The fog at this time had indeed dispersed considerably, and the dense miasma, which had been almost entirely filled with dark energy, finally had a small breakthrough.
The master and disciple walked in silence, one in front of the other. They had enough tacit understanding; one was responsible for scouting, and the other for covering their rear.
If any problems arose, they at least had a plan to deal with them, so they wouldn't fail to rescue someone and get themselves killed in the process.
"Let's go to the place we were last time. That's the source of that dark energy monster. It was that monster that killed the bear back then."
Having been silent for too long, Ye Tiancheng urgently needed to speak to break the terrifying silence.
"Okay, Master. I'm right behind you. Just give me any orders."
Lin Xue's voice was very soft, and in front of Ye Tiancheng, she was always so obedient, never an exception.
As the two approached the massive source of the dark energy, they were suddenly hit by a foul stench. Ye Tiancheng suddenly realized he had stepped on something.
There were some dead rats, already dried out. Crows circled rapidly overhead, giving a very desolate impression.
As they moved closer, they saw some animal fur and dead flies. The carrion of unknown animals was now highly decomposed, with maggots crawling out.
The entire scene was extremely disgusting, with corpses and insects intertwined, creating a symphony of revulsion.
"It seems this fellow is more powerful than we imagined. It's constantly outputting destruction. We need to find a way to stop this."
The two wanted to move closer, ready to act at any moment. Just then, a piercing cat's cry suddenly rang out.
The cat's cry was particularly sudden and sounded like a child's wail, making one feel very uncomfortable, their hair standing on end, almost driving them to despair.
At this moment, a wild cat suddenly darted in. Upon seeing the corpses on the ground, it went mad and began to gnaw at them rapidly.
The scene was incredibly eerie. After just a few bites, the wild cat was suddenly enveloped by dark energy and fell to the ground, dying with its intestines ruptured.
Anyone normal would have been disgusted to death by this scene. Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng and his disciple were seasoned individuals and did not scream in terror and lose their composure in such a situation.
"Master, what exactly is this thing?"
Lin Xue knew Ye Tiancheng didn't have the answer, but if she didn't ask, she felt uneasy. She felt she had to clarify.
"I'm not sure, but it's definitely not anything good. Let's try again."
Ye Tiancheng sent a wave of true energy towards the area where the dark energy was gathering. The massive energy wave made the entire ground tremble.
"Spare me! Esteemed one, save me. If you don't save me, I'll die."
The painful wail was merely to save a small life. In the face of death, everything else seemed so insignificant.
Suddenly, the scholarly man jumped out from behind the mountain, his entire being exuding an aura of decadence.
"Please, save me. I've been controlled. I don't want to die yet. I'm still young and have to endure all this!"
The scholarly man began to wail loudly in front of Ye Tiancheng. This was extremely embarrassing for a normal adult. Crying like this, he must have been truly terrified.
"Speak after you come out."
Ye Tiancheng felt that the scholarly man had only exposed his upper body, and his appearance was terrifying, with a distorted expression. Ye Tiancheng wasn't even sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed the scholarly man was prostrating himself on the ground, like some kind of spider spirit.
"I don't want to die. I haven't lived enough. You must save me..."
No matter what Ye Tiancheng said, the scholarly man seemed possessed, repeating this one sentence.
With no time for further words, Ye Tiancheng quickly unleashed a wave of true energy, attempting to expel the dark energy from the scholarly man's body.
However, Ye Tiancheng's true energy did not successfully enter the scholarly man's body. Instead, it was repelled.
Ye Tiancheng himself stumbled back a few steps, barely managing to stand firm. Otherwise, he suspected he might have been knocked to the ground by that surge of true energy.
Fortunately, Lin Xue intervened in time, preventing Ye Tiancheng from retreating further. If Ye Tiancheng had continued to retreat, he might have injured himself.
"This shameless fellow is so fierce in front of me. Fine, if that's the case, then let's all perish!"
Ye Tiancheng was truly angered now, perhaps due to accumulated resentment. He poured all his strength into it, leaped into the air, and unleashed a wave of true energy.
A roar was heard, and then everything returned to calm. The scholarly man, who was lying on the ground, wailed in pain.
"I've been eaten by him. I've merged with that fellow. So, what you're doing now, attacking him, is also attacking me. I am in so much pain."
