Chapter 298: Bloodline Inheritance?

Lin Yifan carried Ruan Qingtan on his back, leading the group in a desperate sprint; he also took a moment to glance behind and naturally saw the forest constantly collapsing.

He didn't know what was happening, but his sixth sense told him that if they couldn't escape the collapse, death was certain!

At that moment, the ground beneath his feet trembled continuously, as if something was writhing underground.

Yet he dared not linger, even as the ground staggered, he kept running wildly forward.

"Everyone, don't stop!" he shouted back, only to see a teammate at the rear stumble suddenly.

Immediately, a rotting giant hand burst from the earth and seized his ankle!

"Ah—!" the man screamed, and was dragged underground in an instant, without a chance to struggle.

"Damn!" Lin Yifan's pupils narrowed, but he had no time to rescue him.

He could only grit his teeth and keep charging forward, shouting: "Watch your footing! Don't get dragged down!"

However, something even more terrifying occurred.

The trees ahead began to twist and deform, their bark flaking off to reveal pulsating flesh inside.

Cracks split the trunks like snarling mouths, emitting low, mournful wails.

"What—what on earth is this place?!" someone shouted in panic.

"It's Dalu Si's domain!" Ruan Qingtan said weakly, anxiously adding:

"He is controlling this forest and the countless undead within it… we must find an exit, or we'll be drained to death sooner or later!"

Cold sweat beaded on Lin Yifan's forehead as his eyes scanned the surroundings; suddenly, he noticed a faint light in the distance, like the edge of a barrier.

"There!" he pointed at the light, shouting excitedly:

"Everyone, follow!"

The group sprinted with all their might, but at that instant the ground gave way violently!

Boom—!

Countless undead claws shot up from the earth, crazily clawing at their limbs.

Lin Yifan leapt up sharply, barely dodging, but the comrades behind him were not so lucky.

"Save me! Save—"

Another person was dragged into the abyss, and the scream abruptly ceased.

Lin Yifan's heart hammered, he dared not look back, and could only charge forward desperately.

Finally, they reached the light—a semi‑transparent barrier, like a rift in space.

"Go through!" Ruan Qingtan barked low.

Lin Yifan didn't hesitate, slamming both himself and Ruan Qingtan into the barrier.

The next moment, the world before them changed abruptly.

They stood on a barren plain, the sky overcast, and in the distance a ruined black castle could be faintly seen.

And behind them, that terrifying forest had vanished as if it had never existed.

"We… made it out?" someone asked tremblingly.

Lin Yifan slowly set down Ruan Qingtan, panting heavily as he looked around.

At that moment, fewer than half of the original group remained behind; the rest had perished in that undead forest.

Ruan Qingtan clutched her chest, her complexion still pale, yet her eyes were unusually calm:

"No, we have only entered the next layer of Dalu Si's domain."

She pointed toward the distant black castle, her voice icy.

"There is the true nightmare."

Lin Yifan followed the direction of Ruan Qingtan's finger; the black castle loomed like a coiled beast, exuding a suffocating pressure under the dim sky.

The castle's outer walls were shrouded in a dark‑purple mist, within which countless twisted silhouettes wandered.

Lin Yifan glanced at the castle and asked Ruan Qingtan:

"Qingtan, how do you know so much about Dalu Si?"

"I don't know either." Ruan Qingtan gave a wry smile and said vaguely:

"Wasn't I in a coma earlier? Actually I wasn't unconscious; a flood of chaotic information filled my mind, nearly blowing my brain apart."

"Later I sensed danger and forced myself awake; those data vanished without a trace, but once I was conscious, the scene triggered Dalu Si's information in my mind."

"There are actually things like this!" Lin Yifan said in surprise.

At that moment, a boy of about twenty years old emerged from the crowd behind them, exclaiming excitedly:

"When I read novels before, I've seen plots where certain creatures, upon exhibiting a reversionary bloodline, trigger a bloodline inheritance in the mind, containing all sorts of information."

"But that's all written in novels; I don't know whether it's true or false."

The others, hearing this, immediately began debating:

"Novels do have such plots, but it's just a novel! How could it be real? Otherwise it would be too inconceivable."

"It would have been impossible back then, but now this world is so chaotic that anything inconceivable could happen."

"I agree; this world already has various alien races and strange things like magical undead, so a bloodline inheritance appearing isn't odd."

"But in novels, that's a bug only the protagonist can have; could Miss Ruan be the protagonist of this world?"

"If Miss Ruan truly is the protagonist, that would be great; she's kind‑hearted, of the same race as us, and if she becomes powerful, we could rise with her."

……

Ruan Qingtan, hearing this, felt a bit embarrassed and quickly waved her hand, saying:

"Everyone, stop saying that. Whether someone is a protagonist or not, it's hard enough for any of us to arrive in this world, and since I've obtained an inheritance, perhaps everyone can too."

"And now isn't the time for that; the crisis we face isn't over, and if we can't survive it, none of us will make it."

"Do we… really have to go there? It's so dangerous, and many of us are injured." someone asked, voice trembling.

Although the people who have managed to live up to now are basically incapable of being weak.

But within such a short time, so many casualties have occurred; even the most steadfast of mind will have some thoughts of retreat.

Even Lin Yifan is no different.

Moreover, at this moment many people are already wounded.

And everyone's injuries are far from optimistic, especially those wounds inflicted by the Undead's Claw during the escape; now they are oozing a strange black blood.

Most likely they've been infected!

As for what consequences will follow the infection?

No one knows now, and no one dares to think further, because the more they think, the more despair they feel.

Ruan Qingtan gave no answer, but at that moment she suddenly seized Lin Yifan's wrist and, panicked, shouted, "Captain, watch your back!"