Arrival

"We're almost there. This mission has attracted many powerful mercenary groups, even those of SS rank, and there will surely be other Saint-level experts coming. Can just the few of us manage?" After reaching their agreement, Ziluo seemed less intimidated in front of Ye Han. Being collaborators now, he spoke more freely.

"No worries. You'll see when we get there," Ye Han, with his striking black hair, walked ahead, unconcerned.

The Red Blood Lotus was an opportunity akin to a leap from Saint to God level. Ye Han was well aware that numerous Saint-level experts would vie for it. What puzzled him was who had issued the mission.

"Alright, you're the leader. The safety of my sister and me is in your hands," Ziluo said, knowing Ye Han must have prepared, given his nonchalant demeanor.

Ye Han stopped on a hill, looking ahead at a faintly visible small village.

"Past that village, we must be close," Ye Han remarked calmly and proceeded down the slope towards the yellow dirt road leading directly to the village.

On the road, there were many travelers, including civilians and mercenaries, the latter clearly there for the mission. Watching these hurried mercenaries, Ye Han smiled slightly. After half an hour, Ye Han and his four companions reached the village entrance.

"There are quite a few people," Ziluo commented, observing the bustling mercenaries and followed Ye Han into the village.

Entering the village, all mercenaries turned their attention to Ye Han's group of five, stepping aside to avoid provoking them. The reputation of the Proud Corpse Mercenary Group had spread far and wide.

"They are the Proud Corpse Mercenary Group," whispers began among the onlookers, pointing at Ye Han's group.

"Indeed, their attire and members match the rumors. It must be them."

"Ah, if the Proud Corpse Mercenary Group is here, what chance do we have?"

"That's not necessarily true. The Black Mist Forest is vast. Finding what we seek depends on luck, not just strength," Ye Han paid no heed to the surrounding mercenaries' chatter.

"Young master," Ye Han's group entered a decent inn, and as soon as they sat down, Ivelin looked around and spoke.

"What is it?" Ye Han asked, sipping his strong liquor, a newfound preference since arriving on the continent.

"I've sensed eleven presences as strong as mine here, including the aura of the Church of Light," Kapulos and Ivelin, as Ye Han's undead servants, always probed their surroundings first to detect any hidden powerhouses.

"The Church of Light?" Ye Han wasn't surprised by the presence of a dozen or so Saint-level experts, but the involvement of the Church of Light puzzled him.

"The headquarters of the Church of Darkness is said to be within the Black Mist Forest. Yet, a thousand years ago, the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness reached an agreement. Members of the Church of Darkness were not to openly appear in the eyes of the continent, and those of the Church of Light were forbidden from entering the Black Mist Forest. However, now there are people from the Church of Light here."

Although Ye Han wasn't sure whether the news about the dried blood pool was true or false, his memories from two lifetimes made him suspect that there was something fishy about it. It seemed like someone deliberately released this information.

"You mean, someone is using these mercenaries?" Ziluo slowly articulated his guess, looking incredulously at Ye Han. Bianchi, sitting next to Ziluo, was completely lost in their conversation, not understanding what they were talking about.

"I don't know for sure," Ye Han didn't conclude definitively, but considering all signs and the unusual activities of the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness, he believed it was very likely. There had to be some secrets in the middle of this affair.

"Young master, people from the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness are heading towards the Black Mist Forest," Ivelin interjected at this moment, obviously having been monitoring the movements of those two groups.

"Let's go, we should too," Ye Han stood up, covering his head with his black robe, and walked out of the inn. The others hurriedly followed.

The village, now, was completely different from before. The once crowded paths were now eerily quiet, with only a few villagers moving around. Ye Han and his group walked towards the Black Mist Forest at a steady pace.

The Black Mist Forest, one of the four perilous lands of the Qingming Continent, was shrouded in black fog all year round. Even for ninth-tier individuals, entering it without a sense of direction could lead to getting lost in the mist. No one understood why this was so. People on the continent only knew that those below the Saint-level should never venture into the Black Mist Forest.

Below the Saint-level, one could only perceive a distance of a few tens of meters in the Black Mist Forest, while Saint-level powerhouses could sense their surroundings within a hundred meters or so. The deeper one went, the smaller the range of mental perception became, and the denser the black fog grew. Countless dark creatures lurked within, which was why the Church of Darkness chose this location for their headquarters.

"Are you sure?" Ye Han asked.

"Absolutely. Although they're well concealed, I can still sense them." Ivelin, once the lord of Myathe City, had frequent dealings with members of the Church of Light stationed there. He was very familiar with the aura they emitted. Now, with the integration of zombie essence blood, his sensitivity to such auras was even sharper.

"Where are they?" Ye Han put down his wine glass and asked in a low voice, while Ziluo and Bianchi listened quietly without speaking.

"They are on the west side of this village, and not far from them, there are two dark auras." Ye Han frowned upon hearing this, and even Ziluo looked puzzled.

The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness had been secretly battling for thousands of years. Yet now, they were so close to each other, peacefully coexisting. What Ye Han couldn't understand was why the Church of Darkness hadn't reacted to the presence of the Church of Light in the Black Mist Forest.

"What's their strength?"

"Unclear, they're too well hidden to sense their true strength." This added to Ye Han's confusion. Such secrecy suggested a hidden agenda. If not for Ivelin being a late-stage Saint and the integration with zombie essence blood, it would have been impossible to detect them.

"Interesting, very interesting." Ye Han's intrigue with the mission grew with each puzzling development.

"Bang!" While Ye Han and the others were deep in thought, several mercenaries rushed into the inn.

"Great news! Ten miles west of the Black Mist Forest, a dried blood pool has been discovered, surrounded by a multitude of magical beast and human skeletons!" The mercenaries shouted this news in the inn and quickly left, presumably to spread the word elsewhere.

All the mercenaries in the inn hurriedly put down their drinks and grabbed their weapons to leave, but Ye Han remained seated, calmly drinking.

"Aren't we going?" Ziluo asked anxiously.

"We'll go, but I didn't expect you to believe such things," Ye Han said, watching mercenaries rushing towards the Black Mist Forest, his eyes filled with disdain.

However, Ziluo was confused by Ye Han's statement. Hadn't they come all this way for the Red Blood Lotus? Now that there was news, Ye Han was reacting like this.

"What do you mean?" Ziluo put down his chopsticks and asked.

"What do I mean? Haha, let me ask you, what is the purpose of the Red Blood Lotus?" Ye Han sneered.

"You told me it could give a peak Saint-level powerhouse a chance to ascend to God-level," Ziluo became even more puzzled by Ye Han's words.

"And what's its value?"

"Comparable to a divine artifact."

"Given that, if you had information about the Red Blood Lotus, would you behave like them?" In the empty inn, only Ye Han's group remained. His cold voice echoed in the empty space, leaving Ziluo deep in thought.