Chapter 64: Gone and Returned!

  "Squeak squeak squeak!"

  That bat was extremely cunning, seemingly able to sense the sonic blades, flapping its wings and dodging them directly. The sonic blades wove into a net, yet not one of them was injured, and they continued to charge towards Xiao Yun and the others with undiminished ferocity.

  "Something's wrong, run quickly!"

  Everyone was shocked and pale, and no one knew who shouted loudly. Several people immediately put away their musical instruments, turned around and jumped down the mountain ridge, and ran away with their legs, fearing being chased by those bloodthirsty monsters.

  ——

  "Is everyone okay?"

  They ran a long way in a panic and stopped on a deserted road, Xu Wanjun counted the number of people with some lingering fear.

  "Huh, where's Xiao Shixiong?"

  There were only six people, and when Xu Wanjun looked around one by one, she didn't see Xiao Yun's figure. Suddenly, she panicked - could it be that he hadn't escaped just now and was chased by those bats?

  "Has anyone seen Xiao Shixiong?" Xu Wanjun asked with a tense face, looking at the crowd who were also frightened. Xiao Yun's skills were the lowest among this group of people. If he was caught up by those bats, it would be a disaster.

  Everyone shook their heads and took a few deep breaths. Lin Chuanyin said, "I saw it! Xiao Shixiong was chased by a group of bats running in another direction!"

  "Which direction did he run?" Xu Wanjun frowned.

  "It seems to be over there!"

  Lin Chuyin pointed towards the southeast, but she was also somewhat uncertain. Just now they were being chased and didn't have time to pay attention to anything else.

  Xu Wanjun thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back and take a look. Those bats already have the strength of a first-class demon beast. If there are only a few, it's okay, but if there are many, Shao Shixiong will definitely not be able to handle them."

  "Xu Shimei!" Gu Changfeng called out to Xu Wanjun, "Xiao Shidi's skills are plain for everyone to see. His movement techniques are not inferior to ours. We can all escape, and he definitely won't have any problems either."

  Everyone was silent, it could be seen that most people did not want to go back, after all, the scene just now was really too thrilling.

  "Xiao Shixiong is alone by himself, and this sacred place is so dangerous, we..."

  Lin Chunyin hadn't finished speaking when another disciple interrupted, "Sister Lin, we know you have a good relationship with Brother Xiao, but the thing is, we don't even know where he went. And as you said yourself, this Sacred Mark is full of hidden dangers everywhere. If we go searching aimlessly, who knows what kind of trouble we might run into!"

  One sentence made Lin Chuyin speechless, and she wanted to say something back, but couldn't find the words to refute. Now that they're going back, there will definitely be bats everywhere. For the sake of Xiao Yun alone, putting everyone in harm's way is clearly very unreasonable.

  "Alright, Shao Shixiong has his own destiny, let's leave this place first and find a safe place to spend the night before we do anything else!" Xu Wanjun hesitated for a moment, also giving up on going back to look for Xiao Yun.

  Everyone followed Xu Wanjun away, Lin Chuoyin fell to the end, Meng Xiaobao smiled and said, "Sister, don't worry, with Xiao Shao's speed and footwork, he will definitely not be caught up by those monsters. I think he must have something to do, so he deliberately left our team."

  "Huh?" Lin Chunyin looked at Meng Xiaobao with a strange expression.

  "Come on, don't fall behind!"

  Meng Xiaobao just smiled, he often came and went from the Elder's residence, most of the time walking in front of Xie Tianxi, so he also had some understanding of Xiao Yun's purpose for coming to Sheng Ji. As for Xiao Yun's departure, he was not surprised.

  Lin Chunyin was somewhat skeptical, but Meng Xiaobao's words made her feel a lot more at ease. What Meng Xiaobao said wasn't wrong - although Xiao Yun's skills weren't high, his speed and agility were something they had all witnessed with their own eyes, and it was absolutely impossible for him to be any slower than them. Just now when they were running away in a panic, if Xiao Yun had wanted to keep up with them, it would have been very easy for him. Now that he alone got lost, it must have been intentional.

  Ling Chuoyin stood still for a moment, then put down the worries in her heart and chased after Xu Wanjun and others with Meng Xiaobao.

