/*unedited*/

Bellowing smoke and burning houses can be seen everywhere. A street was strewn with corpses of cultivators, mortals, and undead beast makes the scenery looks like a nightmarish dream turning into reality. The remaining villagers who survived this ordeal are all gathered near the middle part of the village. A 300 meters wide s.p.a.ce where the golden light dome can be seen covering the area. This place is what s.h.i.+n Jiao and Ling Ya worked hard to finish, the place they called the hallowed ground.

The hallowed ground is a place where white Qi and energy are abundant, hence making the black Qi and energy dissipate once it comes in contact with them. This kind of array formation is usually used by cultivators as a defense against dark creatures. Due to the complexity of the array, this should only be seen in cities or towns where resources and populations are abundant.

Luckily for the village, Ling Ya is an advance formation expert. And she was one of the students of the great formation master of the Xi Kingdom, Master Ju.

The array formation actually works perfectly well that it became easy for the remaining cultivators to eliminate the undead beasts as they could not enter the golden dome. As the beasts' charges towards the golden thin layer, they would become weak and with just a strike they would fall easily. Hence outside the perimeter of the array formation, tons of carca.s.ses began to pile up as countless beasts charges in the area mindlessly.

"Master Jin, thanks to your wife we survive this calamity… but she should have told us sooner… sigh, I can't blame her. Who would have thought that their number was far too many? It seems that the one responsible for this has a great enmity to this village." Bibao Ling said while standing near Jin Fu.

The village chief and the rest of the leaders are now standing in the middle observing the situation vigilantly. The remaining cultivators and mercenaries are within the perimeter hacking those helpless undead beasts as they enter the thin layer golden dome.

"Look someone is coming!" suddenly someone shouted.

And the people around him turn their gaze in the direction he pointed. From the dark alley, a tall young man and a woman each are carrying a child as they slowly walk out of the darkness. The area from which they came from seems to be devoid of the undead beast as no one is attacking them. And so without anything obstructing their way, the young man and his companions were able to reach the hallowed ground safely.

"Why did he sacrifice himself to save some lowly mortals? It's not worth it…" someone muttered upon seeing that the woman and her children don't have Qi undulation in their body.

"You dare! What do you know? You're just a mercenary… don't run your mouth when you don't know anything." suddenly a young cultivator angrily said upon hearing the mercenary's comment.

"That is Master Fung's wife and children… Though he is just a mortal, he was the one who trained us with the sword. If only he was a cultivator, he would be stronger than us." The young man added.

No one dared reb.u.t.ted the young man's words as he is one of the village warriors who fought bravely in the front lines as he was able to survive. While fighting he and few others showed a unique sword style which is very effective in fighting against the undead. Many mercenaries actually befriended these groups of people because of their skill. Who would have thought that today they would learn that the one who trained them was a mortal man?

Master Fung was actually an adventurer who is famous for being able to survive outside alone while being a mortal. One day he came to the village with heavy wounds, and due to his age, though his wounds were healed, his body still started to become slow and weak. Hence he decided to stay in the village and there he met a woman and settled down.

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He then decided to help the village youth improve their fighting techniques. Though many didn't want to learn from him because he is just a mortal, but as time went by, many realized that he is teaching a very practical skill called Precision Strike.

It is a mortal secret skill that Master Fung learned while he was young. He learned it from an immortal cultivator whom he saved. And from then on, he mastered the technique and became his own. With this technique, he was able to travel the land almost unhindered.

Hence in the village, no one disrespects Master Fung though he is just a mortal.

When the people saw that only his wife and children arrive safely, their hearts couldn't help but ache. They can already guess what had happened. Master Fung is a very brave person and with his loyalty and love to his family, they are sure that he sacrificed himself for his wife and two children.

When s.h.i.+n Jiao enters the perimeter, he saw the people making way for him and the woman following behind him.

"This child is weak; we need to put him in bed." s.h.i.+n Jiao said.

"Here, follow me." a mercenary replied as he led s.h.i.+n Jiao towards a tent where many wounded are lying.

After putting the child in a make-s.h.i.+ft bed s.h.i.+n Jiao turn his gaze towards the woman.

"After the matters here, I need to talk to you." s.h.i.+n Jiao said with a serious voice.

The woman felt confused but before she could ask anything, s.h.i.+n Jiao turn around and left the tent.

In his mind, he needs to find that weird dark aura.

"If my suspicion is correct, then that aura might be a soul essence… This is the third essence that I've seen so far. If I can get this then my strength will rise, but why is it that the soul essence emits a dark aura?" s.h.i.+n Jiao muses as he walks towards the last wagon.

"Look!" suddenly someone shouted.

Those in the vicinity also notice the strange phenomenon where the horde of undead beasts started retreating. What baffled everyone is that the bodies of the undead beast are all over the place yet those cultivators who died in the battle are all missing. The villagers didn't have time to morn for their dead as they all know what would happen next.

