Free Web NovelChapter 334: Chapter 333- The hunt begins
The moment the middle-aged man opened his mouth, a vast mass of clouds erupted from within him and surged toward Grey.
Their speed was terrifyingly fast. It was as though the clouds were tearing through the very air itself in their eagerness to reach him.
Moreover, these clouds were nothing like the white, puffy ones Grey had previously swallowed. They were pitch black and carried a nauseating stench of decay that seemed capable of corrupting everything they touched.
Even from a considerable distance away, Grey caught the smell.
The instant it entered his nostrils, his expression changed.
The odor was so foul that it seemed to carry the scent of countless rotting corpses buried beneath the earth for centuries.
Before Grey could react, the dark clouds swept over him.
In an instant, a thick layer of black haze engulfed his entire body and obscured his vision. The revolting smell intensified several times over, drilling into his nose and assaulting his senses.
For a brief moment, Grey nearly felt faint.
His stomach churned violently.
The urge to vomit rose within him.
"Damn it!"
Grey immediately prepared to rush out of the poisonous-looking fog.
However, just as he moved, he suddenly felt something seize his leg.
His expression darkened.
Looking downward, he saw a half-decomposed corpse clutching tightly onto him.
The corpse’s flesh had rotted away in numerous places, exposing yellowed bones beneath. Its body was bloated and leaking streams of yellow pus from countless wounds. Maggots wriggled beneath torn flesh while patches of black blood dripped continuously into the sea below.
The sight alone was enough to make an ordinary person scream.
The moment the corpse grabbed him, it immediately began dragging him downward toward the depths of the black haze.
Its strength was astonishing.
"’Where did this thing come from?’"
Grey’s eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, he raised his free leg and kicked downward.
BOOM!
The corpse exploded apart.
Half of its body was instantly destroyed, turning into a shower of rotten flesh, broken bones, and putrid blood.
Yet even after losing its head and most of its chest, its remaining arm continued gripping Grey’s leg.
Its fingers dug even deeper into his flesh.
The pulling force actually increased.
It was as though the corpse had become even more determined to drag him beneath the dark fog.
Grey snorted coldly.
He was about to throw a punch when movement suddenly appeared around him.
Figures began materializing from within the black haze.
One.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
More and more emerged every second.
Their skin was pale and lifeless.
Their eyes had completely rolled back into their skulls.
Some were missing arms.
Others lacked half their faces.
Several had their stomachs torn open, exposing rotting organs that dangled freely.
Yet despite their horrific appearances, all of them wore the robes of cultivators.
It was as though they had once been living cultivators before suffering unimaginably gruesome deaths.
The moment they appeared, they lunged toward Grey.
Their withered hands stretched forward as they attempted to seize him and drag him beneath the fog.
But Grey was not someone who could be restrained so easily.
BOOM!
The first corpse that reached him was met with a devastating kick.
Its chest caved inward before its entire body exploded apart.
Chunks of flesh scattered in every direction.
BOOM!
A second corpse was shattered by a punch.
BOOM!
A third had its skull obliterated.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The explosions echoed continuously throughout the dark mist.
Every corpse that approached was violently destroyed and sent tumbling into the black waters below.
Yet no matter how many he killed, more continued emerging from the fog.
"’Where are these corpses coming from?’" freewёbnoνel.com
Grey frowned.
"’Their appearance is far too sudden.’"
Another corpse lunged at him.
Grey casually backhanded it.
The creature’s head exploded like a rotten fruit.
However, as he fought, his thoughts quickly began connecting the pieces.
He remembered the middle-aged man swallowing an enormous amount of cloud essence.
He remembered the black mist that had been exhaled afterward.
At first, Grey had assumed the fog possessed some hidden poisonous effect.
Yet after remaining inside it for this long, he discovered that aside from the disgusting smell, it had no meaningful effect on him whatsoever.
The fog itself wasn’t the attack.
It was merely a distraction.
A smokescreen.
A way to conceal something else.
Grey’s eyes narrowed.
"’The only reason he released this fog was to hide the appearance of these corpses.’"
He destroyed another corpse.
"’But even then, these corpses aren’t strong enough to threaten me.’"
A cold chill suddenly ran down his spine.
His pupils contracted.
The sensation was so intense that every hair on his body stood upright.
Danger!
Extreme danger!
Without even thinking, Grey’s figure abruptly vanished.
His body moved with explosive speed.
A fraction of a second later...
RIP!
The space where he had just been standing exploded apart.
The middle-aged man appeared there silently.
His expression remained calm.
However, the murderous intent hidden within his eyes was enough to freeze one’s soul.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Fresh blood dripped from his fingers.
Seeing the blood, a sinister smile gradually spread across his face.
Several hundred meters away, Grey’s figure reappeared.
The moment he emerged, his face turned pale.
Part of his chest had collapsed inward.
A massive blood hole had opened through the side of his abdomen.
Blood poured out continuously.
The attack had nearly split him apart.
Cold sweat covered Grey’s body.
The pain was intense.
Yet compared to the pain, the feeling of nearly dying was infinitely worse.
For a brief moment, he had genuinely felt death standing behind him.
Had he reacted even a fraction slower, his heart would have been pierced. His chest would have exploded and he would already be dead.
At that moment, Grey finally understood.
The true terror of a Spirit Core Formation expert was revealing itself.
Such speed.
Such power.
Such precision.
The middle-aged man could have killed him numerous times already.
The only reason Grey remained alive was because the man was deliberately prolonging his suffering.
He was playing with him.
And Grey understood one thing very clearly.
An enemy who toyed with his prey was often more dangerous than one who sought a quick kill.
Such people enjoyed watching hope disappear.
They enjoyed breaking their victims apart piece by piece.
Mentally.
Physically.
Spiritually.
Against such an opponent, fighting was meaningless.
You could only run.
And that was exactly what Grey chose to do.
The three Spirit Fires within him erupted with unprecedented force.
His speed instantly exploded.
His figure transformed into a streak of light as he fled across the surface of the Dead Sea.
For the first time in a very long while, Grey ran with everything he had.
Because he knew that if he slowed down even slightly...
He would die.
Within the black haze, the middle-aged man watched Grey’s retreating figure.
A slight frown appeared on his face.
However, the excitement in his eyes only intensified.
Rather than angering him, Grey’s desperate escape seemed to bring him immense satisfaction.
A twisted smile slowly spread across his lips.
"Yes..."
"Run."
"Run, you little bastard."
His voice remained calm and gentle.
Yet the madness within his eyes grew increasingly terrifying.
"I’ll catch you eventually."
"I’ll make you repay every bit of humiliation you caused me months ago."
"I’ll tear you apart piece by piece."
"I’ll refine you into my newest corpse puppet." frёeωebɳovel.com
The smile on his face widened.
"And then..."
"I’ll torture you for eternity."
