The morning sun struggled to pierce through the thick green miasma, casting an eerie glow over the land. Li Wen walked at a steady pace, his gaze sharp, his senses stretched outward. Behind him, the humans followed in silence, their steps cautious as they navigated the unfamiliar terrain. Despite the rising sun, the air remained heavy, filled with the lingering tension of the battles fought the previous day.
Then, without warning, Li Wen came to a sudden halt. His cloak barely swayed from the movement, yet the presence behind him shifted with unease. Wei Xuan, walking directly behind him, furrowed his brows and asked, "Lord, did something happen?"
Li Wen didn't turn. Instead, his eyes scanned the mist ahead, his expression calm yet authoritative. "Come out," he commanded, his voice cutting through the stillness.
The humans stiffened. Their hands gripped their weapons, their eyes darting around. Yet, even as they searched the fog-drenched surroundings, they could see nothing—no figures, no movement, only the distorted silhouettes of trees and rocks within the miasma.
No response came.
Li Wen's gaze darkened. "I sense you. All three of you. Come out."
Still, silence.
His fingers curled, and suddenly, dark green flames of plague fire erupted around his hands. "Do you need an invitation?" His tone turned sharper, more dangerous. Without hesitation, he flicked a wisp of the plague fire toward a nearby stone. The moment the fire landed, a dark shadow stretched unnaturally from behind the rock, writhing as if alive.
A shift in the air. Energy fluctuated.
A figure stepped forward from the shadow of a nearby tree, materializing into view. Cloaked in black, their face concealed except for sharp, golden eyes. Yet what drew more attention were their fox-like ears and the long, bushy tail swaying behind them.
As the first figure emerged, two more followed, stepping from the shadows—one from behind a boulder directly ahead of them, the other from another tree's shadow on the opposite side. They positioned themselves strategically, a clear sign of coordinated stealth.
Li Wen's gaze flickered toward the stone he had burned with plague fire. Unlike living beings, which were devoured by his flame, the stone remained intact—only a faint scorch mark marred its surface. His mind drifted, analyzing the nature of his ability. His plague fire was more than just flames; it was a fusion of bacterial disease and fire, consuming everything it touched to fuel its existence. The bacteria in the plague fire thrived on what it burned, feeding on the target to strengthen itself and continue burning.
Yet the stone had resisted.
His fingers twitched slightly as thoughts raced through his mind. Was the material of the stone immune to his plague fire, or was there another factor at play? The fire should have spread, devouring anything organic or weak, yet it had failed to consume the stone. Could it be that certain materials provided a natural resistance to his rule? Or perhaps, he had simply reached the limits of what his current understanding could achieve?
Even as Li Wen pondered, his awareness remained sharp. The faint rustling of fabric reached his ears as the cloaked figures shifted, their fox-like ears flicking at the slightest movement. His gaze, however, remained on the female fox's golden tail—not because of its color, but because of the barely visible purple streaks hidden within the strands.
Wei Xuan stepped forward, his tone calm and composed. "I am Wei Xuan, from the Wei Kingdom." Without hesitation, he gestured toward Li Wen. "And he is a demon lord from the Demon Realm."
A brief silence followed. Then the female fox, the one who had spoken earlier, narrowed her glowing eyes. Her golden tail flicked behind her, but her voice remained even. "Why have you entered Fox Race territory?"
Wei Xuan answered without pause. "We came for a Bitter White Lotus."
The female fox tilted her head slightly. "Bitter White Lotus? What is that?"
"A type of lotus that grows on an island in the Evil Lake," Wei Xuan explained.
Her expression darkened with suspicion. "Then why have you entered our territory? Don't tell me you believe you can reach the Evil Lake from here and find one."
Wei Xuan quickly waved his hands, sensing her growing wariness. "That's not it. The Bitter White Lotus only blooms in spring, and now it's autumn. A Stone Barbarian tribe told us that we could find one in your market in Erasth City."
Another moment of silence stretched between them. Then, with a slow nod, the female fox finally spoke. "We will escort you."
Without another word, she turned and began walking, the other two shadowy figures falling into step beside her. Their movements were swift and silent, their presence blending seamlessly into the shifting green miasma around them.
Li Wen followed behind the group, his mind still fixated on the stone. He pondered how to reduce it to ashes, how to make his plague fire consume even the seemingly indestructible. As he walked, he gradually slowed his pace until he was the last in the group, allowing distance to grow between himself and the others.
With a flick of his wrist, a small stone lifted from the ground and flew into his palm. Holding it firmly, he summoned his plague fire, letting the dark green flames lick hungrily at the surface. At first, the fire merely danced across the stone's surface, failing to penetrate it. But Li Wen did not stop. He increased the intensity, fueling the flames with his rule. A minute passed. Then another.
A faint crack echoed through the silence. The first fracture splintered across the stone. More cracks followed, spiderwebbing along its surface, until with a final sharp snap, the stone shattered into dust in his palm.
The sudden sound made the group ahead of his halt. The female fox warrior turned sharply, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What are you doing? Is this some kind of signal to attack?"
Before she could take another breath, Li Wen released his aura. A suffocating pressure bore down on the three fox warriors, forcing them back a step. Their bodies tensed, their ears flattening against their heads. As beings of the Enlightenment Realm, they could do nothing but endure.
