One minute, Luo Zhen was enjoying a simple, perfect afternoon. The sun warmed his scales, the mountain breeze was a familiar friend, and the only thing on his mind was digging up a few more energy stones to aid his cultivation. Life was good.
Next, he was staring down a life-or-death choice.
The two demon boar brothers shifted their weight, their patience wearing thin. This whole thing had blindsided him. Cooperate with them and venture into the dreaded Land of Decay, or refuse and face the wrath of the Great Commander. It wasn't much of a choice at all. He'd heard the whispers about the Great Commander—a monster whose cruelty was the stuff of nightmares.
"Alright," Luo Zhen finally hissed, the sound barely a whisper. "I'm in. We'll go to the Land of Decay together."
The larger boar let out a grunt of relief. "Good. Let's get moving. I've got a bad feeling about this place."
Luo Zhen knew what he meant. An unnatural gloom had settled over the mountain, the sky choked with dark, bruised clouds that hung heavy and low. Without another word, he flicked his forked tongue. "Lead the way."
A gust of wind was their only farewell as the unlikely trio—two boars and a snake—tore away from Snake Mountain.
As they moved, Luo Zhen's mind raced. He slid up beside the larger boar. "So, what's the deal with the other commanders holding map fragments? Where are they now?"
The boar shot him a sideways glance, a smirk playing on its lips. "Worried about a fight? Don't be. We're all in the same boat, Demon Yuan Realm. The toughest one of the bunch is only late-stage. Nothing you can't handle." He grunted. "As for where they are, they're all heading for the same place we are. You'll meet them soon enough."
That settled some of Luo Zhen's nerves. He was only early-stage, but his innate talents gave him an edge. He could hold his own against a mid-stage beast, maybe even win. Still, one question gnawed at him.
"There's something I don't get," Luo Zhen said after a while. "The Great Commander has known about this map for ages. Why didn't he just take the fragments for himself? One missing piece and the whole thing is useless. With his power, he could've collected them all and claimed the prize alone. Why let us walk right in?"
The boar blinked, the question clearly having never occurred to him. He turned to his sibling. "Hey, you ever think about that?"
"Nope," the other boar grunted, shaking his massive head.
Luo Zhen's unease grew.
"You're probably overthinking it," the first boar said, trying to sound reassuring. "Maybe it never crossed his mind. He's just a monkey, after all."
I hope you're right, Luo Zhen thought with a sigh. But I doubt it.
Back on the now-silent Snake Mountain, a suffocating demonic pressure descended like a shroud. The lesser beasts on the slopes trembled, their bodies betraying them in fear. Some simply died on the spot, their hearts giving out.
The sky, if possible, grew even darker. A white silhouette sliced through the gale-force winds, landing silently on the summit in the blink of an eye. It was a white-haired baboon, no taller than a man, yet radiating an aura of absolute authority. He looked like a human draped in a winter coat of pure white fur, but his eyes held a chilling, ancient cruelty.
With a sneer of disgust at the gloomy sky, the baboon opened his mouth. A pillar of pure white light erupted, blasting the storm clouds into oblivion. In seconds, the wind died, the sky cleared, and sunlight returned.
Satisfied, he clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the horizon where Luo Zhen had disappeared. A shadow fell over him as a massive goshawk—the same one that had been spying on Luo Zhen—landed at his feet.
"Great Commander," the hawk screeched respectfully.
The baboon gave a slight nod. "Report."
"The traitors with the map fragments are all on their way to the Land of Decay. They should be meeting up soon."
"Good," the baboon yawned, the picture of boredom.
The hawk hesitated. "Sir, shouldn't we stop them? With the complete map, its power will shield them, allowing them to enter freely."
"No need," the baboon cut him off.
"But—"
"But nothing," he chuckled, a low, menacing sound. "The Land of Decay isn't some playground. They think a magical map is all they need to claim the spirit seed's bloodline? Hah. They are fools. Let them go. Let them be the pawns that clear the board for me."
After a hard journey, a charred, black mountain loomed before them. It was far larger than Snake Mountain, but it felt dead, saturated with an aura of decay so thick it was almost tangible. The entire landscape was scorched black, as if it had been consumed by an infernal fire ages ago.
"This is it," the boar grunted. "The Land of Decay."
"Where are the others?" Luo Zhen asked.
As if on cue, three powerful auras surged toward them. From the plains emerged a mountain turtle the size of a small hut, its shell a deep, emerald green. Beside it scuttled a colossal red scorpion, its tail held high like a siege weapon. Luo Zhen could sense their power: the turtle was early-stage, like him, but the scorpion was a late-stage Demon Yuan beast, radiating palpable menace. From the sky, a bald eagle with a wingspan that could shadow a house descended to join them.
"Took you long enough," the scorpion clicked, its voice sharp and impatient.
"Had to persuade our new friend here," the boar explained, gesturing to Luo Zhen. "This is the black snake. He has the last piece."
