However, the development of events was always unexpected.
Just when Li Aozi felt he had opened the door, finding a shortcut to his mission, Merid abruptly disappeared.
Li Aozi woke up, sensing a somber and decayed deathly atmosphere surrounding the entire village. The original fragrance of bone broth was replaced by the moldy scent of decaying wood, and even the bed he specifically summoned for sleeping had turned into a broken and rotten floor.
For a moment, his heart sank. He hurriedly got up and searched the village, but everywhere he went, he saw not even a single animal's footprint.
"Gone."
Li Aozi spun around, tearing open a spacetime rift, instantly reaching the mountaintop. The houses were tightly locked, the sight desolate. Though previously dilapidated, it had never been to the extent that even the ceiling was damaged.
It felt as if, in an instant, he had lived through a century.
Li Aozi's gaze deepened. He bent down and grabbed a handful of soil from the ground.