Li Wen's voice was cold, unwavering. "Do I need help from others to kill you three?"
The female warrior trembled slightly, the weight of his presence pressing on her like an invisible hand crushing her chest. "No…" she stammered, barely able to speak through the fear constricting her throat.
He held his gaze on them for a moment longer before withdrawing his aura with a dismissive wave. "I was experimenting," he said simply. His tone was calm as if the entire exchange had been nothing more than idle conversation. "Now, keep moving."
The female fox warrior swallowed hard, nodding quickly before turning away. The group resumed their march, albeit with newfound wariness.
Li Wen, however, was already lost in thought again. Another stone flew into his palm, but this time, he did not ignite it. Instead, he surrounded it with his plague law, seeking a deeper understanding of what had just transpired.
Li Wen let the stone hover above his palm, his plague law coiling around it like an invisible serpent. He observed closely, his mind dissecting every reaction, every minute change. Unlike before, he did not immediately ignite it with plague fire. Instead, he let his law seep into the stone, probing its structure, seeking its weaknesses.
The previous stone had shattered under prolonged exposure to plague fire, but that was merely forceful destruction, not true consumption. This time, he wanted something different. If the stone resisted fire, then perhaps the key was in the plague itself—the bacteria, the infection, the decay. Could his plague law corrode something that was not alive? Could he rewrite the natural order of decay to make even stone rot like flesh?
His eyes darkened in thought as the group continued walking. The three fox figures, though wary, dared not question him again. The weight of his aura still lingered in their minds, a silent reminder of the difference in power between them.
Wei Xuan glanced back at Li Wen but said nothing. He had traveled with him long enough to recognize when he was experimenting, and interfering was never wise.
Li Wen focused on the stone in his palm, his mind working through its composition. It was no different from the first stone he had analyzed, its material structure familiar to him. With that understanding, he began a new experiment—modifying the bacteria within his plague rule. He wanted them to evolve, to consume stone as their food source, growing stronger or multiplying through division.
Utilizing the soul chip's calculations and the knowledge of bacteria provided by Rain from the Radiation World, he fine-tuned his creation. In just an hour, he had successfully developed a strain of bacteria that could break down stone at an accelerated rate. The moment he activated it, the stone in his hand crumbled, devoured entirely by the plague rule surrounding it.
A slow smile formed on his lips, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. But before he could turn his attention back to the road, he caught Wei Hong sneaking glances at him. He was about to tease her when something inside him shifted.
A deep, unsettling movement stirred within his demon source. His smile vanished.
Tension gripped his chest as unease settled over him. The demon source was the foundation of his existence—if something went wrong with it, he could die. He stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes to peer inward with his spirit sense.
What he found left him stunned. The well-like structure of his demon source was changing, expanding—becoming both wider and deeper.
As soon as the transformation ceased, he opened his eyes, only to find the group had stopped as well. All eyes were on him, curiosity and concern evident on their faces.
Before he could reassure them, the sharp 'thwack' of bowstrings snapping cut through the air.
Arrows.
His instincts took over. With a flick of his hands, demon energy surged outward, forming stone shields left side of the group. The arrows struck the shields, shattering instantly. The entire exchange happened in a fraction of a second—so fast that the others hadn't even had time to react.
Realizing they were under attack, the group immediately drew their weapons. The female fox warrior spun around, her voice ringing out in a sharp command. "Who's there?"
The moment the female fox's voice rang out, the eerie sound of wolves howling echoed from their right. The three fox warriors stiffened, their ears twitching at the unmistakable call.
"Wolf race… a raiding party," one of them muttered, voice tense.
From the thick green miasma, figures emerged—ten men clad in beast hides, their wild, unkempt hair flowing like the mane of the creatures they rode. Their eyes, sharp and feral like wolves, locked onto the group as they guided their massive wolf mounts forward.
Each rider held a bow in hand, arrows already nocked, aimed directly at them. Yet, despite the threatening display, their gazes were all fixed on one person—Li Wen.
There was no immediate attack. No words were spoken. Only a thick, suffocating tension settled over the air as the wolf riders assessed him, their sharp eyes glinting with a mix of wariness and curiosity.
Li Wen met their stares without a trace of fear, his own gaze steady and unyielding. His senses honed in on the leader of the raiding party, noting the presence of demon energy within him. But unlike the corrupted believers of Pian Ran, this man's demon energy was woven into his internal energy, much like the divine warriors. A demon warrior.
The leader's expression flickered, as if sensing something about Li Wen as well. Then, without hesitation, he leaped down from his massive wolf and bowed deeply.
"Desire Demon Lord, we were unaware of your presence. Please forgive our attack." His voice was respectful, yet edged with unease.
Li Wen's gaze remained cold. "Your party attacked without even identifying who walked this road. That means you already knew your target was among us."
A brief silence followed. The leader hesitated, then gave a slow nod. His eyes flicked—just for a moment—toward the female fox warrior, his gaze lingering on the faint purple streaks hidden within her golden tail.
Li Wen followed his glance but said nothing. Instead, his voice carried quiet authority as he spoke again. "I understand. You may leave. Tell your master that you failed because of me—Lord of Plague."
The leader clenched his jaw but gave a firm nod. Without another word, he mounted his wolf, gave a sharp signal, and his raiding party swiftly disappeared into the green miasma.