Hua Qiang stepped over the mangled corpses of fiends and walked deeper into the Fiend Cavern, the Mystic Iron Sword gleaming with a cold sheen beneath the dim light.
The dark brown earth beneath his feet grew increasingly sticky. From time to time, he stepped on shattered bone fragments that gave off crisp crack sounds, as though adding a touch of eerie rhythm to this deathly silent land.
The sinister aura in the air grew ever denser, winding around him in wisps and strands, yet the spiritual power circulating over his body kept it at bay. Not even the corner of his robes was stained by the slightest filth.
Fiends and Mutant Beasts appeared from time to time along the way. A gigantic crocodile the size of a small mountain sprang from a black mud pit by the roadside, its mouthful of fangs glowing with a ghostly green poisonous light. Its foul-smelling saliva dripped onto the ground, instantly corroding small pits into it.
It opened its blood-filled maw, intending to swallow Hua Qiang whole, but Hua Qiang merely raised his left hand casually. A ribbon of golden spiritual power shot forth abruptly, piercing the giant crocodile's skull with blade-like precision.
The giant crocodile's body stiffened sharply before its massive form crashed to the ground. After twitching a few times, it fell silent, dark brown blood gushing out and swiftly being absorbed entirely by the earth beneath it.
After walking for roughly half an hour more, a rustling sound suddenly came from the fork in the road ahead.
Several dozen pitch-black bat-like fiends flew out of the darkness. Their wingspans stretched over ten feet, corrosive fluid dripping from their fangs as they let out piercing shrieks and descended upon Hua Qiang like dark clouds.
Hua Qiang's expression did not change in