Chapter Seventy-Six: The Land of Death

Light erupted, and several skeletons were purified into dust within the holy radiance.

If an ordinary person had traveled to such a haunted place, they would likely be devoured by these skeletons, their flesh stripped clean, and ultimately transformed into monsters just like them.

Xie Jing, however, had no fear for his own safety. With light in his grasp—even after the fierce battle he’d just endured, with wounds still fresh—he could easily dispatch a handful of broken skeletons without trouble.

But there were a few pressing questions.

First: Where was this place?

Second: What was happening to the system?

He was certain this was not the Arad Continent. That much Xie Jing could confirm. The air was thick with the stench of decay, skeletons lurked everywhere, bizarre trees rose around him, and the weather was relentlessly gloomy.

Moreover, he sensed faint threads of light leaking from his body, as if the environment itself was absorbing them.

He glanced through the system logs and found the warning he’d half-heard before losing consciousness.

A breath of death...

No wonder he hadn’t felt right—his health had been steadily draining.

Yet even the light protecting his body was powerless against this deathly aura; clearly, it was a force of higher order.

He checked himself—a gamer’s instinct told him his health was still ample. But it couldn’t last. If he didn’t find a way out, his health would inevitably drain away.

With a shudder, a luminous glow enveloped Xie Jing’s body—a protective membrane formed by the Light of Creation.

Thankfully, the Light of Creation still worked.

Now that the health drain was gone, Xie Jing could finally breathe easier.

All around, strange and twisted trees loomed within his field of vision. Not far away, flickers of green and blue light danced in and out of sight.

A gust of wind swept through, wailing eerily, as if someone were sobbing in Xie Jing’s ear.

He swallowed hard. He was bold—some might say fearless—but alone in a place like this, to claim he felt no fear would be a lie.

“The system said it transported me to a safe world, but everything here screams danger!”

Bracing himself, Xie Jing pressed forward, the glow around him serving as a makeshift lantern. There was no moon, no stars overhead; in this silent, uncanny forest, it was the only option.

Yet the light not only revealed his path—it drew the gaze of other, unseen things.

Soon, Xie Jing sensed something was wrong.

Where the forest had been pitch-black, countless greenish lights began to appear—dots multiplying, converging, and creeping ever closer.

Skeletons. So many skeletons!

Some wore tattered remnants of clothing, scraps of flesh dropping off and occasionally revealing plump, pale worms wriggling in and out.

Like a magnet, Xie Jing had awakened every wandering soul in this haunted forest!

Too many—far too many! Layer upon layer, they surged like waves from every direction, closing in on him.

He could defeat these skeletons, but their numbers were overwhelming.

In this shadowy world, Xie Jing had felt something was off from the start, but only now did he realize he could no longer absorb even a trace of energy from the light!

There was no light in this place!

He was left with only the reserves stored within his own body—every use diminished his supply.

He refused to squander his precious light on this endless horde.

With a steely resolve, Xie Jing shaped the radiance wrapping his body into an arrowhead.

Charge!

Wherever his glow touched a skeleton, their bones trembled violently before collapsing into heaps.

He ran—at full speed, heedless of anything but escape, barreling straight ahead!

Ten minutes passed in a relentless sprint, but the tide of skeletons was unending, swarming toward him as though they could never be vanquished.

“How many people have died here?” he wondered aloud.

A claw, still half-laden with flesh, swung at him. Xie Jing didn’t bother dodging—he watched as it struck his light barrier and instantly disintegrated into powder.

But this was untenable. If these skeletons truly were infinite, he would be worn down and perish, no matter how strong he was.

What should he do?