54: Chapter 54: The escape route is completely cut off!

A storm of bloody wind and rain showered down from the sky.

Thick black blood flowed down the Blood Demon's mountain-like mass of flesh, emitting a stench foul enough to make one faint on the spot.

"Hiss, hiss!!!"

The hundreds of bloody tentacles dancing wildly in midair lunged forward like deep-sea sharks smelling an absolute delicacy!

*Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!*

The dull sound of flesh being pierced echoed throughout the area. The tentacles moved so fast that not even afterimages could be seen, skewering the chests of the remaining heavy-armored vassals like lightning and hoisting them high into the air like meat skewers.

Under Lian Zhan's suddenly constricted, nearly rupturing pupils, a bloody maw filled with interlocking fangs slowly split open in the center of that mountain of flesh.

A terrifying suction force, like an abyssal black hole, erupted.

"No, help!"

"Creator, save us!"

Accompanied by despairing and shrill wails, dozens more high-tier vassals were swallowed whole by the Blood Demon without any power to resist, like snacks actively feeding themselves to it!

*Crunch, squelch...*

Hair-raising chewing sounds echoed across the dead-silent square as blood and shredded flesh poured down like waterfalls from the gaps in the Blood Demon's jagged fangs, staining a large area of the ground red.

Peak Tier One?

No! After devouring the energy-rich flesh and blood of these vassals, the monster's aura was climbing frantically at a visible speed. It was clearly a terrifying pressure that had already set one foot into the realm of Tier Two gods!

"No... this isn't real... this isn't real... Where is my inheritance? What about the promised supreme inheritance of the Divine Kingdom?!"

Liu Ting completely broke down.

Lian Zhan bit his lip hard, completely oblivious even as it bled profusely and the bone became visible.

Regret!

A regret akin to ten thousand ants devouring his heart or being executed by a thousand cuts instantly submerged him like freezing seawater!

It turned out that being set up in the herb garden and the mine was truly just a negligible loss. The masked man could even be said to have been helping them clear obstacles.

But this time, they had clevered themselves into treating someone else's truth as a lie, personally shattering the seal that protected them and releasing a lethal demon!

If only they had listened to that Faceless Man's warning just now.

If only they had restrained their greed even a little.

If only, if only they had used a magical tool to probe the aura inside the altar slightly before throwing down the [Nine Heavens Thunder-Attracting Boundary-Breaking Talisman]!

But now, it was too late for everything.

They had dug a grave to hell for themselves with their own hands!

"Run... run quickly!!!"

Under the absolute shroud of the shadow of death, Lian Zhan finally broke down, letting out a shrill, cracking, out-of-tune scream.

He violently shoved away the few remaining guard vassals in front of him to block the Blood Demon's line of sight.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he forcefully burned the source power of his Creator Core, turning into a streak of pathetic bloody light as he scrambled and fled frantically toward the entrance of the square without looking back!

"Young Master Lian! Wait for me! Take me with you!"

Zhang Hao also snapped out of his daze. Screaming in terror, he didn't even bother to pick up his staff that had fallen to the ground, scrambling and fleeing for his life in Lian Zhan's direction.

"Save me! Zhang Hao! Lian Zhan! Take me with you! My legs won't move!"

Liu Ting cried out in despair on the ground, reaching out with her mud-stained hands in an attempt to grab the pant legs of the two men who usually fawned over her.

However, at this life-or-death juncture, it was every man for himself. Neither Lian Zhan nor Zhang Hao spared her a backward glance, wishing they had been born with extra legs.

"Roar—lurururu..."

The Blood Demon let out a sickening, strange laugh, seemingly in no hurry to chase after those fleeing ants. Its giant, red-lantern-like eyes stared playfully at Liu Ting on the ground, and dozens of thick bloody tentacles suddenly shot out!

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Accompanied by a heart-wrenching, shrill scream, the despairing Liu Ting and all the remaining vassals were swept into midair by the tentacles, bundled like a giant ball of flesh and blood, and ruthlessly delivered into that foul-smelling abyssal maw.

At the same time.

