Just like the horrific scenes displayed within the "Light Screen," the "Death's Breath" that is now erupting throughout the ruins has shown its terrifying power from the start, whether towards the Transcendents from the Order Camp or the Evil God believers from the Evil Camp.

As long as they are tainted by a high concentration of Death's Breath, they will immediately slip towards the abyss of death.

In an instant, the Transcendents' atmosphere turned from relaxed to a scene of carnage.

As they witnessed the initial outbreak of Death's Breath, at least a dozen Transcendents were eroded by death in a blink of an eye, their complexions simultaneously changed, revealing solemnity and terror.

The true "resolve" was reflected in some Transcendents.

Including several members of the Holy Eagle Nest Society, who in that split second judged whether the means they possessed could counter "Death's Breath."

Immediately, at the same moment, they activated the "Holy Eagle Nest Badge."

Other organizations also possessed similar measures.

Thus, in the next second, various radiance blossomed within the vast and deathly silent ruins.

Those Transcendents choosing to leave knew that if they stayed, they could continue participating in "Strange Object Collection," and there were some chances that by leveraging the collected Original Force Crystals and Body Enhancement Agents, they could survive.

But after assessing the risks, they chose to leave.

Regrettably, leaving was not one hundred percent successful.

The fastest group succeeded in using their organization's Curios to escape the "Mysterious," but there were still several who, because they were a split second too slow, when they activated their Curios, the eruption of Death's Breath had already continued for several seconds, and the concentration in the air reached a certain critical point.

In a flash, a special kind of "Death Space" enveloped the entire ruins.

Those few Transcendents attempting to teleport away found their human figures directly transported into the space.

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Screams suddenly arose.

Everyone instinctively looked and saw several Transcendents, their bodies completely adhered to and wrapped by black-gray gases, as if countless tiny insects were madly devouring everything; they only had time to let out a cry of agony.

Immediately, their bodies, along with their Curios and weapons, were corroded, fell down, and turned into a pile of ashes.

Everyone's hearts, at this moment, started to pound frantically.

They looked around, Death's Breath creating a "Fog Sea" like scene, engulfing the ruins.

The visible range for all Transcendents was rapidly diminishing.

At the same time, they could clearly feel their bodies and Magic Power undergoing what seemed to be an unstoppable erosion, gradually weakening and moving towards death.

If they were to die in an instant, there would be no pain.

Now, however, as they clearly experienced the process of being eroded by death bit by bit, they felt unimaginable panic and pain.

At this time, the scene from before came to their minds.

That despicable, detestably cheap Yellow Squirrel, crushing the crystal, injecting the Body Enhancement Agent.

Everyone had seen with their own eyes, the squirrel also subjected to erosion.

After crushing the crystal and making the injection, it immediately regained its vitality.

Of course, they also heard what at any other time would seem cute, but at that moment was infuriating, the sound of its gleeful squeals.

Regardless, it was a "reminder."

The Transcendents who had previously collected "Original Force Crystals" and "Body Enhancements Agents" began to do the same.

They didn't have Tang Qi's Special Ability to directly know the usage method of the Curios through Insight into Information Fragments, but with someone setting an example, they naturally cast aside any hesitations.

And those Transcendents who had never collected Curios, their complexions changed immediately, their eyes seemingly about to shoot flames, revealing an uncontrollable longing.

At the same moment, they looked towards those "platforms."

Before, the quantities of Original Force Crystals and Body Enhancement Agents could be said to be "everywhere."

And occasionally, some other Curios were also placed on those platforms.

Most Transcendents, to avoid Original Force Cutting, had no time to collect.

The rest, out of caution, only took one or two items.

Now, thinking back, they encountered a new difficulty, the spreading "Death's Breath" obscured their vision and also harvested their Life Force.

The Transcendents could only, based on their previous memories or some special methods, embark on a difficult scavenging attempt.

Under such a backdrop, combat and killing became inevitable.

As the first skirmish quickly erupted, with both sides rapidly eroded by "Death's Breath" and succumbing in the fight.

Everyone became aware:

An unimaginable "Ruins Battle Royale" was about to begin.

Many from the Evil and Chaotic Camps' Transcendents, in very tacit understanding, recalled not only those platforms and fortresses left by the Pla Clan but also one individual who had a large amount of Original Force Crystals and Body Enhancement Agents on him.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Within the black-gray "Mist," many gazes or something else swept towards the same spot.

There, there was supposed to be a Yellow Squirrel, pretending to be a "Great Detective," that in reality was inordinately violent and cunning.

But regrettably, that area was now desolately empty.

Only leaving behind a ground littered with shattered crystals and empty syringes, mocking those with ill intentions.

...

Too many pipes were emitting "Death's Breath," making it impossible to block them, and soon the enormous ruins were completely submerged in the black-gray Fog Sea.

Below, dozens of Mysterious Organizations from the Divine Eagle Federation, including those from the Church and official Transcendents, struggled to survive in the "Death Fog Sea."

