Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 300: At Pingzhou Mansion

“Those two… should be fine.” Wang Yunkai looked back at Han Yi and Fatty Zheng, who were walking at the very back of the group, bringing up the rear.

He turned back and added, "Those two people are indeed innocent bystanders who were dragged into this. Although they may have some hidden agendas or other motives, that's normal. People who don't hide anything when they're out and about would have died at their own doorstep long ago."

“But… that’s strange…” Tantai Xunzhen’s cherry lips parted slightly, “Apart from those two outsiders… the rest are all our own people… Could there be a problem?!”

“Perhaps the previous pursuit left traces on our belongings, clothes, and luggage… It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an inside traitor…” Wang Yunkai comforted us. “After yesterday’s heavy rain, we all washed ourselves and changed all our clothes. Most of those belongings were lost, so we should be fine.”

At the beginning of the disembarkation, there was a large ambush by a large number of people. There was nothing wrong with this place. Originally, there were many of them. It was normal that they were targeted and ambushed when they boarded the ship.

But then, in order to evade pursuit and avoid the easy, well-marked official roads, he ventured into the desolate, dense forests of the mountains, and things became rather strange...

They only spent a mere ten days or so moving through these mountains and forests, like a small pebble thrown into a vast ocean, making it impossible for anyone to discover them.

However, the result was that they were ambushed and chased several times in safe areas where they were completely unprepared... as if the enemy knew their exact location and made preparations in advance.

All the clues combined led Wang Yunkai to only one conclusion: there was a traitor within the team. But no matter how he ruled out possibilities or conducted thorough investigations, he couldn't find out who the culprit was.

Therefore, he could only think of the positive side of everything, perhaps there were other factors, such as problems with the clothes or luggage.

"Alright, Uncle Wang, it's alright." Tantai Xunzhen looked at Wang Yunkai's worried face and comforted him, "That Han Yi is probably the strongest one, but if he has any problems, killing him will be as easy as taking candy from a baby."

"Miss, Han Yi should be fine. Also, your bloodline has just awakened, so you shouldn't use it too much. Focus on nurturing it," Wang Yunkai advised with a wry smile.

He always felt that ever since his young mistress awakened her bloodline, she had become much more decisive and ruthless...

Bloodlines are truly a wondrous thing...

She was once a pampered young lady who wouldn't even dare touch chickens, ducks, or fish, but now she's quick to draw blood at the slightest provocation...

"Uncle Wang, I know what I'm doing, don't worry," Tantai Xunzhen replied with a smile.

The group continued forward, ascending to higher ground. The wet ground was extremely difficult to traverse; the heavy rain, sticky humus, and rotten leaves and withered grass mixed together to form a slick, muddy mess.

The team had to stop every now and then to help those stuck in the mud get out.

In addition to these, you should also check the area where you are stepping to see if there are any snakes or venomous insects nearby.

Therefore, the team could not pick up speed at all. After the fog dissipated, it took them a whole noon to finally get out of this muddy place.

Wang Yunkai quickly ordered a clean area to be cleared so that the exhausted group could rest for a while.

The guard took off his mud-covered boots, leaving his sweaty, smelly feet exposed to the elements. He prepared to use a knife to scrape the mud off the boots.

He was just about to grab the knife when he looked up and was immediately startled. He quickly shoved his smelly feet into his smelly boots, becoming alert. Everyone else was also startled by his action and looked over at the same time.

Under the tall tree, which was dozens of meters high, there seemed to be two people dressed in feathered clothes.

Han Yi frowned and stared intently. Could it be another ambush? But he didn't think so.

Because that person's neck was so long, it didn't look like a normal person's.

"It's actually a black goblin!" Wang Yunkai exclaimed with delight, as if he had discovered something good.

"A black goblin?"

Han Yi had a sudden inspiration and looked at it more carefully.

Sure enough, the two people dressed in black feathers were actually two large black birds with long, fluffy feathers, constantly pecking at what appeared to be a mangled human corpse.

