Translator: CinderTL
After wiping their weapons and adjusting their gear, they marched forward under the Lord of the Mist's command.
Several hours of trekking through the rainforest brought them to a raging waterfall. Before it lay a massive humanoid tribal encampment.
The humanoid tribe had clearly detected their approach and had already prepared for battle before their camp.
At the forefront of the humanoid battle formation rode their leader, perched atop a giant tiger.
With the blare of the horn, the battle erupted.
The rules within the Domain Field differed from those of the Real World. Ordinary firearms were useless unless they were psionic technology weapons.
Aside from art magic, only primal combat techniques could determine the victor.
The two forces clashed like iron torrents, unleashing a brutal slaughter.
Figures fell continuously throughout the battle.
The Lord of the Mist, however, remained aloof from the fray, choosing instead to command the battle. His focus remained fixed on the humanoid leader and the green, glowing bracelet on his wrist.
Feng Qi chose to remain by the Lord of the Mist's side.
Amidst the carnage, his mental energy began to grow uncontrollably once more.
One of the side effects of cultivating Spiritual Immortality was that whenever a life perished nearby, his mental energy would autonomously transform into tendrils, devouring the residual mental energy of the deceased and assimilating it into his own.
This was far from a blessing.
If his mental energy grew too powerful, it would once again break free from the constraints of his physical body, achieving independent existence as it had before.
Fortunately, he had undergone rigorous physical training before encountering the Lord of the Mist. His current physical resilience could still withstand the side effects of his mental energy's rapid growth.
Time flowed onward.
Feng Qi's gaze shifted to the humanoid leader.
The leader raised his right hand, and as the green bracelet on his wrist began to glow, a colossal, ethereal figure materialized behind him.
As countless formations coalesced, the earth trembled violently, and countless vines erupted from the fissures, strangling nearby warriors.
The Lord of the Mist also turned his attention to the humanoid leader.
Despite the chaos, the Lord of the Mist remained unmoved, issuing orders through his communicator to dispatch battle groups to encircle and eliminate the humanoid leader.
Wave after wave of warriors fell, but the Lord of the Mist remained indifferent.
His strategy was simple: to exhaust the humanoid leader's energy as much as possible before engaging directly, ensuring a greater chance of success when he finally struck.
The brutality of war was laid bare. Blood stained the ground before the humanoid camp, turning the stream that fed the waterfall crimson.
The tide of battle shifted dramatically when the Phantom materialized behind the humanoid leader, shattering the Joint Operations Battle Group's advantage.
The humanoid leader had become the greatest obstacle to dispersing the Domain Field.
It was then that Feng Qi witnessed the warriors' spirit of sacrifice.
Obeying the Lord of the Mist's orders, they charged fearlessly toward the humanoid leader. Some even unleashed brief, brilliant bursts of power before their deaths, leaving scars on the humanoid leader's body.
The battle raged for hours.
The first to flee were the Weakling Clan Alliance forces, mercenaries hired with precious resources.
They had come solely for profit, lacking the sacrificial spirit of the battle group warriors and any genuine desire for victory.
Faced with such brutal warfare, they dared not linger in the fight.
The Lord of the Mist made no attempt to stop them.
As this portion of the force fled, the combat pressure on the Joint Operations Battle Group increased significantly.
It was at this moment that the Lord of the Mist chose to strike.
He lunged at the humanoid leader, seizing him by the throat before the humanoid could react, and dragged him away into the distance.
The humanoid leader was already exhausted from the prolonged battle, which was why the Lord of the Mist was able to capture him so easily.
This was precisely why the Lord of the Mist had chosen this moment to act.
He carried the humanoid leader deeper into the rainforest, seeking a place to finish him off.
Feng Qi watched with growing concern.
The true extent of the power granted by the miracle item remained unknown. The humanoid leader might have only used a fraction of its power so far, still holding back a lethal trump card.
If the Lord of the Mist were to die, the subsequent plans for the Sacrifice Line would collapse.
With this thought, he picked up his communicator, transferred command to the group leader of an A-Rank Battle Group, and sprinted toward the direction where the Lord of the Mist had vanished.
His figure darted through the rainforest, his consciousness constantly expanding forward, searching for any trace of the Lord of the Mist.
Meanwhile, deep within the rainforest, the Lord of the Mist had transformed into a Sea of Gray Mist, relentlessly corroding the humanoid leader's body.
But the humanoid leader's resistance was fierce.
