231: Relic Stone Bridge and Source of Corruption

After paying the price of another "Star Rain" Magical Artifact and suffering minor injuries to everyone, the exploration team finally broke out of the seemingly endless pack of corrupted wolves.

The roars and "rustling" sounds remained behind them, but the wolf pack seemed to be constrained by some sort of limitation and did not pursue them beyond the twisted jungle.

The group managed to catch their breath for a moment, quickly checking their wounds and replenishing their Medicinal Pills.

Although everyone was injured and their spiritual energy was heavily depleted, the flames in their eyes burned even brighter—they had broken through!

"Damn it, the wolf pups in this godforsaken place are really tough!" Zhao Iron Pillar leaned on his heavy sword, which was stained with filth and blood, panting heavily.

The claw marks on his shoulder armor were deep enough to see the bottom, but fortunately, the Star Power had resisted, preventing the corrosion from going deeper.

Mu Wanqing quickly treated the wounds of several team members who were more severely injured, her expression grave: "The attacks of these corrupted creatures carry an extremely cold and filthy energy that will continuously erode vitality. Everyone must use Star Power to carefully dispel it; do not be careless."

Wen Youyi nodded; he, too, had felt the tenacity of that power.

He looked up toward the depths; the fog here seemed a bit thinner than on the outskirts, but the sense of oppression and the mental whispers were clearer, as if something was growling not far away.

"Wang Wu, direction?"

Wang Wu adjusted the compass in his hand; the needle trembled slightly but still pointed firmly diagonally forward: "It's right over there, the distance shouldn't be far now! And... the terrain ahead seems to have changed!"

The group's spirits lifted; after a brief rest, they maintained their defensive Formation and advanced in the direction of the needle.

Sure enough, they hadn't gone far before the muddy swamp under their feet was gradually replaced by hard black rock, which looked as if it had been crushed by some great force.

The twisted plants around them also became sparse, replaced by jagged, strange rocks.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the scene ahead made everyone stop involuntarily and gasp.

A huge rift valley, like a scar on the earth, lay before them; it was bottomless, and thick, almost tangible gray-purple mist rolled below, emitting a nauseating stench and a stronger mental pressure.

Connecting the two sides of the rift valley was a huge, ancient, and majestic stone bridge!

This stone bridge was dozens of zhang wide, its surface covered in cracks and traces of time; many places had collapsed, but the main structure remained intact.

The bridge was carved with many strange patterns and runes full of power that the group could not understand, which were completely different from the style of the current Immortal Realm, carrying an aura of desolation and antiquity.

Most importantly, on the other side of the bridge, where the fog was thinner, one could vaguely see large outlines of collapsed and broken stone buildings! It was the ruins that the hummingbird had glimpsed last time!

"Found it! This is it!" Wang Wu whispered excitedly.

However, the hope leading to the other side—that stone bridge—was not a smooth path.

On this end of the bridge, there were even more and more powerful corrupted creatures than in the twisted jungle before!

In addition to corrupted wolves, there were corrupted giant bears the size of small hills, corrupted lizards covered in bone armor that looked like crocodiles, and even some strange existences floating in mid-air that looked like huge rotting eyeballs!

They were densely packed at the bridgehead, their scarlet eyes staring in unison at the exploration team, emitting threatening low roars as if guarding the only path to the other side.

And right in the center of the bridgehead lurked an exceptionally huge figure—it was a Corrupted Wolf King far larger than his peers.

His fur had not yet completely fallen off, presenting an ominous dark purple color; his muscles were knotted, his bones exposed, and on his forehead grew a constantly squirming, dark red tumor that emitted a rich, filthy energy, as if he were the hub of all corrupted creatures!

"It's the Corrupted Wolf King! No... that's the Source of Corruption!" Mu Wanqing's face turned pale.

She could feel that the filthy energy on all the surrounding corrupted creatures was of the same origin as the tumor on the Corrupted Wolf King's forehead! That tumor was like an amplifier and control core for all this pollution!

"No wonder those wolf pups didn't chase us past the edge of the woods; it turns out his lair is here guarding the bridge!" Zhao Iron Pillar licked his somewhat dry lips, his Battle Intent rising in his eyes.

"Boss, what do we do? It looks like we won't be able to cross the bridge unless we take down this guy with the tumor!"

Wen Youyi swept his sharp gaze over the densely packed group of corrupted creatures at the bridgehead, finally fixing it on the Corrupted Wolf King.

The situation was clear: to cross the bridge and enter the ruins, they had to clear out these guards, especially the Corrupted Wolf King, which acted as the core!

But a direct charge was definitely not an option; the number and quality of the enemies far exceeded those before, and a forced charge would inevitably lead to heavy losses.

His brain worked at high speed, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding environment—the black rocks, the sparse strange rocks, and the bottomless rift valley behind them...

A bold plan quickly took shape in his mind.

"We are not charging the bridge," Wen Youyi said suddenly.

"Huh? Not charging the bridge? Then how do we get across?" Zhao Iron Pillar was stunned.

The corner of Wen Youyi's mouth hooked into a calculating arc as he pointed to the Corrupted Wolf King lurking in the center of the bridge: "We will make him, and his subordinates, 'move' on their own."

He looked at the two Purifiers in the team responsible for setting traps and Formations: "You two, is there any way to create an attractive enough 'bait' here to lure their main force away from the bridgehead, even if it's only for a few dozen breaths?"

One of them looked at the surrounding terrain and then at the bridgehead opposite, their eyes lighting up: "We can try! By using Star Power to simulate life aura and energy fluctuations, we can create a fake 'high-energy target' that should be able to attract these corrupted creatures that rely on energy perception! But it will take time to set up, and it will require continuous energy injection to maintain!"

"How long will it take?" Wen Youyi asked.

"At least an incense stick!"

"Good! We will buy you time!" Wen Youyi immediately ordered, "Everyone, establish a defensive position behind those two giant rocks! Iron Pillar, Wang Wu, take the team fifty steps forward, establish the first line of defense, feign an attack, and attract their attention! Senior Sister Mu, prepare strong Mind-Clearing Pills and recovery Medicinal Pills!"

"Understood!"

The order was given, and the team immediately acted efficiently.

The two Formation team members quickly began to set up the bait Formation behind the selected giant rocks.

Zhao Iron Pillar and Wang Wu led several melee team members forward, letting out provocative roars and launching several long-range attacks toward the bridgehead, successfully attracting the attention of the corrupted creature group.

"Roar—!"

The Corrupted Wolf King let out a deafening roar, and the corrupted creature group at the bridgehead suddenly became restless; a portion of them began to swarm toward the direction where Zhao Iron Pillar and the others were!

The battle began again! And this time, their goal was not to kill the enemy, but to—lure the tiger away from the mountain!