A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 569 The Terrifying Shadow
Duan Rong sat cross-legged on the gray earth and began to sink into his sea of ​​consciousness, condensing his soul thorn.

The rest of the group stayed near Duan Rong, resting while remaining on guard.

It was daytime, the light bright, and on the corpse of this god-demon. The broad, plateau-like spine was a pale gray expanse, barren of vegetation, but any unusual movement could be detected from afar. They had spotted the "ghost bride" evil spirit from a distance as a strange, blurry red dot…

Su Xinjue looked at Jiang Hanyan with a slightly embarrassed expression and said, "Hanyan, I'm sorry! I just stumbled and almost lost my balance, so I jumped away."

Everyone knew Su Xinjue was lying, but no one called her out on it. Just a moment ago, she wasn't the only one who wanted to run away. After all, seeing them getting closer and closer to the evil "ghost bride," it would be a lie to say they weren't afraid.

Du Wan laughed and said, "It's alright, Xin Jue. I was about to jump away too. I just didn't have time to make a move."

Upon hearing this, Su Xinjue smiled at Du Wan, exuding boundless charm.

While Su Xinjue and Du Wan were talking, Jiang Hanyan just stood there blankly, staring at the front with empty eyes, as if everyone else didn't exist.

Upon seeing Jiang Hanyan's condition, Guo Tian frowned and walked behind her with a serious expression, looking at the ghost infant's kiss on her neck.

The kiss of the ghost baby was still the same as before, with delicate wrinkles on the lips, every detail clearly visible. However, after looking at it for a while, Guo Tian's eyelids suddenly twitched. The kiss of the ghost baby was so lifelike that it seemed to be wriggling as if it were a living thing.

Lu Chu stood beside Guo Tian, ​​staring at the ghost infant's kiss with astonishment. He suddenly said, "The more I look at this thing, the more sinister it seems!"

As Lu Chu spoke, he went around to the front to check on Jiang Hanyan's condition. His eyes were full of worry. He suddenly waved his hand in front of Jiang Hanyan's eyes, but Jiang Hanyan did not react at all and stared blankly ahead.

Jiang Hanyan's condition was clearly very abnormal and could no longer be described as simply being overly frightened.

Lu Chu looked at Guo Tian with a grave expression and said, "Jiang Hanyan's current state is clearly related to that ghost infant's kiss! Guo Tian, ​​do you think she might have turned into an evil spirit?"

"what!?"

Su Xinjue and Yang Sui, who were originally standing not far from Jiang Hanyan, couldn't help but move aside when they heard Lu Chu say this. A look of fear flashed across their faces, making them look quite ugly.

Guo Tian glared at Lu Chu and said, "Don't talk nonsense!" But at this moment, his mind was also in turmoil.

Lu Chu then lowered his head, sighed, and said nothing more.

Guo Tian also shared Lu Chu's concerns, but they couldn't abandon Jiang Hanyan just because it was only a possible hypothesis. Doing so would severely damage morale. When faced with danger, people's hearts begin to waver!
Guo Tian looked at Su Xinjue and said, "Su Xinjue, keep a close eye on Jiang Hanyan. If you find anything unusual, speak up immediately."

Su Xinjue's face showed a hint of reluctance, but she still nodded in agreement.

Guo Tian's unusual words already implied that he partially agreed with what Lu Chu had just said. However, there were only two women in the group, her and Jiang Hanyan, and Guo Tian had specifically called her name, so even if she was unwilling, she had no choice but to agree.

Everyone took turns resting and on guard, but Jiang Hanyan remained standing there stiffly, her face rigid and her eyes vacant. Su Xinjue sat cross-legged not far away, glancing at her every now and then.

Several hours later, the light gradually dimmed, and dusk was about to rise.

Just then, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, a look of exhaustion flashing across his face, and exhaled a breath of stale air.

When everyone saw Duan Rong open his eyes, they all got up.

Guo Tian asked, "Is it solidified?"

"That's about enough." Duan Rong looked up at the dim sky and said, "It should be enough to handle tonight."

Duan Rong's words sent a chill down everyone's spines. Ever since they encountered the evil "ghost bride" by the pool, they had been as if they had disturbed the evil's lair, constantly being harassed and attacked by it.

As dusk approached, darkness was about to fall.

As night falls, the malevolent energy of the evil spirits intensifies even more than during the day. Whether they'll all be standing here unscathed after this night is anyone's guess!
Upon realizing this, everyone looked solemnly at Jiang Hanyan, who was standing there blankly.

Jiang Hanyan was struck by the Ghost Infant's Kiss, and it's hard to say just how malevolent that thing is. What if Lu Chu's prediction comes true, and Jiang Hanyan transforms into an evil spirit at night? Then they'd be essentially carrying an evil spirit around...