The scholarly man had not dared to expose his lower body earlier, but now it was finally revealed. The scene was truly spectacular. The scholarly man's lower body had transformed into a mass of dark energy. While normal people have two legs, this was the first time Ye Tiancheng had witnessed such a bizarre sight of someone integrated with dark energy.
"If you dare to make another move, do you believe I'll kill you?"
These words came from the scholarly man's mouth. Clearly, the monster had taken over his body. Now, it was the scholarly man's own will that would never think of provoking Ye Tiancheng, but rather would do his utmost to beg for Ye Tiancheng's mercy and escape disaster.
"Who exactly are you? If you want to fight me, we can do it honorably. You don't need to hold onto a mortal. What you're doing is truly contemptible."
"You dare not touch me now. If you kill me, that person won't escape either. We are now symbiotes. I have absorbed his energy, and he can never escape me."
The monster referred to the scholarly man. Ironically, the scholarly man had introduced himself several times, but Ye Tiancheng simply hadn't remembered.
"You've actually condensed your own consciousness. That's quite remarkable."
"I am the corpse you discovered in the forest earlier, or rather, a dried corpse. Later, my physical body was destroyed by those people, and at the same time, I felt a surge of dark energy, which caused this mutation."
Hearing this, Ye Tiancheng recalled. It seemed this wisp of dark energy had drifted from his own body. In that case, Ye Tiancheng had to make things clear to this fellow. Strictly speaking, Ye Tiancheng had nurtured him, and he should have sweetly called him 'Dad'.
"It seems everything is destined. In this situation, you can't break free even if you want to."
"Then what do you want? How can you let this person go?"
This was Ye Tiancheng's most genuine feeling. The priority now was to save the person; nothing else was urgent and could be set aside for now.
"I didn't expect you to be such an indecisive person. Even at this point, you still can't make up your mind and are still concerned about this human's life and death. Then, in the future, the most tragic outcome will undoubtedly be yours."
The voice of the dark energy had changed after some time. It was now a mixture of a male and female voice, and it was utterly terrifying.
"Stop talking nonsense. I want to save him now. What are your conditions?"
"Fine, saving him is no problem. You just need to cripple all your true energy in front of me, and then commit suicide. If you can do this, then I will let this person exist completely unharmed."
The conditions proposed by this demon were simply too harsh, clearly asking Ye Tiancheng to die. In this situation, Ye Tiancheng felt conflicted.
Even if someone was not a particularly good person, when faced with a choice, Ye Tiancheng would not readily abandon a life, as he felt it would be too cruel.
"Fine, but I can't agree to everything you propose. Let's discuss it further."
"What do you mean?"
"You're asking me to commit suicide, which is indeed a bit too much. I can't possibly do that. I can exchange all my true energy for this life."
This was the furthest Ye Tiancheng could retreat. Anything more would be unacceptable. He could only exchange his true energy for a life, which was somewhat understandable.
"Alright, then cripple your true energy. It's all the same anyway. Without true energy to protect you, you'll still be at my mercy."
What was said was indeed quite reasonable, but even so, the sacrifice Ye Tiancheng was making was too great.
Just as Ye Tiancheng was about to act, the scholarly man suddenly shouted, "No need. I am already a cripple. Since I am a cripple, nothing else matters. My life is not worth you going to such lengths to save."
"What do you mean?" Ye Tiancheng suddenly had a bad premonition and began to warn the man, "I advise you to behave yourself and not cause trouble at this time."
"My life is already broken and irreparable. I have no room for recovery. So, you should not waste your time on this useless person. You are an esteemed expert. I hope you can save more people who have gone astray like me. We shall meet again if fate allows."
After saying this, the scholarly man bit his tongue and committed suicide. He looked very pained, but at the moment of his death, a smile of relief appeared on his face.
Ye Tiancheng was completely stunned. He never expected such a pathetic person to know how to sacrifice his life to save others. Such a person was truly rare. A bad person on the surface, but possessing a kind heart.
It seemed that righteousness was not extinguished, and there was no need to make everything too desperate. As long as there was a trace of justice, evil could never gain the upper hand.
"He's dead. You two are now of the same root. You will also suffer some damage in a short period. I see you deserve to die! So, die for me!"
Ye Tiancheng gathered all his true energy and leaped into the air. At the same time, his disciple Lin Xue released her phoenix to protect Ye Tiancheng's subsequent actions. In a flash of lightning, everything happened extremely quickly.
Accompanied by a massive explosion, the dark energy completely dissipated. The air was filled with a decaying scent, and after some time, everything returned to peace.