An Unexpected Turn

Escorted by a dazzling white light, Ye Chen was pushed by an invisible force all the way out of the exit of the spatial tunnel.

The colorful starlight scenery vanished from before his eyes, replaced by a gray, hazy sky.

Thud!

The youth fell from mid-air and slammed hard into the ground, but his limbs immediately felt a thick, soft cushion, sparing his body from any significant pain.

He opened his eyes in surprise, finding that he had landed on a lush green lawn, with a vast, unfamiliar prairie stretching out before him.

However, Ye Chen paid no mind to this, looking up anxiously toward the sky above.

Yet, no matter how he looked left and right, he could not find the brilliant white light that had brought him here.

Once it had delivered the youth to this place, the exit of the spatial tunnel had simply vanished.

"."

Ye Chen's breathing stalled, and he slumped onto the grass as if he had lost all his strength.

The youth stared at the gray, overcast clouds in the sky for a long time in silence, before clenching his fists and slamming them fiercely into the grass beneath him.

Bang!

His fist, condensed with Auling Power, instantly blasted a jagged crater into the turf, fully manifesting the grief and helplessness within him.

"Aaaaaahhhhh------!"

The youth's hoarse roar echoed across the empty, desolate prairie, sounding utterly heartbroken and bleak.

In less than ten minutes, Ye Chen had lost both Lyle and Heiqi, the only two family members he had left.

He would never see that man's back again, never touch the neck of that noble steed again, and even his former home had ceased to exist.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had lost everything he cherished, everything he possessed.

Now, he was truly and utterly alone.

"If only I could have been stronger."

Ye Chen gripped the soil between the blades of grass with both hands, whispering frantically with a crazed expression, his furrowed brows betraying his deep regret and self-reproach.

If he had been just a little more capable, if he could have helped just a little bit more, how could things have possibly ended up like this?

However, the youth had not been immersed in his sorrow and grief for long.

The space in the void before him suddenly tore open without warning, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

Crack------!

Ye Chen looked up to see a pair of black, fanged hands thrusting out from the spatial rift, then using brute force to pry the opening wider, slowly squeezing its viscous body out.

Gazing at this bizarre creature from another dimension, Ye Chen recognized its identity without a second thought: it was one of the Abyss Elite that had been hunting him!

Who could have imagined that even after the spatial tunnel exit had vanished, these terrifying creatures could still track Ye Chen to this place?

Their obsession with their target was truly insane to the extreme!

However, this Abyss Elite slowly crawling out of the rift was less than half the size of the one before, and its limbs appeared deformed and awkward, as if it were an incomplete individual forcibly detached from the main body, which was the only reason it had managed to bypass Heiqi's obstruction and pursue Ye Chen this far.

"Hoo."

Ye Chen stared straight at its creepy, eyeless, mouthless face, took a quick deep breath, used his reason to suppress his emotions, and rapidly calmed his mind, restoring the cool-headed state of mind a Hunter should possess.

Although he did not know by what means this monster had tracked him here, its condition was clearly far worse than before, and judging by the lack of any other anomalies in the surroundings, it was the only pursuer.

While weighing this in his mind, Ye Chen used his long blade to cut his own skin, letting fresh red blood flow along the steel.

It had been less than five minutes since he last created a "Blood Bullet," so for now, Ye Chen could only rely on his blood-stained blade.

Taking advantage of the creature still squeezing its body out of the rift, he charged toward the Abyss Elite with his blade in hand without a word.

Da!

Although the Abyss Remnant's movements were sluggish and left it wide open, the cautious Ye Chen did not choose to slash directly at its thick limbs, but instead tentatively struck at a small, protruding fin on its body.

Clang.

Ye Chen gripped the hilt with both hands, swung his arms in an arc, and lopped off the fin with a powerful diagonal slash, yet the entire cutting process was exceptionally difficult.

The rigid sensation transmitted from the hilt, combined with the black sludge dancing joyfully along the blade, made Ye Chen instantly realize the cruel truth.

Even with its aura diminished and its state withered, this incomplete monster was, after all, an elite of the Abyss.

Just severing a tiny fin was already a struggle for Ye Chen, who was currently only at the First Nightmare Realm, let alone trying to peel that Abyss Core out from its thick flesh step by step!

At this very moment, the terrifying beast that had chased him all the way here was still not an opponent Ye Chen had the ability to defeat!

"Tch!"

Ye Chen hesitated for a split second, then immediately turned and sprinted, decisively shifting his strategy to flight.

Although, from an emotional standpoint, Ye Chen wanted to burn his bridges and fight to the death, fearing nothing even if he were to perish here—

But from a rational perspective, Ye Chen naturally could not let the sacrifices of Lyle and Heiqi go to waste, as everything they had done was solely to ensure his safe escape.

Therefore, if only to be worthy of their sacrifice, Ye Chen had to survive!

Propelled by a continuous burst of Auling Power, the youth sprinted across the vast prairie, attempting to escape the sight of the Abyss Elite.

However, after dragging its twisted body completely out of the spatial rift, the Abyss Elite began to pursue Ye Chen with all its might without a moment's delay.

"Accept us!"

"Accept the Abyss!"

"You will never be able to escape------!"

"Give it back, ahhhhhhh------------------!"

While emitting harsh and bizarre shrieks, the Abyss Elite frantically whipped the tentacles and roots covering its entire body, gliding rapidly through the low air toward Ye Chen's back and continuously closing the distance between them.

The green grassland was open and flat, offering no cover for Ye Chen to maneuver or stall.

Furthermore, the speed of the Jet-Black Beast was far superior to Ye Chen's, so in just a few short minutes, this incomplete Abyss Remnant Elite had caught up to his rear, its position close enough to pounce him to the ground if it drew any nearer.

"Hoo!"

Ye Chen glanced back to confirm the distance between them, his sweat-drenched brow furrowing tightly as he prepared to draw his revolver and forcibly manifest a Blood Bullet to buy himself a chance to escape.

However, at the very moment the two were about to clash, a massive commotion suddenly erupted from the far end of the grassland.

Whoosh------!

This sudden disturbance caught the attention of both Ye Chen and the Remnant Elite. As they both looked toward the horizon, they saw a jade-green wave rising from the other side of the plains, rushing toward the man and the monster with incredible speed.

What is this thing!?

Witnessing this scene, Ye Chen couldn't help but be shocked internally, hurriedly sprinting toward the other side in an attempt to dodge the strange green wave.

The Abyss Remnant Elite also sensed danger, pouncing and fleeing in the opposite direction of Ye Chen.

And at the very moment Ye Chen and the Remnant Elite separated, the jade-green wave surged right in front of them.

However, to Ye Chen's surprise, this green wave ignored him entirely, instead engulfing the Jet-Black Beast with clear, targeted intent.

"Hm?"

As Ye Chen sprinted, he watched this strange spectacle, his face filled with confusion.

Soon, he realized that this green wave was not actual water, but a green carpet constructed from millions of jade-green vines.

Whoosh------!

The moment Ye Chen realized this, the vine carpet that had swallowed the Abyss Remnant Elite suddenly erupted with a dazzling green light, sending countless ripples vibrating into the surrounding air.

As the ripples spread, familiar energy fluctuations washed over Ye Chen; the true essence of this power was the Auling Power he knew so well.

At the same time, the Abyss Remnant Elite, pinned firmly beneath the vine carpet, let out a hoarse, agonizing wail, as if this ocean of plants, brimming with Auling Power, was nothing short of hell to it.

(Friendly reminder: The subsequent chapter plots have been completely rewritten and are entirely different from the pirated versions.)