After an incense stick had burned down.
A seductive blood shadow, like a ghost in the woods, glided through the air without touching the ground and reached the location of the enormous skeleton.
"Whoosh!"
The blood-red phantom, void of flesh and bone, seeped into the Phoenix Bone as soon as it arrived, seemingly searching for something inside.
As she meandered through the skeleton, her graceful figure became apparent, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, her bare feet exposed and every aspect of her form stunning.
To her, the Phoenix Bone thrust deep into the earth didn't seem to pose a threat; she slid down to the very base of the bone, where she saw the withered Ancient Vine Tree and the lifeless Bloodthirsty Vine Strips.
"There is no Phoenix Marrow."
The bewitching blood shadow within the skeleton, looking at the perished Ancient Vine Tree, displayed a hint of doubt on her stunning face.
"Swoosh!"
A moment later, she drifted from the very bottom of the skeleton to the top, reaching toward the firmament.
The eerie woman who maintained her clear visage within the skeleton gazed at the corpses scattered near the "Unstable Ferry" and the bloodstained bones of the Shangguan Family members.
After a brief moment, she looked into the distance from her high vantage point, her captivating eyes suddenly showing a gleam of distinct color.
"Somebody actually obtained the Phoenix Marrow! In this land, those with low realms, those little ones, should not have the ability to harvest the remnant Phoenix Marrow of the Heaven Phoenix. They would only be killed by it."
The woman muttered with a hint of annoyance.
"Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!"
The many 'Spirit Evils' that came with her roared along the fissures in the ground, as if they were her eyes spread out, helping her seek traces.
Before long, these 'Spirit Evils' dragged several faint gray shadows from the depths of the ravines, close to falling apart.
These pale shadows were still dissolving, and only she could see them clearly.
With a gentle wave of her hands, all the thin gray shadows gathered into the body of a larger one, gradually revealing the form of Roman.
"The soul magnetic field of the Meridians Channeling Realm is still a bit stronger."
The woman beckoned with her hand.
The increasingly distinct image of Roman drifted towards her dully, gazing at her with a vacant look.
She slightly concentrated her God's Thought and glimpsed Roman's experiences before his death within the soul shadow.
Roman's encounter with Shangguan Qin, Zhou Qingchen, and the others; the anomaly of the 'Branded Eye'; the tremors of the earth, and Pang Jian's reminder—all were known to her.
Since Roman had died before Pang Jian and Ning Yao returned, there were no memories left of their return.
"The Branded Eye of the Blood Moon actually chose that little boy? Strange, this is not logical." The woman paused for a moment, then suddenly waved her hand and said, "Find their location."
Including Roman, a flock of 'Spirit Evils' scattered like birds, howling in all directions.
...
"They have returned."
Hearing the hoofbeats resound once more on Ning Yuanshan, he sighed in relief, gazing into the distance towards where Pang Jian and Ning Yao had vanished and saw the long-awaited chestnut warhorse.
He also spotted Pang Jian on the horse, and Ning Yao behind him in the bamboo basket.
And the bundle of blood-stained weapons that Pang Jian held in his hand.
"This is the remains of the deceased from your Shangguan Family."
As the warhorse approached, Pang Jian threw the bundle of blood-streaked weapons at Shangguan Qin's feet with a "thud," saying, "If there are any items missing, they've been dragged by the vines into the crevices below. I'm not capable of finding them all for you."
Looking at the bloodied weapons, Shangguan Qin's expression fluctuated. She didn't choose to pick them up immediately, instead staring at a great axe with a sorrowful expression.
That axe belonged to Roman, who had died for her sake.
"Pang Jian, are you all right?"
Zhou Qingchen chuckled lightly with an admiring gaze at the imposing Pang Jian, who sat high on his warhorse like a formidable peak.
"All went smoothly," Pang Jian shook his head.
Ning Yao also dismounted from behind Pang Jian. To avoid drawing attention, she did not take the sack from under the belly of the horse but moved directly towards her own white warhorse.
