The Attack of the Wastrel

When everyone had rested enough and their energy returned, the corpses of the Insect Beasts and the sticky blood on the floor hit them. Lin Mengyan kneeled over as she vomited violently. The sound of her retching sounded as if she was about to puke out his lungs.

Everyone else who had managed to suppress their urge to puke, could no longer hold in their vomit as they heard the sound of her vomiting. Looking around at each other and realising that everyone was feeling the same, they no longer held back. It was as if they were in a competition as they each fought to find the best spot to puke. As Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan heard the sounds of people throwing up, their faces twitched. Forcing herself to control the urge to puke, Gu Lingzhi looked at Rong Yuan, “When they come over later, you should give them some water to wash up.”

Other than Lin Rong, everyone else from the Spirit City was completely filthy and there was not a single clean spot on them. Just the thought of having to travel with them while they reeked made Gu Lingzhi want to go crazy.

Rong Yuan’s face paled and he said solemnly, “Definitely!” If they were not clean, they were not going to move!

Hence, they waited until Wei Lingshu had puked out almost everything in him and came with a few others to find Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan, then did Rong Yuan shout at them from afar to stop. Under their grateful looks, several streams of water fell from the sky, allowing them to comfortably wash themselves. At this moment, everyone conveniently overlooked the importance of being able to use spiritual energy here. If they did not wash off the stench of blood on them, they would suffocate themselves before they even reached anywhere.

It was easy for everyone else as all they needed to do was bathe directly under the water streams. However, Lin Mengyan felt a bit awkward. Looking at the water streams, she wanted to bathe but could not really do so. Gu Lingzhi noticed her troubles and whispered into Rong Yuan's ears. Rong Yuan then reacted. Males and females were different and Lin Mengyan could not just shower in front of so many guys.

Frowning slightly, he waved his hand and walls made of mud rose around Lin Mengyan, completely blocking her from the view of everyone else. Lin Mengyan seemed to reenergize as she started to wash up.

When Lin Mengyan was finished showering and was about to wear her dripping wet clothes, a fresh new set of emerald green gown appeared on the top of the mud walls. Gu Lingzhi’s voice floated over, “If your clothes aren’t dry yet, you can wear mine first.”

Lin Mengyan was filled with gratitude as she thanked Gu Lingzhi and took the clothes to wear. After she was done, she jumped out of the cubicle made by the mud wall.

Everyone else was already done and chit-chatting casually. With Rong Yuan’s help, he had pulled out the water from everyone’s wet clothes. Seeing that she was done, Wei Lingshu nodded and instructed everyone to start making a move.

Their following journey was not going to be peaceful. The Insect Beasts were just the first threat that they were going to come across in the Heavenly Lands.

The Heavenly Lands had existed for numerous years and obstructed the Lost Lands and the Endless Sea Realm, harbouring numerous weird organisms that were not found anywhere else. All these organisms were different from each other, but shared one common point – they were all black.

“Could it be because the beasts of other colours had been killed before?”

In the midst of fighting a two foot long, black-furred cat-like animal, Fang Yue attempted to answer Gu Lingzhi’s question. The beast had two ferocious looking incisors that measured one foot each, looking very out of place compared to its body.

Looking at the black fog, Gu Lingzhi nodded. In the black fog, they could not see past five meters. At the frequency at which they met a wave of beasts attacking them every hour, any other coloured organism would really find it difficult to survive in here. Just based on the frequency in which it would be detected and hunted by organisms would be sufficient to kill it ten times over.

“It is about time, let’s quickly kill off these Double-edged Tooth Cats and find somewhere to rest. We should recover our energy before continuing our journey.”

Fang Yue let out a shriek of joy after hearing Wei Lingshu’s instructions, “Yes! We can finally rest!”

In the Heavenly Lands, there was no difference between day or night. Rest times were completely based on an individual’s mood. About 14 to 16 hours must have passed since they entered. In the outside world, it was not yet time to rest, but here, their energy was already depleted.

Thinking about how it was about time to rest, everyone’s actions quickened as they killed off the remaining Double-edged Tooth Cats. Throwing the bodies to the side, they started to set up camp.

They then barbecued the Double-edged Tooth Cats for dinner. After they had finished eating, Wei Lingshu took out an hourglass from the big bag he was carrying and allocated the roster for the night watch. Everyone then went back to their tent to rest.

Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan were scheduled to keep a lookout in the later half and there was time for them to rest now. Understanding that Gu Lingzhi might be slightly tired, in a rare occurrence, Rong Yuan did not behave mischievously. All he did was kiss her deeply for a while before letting her go to sleep. He remained seated by the side.

For some unknown reason, the closer they got to the destination that Wei Lingshu said, the more uncertain Rong Yuan felt. Having unfortunately encountered Pan Luming previously, Rong Yuan was not about to treat this ominous feeling that he had lightly. He could not easily go to sleep. Thankfully, he had the energy and strength of a Demigod and sleep was not that important to him. Simply sitting down was enough to recover his energy.

