Everyone ascended, but I didn't get on board

Chapter 206 Infected Beasts

The two moved very fast, covering several miles in the blink of an eye. They thought the beast would have a hard time catching up at that distance. But to their surprise, the black behemoth turned around without hesitation and continued its pursuit.

"What's going on?" They had initially thought the beast was heading straight for them because they were the only two people on the street, but now it seemed like the beast had locked onto them.

"Master?" Juanshan also noticed something was wrong and looked at her questioningly.

"No matter what, we must lure it out of the city first," Qiu Ci immediately decided.

If it has truly locked onto the two of them, it should catch up. And with so many people in the city, even if they aren't afraid, they're bound to be caught in the crossfire.

Without hesitation, the two turned and flew towards the city's outskirts. However, the strange beast seemed to sense their intentions. Its black aura surged, and its roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth. Suddenly, it spewed a black flame in their direction. The scorching temperature seemed to ignite the air itself, and everything in its path began to melt visibly.

The barrier surrounding the buildings along the street shattered, the ground crumbled inch by inch, revealing a large number of residents hiding in the shelters below, and screams and cries for help filled the air.

Qiu Ci's heart tightened, and she was about to turn around to save the people when she realized that the black behemoth seemed not to see them and was still charging towards them regardless.

They really have their sights set on them.

Having confirmed this, Qiu Ci turned and exchanged a glance with Juan Shan, then flew swiftly towards the outskirts of the city without further hesitation.

Both of them were at the Celestial Realm, so the distance was covered in the blink of an eye. Unexpectedly, the giant beast was also fast, catching up almost instantly. The black aura around it seemed to be even thicker, billowing out.

After confirming that there was no one else around, the two of them went all out. Juan Shan's hands flew, and dozens of spells flew out in an instant. Streams of light turned into chains that wrapped around the giant beast, and magic seals appeared around it, instantly restraining its movements.

The trapped behemoth was clearly enraged. It roared and began to struggle desperately, and the black aura around its body spread with its movements. The black aura seemed to have a strong corrosive effect, and the surrounding trees began to wither and turn yellow in large swaths. In just a few breaths, the once lush forest turned into a barren mountain.

And that's not all. After the trees died, some turned directly into ashes, while others seemed to be permeated by something and turned black. Moreover, the entire trunk began to twist and grow, as if it wanted to come back to life and become a new species.

“This is…” Not only Qiu Ci, but even the old man from Juanshan standing to the side was stunned.

At the same time, the dog system's voice suddenly rang in my ears, carrying an unprecedented urgency.

[Beep! Chaotic matter detected! Chaotic matter detected! Master, be careful!]

what?
She didn't have time to ask any questions. She watched as the black aura spread wider and wider, and more and more of those twisted trees appeared, as if they would wake up and attack at any moment.

"Master, what about these?" Juanshan also realized that things couldn't continue like this.

"Quickly finish this!" Qiu Ci did not hesitate. He summoned a spirit sword and released the Sword Realm, sealing off the entire space.

In an instant, sword energy surged, countless sword energies slashing towards the scattered black mist to stop its further expansion. Juan Shan was not idle either; with a change of hand seals, a sea of ​​fire transformed around him, heading towards the trees that were about to mutate. Qiu Ci gripped her spirit sword tightly, mobilizing all her spiritual power, and unleashed a full-force slash at the towering beast opposite her. A white streak shot through the air, even distorting space for a moment, instantly landing on the beast. Its roar to the sky abruptly ceased, and with a hiss, its massive body suddenly split in two, like a collapsing mountain, falling in different directions.

She held nothing back with her sword strike, instantly extinguishing the giant beast's life force. This proved to be the right thing to do; the next moment, the twisted and mutated trees around them suddenly stopped their transformations, and their originally dark forms began to revert to their withered, lifeless state.

The black aura that had been surrounding the giant beast gradually dissipated, revealing its original form. Before the two could take a closer look, a pungent, nauseating stench assaulted their senses.

"Cough cough... What's that smell?" Old Man Juanshan was so choked that he took several steps back and had to use a hand seal to block out the suffocating smell.

Qiu Ci also made a hand gesture and covered her nose, "It seems to be something rotten..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was stunned by what she saw and instantly understood what the smell meant. After the black mist disappeared, the giant beast revealed itself to be a rotting carcass. Its body was so swollen that its original appearance was no longer visible, and most of its flesh was missing pieces, with the white bones visible through the cavities.

This scene suggests that they had been attacked just moments before, or that they had been dead for months.

"What's going on?" Juanshan was also completely bewildered. "Could it be... that someone is controlling this giant beast using puppetry?"

“No.” Qiu Ci shook her head. “Puppetry also requires the sacrifice of a corpse, so it wouldn’t be this incomplete. It’s more like… it was infected by something?”

"Master, why do you think it kept chasing us before?" Juanshan asked.

"I don't know." Qiu Ci shook her head, then immediately thought of the system's notification. "Let's leave here first!"

Juanshan nodded, and the two of them immediately took to the air. After thinking for a moment, they couldn't help but form a hand seal again, and flames instantly ignited, burning the giant beast's corpse along with all the trees around it that had been infected by the black energy.

This time, the two had no intention of returning to the capital. Instead, they flew in the opposite direction and flew a sufficient distance away before Qiu Ci summoned the dog system and asked in a deep voice.

"Damn system, explain yourself! What just happened?"

[Master! It's chaotic matter! That monster was infected by chaotic matter, so it only has the instinct to attack left.]

What is chaotic matter?

That's an extremely dangerous substance discovered on Earth. It represents chaos and destruction, formless and shapeless yet capable of transforming order into disorder. Any living being that comes into contact with it will be plunged into endless chaos; body, consciousness, soul, and everything else will be devoured, turning them into a mere puppet capable only of attack. The locals call this phenomenon: possession.

"What?" Qiu Ci and Juan Shan were both shocked. "You mean that the monster was transformed into a demon, and the so-called chaotic matter is actually demonic energy?"

The dog system clicked up and down, [that's one way to understand it.]

"..."