An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 152 Sources of Pollution
"call out--"

A huge shadow streaked across the sky at high speed, displacing the air as it passed and creating a distinct wake.

As Chu Xiu sat atop the four-winged monster bird, he felt the airflow blowing in his face like a flowing wall, causing his long robes to flutter loudly.

The four-winged monster bird was cruising at near-sonic speeds. At this speed, the airflow in the high altitudes had become violent and turbulent, and ordinary people would be blown away in no time.

But this was of no concern to Chu Xiu, who was calmly reviewing the information about the military region that Qin Xiang had given him.

In Shiki City, there are records of this place in many places, such as radio stations, government buildings, and underground shelters. After synthesizing all the information sources, the government's analysts provided a highly accurate report.

"According to what is said above, this is a refuge built around the military and fully militarized. It has the strongest ability in the vicinity to resist abyssal creatures and has attracted a large number of refugees and technical talents."

"Furthermore, there are Awakened Ones within the military region! And quite a few at that! There's even a considerable probability of Awakened Ones at the general level!"

The work of government analysts is not just about summarizing scattered clues in the city; they also conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Shiki world, from its culture to its technology, based on a large amount of fragmented information.

The final conclusion was that this world's technology was somewhat inferior to that of Earth, while its extraordinary level was far behind.

Even so, the best among them have a high probability of reaching the rank of general, or even higher!

And the military region is clearly the gathering place for these top awakened individuals.

"However, since this world has been used as a trial world for the awakened, it means that it has been swallowed by the abyss, which means that civilization has been destroyed."

"Equipped with high-tech weapons and a group of powerful awakened beings, were they still destroyed in the end? It's unclear whether it was caused by external forces or by the corruption of the abyss."

Because this world is very similar to Earth, its destruction process is of great reference value. The government has offered a reward, and awakened individuals who collect relevant information will receive a large number of causal points. Special scientific research specialists have also been dispatched.

Chu Xiu was also very interested in this mission. If he could figure out the process of the military region's destruction, he could get at least tens of thousands of karma points!
"and."

Chu Xiu looked at another document in his hand.

That's about the [Boundless Blood Pool].

“The ancient god of the abyss has left traces in as many as nine worlds, including the Crimson Jungle, the Wild Hunt Mutation, and the Mutated Mother Nest.”

"The world of Shiki has a strong connection with it, and it is suspected to be its birthplace, which has great scientific research value."

Perhaps this is related to the item that the Yakuza are looking for.

The document also includes a wealth of firsthand documents discovered in the Shiki City, including accounts of the worship and sacrifices performed by extremist groups and religious forces over the Boundless Blood Pool.

However, these materials are quite obscure and have little reference value.

Further investigation into information related to the Boundless Blood Pool is also one of the high-value tasks assigned by the government.

"An endless pool of blood?"

Chu Xiu muttered to himself. He thought of the Blood Arena. If he kept improving his ranking, he might gain the attention of this god and eventually even contact him directly.

Of course, these things are still far from his reach.

While he was pondering this, the four-winged bird had already flown to the approximate area.

Due to limitations in map accuracy, Chu Xiu had to search for the exact location of the military region on his own.

He squinted, causing the four-winged bird to decrease its altitude and speed, and looked down carefully.

Below, there is a large, dense forest. At first glance, it looks unremarkable, but if you look closely, you will find that the roots of the seemingly green leaves have a faint blush. Moreover, the forest is extremely dense, so dense that almost no sunlight can penetrate through.

Large herds of deer frequently passed through the forest. These deer were different from the ones Chu Xiu remembered. Their antlers were more twisted and bent, and they were more frantic. Although they were not as crazy as the corpse demons, they were significantly more aggressive than ordinary wild deer.

"This may be the rule of this world. Unlike the [evolution] of the super-limit evolution world, this world is caused by [over-reproduction] and [ghoul transformation] caused by the sea of ​​blood."

Chu Xiu secretly speculated in his heart.

But he didn't think much of it and instead began to search the vicinity carefully.

However, after circling in the sky for a long time, he still couldn't find the location of the military region, or even a trace of human technological creation.

This made him a little strange.

Although the search area was large due to map errors, the military region itself should also be quite large. With Chu Xiu's current superhuman perception, he could easily find it even if it was hidden in a dense forest. There's no reason why they've been searching for so long without seeing a single shadow.

"Was the intelligence wrong? Or did something happen afterward? Or was the military region's location inherently extremely well-hidden?"

Chu Xiu fell into thought.

After a while, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of something. He then looked down and quickly focused his gaze on a stream.

He leaped off the four-winged bird, his vampire wings unfurling in the air as he glided down at incredible speed, crashing heavily onto the bank of the stream.

Mud splashed everywhere, startling the nearby creatures who scattered. Chu Xiu, however, walked to the stream and began to observe it carefully.

A crystal-clear stream meanders down from above, and you can see many animals drinking water in the distance.

It seemed like just an ordinary stream, but Chu Xiu noticed something fishy upon closer inspection.

In the stream, there was a very faint, almost imperceptible dark red.

