The battlefield was a mess.
Blood stained the ground.
Lin Yu ordered his clones to clear the battlefield.
Lin Fan snorted, "Hmph, you guys were so arrogant. Now look at you! All you can do is argue with the King of Hell."
Lin Yu heard this and said, "Alright, let's go. We need to check out this Soul Suppressing Stele."
They arrived at an open space.
There, a Soul Suppressing Stele, about five meters tall, stood firmly on the ground.
Lin Yu stepped forward to examine it and confirmed it was indeed a Soul Suppressing Stele. Bai Xiaosa also opened his heavenly eye and could see blurry inscriptions on the stele.
"Brother Lin, this stone stele is the same as the one in Willow Village. It has blurry text, so it should also be a Soul Suppressing Stele."
Lin Yu nodded. He had already seen the text on the stele, but given the recent fierce battle, he hadn't asked the system to translate it.
He planned to examine both Soul Suppressing Steles together once they reached a safe location.
Lin Yu commanded a clone to carry the Soul Suppressing Stele on its back, then said, "Let's keep moving. Find a safe place to talk about other things."
"Yes, Brother Lin is still so cautious. This place just saw a fierce battle. There might be ferocious beasts drawn by the scent of blood."
Lin Fan chuckled, "Isn't this standard procedure?"
"Stop chattering and let's go,"
Lin Yu stood up, and the group moved forward in a mighty procession.
Along the way, they observed that the surrounding forest was quite devastated.
Trees lay fallen, and the bodies of ferocious beasts were gnawed beyond recognition.
Furthermore, as they entered a canyon, they discovered the corpses of dead humans and异兽 (yì shòu - strange beasts).
Bai Xiaosa stepped forward to examine them and said, "Brother Lin, these are villagers' bodies. They must have been killed by the 异兽."
Lin Fan gritted his teeth, "These 异兽 are too detestable! Sooner or later, we'll wipe them all out!"
Lin Yu, having grown accustomed to life and death, still felt a pang of discomfort at seeing hundreds of bodies at once.
He instructed his clones,
"Gather them up and burn them!"
Burning was the most sensible approach; otherwise, their bodies would eventually be devoured by ferocious beasts.
The clones began their task while the three of them continued onward.
After walking for a short while, they indeed discovered a village ahead.
The village was built at the foot of a massive rocky mountain.
The rocky mountain was only about ten meters high, and below it lay a flat expanse of land. Leaning against this rocky mountain provided shelter from the cold northern winds, making the area quite warm.
However, at this moment, the scene was infuriating.
The ground was a chaotic mess.
Ruined houses, dead bodies, and distant flames all bore witness to a recent village massacre.
Lin Fan clenched his fists and cursed, "Damn 异兽! Steal the steles if you must, but why kill people?"
Lin Yu sighed.
It was the same principle whether they killed 异兽 or 异兽 killed humans.
But when it happened to their own kind, no one could remain entirely rational.
"All we can do is collect their bodies!"
Lin Yu once again ordered his clones to collect the corpses. This time, they were more experienced and worked swiftly.
Watching the flames rise, Lin Yu had the ashes collected and buried at the foot of the rocky mountain.
Then, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"
Leaving Rock Village, they once again embarked on their journey to other villages.
Night gradually fell.
The surroundings became quiet.
The nights here were not the domain of ferocious beasts, but a paradise for the诡异 (guǐ yì - eerie/supernatural beings).
Ferocious beasts had vanished, their whereabouts unknown.
The 诡异 began to emerge, dark shadows searching for any trace of life.
However, since the sun hadn't completely set, these 诡异 only dared to lurk in the shadows, observing Lin Yu's group.
Lin Yu was unafraid. He possessed two Soul Suppressing Steles, which kept these 诡异 at bay.
As they walked,
Lin Yu and his companions saw the glow of fire.
"There are people ahead. Those making a fire must be humans!"
"Brother Lin, they are indeed humans, and they are from our Blue Star."
"Let's go and see!"
The three of them excitedly hurried over and indeed found people from Blue Star.
Surrounding them were a group of raggedly dressed natives.
But on everyone's faces was an expression of despair.
After observing, Lin Yu noticed that everyone here was injured to some extent.
Because they were injured, were they unable to move?
Lin Yu's appearance caused a stir among them.
Some recognized Lin Yu and exclaimed in surprise.
"It's Lin Yu! He's here too."
"Lin Yu, Lin Yu, can you deal with the 诡异? Save us!"
"Don't get your hopes up. Can anyone deal with those 诡异?"
"Alas, we're finished. I'm injured, otherwise, I would have fought my way to the next village. Now, there's only a dead end here."
"It's all the fault of those 异兽 for destroying the village, killing people, and stealing the steles. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this predicament."
"To be blunt, it's because we weren't skilled enough to defend Rock Village. Otherwise, why would they be so arrogant?"
From their conversations, Lin Yu learned that they had first arrived at Rock Village and spent a day there.
After understanding the function of the Soul Suppressing Steles, they began to research them.
Naturally, their efforts yielded nothing.
Later, a sudden change occurred. A squad of 异兽 discovered the village and, upon realizing it was a human settlement, immediately launched an attack.
The 异兽 were too powerful. After a fierce battle, they were repeatedly repelled, and ultimately, after suffering hundreds of casualties, they were forced to flee.
Following that, this group continued to flee. They encountered another beast attack mid-journey, sustaining further injuries. By the time they reached this location, almost everyone was wounded.
Exhausted, injured, and with night fast approaching,
Everyone believed they would perish that night.
At this moment, Lin Yu arrived.
As a prominent public figure, they recognized him instantly.
But without a Soul Suppressing Stele, what could Lin Yu do?
Wouldn't they still have their souls consumed by the endless 诡异?
Alas!
The hope that had just ignited was extinguished once more.
Just then, someone with sharp eyes spotted a stone stele being carried on the back of a clone.
He pointed at the stele, stammering, too excited to form a complete sentence.
This agitated those around him.
"Stuttering, are you mute? If you dare bother me again, get lost!"
Startled, the person finally managed to speak complete words.
"It's a Soul Suppressing Stele!"
What?
As soon as the words fell, everyone's spirits lifted.
A Soul Suppressing Stele!
This was a treasure that could ward off the nocturnal 诡异! With a Soul Suppressing Stele, they could survive the night.
"Where is the Soul Suppressing Stele? Speak quickly!" Someone pointed at him, urging him on.
"It's over there!"
He was startled and pointed towards the location of one of Lin Yu's clones, speaking rapidly.
Everyone looked and indeed saw a person carrying a Soul Suppressing Stele standing among the trees not far away.
Upon closer inspection, it was Lin Yu's clone.
Someone with keen eyes noticed that the Soul Suppressing Stele was the one from Rock Village.
"This is the Soul Suppressing Stele from Rock Village!"
"What? It's from Rock Village? Did Lin Yu and his group come from that direction?"
"No, they must have killed the 异兽 and taken back the Soul Suppressing Stele!"
With this thought, they became excited.