A fantastical journey across the heavens, beginning with the Witcher.

The orange spider silk is extremely light but very sticky. When dyed, it adheres to the floor and walls in strands.

Following the trail, Li De headed towards a corner of the academy. He didn't see any footprints along the way, and if it weren't for the clearly visible traces of dyed spider silk, he would have almost thought he had gone in the wrong direction.

In fact, this is another ability of the Blood Demon—mistification.

As a high-level variant of vampire, although this monster, unlike its cousin the vampire night demon, does not possess both monster and human forms and cannot suppress its instinctive urge to drink blood through willpower, it still has all the special abilities it should have.

Its signature ability is mistification, which allows it to transform its body into a semi-transparent mist, floating and moving like a ghost.

It is precisely because of this ability that it has been able to launch several attacks on local residents without leaving a trace.

Unfortunately, he ran into Li De.

Having figured out the Blood Demon's movement pattern, Li De no longer hesitated and continued to follow the spider silk.

Before long, a dilapidated low house came into view. The walls were weathered and worn, and there were rotten planks and discarded utensils piled up at the door. It was obviously a storage room that had been neglected for a long time and was so remote that almost no one would ever set foot there.

The pale golden spider silk slipped straight into the storage room through the crack in the door.

Gripping the silver sword "Goldwell" at his waist, he slowed his pace and silently pushed open the creaking wooden door.

The room was a chaotic maze, with abandoned tables and chairs and broken specimen jars piled up everywhere. The air was thick with dust and the smell of decay, which made people feel slightly uncomfortable.

He followed the spider web, carefully moving through the clutter, avoiding obstacles under his feet, afraid of making a sound and alerting the spider. But after walking about ten steps, the spider web on the ground suddenly disappeared.

"strangeness."

Li De frowned slightly and carefully examined his surroundings using the dim light shining from outside the door.

It didn't take long to spot the flaw. Although the dust on the ground had been accumulating for a long time, a square mark could be vaguely seen, as if the floor had been lifted up and then covered up again.

"Ald!"

Without further hesitation, Li De unleashed an Alder blast that sent the surrounding debris flying and kicked up a cloud of dust.

When he crouched down and took a closer look, he saw a trapdoor on the ground that was the same color as the surrounding floor.

He gripped the recessed edge of the door panel and suddenly lifted it upwards. A damp, cold air rushed out, mixed with a faint fishy smell of lake water.

Li De immediately drew his silver sword and released the Quen sign. An orange magical shield instantly enveloped his entire body. After confirming that the defense was in place, he leaped into the cellar.

There were no monsters in sight, only a faint light in the distance, vaguely guiding the way ahead.

He followed the light slowly forward and discovered that this was not an ordinary cellar, but a narrow secret passage with smooth walls and a floor paved with damp stone slabs.

As they walked further, the fishy smell in the air grew stronger.

When he reached the light, he saw a calm, still body of water.

"Is this... the Puntal River outside Bullburg?"

Pale golden spider silk clung to the water's surface, gently swaying with the waves, clearly guiding the Blood Demon in the direction it fled.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li De jumped into the river. The advantage of the Witcher Armor became apparent as he entered the water.

If it were ordinary plate armor, it would trap a lot of water, greatly affecting normal movement. Let alone swimming, anyone who isn't a good swimmer would have sunk to the bottom long ago.

The armor of the Witcher is designed specifically for hunting monsters, eliminating the bulkiness of plate armor without sacrificing too much defensive power.

Typically made of lightweight and tough leather as a base, with large plates of fine steel inlaid on vital areas such as the chest, shoulders, waist and abdomen for key defense, enough to withstand the claws and fangs of monsters;

The rest of the body is covered with flexible chainmail, and long strips of metal armor are added to the lower legs and forearms, which can help defend against sword and blade strikes without restricting movement.

It was precisely this ingenious design that allowed Li De to move freely in the water like a fish.

They hadn't gone far when they suddenly heard a faint but dense sound of splashing water behind them.

"Well, another guest has arrived... Oh, it seems I'm the guest."

Li De nimbly flipped over and switched to backstroke. Looking behind him, he saw several faintly visible dorsal fins swimming towards him.

Based on his familiarity with monsters, he immediately recognized the person who came to greet him as his old friend—the water ghost.

There's no way to escape. No matter how good a human swimmer is, how could they possibly outrun a monster that lives in the water?

If you draw your sword, the resistance from the lake water will greatly affect the speed of your swing.

Theoretically speaking, the monster has all the advantages of timing, location, and human factors, but that's only in theory.

Li De watched as the water ghosts drew closer and closer, until he could see the greed and bestiality in the monsters' murky eyes.

The first water monster launched the attack, suddenly accelerating and baring its fangs as it lunged at the witcher's neck.

Li De sidestepped and kicked the water, nimbly dodging the attack, while simultaneously reaching out with his other hand to firmly grasp the water ghost's head.

Before the water ghost could struggle, it ruthlessly activated the Aard sign, and the powerful shockwave pressed against its head instantly erupted—"Boom!"

With a muffled thud, the monster's head was blown to pieces, with bone fragments and brain matter flying more than ten meters away, creating ripples on the lake's surface.

"That's a bit of a waste."

He shook his head slightly, his tone tinged with regret, for water ghost brains were also a type of alchemical material.

Seeing this, the other three monsters not only did not retreat, but were enraged by the tragic death of their companion and pounced even more ferociously.

Li De dove downwards, avoiding the attack of the two monsters, and at the same time launched the Aard sign at one of them, still a close-range magical impact, instantly defeating it.

Immediately afterwards, he turned around and kicked away the third water ghost that attacked from behind, then retaliated with another Ald, ending its life completely.

The last water ghost was the most cunning. Instead of rushing forward, it used the corpse of its companion as cover to quietly circle around behind the witcher and thrust its claws straight at his heart.

Li De had already sensed the unusual movement with his keen perception. He turned around abruptly, blocked the monster's claws, and then slammed his palms inward, delivering a double blow to the ears, which directly deformed the water ghost's head slightly.

Shattered brain matter mixed with blood flowed from the monster's nostrils and ear canals. The corpse sank silently into the water, without even saying goodbye. How rude of them.

Having dealt with the hospitable water ghost, Li De didn't linger. Following the spiderweb trails on the water's surface, he continued swimming towards the opposite shore of the lake.

After getting ashore, he shook off the water droplets from his body. Water stains on his armor dripped down the gaps in the chainmail, and the breeze felt a little cool on his body.

The spiderweb trails were still clearly visible, stretching along the weeds on the bank and into the distance.

Li De quickened his pace, following the trail, and soon arrived at a village.

The village has been abandoned for many years. The houses are dilapidated, and waist-high weeds grow among the broken walls. Farm tools are scattered all over the courtyard, and they are already covered with rust.

An eerie silence filled the air; there were no insects chirping, no birds singing, only a deathly stillness.

The moment he stepped into the village, the Witcher badge hanging on his chest suddenly began to vibrate violently.

"Traces of Magic~"

"That's more like it. Besides those warlocks with their twisted ideas, who else would be crazy enough to modify monsters?"