Chapter 489 - 488- Lord of the Corroded Zone (2)

In Pangu, there were some Corroded Zones that were far stranger and more bizarre than the others.

These Corroded Zones did not simply follow the ordinary laws that governed the formation and development of other corrupted lands. After existing for a certain period of time, strange phenomena would sometimes occur within them. These phenomena would eventually give rise to a terrifying being that would completely take control of the entire Corroded Zone.

Such beings became known as the Overlords of the Corroded Zones.

Many of the major Corroded Zones in Pangu possessed their own Overlord. Each one was an existence that had completely integrated itself with the Corroded Zone it ruled, possessing an almost absolute level of control over everything within its territory.

In the Dead Sea, there was a particularly enormous Corroded Zone that had formed at the very bottom of the sea.

No one knew exactly how it had come into existence.

For countless years, strange phenomena and eerie occurrences had continuously appeared within its depths. Entire underwater regions would suddenly fall silent. Ancient creatures would disappear without leaving behind even a trace. Sometimes, vast whirlpools would emerge without warning, while other times, strange lights could be seen flickering in the darkness at the bottom of the sea.

Eventually, all those strange phenomena gave birth to an Overlord.

Many of the races that lived near the Dead Sea, as well as those that occasionally ventured into its waters, knew of this terrifying existence.

It was an unusually active Overlord.

From time to time, it would swim out of its territory and venture through different parts of the Dead Sea. Its enormous body would pass through the darkness at the bottom of the ocean, occasionally causing massive waves and terrifying disturbances that could be felt even many kilometers away.

It was known as the Pangu Sea Leviathan.

For the most part, the Sea Leviathan kept to itself. It usually remained at the deepest parts of the Dead Sea, rarely showing itself to the creatures living closer to the surface.

Therefore, unless one was incredibly unfortunate and happened to encounter it while venturing into the depths, there was almost no chance of seeing the terrifying creature.

But the reason this particular Corroded Zone was so strange was not because it possessed an Overlord.

Rather, it was because it did not seem to follow any of the known rules governing other Corroded Zones.

For instance, its danger and lethality had already surpassed that of many Corroded Zones that were several centuries older.

Normally, the older a Corroded Zone became, the more terrifying and dangerous it would gradually become. The accumulation of corruption, strange phenomena, mutated creatures, and other unknown factors would cause the region to slowly evolve into an increasingly deadly environment.

Yet this particular Corroded Zone seemed to be developing at an abnormal rate.

Despite its relatively young age, its level of danger had already reached an astonishing level. And that was not even the strangest part.

A couple of decades ago, the Overlord of the Corroded Zone had appeared.

The moment it revealed itself, the entire surrounding region had been thrown into turmoil. Despite its young age, the Overlord was like a walking catastrophe. Wherever it went, terror followed.

Its mere presence was enough to cause widespread destruction. Entire regions could be transformed into forbidden lands simply because the creature had passed through them. Even powerful cultivators and ancient races treated its movements with extreme caution.

Many experts had speculated that once the Overlord was fully grown, it might even become capable of rivaling the legendary Pangu Sea Leviathan.

The old man had never heard of the Overlord of this Corroded Zone leaving its territory since the day it first appeared.

That was why, when he finally realized what was happening, his face couldn’t help but turn extremely pale.

Something was very wrong. Suddenly, greenish-black patches began appearing all over their skin.

The patches resembled livor mortis, spreading beneath the surface of their flesh like the blood within their bodies had already begun to stagnate. The two youths cried out in surprise.

Before they could even understand what was happening, numerous boils began emerging across their already darkened skin.

Their bodies trembled violently. Intense corrosion began eating into their flesh, blood, and even their very essence. The corrosive substance within their bodies began rising at an astonishing rate.

At the same time, the decay point on their hands started expanding rapidly. It spread across their skin like a living organism, showing no signs of stopping. The old man sucked in a deep breath.

Unfortunately, even the air he inhaled contained traces of the terrifying corrosive substance. The moment it entered his lungs, his expression changed.

He immediately understood what was going to happen, and his face contorted with helplessness.

If they couldn’t leave this area in time, the two youths would soon reach the limits of what their bodies could withstand.

Once that happened, the decay points within their bodies would erupt.

At that point, there were only two possibilities. They would either die... or mutate beyond recognition.

"Dammit!"

The old man clenched his teeth, his expression filled with frustration and helplessness.

"What kind of thing brought all this calamity upon us?!"

Without wasting another second, he swept the two youths toward himself and rushed in a particular direction.