In the black-misted Heavenly Lands, the silence while the group was resting was scary. The three that were in charge of guarding the night sat separately at three different areas. Occasionally, they would exchange a few sentences all while keeping their eyes glued to the black fog. They were afraid that a slight mistake would cause them to be killed by the enemies in the dark.

Time slowly trickled past and the sand in the hourglass had half emptied. It reminded them that four hours had passed and they had to continue their journey in another four hours.

All of a sudden, a low birdsong could be heard from afar. It sounded coarse and unpleasant, causing those who heard it to feel a shiver through their bodies. The three people who had been guarding immediately became alert and looked in the direction that the sound was coming from. However, it was as if the sound was just passing as the surroundings quietened and the sound could no longer be heard. After a few moments of not hearing anything, they started to relax.

Looking at the sand that had about a third left, Jin Hao pursed his lips and chuckled, “Hold out for another fifteen minutes and someone will take over. This awful place. I will never ever come a second time.”

Lin Mengyan laughed and glanced at him, “What if Leader Wei asks you to come again?”

“Then... then I will just have to bear it and come.” After struggling with himself, Jin Hao twisted his mouth and managed to force out. This caused Lin Mengyan who was watching his reaction to gurgle out a laugh.

Jin Hao was also the grandson of one of the leaders in Spirit City and had his own healthy grandfather to respect, yet he chose to admire and respect Wei Lingshu, this up and coming talent. When he had nothing to do he would always head over to Wei Lingshu’s place, following him around like a small attendant. This pissed off his own grandfather from the Jin family so much that he even said he would disown Jin Hao. However, Jin Hao continued to do as he wished, performing the role of a devoted younger brother to the best of his abilities. This time, when he heard that Wei Lingshu was going to head afar, he ignored his family’s disapproval and followed along resolutely. When he returned home, who knew how long he would be scolded by grandfather Jin?

“Why are you laughing? Stop laughing!” Jin Hao retorted as he was embarrassed by Lin Mengyan’s laughter and twisted his head to the side in anger. “So what if I admire Leader Wei? I am still better than those who have had a crush on someone for ten over years but never ever dares to say it.”

The smile on Lin Mengyan’s face immediately disappeared as he gritted his teeth and glared at Jin Hao.

Almost everyone in the Spirit City knew that she had a crush on Wei Lingshu. The only person that remained oblivious was Wei Lingshu himself. Wei Lingshu thought that she was treating him so nicely out of respect as a Martial Artist and even scolded those who tried to say good things about her to him to not ruin her reputation as a lady. When Lin Mengyan heard about these, no one knew how much she wanted to knock open Wei Lingshu’s head to see exactly what was inside. She had already expressed herself so blatantly and yet he took it as respect for his abilities. The person she liked was so oblivious, she wondered when he would ever reciprocate her feelings.

Sitting in the tent, Rong Yuan chuckled under his breath as he overheard their conversation. He did not think that Wei Lingshu could not tell that Lin Mengyan liked him. From the occasional looks that he gave Lin Mengyan, Rong Yuan could tell that he was slightly interested as well. He just did not know what was holding Wei Lingshu back such that he was keeping her waiting. Could it be an interest that he could not place?

All of a sudden, the humour in Rong Yuan’s eyes disappeared. His expression was serious as he turned to the side as if he could see through the tent walls to the outside.

A moment ago, he seemed to have heard the sound of wings flapping. The heavy flapping sound seemed to be made up of numerous different birds flapping their wings at the same time. A graceful breath crossed and the sound disappeared.

Could he have heard wrongly?

Not hearing the sound for a second time, Rong Yuan frowned as he suspected that the sound was from a passing bird, just like the birdsong earlier. That bird must be quite far away by now.

Wait…the birdsong earlier?

Rong Yuan’s expression suddenly changed. The first time, the bird could be just passing. However, not long later the second sound was heard in the same direction. Could there really be two of the same kind of birds passing through?

Just as he stood up, ready to head outside to check it out, a sudden feeling of danger surged over him, similar to the uneasy feeling that he was having earlier. Not bothering to check whether there was really something wrong, Rong Yuan immediately woke Gu Lingzhi before rushing out of the tent. Under the confused gazes of the three people guarding, he spat out, “We have a situation!”

“What situation?” Jin Hao immediately asked back before shooting up. In a nervous stutter, he asked, “Are...are there beasts? But we did not see any.”

“Don’t ask so many questions! Quick, wake everyone up!” Compared to Jin Hao’s flustered reaction, Lin Mengyan’s reaction was more decisive. After instructing Jin Hao, she headed to one of the tents. Before long, everyone who had been sleeping soundly walked out of their tents.

Fang Yue yawned as he looked at the empty surroundings. Placing one hand and leaning on the person beside him, he asked drowsily, “Where is the beast? Why can’t I see it?”