The next day, near dusk, the setting sun was blood-red, the evening glow like fire, painting the horizon with crimson clouds.
On the other side of the sky, dark clouds gathered densely, shrouding thousands of miles in gloom, making the evening glow appear cold and mournful.
Within and around the thousands of miles covered by dark clouds, the entire region felt oppressively somber, as if it were not merely dusk approaching but rather the heavens about to collapse, like the end of days, suffocatingly oppressive.
At this moment, Lin Xiao and the Martial Emperors of the Orthodox Alliance arrived in this area. Looking at the dark clouds ahead, they all felt a chill.
The area spanning thousands of miles ahead was shrouded in darkness by the clouds above, with no trace of yin energy on the ground or in the air.
However, on some hills and vast stretches of flat land, all the flowers, grass, and trees had withered, turning black.
In certain spots, numerous corpses lay scattered, not quite a field of bodies but still a significant number of dead.
Within their visible range, there were thousands of corpses, all stiffened, showing no signs of decay.
The entire scene was eerie and terrifying, like a slice of hell, causing everyone to draw in a sharp breath.
“Two or three days ago, when we left, this place was still completely shrouded in yin energy, impossible to see beyond a hundred meters,” said the ninth-level Martial Lord from the Sheng family, who was guiding them from within the Sky Control Boat, breaking the silence.
“How many people died here?” Sheng Qianyu couldn’t help but ask.
He vaguely recalled that the area around the Yin family, spanning thousands of miles, had several cities with millions of people. If the Yin’s eerie yin energy had come too quickly, many might have perished.
“There were originally several cities around the Yin family, with tens or hundreds of thousands of people. However, after the fall of the Purple family, many of the Yin family’s elites left. After Emperor Yin’s fall, even more departed, and before the great terror struck, there were some signs, so most had already fled,” the ninth-level Martial Lord from the Sheng family explained. “Roughly speaking, about tens of thousands died.”
Sheng Qianyu, Lin Xiao, and the others frowned. Tens of thousands was already a significant number.
But compared to hundreds of thousands, the death toll was relatively small.
“What about the Yin family members?” Lin Xiao immediately asked.
The great terror at the Yin family was likely closely tied to its members.
“Not clear. We haven’t seen anyone from the Sheng family,” the ninth-level Martial Lord elder shook his head.
The group furrowed their brows, deep in thought.
This great terror undoubtedly originated from the Yin family, as evidenced by Lin Xiao’s previous attack on them.
However, whether it was caused by the Yin family was hard to say.
If it was their doing, it could be due to activating an array, a terrifying treasure, or perhaps the Yin family, who cultivated yin corpse energy by absorbing the qi of the dead and refining corpses, had triggered some ancient corpse outbreak.
But logically, with Emperor Yin fallen, the Yin family should not have the capability for such a massive event.
If it wasn’t their doing, then how did it erupt?
With such a great terror, would the Yin family members themselves be affected?
But they couldn’t be certain of the specifics.
Such an event had never occurred in the Southeast Region, and mere speculation would not yield answers.
“By the way, our Orthodox Alliance left dozens of people here before, and they’re not here now. They might have entered the area to investigate,” the Sheng family elder added with some concern.
Frowning, Sheng Qianyu glanced at the group and asked, “What do you all think?”
The group pondered, exchanging looks for a moment before Sikong Jian spoke, “Naturally, we should go take a look. We’ll approach slowly. With all our strength and speed, even if something happens, we should be able to escape.”
The group continued to deliberate.
After all, the area was too eerie and terrifying. No one knew if the great terror would strike again or if the strange yin energy would erupt once more. If they all went in and something unexpected happened, they could be wiped out entirely.
But sending just one or two people would make escape even harder if something occurred.
With a group of Martial Emperors together, their combined strength was considerable. Unless something absolutely terrifying happened, it would be hard to stop them from escaping.
If they ignored it and didn’t investigate, who knew what might happen in the future? Their strong curiosity wouldn’t allow them to sit idly by.
Whether to investigate, and how many should go, depended on the resolve of the Martial Emperors present.
“I agree. A group should go investigate,” the Sect Leader of the Absolute Blade Sect nodded.
Fu Yan, an elder of the Absolute Blade Sect, naturally nodded in agreement, as did Qu Huang.
Then, the group turned to Dongfang Kaiyuan, Lin Xiao, and the others.
“Everyone, I’ll go investigate first. If something happens, it’s no big deal if I fall alone. But if all the Martial Emperors here perish, the major forces of the Southeast Region can’t afford such a loss,” the ninth-level Martial Lord elder from the Sheng family spoke up.
This surprised Lin Xiao. The Sheng family, true to their role as Orthodox Guardians, had such a selfless spirit.
“That makes sense,” Sheng Qianyu paused and nodded. “Let our Sheng family elder investigate first.”
Rather than risking all the Martial Emperors, it was better to send a ninth-level Martial Lord. Even if they fell, the loss wouldn’t be as significant.
Protecting the Orthodox was the duty of the Orthodox Guardians. Even though he was reluctant to let his elder go alone, he had no choice.
At this moment, Lin Xiao shook his head and said, “No need for that. I’ll let my Purple Corpse Puppet scout a few hundred to a thousand miles ahead, and we’ll follow behind. If anything happens, we can retreat immediately.”
With a wave of his hand, the Purple Corpse Puppet appeared in everyone’s sight. With a command, it rushed into the area under the dark clouds.
As soon as it entered, the group noticed the Purple Corpse Puppet seemed excited, raising its head and stretching its body, beginning to absorb the surrounding qi. Faint traces of yin energy flowed into its body.
The group was slightly stunned, somewhat puzzled.
After only a brief pause, the yin energy seemed too thin. The Purple Corpse Puppet absorbed it while moving forward.
In the space behind the puppet, the entire void seemed to improve significantly.
When the Purple Corpse Puppet had flown several hundred miles ahead, Sheng Qianyu nodded and said, “This approach works.”
The others nodded as well, and then, boarding three Sky Control Boats, they slowly entered, keeping a distance behind the Purple Corpse Puppet.
Upon entering the area under the dark clouds, everyone felt an oppressive sensation. Although the residual yin energy was absorbed by the Purple Corpse Puppet, it still sent involuntary chills through them.
Everyone remained highly vigilant, ready to act at any moment. Those controlling the Sky Control Boats were prepared to turn and flee at the first sign of trouble.
