The Demon with Holy Radiance

"So this is the shortcut to the Forbidden Land Core you were talking about?"

He looked at the countless rotting corpses piled up before him. They didn’t sink, but were stacked one on top of the other upon the surface of a viscous, pitch-black lake, emitting a thick, putrid stench.

The bodies clearly looked as if they had been dead for a long time, yet their state of decay remained relatively fresh, as if they had only just died. There was a strange, unsettling feeling about them.

This was a massive lake, the place One-Eyed had led Yang An to via a small path that didn’t trigger any Power of Rules.

Looking at the state of the lake, however, made Yang’an doubt whether what One-Eyed had said was true.

’Can I really enter the Forbidden Land Core from here?’

’Don’t tell me this guy plans for me to dive into this foul-smelling lake?’

’If that’s the case, it’s not entirely out of the question for the sake of entering the Forbidden Land Core... The worst that could happen is a trek through this stench.’ Besides, for Yang An, this sort of thing was already commonplace, nothing special.

"You may not be aware, but this Blood Lake leads directly to the Forbidden Land Core. However, the way in isn’t by diving into the Blood Lake itself. There is another method."

"What method?"

Although One-Eyed was controlled by the Bow Lady, he retained his speech and thought patterns. He was actually starting to be deliberately mysterious.

"This Blood Lake has been filthy for ages. Over the years, it has accumulated enough filth to defile anything in the world. If you were to rashly dive in, you would only end up corrupted and defiled yourself."

"However, within this Blood Lake lives one of the Forbidden Land’s guardians—a great fish named Corruptalan."

"Corruptalan resides year-round in the depths of the Blood Lake, very close to the Forbidden Land Core. You just need to use fresh blood as bait to lure it out. Then, by using its body, you can plunge to the bottom of the lake and reach the Forbidden Land Core!"

One-Eyed explained word by word, revealing the Blood Lake’s secret completely.

He hadn’t been idle after dying in this Forbidden Land and becoming an Insect Transformation Body. Using the unique nature of the Transformation Body, he had managed to spy on many of the Forbidden Land’s secrets, and now, it was all for Yang An’s benefit.

The plan sounded good, even reliable, but why was there only a thirty percent chance of entering the Forbidden Land Core?

This was what confused Yang An, so he asked about it.

One-Eyed smiled. "Because Corruptalan isn’t the only Demon in this Blood Lake. If you fail to lure out Corruptalan and instead draw out something else, that would involve the Power of Rules around the Blood Lake. That’s what the other seventy percent entails."

Yang An now understood.

Simply put, One-Eyed’s method was to go fishing. But he couldn’t just catch anything; he had to catch the specific fish named Corruptalan to enter the Forbidden Land Core.

As for how to fish for it, One-Eyed didn’t know if there were any special techniques. He was just an Insect Transformation Body, and no living person had entered this part of the Forbidden Land in a very long time, so there had been no way to experiment.

It was truly a matter of probability, something that could only be left to luck.

But judging by this method, a thirty percent probability was indeed a bit low. It meant there was a high likelihood of luring out something other than Corruptalan.

’In other words, if there’s only one Corruptalan in the entire Blood Lake, then there must be at least two other things in there as well.’

’No matter how I look at it, the odds of luring out something else are higher.’

"What if I just evaporate this whole Blood Lake?"

Yang An didn’t want to gamble on a mere thirty percent chance. It could be summed up in one word—troublesome!

What he wanted was a guarantee that he could enter the Forbidden Land Core.

’Since the Blood Lake leads directly to the Forbidden Land Core, why bother fishing? Wouldn’t it be easier to just evaporate the lake?’

One-Eyed was suddenly stunned.

"The Blood Lake is rumored to be endless, a manifestation of the Rules. No one has ever had such a bold idea. I fear it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven."

He had never considered such a possibility, but he figured it couldn’t be done. If the Blood Lake could be evaporated, surely someone throughout history would have tried this method already.

"We’ll know once we try!"

But Yang An was very confident. Before him was a lake of blood, a perfect match for the Lighting Technique’s unique property of burning blood.

Moreover, his Lighting Technique had also fused with the Source of the Xian Fire Lamp, making it even stronger than before. Evaporating this lake shouldn’t be too difficult.

Even if he couldn’t evaporate it completely, he could definitely lure out the Demons in the lake.

’Fishing might lure out a Demon, and burning the lake might lure out a Demon. Since that’s the case, what’s the difference?’

’It’s completely worth a try!’

If he lured out a Demon other than Corruptalan, he would still have the advantage of taking the initiative.

One-Eyed had no reason to stop Yang An’s audacious act, but he still felt it was impossible, simply because no one had ever done it before.

This was just too audacious!

VMMMM—

A cluster of dark red flames appeared in Yang An’s hand, burning fiercely. He then tossed it toward the Blood Lake.

As it traced a parabolic arc, the dense, viscous Blood Lake acted like gasoline. Before the flame even hit the water, the entire surface of the lake instantly erupted in terrifying, towering infernos.

Feeling the terrifying temperature and power, One-Eyed retreated in terror.

He had been severely tormented by this flame before. Even though he no longer had his own consciousness, he still felt immense fear.

As for Yang An, he was unconcerned. He was the one who had conjured the flame, and it shared the same source as him; there was no need to worry about it hurting him.

Under the brilliant, piercing light of the fire, the entire Blood Lake began to boil instantly.

The flames produced not thick smoke, but a dark, bloody mist. The vapor billowed upwards, painting the sky above the entire Forbidden Land a shade of red.