Liza sat around the campfire, her deep impatience evident on her face as she gazed into the flickering flames. Across from her, Ellia and Lyra were quietly eating a roasted piece of demon beast leg they had cut off earlier.

"This doesn't make any sense..." Liza's frustration bubbled over, her thoughts going in circles.

She lifted her gaze towards Ellia and Lyra before continuing.

"It's been three long months, and we have nothing to show for it."

When they first set up camp they had expected to be attacked relentlessly, yet not a single person had perished since then.

There hadn’t even been an attempt.

The ominous message they received earlier began to fade into the back of their mind as the days flew by.

“It is… Unexpected.” Ellia replied between bites.

“I have similar thoughts, but if we truly forget about the message…. I fear that the person may just be waiting for us to let down our guard.” Lyra said as she tried to analyze the situation.

On the surface it seemed simple, either wait long enough for an elder to find them or find a way out themselves.

As for waiting for the elder they had no idea if they would even come, after all the Heart was an area of the wildlands without any concrete information. It could be months or even years till they were found.

But finding an exit was even more daunting of a task, they had no idea that if they began to walk through the forest, they would be attacked again. Nor did they know how many people were targeting them.

In essence they were fighting an invisible foe that may or may not be prowling in the darkness, waiting for them to make a move.

“We’re in a hard stalemate.” Ellia threw away the bone in his hand as he spoke.

“If we move we may die, if we stay we may be stuck here forever.”

Liza nodded as her eyes lingered on Ellia for a little longer than usual, she licked her lips seductively.

“Indeed if we stay here for too long…. I may require your assistance.” she batted her eyes and spoke in a flirtatious tone.

Ellia didn’t dignify the comment with a response but Lyra looked at Liza like she had struck her.

“Don’t. Do. That. Again.” She spoke slowly and concisely leaving no room for misinterpretation.

Liza coughed awkwardly.

*Ahem*

“I see so it was like that huh, well can’t blame a girl for trying.”

Lyra didn’t pursue the topic anymore, but got the conversation back on track.

“Back to the issue at hand, what the hell do we do?”

Silence ensued between the three once more as they continued to think.

“Senior sister.” One of the male disciples spoke up as he walked up to them, clearly disturbed by something, his expression carrying a trace of hesitation.

“What is it Jura?” Liza replied.

“I’m not sure if this is important, but I found a dead body.”

The three were now very interested as Lyra and Ellia also turned to look at him.

Liza continued, her voice taking on a stern tone as she reprimanded Jura.

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"Putting aside the fact that you were specifically instructed not to leave the camp," she stated firmly.

Jura looked to the ground, he had been debating whether to keep it secret but ultimately thought it was important enough to tell her, even if he was scrutinized.

“Who is it? I don’t see anyone missing from our camp.” Liza knew the dead body was more important than a disciple wandering around without permission.

Jura rubbed his head.

“That’s the thing, it’s not someone from our camp I think. It was a man, laying naked on the ground, the robes were gone, so I can’t know for sure. Maybe it was someone from our ship who ended up separated from us from the beginning, or someone from the orthodox faction.”

Ellia was the first to follow up.

“Any strange markings on the body, words maybe?”

Jura shook his head.

“What was it then? A demon beast, were there signs that the body was eaten?” Lyra asked.

“Not exactly... Actually I’m not sure.” he responded.

“What the hell do you mean you’re not sure?” Liza asked with a confused expression.

“Well, it was just his face...”

Jura tried to find the right words to describe the scene, struggling because he had never witnessed anything like it before.

Liza, however, was growing increasingly impatient with his difficulty in articulating himself.

"Don't half explain, dimwit. Just come out and say it!" she snapped, her irritation clearly showing.

Finally, Jura managed to blurt out: "His face...his face was torn off, but the rest of him was unscathed."

Lyra, Ellia and Liza’s expressions instantly changed, an undeniable seriousness appearing on all three of them.

“Was the face torn off by force, or were there precise cuts? Don’t speak haphazardly, think carefully.” Lyra asked with a degree of urgency.

Jura froze up for a moment as he realized the implications of what he saw, something far more important than just a dead body.

“It was precisely cut, like someone was being extremely careful not to damage it.” he spoke in a sure tone.

“How old was the body?” Ellia inquired.

“At least a few months.” Jura replied.

“A dead body, not strange in this situation, a naked dead body, a little strange but not enough to warrant an extreme response, a naked dead body with its face torn off, extremely strange but not enough to confirm my theory. However a naked dead body with its face torn off and with extreme precision. There can be no doubt. How could I miss such a possibility?” Lyra said, grabbing the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“We’ve been had! I should have entertained the idea of someone wearing a human mask, some demonic cultivator I am.” Liza exclaimed while biting her nail .

A silver helmet reappeared on Ellia’s head, he didn’t have to say anything.

All three of them instantly came to the same conclusion.

There was an imposter among them.

Lyra stood up, her eyes cold and unfeeling.

“Come on Ellia, We’re leaving.” She spoke in absolute terms leaving no room for discussion.

Ellia stood, he knew what Lyra was thinking, after so much time together he could practically read her mind.

Liza looked at them in disbelief.

“Wait, What? You guys are leaving bu-”

Lyra held up her hand signalling for her to stop speaking.

“Surely you can understand we owe you no explanation, but I will give one regardless. In your camp there are exactly 6 males, all six of them, maybe except Jura could be the culprit. I have no interest in playing this maniac’s games and I have no interest in continuing to put my life at risk here.”

The logic was simple, now that she knew that the culprit was likely a single cultivator she felt more comfortable going into the woods with Ellia, in this camp she had no idea when the killer would make his next move.

She began to walk away, Ellia following closely behind her.

Liza reached out her hand to grab Lyra’s shoulder hoping to convince her somehow, if Lyra and Ellia left their group would dwindle to 14 people, pitifully low compared to the orthodoxy.

Before she could touch her, the hand was swatted away by the cold touch of armor.

Ellia turned his head to look at Liza, she was clearly panicking.

“Enough, we’ve been neutral from the start, lady, I have no obligation to protect nor assist one of the demonic path. Stop us again and you won’t need to worry about what lurks in the woods.” A murderous intent could be felt through his helmet.

Liza watched as two members of her camp walked away, her mind working as fast as it could, trying to convince a way to make the two of them stay.

However she could not think fast enough. The moment they entered the woods, she knew there was no way to stop them.

She grabbed her head and sat down for a few minutes trying to think of a way out, but a voice from one of the disciples broke her concentration.

“Senior sister! One of our scouts spotted Futian’s group headed for our camp!”

Her heart fell to her stomach as she listened.

It was as if Futian knew that the Heaven fallen Knight and the Nether witch just left the camp.

It was as if he predicted the future.

14 members of the unorthodox group remaining, 20 members of the orthodox group remaining.