Lin Qian, having successfully entered the Small World, looked at the landscape before him, feeling somewhat gloomy.
The dark sky seemed to be perpetually shrouded by storm clouds, oppressively dull, with dry land stretching as far as the eye could see, and nothing but Dead Trees ahead, just like the Dead Land.
The only difference was that compared to the fog-laden Dead Land under the broad daylight, the Dead Tree Forest ahead had no such thick fog.
"I wonder where that alien from the Black Blood Clan is at this moment in the Small World," Lin Qian surveyed his surroundings, his expression alert.
Because what he was about to face was an alien from the Life and Death Realm.
"Hmph!" A cold smile appeared on Lin Qian’s face as he looked out at the dark world ahead, "Life and Death Realm? That’s indeed challenging."
With that thought in mind, Lin Qian charged straight ahead.
Red-golden lightning intermittently circled around Lin Qian’s footsteps, as if brilliant, golden thunder chased after him.
Lin Qian stood atop a mountain in the Small World, looking around with profound emotion.
The Dead Land range of the Middle Ages ruins could be traversed by himself in half an hour, not so vast in scope.
Yet now, after moving straight ahead for an hour, the scenery remained bleak and lifeless, giving an extremely strong sense of oppression.
"Could it be that this Small World has been completely turned into a Dead Land?" Lin Qian thought to himself, secretly alarmed.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Qian’s hands lifted slightly, and eight round Tactical Mirrors emerged, hovering in each direction around him.
On the surfaces of the eight Tactical Mirrors appeared the views of eight different directions, continually zooming in and scanning for suspicious locations.
Lin Qian watched the scenes displayed by the Tactical Mirrors beside him, still the cracked earth, countless Dead Trees, and bare rocks.
The Tactical Mirror, controlled by the Heavenly Art Department, allowed Lin Qian to sit cross-legged and began to recover the Soul Power expended on the journey. In such a place, one must ensure they remain at their peak condition at all times.
"Your Majesty, there’s a situation!" As Lin Qian was recovering his Soul Power, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind—it was Zhuge Ming.
Lin Qian opened his eyes, and a system dialogue box materialized in front of him, showing Zhuge Ming’s face.
"What’s the situation?" Although Lin Qian did not speak out loud, his voice still transmitted over, resonating within the Heavenly Art Hall.
"A hundred yards to the west, members of the Human Clan and walking corpses are engaged in combat." Hearing Zhuge Ming’s report, Lin Qian focused on the respective Tactical Mirror.
When he clearly saw the scene displayed, he hurriedly charged toward the west.
The Tactical Mirror was retracted into the Huaxia Empire, and Lin Qian leaped into the air as if a fish diving into water, with arms pressed to his sides, he swooped down the mountain.
Just as Lin Qian neared the ground, about to hit his head, his whole body suddenly flipped, worriedly touching down.
The roar of hitting the ground echoed, the already cracked earth collapsed in a ring, and the fissures continued to spread all around.
Red-golden Thunder Soul Power instantly enveloped Lin Qian from head to toe, and with a powerful stomp, the ring-shaped pit collapsed further.
A streak of red-golden lightning shot out from the collapsed pit toward the front, with broken soil and debris flying behind him, charging straight forward.
Even with Dead Trees standing in the way, Lin Qian did not avoid them, crashing right through them.
After Lin Qian approached, the dead tree also made its move, its sharp branches stabbing towards him like fine swords.
However, these branches were simply unable to penetrate the Thunder Soul Power surrounding his body, and were directly shattered.
Wood splinters flew everywhere, and the dead tree blocking Lin Qian’s path was instantaneously smashed to pieces.
At this moment, Lin Qian was unstoppable, charging crazily forward.
While Lin Qian was running madly, the battle that Zhuge Ming had observed straight ahead was still ongoing.
Dozens of undead zombies were roaring as they pursued three humans.
Among the three, the strongest in cultivation was a burly man with a beard, wielding a massive stone sword.
Every time a pursuing undead zombie came close, it was smashed away by his sword.
Ahead of him were a young boy and girl, looking to be about fourteen years old, with injuries and bloodstains all over their bodies, fleeing forward desperately, not daring to look back.
"Run, keep running forward, don’t look back, the faster, the better," the bearded man shouted abruptly when the girl fearfully turned her head to look behind.
The girl obediently turned her head back and continued to run for her life, one of her shoes having been lost at some unknown time.
Both the bearded man and the pair of youngsters were dressed very plainly, with no fine workmanship to speak of. They appeared to be wearing clothes and trousers made of coarse linen fabric.
Their clothing was so stained that its original color was indistinguishable, now even more so with the blood that soaked them.
Tears streaked down the girl’s cheeks as she ran, mixing with the black grime on her face.
As for the boy, he just clenched his teeth and dragged the girl, running for their lives.
Suddenly, the girl tripped over a crack in the parched earth. The boy quickly helped her up and carried her on his back, continuing to run.
But this slowed them down significantly.
"Run, run faster!" the bearded man steeled his heart, yelled at the boy and girl, stopped retreating, and stood his ground firmly, raising his massive stone sword and charging at the pursuing undead zombies.
The man’s thunderous roar even drowned out the zombies’ howls.
Clearly, the man possessed extraordinary strength; each swing of his stone sword could send an undead zombie flying.
However, the sheer number of dozens of undead zombies was far too much for one person to handle. Caught off guard, he was tackled by one.
The zombies seized the opportunity, swarming and tearing at his flesh.
"Ah!" the man bellowed, and a radiant red Soul Light burst out from him, shaking off the zombies. Despite this, his left arm had been bitten off, his body drenched in blood.
"Dad!" Suddenly, a mournful cry came from behind him. The man turned to see the boy and girl were still not far behind him, and more undead zombies had appeared in the direction they had been fleeing.
"Kids, Dad is sorry, so sorry," the bearded man knelt on the ground, his face filled with despair. This tower of a man, faced with such dire straits, shed tears of reluctance.
"Dad!" The pair of youngsters also knelt beside their father, their faces full of sorrow.
They had resigned themselves to their fate.
The undead zombies had no sympathy. One of the closest ones roared and lunged with its mouth wide open.
As the three of them closed their eyes in despair, silently awaiting death, a furious roar descended from the sky.