The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"Hmm." Eileen didn't say anything more, and her priestess friend beside her didn't seem to think it was a big deal. Maybe she was just overthinking it.

The group packed their belongings and continued their journey deeper into the valley.

Tianqin Peak, despite its name suggesting a mountain peak, is actually a huge basin located within a mountain.

It is said that hundreds of years ago, this was the highest peak in this mountain range. Later, perhaps due to geological changes or other reasons, the mountain subsided and became a high-altitude basin that looks like a volcano.

The group climbed the rugged mountain road, and after about four to five hours, they finally reached the towering edge of the basin.

Even though the summit has sunk into the mountainside, it still lives up to its former reputation as the highest peak in the Sharp Howling Mountains. Looking out from the edge of the basin at the highest point, the surrounding mountains and rivers all appear so low. The towering trees below now look as tiny as miniature toys on a sand table.

In the distance, wisps of smoke could be seen rising from Gray Gold Town.

The interior of the basin was covered by milky white mist, and some trees could only be vaguely seen through the gaps in the mist. Looking out, the entire Tianqin Peak Basin looked like a huge bowl filled with white cotton.

Unlike the outer side, the inner cliffs are extremely steep, making it impossible for horses to proceed. The only way to continue is to lower them into the basin using ropes.

Therefore, this group of noble mercenaries decided to split into two groups. One group set up camp on the cliff to wait and provide support, while the other small group served as the vanguard, attaching climbing ropes and rappelling down into the Tianqin Peak Basin.

"My God, how high is that?" Pastor Milana looked down at the hazy clouds below the cliff, her face turning pale.

“It’s hard to say,” Arnold replied while directing his men to find solid ground to stake into the cliff edge. “I estimate it to be over four hundred feet high, but the clouds and fog are blocking too much of the view, so I can’t be sure.”

"Are we using enough ropes?" Eileen looked at the steep cliff face, her legs trembling slightly.

“This is enough. Miss, you and Miss Milana wait for us on the cliff. We will come back to meet you after we go down to confirm the location of the tomb,” Arnold said.

"What's wrong with him now, you old geezer?" The mercenary captain Hansa's cursing voice came from the side again.

But then they saw Blaise kneeling on the edge of the cliff, repeatedly kowtowing towards the vast basin, murmuring, "God, please forgive me..."

The continuous "bang," "bang," "bang" of kowtowing was inexplicably irritating.

"Damn it, can you stop banging your head on the ground?!" Hansa yanked the old man up from the ground and shoved him toward the climbing ropes beside him. "Tie him up!"

Eileen's gaze lingered on the spot where the old man had kowtowed, where a small patch of dark red bloodstain remained.

She felt a tightness in her chest.

“Arnold…”

"What's wrong, Miss?" Arnold turned around and asked kindly.

"Be careful." Eileen pursed her lips.

“Of course, just wait for my good news.” Arnold smiled and tied a climbing rope around himself as well.

Hansa and Arnold, along with two mercenaries and Blaise, tumbled down the cliff, leaving the remaining mercenaries and several of Erin's servants on the top.

The basin, shrouded in mist, was mysterious and quiet. Several small figures sank into the sea of ​​clouds and quickly disappeared from sight.

Only the ropes that were occasionally extending downwards let people know that there was still activity below.

The first batch of ropes wrapped around the mountain spikes quickly taut, and just in case, Eileen added reinforcement spells to the mountain spikes.

Since a single rope cannot fully support the entire height of the cliff, the mercenaries each carried several bundles of ropes so that after the first rope reached its maximum descent length, a new rope could be secured to the middle of the cliff face using spikes.

By proceeding in this segmented manner, they eventually reached the bottom of the basin.

Fortunately, the sky was clear and blue today, and you could even see the sun slowly moving across the sky.

Eileen and Milana drank tea and chatted to ease the tension.

"Will Arnold and the others be alright?"

"Don't worry, Eileen. You said they are all experienced adventurers. Hey, your message scroll has received a message."

The SMS scroll is a relatively luxurious but useful communication tool. You write the message on the sub-scroll and then tear it up to send the message to the corresponding master scroll.

“We can send more men down. Everything is safe down here, Arnold.” Eileen read the words on the scroll and immediately showed a joyful expression. “Milana, it’s news from Arnold. They’ve made it down.”

