Ming ventured deeper into the Red Line…
and for the first time, he truly understood why this place was called a graveyard for humans.
Every step felt like walking into another world.
Not only monsters—
even the plants were killers.
Some vines lashed out like hungry serpents.
Some flowers released poison that melted stone.
Some fruits looked harmless… even delicious.
Ming learned that the hard way.
One mushroom looked soft, white, and harmless—almost like something humans might eat.
He tasted a small bite.
Within seconds his vision blurred.
His heartbeat slowed.
His limbs felt cold.
He crouched, gasping, as Death Qi flooded into his veins like icy water.
"I'm dying…"
It was the closest he had ever been to death.
Only his Death Qi circulation saved him, burning the poison out like black fire.
When he finally stood up, panting, sweat dripping from his chin, Ming made a silent vow:
"Here… even a plant can kill me. I can't relax. Not for a moment."
And then—
he saw them.
The six monsters he would never forget.
The six creatures he swore never to cross paths with—not until he became strong enough to walk among monsters like an equal.
Dreadlurkers
The first nightmare he encountered.
Inside a narrow cavern, Ming felt cold near his spine.
Not danger.
Not killing intent.
Then he saw it.
A shadow-thin creature clinging upside down on the rocky ceiling—
no face… but dozens of tiny blinking eyes across its skin.
It watched him.
Breathing silently.
Waiting.
When the torches died, it vanished completely into darkness.
When it screamed, Ming felt his vitality draining from his bones.
He ran without looking back.
These monsters could sense fear like heat…
and Ming realized he could not beat them—yet.
Bone Crawler Kings
Across the bone plains, the ground trembled.
Ming froze.
A creature larger than a carriage crawled forward—
made entirely of bones twisted together, forming a centipede-like horror.
Spiritual poison leaked from its joints.
Every bone in its body clicked violently as it moved.
When Ming shattered a piece with a rock—
—its bones rebuilt themselves within seconds.
He hid for a full hour until it passed.
He swore he would return one day and use its bones to forge a blade worthy of his art.
Dark Wailers
At an underground lake, Ming heard sobbing.
Slow, painful, echoing sobs.
Then he saw them—
tall, skin stretched too thin, mouths stitched open…
black mist leaking from their chests.
When they wailed, Ming's vision cracked.
He saw illusions of himself failing.
Dying.
Losing his master again.
Reliving his worst pain.
He bit his tongue, using the metallic taste of blood to stay conscious and escape.
These monsters fed on despair.
They were perfect training for Death Qi…
but Ming was not ready.
Crimson Maws
In the scarlet forests, a blur raced past him.
Red fur.
Two mouths—one on its face, another on its stomach.
Lightning-fast.
Silent.
Deadly.
When Ming sent a Death Qi slash toward it—
the stomach-mouth opened and absorbed it.
He felt death cold in his blood.
If he hadn't hidden immediately, he would have been torn apart.
Hive of the Silent Queen
Deep underground, Ming felt a vibration on the ground.
Then silence.
Hundreds of insect-like humanoids walked past him—
crystal heads reflecting faint red light, bodies making no sound.
Their Queen floated in the middle.
Four translucent wings.
No mouth.
Eyes like diamonds filled with hatred.
She raised her hand—
and the air itself split into invisible blades.
Even the wind bled.
Ming stayed motionless until the hive vanished like ghosts.
If he moved even once…
he would have dissolved into crimson acid.
Soulflayers
The strongest monsters he saw.
Floating above a forbidden pit, skeletal wings spread, a bone mask covering their faces—
and behind the mask, a black flame burned like a dying star.
The moment Ming saw them, his Death Qi weakened.
His breathing slowed.
His soul felt pulled—
dragged.
He fell to his knee, trembling.
"They… can consume souls…"
He crawled away inch by inch, tears of terror in his eyes.
When Ming finally escaped to a safe area, he collapsed against a tree, shaking.
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
Blood from his lips.
And he finally understood:
The Red Line was not just dangerous…
it was alive.
Hungry.
Watching him.
But Ming stood up again.
Because surviving here…
meant becoming strong enough to walk among monsters like an equal.
And one day—
able to hunt them all.
After some time, Ming was hunting a bearlike beast twice his size.
He fought it relentlessly, both sides pushing each other to the edge, but Ming finally stepped in with the Havinly Art – Third Form.
His blade moved like a flowing wave—silent, cold, and unstoppable.
In the next instant, the beast's head rolled to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Ming was about to retrieve the monster, but then—
He sensed something.
A presence.
Weak… trembling… completely out of place.
Ming turned sharply and slashed toward a nearby tree.
The tree split cleanly in half, and behind it stood a person—a human, hiding and shaking.
Ming froze for a moment.
A human?
Here?
After all this time searching, he had finally found someone.
Without thinking, he rushed forward and grabbed the man by the collar.
But the man started screaming like a terrified child.
"Let me go! If you hurt me, I'll tell my brother! He'll beat you up!"
Ming stared at him in disbelief.
The man looked like an adult… but his behavior, his tone, his fear—everything felt like that of a lost child.
it was Hao