"All is well then, we shall continue our journey to the farthest north, where the Mysterious Fog is," Zhou Qingchen said.
Still lost in sorrow, Shangguan Qin suddenly cried out in shock, "You're heading to the far north? Mr. Zhou, are you planning to explore the Mysterious Fog?"
After the previous unpleasantness, she no longer addressed him as "Qingchen," indicating that their relationship had significantly cooled.
"Indeed," Zhou Qingchen responded calmly, with indifference, "Senior Shangguan, we were never meant to travel together. If you have other plans, there's no need for you to accompany us."
He was preparing to leave Shangguan Qin behind.
For Shangguan Qin, whose companions had all perished, his words made her face even more unsightly.
If any other members of her family had been there, Shangguan Qin would have definitely not deigned to cozy up to Zhou Qingchen. Yet, with the Solitude Mountain Range being so vast and fraught with danger everywhere now, she didn't dare to go it alone.
"I have no other plans. It's better if we all stick together for mutual assistance. I will join you," Shangguan Qin forced a smile.
"Our Zhou Family's Single-horned Rhinoceros all died a few days back. Now, only Ning Family's warhorses remain, and there are none to spare," Zhou Qingchen said with a hint of difficulty, clearly reluctant to take her along.
"No matter, we can squeeze in,"
Realizing his reluctance, Shangguan Qin, no longer concerned about her pride, searched through the crowd with her eyes, gradually turning towards Ning Yao.
"Our families have never been close, and I'm not accustomed to sharing a horse with others!"
Before she could even ask, Ning Yao preemptively rejected her with a cold firmness.
"Little sister Qin, I've told you I'm not afraid of your curse of widowhood."
The portly Han Duping slapped his belly with a "smack", nudged his warhorse with his legs, and said with a chuckle, "You can squeeze in with me. Rest assured, I, old Han, am always a gentleman and would never take advantage of the situation to take liberties with you."
Shangguan Qin looked at his fleshy face and the lecherous gleam twinkling in his beady eyes, and immediately felt uncomfortable all over.
Without waiting for Han Duping to step forward and persuade her, she didn't even care about the bloodstains on the bundle of weapons she picked up and went straight to Pang Jian, mounting the horse without a word of explanation.
She took the position in front of Ning Yao just before she dismounted and threw the Bundle of bloodstained weapons into the net bag where Ning Yao placed her sack.
Ning Yao, with a frosty look in her eyes, was quite displeased that she messed up the order of things, staining the sack that held the Spirit Stones with blood.
However, the Spirit Stones inside the sack came from the "Unstable Ferry" of the Blood Moon. If she suddenly lashed out now, she would very likely expose those Spirit Stones, giving Shangguan Qin a reason to demand a share of them.
Zhou Qingchen would probably forcibly demand some as well.
Ning Yao, full of indignation, could only glare coldly at Shangguan Qin, cursing silently.
Shangguan Qin, who had no choice but to make this decision because of the basket on Pang Jian's back, noticed the coldness in her eyes and found her inexplicably strange.
Immediately after, Shangguan Qin, as a woman herself, suspected that there was something between Ning Yao and Pang Jian and believed she was harboring jealousy.
Shangguan Qin, who harbored the deepest hatred for Pang Jian, found some pleasure in her heart upon seeing Ning Yao's icy gaze.
She reached out her arm proactively and wrapped it around Pang Jian's waist from behind, humming, "Go slow later, don't make it too bumpy."
"Lucky boy,"
Han Duping made a strange noise on the side, teasing, "First Miss Ning and now a beauty from the Shangguan Family, these are treatments I wouldn't even dare to dream of."
"Haha!" Zhou Qingchen found it amusing as well and waved his hand with a smile, saying, "Let's go."
With him watching over them, he believed that Shangguan Qin, despite any displeasure toward Pang Jian, would never dare to act rashly under his watch.
After all, he had dared to threaten the life of Ning Yuanshan for Pang Jian's sake—how could Shangguan Qin compare?
