That night, under the effects of the Demon Refining Ritual, the situation throughout Arutol Canyon had already descended into complete chaos.
Countless monsters became frenzied, vicious, and twisted under the ritual's magical influence. Some had even completely lost control and begun slaughtering one another.
They were exceptionally bloodthirsty. Whenever they encountered another monster, they pounced without hesitation.
They recognized neither kin nor kind. Even members of the same species, companions who should have acted together, were devoured outright.
It was as if they had lost all restraint. Even covered in wounds, they would not fall; even utterly exhausted, they fought on obliviously, caring nothing for themselves in their madness.
What was terrifying was that whenever they successfully killed a target, they devoured it. Not only did they absorb its magic and grow stronger, but their bodies changed as well, as though they had fused with what they killed. They either sprouted the victim's limbs, its eyes, or even its head, becoming utterly grotesque.
Before long, the monsters of Arutol Canyon gradually turned into bizarre, unrecognizable creatures, as though the bodies of countless different monsters had been stitched together. They were hideous and terrifying.
But without question, under the effects of the Demon Refining Ritual, the more hideous and frightening these monsters became, the stronger they grew.
Shien personally watched a level forty monster devour a level thirty monster, absorb its magic, grow its torso, and have its level instantly soar to forty-five.
After such a level forty-five monster was devoured by a level sixty monster, that monster's level shot up to sixty-six as well.
The monsters fell into a frenzy like this, devouring one another. Their numbers steadily dwindled, yet increasingly powerful creatures continued to emerge.
In the end, when these monsters spotted Shien and Aiyi, they lunged at them