Chapter 1248: Nonexistent

Hei Yang and Yan Zhi Chun descended the stairs one step at a time, feeling as though the staircase was unending. Even though they had entered only a minute or two after the last members of the Ji Dao, they saw no one in their line of sight—just an infinite flight of stairs plunging straight into the depths of the earth, disappearing into the horizon like a line drawn from a mountaintop straight to hell.

In this space, Yan Zhi Chun felt increasingly uneasy because the path was simply too dark. She reached out and lightly touched the walls on either side, finding the sensation strangely indescribable. It was as if she were touching something that "didn't exist." The pitch-black walls had no temperature, no hardness, no color, and no sheen. When she made contact, it was clear she was touching something, yet it was almost impossible to articulate what it was.

After about ten more minutes of walking, by which point Yan Zhi Chun's legs were starting to ache, the unchanging scene finally shifted. At the end of the stairs, an irregular opening appeared. She turned back to ask Hei Yang if he knew anything, but he flatly admitted it was his first time entering the Huo Cang and he had no idea what was ahead.

Before they even stepped into the strange opening, a faint smell of blood drifted towards them. Considering they had only been in the Huo Cang for a few minutes, the strong odor suggested that many people had already died. Yan Zhi Chun's heart tightened, and she quickened her pace, with Hei Yang following closely.

"Wait!"

Hei Yang whispered from behind, watching Yan Zhi Chun's reckless advance.

"Are you serious? We're up against a Tian Ji... Does being careful even help prevent death?"

With a heavy expression, Yan Zhi Chun stepped into the opening, and the scene inside immediately came into view. It was an incredibly vast plaza, so enormous that no walls were visible around it. Yan Zhi Chun had expected the place holding the Lou Yi to be some kind of prison, perhaps filled with countless cages, but all she saw was a dim, open space. There were no visible light sources or lamps, yet the interior of the plaza was oddly illuminated.

Countless Lou Yi swarmed like a mass of wriggling insects, scattered in groups across the plaza. Some wandered slowly, others sat in place, and still others opened their mouths as if trying to speak, but their damaged tongues only produced faint, rustling sounds.

Looking closer, the members of the Ji Dao were also on high alert, scattered around and crouching on the ground. Some used the Lou Yi as shields, all staring warily in every direction. In the center of the plaza lay a pile of dismembered bodies, making it impossible to tell who they had been.

"What's going on...?"

Yan Zhi Chun was momentarily confused. Although bodies littered the area, she saw no enemies.

"You idiot, get down!"

Zhou Mo's voice rang out nearby. Without hesitation, Yan Zhi Chun dropped to the ground, feeling something brush past her scalp in an instant, even stirring her hair with a gust of wind.

A few seconds later, she felt a wave of terror—if Zhou Mo hadn't warned her, she might have become another mangled corpse.

Hei Yang narrowed his eyes and scanned the air, but whether due to the dim light or the incredible speed, he hadn't seen a thing during the attack on Yan Zhi Chun. Just how fast would something have to be to evade the eyes of a Di Ji?

Yan Zhi Chun glanced back and noticed that Hei Yang was the only one still standing in the entire plaza. She quickly called out, "Hei Yang! You should crouch down too—that's too dangerous!"

"It won't make a difference if I crouch."

Hei Yang replied coldly.

"This plaza has a Di Ji Sheng Xiao in it. No matter where it hides, it's the most conspicuous target. You find somewhere to take cover yourself."

Yan Zhi Chun nodded solemnly at his words, then bent low and moved quickly to join a Ji Dao member, hiding together behind a Lou Yi.

Hei Yang continued to observe the situation, trying to figure out what was attacking them.

Where was Tian Niu?

The empty plaza was filled only with countless Lou Yi. If that was the case...

What was the way out of this Huo Cang?

Hei Yang stared into the void, deep in thought. To prepare for facing Tian Niu, he had even fought Di Niu in advance as practice. Both appeared as lean, muscular women, and he had assumed their fighting styles would be similar, but now he realized he had been naive.

They hadn't even seen Tian Niu yet, and the team was already suffering casualties.

Still, Hei Yang was puzzled—opponents that strong should leave some trace, or how could they be fought? As he pondered his strategy, he sensed a subtle change in the air currents.

It was as if something invisible was cutting through the air toward him at an unbelievable speed.

His face changed, and he instantly raised his hands, intending to strike at the unseen attacker. But his instincts screamed of extreme danger, causing his arms to cross instinctively in front of him.

There was a loud "bang"!

A brute force collided with Hei Yang, sending his body flying backward. If he hadn't blocked it, he would likely be severely injured by now.

Yan Zhi Chun watched with wide eyes, realizing it wasn't just about speed making it invisible—it truly didn't exist in a visible form. It had stopped after hitting Hei Yang, yet remained unseen.

"It's Yin Ni... " she said, her eyes widening slowly. "This is bad... This ability is just too..."

Yan Zhi Chun felt that Tian Niu's power would counter most of the Hui Xiang here.

Li Jing Guan and Su Shan crouched behind three Lou Yi, peering out from over their shoulders.

"Do you see it?" Li Jing Guan asked.

"It's over there!"

Su Shan whispered, pointing to a patch of empty air.

"Good!"

Li Jing Guan fixed his gaze on that void and reached into his pocket, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull anything out.

After all, his enemy was nothing but emptiness.

He had thought that after extensive training, he could flawlessly retrieve his heart, but today's foes were either Xuan Wu or Zhu Que, and now this invisible Tian Niu.

"No good..."

Li Jing Guan frowned at the air.

"Su Shan, what exactly is that thing?"

"It seems like... a woman?"

Su Shan replied uncertainly.

"Is it or isn't it? What's with 'seems like'?"

"I can only see a glowing shadow..."

Su Shan said, his eyes reddening.

"It's like a woman, but she's carrying something huge on her shoulder—bigger than her whole body. The two glowing shadows together make it hard for me to tell right away."