Chu Xiu's eyes revealed an expression of "I knew it."

He had previously guessed that the changes in the creatures here were most likely related to the pollution of the boundless blood pool.

So, how does pollution spread?

The name "Boundless Blood Pool" strongly suggests a connection to blood. The image of the blood-splattering pool that Chu Xiu saw in the Blood Arena, as well as the endless sea of ​​blood beside the Corpse City, confirm this.

Therefore, he speculated that the spread of pollution should also be related to liquids, and the abnormalities in the local flora and fauna were naturally affected by the water source.

"There is a trace of pollution in this stream. It is highly likely that because of this, the animals and plants that have absorbed this water have undergone some degree of mutation. It's just that the pollution in the water is so small that it hasn't turned into a large-scale zombie like in the zombie city."

"This pollution definitely didn't appear out of thin air. If I keep searching, I might be able to find the source of the pollution!"

Thinking of this, Chu Xiu flapped his wings and soared into the sky once again.

After entering the Fierce Rank, the power of all his legendary equipment pieces increased significantly, and the Vampire Earl's Wings was no exception; at this point, his flight speed was approaching the speed of sound.

He flew along and soon found the main stream of the creek. He followed it upstream and soon his eyes lit up as he made a discovery!
In a valley, there is a large lake covering several thousand square meters, and the blood color in this lake is significantly more intense than in other places.

"It looks like this is it."

Chu Xiu flapped his wings and slowly landed. Just as he was about to walk towards the lake, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked at a clump of trees to the side.

The next moment, accompanied by a sharp shriek, a blood-red afterimage rushed out of the bushes at an extremely fast speed and pounced on him!
Chu Xiu showed no sign of panic. When the blood-red figure rushed in front of him, the Heavenly Demon Hand instantly appeared in mid-air and grabbed it in his hand!

"Chirp, squeak—!"

The figure let out a sharp cry. Chu Xiu looked closely and found that it was a creature the size of a child, with no hair on its body. Instead, it had a large number of fish-like red scales, and its claws were extremely long and thin, gleaming with a cold metallic light, like ten sharp daggers.

【Distorted Water Ghost】

[Rank] Warrior Rank 2 [Attributes] Constitution 35.4, Spirit 19.5, Energy Level 32.8
[Skill] Claw Strike

[Special Abilities] Can breathe underwater, possesses superhuman strength
As Chu Xiu activated the Netherworld Eye, a data panel appeared before his eyes.

It is a warrior-level creature, but it is extremely agile. An ordinary awakened person can easily suffer a great loss if they are not careful, and it is even possible that they will be disemboweled.

But for Chu Xiu, it was nothing to mention.

Without much thought, the Heavenly Demon gently squeezed, and the water ghost exploded into countless pieces of flesh amidst screams.

However, at this moment, Chu Xiu suddenly noticed something and looked towards the lake in the distance.

But then, as if sensing the tragic death of their companion, the densely packed water ghosts rapidly crawled out of the lake. At the same time, a large number of water ghosts that were hunting also appeared in the dense forest.

At a glance, there are at least a thousand of them!

Moreover, there are many elites among them who are a whole size larger than ordinary water ghosts, and there are even fierce-level water ghosts that are two meters tall!
They stared intently at Chu Xiu, their scarlet pupils flashing with cruel and bloodthirsty light.

The next instant, they all shrieked and rushed towards Chu Xiu!

However, Chu Xiu was naturally not afraid of this at all; on the contrary, he showed joy.

"This is all top-quality food!"

Seeing the water ghosts surging towards him like a tidal wave, Chu Xiu flicked his wrist, and the [Great Sun Guardian Shield] appeared in his hand. The moment it appeared, it began to release a blazing white light, as if a huge amount of energy was accumulating within it!
Just as he was gathering his strength, countless water ghosts pounced on Chu Xiu, tearing at his body with madness. They were so numerous that they completely engulfed Chu Xiu in an instant! From a distance, it looked as if they had formed a fleshy ball composed of more than a dozen layers of water ghosts, and even more water ghosts were still rushing towards him!

Chu Xiu, however, paid no heed, letting them tear at him, while the white light emanating from his shield grew increasingly intense, until it reached its limit!
The next moment, the immense energy transformed into extreme destructive energy in an instant, surging out wildly!

"boom!"

It was like tons of explosives detonating around Chu Xiu! The massive shockwave instantly pulverized the water ghosts closest to Chu Xiu! Their hard bodies didn't even last a moment before they were torn to pieces as if they had been hit head-on by a speeding truck, with bits of flesh mixed with blood splattering everywhere. Before they could fly far, they were engulfed by the raging flames that followed!
The blood vaporized instantly in the extreme heat, while the meat first carbonized and then decomposed into the finest dust!
No water ghost could withstand this terrifying explosion of flames; even the most ferocious water ghosts were instantly killed!

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Countless burning, mangled pieces of the water ghosts were thrown thousands of meters away, then fell to the ground like raindrops.

A huge crater appeared beneath Chu Xiu's feet. The once densely forested valley had become a scene of horrific explosion, with dark red bloodstains and scattered remains everywhere.

