Chapter 140: Half-Human, Half-Salamander

"Don't you realize that even Imperial Arms are merely part of the class system of Death Row Land? They've simply cleverly combined our nature with one of their links, leaving our true instincts flawlessly exposed, and forcing us to cycle through different roles like executioners, demons, and sealing cores, all to be exploited by Death Row Land. At the slightest mistake, you end up disposed of just like the rest of you. As for that little girl who wields the Sal Flower, the two short daggers in your hands are fragments of the armor of the Imperial Arms known as Burdock Sea-Ache. That was an Imperial Arms far superior to us, yet it still couldn't escape the dominion of Death Row Land."

"Nagging on and on, you're just trying to say that killing us isn't your fault, but rather a requirement of the game, right?!"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, exactly that meaning. Not bad, kid."

Seeing Mu You pierce straight to the point, the Imperial Arms—the Snake Woman Ghost Rulai's earring—flashed repeatedly, hurrying to agree.

The others raised their middle fingers one after another.

Snake Woman Ghost Rulai: "Damn it! Here they come again..."

***

After landing safely, everyone caught a faint, musty odor. The smell grew gradually heavier along the way, and even tiny puddles began to appear on the pitted ground, splashing everywhere with a sloshing sound as they stepped on them.

"Why is it so damp here?"

Xu Chen muttered in complaint, his body radiating a biting chill as he shook off the tiny ice crystals clinging to his skin.

"Not just damp; there's a massive concentration of water vapor ahead. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a giant underground lake."

He Jing took a deep breath of the moisture in the air and made her judgment. Ever since her awakening, an icy-dragon-shaped auspicious mist had lingered around her. Now, enhanced by the environment, its shape and volume were much clearer.

Mu You flicked a drop of blood from his fingertip, sending it far into the distance. The blood burst into a brilliant golden light, slowly transforming into a lotus bud that bloomed high in the distant darkness.

The crimson-gold bud illuminated the space within a hundred zhang into broad daylight. Under this glare, including Mu You, everyone's hearts trembled deeply several times. Within that hundred-zhang radius, the shimmering surface of the lake was vaguely visible. Different ripples refracted different rhythms of gilded light. However, these were not natural wave swells on the lake, but rather... countless unknown aquatic monsters surging forward in a fierce, stampeding scene. The monsters were half-human and half-salamander, their overlapping bodies densely covered in cold scales, which had just reflected the light of the high-altitude red lotus.

"What on earth are those things?!"

The small-eyed death row inmate blurted out.

Mu You did not answer. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the red lotus high in the air expanded and flared brightly once again, multiple times its previous size, until it covered a portion of the entire lake area. The essence of that drop of blood then faded away, concealing itself in the void after a fleeting moment of brilliance.

"Gulp..."

The sound of everyone swallowing hard echoed one after another—the purest reaction of human fear in the face of the unknown lurking right before their eyes.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle~~~~~~

The pitch-black dark space suddenly flashed with light. Those countless half-human, half-salamander monsters were startled by the sudden and intense glare and instantly quieted down.

The surroundings fell into a dead silence, with only the sound of everyone's pounding hearts remaining. Yet everyone present knew that the nightmare could descend at any moment.

Sure enough, a moment later, that pack of aquatic monsters, as if receiving some command, instinctively rushed toward Mu You and the others. The densely packed, bone-chilling sound of metal scraping filled the darkness from every direction.

"What the hell are these ghosts?!" Hulie asked.

"I don't know!"

Mu You took the lead, stepping out in front of the group. With a wave of his hand, blood splattered everywhere, instantly transforming into a giant crimson lotus. It bloomed right before their eyes, standing like a shattered sun before the half-salamander, half-human creatures. An overbearing and extreme heat and light began to burst forth wantonly in the boundless gloom!

"This must be the final stage of *Never Turning Back*, 'An Immoral Story'! You guys should have some idea of the difficulty of the previous two times. By extension, this one is definitely a nine-to-one death rate. There's no need for you to take this risk with me. All of you, leave! Go to your respective trials and stop following me!!"

With that, Mu You shot forward like a cannonball. At the same time, with a wave of his hand, the red lotus's light evolved once again, causing gilded fire waves to spread and circulate across the surface of the lotus. The scorching heat surged to its absolute peak in that instant!

These troublesome beasts, nobody did anything to you, yet you're hunting us down like this. Since you've come to throw your lives away, I, Mu You, don't mind giving you a ride. Get the hell out of my way!!

Behind him, the bewildered voices of Xuan Yao, Xu Chen, and the others could still be heard, but Mu You no longer cared about any of that. Right now, his goal was to quickly put distance between himself and his companions. Only by completely vanishing from their sight—combined with this endless despair and danger—would they abandon the thought of holding him back, and instead turn their absolute trust in him into faith and blessing, believing in him!

As for the rest, it all depended on how long he could fight for his life!

Ever since his awakening, Mu You had grown completely numb to this crest-riding lifestyle of survival. What he needed to do now was not to save his own skin, but to fight on with all his might!

Therefore, there was no room for hesitation!

"Extinguishing Heaven's Pride!!!"

At this thought, Mu You let out a furious roar. The crimson lotus expanded directly, carrying a majestic momentum as it burst violently apart. Amidst the rising flames, countless waves of fire flew wantonly in all directions, slamming fiercely into the endless horde of half-human, half-salamander monsters rushing toward him!

"Go to hell, slaughter them!!"

The sound of explosions was endless. Amidst flying flesh and blood, matchless vital energy splattered everywhere, staining Mu You's prison garb and exuding an extremely fishy and foul stench.

"If the Heart Does Not Die, Take Root on the Ground!"

Mu You pressed his palms together and clenched them abruptly. The exploding fire waves rolled backward, crazily drilling into the monsters' bodies. The soul-tearing burning pain drove the salamanders into frenzied wails. Amidst their miserable shrieks, clusters of fire waves began to sprout root-like patterns, driving fiercely into their flesh. Lotus seeds gradually formed one by one, taking root upon landing. Over and over again, the intense pain caused the monsters to scream miserably and bite savagely at their companions. The flames spread wantonly, and in the blink of an eye, the entire underground lake was instantly filled with miserable cries!

Mu You's complexion turned slightly pale as he looked with satisfaction at the dark golden red glow radiating through the monsters' bodies. Right from the start, he had unleashed his ultimate move. He hadn't expected the "taking root upon landing" technique to eradicate these monsters far better than he had imagined.

After taking a few heavy breaths, Mu You barely managed to raise his hands and snap his fingers. The slight sound of the snap was negligible amidst the weeping and wailing, but the subsequent explosions instantly made the entire underground dark lake boil!

Boom!! Crash, crash, crash~~~~~~

Bloody water, lake water, and shattered flesh mixed with broken bones and severed limbs splattered everywhere. The explosions continued, and countless half-human, half-salamander creatures in the entire underground lake were killed or injured, carving out a vacuum zone around Mu You and revealing the true face of the underground lake.