You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Chen Yang stopped and stood at a relatively safe distance, speaking loudly and in a calm tone.

"My name is Chen Yang, also a cultivator who entered this trial grounds. I was separated from my companions and am searching for them. I passed through this place and saw the tragic scene along the way. Seeing you all here, I came to inquire what happened here and what attacked you?"

His words eased the tension slightly among the people in the valley, but they remained vigilant.

A young girl, who looked quite young and whose face was streaked with tears and mud, seemed to want to say something. She took half a step forward and her lips moved.

But a young man with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his arm and a pale face immediately grabbed her from behind and whispered something.

"Xiaoyun, don't talk nonsense!"

Who knows if he's a human or a ghost!

His gaze was fixed on Chen Yang, filled with distrust.

Seeing this, Chen Yang did not insist, and clasped his hands in greeting.

"I have no ill intentions, I just want to know the situation here so that I can be prepared."

If it is inconvenient for you to inform me, I will take my leave now and will not disturb you any further.

As he spoke, he made a move to leave.

He knew that in this environment of extreme fear and suspicion, coercion would be counterproductive.

"and many more!"

The girl called "Xiao Yun" suddenly broke free from the young man's hand, mustered her courage, and shouted, her voice trembling but carrying a hint of stubbornness.

"We've all come here because we've all suffered terrible misfortune, we're all in the same boat! What's there to hide? If we keep distrusting each other like this, none of us will survive!"

Her words seemed to resonate with some people, and a few low sighs and echoes rang out from the crowd.

Chen Yang stopped, turned around, and looked at the girl with a gentle and sincere gaze.

“The girl is right.”

"I, Chen Yang, swear by my Daoist heart that I have no intention of harming any of you. I only wish to understand the situation and work together to find a way to survive."

Looking into Chen Yang's clear and honest eyes, and then at the hesitant expressions of his companions around him, the girl gritted her teeth and said.

“We…we camped here last night, and in the middle of the night, we were suddenly attacked! It was…it was ‘them’!”

"they?"

Chen Yang pressed for an answer.

"What is it? A spirit beast? Or..."

"It's not a spirit beast!"

A middle-aged cultivator with a sallow complexion and weak breath spoke up, his voice hoarse and filled with fear.

"They...are more like ghosts!"

But it doesn't seem like it!

Their bodies are translucent and black, almost blending into the night! Our spells and flying swords have little effect on them, as if hitting water or a shadow!

But when they attack us, their claws and teeth are terrifyingly solid, easily tearing through our protective aura and flesh!
And there are so many of them, at least dozens! We can't stop them at all!

"Yep!"

Another burly man, his leg bandaged and leaning against a rock, added with lingering fear.

"They seem to specifically target people who are alone or injured!"
Moreover... and after they kill someone, some will tear the body to pieces, while others... some will just pounce on it, and then the body quickly shrivels up!

It was like being completely drained! It was terrifying!

"demon!
They are demons!

Someone shouted, their voice trembling with tears.

The young girl, Xiaoyun, nodded vigorously and looked at Chen Yang.

"You...you're all alone? Where are your teammates? Could it be...could it be that they're also..."

Chen Yang said in a deep voice.

"I got separated from my teammates when I teleported in, and I'm looking for them."

From your descriptions, it seems that the creature that attacked you was a demonic entity that exists between reality and illusion, immune to most physical and energy attacks, and capable of devouring the essence of living beings?

Yes, yes, yes!

"That's the kind of monster!"

The girl nodded repeatedly, as if she had found someone who could understand their fear.

She hesitated for a moment, glanced at the young man beside her, who sighed, turned his head away, and stopped trying to stop her.

The girl then carefully pulled out a smartphone with a cracked screen, but which seemed to still work, from her bosom, and operated it with trembling fingers.

"I...I was so scared last night, but I couldn't resist my curiosity, so I secretly recorded a short clip on my phone...It's very dark and blurry, but you should be able to see a little bit..."

She turned her phone screen towards Chen Yang.

Chen Yang took a few steps forward, maintaining a distance that wouldn't make the other person feel pressured, and focused intently on the small screen.

The image on the screen was indeed very dark and shaky, clearly filmed under extreme fear. The background was a canyon in the dark, with flickering firelight.