"Let's go."
Pang Jian cursed silently within, feeling a surge of Spiritual Energy similar to Ning Yao's as Shangguan Qin's arms encircled him.
He immediately knew that this woman, like Ning Yao, was no good either.
Ning Yao was simply dissatisfied with his involvement with Zhou Qingchen, but the temperamental Shangguan Qin had already blamed the death of the Shangguan Family's servants on him.
Compared to Ning Yao, Shangguan Qin would be even more troublesome and far more ruthless once she acted.
Trembling with fear, Pang Jian boldly led the way, heading toward the northernmost part of the Solitude Mountain Range.
"You'd better pray you don't split up from Zhou Qingchen. If I get the chance, I'll kill you and avenge Roman and the others," Shangguan Qin behind Pang Jian, as the warhorse loosened up and started "clomping" along, strained to lean in and threatened him in a cold voice.
With the presence of Pang Jian's bamboo basket, and considering Shangguan Qin's fuller upper body compared to Ning Yao's, even getting close enough to speak took effort on her part.
Pang Jian couldn't be bothered with her and ignored her provocation outright.
"Why did the Branded Eye choose you and not me?" When he remained silent, Shangguan Qin persisted, "You might not speak now, but when I find the opportunity, I have ways to make you scream for mercy!"
Pang Jian remained silent still.
After traveling a while, Pang Jian, who was racing his horse, suddenly felt an itch in his chest.
It was as if some force had penetrated into his flesh, seeping into his chest bones, scampering through the crevices of his bones.
Soon, from the bones of Pang Jian's chest, there came an excruciating pain like countless ants gnawing away, causing his body temperature to rise as if he were on the brink of a severe illness.
He didn't understand what was happening, but could only feel the piercing pain in his breastbone growing more intense and his body temperature rising higher and higher.
Before long, his entire body became scorching hot, and his complexion turned bright red.
Shangguan Qin, sharing the horse with him, gradually noticed his increasing warmth and the unusual state of his body.
She was stunned for a moment, thinking it was her presence that made Pang Jian's mind race with filthy thoughts.
"You weren't like this when the Ning Family girl was behind you," Shangguan Qin's lips curled into a faint smile, but her eyes were filled with severity, "Oh? Do you prefer mature and voluptuous women like me?"
"Indeed, that girl is so young and undeveloped, how could she compare to me?"
She pondered how to pry the information she wanted from Pang Jian's mouth as soon as possible so she could avenge Roman and the others.
But before she could figure it out, Pang Jian fell headlong from the front of the horse.
"Shangguan Qin! If you dare to ignore my warning, then don't blame me for not showing respect to your Shangguan Family!"
Behind them, Zhou Qingchen, upon seeing Pang Jian fall from the horse, erupted in rage, soaring high like a hawk, and pounced straight at Shangguan Qin.
"It wasn't me! It has nothing to do with me!"
Shangguan Qin turned pale and panicked, realizing that Zhou Qingchen not only truly intended to kill but had already made a move.
She knew very well that Zhou Qingchen was as unpredictable and irritable as his name suggested, acting without reservation, and she feared she might be poisoned for no reason.
"It's his own impure thoughts, thinking dirty thoughts that made him lose control of his Qi and Blood," Shangguan Qin screamed frantically.
At these words, Zhou Qingchen, who had leapt into the air, suddenly changed direction.
He chose to miss Shangguan Qin and instead landed next to Pang Jian, hastily checking for his breath.
Upon realizing that Pang Jian's breathing was even, seemingly without any serious problem, Zhou Qingchen looked oddly unconcerned and dropped the matter.
Everyone behind them, who had stopped because of this, were baffled by Shangguan Qin's words.
"Hehe, the little brother is a kindred spirit, just like me," Han Duping spoke with a weird smile and a grin.
Gazing at the fallen Pang Jian from afar, Ning Yao's cool eyes gradually filled with disdain.
...