Chapter 258: It Really Is a Trap!

Since we already know where the second altar is, letting Lin Yifan just ignore it—he really can't do that.

He rides a magical hoverboard, skimming low through the forest at high speed; the strong wind brushes his cheeks, and he squints, keeping his eyes fixed ahead.

The forest isn't quiet, so among the various dangerous magical beasts, he can occasionally see Survivors daringly heading toward the island in the lake's center.

At the same time he also ran into several waves of Dark Night Divine Cult hunters, but he didn't see a single member of the Red Moon Divine Cult.

As the distance shortens, a faint whiff of blood begins to permeate the air.

Lin Yifan smells the blood scent, and his brows involuntarily knit.

The earlier altar was also saturated with the smell of blood, because too many corpses were piled there.

Now this machine platform also has that much blood scent; surely many Survivors have already been stacked here as feed.

Moreover, Lin Yifan harbors a hidden worry: he got the altar information from a Survivor's mouth.

But how did that person manage to leave the altar alive?

Even if Lin Yifan faces a Red Moon Divine Cult priest, he wouldn't dare be confident he could escape ascension; how did that person do it?

Perhaps it wasn't him who did it at all!

It was someone else who made it happen!

If his speculation is correct, this group is a trap for him.

Yet even if it's a trap, he still wants to venture in!

"It should be nearby…", as the scent of blood grows heavier, Lin Yifan lowers his altitude and begins to search carefully,

Suddenly, his pupils contract sharply.

He sees ahead in the dense forest a vaguely cleared circular clearing, and in its center a stone‑stacked altar sits in the middle of the clearing.

The altar also bears strange patterns, and atop it lie a dozen or so Human corpses.

Some corpses have begun to desiccate, some are still fresh; among them one body has only just died, its aura has not yet faded.

Lin Yifan looks at the scene before him, the hatred and anger in his heart nearly overwhelm him.

And just as he is about to land, a black shadow darts out from the canopy!

"I've finally been waiting for you, Lin Yifan." A black‑robed figure hovers, half of a pale face showing beneath the hood, speaking coldly:

"Lord Morris is right; you indeed came to destroy the altar."

"I guessed it was a trap!"

Lin Yifan is not surprised at all; in fact he even feels a sigh of relief now!

Because just earlier, his analyst also saw the information of this black‑cloaked man.

This black‑robed man named Luoli La is indeed a member of the Dark Night Divine Temple, but his Life Tier is not high, even one tier lower than Lin Yifan's.

A being whose Life Tier is lower than his does not necessarily have weaker strength than Lin Yifan, so even before, he wasn't afraid at all.

Moreover, he now possesses a Shadow Execution skill; against life‑forms with a lower Life Tier, he can instantly kill with a single strike.

Therefore, the danger before him hardly counts as danger!

Yet now he does not intend to strike directly; instead he calmly says, "Just you alone?"

"To deal with you, I alone am enough." The black‑robed man suddenly spreads his arms, dozens of black tendrils shoot out from the corpses on the altar, he snorts coldly:

"Dark Night Prison! Bind him for me!"

The tendrils, as if alive, flutter in the air, quickly weaving into a net that swoops toward Lin Yifan.

Just as they are about to entangle him, at the critical moment he thrusts the hoverboard into a rapid dive, simultaneously drawing the enchanted Great Axe, and slashes through the tendril net.

He chose the Great Axe because he noticed the tendrils' aura resembled that of Dark Night Divine Fragment, clearly of dark attribute.

And the enchantment on Lin Yifan's Great Axe can inflict holy light damage on dark‑attribute forest.

In other words, the Great Axe in his hand is the nemesis of those tendrils!

Moreover, the patterns that appeared on the Great Axe due to the enchantment suddenly flare up, accompanied by a frenzied heat that rises on the blade.

Lin Yifan even feels a raging force on the blade, wanting to burst forward.

Though he doesn't understand what this force is, he has no time to think further, and he swings a slash at the tendril net!

Instantly, dazzling holy light solidifies into a blade edge, cleaving a gap in the tendril net.

"Holy light power really works on this thing!"

