Bai Shuo scanned their surroundings, but in the darkness, she could see nothing. A stronger, more putrid stench filled the air.
Hua Hong frowned, and Mumu released a burst of spiritual energy into the sky, illuminating their surroundings as bright as day. Bai Shuo looked up, feeling a chill crawl down her spine.
The streets of the Foreign City were filled with Yiren, all shrouded in dark energy. Hundreds, if not thousands of them, stood packed together, still and unblinking.
The Yiren stared blankly, but as soon as the light reached them, they turned and howled, surging toward the trio in a frenzy.
“Oh no!” Bai Shuo screamed. Before she could process what was happening, Mumu and Hua Hong struck out with blasts of spiritual energy. The Yiren were knocked down, but, like the one before, they continued to drag their broken bodies forward, clawing their way toward them.
“Run!” Hua Hong barked, sweeping her staff in a wide arc to hold the Yiren back. Taking the opportunity, Mumu hoisted Bai Shuo by the waist and leaped into the air.
As they rose, a pair of hands grabbed Bai Shuo’s leg, pulling her downward. She looked down to see a Yiren clinging to her, lifting itself into the air.
“Ah! Mumu!”
A silver flash sliced through the Yiren’s hands, severing them from its body, and Bai Shuo clung tightly to her disciple like a frightened octopus. Another foul wind blew past, and more Yiren took to the air, growling as they swarmed around them. Hua Hong found herself surrounded on the street below.
Hovering in the air, Mumu’s silver chain dripped with blood, and he looked as fierce as a god of slaughter. Yet the horde of Yiren only seemed to grow, emerging endlessly from the streets and buildings, all converging on them.
Faced with what seemed like an undead army of Yiren, even Mumu’s expression changed.
“Mumu, head there!” Bai Shuo suddenly pointed toward a spot nearby and shouted.
She was pointing to the city wall. For some reason, while the crazed Yiren raged through the city, none dared approach the wall.
Mumu unleashed a wave of spiritual energy, leaping through the air with Bai Shuo in his arms. They landed atop the city wall.
The horde of frenzied Yiren charged toward them but stopped abruptly as they neared the wall’s edge, unable or unwilling to move closer.
Looking down at the snarling, cowering Yiren below, Bai Shuo could hardly believe her eyes.
“Why won’t they come up on the wall?”
“The wall of the Foreign City is made from a scale of Twilight’s dragon form. The scent of the dragon lingers on it.” Hua Hong, bloody and battered, joined them atop the wall.
A dragon’s power could repel evil from all three realms, which explained why the Yiren, corrupted by dark energy, wouldn’t dare come near.
“What on earth happened to these Yiren?” Bai Shuo asked, looking at Hua Hong.
Pale, Hua Hong shook her head. “I don’t know.”
"Not only has their spirit been consumed by dark energy," Mumu said, retracting his silver chain and looking over the city, "but it seems the entire city’s Yiren have fallen under this influence."
"Could it be the Yiren King?" Bai Shuo blurted. "His so-called 'God-Making Array'—could it be draining the souls of the Yiren too?"
"Impossible!" Hua Hong immediately retorted. "Hua Lin is the Yiren King—he would never sacrifice his entire clan!"
A heavy silence fell over the wall. If it wasn’t Hua Lin, who else could have cursed an entire city’s people in a single night?
The three exchanged glances, unable to find an answer, when suddenly, the Yiren below grew agitated, stampeding in the same direction. Bai Shuo pointed urgently, "Look over there!"
On the street below, a woman was fleeing with a child in her arms, and a swarm of Yiren charged after her.
"It’s Auntie Qiu Gua from yesterday! Quick, Mumu, help her!"
Before Bai Shuo could finish, Hua Hong leapt off the wall. She dove into the mob, grabbing the woman and her child, then sprang back to the safety of the wall.
The woman, trembling with fear, brightened when she recognized them. Bai Shuo started toward her, but Mumu quickly held her back.
"Wait!"
Before he could explain, the child in the woman’s arms suddenly twisted free, snarling as he lunged at Bai Shuo.
Mumu’s gaze sharpened, and his silver chain flashed toward the child.
"No!" the woman cried, pulling her son back and quickly binding his hands. She held him close.
"Please, Immortal Master! Show mercy—Hu'er still has his mind!"
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