Alarmed at the sudden voice, Di Tanxue's head jerked to the left. Just five steps away from him under the shade of a large tree stood a figure in black robes, their face covered by a straw hat of similar colour to his robes.
Seemingly confused at first, a look of realisation appeared on Di Tanxue's face as he recognised the newcomer's peculiar dressing sense.
"The Prisoner's Immortal Valley. Heh, For big shots like you to get involved, don't tell me you're talking about one of the Seven Sages. hahaha."
Di Tanxue burst into laughter at the absurdity of what had just escaped his mouth, yet the person opposite him remained absolutely silent which made Di Tanxue recall the dream he had had just a short while ago.
"Is it Divine Spirit Crimson?"
Di Tanxue questioned, but alas he received no response.
Evidently, the person in black robes did not seem the least bit interested in any ideal chatter with him, as such Di Tanxue got straight to the point after taking in a long breath to calm himself down.
"What do you want? Why have you approached me? Do you wish to get rid of me? Or perhaps hopefully, are you here to offer me a pact?"
It was one question after another, all leading to the same answer. What was it that the envoy from the Prisoner's Immortal Valley here for?
Di Tanxue knew very little about them except for the surface level information he had read in passing as such the conclusions he could reach were only two.
"The Prisoner's Immortal Valley doesn't wish for the Seven Ancient Sages to reappear. So you must be here to get rid of me."
A melancholic smile appearing on his face, Di Tanxue gazed at the envoy with sorrow and turned to look up at the sky. The rain, its intensity waning with each passing moment, was about to come to an end. Just like his own life filled with one misfortune after another…
"When I was little, I used to dream of traversing the fourteen skies and the infinite worlds contained within just like the stories of the Ancient Immortals I had heard growing up.
But alas, fate seems to have no intention of giving me a chance."
His emotions turning complex beyond description, Di Tanxue shut his eyes, the faint melancholic smile returning to his lips. Seemingly recalling the happy moments of his childhood and his dreams that he never got to fulfill.
"Aren't you envoys of the five Primordial Organisations all from the outside of the Crimson Echo? How lucky.
From the very beginning you have what us, the sinners trapped inside this globe, this hellish Crimson Echo yearn for.
Tell me, is the world outside as beautiful as they say?"
"No, the world outside isn't pretty at all. And no need to be so dramatic, it won't have any effect on me."
"...."
Despite his act being called out, Di Tanxue remained unbothered and shamelessly continued with his performance.
"Heh, Of course everything will look like a drama to you, It's not your life that's on the line here!"
Throwing a jibe at the envoy accusing him of being biased, Di Tanxue sneered and declared proudly.
"Let's end it here since you're still deliberating whether to get rid of me or offer me a pact. Just know this, I won't be so easy to get rid of. I've often been praised as a tenacious little bug after all."
It was unknown whether he truly thought it to be something to boast about or perhaps he was just being self-deprecating.
One strange thing of note that might confuse any onlookers was the way Di Tanxue seemed neither too scared nor too worried about the predicament he was currently in.
In fact, he appeared relaxed enough to joke around and throw jibes at someone who might very well become his saviour if he played his cards right. Outwardly at least, this seemed to be the case.
Noticing that the blood rain was nearing its end, Di Tanxue collected the spatial storage rings and bags on the Azure-robed corpses strewn around him and quickly sorted out the things contained within.
There were numerous stuff inside their spatial storage bags but most of them, unfortunately, were of no particular value.
In the end, the only things worth mentioning that he found were about two to three dozen essence crystals, mainly jadeites; four artifacts of humanly-rank and also…
"A Concealment Cloak of earthly-rank!"
He exclaimed in delight but clicked his tongue in annoyance immediately after.
"Tsk, Was there someone from Central Continent among them;"
Looking inside the spatial storages one last time, he did not find anything else of value except for a jade vial with five pills inside.
"Hmm, smells delicious.."
"Hey, do you know what these pills are for? Look like good stuff to me."
Di Tanxue asked curiously to the only other living person in the forest but as was obvious, there was no reply.
"Well, suit yourself."
Saying as much, Di Tanxue threw the pill inside his mouth and released a breath of satisfaction.
"Delicious! You should try some too;"
"..."
"Worry not, these aren't poisonous."
Di Tanxue insisted and surprisingly received a reply this time.
"No need, I don't find myself lacking in bed;"
"..."
There was an awkward silence for a brief moment.
"..So what, they are still delicious!"
Di Tanxue daringly stuffed all of the pills inside his mouth at the same time, stood up and gave the shadow one last glance.
"So you'll be following me around to complete your assessment, right?"
He inquired, chewing on the pills and seeing the envoy nod in agreement, turned his gaze towards the azure-robed corpses lying around. He would need to dispose of them to ensure nobody could follow him through the traces on these corpses.
Pinching his chin between his thumb and index finger, his thoughts immediately went to the phantoms roaming all around the forest and a convenient solution came to his mind.
"Leave no traces behind!"
His command rang all across the wilderness and responding to it, the hundreds upon hundred of phantoms all around left behind their feast and rushed inside the clearing with reckless abandon.
Some tore apart the azure-robed human corpses and devoured them altogether, others willingly harmed themselves spreading a foul yellow liquid in the process and the rest, they began to cannibalize their fellow brethren, the ones who had consumed the human corpses!
It did not even take ten breaths of time for the once-lush clearing to be transformed into a barren wasteland filled with corrosion.