The boar quickly made the introductions. The turtle, a minor commander from Turtle Mountain, gave Luo Zhen a slow, deliberate nod. The eagle, from Eagle Mountain, preened slightly. "It was I who found the fragment that was lost for a century," he announced with pride.
Then there was the scorpion. From Scorpion Mountain, he was clearly the powerhouse of the group. The boar mentioned he held four fragments himself. Perhaps it was this power that made him so arrogant; he didn't even bother to look Luo Zhen's way, his multifaceted eyes fixed on the mountain with burning impatience. Luo Zhen returned the sentiment, turning his head away.
"Are we done with the pleasantries?" the scorpion snapped. "This isn't a social gathering. We're here for treasure. Let's get the map together so we can get moving!"
With a series of coughs and grunts, the beasts produced their fragments. Luo Zhen uncurled his tongue and revealed his own. Ten pieces in total. The moment they were all brought together, the air crackled with energy. The fragments shot from their owners, hovering in the air as they pulsed with a blinding light. They swirled and spun, locking into place one by one until a massive, spectral image of a beast-hide map materialized above them, humming with power. On its surface, a single, winding path snaked its way into the heart of the decaying mountain.
"It's complete!" the boar roared.
"Then let's go!" the scorpion commanded, already scuttling forward.
The spectral map floated above them, casting down a protective, shadowy glow that enveloped them all. As they stepped onto the ashen soil of the mountain, a wave of oppressive decay washed over them—a palpable aura of death that sought to leech the life from their very bones. But it broke harmlessly against their shield.
"Good thing we have this," the eagle remarked, eyeing the skeletal remains of less fortunate beasts that littered their path. "Without the map's protection, this place drains you dry. Turns you into a husk before you can even scream."
They followed the map's route up the slope to a wide ledge halfway up the peak. According to the map, the entrance was here.
"I don't see anything," the turtle rumbled, his deep voice echoing slightly. The area was just a flat, barren clearing.
"Over here!" the eagle called out. "There's a hole, about the size of a man. And... some white fur."
They gathered around. A narrow shaft plunged into the rock, and a powerful energy pulsed from its depths. Scattered around the rim were strands of fine white fur. Luo Zhen eyed them, a flicker of suspicion running through him.
"This must be it," the scorpion declared. "Stand back!"
He reared up, his massive crimson tail poised like a dagger. With a guttural roar, he drove his stinger into the ground next to the hole. The earth heaved, rock shattering as a huge section of the ledge collapsed inward, revealing a gaping tunnel, easily large enough for all of them to enter. The tunnel, which had clearly been there all along, sloped down into the mountain's belly, a faint light glowing in the distance.
"Just as the map showed," the scorpion laughed, a grating, triumphant sound. "I'm going in!"
He charged into the darkness without a second thought. The others quickly followed. Luo Zhen hung back for a moment, his gaze lingering on the white fur, then on the dark maw of the tunnel. After a long pause, he finally slithered inside.
Moments later, the white-haired baboon appeared on the ledge, moving with an eerie silence. He walked right through the decaying aura, completely unharmed. He knelt, gathering the stray white hairs from the ground.
"Even I can't enter that place without shedding a little," he murmured to himself, a cold smile twisting his lips as he gazed into the tunnel. "They may have escaped the decay, but they've walked right into the slaughterhouse."
He let out a dry, rasping laugh. "Perfect. They can trigger all the traps for me. I'll just wait for the prize to reveal itself." Then, he too disappeared into the darkness.
Inside the tunnel, the group felt an immediate shift.
"It's... gone," the turtle said, his voice filled with disbelief. "The decay. I don't feel it anymore." Cautiously, he extended a claw beyond the map's protective shield. Nothing happened. Emboldened, he stepped completely out of the shield's light. He was fine.
One by one, they all tested it, a wave of relief washing over the group. They were safe from the mountain's life-draining curse.
"This is great!" the turtle boomed. "We have nothing to worry about now!"
But Luo Zhen wasn't so sure. He quietly activated his internal system, the unique power that gave him an edge. In his mind's eye, a radar-like map of his surroundings appeared. Before entering the mountain, it had shown a low-level threat. When the tunnel opened, the threat level had ticked up slightly.
Now, as they ventured deeper, a crimson marker on his mental map began to glow, growing brighter and more intense with every foot they traveled.
The decay might be gone, he thought, every muscle in his body tense, but something far worse is waiting for us down here.
The bloodline inheritance wasn't worth dying for. He was already a spirit seed; he didn't need it. And he couldn't shake the feeling that the Great Commander was watching, waiting to make his move.
Suddenly, the giant scorpion at the head of the group froze, raising a massive pincer to halt their advance.
"What is it?" the boar asked.
"A fork in the road," the scorpion replied, his voice low. Ahead, the tunnel split into two identical paths, both plunging into a deeper, more absolute darkness. "We've got a choice to make."