Right now, not more than a hundred people were left in the village. If those dead cultivators attack once again then all of them will surely die in this place, so who would want to stay in the village?

"Master Bibao Ling, would it be alright if we tag along with your caravan? We can't possibly stay in this village anymore." The village chief humbly said, from his tone, it's clear that he felt sad and worried with the remaining villagers.

"Well, I guess we have no choice. Our next destination is the town of Snowpeach. Your village members would be safe there." Bibao Ling said with a nod.

They watch as the horde of beast stop their a.s.sault and began to withdraw while leaving the village in ruins. No house was left intact except for those that are located near the hallowed ground area and perimeter.

Upon seeing that their families and houses are gone, the remaining surviving members of the village devastated. Many of them are currently sitting on the ground unmoving with tears slowly falling down their faces. Some of the mothers are wailing while some children are crying and shouting their mother or father's names. The surrounding atmosphere is too gloomy and depressing that it made those who have survived lost hope.

…

Meanwhile, s.h.i.+n Jiao is currently standing at the top of a black wagon and scanning his surroundings. He really wanted to find that aura and confirm if it really is a soul essence.

"You seem to be finding something? Did you lost anything?" the voice of Ling Ya suddenly interrupted s.h.i.+n Jiao's train of thoughts.

"Well, it's nothing I just wanted to know why these things are attacking the village and why are they taking the cultivators. If it's true that a necromancer is involved in this tragic event then it would be a great problem." s.h.i.+n Jiao said.

"Well, good luck with your searching then." Ling Ya said.

But then no one answered and Ling Ya suddenly found that s.h.i.+n Jiao is not on the roof.

"Where did that young lad went into now?" Ling Ya muttered.

"Did big brother s.h.i.+n disappear again mother?" a small voice asked beside Ling Ya.

"Umm… He's just all over the place. Don't worry your big brother s.h.i.+n is very strong." Ling Ya replied while she lovingly caresses her son's hair.

"I know… and he also helps you finish this thing protecting us right?... When I grow up I'll be like dad and big brother s.h.i.+n." Hao Fu said with a smile.

s.h.i.+n Jiao is currently running towards the village wall after seeing the dark aura. He, at last, spotted the thing just outside the village walls, and then he ran and chased after it. Along the way, s.h.i.+n Jiao would kill an undead creature that is standing along his path. Though he didn't actually care what happened in the village yet upon seeing the gloomy situation he can't help himself but feel angry.

Plus this fight was the first fight he had that he felt at a loss. He actually didn't have any advantage against the zombie cultivators. He could not imagine what would happen if he is faced against someone who is stronger than a gold core realm zombie. He is sure that even with his new technique, he would suffer some losses before overcoming his opponents. So he must grab this opportunity while the necromancer is still weak.

Actually s.h.i.+n Jiao has his suspicion that the one holding the soul essence is the necromancer. This is because of the thing he has learned from listening to the rumors.

First is the rate the necromancer revives and uses the undead beast. In just a short span of a few days, that person is able to acc.u.mulate the huge number of undead beasts. This is impossible to a normal necromancer except if that necromancer has an unlimited Qi in his body. Even if that person has a huge pile of spirit stones, it is still not enough to replenish the Qi that person lost that quickly.

Second is that the attack on the village is not well coordinated. It's like the person is not skilled when it comes to fighting. He just let loose the undead creatures and they just rampage forward. Well, at least he was able to deploy the zombie cultivators in grabbing some of the cultivators while hiding in the crowd of undead beasts.

And last, are the zombie cultivators and their strength. According to s.h.i.+n Jiao's investigation, those zombie cultivators who attacked them are the ones that were taken yesterday and the many days before that. It seems that the rate of speed the necromancer can convert the cultivators into zombies are becoming faster. What s.h.i.+n Jiao feared is the day when those shown in the movies come true. With just a bite, one can become a zombie or an undead. Now that would really end everything very fast.

So now he is chasing against time to prevent those conjectures of him from coming true. If not then his journey would not become a smooth one.

As s.h.i.+n Jiao chases after the dark aura, he would every now and then be blocked by an undead creature or an undead cultivator, which causes him a big headache. s.h.i.+n Jiao also noticed that, whenever a zombie cultivator blocks his path, its Qi field would already be up and would immediately evade when he attacks.

"These things can learn? Or is it that their master is weary of my attacks?" s.h.i.+n Jiao thought as once again after stopping him for a while, the zombie cultivator escape.

s.h.i.+n Jiao was able to reach the walls of the village at last and tried his best to find the aura again. But then what he saw made him squint his eyes into a slit.

"Those beasts are… entering the fog?" s.h.i.+n Jiao muttered.

