"Stay back."

Pei Ze waved his hand at those behind him, his expression calm.

Su Ya and Peng Yan exchanged a glance and, without a word, pulled the giant eagle back.

At the same time, Pei Ze raised his wrist. A silver metallic liquid fell into his palm, rapidly solidifying into a Longsword.

Eight Lightning Runes appeared one after another, sinking into the blade. In the blink of an eye, the sword was wreathed in electric light.

While he was still talking to Pei Yonggao, Pei Ze had already cast dozens of layers of Mage Armor on himself. Now, without needing to cast any more Protective Magic, he simply flicked his hand and fired an Acid Arrow straight at Pei Yonggao.

However, just as the Acid Arrow reached Pei Yonggao, a pitch-black hand shot out and snatched it from the air. With a clench of its five fingers, the Acid Arrow dissolved with a SIZZLE, turning into a puff of white smoke.

Pei Ze’s brow twitched. He looked behind Pei Yonggao, where a strange black mist was forming a hazy, black, illusory figure.

It had no facial features, only a vague humanoid silhouette and a profound, bottomless blackness.

The black shadow seemed to be staring at Pei Ze, making him feel a strange, inexplicable chill.

’A Resentful Spirit?’

’No, that’s not it.’

Pei Ze suddenly thought of a certain type of creature, and his gaze sharpened abruptly.

’An Evil Thing!’

A cold sneer appeared on Pei Yonggao’s face. "I didn’t expect you to be so well-informed."

Hearing Pei Yonggao admit it himself, Pei Ze’s expression immediately grew solemn.

Evil Things were an extremely dangerous type of creature!

These creatures continuously generate negative energy that affects a person’s emotions, will, and soul. They emanate malicious thoughts that seep into a person’s mind, causing them to gradually become twisted and evil. Their bodies also weaken over time, eventually leading to death.

And that was only the beginning.

After death, their souls would transform into malevolent spiritual entities and continue to infect other living beings.

Over time, any area where an Evil Thing resided would become a paradise for gathering evil spirits.

An Evil Thing that had absorbed enough life force would grow in power to a level that would terrify even an Official Wizard.

There were historical cases of entire towns being turned into cities of the dead by Evil Things.

There was even an instance of an Evil Thing devouring the life on an entire plane, thereby evolving into an Ancient Evil Thing.

That was a terrifying monster that not even a Rule Wizard would dare to provoke lightly.

Because of their extremely high infectivity and danger, Evil Things were classified as ultra-high-risk creatures by many planar civilizations. If one was discovered, it was to be exterminated immediately and without reservation.

The Star Realm Alliance was, naturally, no exception.

They had even issued a strict decree forbidding any Wizard from privately researching Evil Things, with the penalty for discovery being immediate execution.

To this day, Evil Things had long since become the stuff of legend.

At least, a creature like this hadn’t appeared in Chenxi City for over a hundred years.

Pei Ze had never expected to see an Evil Thing now, and he certainly hadn’t imagined that Pei Yonggao would be mad enough to fuse with one, intending to wield the power of such an extremely dangerous creature.

"To go so far as to use an Evil Thing... it seems you truly hate me." Pei Ze’s eyes narrowed slightly.

From the moment he fused with the Evil Thing, Pei Yonggao’s fate was sealed.

Whether he succeeded in killing him or not, Pei Yonggao would die. His body, including his soul, would become nutrients for the Evil Thing’s growth.

"As long as I can kill you, it’s all worth it!"

The Evil Thing’s influence seemed to be manifesting. A hint of venomous hatred and madness crept into Pei Yonggao’s expression.

He let out a sudden, low roar. The illusory figure behind him shot out like a bolt of lightning, lunging viciously toward Pei Ze, shrouded in an eerie black mist.

Without hesitation, Pei Ze flung a Blazing Flame Spell Ball. At the same time, he swiftly retrieved a bottle of Soul Guard Potion from his Space Ring and chugged it down, his mind rapidly recalling information about Evil Things.

’The essence of an Evil Thing is a collective of negative energy and malicious thoughts. It’s immune to physical attacks; only Elemental Power and Energy Particles can harm it.

’But even that damage is significantly weakened.

’Furthermore, as a Spiritual Creature similar to a Ghostly Resentful Spirit but much more powerful, an Evil Thing’s attacks are primarily focused on the spirit and mind.

’And that happens to be a weakness for many Wizards.

’Aside from Wizards who specialize in the Divination school, very few are particularly skilled in mental and spiritual defense.’

Pei Ze was no exception.

Fortunately, he had considered this long ago and carried a good number of Soul Guard Potions that enhanced resistance to Illusion Techniques and mental attacks.

Now was the perfect time to use them.

Another fortunate thing was that the Evil Thing before him appeared to be only in its initial form.

If it were a fully mature Evil Thing, his only option would have been to flee for his life.

Facing the incoming Blazing Flame Spell Ball, the Evil Thing let out a piercing shriek. Its entire body suddenly spewed a large amount of strange black mist, which billowed outward.

The moment the Blazing Flame Spell Ball touched the black mist, it was like a match falling into water—it was instantly extinguished, dissipating into wisps of green smoke.

The Evil Thing, still wreathed in the billowing black mist, continued its lunge toward Pei Ze, passing straight through his body.

Pei Ze’s body instantly froze. Faint, blood-curdling screams echoed in his mind. At the same time, the blood in his veins felt like it was boiling, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a giant hand. Intense, sharp pain, accompanied by a bone-deep chill, swept through his entire body in an instant.

Pei Ze bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. He frantically mobilized his Spiritual Power and Elemental Power to dispel the strange sensations in his body. The moment he regained control, he activated the magic tattoo on his body without a second thought, teleporting away from his spot and narrowly avoiding the Evil Thing’s second pounce.

"He actually withstood it!"

Pei Yonggao’s expression was one of shock and uncertainty.

In his mind, it should have been impossible to withstand the Evil Thing’s attack unless one possessed the powerful Spiritual Power of a Second-level Wizard.