Lin Yifan is overjoyed, seizes the chance to burst out of the encirclement.

But his right arm is still wrapped by a tendril.

The moment the skin contacts it, a piercing cold spreads up his arm, and in that instant he feels the whole arm is no longer his.

The black‑robed man sees this, and a smug smile flashes at the corner of his mouth:

"Useless, those who are touched by shadow tendrils…"

Yet before the black‑robed man can finish his sentence, his eyes widen in shock.

Lin Yifan's right arm, which was bound, suddenly emits a swirl of black mist; when the tendril touches the black mist, it recoils like a mouse meeting a cat, quickly pulling back.

It even retreats back into those corpses, never daring to show its head again!

"Impossible!" the black‑robed man exclaims, "Y‑you, how could you possibly have the power of the Dark Night Divine Form on you?"

Lin Yifan himself is stunned, but quickly realizes it's his Dark Night Divine Form at work!

For these dark forces, the Dark Night deity is supreme!

Though the Dark Night deity has already fallen, leaving only fragments, for low‑level dark forces it remains an untouchable existence.

Lin Yifan realizes this, how could his heart not be delighted?

Because this also means he is at the pinnacle of dark forces!

Those lower‑grade dark‑energy beings bow before him.

This is immensely important to him!

And such a good opportunity, Lin Yifan naturally had to seize it.

He didn't hesitate, making the hoverboard spin sharply and lunging at the black‑robed man: "What could be impossible? On me, everything is possible! Before you attacked me, now it's my turn!"

The two clashed fiercely in the air.

Lin Yifan noticed the opponent's melee skill was clearly inferior to the Summoning of tentacles; after a few rounds he found a flaw and thrust a sword into the opponent's shoulder.

"Ah!" the black‑robed man shrieked and fell.

Lin Yifan didn't pursue; he had only been training his combat ability, not truly dueling him.

At this moment the guy tried to flee, so he naturally didn't bother to waste time.

"Shadow Execution!"

As soon as the skill activated, the black‑robed man, trying to escape after the fall, let out a horrendous scream as his body exploded into a spray of blood.

"This…"

Lin Yifan couldn't look at the scene confidently, because this method of killing was truly terrifying!

Now he controls this skill; what if someone else controlled it?

Lin Yifan didn't dare to think—if his enemy wielded this skill, what could he do?

Yet, after a fleeting thought, he suddenly lifted his head.

Because he saw, in the direction of the altar not far away, a blood‑red pillar of light shooting into the sky!

"Damn, they're activating the altar!" Ignoring the wounded enemy, Lin Yifan sprinted at full speed toward the source of the light pillar.

When he broke through the last thicket, the scene before him made his blood freeze: around the altar knelt more than twenty Survivors, each with a blood line on their forehead, energy continuously flowing into the central Crystal.

Three red‑robed men stood at the altar's triangle, chanting obscure incantations, the red light in the Crystal growing ever brighter.

These over twenty Survivors differed from the earlier corpses; they were still alive!

Yet their bodies were bound by a strange red light; no matter how they struggled, they could not break free.

Their faces were full of pain; evidently, this binding was harming them!

"All of you, stop!" Lin Yifan roared, charging forward, intending to cleave the red Crystal at the altar's center with a single slash.

Of course, the leading black‑robed man turned his head, and—no, he revealed a face Lin Yifan knew all too well!

It was the Mo Li Si he had previously dealt with!

Mo Li Si watched Lin Yifan approach, a strange smile flickering at the corner of his mouth:

"You arrive just in time; I'm only missing the final sacrifice. I was worrying where to capture you, but you came right to the door—how considerate."

He raised his hand and waved; a blood‑colored barrier rose from the ground, repelling Lin Yifan.

"Mo Li Si, what on earth are you doing!" Lin Yifan was blasted several meters by the blood barrier, quickly steadied himself, and shouted angrily yet bewildered:

"You are clearly Human too, why aid that bizarre Red Moon to bring disaster upon your own kind?"

"Shut your crap!" The previously inscrutable Mo Li Si suddenly roared with bloodshot eyes at Lin Yifan:

"I'm not a lowly Human; my mother belongs to the noble Cthulhu clan, you filthy, lowly being, have no right to be my kin!"

