46: Chapter 46 A dead end lies ahead!

For the first ten kilometers after the establishment of the "Assault Team", the advance went relatively smoothly.

However, when they officially stepped into the fringe area of the core zone, the atmosphere abruptly changed.

The dark red mist around them grew thicker, and the air was filled with a sickeningly strong smell of blood, as if one could inhale a mouthful of blood foam with every breath.

"Pull yourselves together! Something is coming ahead!" Lian Zhan lowered his voice, like a poised tiger ready to pounce, staring fixedly at the mist ahead.

Accompanied by a teeth-gritting sound of bone friction, a dozen or so hunched dark figures slowly walked out of the red mist.

Those were a dozen or so [Bloodthirsty Ghouls].

The skin all over their bodies had long since ulcerated, revealing dark red muscle fibers, and drops of sticky, foul blood dripped from their sharp claws onto the ground, making a "chi-chi" corrosive sound.

"Attack!"

Without any nonsense, Lian Zhan let out a furious roar, shooting out like a cannonball leaving its chamber.

The violent power of blood and Qi converged on his right fist, transforming into a roaring blood-colored giant tiger that smashed fiercely into the chest of the foremost ghoul.

"Bang!!!"

A deafening muffled sound echoed out.

How terrifying was the power of Lian Zhan's punch?

The ghoul's chest cavity was instantly smashed to pieces by the violent force, and its entire body flew backward like a sack of broken rags, slamming hard against the wall of the ruins and turning into a puddle of rotting flesh.

"Phew, they don't look like much after all. Brother Lian is still as brave as ever." Zhang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, waving the staff in his hand as several scorching fireballs smashed toward the other ghouls.

Liu Ting also nodded slightly, and under her command, the remaining Frost Spirits released bolts of ice-blue slow rays.

Just when everyone thought this was merely an ordinary encounter and prepared to wipe out this group of monsters in one go, a creeping, hair-raising scene occurred.

That puddle of rotting flesh shattered by Lian Zhan actually started to wriggle wildly on the ground!

Accompanied by a scalp-numbing "kaka" sound, that ghoul, which should have been completely dead, actually stood back up!

Not only that, but the aura on its body was even more violent than just a moment ago, and sharper bone spurs grew out from its wounds!

"What?!" Lian Zhan's pupils contracted sharply, unable to believe his eyes.

"How is that possible? In a low-tier Divine Kingdom like this, how could a monster possessing the 'Undying Bloodline' be born?!" Zhang Hao cried out in shock.

However, there was no more time for them to be shocked.

The reborn ghoul let out a piercing screech, lunging at Lian Zhan at the front with an even faster speed than before. Meanwhile, the other ghouls braved Zhang Hao's fireballs and Liu Ting's Frost Spirits' slow rays, charging frantically into the crowd.

"Ah!!!"

A shrill, miserable scream rang out among the crowd.

An ordinary scion of a noble family failed to dodge in time and was directly tackled to the ground by a ghoul.

The ghoul's sharp fangs instantly tore through his throat, greedily sucking down his boiling hot fresh blood. That scion didn't even have the chance to crush his life-saving jade talisman, turning into a desiccated corpse in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it! Get lost!"

Lian Zhan's eyes split with anger as he swung his heavy fist once more, smashing away the pouncing ghoul.

But it was useless!

As long as these monsters were not instantly blasted into powder without a trace left, they could continuously regenerate using the foul blood on the ground!

The emotion of despair spread like a plague among the "Assault Team".

"My Frost Spirits have been contaminated!" Liu Ting let out a terrified scream.

The Frost Spirits she had sent out to block the ghouls instantly became utterly murky and filthy after being stained with that dark red foul blood.

The spirits wailed miserably, their clear eyes turning a crazed blood-red. They actually turned around and attacked Liu Ting instead, eventually dissolving into a puddle of black water and completely losing connection.

"We can't let them wear us to death here! Everyone, use all your trump-card area-of-effect damage scrolls! Blow them completely to pieces!"

