Corrupt Abyss Blood Mist

The person with this miserable appearance was none other than Qin Chen, who had been blasted into the secret realm.

A "secret realm" was a peculiar subspace that existed on Blue Star.

It contained a world of its own, like a miniature world.

Who knew how long passed before Qin Chen, lying atop the Fungal Carpet, finally stirred.

"Mm~"

A low groan sounded as Qin Chen slowly opened his eyes.

What met his gaze was a sea of crimson. Scarlet mist pervaded every corner, endlessly drifting around him.

At the same time, a system prompt appeared.

[Corrupt Abyss Blood Mist: A crimson aerosol, thick as liquid blood plasma, formed from the Corpse Blood of the Ancient Fierce Beast Corrupt Abyss Earth Dragon mixed with Beast Soul Crystal Clusters refined by the Myriad Spirits Holy Hall. It carries a faint pulsing red glow and can actively seep through the gaps in matter. It is a living source of bloodline contamination (both an energy entity and biomass).]

[Side Effect: Infects the human body, causing dark-red beast markings to appear on the skin, pupils to shrink into vertical slits, and all reason to be lost, turning one into a Blood Puppet Beast that knows only slaughter! Anyone scratched or bitten by a Blood Puppet Beast will likewise be infected and eventually become one of them!]

[Side Effect Reversal: Will not be infected and will not lose reason. Absorbing the blood mist can clear the mind and slightly improve comprehension!]

"Zombies?!"

Qin Chen blurted out in startled disbelief.

The effects described were truly rather similar to a certain thing called "zombies" that he had seen in his previous life.

Whether it was their lack of reason or their infectious nature, both were extremely alike.

But...

Why was he here?!

Qin Chen struggled to sit up, and the movement tugged at his injuries, making him bare his teeth in pain.

In his final memory, he seemed to recall being blasted away by that damned toad's tongue.

And the direction in which he had flown...

"That blood-red vortex!!"

Qin Chen spoke instinctively.

He then swept his gaze around the area. After comparing them, he discovered that the scarlet blood mist filling this place was exactly the same as the scarlet mist he had seen leaking from that blood-red vortex.

"In other words, I'm inside that blood-red vortex right now!"

"And judging from the surrounding environment and the vortex itself, this is a secret realm?"

Qin Chen analyzed the situation.

Although he had never entered a secret realm before, nor seen what one looked like...

Even if he had never eaten pork, had he not seen pigs run?

He still knew a thing or two about secret realms.

"Hahaha..."

Suddenly, Qin Chen burst into laughter, only stopping after a long while.

"Looks like the King of Hell doesn't want to take me yet!"

When He Wen had been chasing him earlier, he had thought he was truly done for.

Yet things had twisted and turned.

A black toad had suddenly appeared and eaten He Wen, then blasted him into this secret realm.

From that perspective, that black toad was his life-saving benefactor toad?

Once he got out and his wings had grown strong, he would have to properly thank it!

As for now...

The most important thing was to deal with these injuries first.

Although this scarlet blood mist posed no threat to him, no one knew whether there were other dangers in this secret realm besides the blood mist.

In his current state, any martial artist at the Body Tempering Third Layer or above could kill him with ease.

If anything unexpected happened, he had no confidence that he could preserve his own little life.

No sooner thought than done. Qin Chen endured the pain throughout his body and forced himself to stand. Only during this process did he realize just how severe his injuries were this time.

His slightly caved-in chest kept compressing his heart, making even a single breath of air feel incomparably difficult.

He had not felt much while sitting just now, but after standing, the sensation became intensely clear.

"Huff~"

Qin Chen gently exhaled a breath of stale air, then began practicing the Seven Injuries Fist where he stood...

Time slowly passed. No one knew how long went by.

As the final explosive crack rang through the air, Qin Chen slowly withdrew his fists and let out a deep breath.

"Finally recovered!"

By then, the terrifying injuries on Qin Chen's body had vanished without a trace. His caved-in chest had returned to normal, and the gruesome wounds had not left behind even the faintest scar.

Only his clothes, still crusted with dried blood, testified to how grievously Qin Chen had once been wounded.

To Qin Chen's delight, even after practicing the Seven Injuries Fist countless times in succession, he did not feel the slightest mental exhaustion.

Instead, he felt incomparably clear-headed. Threads of coolness continually flowed from the spiritual platform in his mind, making his thoughts race faster than ever before.

Watching the Corrupt Abyss Blood Mist constantly seep into his body, Qin Chen's eyes shone with an exceptionally brilliant light.

This blood mist, which others avoided like the plague because it would make them lose their minds and turn into monsters, was an invaluable treasure to him.

He had never even heard of anything capable of increasing one's comprehension.

Though that was very likely because he had not seen enough of the world.

But even if Blue Star truly possessed such a thing, its value would certainly be astronomical.

This was comprehension!

Increasing one's comprehension was practically forcibly changing a person's innate talent.

It was even more difficult than increasing Star Energy Aptitude.

Only...

Wasn't this blood mist invading his body a little too slowly?

Although the blood mist was assailing his body every moment, Qin Chen still felt it was far too slow.

This was a precious medicine that could improve his comprehension!

Shouldn't he absorb more of it?

"I wonder if the Star Energy Cultivation Method can speed up the absorption of this blood mist?"

No sooner thought than done. Qin Chen immediately sat cross-legged on the spot and began circulating the Star Energy Cultivation Method.

After a while—

Qin Chen rose to his feet helplessly.

Neither the Star Energy Cultivation Method nor the Burning Meridian Merging Spirit Art worked on anything but absorbing star energy. They had no effect whatsoever on the blood mist.

Looking at the blood mist around him, so dense it had reached the extreme, Qin Chen felt a little miserable.

He felt like he was sitting atop a mountain of treasure, yet could only stare at it helplessly, unable to do anything with it.

So annoying—

"Forget it! If there's no way to absorb this blood mist, I'll go look for an exit!"

"I don't want to be trapped here until I die!"

Qin Chen slowly rose to his feet, casually picked a direction, and walked that way.

Under the influence of the Corrupt Abyss Blood Mist, visibility in this secret realm extended only about two meters. Anything farther away was impossible to see.

No matter where Qin Chen looked now, everything appeared the same—an expanse of scarlet.

So—

Just wandering around was the way to go!

Meanwhile, in a breakfast shop somewhere in Muyang City.

A Black Robe suddenly appeared inside the restaurant...