He had to leave. Immediately. He wanted to attempt to warp away from their current location.

However, he had deliberately avoided doing so earlier.

Warping was an ability that only cultivators who had reached the Spirit Core Formation Realm could safely perform. Anyone below the Spirit Core Formation Realm who attempted to forcibly tear through space would most likely be ripped apart by the terrifying spatial fluctuations.

Even someone at the Spirit Core Formation Realm had to be extremely careful.

If the old man were at his peak and completely unharmed, he could successfully warp away with the two youths with a relatively high rate of success.

But now... He was injured.

The corruption was already spreading through his body, and the risk of mutation was rapidly increasing.

Under these circumstances, he couldn’t even guarantee his own safety when warping.

How could he guarantee the safety of the two youths he was carrying? There was a very high chance that one of them would die.

There was even a possibility that both would perish during the spatial transfer.

But he had no choice. Staying here meant certain death. Warping - although dangerous - at least gave them a chance of survival. The old man glanced at the two youths one final time from the corner of his eyes.

Then he gritted his teeth.

"Hold on..." His voice was low and hoarse.

"Just hold on."

He gathered the remaining strength within his body and prepared to forcibly tear through space.

Underneath the dark clouds and heavily corroded skies, faint distortions suddenly appeared.

Space began to tremble. And a thin crack slowly emerged in the air. At first, it was barely noticeable.

But in the next instant, the crack rapidly expanded, revealing a terrifying spatial distortion that twisted everything around it. The old man seized the opportunity.

He grabbed the two youths and forcibly warped away from the area.

Several kilometers away from the enormous black mass that was rapidly encroaching upon the land, space suddenly tore open.

An old man stumbled out of the spatial rift. Another figure appeared beside him.

The old man’s body was covered in dense greenish-black livor mortis spots. His skin had already turned a frightening greenish-black color, and his breathing was ragged.

He tightly held the wrist of a female youth.

The girl looked to be in a daze.

Her skin was covered in dense livor mortis spots, and the greenish-black coloration across her body was even paler than the old man’s.

She looked almost like a corpse that had just crawled out of a coffin. Her body swayed weakly.

It seemed as though she could collapse onto the ground at any moment.

Her eyes were blank and listless. She no longer seemed to see anything around her.

In her hands, she tightly clutched something.

A severed hand.

The hand was greenish-black, its flesh already heavily corrupted.

When the old man saw it, his expression immediately changed to that of sorrow and grief. And then, the unbearable expression of loss appeared across his aged face.

During the warping process, the other youth had not survived.

The spatial fluctuations had been far more violent than they had anticipated.

His body had been caught within the turbulent spatial currents and ripped apart before they could safely reach their destination.

All that had survived was his severed hand. And the young girl was holding it tightly. She seemed unwilling and terrified to let go.

Her fingers were wrapped around the cold, corrupted flesh as though doing so would somehow allow her to hold on to the person she had just lost.

Her eyes remained empty. Yet tears silently streamed down the sides of her face. The old man stared at her for several seconds.

His lips moved slightly, but no words came out. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly. He had failed to protect them.

Shortly afterward, the old man retracted his gaze from the young girl and turned toward the distance. His expression gradually became solemn.

A huge dark haze covered the majority of the sky. It was so enormous that it seemed to stretch endlessly across the horizon.

The dark mass continued advancing, swallowing everything in its path and even encroaching upon the land below.

Within the enormous haze were countless strange creatures.

Among them were several small birds that, when gathered together, closely resembled a massive cloud of dust flying through the sky. Their numbers were simply too great.

Occasionally, red and black lightning flashed within the dark clouds. Every time the lightning illuminated the sky, the entire landscape beneath it became visible for a brief moment before being swallowed by darkness once again.

The scene resembled a terrible calamity descending upon the world.

Yet despite the terrifying sight before him, the old man could not see the Overlord of the Corroded Zone.

He narrowed his eyes and stared into the distant darkness.

He still couldn’t see it. It was as though the creature itself had disappeared into the heavens.

But the old man knew better. The creature was there. Somewhere within that enormous dark haze.

And judging from the scale of the phenomenon surrounding it, the Overlord was likely flying at an altitude far higher than the clouds that surrounded it.

The old man’s heart sank. If even he couldn’t see the creature from this distance...

Then just how enormous was its territory. And more importantly, why had an existence that had never left its Corroded Zone suddenly decided to venture out?

A terrible thought surfaced in his mind. The old man’s face became even paler.