The short blade

Based on the reactions of the Flame Monster and the Three-Faced Monster when facing him, Lumian divided the Monster in the Dream Ruins into three levels:

The lowest-ranking ones, driven only by instinct, would attempt to attack upon seeing him, but once he activated or partially activated the Black Thorn Symbol on his chest, they all chose to completely submit and submit to his slaughter.

Those of higher caliber will also Hunting him before he partially activates the Black Thorn Symbol. Once he finishes his Sacrificial Dance, they will intelligently choose to flee. However, beyond a five-meter radius, they can no longer sense the presence of the Black Thorn Symbol. The Flame Monster from before was probably just lingering in fear, equating the Corruption aura originating from the seal with Lumian, which is why it kept avoiding him.

Those who have reached a certain level of status can directly perceive his "specialness" and show obvious fear without Lumian needing to activate or partially activate the Black Thorn Symbol on his chest, or even if the distance between them is within five meters.

Beyond these three, Lumian felt there should be other levels, at least one, at most three. For example, the kind that doesn't flee in fear when faced with a half-activated Black Thorn Symbol, but continues to attack despite significant weakening; or the kind whose rank is so high that they don't react to the Black Thorn Symbol at all...

Therefore, while Lumian was delighted that he had scared off the Three-Faced Monster and seemed to be able to roam freely in the Dream Ruins, he dared not be careless in the slightest.

Not to mention the existence of terrifying creatures with a higher status than the Three-Faced Monster, the Flame Monster alone, with its powerful ranged attack capabilities, could completely ignore the half-activated Black Thorn Symbol and burn him to a charred corpse.

With this assessment in mind, Lumian hesitated for a moment before venturing Depths into the Dream Ruins along the route the Three-Faced Monster had taken. He planned to examine the state of the Blood-Colored "Mountain Peak" and the area around it today, gathering preliminary intelligence to unravel the secrets of the Dream.

Throughout the journey, he stayed in relatively secluded and less likely to be discovered, wary of Monster that might suddenly jump out.

Perhaps because the Three-Faced Monster had just passed by, the other Monster were frightened away from their original positions. Lumian didn't see a single "figure" and successfully Transmigration collapsed buildings and gray rubble everywhere, arriving at the foot of the Blood-Colored "Mountain Peak".

There is another ring of Ruins here, but unlike the outer layers, the buildings here have not collapsed. Instead, they seem to have come to life and have been Distortion and reassembled. They are connected to each other, as if they have built a strange City Wall Entanglement of "Thorns".

The "City Wall" is stained with a light, grayish-black color. Windows and doors from the original buildings are haphazardly embedded on its surface. Some are open, revealing broken tables and chairs inside, while others are tightly closed, as if they can no longer be moved.

Lumian glanced around, then looked up at the Blood-Colored "Mountain Peak" behind the "City Wall".

At this distance, even though the fog was still thick high in the sky and the light was quite thin deep inside this world, he could see the details of the "Mountain Peak" clearly.

It is made of piled stones and soil, no more than thirty meters high, yet it gives people the feeling of soaring into the clouds. The colors on its surface are very unnatural. Whether it is the brownish-red of the stones or the reddish-brown of the soil, they all seem to have been dyed on later, which is quite Evil.

"According to Aurora's novels and those paranormal magazines, this might be stained with human blood..." Lumian muttered to himself, raising his gaze higher and higher until it reached the top of the "Mountain Peak" shrouded in thick fog.

Just then, it was as if an invisible wind blew through the air, causing much of the fog to dissipate.

The top of the "Mountain Peak" immediately came into clear Eyes of Lumian.

There sat a "Giant" there, probably four or five meters tall, sitting cross-legged.

He was naked, with three heads on his neck. One faced to the left, his expression overflowing with anger, Greed, and hatred, making him extremely evil. Another faced forward, his expression Distortion, filled with Pain and regret. The third looked to the right, his face pure and his eyes filled with pity.

This "Giant" has six arms, stretching out to the sides at different angles in the air. His entire body, including his three heads, is pieced together from fragments of flesh and organs, with cracks everywhere and yellow pus flowing from them. Especially the head facing Lumian, with clear, Blood-Colored tears sliding down its eye.

Upon seeing this "Giant," Lumian's mind went blank for a moment, and he heard that terrifying voice that seemed to come from both infinite distance and right before his eyes.

His head felt as if it had been cleaved open with Axe; the intense pain filled his mind and Deprivation him of all thought.

On his skin, the veins, some thick and some thin, stood out, so red they looked as if they were about to burst into flames.

When Lumian "woke up" from his Near-Death state, he found himself curled up on the ground, rolling around as if nothing could relieve the Pain in his body.

His vision was blurred, stained with Blood-Colored, and everything looked hazy.

