Chapter 453

The General Star Lord struck the final blow.

"The Heavenly Treasury Star Lord will hold the center, coordinating and attempting to contact the Giant Gate Star Lord; the Heavenly Kui Star Lord will lead the way; the Heavenly Joy and Earthly Void Star Lords will guard the flanks."

"Wu Qu Star Lord, you will follow behind me; watch for movements from behind and the sides."

"How is this arrangement?"

"No problem."

The group responded in unison and swiftly adjusted their positions.

Chen Mu had no objection to this arrangement—the rear position allowed him to observe the whole scene while bearing relatively less pressure, ideal for a "newcomer" like him to acclimate to the environment and his teammates.

Six figures moved like ghosts merging into gray mist, swiftly traversing the ruined streets and collapsed buildings.

The Heavenly Kui Star Lord seemed intimately familiar with the terrain, always finding relatively passable or concealed paths.

All of them suppressed their qi, moved with light steps, and avoided making loud noises.

Soon, they left the ruins behind and entered a more primitive, desolate region.

The ancient path beneath their feet was mostly buried under rampant thorns and twisted vines, its original artificial paving barely discernible.

On both sides rose increasingly dense, grotesquely shaped ancient trees—black bark, twisted branches and leaves, like spectral claws reaching out.

The gray mist here was even thicker, visibility less than fifty zhang.

A faint, eerie sound began to permeate the air—like a woman's soft sobs or a child's giggles—this sound did not reach through the ears but directly assaulted the soul, causing mental agitation and making concentration difficult.

"It's the ghostly wailing of Ghost Weep Forest—focus your mind, guard your consciousness!" The Heavenly Kui Star Lord whispered a warning.

In Chen Mu's consciousness, his soul altar glowed faintly, radiating a righteous, majestic will that suppressed evil spirits, easily repelling the annoying ghostly sounds.

Glancing at the other Star Lords, he saw them either glowing faintly or subtly adjusting their qi—they clearly each had their own methods of defense and were largely unaffected.

Suddenly, from the thick fog ahead came a rapid, fluttering sound of wings!

"Watch out for phantom bats!" The Heavenly Kui Star Lord hissed.

A vast swarm of pitch-black bats, each about the size of a washbasin, their entire bodies black except for a pair of glowing crimson eyes, surged forth like a black tide, lunging at them!

These "Phantom Phantom Bats" were not only swift and armed with sharp claws and fangs, but also emitted piercing ultrasonic waves during flight that directly struck the soul!

"Hmph!"

The General Star Lord let out a cold snort; before any motion was visible, a dense, solid-like silver spear intent, centered on him, erupted outward in all directions.

Where the spear intent passed, the air hissed; the leading bats crashed into invisible walls, screaming as they exploded into clouds of black mist, while those behind panicked and scattered, too terrified to approach.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

……

Card obtained. Quickly check.

Soul-Enhancing Card!

They're all Soul-Enhancing Cards!

……

The Heavenly Joy Star Lord chuckled softly; a string of glowing warm-orange beads flew from his sleeve, spinning in midair and emitting a tranquil, soothing aura that further dispelled the interference of the ghostly sounds.

The Earthly Void Star Lord was more direct—he reached out and clenched his hand toward the densest cluster of bats; the space in that region seemed to collapse slightly, and dozens of bats were crushed into dust without even a cry.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

Another handful of Soul-Enhancing Cards in hand!

Coming to the Tianhan Ancient Ruins—this was the right choice!

Chen Mu secretly rejoiced.

His expression unchanged, he likewise dispatched several bats that had sneaked in from behind and the side, using the blade intent of the Nine Yang Supreme Blade; where the blade qi passed, the bats were slaughtered, and he collected the Soul-Enhancing Cards.

This team of six Star Gods—each at least at the peak of Earth Altar Realm (Chen Mu), mostly Tiangong Realm—was clearly beyond the capability of these peripheral aberrations to stop.

The bat swarm came fast and left faster; soon, silence returned, leaving only a faint scent of blood and the stench of charred bat corpses.

"Continue."

The General Star Lord's voice remained unchanged, as if he had merely brushed away a few flies.

The group maintained speed and quickly passed through the unsettling "Ghost Weep Forest."

Ahead came the sound of rushing water; the air grew thick with a sharper, more pungent stench of decay and corrosion.

Before them stretched a broad river, its waters a murky yellow-green, constantly churning with bubbles—this was the Bone-Eroding River.

The river surface was wide, the current swift; on both banks lay slick, toxic-mud flats discolored by long-term immersion in poison.

In the murky water, thick black shadows occasionally glided by—these were lurking poison crocodiles.

Above the water, schools of strange fish with sharp teeth and blood-red eyes leapt and splashed.

"There are several broken stone bridges over the river, but most are shattered and rotted. We'll fly across directly—watch for the poison's ranged attacks and the toxic miasma in the mist." The Heavenly Kui Star Lord warned.

Flying across a river should have been effortless for a Tiangong Realm cultivator.

But within the Tianhan Ancient Ruins, energy was chaotic; the air held invisible suppression and turbulent currents, and above the Bone-Eroding River, thick yellow-green toxic miasma—mixed with water poison and corrosive gases—severely disrupted spiritual sense and vision.

"I'll lead."

The General Star Lord took the lead without hesitation; silver-white gangqi erupted around him, forming a sharp, conical energy shield as he charged into the toxic miasma.

Where he passed, the miasma was forcibly pushed back and torn apart, hissing loudly.

The others followed closely, each raising their own protective qi shields, forming a small formation, swiftly flying toward the opposite shore.

But the river's creatures clearly had no intention of letting them pass easily.

Splash!

Several massive, heavily armored crocodiles, their scales thick and horn-like, dripping corrosive saliva, erupted from the water, jaws wide open, lunging at the low-flying group!

At the same time, the strange fish on the water's surface shot out like arrows, spitting out thin streams of foul-smelling poison water.

"Die!"

Tianxi Star Lord let out a sharp cry, and the string of warm orange beads flew out again, radiating brilliant light to form a luminous curtain that blocked and purified most of the poison arrows.

Di Kong Star Lord casually slashed the air toward the approaching poison crocodiles; invisible spatial cutting forces flashed through the air, and the massive bodies of the crocodiles suddenly severed into several pieces midair, their severed limbs mixed with filthy blood plunging into the river.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

The card was in hand; she quickly checked it.

Powerful cards—all powerful cards!

Not bad…

Chen Mu gathered a true qi long knife as he collected the cards; its blade-light formed a curtain, slicing through and deflecting every stray poison fish and bone spikes shot from the shadows beneath the water.

Just as the group was about to cross the river safely, a sudden change occurred!