Evan Yang frowned, watching as a group of cultivators encountered something terrifying before his eyes. That thing was devouring their lives, and the blood had dyed the basin ahead a deep crimson.
"What is this place, anyway!" Evan realized this space was too bizarre—a pure killing ground. If not for the Heaven‑Cold Seed in his body, he would have either been poisoned by the Dragonbane Grass or possessed by that strange blood sphere.
"Ah!" A cultivator's scream snapped Evan back to his senses. He glanced at the man—his whole body was shriveling, blood pouring out and trickling into a mouth-sized opening.
"It can fly?" Evan saw that the things hovering in the air were insects. Whenever one touched a cultivator, the victim convulsed, and blood sprayed out at incredible speed. Many had already died to those insects' jaws, and no matter how the cultivators attacked, the bugs seemed to have shells as tough as armor.
Some cultivators cursed, "If I were at Core‑Formation, I'd wipe you out!"
Watching the four insects flying above, the cultivators scattered in every direction, but their speed still wasn't enough. The bugs quickly caught up, and the blood on the basin floor seemed to flow along set channels, all converging at the mouth-like opening.
The number of cultivators on the field gradually dwindled, until only one girl remained. At first, Evan hadn't noticed her; his attention was caught by the blood everywhere. But when his gaze finally landed on her, he was stunned—it was none other than Lana Situ. At first, he hadn't seen her face clearly, as it was obscured by the blood of the surrounding cultivators.
Seeing the four insects about to swoop down on Lana Situ, Evan didn't hesitate. He drew three daggers—"shush shush shush"—like death itself, hurling them straight at the insects, pinning them to the ground.
In an instant, three of the four insects were gone. The last one, seeing a powerful opponent, glanced at Evan, then quickly darted away, burrowing into the mouth-like opening.
Lana Situ was still terrified by the four insects, but when she saw this sudden turn of events, she froze, staring blankly at the three insects that had slaughtered so many cultivators now lying dead on the ground.
Evan, afraid more trouble might arise, put away his three daggers and quickly rushed to Lana Situ's side. "Let's go!" he said.
Before Lana Situ could react, Evan carried her on his back and left the killing field. Having just come down from the intense battle, Lana suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over her, and she slipped into unconsciousness.
When Lana Situ woke up again, she heard the sound of flowing river water and smelled grilled fish. Her outer robe was drying nearby; she realized she was left only in her inner garments. Without thinking, she dragged her tired body up and looked around, spotting Evan, who was smiling as he grilled fish.
She grabbed the sword beside her, rushed over to Evan, and pressed the blade to his neck. "You—what did you do to me?"
Evan stood up, moved her sword aside, and smiled. "Miss Situ, don't you remember what just happened to you?"
"Just now?" Lana Situ couldn't help but recall the scene where the four insects stained the cultivators with blood. If not for her own strength, she would have been overwhelmed much sooner.
"Remember now?" Evan asked, chewing on the grilled fish with a smile.
"You saved me?" Lana Situ asked in disbelief.
Evan nodded, then handed her another grilled fish. "Eat. It's rare to find such delicious fish here."
Looking at the oddly shaped fish in Evan's hand, Lana Situ lost interest. She was more curious how Evan, whose cultivation was lower than hers, managed to save her. She pressed him, "How did you save me?"
"I killed three of them. Unfortunately, the last one escaped," Evan said, still eating his fish.
"Impossible. Your cultivation is only mid-Foundation-Building. There's no way you could handle those monsters," Lana Situ said, not believing him at all. She had experienced the insects' attacks firsthand—taking them down was extremely difficult unless you had something sharp enough to pierce their shells.
Evan spat out a fish bone, tossed away the rest of the grilled fish, and smiled. "Believe it or not, I saved you. At least I fulfilled a wish in my heart."
Lana Situ still didn't quite believe Evan, but for some reason, she felt oddly familiar with him, though she couldn't pinpoint what was off. She put away her sword and asked coldly, "Did you undress me too?"
"Yeah, your robe is right over there. I washed it in the river, dried it by the fire, and hung it up," Evan said, pointing to where Lana’s outer robe was hanging.
"Who told you to do that?" Lana Situ had always had maids handle such things for her. Now a beggar—worse, a male beggar—had done it for her, and she was furious.
"That's really not like you," Evan said, seeing Lana get angry. He couldn't help but recall how she had saved him before—their personalities seemed completely different now.
