The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 139 - 124: Heart, Child, White Bird, a Group of People Around a Fire

'Something's wrong!'

'Something is very wrong!'

Yang An searched around but found no tree hung with corpses—only the buildings scattered across the plain. He immediately realized something was wrong.

'Did the vessel teleport me to the wrong place?'

He immediately immersed his consciousness back into the Tree of Flesh and Blood to check the others' messages.

White Bird: "There's no tree! I'm on a plain with just a small city. I don't see any trees!"

Broken Hand: "Look again, carefully. We're right at the foot of the mountain below the Jueyun Sect. Oh! Look at the mountains around you. On the tallest one, you should be able to see the Jueyun Sect's Mountain Gate and some buildings."

Zhi Ying: "There are no mountains here, either. It's a plain with only a few small hills. Is this not the Jueyun Sect?"

Black Egg: "Let's ask the Workshop Master. It looks like there was a problem with the vessel teleportation."

The members of the Scripture Defector Association all realized something was wrong, and someone immediately sent a message to summon the Workshop Master.

Soon, the mask-fruit belonging to the Workshop Master appeared, and he sent a reply. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"There may have been a slight mishap. Who hasn't reached the Jueyun Sect yet?"

White Bird: "I can't see the Jueyun Sect."

Zhi Ying: "Me neither. I'm on a plain."

Heart: "I'm on the plain, too. I don't see the mountain and tree they're talking about. This is definitely not the Jueyun Sect."

He Tou: "I'm on the plain as well. I just came from the area with the hills."

Yang An also sent a message immediately. He knew it was best to confirm everyone's location; this was no time for holding back.

Following their replies, everyone got the picture.

Of those who had teleported via the vessels, four people, including Yang An, had appeared on the plain instead of arriving at the Jueyun Sect to meet the others.

Workshop Master: "The few of you, confirm your positions first. Wait for my signal."

'Confirm our position first? It seems I'll have to meet up with the others and figure out where we are.'

Yang An withdrew his consciousness from the Tree of Flesh and Blood. A light breeze swept across the plain, carrying a hint of decay that made him frown.

'Besides me, three others are on this plain. I should find them first.'

The most conspicuous landmarks were the buildings on the plain. The others would likely head toward them first, so Yang An decided to do the same.

As he got closer, Yang An summoned his Buddha's Radiant Wheel.

Beneath the gloomy sky, the Light Wheel glowed, which he hoped would quickly attract the others' attention.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before a figure sped toward him, stopping about twenty feet away.

The newcomer wore a white robe and a hood. Judging by the cut of the clothes, it was a woman.

Her face was also hidden by a hard, horn-like mask, this one bearing the image of a white bird.

"Fellow Daoist He Tou?"

White Bird asked, her voice seemingly disguised by some special means. She glanced at the Buddha's Radiant Wheel behind Yang An's head.

Yang An nodded. The title reminded him of that old monster.

He had already toned down the Buddha's Radiant Wheel; it was now just emitting a soft glow to help the others find him.

Soon, two more people arrived.

One man and one woman. The man's mask bore the image of a heart, while the woman's depicted an infant.

The four people who had been teleported to the plain had successfully gathered. Yang An immediately concealed his Buddha's Radiant Wheel.

Including Yang An, all four had the aura of the Visceral Stone Realm.

White Bird and Heart had the highest Cultivation Levels of the group. Yang An couldn't see through their auras, which meant they were definitely beyond the Early Stage of the Visceral Stone Realm.

Zhi Ying, who seemed to be the most talkative of the group, spoke first:

"The Workshop Master told us to determine our location. This is clearly not the Jueyun Sect. Should we go in and investigate?"

Everyone looked toward the buildings on the plain. If they wanted to find out where they were, their only option was to search for clues inside.

The place was crawling with Demon Fiends; it was clearly unusual and fraught with danger, but they had no other choice.

They discussed their plan. To ensure they could watch each other's backs, they would all go in together and try not to separate. That way, if something happened, they could support one another.

"The Workshop Master went to great trouble to find that teleportation point for the Jueyun Sect. If we miss this opportunity, there's no telling how long we'll have to wait for another."

"These vessels don't last long, so we need to be fast. If we can't make it to the Jueyun Sect in time, the mission will probably be a failure."

White Bird reminded them.

A vessel was, after all, just a vessel—a temporary, replicated body.

Yang An's goal was the Jueyun Sect; he wanted to get his hands on the Magic Scriptures there. This mishap was out of his control, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity.

The group walked toward the cluster of buildings. As they drew near, they realized the only reason the buildings were visible from a distance was that the outer city wall had completely collapsed.

It looked as though a great battle had once been fought here. The buildings were severely damaged, with very few left intact.

