Duke realized that the others hadn't destroyed this Witch Array, which also served as a signal.

As long as the fire pillar rose, they knew someone else had arrived.

Duke and Merrick flew towards the right side of the corridor, an already explored area with not too many dangerous demons.

It was a vast open plain where not a single blade of grass could be seen, extremely barren.

Dark red bloodstains could occasionally be seen on the ground, left by some unknown creature.

These bloodstains have existed for many years, not left recently, and were already present when the Void Corridor was first discovered.

Looking around, these stains were scattered all over this area.

Some wizards speculated that this place was once an ancient battlefield, and all the bloodstains resulted from that war.

The source of the stains must have been some incredibly powerful entity, for them to remain after so many years.

The stains aren't just on the surface; digging anywhere would reveal dark red soil beneath.

These soils could even serve as casting materials and magic potion materials, and many wizards have studied them, but developed no widely used potions or spells, only for research purposes.

Due to these bloodstains, this place was called the Blood-colored Plain.

The barrenness of the Blood-colored Plain seemed to swallow sound, with the vast expanse silent except for the slight wind sound stirred by their flight.

Duke's gaze swept over those dark, ancient bloodstains rooted in the earth's marrow, still subtly exuding an invisible pressure and faint iron rust scent despite the passage of years.

Now it seemed calm here, but it wasn't so when the Void Corridor was first discovered.

The area's safety was actually based on repeated clearing by predecessors.

They hadn't flown far when Duke detected several obscure energy fluctuations ahead with the Energy Detector.

He subtly signaled Merrick, and the two slowed their pace, looking ahead warily.

On an open, relatively flat and bloodstained ground ahead, three groups of people stood or sat scattered.

The first group comprised two wizards in matching deep green robes, embroidered with intricate vine and star patterns at the hem, speaking softly, each holding a gem-set magic wand, casting a faint glow and evidently maintaining some kind of defensive spell.

Their demeanor was steady and restrained, with a scholarly rigor typical of the Academy faction.

Duke couldn't recognize which Wizard Organization the patterns on them belonged to, likely not from the Appalachian Continent.

The Wizard Plane consists of four continents, distributed with the Central Islands at the core, and Appalachian is just the westernmost one.

Duke's homeland was the southern Florence Continent, the most barren of the four, with the fewest wizards.

To the north was the Golden Continent, and to the east was the Scavvy Continent, both regions where wizard civilization was highly developed.

When Duke's gaze passed over the two, they noticed and just glanced at Duke and his companion before looking away, showing no intent to attack.

Not far away, on the other side, was a strangely dressed pair.

A man of towering height, clad in rough-scaled armor, carrying a giant axe almost as tall as himself, with the axe blade bearing dark red stains, unclear whether blood or rust.

Beside him was a figure shrouded in an oversized gray cloak, face hidden, with only a pale, skinny hand holding a curved bone staff visible.

These two emitted an aura mixed with wildness and coldness, standing silently like statues, but scanning their sharp gaze around.

Duke sensed fresh blood scent from them, distinct from the ground, indicating they had recently killed someone.

Though Duke and his companion had also killed recently, it was done with spells, leaving no bloodstains on them.

The intense blood scent on those two was likely due to being soaked in blood during their killings, giving off such a persistent, overwhelming odor.

Duke instinctively distanced himself from them, recognizing them as unfriendly individuals, but fortunately, they showed no intent to attack.

The third group seemed somewhat solitary, with only one person. An elder in a well-tailored purple velvet robe, white-haired with a calm countenance, sat cross-legged alone on a relatively clean rock.

He had a thick ancient book spread open in front of him, his fingers lightly grazing the pages, seemingly completely absorbed in reading, oblivious to the surrounding vigilance.

However, Duke keenly felt an extremely subtle distortion in the space surrounding the elder, as if a layer of invisible force field protected him.

This elder was likely quite advanced in age, his magical aura indicating he was a Crystalized Wizard.

At this age, entering the Void Corridor was probably a gamble to ascend to a second-tier wizard.

Duke saw in this elder a reflection of most ordinary wizards' future.

Achieving the rank of Crystalized Wizard was already challenging, and ascending to a second-tier wizard was even more arduous, demanding both effort and luck for most ordinary wizards.

Duke and Merrick occupied a corner, not recklessly approaching others, maintaining a certain distance from each other.

The air felt solidified, with no small talk or questioning, only silent scrutiny and assessment.

Invisible spiritual power fields spread out like webs, probing, touching, then quickly retreating.

Each person clearly recognized the potential threat of the others' presence but refrained from acting rashly.

Not being confrontational individuals, they wouldn't fight for the sake of fighting and would never strike without assured victory over the enemy.

In the Void Corridor, any impaired state could be perilous, so they preferred maintaining their state as much as possible.

Duke noticed these individuals seemed to be waiting for something, all lingering in this area without plans to leave.

He realized they probably knew something he and Merrick didn't.

Merrick communicated through Spiritual Power: "Check with the Energy Detector; there must be something nearby."

Duke then grabbed the Energy Detector, using Spiritual Power to view the nearby energy distribution.

In the distant dark forest, strong energy fluctuations rippled intermittently.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.