[Professional Experience +204]

[Item Obtained: 2456 Causality Points]

[Equipment Obtained: Diving Scale Armor (Collector's Edition)]

[Item Obtained:]

[Acquired Trait:]

[Level Up!]

[Current Level: Rank 2 (Fierce)]

In just a moment, all the thousands of water ghosts were killed!

The massive amount of experience allowed Chu Xiu to level up instantly and obtain a large number of equipment and items!

"Cool!"

Although the items that drop are not very useful, and because the extra bonus from the Awakening Trial is no longer available, the drop rates for experience and causal points are much lower than during the Awakening Trial.

But Chu Xiu couldn't help but let out a joyful shout. Putting aside the falling objects, just clearing out these ugly creatures in an instant made him feel extremely relieved.

Chu Xiu has always lacked large-scale area-of-effect attack skills.

In the past, when facing these low-level creatures, even though Chu Xiu's strength far surpassed theirs, he still had to use the Heavenly Demon Hand to smash them one by one, which was laborious and thankless, and the stench of their blood was disgusting.

More importantly, if these guys get scared and scatter, it will be quite troublesome for Chu Xiu to chase after and kill them one by one. At least half of them will escape! This will greatly reduce his monster-killing efficiency!
But with the Great Sun Guardian Shield, things are different. The powerful attack skill that comes with this equipment perfectly makes up for this, clearing out the entire field in one shot!
This extremely violent energy output made Chu Xiu feel physically and mentally pleased.

After advancing to the Ferocious rank, the Great Sun Guardian Shield's output power has surpassed that of a fully-fledged Berserk Demon Hand.

Of course, this certainly doesn't mean that the Great Sun Guardian Shield is stronger than the Heavenly Demon Hand. After all, it weakens after one use, while the Heavenly Demon Hand can unleash more than a dozen punches in a second. Its ability to fight for a long time, both offensively and defensively, is what makes the Heavenly Demon Hand truly powerful!

Even a legendary piece of equipment, no matter how high its base quality, can never compare to Chu Xiu's demonic inheritance.

Even so, the Great Sun Guardian Shield has become a very reliable damage-dealing skill.

Looking at the mangled bodies scattered on the ground, Chu Xiu couldn't help but smile.

"I desperately need a large number of souls to feed my ghost army, and this has come to me unexpectedly."

Without the slightest hesitation, he waved the Soul-Slaying Banner, and a large number of ghosts surged out!
They roam the valleys, frantically hunting the souls of the mutated water ghosts, turning them into nourishment for themselves!
This scene made Chu Xiu smile even more.

As the foundational inheritance of the Supreme Demon Lord's path, the Soul-Slaying Banner is naturally extremely powerful.

It's just that he lost a lot of ghosts in the continuous battles, which made him seem like he could only bully small monsters and was not very useful.

But in reality, the strength of this inheritance is even enough to threaten a King-level expert!

Imagine if Chu Xiu possessed hundreds of vengeful ghosts. After they transformed into soul bodies, unless there were skills specifically designed to attack the soul, their high damage reduction from their soul bodies would make their survivability extremely terrifying! Even a general-level awakened being would find it difficult to kill them in a short time!
If left unchecked, it would be like hundreds of ferocious mage monsters attacking with spells all at once!

Even a general might not be able to handle it!

Not to mention, if Chu Xiu can cultivate a ghost general, he can also upgrade the Soul-Slaying Banner to the Hundred-Soul Banner, further enhancing his strength!
Therefore, Chu Xiu placed high hopes on this inheritance!
There's no weak demonic lineage! It's just that compared to the direct stat boosts of the innate divine and demonic path, the Soul-Slaying Banner requires Chu Xiu to spend time cultivating it slowly.

Under Chu Xiu's expectant gaze, the souls of the water ghosts in the entire valley were quickly devoured.

The large number of powerful souls caused Chu Xiu's ghost army to increase dramatically in both quantity and quality!
Eleven more vengeful ghosts have been added, bringing the total to thirty-two, while more than three hundred fierce ghosts have been added! Moreover, many of these fierce ghosts have the potential to advance into vengeful ghosts!

"The Abyss is indeed a treasure trove!"

Chu Xiu smiled from the bottom of his heart.

He felt that if he continued killing, he would be able to refine the Hundred Soul Banner in no time.

With this in mind, he waved the Soul-Slaying Banner once more, directing the ghosts to continue killing the remaining water ghosts in the lake.

At the same time, he also released the resurrected corpses of the Baron and the Blood Angel to absorb the surrounding fragmented bodies and replenish his own integrity.

He himself walked towards the blood-red lake.

Chu Xiu carefully examined the strange lake, and after a while, as if he had discovered something, he turned his gaze to the deepest part of the lake, then frowned slightly.

He could vaguely sense that something extremely evil existed there, causing a wave of nausea to surge from the depths of his soul simply from staring at it. "Is that the source of the pollution?"

However, just as Chu Xiu was about to send the vengeful ghost to investigate, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

"The King of the Night?"

(End of this chapter)