Youzhou.

At the border where Great Xia, Nanyue and the Yan Kingdom meet.

A city forgotten by the world.

Right now, it had completely turned into a living hell on earth.

On the outskirts of Youzhou, countless demon thralls that had been transformed from living humans patrolled the surrounding marshlands like mindless walking corpses, having lost all sense of self. From time to time a few crows would sweep across the dim sky, letting out a string of grating caws.

In the central area.

A massive palace had been built from piles of bones, blood-red flames licking along its surface.

Inside the palace, a tall man in a black robe, his face hidden from view, sat cross-legged upon a throne.

Endless streams of blood-red smoke converged into his body.

That mysterious person’s aura was as vast and deep as a slumbering volcano, like heavenly might itself, enough to make one’s legs tremble.

Below the throne.

Two rows of peak Grandmaster experts stood silently like statues.

Most of these people were assassins from Dead Man Lake.

They had already possessed top-tier strength in the world and after cultivating demonic arts their power surged even more. With the help of blood food, they had rapidly advanced to the absolute pinnacle of the Grandmaster realm in a very short time.

“Reporting to Lord Holy Envoy, Beacon Fire Mountain has been destroyed. It appears to be the work of a Great Grandmaster expert!”

A black-clothed assassin entered from outside the hall and half-kneeled on the floor.

It was none other than Bloodsha, who had crossed blows with Jiang Zirou three years ago.

“A Great Grandmaster expert… hehehe… is it that girl who appeared on the battlefield at the imperial capital half a year ago?”

“Judging from the intelligence our scouts brought back, it should be her.”

“Kekekeke~ How ignorant, to dare charge here alone. But that works out nicely. If she dies, then there will be no one left in this world who can stop me from becoming a Saint!”

Boundless demonic sound turned into surging waves, sweeping across Youzhou and the nearby great marshes.

The assassins of Dead Man Lake on both sides all dropped to their knees, hearts surging.

Once the Holy Envoy of Dead Man Lake became a Saint, they would be able to rampage across the world and no longer need to hide in the darkness.

* * *

On the road.

Jiang Zirou wore a bamboo hat and white clothes, a reed stem in her mouth, racing swiftly toward the direction where Youzhou lay.

After passing Beacon Fire Mountain.

The climate grew damp, with great marshes and lakes studding the vast plains like gems.

Naturally, there were villages scattered in between, but most of them had already been destroyed. Only dark red stains of blood remained, silently telling of the inhuman tragedies that had occurred here.

She continued forward.

While passing one stretch of wetlands, she came to a halt.

‘Demonic aura…’

She frowned and followed the direction her senses pointed.

Sure enough, at one corner of the swamp, a few deathly pale demon thralls were trapped in the mud.

She landed lightly.

A blast of force shot out, shredding these demon thralls into pieces without the slightest effort.

In the center of the swamp, the blood-stained corpse of a woman floated in the mire.

‘How strange. This woman hasn’t been tainted by demonic qi, yet within ten li around here there are no villages or roads. Why would she appear in this place? Was she protecting someone?’

Her brows knit together. She buried the woman’s remains, then flew up into the sky, checked her bearings and flew toward a distant village.

She traveled for more than thirty li.

Only then did she reach the village.

Just like the surrounding villages, this one had also been destroyed. From the not-yet-dried bloodstains, it was clear the massacre had not happened long ago.

She closed her eyes.

A faint trace of life, along with a wisp of demonic qi, appeared within her perception.

She tightened her grip on the long blade in her hand.

Slowly lifting away a collapsed house, she found, under a broken wooden table, a short-haired boy with dark greenish-black hair curled up into a ball, trembling nonstop.

* * *

“Mom…”

Flames, screams, severed limbs… after a few strangers arrived, the kind neighbors suddenly turned into man-eating monsters. His father was torn to pieces and his mother, crying, told him to stay hidden here…

Darkness, blood, a world dyed crimson…

An unbearable itch crawled from his forehead, as if something was writhing at the center of his brows, trying to force its way out.

Cool spring water slid down his throat and his memory and consciousness slowly returned.

He opened his eyes.

A white-clad girl, ethereal as if she did not belong to this world, appeared in his vision with a ray of sunlight at her back.

“So beautiful…”

He wanted to say thank you, but suddenly the world twisted into a bizarre blood-red. An uncontrollable urge to kill surged into his heart, a low growl rumbled from his throat and his fingernails grew sharp and long.

Completely beyond his control.

His body sprang up, wanting to tear the girl before him to shreds, bite through her throat and taste that sweet flesh and blood…

“No!”

Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, but the soft sensation he expected never came.

A delicate fist filled his entire field of vision.

Bang!

He crashed onto his back and fell to the ground, unable to move.

A wave of excruciating pain lanced from his brow, the scarlet haze faded and the original world returned.

“How nice… I didn’t expect to really find a living person here… It’s just a pity I don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or unlucky.”

Looking at the boy with blood-red pupils sprouting from his brow, Jiang Zirou let out a sigh.

“I… turned into a monster like those people, didn’t I?”

She shook her head.

“Kill me…” the boy said again.

“Ah… you’re not going to ask how your mother is now?”

“What!? My mother is still alive?”

“Sorry. She’s not.”

The light in the boy’s eyes dimmed as he slowly collapsed to the ground.

“Your mother risked her life to protect you.”

He lifted his head, his still-handsome face full of confusion.

“I found your mother’s body in a wetland more than thirty li away, along with more than ten demons… She was a great mother, so even if it’s just for the sake of her devotion… at the very least, you should try to live on.”

Jiang Zirou’s voice was gentle. Golden light blossomed at her fingertips as she lightly touched them to the boy’s forehead.