I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

"Roar—!!!"

That terrifying roar, seemingly emanating from the deepest hell, tore through the night sky and shattered the hopes and tranquility of countless survivors.

Within a radius of hundreds of miles around Dragonbone Hill, cultivators, no matter where they hid, and demonic beasts, no matter how deeply they lay dormant, all felt a tremor and fear originating from the depths of their souls at this moment. It was the pressure of a higher level of life form, or more precisely, the pressure of some kind of extreme chaos and evil existence, which still chilled people to the bone even from a great distance.

The temporary camp where Lu Zhao was located was in complete chaos.

"The earth...the earth dragon has turned over?"

"It's a monster! The monster from the wasteland has emerged!"

"My God! What is that light! Blood...blood light!"

"Are we going to die here...?"

Cries, screams, and desperate prayers mingled together. The crowd, still reeling from their escape from the underground, were once again terrified by the devastating scene. Many mortals collapsed to the ground, trembling, while even the Qi Refining cultivators, including Chen Bai, turned deathly pale, gripping their makeshift weapons but unsure where to point them.

"quiet!"

Lu Zhao's deep voice, imbued with a hint of imperial might, boomed like thunder in everyone's ears, carrying an undeniable authority that instantly silenced all the noise.

Everyone, including Chen Bai, instinctively fell silent, looking at Lu Zhao with lingering fear. He remained standing on the bluestone, his posture upright, his gaze sharp as lightning, fixed on the desolate hill. Though his face was grave, there was little panic. This composure, like a stabilizing force, calmed their wildly beating hearts somewhat.

"It's just a distant anomaly; it might not affect this area. What's the panic!" Lu Zhao's gaze swept over the crowd as he coldly said, "I've set up an early warning system here. If any danger approaches, it will sound an alarm. Everyone, stay put! No noise, no running around! Chen Bai, strengthen the night watch!"

"Yes, senior!" Chen Bai quickly replied, forcing himself to remain calm. He began to reprimand everyone in a low voice, quieting them down and rearranging the night watch personnel.

Lu Zhao said no more, sat down cross-legged again, and closed his eyes. But his divine sense was already fully deployed, like the most sophisticated radar, covering a range of several miles around the camp, carefully probing every rustle of wind and every abnormal fluctuation of spiritual energy.

His heart was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface.

The dark red light, the terrifying roar, the violent tremors... all indicated that the Blood Bone Demon's "Nine Netherworld Summoning Formation" had probably reached its final stage, and might even have already achieved its true purpose—summoning or giving birth to something extremely terrifying!

Is it an ancient, sealed demon? A monster formed from the earth's ley lines' malevolent energy? Or some kind of unspeakable, forbidden existence?

In any case, that's something he can't contend with right now. All he needs to do now is get away from this place of trouble as quickly as possible.

No sleep for one night.

Apart from that roar and the subsequent earthquake that lasted for about half an incense stick's time, no other major disturbances came from the direction of the desolate hill. However, the gray-black vortex of malevolent energy in the sky and the dark red blood light that stretched from the sky to the earth did not disappear. Instead, they became more solid and dense, like a huge, ominous brand, imprinted on the night sky, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

At dawn, as the sky began to lighten, the blood-red light and vortex were still faintly visible in the morning light, only their colors had faded.

Everyone had barely slept all night, and they all had dark circles under their eyes, looking exhausted and frightened.

"Pack your things and let's leave immediately." Lu Zhao didn't waste any more words. Staying here would only increase the unease and danger.

The team set off again. This time, Lu Zhao chose a more circuitous route, one that even required crossing two treacherous mountain ranges. This route was nearly a hundred miles longer than the originally planned straight-line distance, but the advantage was that it kept them as far away as possible from the core area of ​​the Dragon Bone Wasteland's malevolent energy, and also avoided several valleys that might harbor powerful demonic beasts or natural dangers.

I'd rather take a detour than risk any potential danger.

