Chapter 326 - 188: Thoroughly Expunged, the Abomination of the Dark Territory

Chapter 326: Chapter 188: Thoroughly Expunged, the Abomination of the Dark Territory

Pei Ze paid it no mind and casually instructed, "I’m going to focus on my breakthrough in seclusion. Don’t disturb me unless it’s something important."

Now that the matter was settled, he planned to spend the coming days focused on his training, hoping to break through to the Crystallization stage as quickly as possible.

Su Ya and Peng Yan snapped back to their senses and quickly nodded, watching as Pei Ze entered his room.

"The master seems to have gotten much stronger again," Peng Yan muttered, his eyes fixed on the closed door.

Su Ya shot him a sideways glance. "There’s no ’seems’ about it. You know how quickly the master’s power grows."

"If he hadn’t been busy collecting Netherworld Crows for Lord Wuyu and dealing with the last of the Pei Family, the master would have already broken through to second-level Crystallization. Why would he have waited until now?"

"That’s true."

Peng Yan nodded in full agreement, then hoisted his greatsword onto his shoulder and ran downstairs.

"This won’t do. I have to train harder, too."

Su Ya pursed her lips, then also returned to her room to prepare for Meditation.

’Our master’s power is growing too quickly. I have to train with everything I’ve got. If I fall too far behind, even if I’m not abandoned, I’ll be sidelined one day.’

...

The dark, underground corridor was deathly silent, the only sound a faint, echoing footstep.

Gu Lin cautiously surveyed her surroundings, recasting the Light Spell on the bead in her hand to maintain the light source.

The air in the corridor was cold and damp, with a bone-chilling iciness. Even though Gu Lin’s constitution had reached the level of a second-tier legend, she still found it difficult to acclimate.

Gu Lin regretted not preparing a ring of warmth beforehand. It wasn’t a particularly rare or expensive Magic Item, and with her financial means, she could have easily obtained one.

"Annie, how much farther to Kons City?" Gu Lin asked quietly.

"According to the map, it’s a three-day journey," Annie replied calmly from behind her, then added, "assuming nothing unexpected happens."

The corner of Gu Lin’s mouth twitched.

’Nothing unexpected... That was clearly a pipe dream.’

Traveling in the Dark Territory was completely different from the surface world. There were no distinct landmarks or open vistas—only a spiderweb of tunnels branching in every direction, and an omnipresent darkness.

Even the most experienced traveler, holding a detailed map, would find it difficult to get their bearings in a place like this.

Moreover, interference from the ley line radiation prevented the casting of many Guiding Spells and divination spells.

Of course, Annie had ways to determine their direction, but the Vampire Wizard refused to use them. Her reason was to train Gu Lin, forcing her to get used to surviving and traveling in the Dark Territory.

It had been nearly two months since they entered the Dark Territory, and all Gu Lin had seen were corridors, one after another. The monotony was so tedious it was almost maddening.

The only thing adding any excitement to the simple, tedious journey was the endless supply of monsters in the Dark Territory.

By her count, they ran into a fight every two hours on average, and sometimes even more frequently.

Just half an hour ago, Gu Lin had finished off a pack of Terror Claw Monsters.

They were a species of cunning and extremely territorial monsters that launched merciless attacks against all "intruders."

They had the heads of vultures and claws as sharp as hooks. Their enormous, beetle-like bodies were covered in a thick carapace as hard as rock.

To Gu Lin’s surprise, one of them had only been grievously wounded, not killed instantly, even after taking a direct hit from a Fireball Technique she had empowered with a Gemstone.

She had a tough time finishing off the pack of Terror Claw Monsters, and ended up completely disheveled.

Similar incidents were a common occurrence on the journey. Gu Lin was exhausted by the ordeal, but at the same time, her strength was growing by leaps and bounds.

Annie had taught her a great deal of Magic and many combat techniques. Through life-and-death battles, this knowledge was rapidly assimilated, becoming a part of her very being.

And as dangerous as the Dark Territory was, it also held many rare wonders that could boost one’s Spiritual Power, causing her own to increase by a huge margin.

After these two months, Gu Lin was nearly on the verge of first-level Crystallization.

This was the main reason she had persevered until now.

"Stop," Annie said suddenly.

Gu Lin stopped in her tracks, her heart lurching.

Annie rarely interfered with her actions on their journey. She wouldn’t even speak up if Gu Lin took a wrong turn.

Unless she encountered a particularly dangerous situation!

Just as she was feeling alarmed and uncertain, a strange, rustling sound suddenly came from up ahead.

The next moment, a pack of grotesquely shaped monsters suddenly charged out of the corridor.

Gu Lin jumped, not because the monsters had appeared so suddenly, but purely because of what they looked like.

They looked like products of flesh and organs all mashed together haphazardly. Their surfaces bristled with a dense forest of fleshy tentacles, and they moved entirely by the writhing of these appendages, a sight so nauseating it made one’s stomach turn.

Gu Lin’s face paled slightly. A woman’s natural revulsion to disgusting things made her instinctively want to get away from these monsters.

She quickly recovered, however, and raised her hand to attack.

But Annie was faster.

The Vampire Wizard held up her right hand, palm open, as a crimson gleam flashed in her eyes.

In an instant, the charging monsters let out a piercing, unified shriek. Countless beads of blood seeped from their bodies, spiraling into the air and converging into a sphere of blood.

In just two or three seconds, the more than thirty hideous monsters were drained dry of blood, collapsing to the ground as shriveled corpses.