He quickly searched his memory; he seemed to have heard the name somewhere before. Finally, he remembered—the map he got from Huang Shanjun seemed to have recorded this ferocious beast.

The black-winged bird is a ferocious beast that eats meat, especially fresh flesh and blood. It lives in flocks and is highly poisonous all over its body, especially its blood and claws.

These flocks of ferocious birds are marked as extremely dangerous on the map, which means that the best course of action when encountering them is to avoid them.

According to the map description, although the individual strength of the blackbird is not great, its numbers are overwhelming.

Their favorite hunting method is to swarm in large numbers and suddenly grab or peck you. Once blood is drawn, even a Blood Refining Warrior will surely die.

As for martial artists, they also have to be tolerant when faced with a swarm of black goblins. After all, no matter how strong a martial artist's reaction speed is, it can't compare to these birds that are born to fly.

But the presence of the black goblin here indicates that our current location...

"We're almost at Pingzhou Prefecture!"

Wang Yunkai returned to the group and said with a smile in a low voice, "The reason why he kept the group going uphill was so that we could get a better view, observe our current position and direction, and decide which way to go."

Now, things are much better. We didn't waste much time and were able to determine our location directly.

Blackbirds prefer cold weather and generally only gather in the Broken Howl Mountains.

Once you cross the Duanhao Mountains, you'll reach the vicinity of Pingzhou Prefecture!

Once they reach Pingzhou Prefecture, he can leverage his connections to mobilize the Pingzhou army. At that point, no matter what pursuers are chasing them, they won't be able to harm them in the slightest.

At that time, under the escort of the army, the transfer back to Dongyang Academy in Yunzhou will be foolproof.

The weary spirits of everyone in the group were instantly lifted. Each of them glimpsed a glimmer of hope for a safe return home.

Wang Yunkai led the group to pack up their belongings again, slowly retreated, bypassed the area, and went to rest elsewhere.

The martial artists weren't afraid of the two black goblins, but it was best for the others in the group to avoid them.

Perhaps it was because the commotion was too loud, or perhaps the two blackbirds had eaten and drunk their fill, because a series of flapping sounds rang out.

Han Yi looked back and saw the black goblin with its arms, which were more than three meters wide, spread out, revealing a long, bright red neck. Its face was narrow and vaguely resembled a human face as it took off and flew out of the forest.

…....

…....

After several more days of relentless travel, the hope of soon returning home seemed to spur everyone on, and the entire group's speed increased significantly. The muddy, impenetrable forest they had encountered was long gone. However…

"Why are there more and more black goblins..." Han Yi frowned, looking at the bird droppings on the tree and the conspicuous black feathers.

A few days ago, the dense forest they were in seemed to be just the outer edge of the blackbird's territory. But in the past few days, they have encountered blackbirds more and more frequently. On one occasion, a blackbird that was starving and went berserk attacked the group.

But this mere blackbird comes with a team of three martial artists, plus Tantai Xunzhen, whose strength is unknown.

This blackbird, which came to its death, was easily killed before it could even utter a mournful cry to call for its companions.

“Alas, thirty years ago, I walked this road. Back then, there were no official roads, and this was also a road. People coming and going would spontaneously clear away the black-headed birds. Now that the road is abandoned, naturally there are more…” Wang Yunkai bent down, parting the weeds, carefully searching for the remaining, almost extinct road. Han Yi immediately understood. Judging from the black-headed bird he had killed, this ferocious beast had a rather large skeleton. Apart from bones and feathers, there wasn't much meat. After removing the poisonous and inedible parts, it was basically worthless. No one would come here specifically to bother clearing away such birds.

Moreover, these birds live in groups of three to five, are highly poisonous, and are birds of prey with no natural enemies, so they can naturally build nests and dominate this area.

"Alright, let's rest here tonight." Wang Yunkai, having found the right direction for tomorrow's journey, urged everyone to rest.