In a certain area, thick, mottled pipes were piled up together, forming a "graveyard" like a multitude of Python corpses.

With the growing denser fog, a streak of Yellow Lightning cut through the sky.

Flickering, it entered the graveyard.

Tang Qi's figure emerged, glancing around him, as he noticed this place had a slightly lower concentration of Death's Breath due to the absence of "emission mouths."

A pair of short arms quickly took out a crystal and an enhancer.

Skilled crushing and injection were followed by a self-inspection, which eased and reversed the signs of withering and rot.

Sensing the return of his life force, Tang Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

He lifted his head to inspect the void above, a thick black-gray "barrier" clearly visible.

Within the ghost light, an Information Fragment emerged.

"Death Space, capable of blocking teleportation..."

It was now unmistakably clear; this was the "Second Stage" His Excellency Barton Bird had spoken of.

Transcendents who failed to leave in time must now strive to survive within.

Frowning, Tang Qi's eyes betrayed a hint of helplessness.

At this moment, his body still retained a layer of a "Guardian Spell".

Under normal circumstances, the Guardian Spell should protect against nearly any form of toxic gas corrosion.

But "Death Breath" transcended this category.

The black-gray breath's intense poison targeted both flesh and magic power—and Tang Qi even suspected it targeted deeper aspects such as spirit and life force.

The presence of the Guardian Spell only provided slight delay.

However, simultaneously maintaining the Guardian Spell also consumed a vast amount of Tang Qi's magic power.

Weighing the pros and cons, Tang Qi decided to remove the magic spell.

"Here, Curios from the Pla Clan will demonstrate their utmost efficacy."

This judgment formed in Tang Qi's mind, stemming from his prior experimentation with the effects of "Molten Magic". Past encounters with evil, venomous entities—where Molten Furnace Flames almost served as a buster—were unable to dispel the "Death Breath".

Experiment results: it was like using flames to burn a wet towel soaked with icy water—somewhat effective but exceedingly weak.

If Tang Qi was up against just a small amount of Death Breath, he could resolve it with great effort.

But the reality was like a tiny flame tossed into a frozen ocean: aside from being "extinguished," there was no second outcome.

Fortunately, he didn't need to resort to his means.

His gluttonous stomach was filled with Original Force Crystals and Body Enhancement Agents.

Without lingering further, as the two began to take effect, Tang Qi once again turned into "Yellow Lightning," crashing headlong into the mist.

He did not study the route, nor did he need to.

Identifying a direction, he followed it, rushing towards the Black Mountain.

"Just catch up to the first squad!"

"With prior footage of me collecting crystals and enhancers, it's completely reasonable for me to be the fastest to leave this area."

"Hmm, I can collect some more good stuff along the way."

...

In a place similarly devoid of spray nozzles, a platform was neatly arranged with exactly three crystals, three bottles of enhancer, and a brand-new "Curios".

It was a helmet, carved from some black stone, filled with Exotic Realm style.

Abnormal and cold.

Around the platform, hidden in three different places, were human figures, each wearing the same black helmet with a thin layer of "ghost light" spilling from within, covering their bodies in a very thin protective film.

The three people simultaneously employed a technique, cloaking both body and breath, their malicious gazes fixating behind them.

Clearly, a "Trap" had been set.

Orchestrators, seemingly due to that helmet, were somewhat exempt from the damage of "Death Breath".

The three displayed great patience, their evenly curved lips indicating they had already reaped no small rewards before.

Robbery!

In both the Mysterious Side and the real world, it was one of the fastest routes to riches.

Setting traps in such an environment, success grants not only various Curios from the ruins but also other Extraordinary Items, a business of enormous profit.

As the three awaited their next "victim", an odd noise abruptly broke the silence.

In their gaze, a "Yellow Lightning" streaked by.

The speed was unimaginable.

One must understand that the other Transcendents, corroded by the "Fog Sea," had to slow down uniformly.

Going full force was akin to courting death.

This was a pattern discerned by the Transcendents struggling to survive in the Fog Sea over a short period.

Now, someone had shattered this pattern.

What left the three dumbfounded, then infuriated, happened in the next instant.

That seemingly passed Yellow Lightning, suddenly and unexpectedly reversed course.

A Yellow Squirrel appeared on the platform, its glow flickering.

A little hand reached out, and the array of "Curios" vanished in a blink.

And with the squirrel, disappeared.

When it turned back into the lightning and shot away, a light-hearted voice also entered the three's ears.

"Not a bad trap, remember to set more bait next time."

With the sound, the three froze.

Then, rage exploded with a "bang".

In a reflex, the three believers from the "Doomsday Sect" burst out from their hiding places, attempting to execute techniques to pursue that shameless, greedy Yellow Squirrel.

But by the time they stood firm, the yellow shadow was already gone from their field of vision.

Compared to them, the struggling "ordinary" Transcendents, the speed displayed by the Yellow Squirrel was nearly indistinguishable from cheating.

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