Then, you can see blurry black shadows that blend into the night, moving through the crowd at an extremely fast speed!

These shadowy figures take on unpredictable forms, sometimes elongating like snakes, sometimes coalescing into human or animal shapes, and sometimes dispersing like smoke.

They pounced on the crowd, but the magical light emitted by the attackers pierced through their bodies, only causing them to tremble slightly and hardly causing any real damage!
Their counterattacks were incredibly fierce. With a flash of black claws or sharp teeth, someone would fall down with a scream, either torn apart or completely pinned down, and then their body would wither away at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The scene was chaotic, bloody, and desperate.

The filming didn't last long and quickly ended amidst terrified screams and the sound of phones being dropped.

But even in those few dozen seconds of footage, Chen Yang had a direct and profound impression of that "monster".

"Indeed troublesome..."

Chen Yang thought to himself.

These things are indeed different from ordinary ghosts or physical beings.

At this moment, Li Rou's voice rang in his mind, carrying a hint of realization and a deeper sense of solemnity.

"Master, I think I know what this is."

These 'demons' are probably not naturally formed, but rather 'manufactured'—made from the souls of those who died in the trials here, through extremely cruel and evil soul-refining secrets, mixed with the yin and resentment of this place, to create 'evil souls' or 'spirit-devouring demonic shadows'!
They retain some of their fighting instincts and resentment from their previous lives, but their intelligence and most of their weaknesses have been erased, making them unpredictable, bloodthirsty, and ferocious, feeding exclusively on the flesh, blood, and souls of living beings!
This is simply a cruel tool used by the Trial Grounds to 'cleanse' and 'select' trial participants!

Chen Yang was startled.

"Using the souls of trial participants to create monsters that attack other trial participants? The master of this trial ground is far too vicious!"

"It's probably more than just viciousness."

Li Rou's voice was icy cold.

"This is more like an efficient 'harvesting' and 'recycling' process. The weak are eliminated, and their souls and essence are refined into more powerful 'guardians' or 'hunters' to deal with the later trial participants, constantly filtering out the true 'strong'."

This is a trial that involves raising and training monsters!

Looking at the wounded and terrified survivors before him, and recalling the corpses he had seen along the way, a chill ran down Chen Yang's spine.

This trial ground was far more cruel and dark than he had imagined.

"Then...wouldn't it be very dangerous for us to encounter these 'evil spirits'?"

Chen Yang asked. Li Rou paused for a moment, her tone somewhat peculiar.

"It is indeed extremely dangerous for others."

But you, Master... might be an exception.

"exception?"

Chen Yang was puzzled.

"Don't forget, you are the Underworld Marshal."

Li Rou said slowly.

"The power of the underworld governs all ghosts and terrifies the netherworld."

Although these 'evil spirits' were created using evil magic, they are still essentially a type of 'soul,' only forcibly distorted and strengthened. Your Yin General divine authority should give you a natural, hierarchical suppression over them!

If they encounter you, they will likely not only dare not attack, but will also be restrained or even driven by you!

Li Rou's reminder reassured Chen Yang. The Yin Marshal's divine authority's suppression of the soul was an advantage he hadn't fully utilized before.

However, the problem is not completely solved.

"Even if they are essentially under my control, how exactly should I deal with them? I can't just wait for them to pounce on me and then act on my gut feeling, can I? Besides, judging from their descriptions, there are quite a few of these 'fierce spirits,' and their attacks are unpredictable. What if something unexpected happens?"

Chen Yang communicated with Li Rou in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"More importantly, it's getting late. If the time system here is similar to that outside, those things will probably become more active as night approaches. We can't just sit here and wait to die."

Li Rou pondered for a moment.

"Master, don't be anxious. Since this trial ground has been designed with these 'fierce souls' as tests and has set up those inscribed array restriction areas, there is likely some kind of connection or constraint between the two."

I suspect that those outer inscriptions and formations are not merely warnings and seals, but perhaps... also constitute some kind of 'safe zone' or 'boundary'?

"Safe zone?"

Chen Yang seemed to be deep in thought.

"You mean those 'evil spirits' are unable or dare not enter areas protected by array formations?"