In this state, Lumian felt that even a Skinless Monster could easily kill him, but perhaps because the Black Thorn Symbol was fully activated, no "person" dared to enter this area.

The Giant atop the Blood-Colored "Mountain Peak," whether unable to leave or also affected by the Black Thorn Symbol, did not attack Lumian, who nearly Loss of Control.

After resting for a while, Lumian got up and saw that his Linen Shirt under his dark jacket was covered in blood and sweat stains.

"What was that thing?" The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.

With just one glance, his Black Thorn Symbol was fully activated, and he was on the verge of Loss of Control, even more dangerous than when he gained the power of the "Dancer".

He doesn't even dare to recall what the "Giant" looked like now, and can only make certain inferences based on his impressions:

"An advanced version of the Three-Faced Monster?"

"Potentially Corruption?"

"As expected, Aurora was right; things that shouldn't be seen shouldn't be seen..."

"It sits atop the Blood-Colored ' Mountain Peak,' at the very center of the entire Dream Ruins... Does this mean it's part of the Dream's secrets?"

"..."

As his thoughts raced, Lumian suppressed the urge to lift his head and take another look at the top of the "Mountain Peak".

Looking at it again would kill me!

He decided to evacuate first, return to reality to recuperate, and explore again at night.

Turning around, Lumian was about to leave along the path he had come from when he suddenly heard a "clang! clang! clang!" sound.

"What's going on?" He was curious and decided to sneak Past and take a look.

Of course, he wasn't in such a hurry or reckless. He found a half-collapsed building on the opposite side of the "City Wall" to Concealment and wait for his spirituality to recover somewhat.

After a while, Lumian once again performed that mysterious Sacrificial Dance.

He seemed to have transformed into That One Hidden Being priest, pleasing Him with dances that could manipulate the natural forces around him.

When the burning sensation in his chest appeared, Lumian stopped and crept towards the intermittent "clanging" sound.

After circling halfway around the Blood-Colored "Mountain Peak" and the Distortion "City Wall," and dancing once more, he saw a glimmer of fire.

Behind a half-open brown-red Wooden Door atop the "City Wall," flickering Orange-Yellow flames shone through.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

That One figure inside was reflected on the Glass Window diagonally above, resembling a human, but appearing somewhat elongated due to the light.

At this moment, the "figure" was holding a hammer-shaped object high and smashing it down with great force.

"When!"

Another crisp metallic clanging sound rang out.

"Blacksmith? There's Blacksmith in the Dream Ruins?" Lumian guessed, based on his knowledge.

Relying on the fact that the Black Thorn Symbol on his chest had not yet disappeared, he crouched down, darted to the Glass Window, turned his body to the side, and peered inside.

Although Lumian's eyes had not fully recovered and his vision was still somewhat blurry, he could barely make out the scene inside the room on the "City Wall":

Broken tables and chairs were scattered everywhere, and in the middle was a stove missing its upper half, with a fire burning inside and a pieced-together iron plate on top.

On the iron plate lay a silver-black Dagger, slightly more than twice the length of a normal Dagger, its surface covered with layers of strange patterns. Lumian felt dizzy after just one glance at it.

"When!"

The "figure" wielding the Hammer, like a skilled Blacksmith, continuously struck the Dagger.

He was dressed in a long black Robe, and his face, turned to Lumian side, was covered in signs of decay, with parts of it even revealing the White Bone beneath.

Another Monster? Is it continuing what it did when it was still human? That Dagger is unusual, a bit Evil. Is it Sealed Artifact or Beyonder weapon? One thought after another flashed through Lumian's mind.

He was less than three meters away from the rotting "Blacksmith," but the other man seemed oblivious to the Black Thorn Symbol on his chest, silently continuing to pound the Dagger.

Considering the Black Thorn Symbol was about to disappear, Lumian shrank back and tiptoed away from the window area.

He had only taken a few steps when the burning sensation in his chest disappeared.

The next second, he heard a creaking sound behind him.

Lumian quickly turned around and saw that the brown Wooden Door had been fully opened.

A "Blacksmith" dressed in a long black Robe appeared there. There were four or five rotten wounds on his face where the bone was visible. Half of his left eyeball had slipped out, as if hanging on his eye socket. Overall, he looked like a Corpse that had been dead for some time.

He held Hammer in his right hand and a silver-black Dagger in his left, his blank eyes reflecting Lumian's image.

"Hold!"

Lumian couldn't help but curse.

He instantly understood the situation:

The "Blacksmith" Monster was clearly affected by the Black Thorn Symbol, which is why it kept "quietly" hammering the Evil Dagger, pretending to be nonchalant.

As soon as the Black Thorn Symbol disappeared, "he" immediately grabbed a weapon and went out to hunt himself.

How cunning!