"Is this Hell Road?"
Li Xun raised his eyes to the path before him, a flicker of understanding crossing his gaze.
There was no broad, level road before him, only a narrow stone path half a foot wide stretching across a dark abyss. Fathomless black mist lay on either side, sinister winds howled, and waves of scorching heat churned faintly below. Every step held danger.
"It certainly lives up to its name," he murmured. "One misplaced step, and you fall into hell, beyond redemption for ten thousand tribulations."
With that, he strode onto this deadly road, his steps steady and his expression fearless.
As he advanced, the path gradually sloped downward, descending ever deeper. The air grew increasingly scorching, and he could faintly hear the roar of churning magma below.
Li Xun had already concluded that the latter half of Hell Road would be completely submerged in searing magma. That was where the true danger of this lethal path lay.
Just as he pressed steadily onward, a flurry of sharp, thin whistles shot up from the abyss below!
Countless crimson dots burst through the black mist and rapidly ascended, packed so densely they blotted out the sky.
As the swarm drew closer, its appearance finally became clear.
They were Blood Bats, crimson from head to toe, their forms identical to the blood-red markings that had appeared on the ground when Hell Road opened, as though those markings had come to life. Each was a foot long, yet its spread wings spanned more than a meter. Their bloody wing membranes gleamed with a cold, eerie light, and their sharp fangs and claws radiated menace.
A few scattered bats would naturally have been nothing to fear, but the thousand-plus Blood Bats emerging now wove into a dense crimson cloud. With piercing shrieks