“That’s fantastic!” Milana clapped her hands.

The two hurriedly stepped out of the tent to tell everyone the news, but they saw a rope suddenly tremble. The nearby mercenaries and servants rushed over and pulled the rope together.

As the rope slowly rose, everyone saw what was tied to the other end.

It was a silent corpse, emitting a stench as if it had been dead for days, and maggots could even be seen wriggling in its cracked skin.

“Ugh…” The young lady, who had never seen such a scene before, immediately vomited, but with just that one glance, she recognized the distinctive walrus fur coat on the corpse.

The pale-faced servants nearby also recognized the face on the corpse, which appeared distorted with terror—

Arnold is dead.

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Surge of Fog

The mercenaries and servants stood bewildered outside the tent. Arnold's body lay bound with ropes on the edge of a cliff not far away, and no one dared to move it.

Inside the tent, Eileen's face was deathly pale. "How could this be... how could this be..."

Pastor Milana sat at the small tea table, her face full of unease, but finally she spoke tremblingly, "Eileen... you have to pull yourself together... you're the commander now."

"I...how am I supposed to know what to do..."

A gust of wind seemed to blow into the tent opening, and the text message scroll on the small tea table flew "whoosh" onto Eileen's arm.

"Ah!" As if bitten by a spider, Eileen quickly slapped the scroll off her body.

The scroll fell to the ground, and the words "All is well" on it now looked unusually glaring.

It was only then that Eileen realized that although she was the leader of this group, after the death of their true backbone, Arnold, they were no different from a disorganized mess.

“Let’s…let’s go back, Eileen.” Milana’s voice trembled. “Something’s not right here.”

“…But the sun will set in two hours.” Eileen’s eyes began to well up with tears again. “If we leave now…we’ll have to take the outer mountain trails tonight…”

Although the mountain road outside the basin is not as steep and dangerous as the one inside the basin, it is still very steep and dangerous. In the poor lighting conditions, not to mention the lurking monsters, it is a question of whether one will fall.

"Just leave here, just leave here..." Milana clasped her hands together in prayer. "Please, Eileen, I can feel that something is really wrong with this place... I'd rather spend one night in the mountains than stay here any longer."

Suddenly, another commotion arose outside.

Eileen hurriedly stepped out of the tent to check, trying to avoid looking at the corpse lying in the distance.

It turned out that several other ropes were also trembling, but the amplitude of the trembling seemed unusually large.

The edges of the hemp rope rubbed against the cliff face, making a rustling sound, and the mountain-piercing nails trembled from the taut rope.

It didn't seem like someone below the rope was conveying a message... it was more like something was about to come up from below.

As the ropes trembled, the fog in the basin began to surge like boiling water, slowly climbing up the cliff face.

"Go, Eileen, please, let's go!!" Milana was on the verge of collapse when she saw this scene. Countless shadows seemed to be swirling in the clouds, about to spill out from above the cliff.

Eileen swallowed hard, looked at the bewildered servants and mercenaries around her, and finally mustered her courage, "Quickly pack your things!... Let's go down the mountain and leave this place!"

The mercenaries hurriedly began to gather the surrounding supplies, discarding anything heavy or troublesome in preparation for a light evacuation.

Theoretically speaking, the mercenaries here are all at the proficiency and skilled level, and together they should be able to handle even ordinary large monsters.

But Arnold's situation was too strange; an expert-level swordsman had died silently on the cliff.

If they could hear the sounds of his battle or see his opponent, they might still have the courage to fight.

The only thing that's hard to face is a death that's shrouded in mystery.

However, when the group led their horses and supplies to the outer mountain road, they were shocked to find that, at some point, the slopes on the outer side of the basin had also begun to be shrouded in the same mist as the inner side.

The milky-white miasma slowly climbed up the mountainside, making the entire Tianqin Peak look like it was covered with a layer of white gauze.

At first glance, none of the surrounding low-lying peaks exhibited this phenomenon; the fog seemed to be confined to this particular mountain.

"What...what should we do..." Milana's eyes were filled with fear. The rugged mountain path they had come from was now shrouded in fog, and the poor visibility made it no different from walking at night.

