Lin Tianhe didn’t need to point it out. Even without seeing the blood, the other two had already spotted the bullet casings scattered beneath the grass.

They were definitely man-made.

That meant the chances they were left by Teacher Liu Yueming’s party were almost 100 percent.

Unless, of course, a new group of humans had crossed over.

Han Ning kicked the mantis corpse at his feet, looked toward the endless Blood-colored Grassland ahead, and said, "Teacher Lü, should we hurry inside?"

"Stay alert. See if there are any more markers ahead. If there are, it means their situation isn’t critical," Lü Xiuning said decisively, walking among the other large mantis corpses.

All the drones collected at the academy had been taken by the exploration teams. The two that Han Ning’s group had were destroyed when they used them to distract the mushroom-men.

So for now, they had no drones to scout ahead. They could only advance cautiously into the tall grass. Yin Yi flew overhead while the other three Soul Beasts formed a perimeter to the left, right, and rear, protecting the four of them in the center.

"This grassland is too vast. The scale on the map is at least 1 to 10 kilometers, making it hard to spot small-scale details."

Han Ning studied the map in his hand, using his exceptional eyesight to gaze at the grassland ahead.

Each stalk of blood-red grass was at least three meters tall. The density wasn’t very high, with at least thirty to forty centimeters of space between the blades.

Mist filled the air between the stalks, and the tall grass blocked the sunlight from above. It felt like being in a giant maze, making it difficult to get one’s bearings.

A monster could easily jump out from any direction if they weren’t paying attention.

After going ten meters deeper into the tall grass, Han Ning’s nose twitched again as he caught the faint scent of blood.

He looked down. On the ground to the northeast, droplets of crimson blood had soaked into the pale red soil, forming a dark red line that stretched deeper into the grass.

"This way." Han Ning realized that ever since Yin Yi’s breakthrough to Awakening IV, his own senses had sharpened. He could now distinguish even the faintest scents in the air. His nose was keener than a bloodhound’s.

"Do you think this grass is blood-red because the soil has so many creatures buried in it that the blades absorbed all the blood and turned red?" Lin Tianhe couldn’t help but ask, cautiously observing their surroundings as his gaze swept over the crimson blades.

"That’s impossible."

Lü Xiuning kept walking at a brisk pace. He bent down, scooped up a handful of the pale red soil, rubbed it between his fingers, and brought it to his nose for a sniff. Frowning, he said,

"There’s no smell of blood. Red soil usually means it’s rich in Metal Elements, like iron or aluminum. If we find Yue Ming’s group safely, we should take some of this soil back for analysis. If it really contains Metal Elements, we’ll have hit the jackpot."

"Using technology to extract the metals would provide an excellent resource, whether for production or to feed Gold Attribute Soul Beasts."

Just as Lü Xiuning was speaking, Han Ning, who was in the lead, suddenly felt a strange stir in his Spiritual Power. His intuition told him something was approaching from the left, and he turned his head to look.

"BZZZZZZ~"

From the tall grass a few meters away, the high-frequency hum of vibrating wings suddenly erupted.

Three black beetles, about one to two meters long with dark bodies covered in pale red spots, flapped their translucent wings and took to the air, flying in their direction.

An emerald light flared in front of Yin Yi as she prepared to strike them down.

But Han Ning’s voice cut in, "Hold on. Let’s see how they attack."

At his words, the other three also stopped their Soul Beasts from attacking, switching to a defensive posture instead.

Everyone could see that the three beetles were quite ordinary, both in flight speed and size.

"Ling~"

The frost-white flower on Yin Yi’s head trembled slightly.

Four curved Frost Shields, radiating a chilly aura, materialized in front of the group.

Overhead, the three beetles spotted Han Ning and his group. They all turned around, aiming their rears at them.

A sharp whistling sound burst from their posteriors.

With a few dull THUDS, three small dents appeared on the Heavy-Armored Tree Spirit guarding the front.

"Wooo~"

The Heavy-Armored Tree Spirit swung its thick Vine Whip. The heavy wind pressure swept past, and the three black beetles’ bodies instantly caved in as they were smashed sideways into the tall grass.

"That should be a type of ground beetle. Its method of attack is very similar to the bombardier beetles on Blue Star," Lü Xiuning said without breaking his stride. "We don’t have time to study them now. We can do it after we find Yue Ming."

After dealing with the beetles, the four of them continued to advance quickly in the direction of the blood trail.

Han Ning keenly noticed that as they ventured deeper into the grassland, the number of surrounding creatures began to increase. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Even with Yin Yi’s suppressive aura, it wasn’t enough to stop their probing attacks.

"Danger!"

They hadn’t gone more than a few dozen meters when Han Ning’s steps came to a sudden halt. He stared at the constantly rustling grass in front of them.

Ahead, a colorful butterfly a full three meters tall blocked their path.

Lin Tianhe, following close behind, saw this and let out a soft gasp. "A butterfly? Have we entered a kingdom of insects?!"

The butterfly flew up, let out a soft insectoid chirp at them, and began to gather a ball of pale green light in its mouth.

The three-meter-tall butterfly hovered before them, its insect eyes looking exceptionally huge.

"Total uncanny valley effect..." Lin Tianhe subconsciously took a step back.

The moment he finished speaking, Yin Yi calmly gestured. An Emerald Flower Thorn shot out with astonishing speed, instantly piercing the butterfly’s body.

"..."

The light in front of the colorful butterfly dissipated. It toppled over like a felled tree and went silent.

Yin Yi shot out a vine, broke open the butterfly’s body, and began expertly rummaging inside.

Then, it reeled back a Crystal Stone that glowed with a faint green light.

’A Wood Type Crystal Stone?’

Han Ning took the Crystal Stone and gave it a quick glance.

’No, it’s just like the Crystal Stones from the Insect-man’s pouch. It’s not as deep a green as a Wood Type Crystal Stone; it’s more of a pale green... A Crystal Stone unique to insects?’

Seeing the Crystal Stone and the increasing number of insects on the grassland, Han Ning became more certain that they were gradually approaching the Insect-men’s territory.

They walked briskly for another five minutes. The bloodstains underfoot were intermittent, a trail of blood that suggested a significant amount of bleeding. But thankfully, aside from the blood and some messy signs of a fight, there were no dismembered body parts.

Suddenly, "Ling!"

Yin Yi, who was flying ahead, came to a halt. It hovered in mid-air, pointing forward and crying out, "Lingling!"

"What’s wrong?"

Confused, Han Ning and his companions quickly pushed aside the blades of grass in front of them and looked ahead.

"This is...?!"

The expressions of all four changed at once.