With only 8 years to live at the start, I'm going all in.

Chapter 78 Returning to Xiaotan Village

After leaving the patrol office, Ding Yi returned to the martial arts school and found Bai Wangyun, telling him that he would be away for a few days.

Bai Wangyun didn't say anything after hearing this, but only reminded him that things outside were not like Qingfeng County, and that he should be careful in everything.

Ding Yi readily agreed, then returned to his room and took off his flying cloud robe, changing into ordinary people's clothes, even adding a layer of hemp wadding inside.

It was autumn, and the weather was getting colder. Ordinary martial artists, with their abundant energy and blood, were not afraid of the cold, but ordinary people had already put on slightly thicker clothes.

Ding Yi dressed like this to better conceal his identity as a martial artist; otherwise, with his thin clothes, anyone with discerning eyes would immediately know that Ding Yi was a martial artist.

After leaving the martial arts school, Ding Yi walked south along East Street and soon arrived at the city gate again.

It was the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), and the guard on duty was pulling the winch to slowly open the heavy city gate.

Outside the city gate, a long queue had already formed to enter the city. Among these people were merchants, slave owners, but most were refugees seeking refuge.

Ding Yi watched this scene and sighed inwardly.

In Qingfeng County, ordinary people are reduced to food for the Yin-Yang Fiends, suffering daily torment from desires in order to satisfy the cultivation needs of the Yin-Yang Palace in worshipping the gods.

Even so, people continued to flock to this place from outside, which was enough to show just how desperate the area outside Qingfeng County was.

Tightening his pack, Ding Yi arrived at the city gate and handed over the patrol warrant to the guards.

In Qingfeng County, one can come and go as one pleases, but one cannot leave unless one obtains a letter from the government.

Those merchants who ventured out into the world mostly obtained passes from the state government.

It can be said that the entire Qingfeng County is like a giant mouth, swallowing everyone who comes in, skin and all, but not even spitting out a single bone.

Unlike the long lines entering the city, there were very few people leaving. After Ding Yi passed the identity verification, he set off for Xiaotan Village.

Unlike when he arrived, Ding Yi is now a martial artist at the Refining Organs Realm. He can travel more than a hundred miles in half a day with his blood and qi surging. If he travels at night, he can reach Xiaotan Village in one day.

However, there were still many pedestrians around Qingfeng County, so Ding Yi decided to continue at a normal pace. He also took out the Quicksand Map and occasionally unfolded it to examine it.

The farther away from Qingfeng County, the more desolate the surroundings became. Ding Yi once again felt the despair of this chaotic world, but this time, his gaze was calm, and he didn't even have any emotional fluctuations.

The next morning, Ding Yi, already wearing a human skin mask, stood at the entrance of Xiaotan Village. He glanced at the map again to make sure there was nothing unusual before taking a step forward.

The transparent membrane that had previously enveloped Xiaotan Village had disappeared, and Ding Yi, who had taken a step, did not notice any obstruction and entered Xiaotan Village.

What came into view was that most of the once neat houses were now dilapidated, with every household's doors tightly shut, and the bleak autumn wind whipping up weeds and rolling haphazardly along the dirt roads of the village.

"Has the blood sacrifice been completed?"

Ding Yi had this thought in his mind, and then continued walking forward. Before long, he arrived at the door of Old Man Wei's house.

At this moment, the house was mostly burned down. Ding Yi looked inside through the collapsed door and saw only charred mud and collapsed charred wood. A trace of emotion flashed in his eyes.

The scene of fighting to the death with Qingyunzi that day resurfaced in my mind.

Ding Yi did not go into the house, but turned around and continued walking forward, and pushed open the door of the next small house.

Inside the house, two shriveled corpses lay on the floor of the main room.

The corpses all had their hands in a claw-like shape and their faces contorted in agony, indicating that they must have suffered greatly before they died.

Seeing this, Ding Yi seemed to have expected it, and did not linger, but continued walking towards the back.

Before long, Ding Yi arrived at the end of the village.

After investigating along the way, Ding Yi discovered that there was not a single survivor in the entire village; they had all turned into mummies and died inside their houses.

It was obvious that Bai Yunzi had successfully performed a blood sacrifice on the entire Xiaotan Village and left with the statue of the deity.

Ding Yi took one last look at the lifeless village before continuing to walk along the path behind the village.

This road is naturally the one that Ding Yi took with the villagers to go up the mountain to the Taoist temple.

It took them most of the day to reach the Taoist temple back then, but this time Ding Yi only took a little over an hour to get to the foot of the mountain where the temple is located.

Ding Yi took out the quicksand map, glanced at it briefly, and after finding that there were no red crosses on it, continued walking up the mountain.

When they reached the mountainside, Ding Yi discovered the Taoist temple, its surface painted red, still standing among the forest.

The occasional sparse bird calls only added to the eeriness of the forest.

Ding Yi slowly ascended the stone steps, and after a short while, he arrived at the gate of the Taoist temple.

The gate of the Taoist temple was half-closed. Ding Yi stood at the door and listened quietly for a while. After finding no movement, he stepped inside.

It was midday, and the Taoist temple was as quiet as it had been when Ding Yi last visited. Sunlight shone on the bare floor tiles, but it offered no warmth whatsoever.

Ding Yi took out a talisman to ward off evil spirits and placed it face down in his left palm, while his right hand rested on the hilt of the long sword hanging at his waist. Then, he walked quietly towards the backyard of the Taoist temple.

In the backyard, the huge Taoist statue still stood in the center, but now the stone statue was covered with cracks, as if it would collapse at any moment.

But unlike that day, now a strong, fishy stench emanated from the stone statue, just like the smell of the dead fish and shrimp floating on the lake.

"It seems that Bai Yunzi has already left."

A thought flashed through Ding Yi's mind, and then he returned to the courtyard and entered the Taoist temple that he had not entered last time.

Upon entering the hall, Ding Yi discovered that the three statues displayed there were all faceless, but each had a closed-eyed human face on its chest.

"It's really a demon!"

Upon seeing this, Ding Yi let out a soft snort and then continued walking deeper into the hall.

Behind the statue is a long, narrow corridor.

Walking along the corridor, Ding Yi arrived at a small open courtyard.

There were three side rooms in the courtyard. Ding Yi guessed that this was probably where Bai Yunzi and the others rested.

"I wonder if I can get my hands on something with a malevolent aura."

Ding Yi glanced at the rooms in front of him, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. He then chose the room on the left, pushed open the wooden door with his long sword, and after seeing that there was no movement inside, he slowly walked in.

After a short while, Ding Yi checked all three rooms but found nothing of particular use, which left him slightly disappointed.

However, he did not come away empty-handed.

Ding Yi was holding a small porcelain bottle in his hand, which contained some hair and clothing fragments that he had collected in the three side rooms.

Immediately afterwards, Ding Yi put down the package he had been carrying, laid it flat on the ground, opened it, and took out a pen and ink from it.

A moment later, Ding Yi dipped his brush in ink and wrote the words "Traces of Baiyunzi" on the bottle, then stared at it quietly with his eyes.

[Currently, the required lifespan for enhancement is 4 months and 15 day. Enhance now?]