Completely bewildered, Eileen had never seen anything like this before. She stood there stunned, watching the mist spreading from the hillside as she tried to turn around, only to find that the clouds in the basin behind her were also gushing out, engulfing their tents and campfire.

In a hazy vision, she seemed to see the corpse lying on the edge of the cliff slowly rising up in the mist.

"Let's go, we have to keep going!" Eileen exclaimed in alarm.

However, this time there was no response.

She hurriedly looked around, only to find that everything around her was already a vast expanse of white.

Milana, the servants, the mercenaries—they all vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by a thick fog.

However, the figure that stood up on the cliff suddenly took a step, slowly turned its neck, and faced the location where Eileen was.

One step, two steps, and the figure that should have been dead slowly approached in the white mist, its hands hanging down, its neck crooked, its eerie walking posture completely unlike that of a living person.

Upon witnessing this scene, Eileen's heart pounded uncontrollably, as if it were about to burst out of her chest.

Its lake-blue eyes were fixed on the figure approaching in the mist. It wanted to turn and run away, but its legs felt like they had no bones and were limp and unable to move.

But the girl mustered her last bit of courage and pointed her staff at the figure that was about to emerge from the thick fog.

"Fire...fire spirit, hear my...my call...ah!" Before the incantation could be finished, a hand suddenly reached out from the mist and grabbed the head of the staff.

"Young Miss, it's me. What's wrong?" Arnold emerged from the mist, still as handsome and dashing as ever, wearing a walrus fur coat.

"Arnold!" Upon seeing who it was, Eileen burst into tears of joy and stopped casting her spell. "You're alright!?"

"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Arnold asked kindly, walking up to Eileen. "Why are you alone, Miss? Where are the others?"

“I…I don’t know.” Eileen shook her head, clutching her staff. “They disappeared after the mist rolled in.”

“Strange.” Arnold frowned slightly and extended his hand. “Then come with me, young lady, let’s go find them.”

"Yes!" Eileen nodded with tears in her eyes and reached out her hand as well.

The moment their hands touched, Arnold pulled her close, drawing her into his arms.

“Arnold… eh…?” Eileen looked up, touched, but her lake-blue pupils reflected Arnold’s wide-open mouth.

The mouth was so wide open that it almost took up the entire face, to the point that the facial features were squeezed to the side by the folded flesh.

Several jet-black tentacles clung to the walls of her mouth and writhed in her throat, like black chrysanthemums that had suddenly bloomed, almost enveloping the girl's head.

Eileen's expression froze on her face. Her pupils initially showed surprise and confusion, but then, in the expanding shadows, they turned into boundless despair.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Ancient Tomb

"Woo——"

A distant, piercing shriek rang in my ears.

"Holy crap... Oh my god."

Ye Xiao groggily got up, her head still spinning.

It was pitch black all around. Fortunately, Ella knew that it was already past sunset the next day, otherwise he would never have imagined that his body had been unconscious for almost twenty hours.

In the darkness, the sound of running water could be heard, suggesting that he was not in a completely enclosed cave.

According to the senses Ella obtained by activating the believer panel, Ye Xiao's current location has changed significantly compared to before, and he seems to have reached the depths of the Howling Mountains.

Before he lost consciousness, he was clearly still in the outer valley.

That's strange, did the water flow wash me here?

Ye Xiao touched his clothes and found they were indeed somewhat damp.

The backpack on my back is gone, but thankfully the two spatial rings on my hands are still there, so I don't have to worry about supplies.

His staff and the knife at his waist were still there. Even when he was unconscious, Ye Xiao would instinctively protect his weapons. This muscle reflex had saved him many times.

Ye Xiao took out some food and water from the ring and ate and drank. His only problem now was how to get out of this hellish place.

[Trigger Quest: Ancient Tomb]

[Mission Briefing: Explore ancient tombs and reconstruct history (Progress: 0%)]

[Task Rewards: 1000000 Universal Points (decays with progress), 1000000 Gold Coins (decays with progress), Unknown (decays with progress)]

The task panel popped up at just the right moment. Ye Xiao glanced at it and then froze.

Take less?

He thought he was seeing things, so he looked at it more carefully.

What's going on? Isn't this task a bit over the top?

One million universal points? If he used them all to upgrade his skills, his physical attributes could directly reach the Grandmaster level, and he might even have some left over.