The terrified screams in his ears gradually faded, but the fear in the air around him had not diminished at all.
Those people simply could no longer make a sound, but their fear had not gone away.
Shen Hao could tell as much from the game system's notifications.
"You absorbed the fear around you and gained 50 Fear Points." "Fear Points +60." "Fear Points +80."
The speed at which he gained Fear Points was increasing, which meant those people were still alive.
But they could already feel that they were about to die, and they were terrified and desperate.
Indeed, no one could remain calm under such circumstances.
It was only natural to feel afraid at a time like this.
Shen Hao smiled. These people really were useful.
Soon, Shen Hao had gained a large number of Fear Points from them, bringing his total to 1,100.
These people kept surprising him and had not disappointed him in the least.
Fear Points could be converted into experience points or into Demon Power at a one-to-one ratio, which could be used to raise the level of his abilities or items.
Raising Immortal Body to level 2 required 1,000 Demon Power.
The Bloodied Sovereign was no easy opponent, a powerful enemy unlike any he had ever encountered.
If he raised Immortal Body by another level, it should give him an extra measure of protection.
Without hesitation, Shen Hao converted 1,000 Fear Points into Demon Power and used it to raise the level of Immortal Body.
The system notified him that the upgrade had succeeded. Shen Hao felt a change in his body; his flesh seemed tougher.
But the change was not very noticeable. The difference might only become apparent when he was injured.
He took another look at Immortal Body's description.
"Your heart is no longer a fatal weak point, and your body's ability to recover is stronger. Even if you suffer severe injuries, you can recover in a short time. Injuries will not affect your base attributes unless you lose certain organs."
Immortal Body had indeed grown stronger, but only to a limited extent. After all, he was facing an evil god from another world.
Even if the evil god could only use part of his power, it was still beyond anything he could match.
An improved ability to recover was clearly not enough, because he might very well die before he had a chance to recover.
At that moment, the blood-red castle began to collapse rapidly. Its entire interior seemed to have become some creature's stomach and intestines, with the walls and floor constantly swelling and writhing.
As the walls and floor swelled, a large mass of soft material, reeking of blood and resembling the flesh of some creature, covered him and enveloped his entire body.
The mass of flesh began secreting a corrosive liquid, and a foul, bloody stench entered his nostrils.
He could feel these things constantly corroding his spiritual power, and he hurriedly held his breath.
Was it going to digest me just like that?
Shen Hao swung the Demon Blade in his hand again.
The Demon Blade cut through everything in its path, slashing a large gash in the flesh covering him.
Wherever the Demon Blade passed, the flesh began to rot rapidly before finally turning to ash.
Shen Hao wriggled out of the mass of flesh and began slashing wildly with the Demon Blade. Before long, he had carved out a space several meters across around himself.
But the flesh he had cut away was growing back rapidly, and the space he had carved out was shrinking.
Shen Hao knew full well that the castle was too large. Even if he worked himself to death, he could not carve a way out with the Demon Blade.
He had to think of another way.
The air around him was growing thinner, and he felt as though he were suffocating.
He did not have much time left.
At that moment, the mass of flesh in front of him gradually formed a hideous human face, followed by a human body and limbs.
"It's the Bloodied Sovereign!"
Only this time, he had made his entrance differently.
The Bloodied Sovereign reached out, and Shen Hao immediately felt his body slip beyond his control.
His body felt the Bloodied Sovereign's summons and wanted to break free of his control.
He walked toward the Bloodied Sovereign. Although his mind was still clear, he could not control his body.
He had figured out how it worked and would submit to the Bloodied Sovereign's summons for the time being.
Once he resisted, his Mental Attribute would drop sharply in a short time. In the end, he would still fall under the Bloodied Sovereign's control and become a complete puppet.
He could resist, but he had to do it at the most critical moment.
His body stopped.
The surrounding walls writhed more violently, and countless thick tentacles grew out of the flesh-like walls.
The tentacles surged toward Shen Hao and instantly wrapped around his entire body, squeezing him until he could hardly breathe.
The tentacles continued spreading over him, touching his mouth, nose, and eyes.
Their tips were exceptionally sharp, and they were trying to pierce his skin.
Now he had no choice but to resist.
The Demon Blade appeared in his hand and severed several tentacles wrapped around it, freeing his left hand.
But that single action caused his Mental Attribute to drop instantly to 80 points, and it was still falling.
He was already running out of time.
Now he could only stake everything on one desperate attempt.
He thrust his left hand toward his left eye, his fingers instantly piercing the eyeball.
He felt a sharp pain in his left eye as warm blood streamed from the socket.
His left eye went dark.
But the intense pain made him feel unusually excited. His fingers pushed deeper, severing the blood vessels and sinews connecting the eyeball to its socket.
He forcibly pulled his left eyeball out with his fingers.
Blood continued to flow, covering half his face and giving him a hideous, terrifying appearance.
The intense pain persisted, but the excitement on his face grew even more apparent.
No one could pluck out their own eye with their fingers, but he had done it.
At that moment, he even wanted to thank the Bloodied Sovereign.
If he had not been driven into such a situation, how would he have been willing to do this?
Resisting the Bloodied Sovereign caused his spiritual power to drain rapidly. At this point, he had only 30 points left in his Mental Attribute.
But he did not care, because he would soon accomplish what he had set out to do.
He only needed a little more time.
He took that item out of his inventory—
The Demon Eye.
Looking at the scarlet eyeball in his hand, he pressed it into the left eye socket he had just emptied without any hesitation.
The scarlet eyeball slipped easily into its socket. At that moment, he felt a strange change suddenly come over his entire body.
His body seemed to welcome the Demon Eye wholeheartedly. The severed blood vessels and channels in his left eye socket became unusually excited, rapidly growing and repairing themselves to connect to the eyeball that had just entered the socket.
The intense pain in his left eye vanished, replaced by an itchy sensation, and the severed channels quickly recovered.
Before long, the scarlet eyeball had become a complete part of his body.
He blinked. He felt no discomfort at all, and his left eye could see very clearly.
It was as if this eye had always been a part of him and had finally returned to his body.
Just then, he felt the surroundings change.
The walls and floor stopped writhing and began trembling slightly instead, as though they were afraid of something.
He looked at the Bloodied Sovereign's face. There was indeed fear on it.
Shen Hao knew very well that it was not he whom the Bloodied Sovereign feared, but the left eye he had just put in.
The Demon's left eye, something that even this evil god from another world feared.