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Thousands of curse-marked beasts surged forth like an unending tide of black insects, but they shattered upon contact with the Tyrant and the Blood Knight, the vast chasm in their ranks rendering numbers meaningless.
Lu Yao examined a bug and found its stats mediocre, with levels ranging from LV10 to LV30. The only notable trait was its "Vigor" ability, which allowed it to maintain fighting spirit for extended periods.
They were almost like worker ants produced by the Curse Insects.
Two minutes later, the central island was devoid of moving curse-marked creatures, the ground carpeted with a layer of black carcasses.
The rate at which the egg sacs produced curse-marked beasts couldn't keep up with the Apostles' killing efficiency.
The curse-marked beasts coming to aid from all directions were too late to return.
In the eyes of the Clay Tribe, the parasitic egg sacs were indestructible because their attacks were too weak.
With the "Sword of the Forest" enhancement, the Tyrant's damage reached 347, and the Blood Knight's was at 195.
The two Apostles climbed to the giant sphere and furiously hacked at the egg sacs.
–
253
101
…
Red damage numbers continuously rose from the egg sacs.
Before long, the already life-drained egg sacs split open, spilling out a mass of black goo, and the data panel vanished without a trace.
Strangely, within the burst egg sacs, three flames flickered.
Lu Yao clicked his mouse.
Faith +1000
Faith +1000
Faith +930
He suddenly realized that the egg sacs couldn't utilize the flames of faith; they were merely containers imitating divine statues, which explained why the flames burst out.
Lu Yao immediately thought of the first layer's seal.
The golden seal that contained the "Overwriting Insects" had 32 flames, which must have been the flames of faith stored within the Curse Insects, seized by the Forest God and used to seal them.
This time, the "Parasitic Insects'" egg sacs also stored flames of faith.
This meant…
The Curse Insects likely harbored a substantial amount of the flames of faith.
These flames partly came from their hunting of demigods, and the rest were forcibly plundered through means like curse marks. If left unchecked, the Curse Insects might eventually evolve into a new form of wild deity.
Lu Yao cut off his scattered thoughts.
There was something more pressing at hand—the "Wishing Star."
Lu Yao moved his mouse over the giant stone sphere.
【Wishing Star LV12】: Faith +12/hour. Can activate 【Moment of Wishing】.
An epic artifact created by the legacies of many civilizations, 【Moment of Wishing】 can collect the wishes and vows of all beings, and if fulfilled, can transform into flames of faith.
Equipment requirements:
Apostle (0/1)
Not a Curse Insect (1/1)
【Epic】
An immortal masterpiece created by numerous civilizations based on legends and history, enduring through the ages.
Huh?
It turns out you really can make a wish.
Lu Yao found this artifact to be quite special.
Firstly, it was an 【Epic Artifact】, surpassing the LV10 rank, and its faith production was even higher than that of natural artifacts.
Moreover, it required an Apostle to operate or equip it.
Lu Yao finally understood why the Curse Insects didn't take this thing with them.
Not only was it too large, but the Curse Insects simply couldn't use it.
Lu Yao double-clicked his mouse, gladly accepting it. The giant stone sphere rapidly shrank and merged into his inventory, leaving behind only a hemispherical pit on the island.
After securing the most important spoils of war, he turned his attention back to the second layer.
Compared to the first layer, the Abyss's second layer seemed much more orderly.
According to the native Bianye, long ago, the second layer was also in chaos, but the Star Sea deity reformed this place, exterminating various monsters in the sea, stabilizing the layer.
Since then, the Clay Tribe gradually emerged from the mud.
Lu Yao learned from Sarina that the Star Sea deity's Divine Body was a giant mud monster, and the so-called holy land was composed of the remains of other earth elemental creatures.
The God of Darkness trapped the earth elemental deity and creatures in the water of this layer to make them endure the continuous pain of bodily disintegration, falling into mutual slaughter.
Only the victor could stand on the corpses of others and continue to survive.
This was another form of prolonged torture.
Under Lu Yao's instruction, Isabella sent Bianye to find other members of the Clay Tribe and take these survivors to the first layer. Although ghouls would slowly emerge there, at least there was some space for survival. Since these clay figures couldn't be taken out for now, this was the temporary arrangement.
The stunned Bianye lit up with an idea and immediately knelt down: "Thank you, great God Yao, and thank you to the Apostles for your help! Thank you to the deities for allowing this!"
"Please allow me to express the Clay Tribe's sincerest gratitude on behalf of my people. Without your arrival, we would have had no chance of survival…"
The little figure was so excited that he was almost incoherent.
Then he went to the holy land island, found a water nest, and jumped in. The mud ball then floated away in all directions.
Isabella also went to help him, searching the air for any surviving old residents.
Meanwhile, the Tyrant and the Blood Knight began searching for loopholes in this layer.
In the center of the island, with the 【Wishing Star】 gone, only a huge pit remained, empty with no suspicious passages or cracks.
After a thorough search, it was the yeti who made a discovery.
"Deity, look up, there's a hole in the sky!"
Jimmy pointed to the sky with his red gloves.
Lu Yao raised his view and looked in that direction, indeed finding a tear. It was inconspicuous and very small, easy to overlook.
Only when the mouse moved over it did it display 【Unknown Rift】.
Mending the sky was beyond Lu Yao's experience, giving him a bit of a headache.
Sarina said, "My lord, there's no need to fill it, just destroy it."
"Just like the crack on the tenth layer, such passages are very fragile and inherently chaotic. A little damage will completely change the rules."
Lu Yao thought, so that's how it is.
He directly bombarded the rift with lightning, then switched to hurricanes, and even tried an earthquake.
Unexpectedly, earthquakes could also be effective in this spatial rift.
After his efforts, the 【Unknown Rift】 in the sky collapsed, turning into a twisted vortex that looked somewhat eerie, and now there was no display at all.
Done!
Fixing a leak wasn't easy, but ruining a passage was simple.
***
Lu Yao, satisfied, led the team to retreat.
The Clay Tribe had moved to the first layer, numbering less than a hundred, but it was a life after disaster. They would start anew on the first layer.
As for the passage from the second layer to the third and other detailed explorations of this layer, that could wait.
It was time to clock out for the day.
The faith gained from the second layer of the Abyss replenished the consumption of the first layer, with a little surplus.
Most importantly, Lu Yao couldn't wait to try the 【Wishing Star】 and see what would happen when the little people made their wishes.
***
Many years after Lu Yao's team left, a colossal wave suddenly rose in the water, and a muddy, slimy creature emerged from the vortex, stepping onto the holy land and looking at the depression in the center of the island.
"Damn bugs, don't think this will be my downfall… The Star Sea is immortal!"
The mud monster let out an angry roar.
"Who is it! Who stole my 【Wishing Star】!"
It scanned the surroundings, but could neither find the enemy nor its followers, and could only roar in anger at the sky.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Finally, it looked at the dark vortex above, its gaze dark and gloomy.
"Damn insects, you've made my years of effort come to nothing…"
"Wait for me below, I'll tear each of you apart and devour you!"
"There are more than just you who can ambush; I swear, an eye for an eye, a hundredfold return!"
It approached the pit beneath the 【Wishing Star】, opened a crack, and slipped inside, embarking on a path of vengeance.