Guo Tian glanced at the approaching figures in the twilight and said, "We have to go! We can't delay any longer!"

As he spoke, he took a torch from his backpack, blew on the tinderbox, and lit the torch. Yang Sui also came over with a torch and lit it in the flame.

Two bright yellow flames roared in the darkness, illuminating the solemn and gloomy faces of the crowd.

Guo Tian rearranged the guard team. After all, Jiang Hanyan was in trouble, and Su Xinjue needed to keep an eye on her. Moreover, Duan Rong had been condensing his divine soul thorn for several hours in a row and was already very tired, so he also needed to rest.

Duan Rong, Jiang Hanyan, and Su Xinjue huddled together in the middle of the group, while the other five stood guard on the perimeter. Everyone had a feeling that this dark night wouldn't be peaceful. Being more vigilant would at least prevent some chaos.

The group lined up and set off.

Guo Tian, ​​holding a torch, glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Duan Rong, keep an eye on Jiang Hanyan too. She seems a bit off."

Duan Rong glanced at Jiang Hanyan beside him with a solemn expression. At this moment, Jiang Hanyan's eyes were empty, like a soulless shell.

As night fell, the group walked forward along the broad, plateau-like spine of the demonic corpses.

Not long after, the moon, as dim as a green rabbit, rose in the dark, oppressive, and low-hanging night sky. The surrounding gray earth was shrouded in a faint, eerie green.

This god-demon was enormous; the distance from his tailbone to the back of his neck was quite a distance!

The hollow footsteps of the group on the bodies of gods and demons echoed in the quiet night...

Although they were constantly uneasy and quite panicked, as if something was lurking in the darkness around them, several hours passed without incident. They had reached the central part of the plateau, where the terrain was slightly concave.

Using the firelight from the front and back, Duan Rong would occasionally glance at the ghost infant's kiss on the back of Jiang Hanyan's neck.

He kept thinking about one question the whole way.

During the day, they tried to bypass the evil spirit of the "ghost bride." Suddenly, the evil spirit attacked, wrapping its hair around Jiang Hanyan.

There were eight of them, yet the evil spirit chose Jiang Hanyan as its target, and only her. Was this merely a coincidence? Or was Jiang Hanyan the very person the evil spirit was looking for?
If it's not a coincidence, then why is the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" specifically targeting Jiang Hanyan? What is special about her?

Is the difficulty in raising them solely due to the kiss of the ghost baby?
Why is the kiss of the ghost baby so attractive to the evil spirit of the "ghost bride"? So much so that it was willing to take the risk and chase after her even when it was suppressed during the day.

Duan Rong was deep in thought when he suddenly heard a thud beside him!
He turned his head and saw that Jiang Hanyan had been dragged away. Her waist and neck were wrapped with writhing hair, which was like dense black snakes, wrapping tighter and tighter, trying to drag her away!
The evil spirit of the "ghost bride" has returned!
Su Xinjue had also noticed the abnormality, and she screamed in terror.

At this moment, Jiang Hanyan was already dragging her outwards, brushing against her feet. It looked as if she was about to be pulled through the gap between Lu Chu and Du Wan, who were on guard there, and into the pitch-black darkness.

In that instant, Lu Chu and Du Wan almost simultaneously fell to the ground, grabbing Jiang Hanyan in their arms. The three of them were pulled into the darkness together. At that moment, Guo Tian also leaped over, using his burly body to pin them down. With Guo Tian pressing down on them, his heels bracing against the ground, the speed at which they were being pulled into the darkness finally slowed slightly.

Duan Rong's eyes turned cold. He grabbed the torch from Yang Sui's hand, leaped into the air, and threw the torch into the darkness from which the strange hair protruded!

The torch spun, sparks flying as it hurtled into the darkness, leaving a trail of bright yellow light.

Within that bright yellow light, a terrifying figure, crimson as blood, stood there! Countless strands of hair, like wild grass and black water, grew and poured out from its red veil...

As the torchlight swept across the area, everyone saw the malevolent "ghost bride" in the darkness! A wave of terror washed over them, and their hair stood on end as if electrified!
Seeing evil spirits during the day and seeing them in the darkness of night are completely different experiences!

The moment the torch illuminated the terrifying figure of the "ghost bride," Duan Rong's Soul-Slaying Thorn shot out into the air!
The evil spirit knew the danger, but once the soul piercing was launched, it arrived, and there was no way to avoid it!
The moment Duan Rong saw it, the Divine Soul Thorn had already struck the dense darkness beneath its feet.

A wisp of white smoke then rose up!
The evil "ghost bride" retreated rapidly, her wild, grass-like hair trailing behind her, writhing and twisting incessantly...

