218: Welcome to the most difficult map of Novice Village

The blinding light dissipated.

A hard and cold sensation came from beneath her feet.

An icy aura capable of freezing the Divine Soul, mixed with a thick, cloying smell of blood, instantly filled Liu Qingqing's mouth and nose.

Her stomach churned, and she almost vomited on the spot.

The sight before her drained the last bit of color from her pretty face.

The sky was an eerie dark red, with no sun and no clouds.

The ground was a parched dark red, with dark brown blood that had long since solidified seeping from the cracked fissures.

Countless broken weapons and snapped flagpoles were thrust slantwise into the wasteland, forming a forest of deathly steel.

The yin winds howled, kicking up gravel from the ground and emitting shrieks like wailing ghosts.

Further away, gray, distorted shadows filled with resentment and slaughterous intent wandered aimlessly across the wasteland.

They had no physical form, yet they emitted a terrifying aura that made Liu Qingqing's Divine Soul sting.

Those were War Souls.

They were monsters formed from the lingering obsessions of ancient experts after their fall.

Liu Qingqing's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

With trembling hands, she took out the incredibly precious beast-hide map gifted by the Sect Master from her Storage Pouch, wanting to confirm their location.

In the next second.

The color completely drained from her face, replaced by endless terror.

"El... Elder Lin..."

Her voice was shaking, and her teeth were chattering.

"We... we've veered off course."

"This... this isn't any of the safe zones marked on the map."

The teleportation Formation had malfunctioned.

They had been randomly teleported to an unknown region of the Shattered Immortal Battlefield.

This meant that the map, obtained at the cost of the lives of the Cuiyun Sect's ancestors, had now become a useless piece of paper.

Facing this sudden desperate situation, Liu Qingqing's mind went blank.

Lin Fan, however, took a deep breath.

The air mixed with death and slaughter entered his lungs; far from being uncomfortable, it made the blood in his body boil slightly.

Looking at Liu Qingqing's bloodless face, he felt wild joy in his heart.

What a great place.

This was the high-level game he wanted.

Safe zones? Known routes? How could that be called seeking death?

That's called tourism.

The unknown represented infinite possibilities, infinite... ways to die.

Yet, a perfectly measured look of gravity appeared on his face as he comforted her in a steady voice.

"Don't be afraid, follow me."

These five simple words seemed to carry a strange magic, allowing the panicked Liu Qingqing to instantly find her pillar of support.

She raised her tear-filled eyes to look at Lin Fan's calm and resolute profile, and the fear that threatened to consume her actually subsided a bit.

Lin Fan looked around.

His gaze soon locked onto a half-collapsed bunker made of giant black stones nearby.

It seemed to be a defensive fortification left over from the ancient battlefield.

"Let's head there first."

Lin Fan led Liu Qingqing, carefully avoiding the wandering War Souls, and arrived behind the wreckage of the bunker.

He casually set up a simple concealment Formation; though it might be useless against the powerful entities here, it was enough to provide Liu Qingqing some psychological comfort.

Having done this, he said to Liu Qingqing.

"Hide here. No matter what happens, do not come out."

Liu Qingqing nodded nervously, her fingers turning white from gripping the hem of her clothes so tightly.

"Then... what about you?"

Lin Fan did not answer.

He simply turned and walked out from the shadow of the bunker with great swagger.

His vigorous vital energy, belonging to a living being, was like a torch burning fiercely in the dark night on this deathly silent land.

It was conspicuous to the extreme.

Instantly.

Dozens, even hundreds, of gray War Souls that had been wandering aimlessly all "looked" over in unison.

They had no facial features, only a blurred outline.

But at that moment, Lin Fan could clearly feel hundreds of thoughts filled with greed, hunger, and brutality firmly locked onto him.

Silent roars exploded on a spiritual level.

Those War Souls twisted and elongated, turning into gray torrents that surged frantically toward Lin Fan's position from all directions.

The ground trembled slightly under this silent charge.

Seeing this scene through the cracks in the bunker, Liu Qingqing was scared to the point of her Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

She was about to cry out.

Lin Fan's voice came through clearly.

"Qingqing, close your eyes."

His voice was still calm, even carrying a hint of... relief?

Liu Qingqing was stunned.

She didn't understand.

But she still reflexively covered her eyes with her hands.

However, the slight trembling of the gaps between her fingers betrayed her inner struggle.

Lin Fan watched the overwhelming gray torrent approaching and offered no resistance.

He simply struck a pose that, in Liu Qingqing's eyes, was incredibly heroic and fearless, as if ready to die a martyr's death.

He spread his arms wide.

As if to embrace this wave of death.

In the next moment.

The torrent arrived.

Through the gaps in her fingers, Liu Qingqing saw a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Lin Fan's figure was submerged by the endless gray War Souls almost instantly.

There was no scream.

There was no struggle.

She only saw countless gray shadows tearing and devouring frantically.

The Elder Lin, who had just promised to protect her and made her feel so safe, was torn into flying fragments right before her eyes.

Not even a handful of intact flesh remained.

"No..."

A cry of extreme grief was squeezed out of Liu Qingqing's throat.

Her vision went dark, and she nearly fainted.

Why?

Why did Elder Lin take the initiative to walk out?

Was it to draw away these War Souls and protect her?

It was for her sake.

This thought was like a red-hot iron, searing her heart.

Immense sorrow, guilt, and unspeakable feelings instantly overwhelmed her reason.

At the same time Lin Fan was completely torn apart.

A cold System notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding.]

[Host has been torn apart by the War Soul tide, achieving the death achievement "Devoured by Ten Thousand Ghosts"!]

[Death Evaluation: Grade B+ (Detected "protecting companion" related behavior, evaluation increased by one tier).]

[Congratulations to the Host, you have received rewards: Slaughter Dao Comprehension +1%, Combat Technique "Seven Kills Saber Technique (Entry Level)"!]

One hour later.

In an open space hundreds of meters away from the bunker, Lin Fan's figure appeared out of thin air.

He stretched his limbs, feeling the spiritual energy in his body that was slightly purer than before, as well as the additional saber technique filled with slaughterous intent in his mind.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

A B+ evaluation, not bad.

It seems that bringing along this mobile reward bonus pack was the best decision of this trip.

He restrained his aura and silently sneaked back to the ruined bunker.

He wanted to check on Liu Qingqing and, while he was at it, prepare to start his second death-seeking journey.

However, as he approached the bunker, he saw a scene that surprised him.

Liu Qingqing wasn't wailing or breaking down.

She was simply hugging her knees, curled up in a corner with her head buried deep, her shoulders twitching as she wept silently.

And from her body, an increasingly strong and pure green light was constantly radiating.

The light was filled with a majestic aura of life.

Lin Fan frowned slightly.

Is this... her Bloodline Power going out of control due to intense emotional fluctuations?

Just as he was thinking this.

A sudden change occurred.

The pure life aura on Liu Qingqing's body suddenly erupted.

A visible emerald-green pillar of light soared from her body, tearing through the dark red sky and reaching straight into the clouds.

On this blood-colored wasteland that had been shrouded in death and slaughter for eons.

This pillar of light, filled with ultimate vitality, was like a green lighthouse radiating ten thousand feet of light lit in a pool of ink.

It was outrageously conspicuous.

Almost at the instant the pillar of light lit up.

The entire Shattered Immortal Battlefield seemed to freeze for a moment.

Immediately following that.

In the deepest part of the battlefield, at the core of a forbidden zone where even Mahayana Stage Cultivators dared not tread.

A pair of blood-red eyes, as huge as mountains and having slept for ages.

Slowly.

Opened.