Demon Sword Immortal

"I don't see any tension here, so it's naturally the second one."

Cao Chuan was speechless again, but finally stopped arguing. He silently drove to his destination, took his battle sword, and got out of the car.

Bai Xiang got out of the car as well, and as soon as they left, a thick night fog appeared before them.

This place is only a little over a hundred meters away from the camp's defensive line. There is fog over there too, but it is definitely not as deep as this.

Looking ahead, she saw nothing but a wall of fog, completely blocking the road. She guessed that this was where she would be 'working' later.

Turning his head, Bai saw two more cars parked on the side of the road.

It wasn't a military off-road vehicle, but rather a black commercial van, with off-road modifications only made to the tires and chassis.

Both cars were turned off, and judging from the light coming through the front windows, there was probably no one inside.

"This is the outer edge of the 'Illusory Demon Pool'," a Crimson Dragon Army soldier said to the two, pointing ahead.

"Cao, the official, has been here before. Advisor Li and the others are all inside."

"We will stay here and guard the place; we won't disturb you during the rest of the work."

Cao Chuan nodded and took the lead in stepping into the thick fog.

Just as Bai was about to go in, a soldier stopped him and handed him a pendant with a bronze plaque.

"keep it."

The soldier looked at her with a hint of amusement.

"If you die and your body is completely disfigured, we can recognize you by this."

Bai Xiang took the pendant and saw that his name was engraved on the bronze plaque.

Without saying anything, she stuffed the pendant into her pocket. Then she took out a black stab-proof vest from her backpack, put it on carefully, and then followed her into the fog wall.

Visibility was low in the fog, but fortunately there were strong lights outside to help guide the way.

She walked a short distance in and saw Cao Chuan squatting in front of her, as if he were inspecting something.

"Cao, the official in charge."

She approached from behind, gripping the hilt of the wooden sword tightly in her right hand.

“Look at this.” Cao Chuan stood up and showed her the things on the ground.

Bai Xiang squinted.

Through the strong light shining down from above, she could vaguely make out that what was lying on the ground was a person... or rather, a corpse.

This person had silver-gray hair, wore a stab-proof vest, long boots, and a long sword at his waist, but his flesh and blood had been gnawed into a skeleton by insects and ants, and his face looked very bloody.

Cao Chuan used his sword sheath to pry open the corpse's collar, and a bronze nameplate fell out, engraved with the words "Gu Yong".

"I'm only responsible for the assessment; the real ones in charge of the progress are those few."

Cao Chuan shook his head.

"Take this."

He handed Bai a military green fanny pack.

"There are walkie-talkies, flashlights, sprayers, bandages, and signal flares inside."

"Let's examine the body first and see how he died."

Chapter Forty-Nine: Demonic Sound

Cao Chuan claimed that he was only responsible for overall assessment, but he was actually quite professional in dealing with emergencies.

"The meat is almost all gone."

"There are no toxins left in the blood, otherwise these insects wouldn't eat it."

"There are no signs of being torn apart by large predators."

"Judging from the rate at which he was being eaten, he had been being eaten for most of the day, which means he had been lying here for 9-10 hours and his time of death was this morning."

"Excluding toxins, bites, and monster attacks, I think something deep within the illusion is influencing him."

After saying all that, he looked at Bai Xiang and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"

He was usually quiet and reserved, but at this time he was surprisingly talkative.

“Your previous explanation was that the risks outside the illusion were very low,” Bai Xiang said.

“That’s right.” Cao Chuan nodded. “But there’s no guarantee about that—if we could ensure the safety of any of the demon pools, there would be no need to portray them as so dangerous in the propaganda.”

“And so far, that statement isn’t wrong,” Cao Chuan added. “They weren’t killed on the outskirts.”

"It's only a dozen steps from here to the outer perimeter cordon." Bai Xiang looked in the direction they had come from.

If this isn't considered the outer perimeter, then how small must the area of ​​this demon pool be?

“That’s normal.” Cao Chuan looked down at the corpse again. “Because quite a few unlucky guys die like this.”

What's the meaning.

Bai Xiang squinted.

“Illusion—do you know what illusion means?” Cao Chuan squatted down and tilted his head to look at her. “On the first day this demon pool was discovered, the Crimson Dragon Army sent people deep into it to investigate. A small team of 15 people, none of them survived. At first, everyone thought they died deep in the fog zone. It wasn’t until an hour later that a second team found them 30 meters away from the warning line—they had also ended up in this miserable state. The people outside didn’t hear any noise coming from inside.”

“There are many speculations at present,” he continued. “One is… sensory shielding or tampering. The deeper you go into the fog area, the more you may be polluted by the demon pool, and your senses may become distorted. You may experience things like not being able to distinguish directions, not being able to see or hear anything, or not being able to make a sound.”

"Also, they died long ago, when they encountered some unclean things deep in the fog. The ones that walked back here are just their corpses."

