A savage glint flashed in the bald-headed man’s eyes. He drew a long saber and swung it down. A terrifying black Sword Qi sliced Liu Ming in two.

The very instant Liu Ming was killed, a terrifying jet of black blood shot out from his chest, splattering in all directions.

The bald-headed man immediately deployed a powerful, cyan Protective Spirit Membrane.

But the bizarre black blood pierced right through the cyan Protective Spirit Membrane and landed on the bald-headed man.

The face of a small, eyeless child suddenly appeared on the bald-headed man’s body.

The black blood splattering from Liu Ming also landed on several other freelance travelers. The faces of small, eyeless children began to grow on their bodies as well, each one exuding an incomparably strange aura.

The crowd scattered in terror. No one dared go near Liu Ming’s junior sister or those tainted by the bizarre corruption.

Xiao Qing remained perfectly calm. He took out a black chain and threw it.

Like a living venomous snake, the black chain rapidly extended, transforming into a streak of light that instantly coiled around the bald-headed man, pinning him firmly to the ground.

The Warriors from the Hao Wei Escort Agency all took out black chains of their own and threw them at the freelance travelers contaminated by the black blood.

The black chains coiled around the freelance travelers, binding them tightly.

Bound by the black chains, the freelance travelers fell to the ground one by one, writhing madly and struggling in agony.

The children’s faces on their bodies opened their cavernous mouths and viciously bit into them, devouring their flesh and blood mouthful by mouthful.

Only after all their flesh and blood had been completely devoured did the children’s faces transform into wisps of black smoke and disappear.

"Hee hee!"

"Haha!"

"..."

Waves of hair-raising, bizarre laughter echoed from the outside. It sounded as if countless dark and strange entities were peering out from the darkness beyond the light, spying on this small pocket of illumination.

But the Barrier cast by the Bronze Lamp steadfastly protected everyone present.

Shu Feng watched the Bronze Lamp, thinking, ’That’s a Purification Class Barrier of light! It seems this kind of Barrier can barely deal with those strange entities.’

The light Barrier cast by the Bronze Lamp was extremely weak; any Spirit Master could easily break through it. Naturally, it was not nearly enough to stop the terrifying entities lurking within the darkness of the Erosion Realm.

However, those strange entities would not casually step into the light Barrier either.

It was like a huge pile of cow dung. It wasn’t that a person couldn’t stomp it flat, but any normal person would avoid it unless they knew there was Gold or diamonds inside.

The waves of bizarre laughter continued for a full hour before finally fading away, leaving everyone in a state of fear and panic.

"From now on, all of you shut up! Be quiet! Don’t say a single word! Otherwise, you die! I will personally kill any idiot who doesn’t listen. Because an idiot like that will get everyone killed!"

Xiao Qing had written the words on a board and held it up, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd.

Everyone nodded slightly.

The deaths of Liu Ming and the others served as a clear demonstration of the Erosion Realm’s horrors to the freelance travelers. Some of them had previously journeyed alone along the safe roads of the Erosion Realm and had grown to underestimate its dangers.

The bizarre events that had just transpired made everyone understand the danger and terror of the Erosion Realm.

The night passed in silence. The next morning, faint, dark-red rays of light trickled down from the sky, pulling the Erosion Realm out of complete darkness.

After eating breakfast, the caravan cautiously continued on its way.

After the caravan had traveled twenty kilometers, several thousand Black Dog Illusion Demons suddenly swarmed out from a forest by the side of the road.

The two hundred Warriors in the Hao Wei Escort Agency were all experts of the Spirit Master Level, skilled in both melee and ranged combat. Amidst a frantic volley of fire, the thousands of Black Dog Illusion Demons fled in disarray after leaving over a thousand corpses behind.

The corpses of the Black Dog Illusion Demons were quickly dissected by the Hao Wei Commerce Association. Their blood and claws were harvested, while the rest of their bodies were discarded.

Shu Feng stood quietly to the side, silently absorbing the dissipating souls.

Creating a Holy Soul required consuming vast amounts of Source Energy and a massive number of souls. Holy Souls, in turn, were an indispensable resource for synthesizing Spirit Saint Level Synthetic Beasts.

This was the first time Shu Feng had absorbed so many souls since leaving the Void Demon Battlefield.

Over the next few days, several more waves of strange beasts unique to the Void Demon Realm appeared. As soon as the creatures emerged, they were easily annihilated by the Hao Wei Escort Agency. Shu Feng simply stayed on the sidelines, absorbing the dissipating souls.

On the tenth day, as they were about to pass a bizarre-looking forest.

"On guard!"

Xiao Qing barked the command, and the entire caravan immediately went on high alert, weapons in hand, staring coldly at the forest.

"So, it’s our friends from the Hao Wei Escort Agency! Meeting like this must be fate. My brothers and I have been a bit tight on cash lately. Leave something behind, and I’ll let you go!"

A burly man emerged from the forest. He was tall with long limbs, a mess of unkempt hair, and a full beard. His face was rather ugly, but he exuded a fierce aura. Tattooed on his chest was a giant black wolf.

As the burly man stepped out, more than three hundred Warriors in black armor emerged from the forest as well. They raised their Spiritual Spears and aimed them at the caravan.

Xiao Qing’s eyes fell on the black wolf tattoo on the burly man’s chest. His pupils contracted slightly as he said, "Black Wolf Tu Jia!"

Black Wolf Tu Jia was a vicious bandit who operated on the road between Xuanlei City and the Black Tortoise Realm. His strength was immense. He and his Black Wolf Thieves had ambushed and slaughtered several powerful merchant caravans, making him an infamous and ruthless outlaw.

Black Wolf Tu Jia smiled faintly. "I didn’t expect the famous Cyan Cloud Hand of the Hao Wei Escort Agency, Xiao Qing, to actually know my name. I’m truly honored."

Xiao Qing mulled it over for a moment. "300 Spirit Stones. What do you say?"

Black Wolf Tu Jia was extraordinarily fierce, and Xiao Qing was not confident he could win a fight.

Black Wolf Tu Jia sneered. "300 Spirit Stones? Are you trying to shoo away a beggar? You’ll make at least 30,000 Spirit Stones on this trip."

A determined glint flashed in Xiao Qing’s eyes. He drew a cyan Tier Four Spiritual Spear and said coldly, "3,000 Spirit Stones! Tu Jia, if you don’t agree, then we’ll have to fight!"

"Fine! 3,000 Spirit Stones it is! But I want that woman!!"

Black Wolf Tu Jia’s gaze fell upon An. He pointed at her, a greedy glint flashing in his eyes.