Chapter 488 - 487- Lord of the Corroded Zone

’A Corroded Zone here? But there can only be one Corroded Zone around this area, and it’s not even a hundred years old. These vultures usually start and fly through the skies above the Corroded Zone. Why would they suddenly appear this far away from it?’

The old man thought with a solemn expression on his face. He had definitely not expected something like this to happen.

Moreover, the timing could not have been worse. He was completely unprepared, and he was currently responsible for protecting two members of his race. He could not fight these vultures at his full strength while simultaneously keeping an eye on the two youngsters.

Although he was a seasoned Spirit Core Formation Realm cultivator, the vultures were extremely troublesome opponents. Their claws possessed a powerful corrosive effect that could eat through his spiritual energy and even damage his physical body. Ordinary defensive spells were practically useless against their talons.

Worse still, their claws were incredibly sharp. Even with his physical strength, he could not afford to allow them to land a direct strike. A single mistake could result in his flesh being torn apart.

All in all, these creatures were far more troublesome than their appearance suggested.

The old man grunted slightly when he saw one of the youths being forced into a desperate situation. One of the bald vultures had already reached the young man and was about to tear him into two with its razor-sharp claws.

The old man’s expression changed.

He immediately moved.

His figure flashed forward, and just as another vulture dove toward him, its sharp beak aiming directly for his face, he reached out with his bare hand and grabbed its neck.

The vulture struggled violently.

Its wings flapped with tremendous force, producing a deafening gust of wind that swept across the surroundings. Its claws desperately slashed at the old man’s body, attempting to tear through his flesh.

However, the old man merely snorted coldly.

With a fierce motion, he twisted his wrist and slashed his other hand across the vulture’s body.

A powerful force erupted.

The vulture’s body was cleaved apart before it could even release another cry, and its lifeless corpse fell heavily toward the ground.

The old man did not even spare it another glance.

He immediately formed several hand seals.

At the same time, the aged horn growing from his head began to darken.

A strange and ominous aura gradually spread from the horn as thick, dark mist poured out of it. The mist rapidly expanded before gathering together in midair.

Roar!

A deep and thunderous roar suddenly echoed across the battlefield.

The dark mist transformed into the shape of a gigantic bull.

It was heavily muscular, with thick limbs and a body covered entirely in swirling black mist. It stood upright on its hind legs, its massive hooves pounding against the air as an oppressive aura spread in every direction.

The Dark Mist Ancient Bull!

The bull lowered its head and let out another furious grunt before charging toward the nearby vultures.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every step caused the surrounding air to tremble.

The enormous creature swung its arms violently, sending several vultures flying through the air. Others were struck directly and torn apart by the tremendous force.

The Dark Mist Ancient Bull continued rampaging through the battlefield, cleaving through the formation of vultures and forcibly pushing them away from the two youths.

Taking advantage of the brief opening, the old man turned into a blur.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside the two youngsters.

He immediately grabbed both of their wrists.

There was a faint trace of panic on his usually calm and composed face.

"Elder..." the young girl began when she noticed his unusual expression.

However, the old man did not give her a chance to finish.

"This place is dangerous. We can’t stay here any longer!"

His voice was unusually stern.

"I’ll let my Dark Mist Ancient Bull deal with these vultures for now. We need to find the Corroded Zone and hide inside it!"

The old man immediately prepared to transform into a stream of light and rush toward the distance.

However, the young girl stared at him in disbelief.

"But Elder, I thought you said the Corroded Zone was even more dangerous than the outside world. Why are we heading there?"

Her voice contained obvious confusion and fear.

The other youth also looked completely dumbfounded.

"Corrode-d... Zone?"

His voice trembled as he spoke those words.

A trace of fear appeared in his eyes.

The Corroded Zone was not an unfamiliar concept to them. Their race had circulated countless stories and legends about those forbidden regions. Terrifying creatures lurked within them, and even powerful cultivators could easily lose their lives after stepping inside.

To these two youths, entering a Corroded Zone was practically no different from walking directly into the jaws of death.

The old man paused for a moment after seeing their expressions.

However, he ultimately ignored their hesitation.

He could not afford to waste time explaining everything to them.

His body transformed into a dark stream of light and shot toward the distant horizon.

The two youths, whose wrists he was still holding, were dragged along with him and similarly transformed into streams of light.

As they flew away, the old man’s expression became increasingly solemn.

’Why are we heading toward the Corroded Zone, you ask?’

He glanced at the two youths from the corner of his eye.

’Because this is only the beginning.’ His gaze became extremely serious.

’I can sense a terrifying aura locking onto us from the distance. If it catches up to us, the two of you will definitely die.’

A brief pause.

’Even I won’t be able to escape unscathed.’

The old man had already deduced that something was seriously wrong with the nearby Corroded Zone.

Normally, the vultures liked to roam the skies above the Corroded Zone. They treated the entire region as their hunting ground and would attack anything that dared to fly too close.

