returned earlier, he hadn’t gone up the mountain. Even if he had, so much time had passed that his aura should have dissipated by now. Yet here it was in the air…

How could that be?

What on earth was going on?

As she was lost in thought, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from not far ahead, like the sound of a snake slithering across the ground.

She lifted her gaze and quickly looked toward the source of the sound.

At this time of year, snakes should not be active. If one was moving about, it could only mean that something abnormal had appeared—something that had forced the snake to leave its den.

Sure enough, in less than a second, a snake slithered out of the grass.

It was a two-headed snake, and horns had grown from its heads.

Its eyes were blood-red. Those four crimson eyes would make any ordinary person’s scalp go numb at the sight.

The snake was as thick as a large bowl; a snake of this size must have lived for several decades at least.

Xiao Wange recognized it. This was a two-headed jiao.

After a hundred years of cultivation, this kind of snake would naturally transform into a jiao. Such creatures were usually found in seas or lakes—how could one exist on a mountain?

Moreover, the snake looked frantic, clearly fleeing for its life.

Xiao Wange glanced behind it. She hadn’t noticed before, but now she saw that there was a cave behind it.

The cave wasn’t large, only big enough for one person to pass through, and its entrance was blocked by many vines.

It was precisely because of these vines that she hadn’t noticed the cave earlier.

She stared at the cave entrance for two seconds, then lifted her foot and walked toward it.

When the two-headed jiao saw her, it paused briefly and flicked its tongue, then continued slithering down the mountain in great haste.

Xiao Wange halted her steps. This two-headed jiao couldn’t be allowed to go down the mountain. If she let it escape, what if it harmed the villagers below?

Two-headed jiao were vicious by nature and delighted in slaughtering all nearby living creatures. When it had seen her earlier, it had even intended to attack—but it seemed more afraid of whatever was behind it, so it abandoned the attack and fled downhill instead.

She swiftly swept her gaze back to the cave entrance. There must be something terrifying inside. Otherwise, the two-headed jiao wouldn’t be so frightened.

Her eyes sharpened. She raised her hand, formed an incantation, and hurled a spell at the two-headed jiao.

The spell struck its vital spot, causing it to freeze instantly.

It stared at Xiao Wange with its four red eyes, glowing eerily.

She then cast a immobilization spell, fixing it in place, before leaping into the air and darting toward the cave.

But when she reached the cave entrance, she was stopped by a barrier.

The power of this barrier was extremely strong; her first attempt hadn’t even broken through.

She narrowed her eyes. There really was a “big one” inside this cave.

If it weren’t something formidable, it wouldn’t be able to set up such a powerful barrier.

This barrier seemed to allow exit but not entry—otherwise, the two-headed jiao wouldn’t have been able to come out earlier.

She lifted her gaze and peered into the cave. Because of the barrier, nothing inside was visible.

Yet at this moment, she could already sense a very distinctive aura.

It was extremely dangerous, deeply sinister—and carried the scent of Zhan Zeyan.

Earlier, when she hadn’t been close to the cave, Zhan Zeyan’s aura hadn’t been so strong. Now that she was near the entrance, it was so intense it felt as if Zhan Zeyan himself were inside.

Her fingers clenched tightly. She quickly raised her hand and began casting spells to break the barrier.

This barrier was truly formidable. It took her nearly a full minute to break it. An ordinary barrier would have been shattered instantly.

She stepped forward and hurried into the cave.

Inside, there was a hot spring!

Steam was rising from it, and a man was sitting in the spring. His back was turned toward her, so she couldn’t see his face.

But…

His silhouette was extremely familiar. That back looked exactly like Zhan Zeyan’s.

Xiao Wange’s breathing suddenly tightened.

Was that Zhan Zeyan?

Impossible. It absolutely couldn’t be him. Zhan Zeyan was currently carrying out a special mission—he wasn’t even in the village.

Yet…

If it wasn’t Zhan Zeyan, then who was it? And why did he carry Zhan Zeyan’s aura?

She leapt into the air, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained as she rushed toward the man.

She wanted to see his face, to know who he really was.

But…

The moment she reached behind him, the man suddenly vanished—disappearing into thin air without leaving behind even a single strand of hair.

Xiao Wange frowned and quickly retreated to the edge of the spring, peering carefully into the water.

So that man had merely been an afterimage—a remnant deliberately left behind by that so-called big shot.

The afterimage vanished the instant she approached.

If she had been just a bit faster, perhaps she could have seen its face.

She truly wanted to know what he looked like.

After all, his back looked just like Zhan Zeyan’s, and his aura was the same. For a fleeting moment earlier, she had truly thought it was Zhan Zeyan.

After staring at the hot spring for a moment, she suddenly turned her head and looked around the cave.

The surroundings were all rock walls—nothing unusual.

But not far away, several corpses lay on the ground.

They were all the bodies of two-headed jiao.

She walked over to the corpses. Had all these two-headed jiao been brought to the mountain by that big shot?

Otherwise, how could there be so many here?

Their blood had all been drained dry. It was said that to those who cultivated the demonic path, the blood of a two-headed jiao was a great tonic.

But two-headed jiao were becoming increasingly rare in the world. By the 21st century, they were nearly extinct.

For that big shot to be able to find so many of them, he was indeed someone with great ability.

She found herself growing more and more curious about him.

That curiosity gnawed at her heart, making her want to drag him out immediately.