Lin Yi made up his mind and did not rush to venture deeper.
He found a sheltered stone ledge at the edge of the ruins, closed his eyes, and began to recuperate.
Yet he sat there for nearly half a day.
When he opened his eyes again, his Soul Power had not recovered to its peak, but the faint, stabbing pain in his meridians had largely faded.
"That should do."
He stood, glanced into the depths to the north, then took a deep breath. Condensing the Sun God Spear in his palm, he began walking inward, one step at a time.
After passing through the Rocky Outcrop, the farther he went, the stronger the sickly sweet, bloody smell in the air became, and the suppression of his Soul Power grew far heavier than before.
But Lin Yi did not stop.
After walking for roughly another incense stick's worth of time, the terrain ahead suddenly changed.
The grayish-white rubble gradually disappeared, replaced by a stretch of dark red earth.
Lin Yi looked down, his brows drawing even tighter.
Something's wrong with this place.
It's completely different from before.
Could this place be...
As he pondered, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.
Then the Black Beasts appeared.
It was entirely unlike the previous encounters.
This time, they condensed from the mist at an astonishing speed. Almost in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Black Beasts sprang out from every direction.
No testing the waters.
No hesitation.
The instant the first Black Beast lunged, its claws tore through the air with a piercing shriek, heading straight for his throat.
Lin Yi twisted aside and swept his spear horizontally. Golden light exploded, driving the Black Beast back.
But the second one had already closed in from his left.
Then came