I long to return home!

In the dense forest, Liu Qianmei's figure sped along, perhaps unintentionally triggering some kind of creature, with black, tentacle-like vines following closely behind her.

The vines were exceptionally tough, unbreakable by swords and even unharmed by magic. Before long, Liu Qianmei was bound by them. As the vines tightened their grip, Liu Qianmei was finally tied into an indescribable position.

"I, Liu Qianmei, am sworn enemies with you all, surnamed Shen. Once I escape this place, I will make you pay for your blood debts!"

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Qianmei grew increasingly exhausted from her repeated struggles against the vines. Her once beautiful face had lost its luster, but her curvaceous figure remained unchanged. Even with the vines binding her, any man would be unable to resist taking a few glances at her.

This eerie black vine is not only that; although Liu Qianmei is still alive, her delicate body is visibly weakening, and her life essence and spiritual power are being drained. Especially in the last few days, she has almost been drained to the point of being skin and bones, with her skeleton clearly visible.

"I, Liu Qianmei, don't want to die! Someone save me! I'll be your slave for the rest of my life..." Liu Qianmei cried weakly. Even though there was no one around, who could give up on this sliver of hope?

But just then, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from behind. It was a man's voice, and he replied with a hint of amusement, "Really? If I save you, are you really willing to be my slave and never betray me?"

In her despair, Liu Qianmei suddenly froze, grasping tightly at this unexpected lifeline. "Of course it is true. If you can save me, I, Liu Qianmei of Black Mountain Cliff, am willing to acknowledge you as my master and never betray you in this life. If I break this oath, may I be struck down by heaven and earth and fall into the Nine Netherworld."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a lithe figure appeared before him. It was a somewhat dashing young man, dressed in noble robes, none other than Shen Lang, the third prince of the Yin Yue Empire.

...

As time passed, Huai Zhen encountered another obstacle on his journey. At this moment, he was hiding in a dark stone chamber, panting heavily, holding the blood-red longsword Life Soul in his hand. He leaned against the stone wall and looked at the figure that was faintly visible at the stone door.

About ten days ago, Huai Zhen arrived at a rather strange stone forest. The place was intricate and overgrown with weeds, with a few dilapidated huts, but there was no sign of any living people.

At this moment, the spirit of the long sword at his waist seemed to sense something and trembled slightly. As soon as Huai Zhen drew the long sword, the spirit uncontrollably drew a forward-moving mark on the ground.

Although she felt a little strange, Huai Zhen still went inside. She stopped after walking for a short while and was met with an indescribable sight.

In a large pit, several iron chains intertwined, and strange coffins were placed on the cliff face. Above the very center of the pit, another coffin was placed, but this coffin was bound by several iron chains, presumably to suppress something.

Upon seeing this scene, Huai Zhen pondered for a moment, not too surprised. After a while, he sat cross-legged and recited cryptic texts. Obscure and difficult-to-understand golden cryptic texts surged around him. At this moment, Huai Zhen was trying to deduce this place, but... this world was sealed by an unknown force, and even Huai Zhen could not deduce anything.

“Indeed, we cannot rely too much on the Heavenly Evolution Technique. Such an opportunity must have protective measures. We still need to explore it ourselves.” Huai Zhen stood up and scanned the pit again. “Although we cannot deduce it, it is not difficult to see that the Yin energy here is too heavy. A slight mistake could lead to annihilation. We need to be more careful.”

As she spoke, Huai Zhen unconsciously reached for the storage bag at her waist, a look of disappointment appearing on her face as she sighed in reluctance.

"In order to survive, almost all of my magical treasures and elixirs were used up. Fortunately, I am still alive. I still have things to do, so I absolutely cannot die. Yes, I absolutely cannot die."

The scene shifts, and Huai Zhen is now in the deep pit. He walks along the broken wooden bridge on the cliff face, holding his blood-red longsword firmly in his hand in case of any unexpected situation.

Since these coffins are in the Blood King's tomb, they must be the remains of people who were very important to him during his lifetime, so they were buried here. But why are they suspended on the cliff?

Huai Zhen speculated, and soon he had an idea. Combining the poems he had seen before with the eeriness and yin energy that filled the place, he concluded that the soldiers buried here were those who had fought alongside the Blood King.

"But... even the remains of soldiers don't need to be like this. Even the yin energy from the corpses of soldiers who died on the battlefield wouldn't be this strong. This coffin is obviously capable of this. According to this line of reasoning, something must have happened during the campaign back then, causing the soldiers who followed him to develop resentment. After their deaths, their resentment intensified, which is why a special method of burial was needed."

Huaizhen felt that his reasoning was almost certain, and that he only needed to open the coffin to verify his thoughts, but that would undoubtedly be disrespectful.

The person already harbored a lot of resentment, and now they want to open someone else's coffin. It's not just that they feel guilty, but more importantly, it would be bad if a troublesome monster ran out once the coffin was opened.

Just as Huai Zhen was about to confirm his idea and decide to continue exploring downwards, suddenly, the iron chains in the deep pit trembled violently, causing some cracks to appear in the mountain.

Bright red, pungent blood continuously oozed from the central coffin, flowing out from the cracks, creating a sinister and terrifying scene.

As soon as this phenomenon occurred, the blood-red longsword in Huai Zhen's hand reacted instantly, detaching from Huai Zhen's hand and striking the coffin bound by iron chains with a clang.

The coffin, which had been so lively just moments before, now seemed like a frightened mouse, barely daring to breathe, and slowly returned to its original state.

Just as Huai Zhen caught his breath, the iron chains in the deep pit made a series of noises and broke at the same time. Without the chains binding them, the central coffin was blasted away by a burst of bloody light with a "bang," and the "Life Soul" longsword flew straight towards Huai Zhen's side.

Blood-red light filled the sky, almost dyeing one-fifth of the sky of this realm red. At the same time, a red-haired man, wielding a sharp blood-red sword and covered in blood, watched this scene. The scene shifted, and behind him were the corpses of seven or eight slaughtered cultivators.

Without hesitation, Huai Zhen drew his long sword and saw a cold, evil laugh emanate from the coffin. When the blood light dissipated, a muscular male creature, half-naked, was suspended in mid-air.

His face was rotten and skeletal, and there was hardly a piece of good flesh on his body. His long, blood-red hair was draped over his waist, and his whole body reeked of a foul stench and the smell of blood.

"General...it has truly been a long time. Did you really think you could suppress me for thousands, even tens of thousands of years with just a few stone statues? I couldn't wait to see you as soon as I caught a whiff of your presence." The man sneered, as if what he had just said was incredibly sarcastic.

He slowly opened his eyes, and upon seeing Huai Zhen, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised and doubtful. But soon, he shouted with a hint of impatience and confusion, "Nameless one, what year is it today? Answer me quickly!"