Taotie Realm, Thunder Devours the Wolf Pack

The intense vertigo brought on by the dimensional shift lasted only an instant. Lin Ye's powerful physique and [Soul Barrier] quickly adapted to the crossing. He hovered in midair, the lightning of [Thor Form] becoming the only source of light in this dead-silent world, illuminating the surroundings with eerie clarity.

The sky was eternally dusky yellow, with no sun, moon, or stars—only twisted ribbons of light that writhed like blood vessels and flowed slowly, radiating unsettling energy. The ground was cracked and black as charcoal, riddled with bottomless fissures that exuded an air of decay and despair. In the distance stood distorted, grotesque mountain silhouettes, like the corpses of dying giants.

An indescribable sense of "hunger" filled the air. It was not physical hunger, but a greedy craving for energy, life, and even the source of the soul, seeping everywhere as it tried to erode his protective lightning and mind.

"What a disgusting place." Lin Ye frowned as his Mind Network and [Dimensional Energy Perception] spread to their limits, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Almost the second he appeared—

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Countless dense, grotesque claws suddenly shot out from the fissures in the cracked ground below! Then, innumerable dark figures surged from beneath the earth like a tide!

They were indescribable creatures! They roughly resembled wolves or hyenas, but their bodies were made of some translucent, ever-flowing shadowy substance. They had no eyes, only enormous mouths occupying most of their heads, filled with spiraling fangs! They raced on all fours with astonishing speed, utterly silent as they ran. Only the teeth-grinding screech and greedy hissing merged into a scalp-numbing wave!

"Taotie Wolves?" Lin Ye immediately gave them a fitting name. The monsters had an exceedingly clear target: him, suspended in the air and radiating immense life force and energy!

They did not even bother probing. Like suicide attackers, they leaped wildly into the air and opened their enormous maws to bite Lin Ye! Those mouths seemed connected to some black hole, generating powerful suction as they tried to tear away and devour his lightning energy!

"Courting death!"

Lin Ye's eyes turned cold. He did not even need to use a high-powered attack. With a thought, the lightning protecting his body suddenly flared!

Boom—!

Leaping arcs of lightning spread outward like a high-voltage grid!

Yet something surprising happened! When the Taotie Wolves crashed into the lightning, they were not instantly purified and annihilated like wraiths! Their shadowy bodies appeared to possess a certain resistance to lightning! Though the shocks made their bodies convulse and sent shadowy matter flying, drawing pained shrieks from them, they still fearlessly tried to pierce the lightning and bite with their horrifying maws!

Even more troublesome, Lin Ye sensed that every collision between his lightning and them allowed them to forcibly siphon away a trace of energy! It was negligible, but there were simply too many of them! As far as the eye could see, Taotie Wolves poured endlessly from the earth like a black ocean!

"They can absorb energy? No wonder this is called the Taotie Realm!" Lin Ye understood what made these monsters troublesome. Pure energy bombardment would be greatly weakened, and would instead become their food.

He immediately changed tactics. The energy output of [Thor Form] became more condensed and restrained. The protective lightning no longer spread wildly, instead clinging tightly to his body and forming a suit of energy armor compressed to the extreme and vibrating at high frequency! At the same time, he gave up area attacks, covering both fists in highly condensed lightning infused with spatial oscillation force!

His body moved, and he charged straight into the wolf pack!

No longer relying on ranged energy, he fought in close quarters!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He was so fast that he resembled a blue bolt of lightning weaving through a sea of enemies! Every punch did not explode, but delivered extreme penetration and vibration! Any Taotie Wolf struck was instantly torn apart from within by spatial shockwaves. Its structure collapsed, turning it into a pool of inert shadowy sludge, no longer able to absorb energy!

Like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, he sent Taotie Wolves falling in swathes wherever he passed! Though the efficiency was lower than clearing the battlefield with area attacks, it completely eliminated the possibility of his energy being absorbed and conserved more strength!

The wolf pack seemed incapable of fear. They still surged forward one after another, trying to drown him in sheer numbers.

As Lin Ye slaughtered them, he continued moving. His Mind Network constantly scanned this bizarre world, trying to find the core of this dimension or the energy source sustaining that spatial passage.

He discovered that both the land and sky of this dimension were permeated by that greedy law of "hunger," constantly drawing in all energy. It did not even spare the faint energy dissipating from his battle. The entire world seemed to be a massive, living predatory trap!

"I have to find the source..." Lin Ye realized that the longer he stayed here, the more he would be depleted. Even with his vast energy reserves, he might slowly be "eaten" by this entire world!

With one fierce punch, he blasted more than a dozen Taotie Wolves in front of him into dust. His gaze locked onto the distant mountain range, where the distortions were greatest and the energy reactions most abnormal!

That place was highly likely to hold the key!

He no longer tangled with the endless wolf pack. Lightning flashed around him, his speed soared, and like a bolt of thunder racing against the current, he forcibly charged toward the mountains!

Countless Taotie Wolves gathered behind him into a terrifying black torrent and pursued relentlessly! As they ran, even the earth trembled!

The sight was like a charge of gods and demons!

Yet just as Lin Ye was about to approach the mountain range, another change arose!

Three terrifying auras, far stronger and more condensed than those of the Taotie Wolves, suddenly rose from within the mountains!

Three enormous shadows of different forms emerged from behind the mountains!

The first resembled a giant spider, but it was composed of countless writhing, hungry mouths!

The second was like a pool of flowing black swamp covered in countless eyes!

The third was a shadow giant that constantly twisted and changed shape, possessing no fixed form. A massive rotating vortex lay in its chest!

The pressure they radiated far surpassed that of the wolf pack, already reaching the level of dimensional lords! Clearly, they were stronger predators within this Taotie Realm, thoroughly alerted by Lin Ye, this "feast"!

"Finally, something worthwhile." Lin Ye stopped and looked at the three enormous shadows. Rather than fear, blazing battle intent burned in his eyes!

He took a deep breath. The foul air of this dimension made him uncomfortable, but it only further stirred his ferocity.

"Remy, record the battle data. Analyze their energy structures and weaknesses."

"Command confirmed."

Facing the swarming wolf pack and the three behemoths steadily closing in, Lin Ye slowly clenched his fists. Brilliant lightning once more illuminated his cold, stern face.

"Then let's see who devours whom!"

The battle escalated in an instant!

(End of Chapter 35)