Chapter 812: Mountain Of Corpses And A Sea Of Blood

Speed was of the essence, so everyone assembled swiftly. The Mythic Mercenary Group, led by the bearded mercenary named Husi, were dispatching a total of four elite members for this operation. Besides Husi himself, the other three were named Hu Tie, Zhao Changhe, and Fei Lun.

The striking red-haired woman brought only one companion, a young man who appeared to be her lover. Her name was Chu Xiang, and the young man was called Hua Dongcheng.

The man with the purple compound-eye mask introduced himself as Xia Zi. He was accompanied by a male follower. This follower stood three meters tall, his muscles knotted like white steel. His entire body exuded an overwhelming visual impact, like a savage beast that had emerged from the depths of a forbidden zone. The oppressive aura rolling off him was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

A two-meter-tall silver metal case covered in ornate patterns was strapped to his back. No one knew what was inside. Together, the man and case resembled a towering white pillar.

At least on the surface, there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious about these people’s identities. But whether those names were real or aliases remained unknown.

Their strength, from what could be observed, was roughly at the Pulsar level, which was still beneath the threshold of the Yin-Yang Realm. Given this, Song Yu and the old chancellor, after a brief inspection, had no objections.

The group soon set out.

Half a day later, they arrived at the outer perimeter of the Purple Nebula Region.

“Everyone, according to what I’ve found, the nebula contains a large amount of strange gases. These have powerful permeation properties. If inhaled, even slightly, they can cause hallucinations. You could end up attacking each other without realizing it. It’s best to be prepared,” warned Chu Xiang, the red-haired woman. She had uncovered this information through prior investigation.

After speaking, Chu Xiang tapped the side of her ear. A flash of silver light swept over her. A suit of silvery scale armor quickly enveloped her body.

The metal was known as Star Silver. It was a rare material with exceptional purifying properties. It was highly resistant to contamination and evil spirits. Her partner, Hua Dongcheng, followed suit and activated his own armor in the same fashion.

Husi, the bearded mercenary, and his companions donned the Star Silver helmets and respirators they had prepared in advance. They didn’t wear full-body armor, seemingly confident that head protection alone would suffice.

As for Xia Zi and his towering follower, they made no moves at all. Song Yu and the old Chancellor, however, both put on full protective gear with an air of grim preparedness. Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but silently curse the two old bastards.

With their Yin-Yang Realm strength, they had absolutely nothing to fear from the hallucinogenic gases within the Purple Nebula. They had already confirmed it with Black Emperor and the mute woman. And yet, Song Yu and the old Chancellor still took every precaution.

It was obvious they were pretending to be weaker than they actually were in hopes of misleading the others. It was a Classic ‘pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger’ tactic.

While cursing them mentally, Li Xiaofei also played along, carefully putting on the protective armor and helmet he had prepared.

Song Yu and the old Chancellor turned to glance at him at the same time. Their gazes were identical to the one Li Xiaofei had just given them. There was not a trace of difference.

The mute woman, already having received Li Xiaofei’s signal, was also fully suited up in armor forged from Star Silver. Their whole group was clearly putting on an act of weakness.

As for Black Emperor, there was no need for such disguises. Everyone already knew he had survived the Purple Nebula, so his credibility spoke for itself.

Once all preparations were complete, the group entered the Purple Nebula Region. From the outside, the nebula looked vast and magnificent, its edge sharply defined against the vacuum of space. But once inside, the visual experience changed entirely.

Dense clouds of cosmic dust and unknown gases floated all around, though the atmosphere remained relatively thin. For cultivators of their caliber, traveling through space with just their physical bodies posed no issue.

Their pace, however, remained cautious and slow. Everyone was on high alert, fully prepared to deal with any danger that might strike at any moment.

For dozens of hours, everything remained calm. No threats could be seen, nor could any danger be sensed. They pressed deeper into the nebula.

“Look over there—what is that?” Fei Lun, one of the members of the Mythic Mercenary Group, suddenly pointed into the distance and quietly spoke.

Li Xiaofei and the others immediately turned to look. But the moment their eyes locked onto the scene, all of them instinctively drew in a sharp breath. A massive corpse was floating in the void several hundred kilometers away.

It stood at least a thousand meters tall. It was so enormous it resembled the legendary giants of myth. Clad in black armor, its skin was also a deep, shadowy hue, nearly indistinguishable from the color of space itself. That was likely why it hadn’t been noticed sooner.

“Let’s take a closer look.”

“But be careful.”

The group approached the corpse cautiously.

After a thorough examination, the young man named Hua Dongcheng concluded, “This person was at least half a step into the Yin-Yang Realm. Judging by the traces left behind, he had activated a divine ability similar to a manifestation of Heaven and Earth before being killed—hence the giant form remained. Whoever killed him... had to have been at least Yin-Yang Realm.”

His tone was confident and professional. Li Xiaofei had also finished his own observations and silently agreed with Hua Dongcheng’s assessment. It was indeed as he said.

The group pressed onward. The presence of that unknown powerhouse’s corpse cast a heavy shadow over their hearts. And that was only the beginning.

Over the next few days, they encountered hundreds of corpses, both large and small. They were all seemingly cut down mid-battle. But they were completely devoid of any remaining aura. This included corpses of cultivators who had clearly reached the Yin-Yang Realm.

All the corpses shared one common trait, their skin had turned pitch-black, as if they had succumbed to some kind of deadly toxin. Their bodies floated silently within the depths of the Purple Nebula, like drifting dust. No matter how glorious their lives had once been, they were denied even a resting place in death.

As they delved deeper into the nebula, the number of corpses, wrecked battleships, congealed blood masses, shattered weapons, and other remnants of battle only increased.

Every time they came across a body, Li Xiaofei would step forward to examine it. The mute woman remained visibly tense, silently praying that she wouldn’t stumble upon Huang Dinggou’s corpse.

By the fifth day, even Li Xiaofei found himself stunned by the sight that unfolded before them. They were faced with a sea of corpses and a mountain of blood. In the distant starry void, countless corpses were piled together, forming towering, mountainous ridges. Some unknown force had twisted the surrounding space within several hundred kilometers, creating a gravitational field similar to that of Earth.

Li Xiaofei approached one of the corpse-mountains and began to inspect them. A deep rumble echoed from above. He looked up and instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

A waterfall of dark red blood thundered down from the heights of the corpse mountain, roaring with deafening force. It was blood, still flowing from the bodies of the mighty beings that had died here.

Mountains made of corpses. Waterfalls made of blood. Even Li Xiaofei had never witnessed a scene so horrific. He flew upward along the slope of the corpse mountain. The higher he climbed, the more his skin crawled. Every corpse that made up the mountain was that of a cosmic-level lifeform.

Some of the corpses were from beings that had surpassed the Yin-Yang Realm. And yet, they were stacked like dirt, sand, and stone, forming mountains that soared thousands of kilometers high. They were utterly and irreversibly dead.

A gust of ‘wind’ blew past. Li Xiaofei actually felt a chill. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, he secretly transmitted a message to the mute woman, "Did you see anything like this the last time you entered the nebula?"

The woman shook her head. Li Xiaofei’s expression immediately grew grim. He could clearly sense a terrifying danger approaching. The old Chancellor and Song Yu, standing nearby, had also gone completely tense.

Many of the corpses on this mountain had been cultivators far stronger than them. If even such formidable beings had perished here, What chance did they have?

Suddenly—

"Aaahhh—!" A shriek of agony rang out from not far away.

Li Xiaofei’s heart jolted violently.

Something’s happened!