After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Nothing more was said that night, and they continued their journey the next morning.

The group remained silent. No one complained of itching anymore. Even if they were truly itchy, they would just scratch silently through their clothes. Some people even had blood seeping through their clothes.

There was a little girl named Tianxiang who was the same age as Qinghe. She had dark spots on her face and would scratch them from time to time, causing blood to seep from her cheeks.

Qinghe was talking to her, using herbs to treat the injuries on her face. The little girl had red eyes, lowered her head, and didn't say a word.

Three days passed in this way. Three days later, a scream rang out from the group. An elderly man in his fifties was rolling on the ground, hysterically shouting, "It itches! It itches so much! Help me!"

This unexpected turn of events drew everyone forward, and Chen Futu strode over as well.

The old man couldn't help scratching at the nearly rotten black spots. As he scratched, the bulging black spots, like bursting fat worms, splattered thick juice with a "plop," a scene that silenced everyone.

Chen Futu stepped forward to check on his condition. A drop of Dragon Emperor's blood fell into his wound, but it had no effect whatsoever. Even when he used the Devouring Heaven Essence, he absorbed the other party's blood energy, not the black spots.

"Young man, save me! I know you're capable!"

The old man clung desperately to Chen Futu's arm, pleading with his eyes wide with despair; it was clear he was in great pain.

Chen Futu said in a low voice, "I suggest we try cutting out that piece of flesh."

"Hurry up and dig it off! I can't take it anymore!"

The old man trembled as he took the dagger from his waist and handed it over. Chen Futu grabbed the dagger and looked around at the people. No one spoke, and everyone lowered their heads. The old man at the head and Da Shi were also ashen-faced.

"Young man, do it! I can't die! I want to go home! I want to go home!"

"Okay, just bear with it."

Chen Futu gripped the dagger tightly and slashed down, tearing away the black spots and the surrounding flesh.

However, when Chen Futu saw the inside of the wound, he was horrified. The bones, flesh, and meridians inside had all turned black, and digging out the flesh was useless.

"I feel better, I'm alright now..."

The old man forced a weak smile, then begged for help to bandage himself, and said to the people around him, "Don't do this, everyone. I'm fine. The flesh has been cut out and it's not so itchy anymore. Let's continue on our way."

The group continued pushing the cart forward in silence.

In the following days, the situation became more serious than Chen Futu had anticipated. More and more people couldn't bear it and began to cut off their own flesh, but no one said they wanted to go back to the cave. It seemed that they had already agreed that no one was allowed to mention going back. They wanted to go home, but they would rather die on the way.

Despite the seemingly resolute team, panic was spreading everywhere.

Some people have their bodies riddled with holes, while others only have one cut on the first day, and new black spots appear on the second day, so they have to make a second cut.

This unique race is constantly eroded by the earth's veins, making them extremely resilient. Unless they are killed or torn apart by wild beasts, they will not die even if a lot of flesh is dug out. However, they look extremely ugly. Some people have large areas of rotten flesh dug out of their faces, with their muscles hanging down. Some people are so rotten that only half of their face remains, with their eyeballs rolling around inside half a skull.

Chen Futu was at a loss in this situation and asked the system what to do, but the system pretended to be dead and did not answer any questions.

"Qinghe, kill me—"

The girl's piercing screams echoed throughout the ranks.

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see Tianxiang gripping a dagger tightly, pointing it at her face. Her once fair and beautiful face was now covered with black spots the size of a child's fist.

Qinghe, her eyes red, grabbed her wrist and hissed, "Don't dig! Do you hear me? We're almost home!"

"I feel so uncomfortable, so itchy, please let me go!"

Tianxiang's scream was terrifying. Then, with a burst of strength from who knows where, she pushed Qinghe away and then stabbed herself in the face without hesitation.

Chen Futu dodged and delivered a swift chop to her neck, causing her head to tilt and she to fall to the ground.

What was originally an unintentional act was spread like wildfire by the sick people as if they had discovered a new continent. As a result, many people were knocked unconscious, mostly teenagers. Their parents knocked them out and put them on a cart, using this method to take them back to their homeland.

Chen Futu carefully observed Qinghe and saw that he was trembling with his head down, clutching his arms, and large beads of sweat were rolling down his face.

"Do you need my help? I can take you and this girl with me."

Chen Futu asked.

Qinghe hesitated for a moment, then asked hopefully, "Is it really possible?"

"Of course, that's your glory, how can you dig it up? Leave it to me."

After Chen Futu finished speaking, he knocked him unconscious with a chop to the neck, and then sent him and Tianxiang onto the cart.

Chen Futu pulled the cart himself. It was the first time he had ever pulled a cart since he came to this world, but he didn't feel any aversion to it. He really wanted the two children to live.

As the situation progressed, the community's condition deteriorated further.

The old man at the head of the group had clawed himself beyond recognition, his body covered in bits of flesh. The man named Da Shi was also covered in blood and grime, but he was strong-willed. Even though he had been disfigured and was no longer human, he still carried a long knife at his waist and led the group at the front of the procession, pulling the old man on a cart.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The camp was quiet. Looking around, all that could be seen were children who had fainted in the car and were being fed medicine by their parents. Everyone else had turned into bloody monsters.

Chen Futu asked the system, "Why can't those who have made contributions have a peaceful end?"

Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs.

"All beings are equal under the Way of Heaven. It is high above, yet it requires all beings to uphold the will of Heaven and Earth from being corrupted. Shouldn't all beings receive something in return?"

The system is unable to answer philosophical questions.

"Since leaving the capital, I have killed countless people. Even if I have achieved some merit, it can only offset my demerits. My path has been recognized by the will of heaven and earth, achieving perfect swordsmanship rules, and even the Dragon Sparrow has leaped to become an ultimate imperial weapon. Why is that?"

The system is unable to answer philosophical questions.

The system disappeared.

Chen Futu closed his eyes, his mind racing. He vaguely sensed that something was missing in his heart, and he was trying to make up for it. Although he had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, he could not break through his realm. It seemed that he was just one step away from entering the Ancient Saint Realm, but he could not cross this barrier and could not achieve enlightenment.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the group arrived at the edge of the desolate sandbar. Everyone except Chen Futu had become neither human nor ghost, like walking corpses.

"Stop whoever comes!"

Ahead lay a formidable pass. Soldiers stepped forward to inspect the troops, but as they approached, they saw a group of inhuman creatures and screamed in terror, "Monsters! Monsters!"

"Hold them off!"

The entire pass was thrown into chaos as soldiers rushed out, and in an instant, the air was thick with the clash of swords and the stench of battle.

The giant stone grinned, revealing its skull-like mouth, and bowed to the soldiers before it, stating its identity and the achievements of its tribe.

The general opposite sneered, "What 'sick tribe'? Never even heard of them! Fire arrows and kill them all!"