Evelyn Wynn crouched carefully beside Henry Lang, lowering her voice to a whisper: “As soon as I heard something had happened, I rushed over. I finally found you! Your mother is fine, so you can rest assured.”

Henry Lang let out a deep sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart.

Evelyn Wynn sighed as well, then continued, “I’ve already found out what happened along the way. Not long ago, something strange occurred, and your corvée labor is connected to it.”

Henry Lang became more alert, sitting up gently. “What happened?”

Evelyn Wynn replied, “It’s Kunai Mountain!”

Kunai Mountain, located at the western edge of the Central Lands, stretches for thousands of miles. It is the legendary ancestor of all mountains, firmly separating the Central Lands from the wilds. The eastern side of the great mountain is fertile and boundless, the heart of the Central Lands; the western side is remote and desolate, full of treacherous mountains and dangerous waters.

Earlier this year, a squad of soldiers was patrolling along the mountain’s base. One of them accidentally tripped over a small stone. As his companions were about to tease him, the fallen soldier suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream, and before their eyes, his skin, bones, and flesh visibly withered away.

The other soldiers rushed to help, but anyone who touched the wounded man also collapsed with screams, and in no time, they all turned into piles of dry bones!

The remaining soldiers thought a monster was at work and hurried back to report to the outpost.

That spot happened to be a key border defense. The stationed officer dared not be negligent and immediately dispatched troops to search the mountain thoroughly. In the end, they discovered that the culprit was not a monster at all, but the small stone that had tripped the soldier: whether human or animal, a mere touch would instantly drain all flesh and blood, leaving only a dried corpse.

Only wood could block the stone’s deadly power.

Moreover, the small stone was incredibly hard. The outpost even used ‘Great Flood Fire Thunder’ on it, but couldn’t damage it in the slightest—instead, they blasted a huge pit in the surrounding earth.

It was then that the soldiers realized the small stone had roots, buried in the ground, with just a small corner jutting out above the surface.

The local officer directed the soldiers to dig carefully. The stone’s root system gradually became visible, slanting and stretching deep into the mountain. During the excavation, dozens more soldiers accidentally touched the stone’s roots, and without exception, they too were drained into dry bones.

With so many deaths at once, the officer couldn’t keep it secret even if he wanted to. The matter was reported up the chain, all the way to the imperial court.

Since the reign of the second emperor of the Great Flood dynasty, every generation of rulers has been devoutly faithful to divine arts. The court supports countless practitioners of the heavenly path, and this trend has spread to the people. Throughout the Central Lands, monks, Daoists, and layfolk alike pursue the Way, and sects of heavenly cultivation flourish everywhere.

For the emperor, the deaths of a few dozen soldiers were not a major issue. But the two imperial preceptors treated it as a grave threat, personally traveling to Kunai Mountain. Not long after, they reported to the emperor that the life-draining stone vein was a sprout of the baleful root from the Domain of Malice!

In recent years, Henry Lang had been studying and learning to read, ‘specializing’ in myths and legends. He knew that the Central Lands were full of spiritual energy, with countless sects of heavenly cultivation among the beautiful mountains and waters. Among them were both enlightened masters and bloodthirsty demons, but he had never heard of the ‘baleful root of the Domain of Malice’. He couldn’t help but lean closer to Evelyn Wynn: “What does that mean?”

Evelyn Wynn gave a wry smile and shook her head. “It’s a new term invented by the imperial preceptors!”

According to the preceptors, deep within Kunai Mountain lies a vicious root, growing endlessly for millions of years, and finally emerging as this life-draining stone vein. If the stone vein is allowed to grow and the baleful root takes shape, disaster will befall the world. The only solution is to dig along the stone vein, find the baleful root, and destroy it.

Such a deadly and grueling task naturally fell to the convict households. But most adult convicts were already assigned to corvée labor—digging canals, mining, or guarding and cultivating the frontiers in harsh lands—so they couldn’t be spared on short notice. That’s why the emperor issued an edict, conscripting all convict children over twelve years old.

In the end, a total of twenty thousand laborers were gathered and sent far away to Kunai Mountain to ‘break the baleful force’.

The mountain-clearing project would take a long time. At first, even a million people would have been of no use; the initial twenty thousand would suffice for the first few years.

The strange events at Kunai Mountain had long been the talk of the court and the public, though the convict population knew nothing of it.

Henry Lang listened, drawing in a sharp breath, and after pondering for a while, asked, “With the baleful root’s vein appearing in the world, why aren’t those cultivators who uphold justice doing anything about it?”

Evelyn Wynn shook her head. “This time it’s a baleful force, not some rare treasure. Cultivators won’t bother with it. Heh, don’t talk nonsense about cultivators upholding justice. I remember back when Mr. Lang often angrily denounced cultivators for disregarding human laws and being a scourge.”

Now Kunai Mountain had become the focus of the entire world. Besides the steady stream of convict laborers from every province, to prevent evil spirits from causing trouble, the two imperial preceptors had also enlisted a rather renowned cultivation sect: nineteen experts from the Zhuli Daoist Court, who formed a formation to seal off the entrance to Kunai Mountain.

At this point, Evelyn Wynn suddenly looked dejected. With cultivation experts guarding Kunai Mountain, little ghosts would have no chance to stay by Henry Lang’s side.

Henry Lang chuckled softly to comfort her: “It’s all right. It’s just digging, after all. As long as I don’t touch that cursed stone, I should be fine.”