Shrouding the Heavens: Empress, I am truly not the Desolate Heavenly Emperor!

A blood moon hung in the sky, its eerie red light permeating the entire desolate village.

Ye Chen gasped for breath, each breath feeling like swallowing a red-hot knife, burning from his throat all the way to the depths of his lungs.

Behind them, the ferocious beast with fangs relentlessly pursued them, its foul-smelling saliva dripping onto the ground with a hissing, corrosive sound.

This is the third year.

Having transmigrated to this cruel world of cultivation, he remained an unarmed mortal for three whole years.

This was the tenth time he had faced death.

His emaciated body had already been pushed to its limit, and his legs felt as heavy as lead.

We can't stop!

Stop, or die!

The thirst for power and the obsession with survival reached their peak at this moment.

If we don't find a solution soon, today will be his death day.

In my despair, a scene flashed through my mind. An elderly man with white hair in the village had pointed with trembling fingers to the area behind the mountain that was shrouded in gray mist all year round.

"That place is the 'Land of Death,' an ancient forbidden zone. Anyone who goes in has never come out again!"

Ancient and forbidden land.

A name that sends chills down your spine just by hearing it.

Ye Chen glanced back and saw that the wild beast was less than ten feet away from him, and the stench from its gaping maw was almost overwhelming.

What lies ahead is certain death, but ahead, there may still be a glimmer of hope.

He no longer hesitated.

"ah--!"

Ye Chen used his last bit of strength to let out a hoarse roar, like a mad dog, and plunged headfirst into the deathly gray mist.

"roar!"

The wild beast behind him suddenly stopped, pacing anxiously back and forth at the edge of the mist, letting out low growls filled with fear, but never daring to step inside.

Ye Chen rushed into the mist, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

He gasped for breath, greedily inhaling the air. Before the feeling of relief at surviving the ordeal could even well up in his heart, an unprecedented terror instantly seized him.

Is it safe?

No.

An even greater crisis is looming.

An invisible yet extremely domineering force was surging in from all directions, frantically drilling into his limbs and bones, extracting the most precious things from his body.

vitality!

His vitality is being frantically stripped away!

Ye Chen looked down in horror. He saw that the skin on his thin arms was losing its luster at a visible speed, becoming loose, and showing wrinkles like age spots.

He raised his hand, trembling, and touched his hair.

He held a strand of black hair in his hand, and under his gaze, it quickly faded from the roots, turning into a withered gray-white.

He needs a mirror!

But there's nothing here.

But he could feel that his body was aging rapidly, his strength was fading, and his heartbeat was becoming heavy and slow.

The shadow of death loomed once again.

This time, it was more terrifying and more despairing than being torn to pieces by wild beasts.

This is going to suck him dry until he's a dried-up corpse!

Do not!

He can't just die like this!

Ye Chen struggled to his feet and staggered into the depths of the fog.

He didn't know where to go or what to do; only the instinct for survival drove him, and he couldn't stay still and wait to die.

The fog was very thick, and visibility was less than three feet.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only his own heavy, aged breathing.

With every step, I felt life slipping away.

His hair, which was originally only gray, was now mostly snow-white, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles. He felt as if his bones were groaning under the weight of the burden.

He went from a young man in his twenties to an old man nearing the end of his life in the short span of an incense stick's time.

It’s over.

It's all over.

Ye Chen's steps slowed down, and finally, he could no longer hold on. His body swayed, and he fell heavily to the ground.

My consciousness began to blur, and the scene before me became dim.

Is this my fate?

After three years of struggling to survive, how could he possibly die in such a bizarre way?

Not reconciled!

Really not reconciled!

Just as his consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness, he seemed to see a colorful radiance faintly appearing in the depths of the thick fog.

What is that?

Is it a hallucination?

With his last shred of willpower to survive, he mustered all his strength and stretched out his wrinkled hand toward the light.

Then, his fingers touched something warm and moist.