On a towering rock a few kilometers away from the square.

Lin Yunfei stopped his rapid pace. Standing on high ground, he glanced back at the dense bloody light soaring into the sky from the direction of the square, and the hair-raising screams faintly reaching his ears.

He shook his head slightly, a disdainful sneer escaping from beneath his mask.

"Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be survived!"

There was not a shred of pity in Lin Yunfei's heart.

He had already done everything within his power to be kind just now. These children of noble families had let themselves be blinded by pride and greed, insisting on courting death. Who else could they blame?

"Let go of the urge to help others and respect their destiny. Slipping away while that monster is still feeding is the way to go."

Lin Yunfei withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the tragic scene over there.

He pulled out the mysterious Starry Branch from his breast pocket. At this moment, the blue glow on the branch was flashing rapidly, guiding him along a safe path out of the wasteland.

"Ancient Tree, is there any problem with this escape route?"

"Great Creator, please rest assured. By following this direction, we can escape this core area at the fastest speed." The Starry Sky Ancient Tree's voice also carried a clear trace of lingering fear. "That monster's aura is too filthy. Once tainted by it, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Lin Yunfei nodded, no longer hesitating.

Channeling the power within his body, his figure once again turned into a streak of black lightning, weaving through the dark red miasma as he sped toward the edge of the wasteland at full speed.

One kilometer.

Two kilometers.

Three kilometers!

Seeing the dark red miasma around him growing thinner and thinner, he was about to burst out of this oppressive core area of the wasteland. Lin Yunfei could even see the grayish-brown rocks of the outer zone in the distance.

Suddenly!

*Buzz—!!!*

In the seemingly normal, empty air ahead, a violent layer of crimson ripples suddenly surged!

A powerful, life-or-death sense of crisis instantly enveloped Lin Yunfei's heart.

"Not good!"

Alarm bells rang wildly in Lin Yunfei's mind. Without a moment's hesitation, he instantly summoned the Yushi.

Aqua-blue robes fluttered in midair as an incredibly thick shield of black water waves, condensed from [xuanming heavy water], abruptly expanded over Lin Yunfei's body at the critical moment!

*Bang!!!*

A dull rumble, like a meteorite impact, erupted.

Lin Yunfei felt as if he were an ordinary person running at full speed, colliding head-on with a high-speed heavy-armored train!

A massive counterforce swept over him like a mountain-toppling wave, directly throwing him backward along with the Xuanming water shield. He tumbled awkwardly in midair over a dozen times, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the hard rocky ground before he barely managed to stabilize his stance.

"Hiss... What's going on?!"

Clutching his slightly stuffy chest where his blood was churning, Lin Yunfei abruptly raised his head to look forward.

He saw an incredibly thick bloody barrier, reaching from the heavens to the earth, had somehow risen in the space ahead!

The barrier was like an insurmountable high wall, with sickening dark red blood flowing over it, and dense, bizarre runes tumbling and flashing within the bloody water.

Worst of all, the aura radiating from this barrier was practically identical to that of the Ancient Blood Demon in the center of the square, filled with an inviolable sense of calamity and destruction!

Lin Yunfei's pupils dilated in shock as he whipped his head around to look in all directions.

To the east!

To the west!

To the north!

As far as his eyes could see, all paths of retreat had been completely sealed off by this rising, thick bloody barrier at some unknown point!

It was like a colossal, indestructible upturned bloody bowl, firmly trapping the entire core area of the wasteland, along with all living creatures inside, within it!

The Starry Sky Ancient Tree's voice trembled in Lin Yunfei's mind, carrying unprecedented shock and terror:

"Creator! The space all around us has been sealed! Not only has that Blood Demon awakened, but it is also using its filthy laws to assimilate this world! It wants to turn the entire core area into a completely sealed slaughterhouse with no escape!"

Hearing the Starry Sky Ancient Tree's voice, Lin Yunfei's face beneath his mask instantly grew extremely dark.

He stared fixedly at the bloody high wall blocking all paths of survival, clenching his fists tightly.

The way back...

...was completely cut off!