Shackles of Humanity

The tea was a lustrous green, emanating a chill. The Abyss Clan was complex and bizarre, making it difficult to tell if they were friend or foe. The four of them raised their cups, brought them to their lips for a moment, but did not drink.

Luo Kai smelled the fragrance of the lustrous green tea near his lips and couldn’t help but swallow. An urge to drink it welled up inside him. He felt his blood grow hot as his red blood cells became much more active, as if they were sending him a signal to drink. This was the first time the Holy Blood Worms fused with his blood cells had ever sent him a signal.

’This is strange. The Holy Blood Worms had always seemed to submit to my will, quietly existing as a part of my body. They never interfered with its functions or did anything to influence my conscious judgment. This is a first.’

The shadowy figure seemed to chuckle lightly and took a sip of tea on its own. The lustrous green liquid could be seen rapidly dissipating and breaking down within its body. A somewhat androgynous voice spoke up, ”It has been over a hundred years since any human has set foot in the Yinling Mountain Stream. Our Tri-Eyed Race friend was correct. The Abyss Clan actually evolved from the Human Race as well. There is no conflict between our two peoples; on the contrary, we share a great common enemy in the Fierce Beasts.”

Then, its tone shifted. ”Do you know why the Yao Yue Liu is called the Yao Yue Liu?”

Without waiting for them to speak, it continued, ”We come from an Abyss City deep underground called Nether Moon. The roots of the Yao Yue Liu were deeply embedded in Nether Moon City, which is where it gets its name. It disrupted our city’s Energy supply, which is why we allied with the humans.”

At this point, the shadowy figure sighed. ”We paid a great price to destroy the roots of the Yao Yue Liu. The only reason you humans were able to kill a High Tier Complete Form Fierce Beast like the Yao Yue Liu was because our Abyss Clan played the decisive role. But afterward, you humans went back on your word, taking the entire body of the Yao Yue Liu and leaving only a single section of its root behind.”

Su Chengbo and the other two hadn’t expected this to be the true story behind the slaying of the Yao Yue Liu, and they all felt a little embarrassed.

The ranks of Fierce Beasts corresponded to those of human Body Refiners, with each stage also divided into low, mid, and high tiers. With each minor tier they crossed, their strength would multiply. The two Fierce Beasts that appeared in the Xingma Kingdom were only Low Tier Complete Form Fierce Beasts, and even they were beyond what humans could fight. A High Tier Complete Form Fierce Beast was several, or even dozens of times, more terrifying. It was indeed impossible for just a few Body Masters to kill one.

”Alright, let’s not dwell on the past. You’ve all come here for no other reason than to collect the remaining root of the Yao Yue Liu. We live here for the same purpose. To be honest, we have already collected most of the roots hidden underground. Only a small section remains here in Celestial Willow Mountain. This small piece possesses the lingering will of the Yao Yue Liu and has even evolved the ability to control Dark Energy. It is extremely powerful, and I admit I cannot defeat it alone.”

Su Chengbo stood up and asked, ”May I have the honor of knowing your name?”

The shadowy figure understood his intent and said with a laugh, ”My name is Lin Chenghua. We of the Abyss Clan are different from humans; we no longer distinguish between genders.”

”If you are interested, please follow me. We can work together to retrieve this remaining root.” The shadowy figure floated up lightly, vaguely making an inviting gesture.

The four exchanged a look. Just as they were about to follow, Luo Kai suddenly spoke up. ”I’d like to ask, do you of the Abyss Clan drink blood?”

The shadowy figure stopped ahead, its voice tinged with surprise. ”Little friend, why do you say that?”

Luo Kai pointed to the cups of tea. ”This stuff should be the blood of some unknown creature. Or its bodily fluids, rather.”

The moment he finished speaking, the expressions of Su Chengbo and the other two changed as they realized something was wrong. Tuoba Ye, furious, started cursing, ”You old ghoul! We’ve been all over the world for years, what kind of trick haven’t we seen? You actually tried to poison us!”

With that, he whipped out the Heavy Mace from his back and swung it at the shadowy figure. BOOM! The blow hit nothing but air. The figure vanished like a watery mist, and the mace only smashed a large hole in the adjacent wall.

Su Chengbo also snorted coldly. A blinding white light erupted from his body. Under this searing radiance, the surrounding building and its contents rapidly decayed. The floor became covered in a thick layer of dust, cobwebs spread across the beams, and the tables and chairs all turned into piles of rotten wood. Everything just now had been an illusion.

At the same time, a dense fog rose around them. The omnipresent Dark Energy assaulted them once again, but this time it was even more violent, scraping at their skin like a thousand cold knives.

The group hurriedly activated their Protective Energy. Luo Kai once again draped himself in the Insect Pupa. This fog was identical to the one he had encountered in the Mist before; not only could it block Perception, but it also caused one to lose their sense of space.

”Heheheh... Very good. Today’s pigs are quite clever. I’ll have some fun playing with you all.” A sinister cackle echoed from within the fog.

Tuoba Ye cursed in anger and was about to charge into the fog in pursuit, but Luo Kai quickly grabbed him. ”Be careful, it’s a trap! This fog can block Perception.”

Su Chengbo said in a low voice, ”That’s right. We can’t get separated.”

Just then, skeletal claws suddenly shot out from the ground, clawing straight for them.

Tuoba Ye stomped his foot in fury. The force of his stomp was immense; not only did it crush the skeletal claws to powder, but it also cracked the ground. The earth below was packed with skeletons, most of them human, but also many from animals. With a series of creaks and groans, they broke free from the ground and lunged at the group.

The white light from Su Chengbo’s body intensified. The Dark Creatures on the ground continuously turned into wisps of green smoke, and a large area of the dense fog was cleared away. Vaguely, they could see many translucent figures floating in the Mist.

The first thing Luo Kai saw was the little girl. She looked nothing like the docile child from before. Her skin was bluish, her pupils were bright red, and she was staring at them with a bloodthirsty gaze.

The fog quickly closed in again, and countless Dark Creatures surged toward them.

”Follow me! We’re breaking out!” Su Chengbo activated his Light Energy and, brandishing a Longsword that radiated searing white light, charged into the fog first. The others hurried to keep up. The four of them pushed through the Mist full of Dark Creatures like a bulldozer.

A series of shrill screams rang out, and the sound of sizzling was endless. The surrounding Dark Creatures rapidly dissolved under the searing white light, turning into wisps of green smoke.

The golden light on Tuoba Ye grew increasingly brilliant, so bright that one could not look directly at it. He overtook Su Chengbo to act as the vanguard, his Long Mace a whirlwind of dazzling light. Nothing could stand against his Sharp Power.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinghui manipulated Water Energy, forming a turquoise Water Tornado that coiled around the four of them, shredding any approaching Dark Creatures to pieces.

With the three Body Masters fighting at full strength, there was nothing left for Luo Kai to do. He could only push his Perception to its limits, searching for any trace of the Abyss Clan People.

Several members of the Abyss Clan People were hidden in the fog, watching the four humans invincibly slaughtering the Dark Creatures. Their red eyes were all filled with terror.

”Grandma, these humans are too strong! Maybe we should leave.”

”Three of these people are Body Masters of the Human Race. Any one of them is no weaker than me. A pity. If they had just drunk the Rotting Dragon’s Blood, we wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble. But it doesn’t matter. The Dark Creatures in this Yinling Mountain Stream are endless. The Dark Energy will accelerate the depletion of their Protective Energy. When their Energy runs out, they will die!”