Several silhouettes darted at extreme speed through the gray fog-shrouded forests of
"Stop." Lin Lei commanded in a low voice.
The five of them had confirmed that no one was pursuing them. "Those Highgods trapped in illusions—why are they all chasing us like madmen?"
"They've fallen into an illusion!" the purple-haired youth called Bron snapped irritably.
"I said they went mad, not you. Why are you getting worked up?" the effeminate man asked, mildly surprised.
The purple-haired youth snorted coldly.
"Enough arguing." Lin Lei surveyed their surroundings and said in a low voice, "Whether these people have fallen into illusions or genuinely gone mad, their souls have clearly been affected by this gray fog. I didn't expect that killing would attract others. It seems… we need to pick up the pace and get out of this gray fog region as quickly as possible."
"No rush," the effeminate man said with a smile. "The Netherworld Fruit might be somewhere within this gray fog region."
Lin Lei glanced at him.
The Netherworld Fruit could appear anywhere in Netherworld Mountain. The purple fog region naturally had the highest probability, while the white fog region had the lowest.
"If you'd rather stay in the gray fog region, be my guest," Lin Lei said flatly. "Move out!" With that, Lin Lei and Bei Bei pressed onward. Walit and the purple-haired youth didn't hesitate either, following close behind. The effeminate man frowned in displeasure, but after glancing around, he caught up as well.
Gloomy gray mist coiled around them the entire way.
The five moved forward with cautious vigilance. Whenever they sensed killing ahead, they would immediately detour. They had also discovered that within Netherworld Mountain, walking in a straight line by instinct was actually less likely to lead you to your destination. But wandering randomly, trying several times, could actually succeed.
Step by step, they advanced.
It seemed slow, but was in fact remarkably fast.
Whoosh!
A fiery red silhouette plummeted from the sky. For an instant, space itself seemed to boil and tremble. An overwhelming aura enveloped Lin Lei as the crimson figure lunged directly at him, the one in the lead. Lin Lei's cold, dark-gold eyes swept over it, and an earthen-yellow glow instantly spread across his body's surface, engulfing the phantom entirely.
Blackstone Space! Repulsive Force!
Simultaneously, Lin Lei's wrist flicked, and the completely transparent Nihility Sword sliced through the air with a soft *pu*, cutting through the space above him as effortlessly as tearing paper.
The figure, whose speed had been drastically altered within the Blackstone Space, was caught off guard. Lin Lei's blade swept across its head in a single stroke.
One sword. Split in two.
Dead.
Bron, the effeminate man, and Walit could not suppress the shock in their hearts. The attacker had been charging up with an aura powerful enough to make space shudder—its strength was obvious. Yet it hadn't survived a single move under Lin Lei's hand!
"Move. Now," Lin Lei said coolly, his speed suddenly surging. The others accelerated immediately. In this gray fog region, after every battle, you had to leave the scene as fast as possible. Otherwise, in the blink of eye, other frenzied Highgods nearby would come charging in for the kill.
"He really is powerful," the effeminate man muttered, studying Lin Lei with furrowed brows. "With his strength, if I stick with him… even if we find the Netherworld Fruit, I won't be able to claim it." Following Lin Lei was safer, certainly, but when it came to competing for the Netherworld Fruit, they stood no chance against him. After all, an ordinary Seven-Star Demon, trapped within Blackstone Space, would simply be slaughtered.
Having reached the Highgod stage, Lin Lei's strength was already approaching that of an ordinary Infernal Asura.
Whoosh, whoosh! The group continued to sprint through the forest. Whenever they sensed spatial fluctuations ahead, they immediately changed direction. For a time, they managed to avoid other frenzied Highgods.
Deep within the gray fog region of Netherworld Mountain.
Beneath an extremely thick, short tree—one that would take five or six people to wrap their arms around—dozens of people sat cross-legged. Their eyes were bloodshot, filled with madness. Yet they did not attack one another. Instead, they occupied different positions around the base of the tree, each watching the others with the wariness of wild beasts.
Whoosh!
Several silhouettes suddenly shot toward them from the distance at blinding speed.
In nearly the same instant, all the cross-legged figures turned to look. In that moment—those dozens of eyes met the five of them.
"Hm?" Lin Lei and his companions froze for a split second.
The dozens of figures instantly twisted their expressions and, like bolts of lightning, launched themselves from the ground.
"Go!" Lin Lei bellowed.
He wasn't afraid of these dozens. He was afraid of being pinned down by them, which would draw hundreds, thousands, or even more frenzied Highgods pouring in. That would be catastrophic. Those who had survived this long in the gray fog region were no weaklings—most possessed strength close to that of a Six-Star Demon.
"Hah!" A purple-haired woman wildly swung a massive scythe, cleaving downward. A crescent arc of black light tore through space and shot toward them at ferocious speed.
"Hmph!" An iron-armored giant also threw a frenzied punch. Ripples of spatial distortion radiated outward from his fist in concentric rings, racing along a straight line toward Lin Lei and the others.
In a single instant, dozens of attacks lashed out simultaneously. Without exception, they were all physical attacks.
Every manner of physical assault churned the space until cracks appeared—some were dazzling, colorful strikes, others were blurred and translucent—and in the blink of an eye, they completely engulfed all five of them. No matter how fast they could flee, they could not outrun the speed of these attacks.
Because the dozens of attackers had spread their strikes across a wide area, the attacks were somewhat dispersed. Each person only faced two or three strikes. Among the group, Bei Bei handled it most casually, smashing apart the incoming attacks with his bare fists as though it were nothing. Lin Lei, relying on his body and his divine-grade weapon, also deflected them with ease.
The other three were not so fortunate.
"Run!" The purple-haired youth Bron barely managed to block two attacks. After the third struck his left arm, he roared and fled at top speed.