Han Yi and his group quickly built a simple wooden shed in the forest. The main structure was built using the branches of large trees, and the roof of the shed was covered with several layers of large leaves that looked like banana leaves. The group worked together and in just half an hour, several decent-looking wooden sheds were built.

The martial artist's immense strength and superior physical abilities gave them great advantages.

The group rested in the wooden shed, sitting around a lit campfire, sitting on thick animal hides, roasting wild animals they had hunted in the mountains.

Apart from Ya'er, Tantai Xunzhen's personal maid, none of these people were ordinary people. Without the relentless pursuit of enemies, they were able to live a comfortable and fulfilling life in this desolate mountain that mortals feared.

Even Fatty Zheng, whose physique had slightly returned to a normal size, became obese again.

"Miss, have another bite... Look how thin you are..." Around a slightly smaller campfire, Ya'er and Tantai Xunzhen sat together, roasting a plant tuber that looked like a sweet potato. Being women, they felt somewhat uncomfortable being among a group of men.

"You eat, I'm not hungry." Tantai Xunzhen smiled. "Ya'er, you should eat more. You must have been starving during your escape a few days ago."

"It's alright, with Miss here, I'm not afraid, and I'm not hungry either." Ya'er smiled mischievously. "That's good, you should eat quickly, this stuff tastes best while it's hot." Tantai Xunzhen picked out a few large pieces and handed them to Ya'er.

Then, she closed her eyes again, focused her mind, and sat cross-legged by the campfire.

Her bloodline awakening time is still too short; she needs to seize the time and familiarize herself with and nurture this change within her body as soon as possible.

Ya'er closed her legs, hugged her knees with her hands, and lowered her head, accompanying her mistress as usual.

As she looked at it, a hint of envy flashed in her eyes.

That's just how she is; no matter what, she's always so calm and does the right thing.

That's just how Miss is—always lively, intelligent, and resolute. No wonder she always becomes the most central figure among everyone when she appears.

Even in this most dangerous situation, countless people are willing to give their lives for her, willing to sacrifice their lives for a single, seemingly insignificant word from her. But…

As Ya'er pondered this, a flicker of jealousy crossed her mind once more.

She looked at her own curvaceous figure, full where it should be and firm where it should be... then she looked at Tantai Xunzhen, who was completely thin and flat-chested from head to toe.

Why should I? In terms of figure, I'm much better than her.

Why does she always wear a veil? Isn't it because she thinks she's not good-looking? I'm much better looking than her.

But why is it that such an ordinary person receives everyone's favoritism and pampering...?

Even Qin Lang looked at her with a different kind of light, a light he had never seen before.

Thinking of this, a trace of jealousy arose in Ya'er's heart.

She wanted to tear this woman in front of Qin Lang apart, piece by piece!

She quickly looked up and glanced at Han Yi not far away. If it weren't for him... she would have already completed her mission...

She was furious whenever she thought about what happened that night.

Everything was going smoothly; she was just one step away from completing her task by blowing out the incense powder.

But this person's appearance disrupted all plans.

That night, after returning to the cave, she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did. She secretly slipped out to take another look, and what made her furious was that the powder had long been buried in the pit, mixed with mud and water, turned black and clumped together, and had completely lost its effectiveness.

But it's okay...

Ya'er's lips curled up into a strange smile, which looked particularly eerie under the varying brightness of the campfire.

There's still a chance...

She touched another item in her arms.

----------------------------------------------

At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten and the sun had not yet risen, everyone set off early, covered in heavy morning dew.

The mountain path was steep and rugged, with jagged rocks covered in damp green moss, making it difficult to walk on.

But no one complained; instead, they quickened their pace.

According to Wang Yunkai, the road was nearing its end. Once they crossed a stone bridge leading down the mountain, they would have crossed the Duanhao Mountains and reached the Pingzhou Prefecture.

The thought of returning to civilized society soon—warm rooms, bright lights, delicious food, clean drinking water—filled everyone with motivation and hope.