Under his control, the surrounding vegetation grew wildly, devouring the gray mist and weakening the Lord of the Mist's power.
This was undoubtedly the plants' domain.
Though the plants that absorbed the gray mist withered rapidly, their sacrifice still inflicted damage on the Lord of the Mist.
As the stalemate persisted, a Phantom behind the humanoid leader began to coalesce spell trajectories.
The Phantom grew even larger, then merged with the gray mist, unleashing green energy to counter the gray mist.
The clash of these two energies erupted in constant explosions.
Gaps were blasted into the Sea of Gray Mist, only to be rapidly repaired.
Having committed to this course of action, the Lord of the Mist had clearly come prepared.
Undeterred by the humanoid leader's counterattack, the Lord of the Mist focused his efforts on corrupting the humanoid leader's body.
He knew that the battle would end the moment the humanoid leader died.
Prioritizing self-preservation would only prolong the conflict, leading to a stalemate and unpredictable consequences.
The battle lasted only a short time. As the humanoid leader's bodily functions deteriorated, he lost his combat capabilities.
Just as the Lord of the Mist believed victory was at hand, the humanoid leader, his face contorted in a savage grimace, began chanting an incomprehensible incantation.
Suddenly, the Phantom behind him shattered into countless black specks of light.
In an instant, these specks surged into the gray mist, drawn by some unseen force.
The Lord of the Mist let out a piercing scream.
As the gray mist churned violently, he reverted to his human form, now covered in black spots.
In his dying breath, the humanoid leader had unleashed a life curse upon him.
The curse inflicted both mental and physical torment on the Lord of the Mist, forcing him to his knees with agonizing howls.
Within his sea of consciousness, countless black spots swarmed, threatening to devour his entire spiritual world.
To prevent the curse from destroying his sea of consciousness, he began to gather the qi-blood energy within his body to resist its corrosive effects.
Just as the Lord of the Mist was struggling desperately, the domain weakling faction forces that had previously fled quietly approached him.
They hadn't truly retreated.
When they saw the Lord of the Mist kneeling on the ground, clutching a green bracelet in his hand, their expressions shifted slightly.
Miracle items were not unfamiliar to Domain Forces.
However, they rarely dared to covet such artifacts, contenting themselves with derivatives of these miraculous objects.
After all, they had a clear understanding of their own limitations.
But now, realizing that the bracelet in the Lord of the Mist's hand was likely a miracle item, their greed was ignited.
This desire quickly transformed into a surging killing intent.
They closed in on the Lord of the Mist, preparing to strike.
As if sensing their approach, the Lord of the Mist opened his bloodshot eyes and roared, summoning tendrils of gray mist that sent the approaching domain creatures flying.
But he soon collapsed again.
His body, gradually covered in black spots under the curse's corrosive influence, became completely paralyzed.
As he watched the approaching members of the Domain Weakling Alliance, Feng Qi once again felt the chilling threat of death.
Just then, a powerful mental shockwave erupted, sending several figures flying.
Feng Qi rushed to Lord of the Mist's side, bent down, and hoisted him onto his back. Grinning, he said, "Old Mist, don't die on me. Remember your promise? You said there'd be a place for me at the top when you reached it. I'm getting you out of here now!"
Hearing this, Lord of the Mist struggled to open his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Forget about me," he finally managed to whisper. "Hurry and try to break the curse."
Lord of the Mist finally relented. He submerged his consciousness into his sea of consciousness, preparing to confront the humanoid leader's life curse. He knew Feng Qi's strength well. Their only chance of survival lay in him breaking the life curse as quickly as possible.
As Lord of the Mist closed his eyes, Feng Qi looked up at the hundreds of Domain Weakling Alliance members surrounding them.
In this Sacrifice Line, he had originally planned to cling to Lord of the Mist's coattails, waiting for him to grow stronger before uncovering more intelligence and secrets. But he hadn't anticipated the immense difficulty of Lord of the Mist's growth. This was already the second time he had risked his life to save him.
Yet Lord of the Mist had to survive. Otherwise, the entire plan for this Sacrifice Line would collapse.
Taking a deep breath, Feng Qi braced himself for a desperate battle.
(End of the Chapter)
------------------------------------------------------
๐ Continue Reading [HTT] on ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.๐๐๐.
๐ Read upto [102] Free Chapters ahead. No Login Required! Members can read ahead upto [440] Chapters.
Read 16 other high quality novels, only on ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐.๐๐ ๐.
------------------------------------------------------