Although with Sasa’s help, Yan Luo started to manage his personal image, he remained primarily a Hunter, prioritizing his Hunter career above all else.
After making all necessary preparations, Yan Luo set out into the Abyss.
It was the day before yesterday that he had taken the endorsement photos, and Yan Luo didn’t know what happened after, nor did he care.
He had already received the full payment for the endorsement, and even if the endorsement turned out to be a great success, he wouldn’t get a share, so there was no need to worry about it further.
Riding a motorcycle into the Abyss, the familiar crimson moonlight fell upon him once more, and Yan Luo took a deep breath.
Unconsciously, he somehow felt that the environment within the Abyss had become more familiar to him than Blue Star.
Although his previous mission was interrupted, Yan Luo had nonetheless continued his slaughter for eighteen hours before that point.
After Sasa’s inspection and confirmation, it was shown that prolonged hunting, causing minor damage to oneself, could effectively enhance Yan Luo’s body’s speed in digesting Magic Power.
This is because after sustaining injuries, the body instinctively repairs the wounds, and speeding up this healing requires the digestion of Magic Power.
In other words, being in a state of injury allowed Yan Luo to speed up his Magic Power digestion. If he remained injured for a long time, his Magic Power digestion speed could permanently increase, persisting even after his wounds healed.
This was a result hypothesized by Sasa. Theoretically, even if there were discrepancies with the facts, the difference wouldn’t be significant.
Knowing this conclusion, there was no need to carry out another demon slaughter action.
Yan Luo could entirely find a way to injure himself to replace the long-term slaughter and consumption of demons.
The simplest method would be to remove all weapons and equipment and engage in close combat with demons!
This hunt had no clear target, making it a free hunt.
Therefore, Yan Luo revved up his motorcycle, heading straight for Blood Lake.
He had wanted to head to Blood Lake multiple times before but had yet to achieve that desire. Now, he finally had the chance to visit and see what that area was all about.
With anticipation and excitement, Yan Luo sped through the Dark Forest on his motorcycle.
Blood Lake is adjacent to the Dark Forest, approximately a twelve-hour drive from the Red Two Entrance, farther than the Rusty Iron Hills.
Looking at the map, the Dark Forest is located in the southern part of the Crimson Abyss, with most of the central area occupied by the Bone-Eroding Plain. East of the Bone-Eroding Plain lies the Rusty Iron Hills, with Blood Lake occupying the northeast area of the Rusty Iron Hills.
The Crescent Mountain Range rises like a long arc from the western part of the Bone-Eroding Plain, occupying the entire northern part of the Crimson Abyss, then gently slopes down north of the Rusty Iron Hills, embracing the Bone-Eroding Plain, Rusty Iron Hills, and Blood Lake within, resembling a crescent moon.
The final area of the Crimson Abyss, the Illusory Palace, has entrances only in the Crescent Mountain Range. The surface of Blue Star has a direct entrance to the Illusory Palace, but there is no exploration town, only a sentinel post monitoring movements in and out.
The area Yan Luo was heading to, Blood Lake, from its name, seemed like a single lake, but in truth, it was a group of lakes.
In terms of natural environment, Blood Lake is an extension of the Rusty Iron Hills, housing more than a dozen lakes of varying sizes amidst its barren lands. Most of these lakes have red-colored waters, hence the name ’Blood Lake’.
A twelve-hour continuous trek through the perilous Dark Forest is a challenge for Yan Luo himself as well.
Even with upgraded equipment, Yan Luo couldn’t guarantee he had the power to navigate through the Dark Forest effortlessly.
The Dark Forest rarely hosts City-breaking Level Demons; most such demons inhabit the Bone-Eroding Plain, the Crescent Mountain Range, and the Illusory Palace. Yet, there’s always a possibility of encountering City-breaking Level Demons in areas beyond those three zones.
Thankfully, Yan Luo was on a motorcycle, which offered him a chance to escape if he encountered a City-breaking Level Demon.