Furthermore, it seemed a great deal of time had passed. Many of the already-damaged structures would crumble at a gust of wind, scattering like sand.

"Finding a Map or anything like it here will be difficult, I'm afraid."

Zhi Ying said.

"Let's head in and see."

White Bird took the lead, leaping lightly over the rubble of the collapsed wall. The others followed her inside.

Yang An brought up the rear, cautiously scanning his surroundings. In the eyes of the others, he was a man of few words.

It was like a small, ancient city. The cluster of buildings didn't cover a large area, but it was the only place on the entire plain worth exploring.

They walked down the widest street, their feet crunching on fine gravel. The sound echoed in the oppressive atmosphere, and the gloomy sky looked as if it could rain at any moment.

After walking a short distance, White Bird, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and scanned her surroundings. The others immediately halted as well.

"Do you hear that?"

"A sound?"

The group stood still, straining to listen.

Yang An's expression was odd. He could hear it, but it was faint and intermittent.

"A hundred years... on the ancient path... an immortal... Hard to be human... better be livestock... Pulling out guts for rope... bottling in wine... Can't eat the children... stewed gruel, sigh..."

"Praying for an immortal... praying for an immortal... Immortal, do you hear us... Immortal, do you hear us..."

The others seemed to hear the eerie sound as well and tried to pinpoint its source.

The sound was clearly human, but how could anyone possibly be alive in this rotten, dilapidated place, a land swarming with Demon Fiends?

And it wasn't just one person; it sounded like a whole group.

"Let's go check it out!"

They were all in the Visceral Stone Realm and in their vessel bodies. As long as they were careful, it should be fine. They decided to head toward the sound.

As they ventured deeper down the street, the sound grew louder and clearer.

"On the ancient path of little Jiangcheng, is there an immortal?~

The immortal hears the people cry: better to be beasts than to be men!~

Pull out our guts to make a rope, to loop and drink our blood in wine, tsk!~

The five grains are ash in our mouths, flesh is scarce, and children can't be stomached, like watery gruel, sigh!~

We pray to the immortal, pray to the immortal!~

Immortal, do you hear us?~ Immortal, do you hear us?~

Save our flesh!~ Save our bones!~ Save us from hunger!~ Save our mortal shells!~

Immortal, do you hear us?~ Immortal, do you hear us?~"

It definitely sounded like a large crowd, many people chanting in low voices. The sound came from the end of the street, where a filthy earthen wall stood.

The wall was covered in filth—yellow, white, and earth-toned stains were smeared across its surface and piled high at its base. It looked like foul, rotting sludge, oozing dirty water that had collected into puddles.

But they were certain it wasn't sludge.

They stopped a few yards from the wall. A faint firelight flickered from behind it, which was where the chanting originated.

The group looked to the side of the street at the collapsed, decaying houses. They were still high enough, so everyone leaped onto the rooftops to get a better view of what was behind the wall.

Yang An saw it, and froze.

Behind the wall was a clearing amidst a pile of rubble. A bonfire burned in the center, surrounded by a large group of people. The chanting was coming from them.

These... people... didn't look alive. They still wore clothes, but only rotten strips of cloth remained.

The fabric clung to their flesh as if it had taken root. Their exposed skin was nothing but putrid, rotting meat, revealing mud-caked, yellow-black bones beneath.

The skin and hair on their heads had rotted away, attracting swarms of insects that flew in and out of their decaying bodies.

A cauldron hung over the fire, its contents a viscous, bubbling sludge that popped and splattered black liquid.

The group kept chanting, their gaze fixed on the cauldron. One of their eyeballs fell out and into the pot with a soft PLOP, like a dumpling being dropped into water, yet none of them reacted.

Around these figures were scattered various objects.

Wooden blocks, stone chisels, wicker baskets, and a large pile of chipped earthenware bowls. On the ground lay tools of unknown purpose, which looked as if they were used for cutting something.

Everything was covered in filth, as if it hadn't been cleaned in ages. Many of the items were swarming with insects.

"They can talk. Should I go ask them some questions?"

Zhi Ying suggested.

"I'll go. You all wait here."

She volunteered. Yang An and the others nodded. They hadn't sensed any Demon Fiend auras yet, so they agreed to let her go while they stood by as backup.

Zhi Ying leaped down from the ruined house, crossed over to the earthen wall in a few steps, and jumped over the sludge-like filth. She rounded the wall and approached the figures from behind.

The others watched her approach the figures, but they didn't react at all. They just kept chanting, their gazes locked on the cauldron over the fire.

Zhi Ying gave one of them a gentle push. The figure immediately toppled over like an unsteady block of wood.

She tried a few more times with no result, then walked back and shook her head at the others.

"Let me go. I'll give them something to eat. Maybe that will get them to talk."

Seeing this, Heart decided to give it a try.