"Are we even close? Talking about my personality—damn beggar, don't let me see you again!" Lana Situ snapped, embarrassed, and hurried back to put on her outer robe. She found a few drops of blood still clinging to the fabric, and the smell was awful.
Seeing those stains, Evan was helpless. In a place like this, there was nothing to rely on—he had just washed the robe in river water, scrubbing away most of the blood. The rest could only be removed with special herbs, or thrown away altogether.
Lana Situ looked at the stains and complained angrily, "Look at your washing—it's not clean at all."
"Miss, that's real human blood, dried into the fabric. With nothing else around, how could I possibly clean it?" It was the first time Evan felt embarrassed in front of a woman, and he was pretty frustrated.
Hearing 'human blood,' Lana Situ couldn't help but recall the cultivators who fought the insects. She felt nauseous and, using her sword, scraped at the stains until she cut them out, leaving her robe with several small holes.
With no spare clothes, Lana Situ was helpless and had to put on the patched-up, damaged robe.
Seeing Lana's appearance, Evan joked, "With that outfit, you really look like a female beggar."
"Screw you! What do you mean by that?" Lana Situ was already embarrassed about having her robe removed by a man, and Evan's remark pushed her over the edge. She snapped at him.
"Just kidding. Want some fish? If not, I'll toss it," Evan quickly changed the subject.
Lana Situ had no appetite, shook her head, and angrily walked away. Evan hurried to catch up and asked, "How did you guys run into those insects?"
Lana Situ glared at Evan and replied, "We entered and were right there. Then some strange insects flew out and devoured hundreds of people."
"Hundreds?" Evan had only seen dozens when he arrived. He hadn't realized the massacre was so massive—hundreds of Foundation‑Building cultivators wiped out in an instant.
"Yeah." Lana Situ regretted coming here; her mood was complicated and conflicted.
Evan saw the worry on her face and hesitated, then asked, "Does anyone know where this place is?"
"If we knew, would we have come here to die?" Lana Situ snapped, shooting him a glare.
"Good point." Evan scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
"And you? Where did you go after you came in?" Lana Situ, just as unfamiliar with the place as Evan, was curious how he’d emerged unharmed.
Evan shivered and said, "Don't look at me like that. I didn't know where I was either when I came in. I barely made it out and saw you guys." As for the Dragonbane Grass, the blood sphere, and the strange cave, he kept those details to himself—they were far too bizarre.
"Really?" Lana Situ asked, not quite believing him.
"Believe it or not, I'm not familiar with this place either. So, where to now?" Evan found there were no signs or clues around—he had no idea where they were, let alone how to find treasures or opportunities.
"I don't know either." Lana Situ looked around—just a river, a forest, and scattered fake rocks.
Evan looked in all directions, but found nothing unusual. He felt completely lost, like someone who had lost his way.
"Let's follow the river." Lana Situ, just as clueless as Evan, finally resigned herself to walking along the river.
Seeing Lana had no intention of driving him away, Evan gladly followed. In a place full of unknown dangers, having another person meant another helper.
Lana Situ had originally planned to leave Evan behind, but remembering the terrifying insects, she let him tag along.
On the road, the two grew bored and started chatting. Gradually, Lana found Evan wasn't so bad after all—she even felt indignant on his behalf.
Evan told Lana all about his time at the Rising Sun Sect, though he disguised it as another sect. Lana concluded that those who bullied Evan weren't good people.
Lana's sense of justice resonated with Evan, especially recalling how she had saved him at the sect—something he'd never forget.
"So what's your real name?" Now that Lana had gotten to know Evan better, she asked out of curiosity.
"My real name?" Evan hesitated, worried that revealing it would expose him.
"What? Not allowed to tell me your real name?" Lana Situ asked, a bit annoyed.
"Just call me Han kid, like my friends do," Evan said with a laugh.
"Are you hiding something from me?" Lana Situ stopped and stared at Evan.
"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it secret?" Evan thought it over and decided to trust her—she clearly wasn't a petty person.
The mysterious little beggar—anyone would want to know his identity. After seeing Evan defeat late Foundation‑Building cultivators and rescue her from the insects, Lana Situ was desperate to learn who he really was. Hearing Evan's request, she immediately swore a Soul Oath.
A Soul Oath is a deadly curse. If someone breaks their vow, their soul is utterly destroyed. Many cultivators have died this way, and now no one dares violate such an oath unless they don’t care about their soul.