A Third Jade {Mo Dao Zu Shi}

♬Chapter 29♬

Jin Ling was aimlessly running in a very foggy part of the forest. He didn't care to look around though. What Clan Leader Yao said really got to him. He grew more hatred towards the Yiling Patriarch, after learning more about his parents death.

The constant insults he heard everyday by other kids saying he had no mother to teach him manners or anything at all, affected his childhood. The only person who is close enough to be a mother figure to him was Lan Anhe.

She was best friends with Jiang Yanli, she promised that she would do everything in her power to take care of him. He felt safe and repaid her by protecting her from anyone who practiced demonic arts. After the incident with his aunt, he trained twice as hard to keep her safe because he feared of losing her like how he lost his mother.

As Jing Ling was swinging his sword around, he saw a giant, strange mess of tree branches and saw a hand stuck to it. He screamed very loud, alerting Anhe and Jiang Liang.

"Jin Ling!!" Jiang Liang and Chen Hong arrived first and the adults came a second after. Anhe started breathing heavily as she frantically looked around for her nephew, "A-Ling!!" She saw him as he was gripping his sword very tightly.

"What happened?!" Wei Ying asked, Jin Ling was too frighten to answer but Wei Ying, Anhe and the other children saw what was in front of Jin Ling. Jiang Liang unsheathed his sword and Chen Hong unsheathed his new sword. Jiang Liang gave him a new sword that would be easy to use for him to hide his identity as a demonic cultivator.

He's still a bit annoyed on why he's still protecting him. But at the same time, Chen Hong hadn't shown any suspicious activity nor acted suspicious around anyone. However, Jiang Liang wasn't going to let his guard down and still keep a close eye on him.

Wei Ying looked around, "These are..."

Lan Zhan pulled his Guqin from his back and send shockwaves to clear out the fog. To their surprise, they were people made of tree branches.

"I see"

"What do you mean?" Jin Ling asked, "A Zombie Trap Array was set up on this hil!" Wei Ying answered, "Zombie Trap Array?" Jin Ling questioned.

"Exactly. The Zombie Trap Array can ensnare feral zombies and seal resentful energy. That's why, when we were at the foothill, the resentful energy had risen sharply within a few steps. Within the Array, resentful energy grows and accumulates, which ends up dulling the five senses and inducing hallucinations. Whether humans, beasts, or demons, all of us can easily get trapped in it. Hence the rumor that one can enter the hill but never leave"

"Then these corpses are..." Jiang Liang trails off and Wei Ying finishes his sentence, "They are the villagers who went missing 11 years ago" Jin Ling gulped but kept his composure, "They... They're just corpses. Nothing to fear!" Chen Hong chuckled and patted Jin Ling's shoulder to comfort him.

"But if the resentful energy in the hill had already been sealed, why was the Watch Tower still able to detect its abnormal fluctuations?" Anhe asked. "It is possible if there was an evil spirit strong enough to break through the Array" Lan Zhan answered.

The group suddenly heard a loud yet strange noise, "What was that sound?" Jin Ling nervously asked. Jiang Liang and Chen Hong heard the noise again. They looked at their surroundings and Jin Ling sensed something was off.

He turned back and saw something lunged at him. Wei Ying sent it back with his demonic art before whatever was there crawled away. Lan Zhan pulled out his Guqin and Anhe pulled out her Dizi and sent shockwaves to the direction of whatever is there.