"And whatever you do is useless; the ritual has already begun." Mo Li Si's voice was delighted, his face manic as he said:

"Look at these willing sacrificial lambs, how devout; the Red Moon approaches, becoming a sacrifice is their honor. If you had any sense, you should also volunteer, obediently become the spokesperson for the Title: God of the Red Moon."

"Bullshit!"

A bound Survivor suddenly thrashed, letting out a painful, angry roar:

"They deceived us! They said it was only a temporary borrowing of power, but they wanted our life force; many have already died, we were all duped… Ah!" Before he could finish, his body withered instantly, turning into a desiccated corpse.

Lin Yifan furrowed his brows tighter, his Great Axe wildly striking the barrier.

The enchantment runes on the axe continued to flash!

Yet the holy light that restrained the tentacles had little effect against this blood‑colored barrier.

"No, this just wastes time!" Lin Yifan slashed several more times, but the blood barrier showed no change, and he felt his Physical Stamina drained by half.

This made Lin Yifan clearly realize that brute force alone could never break the blood barrier.

Yet at that moment, he noticed a small puddle at the altar's edge—a remnant of last night's rain!

Inspiration struck; he immediately shouted to the crowd:

"Everyone, listen! Water can destroy their tentacles! It can also break the red power that binds you!"

"In a moment I'll splash water onto you; you must seize the chance and flee the instant you break free!"

As he spoke, he swung a blade hard onto the water's surface!

Instantly, the calm Water Pool erupted, spraying water everywhere!

The spray fell on the altar and also on the bound Survivors.

At once, the red light began to flicker erratically!

The red light strands binding the Survivors cracked, inch by inch!

All Survivors, seeing this, instantly ran away joyfully!

Even though their bodies were now frail from having their life force drained, they still desperately fled.

To be alive, who would even think of dying?

Lin Yifan saw his guess was correct; the red power could indeed be countered by water, and he was ecstatic!

So he once again began wildly striking the water, letting the spray engulf the entire altar!

Beside him, Mo Li Si saw this and his eyes seemed to split open:

"No! You filthy Human, you must die! You must die!"

"You have ruined my altar again, you have ruined my plan!"

"I will definitely kill you! I must kill you!"

"Boom!"

At the moment the red barrier shattered, the flying spray rushed into the altar area, dousing the red Crystal suspended in the air by the plum.

The red Crystal, upon contacting water, instantly began to tremble violently, and fine cracks appeared across its surface, as if it would explode the next second!

"No, don't!" Mo Lisi was on the brink of madness, screaming as he lunged at the Crystal, trying to save it, but a golden sword light blocked him.

I told you, what you're trying to do will never succeed!

Lin Yifan pointed his sword at the opponent's throat and said coldly:

"Tell me the location of the third altar, and I'll spare your life; otherwise I'll kill you right now."

"The third altar?" Mo Lisi suddenly let out a strange grin, like a madman, emitting a harsh laugh:

"You're called Lin Yifan, right? I admit I underestimated you before; you're tougher than I imagined!"

"But you think that's the end? Then you're really naive!"

He abruptly tore off his hood, revealing a bald head covered with bizarre patterns that sent a chill down one's spine.

He stroked his scalp as if caressing a beloved, speaking with utmost tenderness:

"The great Cthulhu Three Pillar Gods are gathering momentum; they are about to descend! The Red Moon will also eventually descend!"

"All the forests on this continent will become followers of the Three Pillar Gods, because you will attain immortality!"

In the next instant, his body suddenly swelled and Explosion, and a massive blood mist spewed out.

Lin Yifan hurriedly retreated, only to see the blood mist completely absorbed by the cracked Crystal.

The Crystal, already riddled with cracks, suddenly emitted a fierce red glow, and a blood‑red beam shot straight into the heavens!

The cloud layer in the sky began to swirl, vaguely revealing a blurry Red Moon silhouette.

Lin Yifan looked up at the sky, his heart shaking violently!

Because he realized that the plum hanging in the sky with the Red Moon seemed to be drawing ever closer!