Chapter 24: The Crimson Butterfly

When Lin Lei unleashed this ultimate move, his life was brought to its absolute end.

Even at his peak state, executing this technique would inevitably rupture the blood vessels and internal organs throughout his body. This was fundamentally a desperate, do-or-die maneuver meant only for the final, critical moment.

Yet, at the exact instant he unleashed this move, he simultaneously activated "Plunder" upon the corpse of the fourth-tier anomaly he had just eliminated.

As he plundered that fourth-tier entity, massive torrents of source energy and vitality continuously poured into Lin Lei's body.

Lin Lei's sea-urchin-like body contracted violently.

His mutilated physical form began to regenerate at a visible pace.

His eyes burned with intense excitement.

In just this brief moment, Lin Lei had slaughtered nearly a hundred second- and third-tier anomalies.

And this was achieved while his source energy and physical stamina were nearly exhausted, extracting these battle gains entirely through the sheer torment of his own bodily injuries!

"Haha!"

Lin Lei licked his lips, then turned back once more.

This technique, "Ultimate Blooming," had forcefully carved out a completely barren zone all around him.

The ground was littered with a vast number of red crystal anomaly corpses!

This brief respite also bought time for Lin Lei's recovery.

Taking advantage of this window, his gaze locked onto the location of his next target.

Right at that moment, a sudden expanse of fluttering crimson in the air caught his attention.

This patch of blood-red drifted in the distance like a trailing scarlet silk ribbon.

"Hm? What is that?"

As the fluttering red slowly wove its way through the dense swarms of anomalies and headed in his direction, Lin Lei's sharp perception revealed that embedded within that undulating red ribbon were densely swarming, fluttering crimson butterflies!

These blood-red butterflies were undeniably drifting right toward him.

"More anomalies?"

Lin Lei raised an eyebrow, a profound sense of foreboding stirring in his heart.

These crimson butterflies were not fast; although they were densely packed and numerous in quantity, it was completely impossible for them to match his speed.

"It's better to stay away..."

Sidestepping the path where the crimson butterflies drifted, Lin Lei abruptly transformed into a plume of blood mist and pressed on toward the next fourth-tier red crystal anomaly.

*First Evolution*

The blood mist drifted above the horde of anomalies, speeding toward the next fourth-tier target, and in a split second, it recondensed into Lin Lei's physical form.

Plundering yet another fourth-tier red crystal anomaly not only restored his condition, but also amplified his strength, source energy, and the effects of his plundered abilities.

……

Time flowed onward.

More than an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!*

Following the fourth activation of "Ultimate Blooming" to clear the area, and another successful "plunder" of a fourth-tier red crystal anomaly, Lin Lei's plundering capacity for fourth-tier "red crystal anomalies" finally reached its limit.

This limit arrived much later than he had anticipated.

Within this past hour or so, he had triggered "Plunder" four times and eliminated roughly seventy to eighty fourth-tier red crystal anomalies.

Keep in mind that prior to this, he had already plundered three fourth-tier red crystal anomalies.

In other words, he had "plundered" a total of seven fourth-tier red crystal anomalies—a threshold far exceeding the limits of ghoul and specter-type anomalies!

Lin Lei's gaze swept across the surroundings.

Amidst the swirling rings of scarlet ribbons, dense hordes of anomalies surged like a tidal wave, yet those fourth-tier red crystal anomalies stood out quite prominently within the swarm.

"There are still about forty or fifty fourth-tier red crystal anomalies left..."

Although his plunder count for fourth-tier red crystal anomalies had hit its ceiling, a sharp gleam still flickered in Lin Lei's eyes.

There were still plenty of second- and third-tier anomalies lingering around, which should be more than enough to restore his condition a few more times.

As more of these fourth-tier anomalies were wiped out, the buffs provided by the remaining ones would diminish further. He remained quite confident in his ability to eliminate the remaining forty or fifty fourth-tier red crystal anomalies.

And once the remaining fourth-tier red crystal anomalies were dead, the rest of the lower-tier ones would be nothing more than paper tigers and crumbling dogs.

His only concern was whether he could manage to wipe out every single anomaly within the time remaining...

Just as he intended to resume his assault, Lin Lei felt his physical strength abruptly plummet.

"The effect of the Blood Potion has worn off again!"

Gazing at the swarms of anomalies lunging at him from all directions, Lin Lei's body instantly dissolved into blood mist.

Threading through the countless anomalies, dodging the crimson butterflies, he flew clear of the horde before recondensing his physical form.

Although he had eliminated a fair number of lesser anomalies while assassinating the fourth-tier targets, compared to the total population of these creatures, it was still a minuscule fraction.

All the anomalies Lin Lei had killed combined probably amounted to barely ten percent of the entire horde!

Retreating deep into the labyrinth, he took a brief moment to catch his breath, finished off the last remaining food in his pack to rest up, and then picked up his final bottle of Blood Potion to return once more before the horde.

However, a frown soon appeared on his face.

For he noticed that as time marched on, the surrounding scarlet ribbons were growing longer, expanding their coverage over a wider area.

With swarms of dense crimson butterflies fluttering all around him, it would be impossible for Lin Lei to completely avoid these blood-colored butterflies if he wanted to eliminate the remaining fourth-tier red crystal anomalies.

Though slow in speed, their numbers had continuously swelled as time passed, appearing everywhere!

Frowning, Lin Lei approached the outer perimeter of the anomaly horde, where fluttering crimson butterflies filled the air.

At his approach, the butterflies fluttered into the air one by one and flew toward him.

Lin Lei slashed fiercely with his blade at the crimson butterflies.

*Puff!*

As the blade descended, the butterflies dissolved into puffs of blood-red mist and scattered, yet vast numbers of dense butterflies continued to flutter in from behind.

"They don't seem particularly formidable..."

Things that could be easily sliced to pieces by a casual wave of his blade naturally could not be all that powerful.

One had to remember that at this very moment, he had neither consumed the [Blood Potion] nor activated any strengthening abilities; this was merely a casual probe, and yet he had effortlessly sliced the butterflies to pieces.

However, once these creatures were cut down, they simply vanished into thin air without leaving even a corpse behind—let alone any possibility of "plundering" or "feeding."

He furrowed his brow deeply, refusing to believe the situation was truly this simple.

Naturally, he could not afford to waste too much time on these minor pests. He chugged down his final bottle of the [Blood Potion], cast a protective light shield upon himself, and decisively charged straight into the flock of crimson butterflies!

Rather than butterflies, this swarm felt more like a thick, swirling fog shrouding the surroundings.

If he wanted to eliminate the remaining red crystal anomalies, coming into contact with these creatures was entirely unavoidable.

Given the sheer density of the crimson butterflies and his limited time, it was impossible to slowly clear them all away before advancing.

As he plunged into the midst of the crimson butterfly swarm:

*Hiss, hiss...*

Accompanied by wisps of white smoke, several crimson butterflies came into contact with the layer of blood-colored light shield encasing his body.

And the light shield, which had only just been freshly generated, dissolved away in patches the very instant it touched the crimson butterflies.

"What?" Lin Lei's expression shifted slightly.