Chapter 380 ·Blood Mist Forest
Chapter 380: Blood Mist Forest
In the pitch-black deep-sea canyon where one could not see even a hand before one's face, a silver membrane resembling a mirror hung like a bright full moon in the dark night sky.
The seawater that continued to surge all around was like the fierce winds of the night, filling one with an inexplicable sense of dread.
It was as though one stood in an uninhabited wilderness beneath the night, where a ferocious beast could suddenly pounce out of the darkness at any moment.
Within such an environment, a streak of crimson light carrying an eerie aura flashed past, arriving before the silver membrane in an instant.
It was Zhou Ming, who had been lying in ambush in secret for a long time.
Facing the passage leading into the Blood-colored Secret Realm, he did not rush in. Instead, he formed hand seals with both hands and released a streak of blood-red light.
“Looks like White Whale and the others didn't notice me.”
Zhou Ming's method mainly relied on the information provided by Fu Shiyuan to investigate whether anyone was lying in ambush beyond the passage.
Although Zhou Ming also wanted to obtain the Bloodspring Spirit Liquid, his own life was far more important.
After confirming that there was no one waiting in ambush beyond the passage, Zhou Ming immediately controlled his Talent Force Field and entered the passage like a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate.
As the sensation of weightlessness spread through him, the scenery before his eyes rapidly changed.
The next moment, a dark crimson scene came into view.
Whether it was the sky above or the ground below, everything Zhou Ming saw was dark crimson, like the color left behind after blood had dried.
In addition, a faint scent of blood permeated the air.
Zhou Ming was not particularly surprised by the bizarre scene. After all, the Secret Realm before him was not part of the normal world, but one that had formed through a fortunate coincidence.
Back then, the Fu Family's Ancestor had accidentally entered because this Secret Realm had not yet fully formed, and spatial fluctuations had inadvertently swallowed the Fu Family's Ancestor inside.
Later, relying on heaven-defying luck, he not only obtained the Bloodspring Spirit Liquid but was also teleported back outside the Secret Realm.
Unfortunately, while he had obtained a heaven-defying opportunity, he had also suffered the corresponding calamity.
Had the Fu Family's Ancestor survived, perhaps he could have forged a different path through the Puzzle Gene Modification Surgery.
As someone who was likewise pioneering a new path, Zhou Ming felt a sense of kinship with the Fu Family's Ancestor.
Suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind, Zhou Ming surveyed his surroundings to determine his current location.
The Blood Sea Secret Realm was by no means small. According to the intelligence provided by Fu Shiyuan, the Secret Realm covered an area with a radius of one hundred li.
Aside from the dangers naturally bred by the Secret Realm itself, the Fu Family's Ancestor had artificially increased the danger level of the Blood Sea Secret Realm severalfold.
“So this is the Blood Mist Forest?”
Looking at the distant forest that resembled ghostly hands, along with the thick mist as viscous as blood, Zhou Ming quickly identified his location.
According to the information provided by Fu Shiyuan, the Blood Mist Forest was a special defensive measure established by the Fu Family's Ancestor based on the Secret Realm's original environment.
Flight was impossible above the Blood Mist Forest, and numerous independent spaces existed there, making it a labyrinth from which it was difficult to escape once entered.
Even Transcendent experts would have to spend a great deal of time and pay a certain price to get through it.
However, traversing the blood mist-shrouded forest itself was far from easy.
According to the records, there existed a type of Blood Ghost within the forest that resembled the phantom of a bat.
Its ability was similar to Zhou Ming's Crimson Halo, allowing it to drain the Essence Blood of flesh-and-blood creatures from a distance.
However, this ability had considerable limitations. A Blood Ghost had to come within ten meters before it could drain Essence Blood through the air.
These creatures were generally not very powerful, at most comparable to High-tier Ferocious Beasts.
However, relying on the unique environment of the Blood Mist Forest, the Blood Ghosts could practically be considered immortal.
Even if their core origin was destroyed, they only needed some time before they would be reborn.
Zhou Ming was naturally curious about the reason behind this peculiar phenomenon, but time was pressing, and he could not afford to waste it here.
The way to cross the Blood Mist Forest was simply to ignore the Blood Ghosts and force one's way through it as quickly as possible.
As soon as Zhou Ming approached the Blood Mist Forest, he saw a large area of ghost-claw-like trees lying toppled over. They were most likely battle traces left behind by White Whale and the others.
They had probably realized the Blood Ghosts' abilities very quickly, so they had not become entangled with them, leaving very few traces of battle afterward.
Zhou Ming briefly examined the area and discovered that those grotesquely twisted trees seemed to possess life, rapidly restoring themselves.
The writhing branches resembled fresh shoots sprouting from wounds, desperately trying to return to their original state.
Since White Whale and the others had managed to pass through successfully, Zhou Ming wasted no more time and plunged straight into the Blood Mist Forest.
Not long after entering, several eerie blood-colored shadows flashed past Zhou Ming. Some even merged directly into the surrounding trees, as though they had always been one with them.
To the Blood Ghosts that delighted in devouring Essence Blood, a flesh-and-blood creature like Zhou Ming was irresistibly attractive.
Like sharks smelling blood, they attacked him immediately, paying no regard to their own lives.
A blood-colored serpent phantom shot out from Zhou Ming's palm. Its venomous fangs flashed with a cold gleam as they instantly tore several Blood Ghosts apart.
However, through his spiritual perception, Zhou Ming quickly sensed that the Blood Ghosts, which had dispersed into mist, were reassembling at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Moreover, as time passed, more and more Blood Ghosts continuously gathered, eventually forming a gigantic viscous wave seemingly composed entirely of blood.
After noticing the situation before him, Zhou Ming decided to stop paying attention to the Blood Ghosts and prepared to force his way through the Blood Mist Forest under the protection of his Talent Force Field.
However, in the very next moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.
Without any hesitation, Zhou Ming immediately transformed into the Spirit Molting Giant Serpent.
Naturally, his purpose was to test whether the Crimson Halo could absorb the Blood Ghosts' power.
After all, the Crimson Halo was the innate ability possessed by the Spirit Molting Giant Serpent after the serpent swarm fused together. This ability resulted from Zhou Ming integrating the flesh-and-blood knowledge of the Crimson Apostle into it.
The Crimson Apostle profession path itself was modeled after the Vampire race, transforming a Beast Tamer's beast into a Blood Beast to wield the power of blood.
The moment the Crimson Halo appeared, the Blood Mist Forest immediately presented the spectacle of moths flying into a flame.
No matter how many Blood Ghosts approached the Crimson Halo, they were ultimately transformed into nourishment, enhancing the Spirit Molting Giant Serpent's innate ability.
The already exceptionally brilliant Crimson Halo became even more enchanting and sinister as the Blood Ghosts' origin power fused into it.
However, just as Zhou Ming thought the power of his Crimson Halo was about to undergo a qualitative transformation, the surrounding space suddenly changed, and in an instant, he was transported onto a small island.
“I almost forgot. The Blood Sea Secret Realm was formed from fragments of space, so it wasn't nearly as stable as a true world.”
The reason the Fu Family's Ancestor had been able to enter the Blood Sea Secret Realm and ultimately leave it safely was precisely because the unstable internal space had allowed him to bypass many dangerous regions directly.
Although the Blood Sea Secret Realm had become much more stable than it had been two hundred years ago, there was still a certain chance for spatial fluctuations to occur, resulting in effects similar to spatial teleportation.
“Fortunately, I didn't end up somewhere dangerous. Otherwise, I might have had to pay a terrible price.”
Zhou Ming reverted to his human form and began observing his surroundings.
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