Qin Churan stared in shock at the strange creatures ahead, creatures she had never seen before. "What are those monsters?" she exclaimed.

  Lu Ming's gaze was intense as he fixed his eyes on the bloodthirsty beasts. In a deep voice, he replied, "First-tier ghost beasts, Blade Ghosts!"

  As he spoke, even Lu Ming found it hard to believe.

  According to the black cloak's words from last night, ghost creatures should all be sealed, only able to break free on a full moon night.

  But tonight wasn't a full moon.

  How did these Blade Ghosts break the seal and appear?

  There were at least seven or eight Blade Ghosts in sight!

  Just like the one Lu Ming had seen in the abyss last night.

  They killed anyone they saw and devoured them afterward!

  Their methods were extremely cruel!

  The scene was incredibly gruesome!

  The ground was littered with severed limbs and flowing rivers of blood!

  The strength of the Blade Ghosts was terrifyingly powerful!

  The players who came to the black market were of mixed levels.

  Some were in their twenties or thirties, others in their forties or fifties.

  But without exception, not a single player could withstand the Blade Ghosts' attacks!

  Slash! Slash!

  The Blade Ghosts used their limbs as blades, continuously slicing through the players' bodies.

  The attacked players fell one after another under the massive damage of 80,000 to 90,000 points!

  Seeing this basic attack damage, Lu Ming couldn't help but frown.

  "Is the damage much higher than the one we encountered last night?"

  As he spoke, Lu Ming seemed to have realized something.

  He cast a Reconnaissance skill on the Blade Ghosts ahead.

  [Blade Ghost] (Physical Type · First-tier Ghost Beast)

  [Level: 50]

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  [Physical Attack: 95,600]

  [Armor: 58,300]

  [Magic Resistance: 55,800]

  [Speed: 50,600]

  [Health Points: 1,900,000]

  [Skills: Tear (E-level), Swift (E-level)]

  [Description: Evil spirits that slumber underground, their hundred-year seal has made them even more bloodthirsty and brutal! Only deities can contend with them...]

  Indeed!

  The Blade Ghost encountered last night only had an attack power of over 40,000, with armor, magic resistance, and speed attributes just over 20,000, and health points of over 700,000.

  According to the black cloak, it was sealed with sixty percent of its power, leaving only about forty percent.

  But the attributes of these Blade Ghosts now were about 2.5 times stronger than the one from last night!

  Calculating by this ratio, it meant...

  "These are fully unsealed, complete ghost beasts!"

  "But didn't he say that the ghost creatures wouldn't fully awaken until two and a half years later?"

  "What's going on?"

  Lu Ming was suddenly filled with dread as he thought deeply.

  At the same time, seeing the Blade Ghost encyclopedia shared by Lu Ming in the team channel, Qin Churan's eyes also revealed disbelief. "Their attributes... are actually higher than the level 50 gilded BOSS, demon king Xino from the Goblin Kingdom!?"

  Indeed.

  It's known that demon king Xino only had an attack power of over 60,000!

  Apart from having slightly higher health points than these Blade Ghosts, all of demon king Xino's other attributes were lower than the Blade Ghosts!

  Wait!

  Why did they choose this time to appear at the black market?

  Suddenly, Lu Ming seemed to realize something.

  He recalled a sentence once spoken by the black cloak:

  "The power of the deities is supreme, and it's not just us humans who covet this power; the ghost creatures are also constantly eyeing it!"

  Lu Ming's brow furrowed sharply, and he immediately realized: "Damn, they're after Dragon Soul Guan Yu!"

  Because Dragon Soul Guan Yu held the Scroll of Deification they desired!

  "We can't let them take the Scroll of Deification!"

  With this thought, Lu Ming began to search the crowd for Dragon Soul Guan Yu.

  At that moment, a Blade Ghost that had just devoured a player suddenly lifted its head and noticed Lu Ming.

  "Clack, clack, clack..."

  With a chilling screech, the Blade Ghost charged at Lu Ming with incredible speed!

  A sharp glint appeared in Lu Ming's eyes.

  As he focused on the rapidly approaching Blade Ghost, just as he was about to draw his sword—

  Slash!

  Suddenly, a figure charged from the side, appearing in front of Lu Ming, and with a swift motion, repelled the Blade Ghost!

  Dragon Soul Guan Yu turned back, handing a golden scroll to Lu Ming, and with a burning gaze, he said in a deep voice, "Nether, I entrust my daughter to you!"

  With that, Dragon Soul Guan Yu lifted the gilded weapon, World Shatterer, activated his five-star talent [Bloodthirsty Frenzy], and with a fearless attitude, charged at the Blade Ghost!

  Last night in the abyss, facing just one Blade Ghost sealed with sixty percent of its power, Dragon Soul Guan Yu was terrified, hiding in the back, not daring to advance.

  Now, facing a group of fully powered Blade Ghosts, he didn't hesitate for a moment and rushed forward!

  Clearly, he placed all his hopes on Lu Ming, willing to risk his life to protect him!

  "For his daughter, he's truly willing to do anything..."

  Lu Ming watched Dragon Soul Guan Yu, a faint light flickering in his eyes.

  However, this time the opponent's strength far exceeded the realm of mortals.

  Even Dragon Soul Guan Yu, with a five-star account, fully equipped with top-tier gilded gear, as a warrior of National Server 39 of Great Xia, stood no chance against the Blade Ghosts!

  Before Dragon Soul Guan Yu could get close, the Blade Ghost launched an attack.

  With speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, it reached Dragon Soul Guan Yu.

  Slash!

  Its right hand transformed into a blade, piercing through Dragon Soul Guan Yu's body.

  Blood splattered.

  A staggering 73,258 points of damage instantly halved Dragon Soul Guan Yu's health bar!

  And that was just a basic attack!

  Even with Dragon Soul Guan Yu's five-star talent Bloodthirsty Frenzy, enhancing all attributes by 50%, he couldn't withstand it!

  "Even a fully equipped national standard can't hold off this monster..."

  The surrounding players, witnessing Dragon Soul Guan Yu nearly being killed, fell into despair.

  At this moment, Dragon Soul Guan Yu looked up, seeing the Blade Ghost raising its blade-like left hand, ready to strike him down.

  Suddenly, several beams of radiant light spread from beneath his feet.

  Meanwhile, the Blade Ghost's attack landed on Dragon Soul Guan Yu's shoulder.

  Just as Dragon Soul Guan Yu braced for death—

  -55,168!

  The drastically reduced damage, absorbed by the shield enveloping Dragon Soul Guan Yu, didn't pose a lethal threat!

  As Dragon Soul Guan Yu marveled at how he survived what should have been a fatal blow, a series of battle notifications echoed in his ears—

  [Ding~ You received the War Tread skill boost from player Nether: Attack Power +92,352 points!]

  [Ding~ You received the Life Barrier skill boost from player Nether: Shield +16,453 points per second!]

  [Ding~ You received the Wind Rush skill boost from player Nether: Speed +16,099 points!]

  [Ding~ You received the Unbreakable skill boost from player Nether: Fixed Damage Reduction +13,036 points!]

  [Ding~ You received the attribute sharing effect of the artifact World Annihilation Chapter from player Nether: Attack Power +4,836; Armor +3,541; Magic Resistance +3,292; Speed +2,324; Mana Points +308,053; Health Points +60,996!]

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