When everyone saw the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" disappear, their faces turned ashen!
Duan Rong stood there, his eyes coldly fixed on the depths of darkness.

He had a feeling that the evil spirit had not gone far and might strike again at any moment!
Duan Rong turned his head and said coldly, "Hurry up! That thing hasn't gone far! It's still nearby!"

Upon hearing this, everyone jumped up with a start, formed a line, and continued forward, though their legs were trembling slightly.

Duan Rong stood in the middle of the group, keeping an eye on his surroundings while glancing at Jiang Hanyan beside him.

The second time!

The evil spirit still targeted Jiang Hanyan! If the first time could be considered a coincidence, then the second time in a row could not possibly be a coincidence!
Moreover, judging from the evil spirit's posture, it wanted to kidnap Jiang Hanyan!
As Duan Rong looked at the seemingly wriggling ghost infant kiss on the back of Jiang Hanyan's neck, many of the logical chains he had previously deduced came back to life.

The evil spirit of the "Ghost Bride" chose to attack Jiang Hanyan out of the eight people, and there was only one reason for that: Jiang Hanyan had been kissed by the ghost infant.

The evil spirit of the "ghost bride" is caused by the kiss of the ghost baby, which attempts to abduct Jiang Hanyan.

There's another logic behind that. There must be some connection between the evil spirit of the ghost baby and the evil spirit of the "ghost bride"!

Duan Rong's eyes suddenly flickered, and a wave of nausea washed over him.

He suddenly thought of something.

The evil belly of the "ghost bride" was turned inside out, and it was empty inside!

The ghost baby clearly crawled out of the belly of the evil "ghost bride"!
Duan Rong suddenly recalled that the "ghost bride" had been making eerie noises by the pool. "My child...my child..."

From this perspective, the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" was actually looking for the ghost baby!
However, the ghost baby was terrified of the evil red veil of the "ghost bride," indicating that the ghost baby had been hiding from the evil "ghost bride" who was searching for it.

At this moment, Duan Rong finally understood something.

Why did that evil spirit hide in that dark corner and cover the surrounding stone walls with the leaves of the Azure Flame Grass?

If Duan Rong's prediction is correct, the scent of the Jade Flame Grass leaves should be able to mask the ghost infant's aura and prevent the "Ghost Bride" from pursuing it.

If it weren't for this, Duan Rong would have died trying to figure out why the ghost infant was so strange as to use the leaves of the Azure Flame Grass to completely cover the stone wall.

Following this logic, the purpose of the ghost baby leaving the ghost baby kiss on Jiang Hanyan becomes very clear.

The ghost baby knew that we were heading deep into the ruins of gods and demons. It left a lip print on Jiang Hanyan with its evil form, so that we would lure the "ghost bride" away from the mountain.

As for whether the ghost baby used them to lure away the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" simply to avoid it, or whether it had other intentions, that remains unknown.

The true form of the evil spirit infant lurked in its lips, and the lip print it left on Jiang Hanyan resembled that of the evil spirit itself.

The evil spirit of the "ghost bride" must have sensed the strong aura of the ghost infant on Jiang Hanyan, which is why it followed her and attacked her repeatedly.

Suddenly, Du Wan, who was walking on the right side of the group, swallowed hard in alarm. His face turned even paler, and he stammered, "Over there..."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads and saw a blood-red figure standing in the darkness not far to the right of the group.

The crimson, blood-red divine figure was shrouded in a dim green light, exuding an indescribable terror and eeriness!
Lu Chu glanced at it and said, "This thing has been following us the whole time!"

The group took a few more steps with fear in their eyes. Guo Tian suddenly turned around, looked at everyone, and said, "Let's stop for a moment. I have something to say."

Upon hearing this, everyone paused, a sense of unease creeping into their hearts. They looked at Guo Tian with strange expressions. "That evil spirit is lurking in the darkness not far away. You want to stop now?"

Guo Tian, ​​observing the expressions on everyone's faces, remained unmoved, his expression cold as he said, "We can't keep bringing Jiang Hanyan with us anymore!?"

Everyone was astonished upon hearing this! They never expected that Guo Tian would suddenly utter such a statement at this critical juncture.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered as he looked at Guo Tian. Clearly, Guo Tian had also realized that the evil spirit was targeting Jiang Hanyan.

Guo Tian said decisively without any preamble, "Jiang Hanyan has been struck by the Ghost Infant's Kiss. ​​What changes might occur afterward is another matter! But the evil spirit's two attacks were both aimed at Jiang Hanyan, which is no coincidence! If we continue to keep Jiang Hanyan with us, the evil spirit will continue to follow us! It will haunt us relentlessly!"

When everyone heard that the evil spirit would keep following them, their faces turned grim!

What could be more terrifying in this world than a sinister evil spirit constantly following you?
(End of this chapter)