Free Web NovelThe scent caught in their nostrils was like a mix of putrid sulfides and fermented biogas, with a hint of burnt fumes from a garbage incinerator. Mingxi and the seven creatures found their breathing becoming as difficult as swallowing coarse sand.
“As...”
Black Pearl, the ‘delicate’ Mermaid, let out a pitiful wail.
She had never smelled such an awful air in her life.
Even though she was mentally prepared, Mingxi was still so overwhelmed by the potent smell that she wanted to vomit freely.
If it weren't for the fact that wearing an oxygen mask would somewhat hinder her movements, Mingxi wished she could put on a full protective suit.
Just as Chu Kuangsheng had said, Shadow Abyss was completely different from the pristine ecosystems of the Mystic Ground and Secret Realms they had seen before.
Especially the outer region.
Because this place was once a nation, a city, a civilization.
Over three hundred years ago, it had flourished, but now only ruins remained, a landscape of post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The erosion and fusion of the Secret Realm had carved this former city of flames into an unrecognizable shape.
New growth of plants intertwined with aging stone walls.
Decaying beast bones merged with corroded rebar.
It felt absurd, yet also evoked a sense of melancholy.
“Today, we’ll only search the outer perimeter. We’ll go deeper once we adapt to the air and environment here.”
The air in Shadow Abyss not only affected their mood but also their condition. Even Golden Yuanbao, having long adapted to the air of the human world, showed adverse reactions to the air here.
However, Transcendent creatures were Transcendent creatures after all; they would likely be unaffected by the air after just two days of adaptation.
“Yuan Shi.”
Golden Yuanbao replied on behalf of the group.
Returning to his homeland, he was inevitably a little excited at this moment.
Although everything before him was still unfamiliar, this decaying, foul-smelling air was familiar to him.
He had finally returned.
...
“Clatter...”
Mingxi’s hiking boot crushed a section of white bone. From a crack in the moss-covered stone, half of a canine Transcendent skull suddenly rolled out.
The skull rolled and rolled until it reached a ruin, hitting a leaning stone pillar.
It was unclear whether it was ‘dilapidated due to age’ or if the stone pillar was inherently unstable.
The stone pillar collapsed with a crash after being struck.
Then, like dominoes,
“Boom, boom, boom...”
Rotten stone pillars and walls fell one after another, and the ground extensively collapsed as if an Earthquake had struck.
Lan Yue Bright Crystal twitched her nose.
“Ling.”
Mingxi nodded; she had smelled it too.
And Golden Yuanbao and the others’ fur bristled in unison.
The Holy Light Guard and Hive Barrier’s aura instantly enveloped Mingxi.
“Wait.”
Mingxi grabbed Bright Crystal, who was about to charge forward, stepping on her head.
She held him and walked towards a collapsed area.
Her throat suddenly tightened.
Just ten meters away, in a circular ruin pit, over twenty Transcendent creature corpses were piled into a mountain in an extremely bizarre posture!
Murky sunlight pierced through the rusted steel rebar of the dome, shining on the scaleless Specter Spirit Jiao remains—each scale removal point precisely avoided fatal blood vessels, as if the killer was enjoying the rhythm of the prey’s death throes.
“Luo!”
Little Silver Flower suddenly sprang into the air, her silver hair standing on end.
The invisible Black Pearl also pressed tightly behind her, her sharp claws almost tearing her arm.
“Ye He.”
Even the iron-willed Red Jade couldn’t help but frown deeply.
They were Transcendent creatures, and before meeting Mingxi, they had also experienced slaughter.
But the gruesome deaths of the Specter Spirit Jiao before them still sent shivers down their spines.
“Jinlan.”
Their time of death was no more than 2 hours.
Compared to Golden Yuanbao and the other six, Emerald Green appeared much calmer and more restrained.
While Mingxi and Golden Yuanbao were either shocked or terrified, it had already stepped into the corpse pit, examining the condition of each Specter Spirit Jiao.
Emerald Green paused, then continued:
“Jin Jin... Jin.”
Besides being brutally tortured to death, parts of their bodies were missing, primarily the Jiao Snake Gall, Specter Scales, and... their Kun Kun.
Mingxi: ᔪ ꒰ ꒪ ω ꒪ | | | ꒱
No wonder Emerald Green’s expression was so strange.
“This doesn’t seem like the work of a Transcendent creature.”
Taking the Specter Spirit Jiao’s Jiao Snake Gall and Specter Scales was understandable; the former was the Specter Spirit Jiao’s energy core, and devouring Jiao Snake Gall was beneficial to many Transcendent creatures. It wouldn't necessarily grant immunity to all poisons or extend life, but it would at least enhance energy.
And Specter Scales were the Specter Spirit Jiao’s companion item; long-term wear could enhance resistance to mental skills.
But Kun Kun?
It seemed there was no Transcendent creature in this world that loved to eat Kun.
And Jiao Snake’s Kun at that.
Why?
To practice the Kun Shattering Divine Skill?
“Jin.”
Most likely human.
Emerald Green replied.
Mingxi stood by the edge of the corpse pit, looking down at the Jiao corpse tower; almost every one of them had died in an extremely horrifying way.
Some were torn into pieces, some were roasted into starch sausages, and others had their internal organs removed... freewēbnoveℓ.com
Blood dyed the corpse pit crimson, emitting ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) a more nauseating smell than the air in this place.
“Specter Spirit Jiao are not a highly aggressive Transcendent creature. Even if they attack other races and humans, they rarely cause slaughter.”
“So you human Beast Tamers also rarely slaughter the Specter Spirit Jiao tribe. So who did this? This is so perverted!”
Although Guangguang didn’t have much emotional fluctuation, he was more or less shocked by this scene.
It was too bloody.
Mingxi remained silent for a long time; what she was more curious about was—
“As far as I know, no Beast Tamers have entered Shadow Abyss recently.
If these Specter Spirit Jiao were indeed killed by Beast Tamers, then how did they evade the three lines of defense and the sight of the two big bosses, Shui and Bing, and silently enter Shadow Abyss?”
Guangguang evidently also thought of this question.
“So... you think there’s a passage between Shadow Abyss and the outside world besides Mo Bridge?”
Mingxi nodded, “Or it could be... a teleportation array.”
Her black pupils flickered with a faint light, and she suddenly said, “Everyone, let’s work hard. Guangguang, you come out too. We’ll clean up this area and remove all these stones.”
Although the seven creatures didn’t quite understand her intention, they all started working without a word.
The mechanical bear Guangguang also joined the great task of moving.
As the rubble and debris were moved away, everyone finally understood Mingxi’s intention.
There wasn't just one corpse pit nearby; there were countless mountains of bones.
The reason those stone pillars suddenly collapsed, exposing the Specter Spirit Jiao corpse pit, was because the bones below were severely decomposed, making the foundation unstable.
Looking at the dense, almost ground-covering bones before her, Mingxi’s brows furrowed deeply.
“Human bones, Bent Bud Dog bones, Green Demon Butterfly bones... There are at least over a thousand corpses of different races here.”
