Chapter 297: Chapter 248: Sinister and Strange

Luna Sutton knew Kael and the others were extremely sly and wouldn’t obediently listen, so she waved her hand and simply stored them in her space.

Everyone looked on, bewildered, but didn’t ask further.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Sky-mist Canyon, Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes led a group of elite Phoenix Clan warriors, cautiously passing through the drifting poison mist.

Two Tenth Rank Tributors walked on either side.

They initially wanted to fly straight in, but the poison mist in Sky-mist Canyon was too dense, obstructing vision and making flight too dangerous; they could only proceed on foot.

Sylvan, wrapped in a cloak, with her body festering and swollen, found even walking difficult, yet insisted on coming along.

She hated Luna Sutton to the core, not only wanting to watch that despicable female die but also to personally skin her alive.

Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes’s Crow Feather Cloak flickered in the mist, and her Bone Staff struck the ground heavily: “Everyone, take a Detoxification Pill and swallow it; this mist is poisonous.”

Phoenix Clan warriors lined up to receive the medicine, with a few young Beastmen unable to resist muttering:

“This cursed place makes even the roads unclear…”

“I heard those Lower Domain scum are hiding here?”

…

A young Phoenix Clan warrior disdainfully kicked away the obstructing vines: “What mere Lower Domain poison mist…”

Before he could finish, his feet were suddenly entangled by vines, and his whole body was flung upside-down into the thickets.

Amidst his scream, countless wooden spikes shot out from the ground, skewering him like a pincushion.

The other Phoenix Clan warriors were frightened, quickly drawing weapons, and anxiously scanned their surroundings.

Unfortunately, the thick poison mist obstructed their vision; they could only see a white haze of fog and… the bloody silhouette of that warrior dangling from a tree branch.

Moments ago, he was alive, but now he had met such a tragic end.

Even the battle-hardened Phoenix Clan warriors felt chills up their spines.

This cursed place… seemed to exude eeriness everywhere.

“Who’s there?”

Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes’s face darkened, her Bone Staff struck the earth heavily as she shouted sternly.

Her only answer was the echoing screams in the canyon and the pervasive white fog.

Not knowing where the enemy was, they already lost a clan member.

This filled Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes with burning rage.

“Ah! Help… help me…”

The still struggling Phoenix Clan warrior skewered by spikes continued to scream, blood trickling down the wooden spikes, staining the ground with red.

Two closely related Phoenix Clan warriors couldn’t resist wanting to rescue him.

“Stop! Who told you to move?”

Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes sternly stopped those two Phoenix Clan warriors who attempted to approach, her gaze icy as she looked at the skewered clan member.

In such a situation, rescuing him would only leave him a hopeless cripple.

Phoenix Clan warriors were proud; rather than living as a cripple, it was better to die swiftly.

Those two Phoenix Clan warriors were halted, having no choice but to watch helplessly as their companion struggled to a gruesome death on the spikes.

“Something’s wrong.”

Lian Phoenix, the Tenth Rank Tributor, narrowed his eyes as Phoenix True Fire ignited on his fingertips.

In the flickering light, the surrounding vines suddenly twisted like countless awakened venomous snakes.

“Retreat!”

Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes shouted sternly, forcefully plunging her Bone Staff into the ground.

The Crow Feather Cloak fluttered even without wind, and a wall of fire instantly rose.

Almost simultaneously, the blood-stained vines suddenly exploded, mingling dark green toxic fog into the mist.

Several Phoenix Clan warriors unable to dodge covered their faces and screamed in agony.

Their skin festered and oozed at a visible pace.

“It’s snake venom!”

Lian Phoenix’s expression changed drastically, his fiery wings spread swiftly to protect himself, “It’s Aethel Serpent Clan poison!”

The other Tenth Rank Tributor, Caelan Phoenix, frowned and looked around: “How could Aethel Serpent Clan poison appear here?”

Lian Phoenix shook his head, for even he couldn’t answer this question.

The deeper fog rustled ominously, as if something was swiftly moving.

One elite Phoenix Clan warrior pointed somewhere and shouted: “There’s something there!”

A shadow darted like lightning, and the Phoenix Clan warrior on the outermost edge was whisked into the poison mist.

Accompanied by gut-wrenching screams, he vanished in an instant, and his companions could hardly react to save him.

Eeriness sent shivers down their spines.

Sylvan tightened her cloak, her face pale as she glanced around, cold sweat breaking on her back.

If only she’d known this place was so eerie, she wouldn’t have come.

But now, returning wasn’t an option; she could only steel herself and continue.

Yet inside, she was already contemplating retreat.

“Stop hiding and show yourself.”

Lian Phoenix suddenly shouted furiously, his flames raining down towards the sound’s source.

The fire illuminated the ancient forest, revealing the hanging things in the branches.

Dozens of dried Ghost-Faced Spider corpses swayed in the wind, the human-face patterns on their bellies twisted grotesquely in the firelight, emitting a ghostly green glow.

“Ah…”

Sylvan screamed and retreated in fear, suddenly her foot was entangled, then fiercely yanked.

“Ah—”

She lost her balance entirely, crashed heavily to the ground, then swiftly dragged away, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Sylvan’s screams abruptly ceased, and the canyon returned to dead silence.

Only the sound of soft chewing was heard.

It seemed something was devouring something, the sound peculiarly distinct in the silent canyon.

“Help… help me…”

A weak plea for help echoed from the fog.

It was Sylvan’s voice, paired with the chewing sounds, its eeriness unnerving.

The Phoenix Clan warriors couldn’t help but shudder, even the two Tenth Rank Tributors felt chills down their spines.

This place was too sinister.

“Ah—”

Another scream echoed, this time closer, almost like it was near their ears.

Everyone felt a chill around their necks, as if something was brushing past with a forked tongue.

Two Phoenix Clan warriors grew pale, reflexively raised their hands to check, yet touched nothing.

“Stop hiding, let’s see how long you can keep running.”

Lian Phoenix coldly shouted, his flames raining towards the source of the sound.

The fire illuminated the mist, also revealing those dried Ghost-Faced Spider corpses hanging on tree branches, and… Sylvan dangling from a branch, her clothes in tatters.

Her body had been cut open, hollow inside, her face still bearing the terror from her last moment.

The corpse swayed eerily in the firelight, teeming with swarms of poisonous insects crawling from her rotting flesh, sending a chill down one’s spine.

Great Shaman Ignis Fawkes’s face turned extremely grim; Sylvan was the clan leader’s daughter, and now she died here; just imagining how furious the clan leader would be.

It seemed she herself wouldn’t have a good outcome either.

The two Tenth Rank Tributors also looked extremely displeased, Sylvan’s identity was extraordinary, yet she died here.

Even with their high status in the clan, escape from the clan leader’s wrath seemed unlikely.

The Phoenix Clan’s Great Shaman plunged her Bone Staff deep into the ground, her desiccated fingers trembling with fury, the Crow Feather Cloak fluttering as her cloudy old eyes brimmed with rage: “Burn—Burn this cursed place to ashes!”

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