  ——

  Ten miles away, at the foot of a mountain, by the side of the road, there was a large tree under which sat a man in green clothes.

  "Ah!"

  Xiao Yun let out a long sigh and peeked out from behind the tree, looking around to make sure he had finally shaken off that group of bat monsters.

  "I wonder how they are doing, they should have escaped by now?" After resting for a while, Xiao Yun had some worries in her heart.

  At that time, the bats chasing them were probably hundreds in number. Seeing everyone fleeing in a panic, he took advantage of the situation to slip away unnoticed. Although a large group of bats was led astray by him, many also chased after Akiyama Haruka and the others, it's unknown whether they managed to escape or not.

  On the top of the tree, an owl is making a low hooting sound, in the grass there are insects making frantic screeching sounds, being alone in such an environment can only be described as terrifying.

  "Where are we going now?"

  After leaving the team, Xiao Yun felt a bit lost. He had originally wanted to practice his skills a bit more and try to detect if there were any Zu Yin fruits around, but now it was nighttime, and if he accidentally attracted some kind of monster, that would be hard to deal with.

  The image of the cave just now flashed in his mind, that cave had an array guarding it, and it was definitely a relic of a predecessor. After breaking through the array, those bats should have gone out to forage for food by now. He might be able to take advantage of this opportunity to go back and take a look, perhaps he could find some good things from it.

  Hesitated for a moment, Xiao Yun patted his butt and stood up. Although it was somewhat adventurous, with his own speed, as long as he wasn't surrounded, escaping shouldn't be difficult either. Moreover, he still had many music notes on him, making it worth taking the risk once.

  Under the cover of night, a figure comes and goes.

  ——

  Back to the mountain ridge just now, a bloody smell hits the nose, and the valley is eerily quiet.

  Xiao Yun picked up a branch, took out a lighter, lit the branch and threw it into the valley. The fire illuminated the mountain valley, except for several blood-stained corpses on the ground, no other figures were seen.

  The big stone was thrown down, but there was no movement. The people ran away and the bats should have been chased out too. Xiao Yun slightly relieved her mind and carefully descended into the valley.

  Found a bundle of branches, made a simple torch. As for the habits of bats, Xiao Yun still had some understanding. These nocturnal creatures feared flames and strong light. Although those just now were not ordinary bats, having reached the level of demonic beasts, their nature should still have some remnants left.

  The flames illuminated the path ahead, from the entrance of the cave to where Xiao Yun was standing. There were three corpses, their bodies covered in blood and flesh, one of which had only a few white bones left, making it impossible to distinguish whether they were male or female, or which faction they belonged to. The sight sent chills down her spine.

  He tiptoed to the front of the cave, not knowing if there was any danger inside. Xiao Yun took a deep breath and didn't hesitate much, lifting his legs to walk towards the entrance of the cave. He had to seize the time, or else when that group of bats came back, he would be in trouble.

  "Huh?"

  Just two steps away, Xiao Yun suddenly stopped, feeling a hand grasping her ankle, and instantly, a kind of inexplicable horror spread from her feet to the top of her head.

  The environment was already terrifying enough, and suddenly being grabbed by the ankle, that feeling, it's just like experiencing a horror movie, my heart was racing wildly, almost jumping out of my throat.

  A bloody hand, almost only white bones, grasped his right ankle, and when he looked back, a 'corpse' lying beside his foot was now lifting its blood-stained face to look at him.

  "Save me! Save me! Save me!"

  A very weak voice, Xiao Yun could feel unbearable pain and a strong desire to survive from his voice.

  He was badly injured and only had a breath left, even if Xiao Yun wanted to save him, he was powerless. He put away his merciful heart and shook his head.

  That man released Xiao Yun's foot, and his eyes revealed a heart-wrenching despair. He soon fell to the ground, no longer making any sound.

  His mood was somewhat heavy, Xiao Yun let out a long sigh and lit a torch as he entered the cave.

  ——

  This cave doesn't even know who left it behind, and yet it's raising so many bat demons. Is this some kind of demonic music?

  Xiao Yun speculated in her heart, but after careful consideration, she felt that it was not very possible. The Holy Traces were created by the sages of Xia Guo to leave behind a treasure trove for their descendants to cultivate, and there shouldn't be any demonic music left behind.