On his way to Blood Lake, Yan Luo encountered several groups of Hunters, including two who, like him, were solo Hunters.
He passed by the Hunters, but there were no exchanges or greetings.
This unwritten rule among Hunters active in the Abyss states that unless a distress signal is received, it’s disrespectful to interrupt other Hunters.
Upon encountering other Hunters, one would not know exactly what they were doing.
They could be tracking prey, searching for a camping site, or possibly fleeing from a demon pursuit. Interfering abruptly would only cause them trouble.
Yan Luo is a rule-abiding Hunter. Even if others don’t play by the rules, it doesn’t concern him. It’s enough for him to adhere to them himself.
Long drives are exhausting, but the Abyss never lacks surprises and unexpected occurrences.
Apart from encountering Hunters, Yan Luo also met several demons attempting to attack him along the way.
Previously, he wouldn’t have been able to deal with demons while riding, but now he had grown stronger. When faced with demons leaping toward him from the side, he would draw his sword and cut them down directly.
The only issue with this approach was that Yan Luo had to stop the motorcycle and sometimes reverse to collect materials.
Being someone who practices frugality, he couldn’t bear to leave the materials behind, feeling as if ants were crawling all over him when he thought about it.
In any case, after driving for twelve hours, Yan Luo finally reached the edge of the Blood Lake region.
The towering trees began to thin, and after crossing a certain line, even the weeds on the ground vanished.
In their place were undulating desert landscapes where, perhaps if you looked far enough, you could see a few oases rooted in the desert.
This was Blood Lake, an area where desert gobi covered three-sevenths, and the lake group occupied four-sevenths of the region.
Upon reaching Blood Lake, Yan Luo slowed his motorcycle and took a few photos with his eyepiece.
After that, he didn’t speed up again.
The wind carrying sand swept in from afar, scrubbing the already clean, grassless ground once more.
The motorcycle’s wheels crushed the fragile ground, leaving a track behind as they passed.
The ground at Blood Lake was fragile, with some areas merely camouflaged quicksand. An inadvertent entry into those could mean no rescue for Yan Luo.
Not just Yan Luo, other Hunters would have to tread carefully here, fearing falling into quicksand or caves.
Comparatively, Red Two had better fortune; Red One was less lucky as the entrance connecting the Abyss and Red One was in the Blood Lake region.
Hunters from Red One rarely stayed at Blood Lake, mostly opting to hunt at Rusty Iron Hills, Bone-Eroding Plain, Crescent Mountain Range, or other regions.
If not for its distance from the Dark Forest, many Red One Hunters might venture into the Dark Forest.
The motorcycle cruised leisurely through the desert, Yan Luo’s eyes scanning around for signs of activity from surrounding demons.
The demons at Blood Lake are more secretive compared to the Rusty Iron Hills, with many able to hide underground or still posing significant trouble for hunters traveling on the surface.
Just as the motorcycle was about to pass by a waist-high rock, Yan Luo suddenly pulled out a long-barreled shotgun, unlocked the safety, and fired at the rock.
The rock’s base immediately sprouted six legs, extending two large pincers.
The camouflaged crab, a demon very fond of disguising itself as a rock, primarily known for its tough shell.
However, this crab was only at danger level, and when hit by Yan Luo’s concentrated bullet, its shell developed a dent.
Yan Luo swiftly turned his bike around, leading the pursuing camouflaged crab to a sandy patch.
Feeling the ground’s vibration, the sand trembled momentarily before a giant antlion burst from it, getting body-tackled by Yan Luo with his shoulder and tossed over in an over-the-shoulder throw towards the camouflaged crab.
The giant antlion, as the name suggests, is mostly the same as an antlion but larger.
Antlions like digging a pit, while giant antlions prefer burying themselves entirely in the sand, leaping out when prey appears nearby.
The giant antlion, thrown by Yan Luo onto the camouflaged crab, engaged in a battle with it.
Yan Luo stopped the bike, took out an energy gel, refueling while watching them tussle.
Just like a cricket fight, it was quite intriguing.