Chapter 268: The Contaminated Heroes Tower

As the beast's corpse completely lost its breath, the scene fell silent, leaving only the heavy panting of the crowd.

Lin Yifan collapsed onto the ground, only then realizing his clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

The high‑intensity battle just now forced him, whose intellect had not fully recovered, to fight in an almost overdrawn state.

Now that it's stopped, he's so exhausted he can't even get up to crawl.

Ruan Qingtan ran over to help him up, voice still trembling: "Are you crazy? There's no way to fight like that. If you die, what will we many do?"

"I'm fine." Lin Yifan forced a smile, looking at Ai Rui Li Ya, "Now, can we talk about the tower's secret? Don't say you know nothing; if you don't believe it, I won't either."

Ai Rui Li Ya sheathed her twin blades, her expression complex as she looked at him: "Your progress is rapid; in such a short time your strength has risen so much. Perhaps you truly can break this dead end and lead all of us out."

"As for this tower…" a solemn expression appeared on Ai Rui Li Ya's face.

At that moment, the tower gate behind them slowly opened, revealing a deep passage.

But now, no one dared to act rashly—who knows what more terrifying things lie within?

Even if there were supplies, someone would have to risk their life to get them!

The horror of that wolf they just saw with their own eyes makes them dare not act recklessly.

Ai Rui Li Ya stared at the passage, remained silent for a long while, then let out a soft sigh and said bitterly:

"Fine, things have come to this, so I'll tell you everything. Remember I mentioned before that we have another Heroes Tower in the Intermediate Domain?"

"The tower before you is also a Heroes Tower, but unlike the others, this one has buried countless lives," Ai Rui Li Ya's voice was low and heavy, as if each word bore the weight of past souls.

She raised her hand, pointing to the faint ancient runes above the gate; in the dim light they glowed a dark‑red shimmer, like dried bloodstains.

Probably you can guess that the Intermediate Domain, like your Initial Domain, is divided into individual Districts; however, each small District in the Intermediate Domain holds a population of one million, includes all races, and districts can communicate, so the boundaries are less distinct.

In this kind of Heroes Tower, each small District has one, because clearing a Heroes Tower grants rewards and a very precious title, so anyone who thinks they have some strength will go here to challenge.

Because of that, Survivors are constantly attempting challenges inside the Heroes Tower; at peak times there may be tens of thousands inside. Imagine that many Survivors, and they are the relatively strong ones—if an accident occurs, such a disaster would erupt.

Lin Yifan, hearing this, glanced curiously at the tower and asked, "What kind of accident happened to this Heroes Tower? How did it turn from a coveted treasure into a beast‑infested danger zone? And how did the tower even end up outside the war?"

"The accident is that the tower was polluted, polluted by the power of the Red Moon!" Ai Rui Li Ya inhaled deeply, her face full of sorrow, and said:

"Also, you may not know, every Instance plane actually originates from a former Initial Domain or Intermediate Domain, and even from a High Domain."

Lin Yifan's pupils narrowed instantly, his face full of disbelief as he said, "How could that be possible?"

"How could it not be possible?" Ai Rui Li Ya sneered, her tone both bitter and mocking.

"This world seems to have given us Survivors a way to live, but who really knows what the truth is?"

"Anyway, from what I understand, the biggest enemy of the Survival Realm isn't us Survivors; it's the Red Moon hanging in the sky, which represents the Cthulhu divine system."

"Even our coming here may be because it needs forces to oppose the Red Moon, so we are pawns, also selected by it, to protect it and fight for it."

"Thus, each District we inhabit is essentially a trial space; we constantly strengthen ourselves within it, and when our strength reaches a certain level, a Heroes Tower appears to test us. Those who ultimately pass become the warriors the Survival Realm seeks."

"Naturally, if all Survivors in a District are unqualified, or become polluted by the Red Moon, turning into its followers—Maggot Human Bones—then they betray the Survival Realm, the entire District will be purged and become a new Instance for Survivors to challenge."

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone around gasped, and Ruan Qingtan, standing beside Lin Yifan, couldn't help but ask:

"So does that mean if our District is completely polluted, we will also be purged?"

"Exactly!" Ai Rui Li Ya nodded, a wry smile on her face.

"So, to survive in this world, it's not just about one's own survival; the entire District must survive as well."

"The Red Moon—how does it actually pollute?" Lin Yifan furrowed his brows, asking in confusion:

"The Red Moon's reflection I've seen can pollute Survivors and spawn many Maggot Human Bones, but its scope is limited; it shouldn't be able to pollute an entire District."

"That's because the Red Moon followers in your area haven't matured yet; those molecules use countless lives, even their own, to create one sacrifice altar after another, then guide the Red Moon's descent, maximizing its power to pollute the entire District."

At this point, Ai Rui Li Ya turned her head, her expression solemn, and said:

"But when I first entered this Instance, I found its contamination differed from that of other Instances."

"Other Instances' crises mostly stem from Maggot Human Bones, but in this Instance, besides the threats we outsiders bring, the greatest danger is the beasts."

"These beasts, though present in every District and extremely dangerous, are native to the Survival Realm, so they are not abandoned beings and naturally do not appear inside Instances."