Zhong Mansion.

Su Ye and Zhou Liangcai walked through the residence.

"How is this possible?"

"How did the Zhong Family end up like this? Where is everyone?"

Zhou Liangcai stared at his surroundings, eyes wide, muttering to himself in disbelief.

Su Ye remained silent, but his brow furrowed as a jade-like luster appeared on his skin, a sign of his cautious vigilance.

After entering the residence, they hadn’t found a single living person.

It was as if... every living soul in the entire Zhong Mansion had vanished.

Not only that.

The environment of the Zhong Mansion itself had changed drastically.

The white walls were peeling, covered in mottled, pale-yellow marks of weathering.

The flowers and plants in the gardens had withered, growing wild and encroaching upon the walkways.

Wreaths, white cloths, and other funeral items were strewn about in disarray.

Paper money for the dead was scattered everywhere!

The entire Zhong Mansion was filled with an obscure, decaying, and even ominous feeling.

"When did Zhong Qi give you the token?"

Su Ye asked casually.

"Just over two months ago," Zhou Liangcai said.

"Back then, the Zhong Mansion was still perfectly normal..." he added.

’Just over two months ago...’ Su Ye’s eyes glinted, and he nodded.

Just then, Su Ye’s gaze shifted, as if he had discovered something.

"This is..."

His fingertip glowed with an azure light as he brought it close to a large, solidified brown stain on a railing.

"Human blood."

Su Ye’s eyes narrowed as he spoke faintly.

With a thought, he sent his Divine Sense sweeping in all directions, searching carefully.

Soon, he found more solidified brown stains on the floor around a corner in the corridor!

Su Ye walked over to the bloodstain and observed it closely.

The stain stretched for several dozen feet. It started out as wide as a great river before gradually narrowing.

Finally, at the very end, it abruptly widened again.

Su Ye stared at the stain, crossing his arms and tapping his chin with his index finger, lost in thought.

"Mr. Su, have you discovered something?"

Zhou Liangcai cautiously sidled up to him.

Normally, in the Cultivation Realm, class distinctions were clear.

For a mere Qi Refining cultivator like him to proactively speak to a mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator was a bit presumptuous.

But... Zhou Liangcai simply couldn’t help it. He was terrified!

The eerie atmosphere in the Zhong Mansion made his heart pound uncontrollably.

He had an instinctual need to find someone to talk to, to say anything at all.

Su Ye, however, didn’t mind.

As someone from a modern world, his sense of hierarchy wasn’t so strict.

Besides, he didn’t need any deliberate displays of etiquette to maintain his superior status.

It was like a peregrine falcon not minding a pigeon making its home near its aerie.

A cultivator’s great power brought with it ample confidence and a sense of security.

Su Ye glanced at Zhou Liangcai and said coolly, "It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how the owner of this bloodstain died..."

"First, he was likely cut in half at the waist... from behind, severed into two pieces..."

"If you kill people often, you should know that someone who’s been cut in half at the waist can cling to life for a long time..."

Su Ye said, seemingly talking to himself.

The casual murderous intent radiating from his words sent a shiver down Zhou Liangcai’s spine.

’No... is that something I’m supposed to know?’ Zhou Liangcai’s face twitched, his scalp tingling.

Su Ye continued his analysis. "After being cut in half, this victim still managed to crawl for some distance, with blood continuously pouring out, forming this trail..."

"But the killer didn’t let him go. Instead, he unhurriedly walked over to the victim and used a heavy weapon, like a Nail Hammer, to deliver a powerful blow to his upper body, causing the distinct blood splatter at the end..."

"Hm... if you’ve never killed anyone, just imagine a hammer smashing an orange, the juice bursting out," Su Ye said nonchalantly.

Zhou Liangcai’s heart trembled.

Listening to Su Ye’s analysis, an image of the victim’s final, agonizing moments seemed to form in his mind.

"Hiss..." Zhou Liangcai sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the air around him turn much colder.

He felt as if he were looking at an even more desolate and dilapidated corridor, covered in congealed bloodstains.

Wait a minute...

It wasn’t "as if."

"Mr. Su?!"

Zhou Liangcai’s eyes went wide.

He turned to look, but Su Ye, who had been right beside him, was gone?!

And now, he found himself in an even more decrepit version of the Zhong Mansion.

It wasn’t just more desolate and dilapidated.

The air was thick and murky, like in a long-sealed old library or a basement.

And... it was tinged with the sour stench of blood!

"Mr. Su? Mr. Su?" Zhou Liangcai cried out in panic.

Just then.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The heavy sound of something pounding the ground echoed from not far away.

It sounded a bit like... a heavy Nail Hammer striking the floor?

The color drained from Zhou Liangcai’s face in an instant.

Panic!

The boss just spawned, and the carry DC’d!

What do I do?!

And then, suddenly, a tense voice rang in his ear!

"Xiaozhou, get over here, quick!"

"Zhong Qi?!"

「...」

"He vanished?!"

The instant Zhou Liangcai disappeared, Su Ye’s gaze sharpened, taking on the cold, stern look of a falcon.

"The Formless Demon... has it made its move?"

His Divine Sense still detected nothing.

But Su Ye’s spiritual perception, sharpened after numerous class level-ups, sensed a fleeting, extremely faint ripple!

"This fluctuation... it’s a bit like... a soul?" Su Ye muttered to himself.

An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would have a hard time sensing such a ripple.

However, Su Ye’s Divine Technique seed, [Soul-Chasing Life-Reaper], involved the soul.

He had even personally experienced the Soul Horizon once.

Su Ye was very sensitive to this sort of thing.

"Formless and intangible... is it a soul-related technique?"

"Do I have to adjust the frequency of my Divine Sense to enter the ’Formless Demon’s’ world?"

Su Ye wasn’t sure.

But he could try.

With a flash of his Storage Ring, Su Ye shook out numerous talismans, Array materials, and Orbit components.

[Soul-Chasing Life-Reaper] was still on cooldown and difficult to activate, but it still made Su Ye extremely sensitive to soul fluctuations!

Moreover, the high Mystery attribute of 9 points from his [Pastor of the Sea] class gave his attempt a greater chance of success!

"First, I’ll try the most common method, the ’Soul-Burning Skill’..."

「...」

"Zhong Qi?!"

Zhou Liangcai exclaimed in surprise.

It was the young master of the Zhong Family, his friend.

He was leaning out from a room in the distance, waving at him.

"What’s happened to the Zhong Family...?" Zhou Liangcai asked.

"No time to explain! Get over here, ’it’ is coming!" Zhong Qi said gravely.

"It?"

Zhou Liangcai froze, his expression turning to one of horror.

However, he still didn’t move, hesitation appearing on his face.

’He has my friend’s face, that’s true, but in a bizarre place like this, who knows if you’re human or a ghost?’

’Maybe that half-a-body in the doorway is attached to some kind of monster...’

’The moment I get over there, it’ll reveal its true form and swallow me whole.’

Zhou Liangcai hesitated, thinking to himself.

Meanwhile, the thudding sound from nearby was getting closer and closer.

A massive shadow slowly approached from the other end of the corridor.

Zhou Liangcai subconsciously turned his head to look.