"This is also a very common phenomenon of pollution residue, which can be found in many illusionary demon pools."

"In other words," Bai Xiang also looked at the corpse, "most cases like this are because they crossed that 'line' and came into direct contact with the 'contamination' inside?"

Cao Chuan nodded: "I guess they want to speed up the investigation."

The reason for wanting to speed things up is easy to understand; the companies behind these people likely have their own information channels. Even if Fang Xiaochun's arrival couldn't uncover the extent of the commotion at the wilderness camp, the Benling Sword Sect and the Crimson Dragon Army are well-known entities, making it easy for them to guess the connection behind the illusion.

That would be a tremendous achievement.

Needless to say, whoever breaks through the illusionary demon pool first and finds the entrance to the demon kingdom hidden behind the illusion will surely receive a huge reward afterward.

Both official and public opinion will see a significant boost.

People will die for money; profit drives people's hearts.

If this is true for individuals, it goes without saying that companies, as collectives, are formed purely for profit.

Li Yu, Han Zhifeng, Gu Yong.

The three so-called experts are most likely just trying to steal the biggest credit, which is why they chose to take such a risk when Cao Chuan was not supervising them.

These people... do they think that when he said "go pick up someone," he meant their competitor?

"Do we need to venture deeper into the fog?" Bai asked him.

“Others might need it,” Cao Chuan said, looking at her. “But for you… I’m not forcing you.”

"How do you determine if you're deep in the fog?" Bai asked. "What's the 'line' for judging whether you're deep enough?"

“Color.” Cao Chuan said with certainty, “Although the fog outside is thick, it’s still considered normal fog. If you go a little further in, you’ll see blood-red fog.”

“Once you’re inside, you’ve crossed the ‘line,’ so don’t be surprised if anything happens.” He nodded. “For example, if you touch that area, you’ll hear a very special ‘sound’.”

"sound?"

"It's like a harmonica or an organ, sometimes it's very far away and sometimes it's very close. You can hear it near the red fog area."

After a pause, Bai Xiang asked again, "Have you tried all the external solutions?"

"I've tried fans, exhaust fans, and fire," Cao Chuan shook his head. "The wind can't disperse it, the air can't be drawn out, and the fire can't get in. The flames go out as soon as they come into contact with the mist."

"Moreover, we tested it with torches. As you can see, the environment here is extremely humid, making it very difficult."

That means the only way to crack it is from the inside.

He pondered for a moment.

Other violent methods, such as explosives, missiles, or even directly confronting a master of Zhou Jing'an's caliber, would not work.

Tao Shuohua said that doing so could potentially damage the entrance to the demon kingdom, making the problem impossible to solve.

"Let's go."

Cao Chuan stood up.

"As long as you don't enter the red fog zone, you'll be on the outskirts."

"Let's look around the perimeter first, and you can also see if there's anything that can inspire you."

As he spoke, he took two steps outside.

Halfway there, not hearing any sound, I turned around and saw Bai Xiang squatting in the spot where I had just been, poking at the wreckage with a twig in his hand.

She's really brave.

Aren't you worried about contamination on the corpse?

Speechless, Cao Chuan had no choice but to turn back and stand beside Bai Xiang, watching his actions.

"Did that give you some inspiration?"

He asked Bai Xiang.

"How did you dispose of the body?" Bai Xiang asked, looking up at him.

"Burn it," Cao Chuan replied.

"No dissection?"

“It’s already been autopsied, it’s useless.” Cao Chuan shook his head. “Didn’t I tell you at the beginning? Why do you think I was so sure? It’s because I’ve seen the autopsy report.”

"Then your dissection must not be thorough."

Bai stood up and pointed below: "Listen."

Cao Chuan squinted, "What are you listening to...?"

"Just listen."

???

it is good.

I've come to see what you're up to!

Not entirely convinced, Cao Chuan crouched down and tried to get as close as possible to 'Gu Yong's' corpse, focusing his attention on his hearing. Surprisingly, he actually managed to catch some faint 'sounds'.

Is it similar to a harmonica or an organ?

Bai Xiang suddenly stretched out her foot and stomped hard on the corpse. With a cracking sound, the corpse's sternum was directly dented by her foot.

What is she doing?

Cao Chuan quickly retreated.

Bai gestured for him to come closer to look.

Cao Chuan did as she instructed, moving closer to observe carefully. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.

Surprisingly, there were countless tiny vacuum holes on the sunken chest area, specifically on the protruding broken ribs.

what is this?

Can insects bore this deep?

"This is the source of the 'sound'."

Bai Xiang said.

"Due to certain factors, his bones and skin were drilled with countless holes like this. Whenever he moves, air passes through these small holes, and he or others can hear such sounds in their ears."

"His body has become a unique musical instrument."

"He probably didn't even know it happened."

Chapter 50 The Path of the Sword (Please add to your favorites and read on!)

Is that really the case?