Then he turns his head around and checked his surroundings. Seeing that no one follow him, he immediately took out his goggles and observe what is happening inside the fog. What baffled s.h.i.+n Jiao is that the fog seems to be a gateway to somewhere. As the beasts enter the fog they would suddenly disappear.

Upon seeing this situation, s.h.i.+n Jiao almost cursed in annoyance.

"I guess my journey will not be as smooth as I expected… Sigh… anyway, we're going to leave this place. Hopefully, those things would not bother to chase after us." s.h.i.+n Jiao thought as he hid his goggles and jump back down the wall, and then ran back to the hallowed ground.

…

Meanwhile, when s.h.i.+n Jiao's figure left the wall, a person suddenly came out of the fog and turns his gaze towards s.h.i.+n Jiao's running direction.

"What an interesting young man… I never would have thought that my undead cultivators would suffer defeat in his hands. Though his cultivation is a little weird however he is the strongest person I have faced so far. I wanted him to be a part of my undead army… One of these days I will have you in my hand." The man muttered with an eerie tone, as his voice sounded like a wailing ghost.

The man is wearing a dark cloak draped all over his body. From a small opening of that cloak, some b.l.o.o.d.y bandages can be seen wrapping the man's body. With decrepit hands, long and sharp claws, and tall and thin stature, the man looks like a grim reaper from the underworld.

No one has seen the person responsible for this ma.s.sacre, but if someone from that village saw this person they would be dumbfounded because they know this person in a black cloak and he is not someone they could not forget.

The man slowly turns around but before he enters the fog, he once again turns his head and looks at the sky.

"My dear just a little bit more, it will end soon my dear… just wait for me. I'm coming home soon." The man said with his eerie voice but with a tinge of melancholy.

As the man's figure enters the thick fog, he immediately disappears along with the slowly dissipating fog which surrounded the village.

…

The depressing atmosphere slowly receded as the dawn approaches. The survivors have already accepted their losses and are trying to move on with their lives.

Meanwhile, s.h.i.+n Jiao is currently inside a small house; the house is one of the remaining houses still standing in the village.

"My name is s.h.i.+n Jiao, and you are?" s.h.i.+n Jiao asked while he sat on a wooden chair opposite the woman.

"I'm Jie Ye…" the woman replied in a low voice with her head down.

s.h.i.+n Jiao explained to her, the circ.u.mstance and what she did last night. What her ability entails and her future prospects along with her children. s.h.i.+n Jiao gave her a choice so that she can decide on her own.

Then, after a few minutes of silence…

"So what's your decision? Would you like to be strong and be able to protect your family?" s.h.i.+n Jiao asked while looking at the still sobbing woman.

Though she was able to get over the tragedy they have suffered, her heart could still not accept that they would need to leave this place where she and her husband started to build their family. But upon hearing what the young man who saved her said that she is special and that she would be able to protect her children, her heart was p.r.i.c.ked with pain.

In her mind she was thinking, if only she realized her ability sooner, she would have a way to help her husband and perhaps they would be able to stay as a family.

But now everything is too late, her only hope now is what the young man has said that he would teach her. The safety of her two children is her utmost concern now more than anything else in this world.

Seeing the resolution forming in the woman's eyes, s.h.i.+n Jiao would not help but shake his head. He knows that if this thing did not happen to her, she would clearly choose to stay in her comfort zone and be protected by her husband. But now, with this newfound hope plus the tragedy, he is sure that the woman would become stronger.

According to his estimate, the woman seems to be as strong as Phoenix or maybe even stronger. This is due to the fluctuation of mana in her body. The flow is streamlined and fluid, which means that there are no obstructions within her meridians.

"Okay, now prepare yourself and the children. You are going to ride with me in the last wagon." s.h.i.+n Jiao said as he stepped out of the house.

When s.h.i.+n Jiao's figure disappears, the woman's face also sank as reluctance filled her heart. But still, for her children, she must persevere and be strong. Clenching her fist she slowly composed herself and walks out of the house.

The morning sun is slowly crawling out from the horizon, dispersing the gloomy atmosphere and the darkness of the night. As the new day comes, the Roc's eye caravan slowly departed out of the now already ruined village of Xiling.

When the caravan left the village, in the last wagon Jie Ye sat silently looking at the ruins and smoke billowing in the air.

Then memories came cras.h.i.+ng in her mind as she recalls the laughter she had with her friends, their first meeting with her shy but strong husband and the first cries of her children. Then she remembers the promises and the sweet moments they have as a family and the bitter and tragic end.

Though she didn't saw her husband's corpse as s.h.i.+n Jiao insisted that she should remember him in their happy moments, she still longs to see his face again even for the last time. But the memory they had was etched deep within her heart.

Tears slowly came rolling down her fair cheeks as she plastered a bitter smile as the view of the village slowly faded towards the horizon.