Occasionally, they would leave the Corroded Zone to hunt for prey outside before returning.

However, there was an important distinction. They normally would not venture this far away from their territory. Not unless they had discovered exceptionally delicious prey.

But the old man had already considered this possibility. That was precisely why he had deliberately avoided the Forbidden Area by such a large distance.

Yet now, he had encountered an entire group of vultures this far away from the Corroded Zone.

That could only mean one thing. Something had changed. The old man’s eyes narrowed into a glint.

There were two possibilities. The first was that the vultures had simply ventured outside the Corroded Zone to hunt.

However, that explanation was becoming increasingly unlikely.

There was no obvious reason for such a large number of vultures to travel this far unless they had sensed an extraordinarily valuable prey.

And even if that were the case, they should have already begun returning.

But they hadn’t.

Instead, they continued fleeing outward.

Far away from the Corroded Zone.

That meant there was another possibility.

A much more terrifying possibility.

There had been an unusual change within the Corroded Zone.

Something had happened inside that was so dangerous that even these powerful vultures had been forced to abandon their territory in large numbers.

The old man’s expression became increasingly grim.

Whatever had caused such a reaction from the vultures could definitely not be anything good.

In fact, it could only be something terrifying.

Either a catastrophe had occurred within the Corroded Zone...

Or an incredibly powerful and dangerous existence had left it.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the old man’s demeanor sank.

His face became dark.

He suddenly remembered the rumors he had heard regarding this particular Corroded Zone.

It was already considered an extremely bizarre Corroded Zone despite being relatively young.

It had existed for less than a hundred years, yet its reputation had already spread throughout the surrounding regions.

There were countless strange phenomena associated with it. And according to the rumors... There was a Lord of the Forbidden Zone residing within its depths.

An existence that had remained dormant for countless years and had never come out from it’s resting place. The old man’s heart sank.

’Could it be...’ His eyes widened slightly. "The Lord of the Forbidden Zone..."

He murmured those words under his breath. Then his expression changed completely.

"...has awakened from its sleep!"

This was the only explanation that made sense. It was the terrifying possibility he had gradually deduced while fighting against the vultures. And shortly after they left the vicinity of the battlefield with the vultures.

The world suddenly began to change. A dark shadow suddenly descended upon the land. It was enormous. So enormous that it seemed to cover the entire sky.

The sunlight that had previously illuminated the earth was gradually swallowed by an immense darkness.

It was as if night had descended once again. Except this darkness was different. It did not merely block the sunlight.

It seemed to be eroding it. Wherever the darkness passed, the brilliant light of day gradually disappeared, replaced by an oppressive blackness that spread across the land like an endless tide.

The old man suddenly stopped. His body froze. The two youths also stared toward the sky in horror.

Something was coming. Something unimaginably massive. If one looked carefully into the heavens, they would not only see the enormous hand that represented God’s radiance.

They would also see a colossal and insurmountable figure slowly moving through the sky. It was so enormous that its body remained hidden beyond the clouds.

No one could clearly see what it looked like. Only its vague outline could occasionally be perceived. The clouds surrounding it had already turned pitch black.

Red and black lightning periodically flashed through them, illuminating the enormous silhouette for brief moments before plunging everything back into darkness.

Boom!

A low thunderclap reverberated across the heavens. Then another and another, followed by another. The clouds churned violently as though the heavens themselves were trembling beneath the creature’s presence.

It was as if a gigantic haze composed of countless dust-like birds was following behind the great being, obscuring its true appearance from the world.

No one could see its face and determine the exact shape of its body. And perhaps that was a blessing. Because anyone who attempted to forcefully peer through the darkness and observe the great existence directly would immediately suffer the consequences.

The moment their gaze landed upon it... A terrifying pressure would descend. It was not merely spiritual pressure.

It was an overwhelming force that seemed to originate from the very existence of the creature itself. Ordinary cultivators would be unable to resist.

Their bodies would tremble violently. Their bones would crack and their organs would rupture. Before they could even scream, their entire bodies would explode into countless pieces of flesh and blood.

The creature did not need to attack them. It did not even need to notice them. Its mere existence was enough to threaten all life nearby.

The old man’s face became deathly pale. For the first time in many years, genuine fear appeared within his eyes. He looked at the colossal shadow slowly passing through the heavens.

His lips moved slightly.

"...We’re too late."

The Dark Mist Ancient Bull, which had been rampaging among the vultures moments ago, suddenly stopped. Even that powerful manifestation seemed to sense the terrifying presence descending upon the world.

The vultures were no longer attacking. They were fleeing. All of them. In every direction. They cawed loudly and shrieked as they tried to run. Because even these terrifying creatures, which normally dominated the skies above the Corroded Zone, understood one simple truth.

But many were caught up in the dark storm like clouds and were struck by red sns black lightning.

Something far more terrifying than them had awakened. And now... it was returning to the Forbidden Zone.