Da-da-da...

The sound of boots stepping on the uneven damp ground due to water erosion echoed throughout the underground cavity.

Yan Luo held a crab shell in his left hand and gripped a bone tightly with his right hand, his legs alternating swiftly, his footsteps urgent.

Humans are the species most adept at creating tools in nature. Although Yan Luo was without weapons, in the Abyss, materials dropped from demons after death, some of which could be directly used.

The bone was produced from a tiger-striped python, a demon with skin as strong as copper and bones as hard as iron. After Yan Luo killed it, the bone obtained was suitable as a weapon, even better than a baseball bat.

The crab shell came from a crab with a one-meter-wide back. Yan Luo smashed its shell with a bone, killed the crab, and the shell was right in front of him.

The back shell was rather hard and the ventral plate softer. Yan Luo took the bone and dismantled most of the ventral plate, leaving only the part suitable for gripping.

With weapons and armor, Yan Luo's killing efficiency improved significantly; the demons encountered along the way were no match for him.

Even lethal-level demons would fall at his hands.

His power must have grown once more, but Yan Luo hadn't formally tested it yet, so he still didn't know to what degree his strength had increased.

Yan Luo had already covered more than half of the over fifty-kilometer journey, encountering several illusions along the way, and the number this time was even more than before.

Isn't that so?

Another encounter.

Yan Luo raised the crab shell shield, tilted his head to look at the figure in front of him, his brow slightly furrowed.

The illusion appearing before him was something with long pointed ears, looking like the 'elf' of mythological legends.

Upon 'seeing' him, the elf opposite put away the bow and raised a sword.

Yan Luo's eyesight was good; he saw the elf's fair fingers gliding over the silver sword's blade, causing a stream of glowing characters to swiftly light up the sword.

Unlike the illusions Yan Luo had seen before, the sword in this elf's hand did not ignite flames but instead shone with a layer of floating light.

Although Yan Luo knew the illusions of the delusional dungeon didn't really exist, researchers on Blue Star hadn't delved deeply into the origins of these illusions.

Were they memories from the mind of the hunter who sees them? Or something else...

Yan Luo watched the elf opposite warily, seeing him/her mouthing something as if reciting words.

A sudden surge of irritation arose in Yan Luo's heart, and with a stomp against the ground, his body surged forward explosively.

The crab shell shield was positioned in front, and in the blink of an eye, he rushed up to the illusion.

Seemingly surprised by Yan Luo's speed, the elf's face showed a different expression.

Yan Luo swung the crab shell shield, and at the moment the shield surface made contact with the elf's body, the illusion dissipated into smoke.

Dispelling the illusion, Yan Luo stopped, glanced around cautiously, and listened closely before continuing on, once sure of no demon presence.

The journey ahead was smooth; except for encountering a dangerous-level demon, Yan Luo met no other demons or illusions.

As Yan Luo emerged from the cavern, the bloody moonlight descended once more, bringing a slight sense of familiarity.

However, he quickly recovered his relaxed mood, determined his direction, and headed straight toward Remain Iron Hill.

From this entrance, another eighteen kilometers of walking would bring him into the realm of Remain Iron Hill.

With the magic tide yet to start, Yan Luo still needed to be wary of the City-breaking Level demons lurking in the Abyss.

Once the magic tide began, all City-breaking Level demons would surge towards the three entry points, even those within the delusional dungeon would become active.

From this observation, it was clear the magic tide wasn't a natural phenomenon; there was evidently something directing it, presumably the Master of the Abyss.

Typically, before the magic tide begins, Blue Star's magic power concentration shows a small increase, persisting even after the tide ends.

With each magic tide's arrival, the magic power concentration permanently rises slightly, as countless demons perish during the tide. After they die, no materials drop, and the magic power constituting their bodies diffuses into the air, gradually integrating into Blue Star.

Originally, Blue Star People had assumed the 'demons perishing during magic tides don't drop materials' to be a principle until Yan Luo discovered it wasn't quite the case.

Demons do drop materials upon death, and even before the Abyss changed, the materials collected by gatherers were likely directly generated by the Abyss rather than derived from the demon's own magic power.

Otherwise, a hunter killing a demon, using the magic power dispersed from the demon's death to advance engraving completion, should have led to material quality degradation.

On the path to Remain Iron Hill, Yan Luo encountered a lethal-level demon, named Fierce Eagle. As the name suggests, it had no particularly special abilities, just a notably strong physique.

Once the Fierce Eagle spotted Yan Luo, it immediately swooped down from the sky, attempting to kill him.

This demon had immense strength, and sharp claws; even when deflecting them with the crab shell shield, several holes were made.

Fortunately, Yan Luo knew this demon's behavioral patterns; after enduring two swoops, he swung the bone to strike one of the Fierce Eagle's wings, preventing it from taking flight. He then tossed the crab shell shield aside and grabbed one of the Fierce Eagle's legs, thrashing the bone onto its head.

With Yan Luo gripping it, the Fierce Eagle inevitably struggled, frantically flapping its wings, while the other leg kicked at Yan Luo's body, leaving claw marks on him.

Yan Luo paid no attention as his recovery from injury was swift; these wounds would heal within half a day given the abundant magic power in his body.

However, the Fierce Eagle, with its hollow bones, couldn't withstand the blows; a few strikes left its mind muddled.

After that... there was no after.

Yan Luo certainly wouldn't spare the Fierce Eagle; taking advantage of its weakness, he directly used the bone to smash the Fierce Eagle into a bloody mess, then ripped off one wing with his bare hands, and bit into the eagle's wound, gulping down the blood.

Although he was still in a drunken magic state, Yan Luo had resolved to overcome this condition.

Yan Luo drank nearly one-third of the blood from the Fierce Eagle, which then let out a wail and faded away.

Yan Luo instinctively wiped his mouth, noticing a few drops of blood remaining on his fingers that should have vanished with the body. With a swipe, those drops fell into his hand.

Feeling the sticky touch at his fingertips, Yan Luo froze momentarily.

At this point, Yan Luo was a bit worried.

The materialization of the Abyss was becoming increasingly severe. Previously, the demon's blood would disappear along with the demon.

A few days ago, he lured the Wind God Eagle and the Giant Unihorn Python into battle, running off during the fight.

Yet, as they fought, a lot of dust billowed up.

Some dirt even stuck to Yan Luo's hatchet, and upon rubbing it, he truly wiped away some dust from the spot.

Due to the impending magic tide, the research team from Lingquan University hadn't entered the Abyss to conduct studies. According to Sasa, they might resume exploring post-tide.

By then, they should notice some issues...

Yan Luo shook his head, flinging away those bothersome concerns.

At this moment, the priority was to leave the Crimson Abyss, not to dwell on these useless matters; he wasn't a scientist and didn't need to ponder these.

Composing himself, Yan Luo headed toward Remain Iron Hill.

On the way, he avoided what he could, lacking a container to store materials, he couldn't take demon-dropped materials back, only obtained magic power from killing demons, but his body was already filled with magic power, not needing it much.

By avoiding unnecessary battles, he ensured a quicker return to Blue Star.

If he accelerated his pace a bit more, he might just reach Crimson No. 2's entry point before the team responsible for evacuating hunters from the Abyss at Crimson No. 2 all withdrew.

Despite having many unresolved questions, Yan Luo couldn't worry about them now.

Staying at Central Domain Seventh Outpost would get him seized by officers, and perishing in the Abyss also wasn't unlikely; he needed to return to human society to protect himself through collective strength.

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