Chapter 494: Chaos at the Bottom of the Lake
Lin Langtian's gaze flickered as he looked at the withered corpses. Soon, he began to deduce some clues and his eyes became a bit complicated. These powerful beings were undoubtedly admirable. They had chosen to meditate and wither away at the bottom of the Energy Lake, rather than risk becoming monsters corrupted by the alien demonic energy.
Thud!
A faint sound suddenly came from a stone cave not far away, and Lin Langtian saw the black corpse inside suddenly erupting in brilliant black light.
Boom!
As the black light grew stronger, the black corpse suddenly exploded, and from its remains, a black light orb began to rise.
That was the Energy Crystal!
Lin Langtian let out a deep breath as he finally understood why the Energy Crystals kept emerging from the bottom of this lake.
It turned out that these Energy Crystals formed from the corpses of these powerful beings, having undergone thousands of years of refining at the bottom of the lake.
"So this is how the Energy Crystals appear…"
A surprised voice sounded from behind. Lin Langtian turned his head and saw Ao Xuan and many other powerful beings arriving at the scene. They looked at the vast black rock ravine in front of them with astonishment.
Obviously, they had witnessed the explosion of the black corpse and the formation of the Energy Crystal.
"Haha, imagine how terrifying it would be if all these black corpses turned into Energy Crystals?"
"We've truly entered a treasure trove. Such rare Energy Crystals in the outside world, and here they are in such numbers."
"Yeah, if we can collect a few, this trip will have been worth it!"
The expressions of the various strong beings were now burning with greed. They eagerly eyed the many stone caves on both sides of the massive black rock ravine, their eyes filled with unrestrained greed and longing.
A clamor erupted among the powerful beings, and soon, someone could no longer suppress their greed. They shot forward, rushing toward the caves in the black rock ravine.
Bang, bang, bang!
As they rushed forward, the resulting shockwaves seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Many black corpses inside the stone caves exploded, and one by one, Energy Crystals began to rise, glowing with an alluring black light.
Each appearance of an Energy Crystal caused the various powerful beings to become bloodshot with desire, and the black rock ravine immediately descended into chaos.
Lin Langtian frowned as he watched the fierce fighting break out among the powerful beings, and he motioned for Mu Lingshan to come to his side, saying, "It's too dangerous here. Stay close to me."
He then turned to Liu Dasan and the others and said in a low voice, "Get to work. Try to gather as many Energy Crystals as you can."
Lin Langtian had a strong need for these crystals. He also wanted to try and fully enhance the 'Evil God's Demon Eyes' in his forehead and see how powerful it could become.
"Mm." Liu Dasan and the others nodded, leaping into the battlefield to join the fight.
Mu Lingshan's large eyes showed a hint of disappointment. She was especially fond of treasure hunting, but for now, she could only follow Lin Langtian.
However, she also understood that Lin Langtian was looking out for her. After all, the weakest person who could enter this place was at least half a step into the Death Profound Realm. While she could resist with the help of the Life and Death Coffin, it would still be quite exhausting.
The five of them split into two teams, and they leaped almost simultaneously into the massive black rock ravine. Lin Langtian and Mu Lingshan quickly started collecting the rising Energy Crystals.
As Lin Langtian's group moved, Ao Xuan and the others from the larger factions could no longer hold back. Wind whistled as they dashed into the black rock ravine and began using various methods to collect and seize the Energy Crystals.
With this fighting, bloodshed was inevitable. Within less than ten minutes, some were killed in the scramble for the Energy Crystals.
Blood splattered in the lake below, filling the black rock ravine with a faint scent of blood.
However, while everyone was focused on fighting for the Energy Crystals, no one noticed that some of the larger and more imposing black corpses in the stone caves in the depths of the black rock ravine had been subtly releasing traces of black energy...
Especially at the very bottom of the black rock ravine, there was an exceptionally large cave.
Inside that cave, a black figure several meters tall sat in meditation, and strange and evil black runes were crawling on his body.
His tightly shut eyes, which had been closed for what seemed like a thousand years, twitched as if the demon was about to awaken.
...
Buzz!
Lin Langtian's hand curled into a claw shape, and a powerful suction force suddenly erupted. The Energy Crystal that had just floated out of a stone cave rushed toward him and he grabbed it with ease.
"Fourth one!"
Lin Langtian grabbed the Energy Crystal, feeling the pure energy and demonic power surge within it. His eyes lit up with excitement.
For others, they might only be able to absorb the pure energy in the Energy Crystal, but for Lin Langtian, the demonic energy inside was just as valuable.
In just ten minutes, he had already obtained four Energy Crystals, and this was quite a substantial haul.
After storing the Energy Crystal, Lin Langtian glanced at Liu Dasan and the others ahead. They were also excitedly searching for more Energy Crystals.
In the distance, violent waves of energy spread, and faint sounds of fighting could be heard.
Because Energy Crystals were so rare, a bloody battle was inevitable here sooner or later.
Realizing this, Lin Langtian shifted his focus and began moving deeper into the black rock ravine. The Energy Crystals on the outer edges had already been largely taken.
Not far behind, Ao Xuan's face was expressionless as he watched Lin Langtian's group moving deeper into the black rock ravine. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.
"Prince, that kid seems to have collected nearly ten Energy Crystals. That's not far off from us."
A man beside Ao Xuan, one of the Deep Sea Xuanyao Clan's Three Jiao Long Generals and a small completion of the Death Profound Realm, said in a deep voice.