"Probably."

Li Rou analyzed.

“Master, think back. From the moment we entered the canyon until now, we have seen so many tragic scenes along the way. Has any of them occurred near those inscribed rock walls or areas with obvious traces of formations? The camps attacked by the ‘evil spirits’ were all located in relatively open, unobstructed valleys.”

Although the area where the inscribed formations were located was cold and gloomy, there were no corpses left behind.

This may not be a coincidence.

Chen Yang thought about it carefully, and it was indeed so!
Those horrific massacre scenes were far from the inscribed rock walls and arrayed open spaces they had passed through earlier.

"You mean those array formations and restrictions are actually like 'safe houses' or 'sanctuaries'? Entering them allows you to temporarily avoid attacks from the 'evil spirits'?"

"At least it's a highly probable speculation."

Leaving Judo.

"The designers of the trials will not create an absolute dead end; they will always give the trial participants a glimmer of hope and a chance to catch their breath."

These arrayed areas are very likely where the path to survival lies.

If we can find another area like this, or... retreat to the previous one, at least our safety tonight will be guaranteed.

Chen Yang frowned slightly.

"Retreating back would be safe, but we can't keep retreating forever. If we retreat back to that area, we'll be trapped in a small safe zone, unable to find a way out or find other people. Let alone look for any possible 'miracle' opportunities."

Leaving Judo.

"Therefore, we need more information to find other ways out. Master, it's still early. We can continue exploring for a while to see if we can find the next array node or other clues."

At the same time, you can also use your identity as a Yin General to try to actively contact or probe those 'evil spirits' to verify my speculation, or even... see if you can make use of them.

But safety must be the top priority.

"That's all we can do."

Chen Yang made up his mind.

With a thought, Li Rou's illusory image quietly disappeared into the Sumeru Space pendant on his chest, leaving only a faint connection of souls for easy communication at any time.

Chen Yang regained his composure and looked at the group of still-shaken survivors before him.

His conversation with Li Rou seemed long, but it actually lasted only a moment.

"Everyone."

Chen Yang spoke again, drawing everyone's attention back.

"After careful consideration and taking into account what you all have said, I have made a discovery that may be of our advantage."

"What discovery?"

The young girl, Xiaoyun, immediately asked, a glimmer of hope igniting in her eyes.

Chen Yang pointed in the direction they had come from.

"Do you all remember that before we entered the depths of this canyon, we passed through an area with ancient inscriptions and traces of array formations on the ground?"

Many people nodded, and the young man Liu Haoran also frowned in thought.

"When I passed by there, although I felt a chill, I did not find any corpses or signs of a recent fight."

Chen Yang continued.

"The attacks you suffered, and the horrific scenes we witnessed along the way, all occurred after we had moved far away from that area."

Think about it, does this mean... that the 'demons' might not dare to approach or enter the areas where those inscriptions and formations are located?

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, and then their faces showed a thoughtful and enlightened expression.

"Yup!"

A middle-aged monk suddenly slapped his thigh.

"When we first passed through that inscribed stone wall, we felt uncomfortable, but we didn't encounter any attacks! It was only after we had walked through there for about an hour and a half that we were attacked while setting up camp!"

"It seems...that's really the case!"

Another person also recalled it.

“When we were attacked last night, I think I saw those dark figures only moving around the camp and in the direction we escaped from. They didn’t chase us too far in the direction we came from!”

"Could it be... that those inscriptions and formations are actually protecting us?"

The girl Xiaoyun's eyes lit up.

However, some people have raised questions.

"What if it's just a coincidence? Maybe those monsters didn't chase after us last night because they were full, or for some other reason?"

"Yeah, even if that area is safe, we're already quite far from there. Who knows if we'll encounter those monsters again along the way? The journey back might be even more dangerous!"

Liu Haoran said in a deep voice. Although he felt that Chen Yang's speculation made sense, he was a little unhappy when he saw Xiao Yun's trusting eyes towards Chen Yang and subconsciously wanted to refute it.

Chen Yang remained calm and waited for the discussion to subside before speaking.

"Gentlemen, speculation is just speculation. We need to verify it, and more importantly, we need to find a way out. (End of Chapter)"