Lian Zhan roared, pulling a purple scroll crackling with lightning from his embrace.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions rose and fell across the wasteland.

After finally paying the painful price of three disciples dying miserably and several precious items being destroyed, those dozen or so ghouls were finally completely eradicated.

Everyone collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, their eyes filled with lingering fear after escaping a disaster.

"What the hell kind of place is this?" Zhang Hao's face turned pale as he looked at his empty storage space, his heart bleeding.

Having just stepped into the edge of the core zone, they already encountered such perverted monsters. How were they supposed to walk the rest of the road?

Meanwhile, on a parallel path less than two kilometers away from the "Assault Team",

Lin Yunfei also stopped in his tracks.

Less than ten meters ahead of him, five [Bloodthirsty Violent Apes], with even more massive statures and exuding a strong smell of blood, were staring fixedly at him.

The grade of these monsters was clearly a tier higher than the ghouls Lian Zhan and the others had encountered.

They had originally been devouring the remains of an unknown giant beast. Now, sensing the presence of a living person, they tossed away the minced meat in their hands and let out deafening roars, sprinting toward Lin Yunfei like five heavy tanks.

Through the Faceless Man mask, Lin Yunfei looked at the sprinting Bloodthirsty Violent Apes, a trace of playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"I wonder whose power is stronger, the Blood Fiend or Yushi who possesses the xuanming heavy water?"

With a slight movement of his mind, ripples formed in the void behind him. A stern figure draped in water-blue robes, with an upright posture and emanating endless pressure, quietly emerged. It was Yushi, who had undergone the transformation of the Divine Kingdom.

He stood suspended in the air, his deep eyes devoid of any emotion, simply raising his slender palm slightly toward the rushing apes.

With his fingertips slightly curled, four drops of ink-black xuanming heavy water instantly condensed in the void.

Afterwards, the heavy water turned into four bolts of black lightning, precisely plunging into the bodies of the five violent apes.

"Crack! Crack! Crack…"

Five crisp sounds echoed in succession.

Five black ice sculptures shattered one after another, turning into a ground of ice crystal powder, not even leaving a single drop of foul blood that could be used for resurrection.

"Tsk tsk, with Yushi wielding this xuanming heavy water now, cleaning up these contaminated trash is practically a natural counter."

Lin Yunfei patted his hands with satisfaction.

Crossing the black ice crystals all over the floor, Lin Yunfei walked unhurriedly to the place where that group of violent apes had just entrenched themselves.

That was a semi-collapsed ancient sacrificial altar.

In the center of the sacrificial altar unexpectedly grew a small grass that was entirely crystal-clear and emitted a soft blue light.

"[Star Soul Grass]? And judging by this luster, its age is at least over three thousand years!"

Lin Yunfei's eyes lit up.

Such spiritual grass, placed on the external trading market, was definitely a priceless treasure that could not be bought with money.

It could substantially increase the upper limit of the dependents' mental power. For those Creators taking the magic route, it was simply a divine item dreamed of.

No wonder those few Bloodthirsty Violent Apes had been guarding here all along.

"Take it."

Lin Yunfei unceremoniously pulled up the Star Soul Grass by its roots, carefully placing it into the Creator space.

Along this way, because he didn't need to worry about combat consumption at all, nor did he need to fight monsters to the death, his pace was even much faster than that "Assault Team".

Just as he was about to continue moving forward to hunt for treasures in the next ruins,

suddenly, he acutely perceived a strange fluctuation coming from inside his Divine Kingdom.

That fluctuation did not come from Yushi, nor did it come from the human tribe.

Instead, it came from the Starry Sky Ancient Tree that had been quietly rooted in the center of the black lake and was frantically absorbing the xuanming heavy water.

As the ancient tree continuously transformed the heavy water into pure starlight power, the last trace of contaminated will remaining within its body was finally completely eradicated.

An ancient, vast, yet slightly weak consciousness of surviving a catastrophe slowly awakened in Lin Yunfei's mind.

"Young Creator!!!"

"Please stop your steps, ahead is a dead end!!!"