"It's fine. Let them collect for now."
Ao Xuan smiled faintly, though his smile was cold and sinister. "Once they've gathered enough, I'll make sure they hand all of them over to me!"
Although Lin Langtian's strength had been somewhat unexpected, it hadn't made Ao Xuan fearful.
After all, in their previous brief skirmish, Ao Xuan hadn't even used his full strength.
"Let's gather as many Energy Crystals as we can. If anyone dares to fight us for them, kill them on the spot."
Ao Xuan gave the order, and his Deep Sea Xuanyao Clan's warriors immediately surged forward with ruthless intent, laughing menacingly as they headed toward the areas where the Energy Crystals were rising.
Lin Langtian, unaware of the Deep Sea Xuanyao Clan's schemes, was deep into the black rock ravine. Over the next ten minutes, he gathered two more Energy Crystals.
However, as he went deeper into the ravine, Lin Langtian frowned. He noticed that the demonic energy in the black corpses' bodies seemed to grow more concentrated the deeper he went.
Clearly, the corruption these powerful beings suffered before they died was far more severe than those earlier corpses.
These tombs and sects from that era seemed to have once been formidable, rivaling even the most powerful sects, but they had been destroyed by the demonic invasion.
"Mansion Master, we've gathered seven Energy Crystals!"
While Lin Langtian was frowning at this discovery, Liu Dasan and the others approached, holding seven Energy Crystals. Their haul was also quite impressive.
Lin Langtian smiled and was about to speak when his eyes suddenly sharpened. He saw dozens of swift black light streaking from the depths of the black rock ravine and crashing into the greedy human warriors.
Pff!
In an instant, five strong warriors, at the half-step Death Profound Realm, turned pale as they slowly looked down. A dried-up hand had pierced their hearts…
And the owner of that hand was a black corpse with demonic energy radiating from its eye sockets!
"Lingshan, Liu Da, move!"
Lin Langtian inhaled deeply, grabbed Mu Lingshan, and shouted to Liu Dasan and the others, then dashed off in a different direction.
In that moment, Lin Langtian clearly saw that many more black corpses were emerging from the depths of the black rock ravine.
It seemed something had changed here.
Five figures darted swiftly through the Energy Lake's depths, and behind them, the lake's surface rippled as numerous black figures moved like shadows.
"Brother Langtian, what are those?" Mu Lingshan asked, surprised by the change. She stared in awe at the strange happenings behind them.
"The demonic energy in those black corpses is too strong. The Energy Lake's power seems to be unable to suppress it any longer."
Lin Langtian thought deeply. The deeper he went into the black rock ravine, the more concentrated the demonic energy in the black corpses became. It was becoming much more difficult to suppress or eliminate.
"Mansion Master, what should we do next?" Liu Dasan asked.
"We'll wait and see," Lin Langtian replied, shaking his head.
Now that this had happened, no one here could avoid it. These black corpses were strong, but the various powerful beings were not weak either.
With that, Lin Langtian didn't say anything else. He moved faster, and the others closely followed.
The situation at the bottom of the black rock ravine rapidly escalated.
At first, many of the powerful beings were caught off guard and killed by the black corpses. In just a short time, many had fallen.
Blood and chaos spread quickly, and a sense of terror filled the air as many powerful beings retreated from the ravine, staring in disbelief at the black corpses emerging from it.
"What's happening?"
"Are these black corpses being used as puppets?"
The murmurs quickly spread among the strong beings as they watched the black corpses charge toward them.
"Don't be afraid, these black corpses aren't too strong. They don't have intelligence, so they're not that difficult to deal with. The problem is just their numbers."
"As long as we defeat them, we can keep searching for the Energy Crystals in the depths. The Energy Crystals down there are of better quality!"
With that, the battle cries of those who hadn't yet been shaken by the situation rang out. Despite the danger, no one seemed ready to abandon their greed.
The shouting seemed to be quite effective, and those who had been hesitant earlier were now filled with a murderous intent.
Kill!
Having recovered from their earlier disarray, the powerful beings were now filled with greed, and their fear dissipated. They immediately launched into fierce combat, attacking the black flood of corpses with full force.
Boom, boom!
The two forces collided with immense force, creating an enormous shockwave that created a vacuum around the Energy Lake's bottom. Even the lake's liquid was pushed away.
With such powerful forces working together, they were able to restrain the black corpses, turning dozens of the first ones into dust.
"Damn it, be more careful! If the black corpses are destroyed, we won't get any Energy Crystals!"
Some of the powerful beings shouted angrily when they saw the black corpses turning to dust.
"Kill them! As long as we eliminate the strange energy inside them, they'll turn into the purest Energy Crystals!"
As they stared at the black corpses charging toward them, the powerful beings' eyes flickered with both red light and murderous intent. With that, their vast energy exploded, and they charged in.
Boom!
The two forces collided with tremendous noise, and the shockwave turned the Energy Lake upside down.
The battle was brutal, with one side already lifeless and the other driven into madness by the Energy Crystals. The fighting was vicious.
"We need to act now, be careful."
Lin Langtian looked at the chaotic battle, his eyes flashing. He spoke to Liu Dasan and the others, "This battle is clearly at a standstill. It's the perfect time to sneak in and collect more Energy Crystals."
"Mm."
Liu Dasan and the others nodded, then leaped into the depths of the battlefield. Lin Langtian and Mu Lingshan exchanged a look and joined the fray...
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