NOVPUB
Chapter 380: Corpses Scattered Everywhere
"Someone has been here!"
Qin Sang's heart tightened with vigilance as he asked doubtfully, "Senior, didn’t you leave secret markings? Weren’t they undetected?"
Wandering Man shook his head lightly. "The mountain has multiple passageways, and the Star Venom Frog's nest is vast. If someone discovered another weak point nearby and entered through a different route, it's not surprising that they converged here. Judging by the corpse of this Star Venom Frog, it has been dead for at least two months... There's no sound at all here. Could it be that all the Star Venom Frogs have been killed?"
As he spoke, Wandering Man's expression turned grim.
The nest housed a significant number of adult Star Venom Frogs, a venomous lair even Core Formation Realm cultivators would not dare to trespass into recklessly!
The two exchanged a horrified glance.
"Brother Qin, do you remember what the manager of Tianfeng Tower once said? The sudden upheaval in Endless Valley was highly unusual, defying logic. Some claimed they felt an overwhelmingly powerful presence sweeping through, and the demonic beasts and ghostly creatures seemed more like they were fleeing in terror..."
Wandering Man's tone was solemn.
Qin Sang said hoarsely, "Senior, are you suspecting..."
Wandering Man slowly uttered two words, "Spiritual Infant."
...
Gathering their courage, Qin Sang and Wandering Man ventured deeper into the Star Venom Frog's nest, growing increasingly unsettled with each step.
Corpses of Star Venom Frogs floated atop the murky swamp, a truly shocking sight. To describe it as "corpses scattered everywhere" was no exaggeration.
Among them were numerous adult Star Venom Frogs.
Every single one had been slain in a single strike. Their most valuable asset—the venom sacs—had been entirely harvested, leaving nothing of worth behind.
Beyond that, there were no traces of battle anywhere. It was as if these poisonous frogs had been peacefully living in their nest when catastrophe suddenly struck, leaving them no chance to resist.
Wandering Man quickened his pace, moving all the way to the nest’s deepest recesses, only to find not a single living Star Venom Frog.
Qin Sang looked at Wandering Man and cautiously asked, "Senior, could someone have beaten us to it?"
If a Spiritual Infant Realm cultivator had passed through here, not even the most formidable refined corpse would have stood a chance—it would have been obliterated instantly. Any spiritual herb in the area would have been taken as well.
Continuing deeper into the nest would then be pointless.
"No!"
To Qin Sang's surprise, Wandering Man shook his head with absolute certainty.
"Brother Qin, you don’t understand the inner valley. The rumors in the marketplace are nothing but speculation—very few people have actually ventured into the inner valley, and their accounts are unreliable."
"The inner valley of Endless Valley is several times larger than both the first and second zones combined—an endlessly vast region. The dangers we encountered in the second zone pale in comparison to those within the inner valley."
"The inner valley is riddled with ancient barriers and spatial rifts, present at every turn. Not to mention, terrifying ancient beasts lurk within, their strength rivaling even Spiritual Infant cultivators. Without knowledge of safe routes, I wouldn’t dare lead you inside only to send us to our deaths."
"It's impossible that a Spiritual Infant cultivator just happened to take the exact same path as us. We haven’t even passed through the barrier yet. If we keep going, we'll find our answer."
The two pressed forward.
Qin Sang noticed that Wandering Man's chosen path required them to traverse the Star Venom Frogs' nest. If the frogs were still alive, they would have had to fight their way through.
As they moved further, the green mist thinned, and Wandering Man seemed to have noticed something, increasing his speed. When Qin Sang caught up, he saw a severed limb from an unknown demonic beast lying on the ground—one that clearly didn’t belong to a Star Venom Frog.
"There are more creatures living here than just Star Venom Frogs. These were their natural predators, and they’ve been wiped out too."
Wandering Man chuckled wryly. "Not sure who went ahead to pave the way, but all the effort I put into preparing was for nothing... But I suppose it has saved us a lot of trouble."
As they advanced, severed limbs became increasingly common, and the demonic beasts’ blood had turned the swamp a deep blue. Their corpses had been skinned, dismembered, and stripped of all valuable parts.
Suddenly, Wandering Man flickered forward, landing beside a torn beast hide. Crouching down, he scrutinized the hide in silence.
It was only the size of a palm, covered in black bristles as stiff as needles. In the center, a barely visible sword mark ran across it—aside from this faint scar, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Senior, what are you looking at?" Qin Sang asked curiously.
"The Shadowless Sword."
Wandering Man exhaled slowly, pointing at the thin scar on the beast hide. "This sword mark was left by the signature sword art of the Wuji Sect—Shadowless Sword. No wonder the Star Venom Frogs died without making a sound! I didn't recognize it at first, only found it strange. But now that I see this mark, I recall this sword art."
Qin Sang was stunned upon hearing this, his shock evident. "Then... could the person ahead of us be the sect leader of the Wuji Sect?"
Earlier, they had assumed that a demonic sect's Spiritual Infant cultivator had descended upon this place. Yet, to their astonishment, it turned out to be the leader of one of the Eight Major Sects—the Wuji Sect's leader!
Wandering Man hesitated and said, "If it’s the Shadowless Sword, then it all makes sense. But it may not necessarily be the sect leader himself—even a late-stage Golden Core expert from the Wuji Sect could achieve this if they tried hard enough."
Whether it was a Spiritual Infant or a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, both were far beyond their ability to contend with. To them, there was no difference.
The two continued forward, coming across more severed limbs and beast hides, but none bore similar sword marks. With only a single sword scar as evidence, even Wandering Man could not be certain of anything.
The space within the cave was more complex than Qin Sang had imagined. After encountering more remains of slaughtered demonic beasts, the terrain began to change. As they emerged from the swamp and turned into a narrow stone crevice, they had not walked far before they suddenly heard strange croaks ahead.
Demonic beasts were blocking their path ahead, but instead of alarm, Wandering Man was overjoyed—this meant that the mysterious expert had taken a different route than theirs.
Wandering Man took out an artifact refined from an unknown beast hide and draped it over them. With this protection, they passed through the beast horde without incident, finally reaching the mountain wall, where they discovered a highly concealed and exceptionally low cave entrance.
...
"We finally made it out!" Wandering Man sighed with relief.
Qin Sang stepped out from behind him.
After entering the cave, though the path had been winding and long, they had encountered no barriers or demonic beasts blocking their way. Their journey had gone smoothly. Fortunately, both of them had emerged completely unscathed, with minimal energy consumption, leaving them fully prepared to face the dangers of the inner valley.
They stood in a narrow crevice within the mountains. Ahead, a bright light beckoned.
As they neared the exit of the stone crevice, the first sight that greeted them was an expanse of lush grasslands. A gentle breeze swept across, bending the grass into undulating waves of green, rippling far into the distance.
The soft rustling sound was unexpectedly soothing.
In the depths of the grasslands, faint figures of mountains layered one upon another.
At a glance, the scene was one of tranquility, completely at odds with Qin Sang’s expectations.
The breathtaking scenery before him seemed almost out of place, causing a look of surprise to surface on his face.
Noticing Qin Sang’s reaction, Wandering Man chuckled and said, "Brother Qin, there’s no need to be puzzled. Just take a few more steps forward, and you’ll see the true face of the inner valley."