Along the way, they encountered even more groups of refugees. Some were complete teams of cultivators, each one looking panicked, wounded, heads down, and wary of everything around them. Others were scattered rogue cultivators, and even some mortals with their families, clearly fleeing from villages and towns deeper in the desolate hills, closer to the core area; all of them were ashen-faced and still in shock.

From the fragmented, terrified words spoken by these people, Lu Zhao pieced together some horrifying images: in the core area of ​​the desolate hills, the earth cracked and the sky collapsed, terrifying baleful energy erupted like a volcano, engulfing countless cultivators and mortals, leaving no trace of their bodies. Monsters engulfed in black flames crawled out from the ground, extinguishing all life in their wake. The sky was shrouded in blood-red light, and indescribable, enormous shadows rolled within the baleful energy… The rumors grew increasingly terrifying and bizarre, but without exception, they all pointed to one fact—the core of the desolate hills had become a dead zone, a death trap, where unimaginable horrors were about to emerge!

Lu Zhao's heart sank deeper and deeper. What exactly had the Blood Bone Demon done?

After two days of continuous travel, enduring wind and rain and sleeping in the open, they were utterly exhausted. Two more elderly and frail mortals collapsed in the group, and the rest had also reached their limit. But Blackrock City was still more than three hundred li away.

That evening, the group found a natural and rather secluded cave beside a remote mountain stream and decided to spend the night there.

As usual, Lu Zhao set up warning barriers inside and outside the cave entrance and personally stood guard cross-legged near the entrance. Chen Bai arranged for everyone to rest deeper into the cave. Soon, the exhausted group fell into a deep sleep, and only the even breathing could be heard in the cave.

As night deepened, the mountain wind howled, and the distant howls of unknown monsters could be faintly heard.

Lu Zhao closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. Half of his mind was immersed in his body, guiding the Annihilation Dragon Qi and Dark Gold Dragon Qi to slowly merge and circulate, consolidating his peak Foundation Establishment cultivation. The other half of his mind was like the most vigilant hunter, monitoring everything within a radius of several miles around him through his divine sense.

As midnight approached, all was quiet.

suddenly--

Lu Zhao suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, his eyes flashing with a sharp light!

At the edge of his divine sense perception, about five or six miles away, two obscure yet powerful streaks of light, each carrying a distinctly cold and sinister aura, were streaking across the night sky at an extremely fast speed, flying toward their direction!

These two auras were of vastly different strengths. The stronger one, chilling and carrying a strong sense of bloodlust and malevolence, had clearly reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, and might even have one foot in the Pseudo-Core Formation realm! The weaker one, however, possessed the cultivation of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and its aura was equally sinister, carrying a nauseating, putrid smell.

Moreover, Lu Zhao vaguely felt that these two auras were somewhat familiar... They seemed to be similar to the auras of the Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators under the Blood Bone Demon's command that he had sensed in the underground tunnel, but they were purer and more evil!

Were they subordinates sent by the Blood Bone Demon to hunt down any survivors? Or... other demons attracted or catalyzed by the aura of that terrifying being after the changes in the desolate hills?

Whichever it is, they are definitely not benevolent! Moreover, judging from the direction they flew, their target seems to be... directly towards the cave where they are hiding!

Alarm bells rang in Lu Zhao's mind, and a chilling coldness rose from his tailbone.

"Everyone, wake up! Enemy attack! Take cover immediately and do not make any noise!" Lu Zhao's deep and urgent voice rang out like thunder in the ears of the sleeping crowd.

A commotion broke out inside the cave, but having gone through many life-or-death trials, the group had developed some adaptability. Under Chen Bai's low reprimands and instructions, they quickly covered their mouths and shrank into the deepest, darkest corner of the cave, not daring to even breathe.

Lu Zhao then flashed out of the cave like a ghost, hiding behind the shadow of a huge rock beside the cave entrance. He activated the Turtle Breathing Technique to the fullest extent, concealing his aura to the extreme, blending into the surrounding rocks and vegetation. His gaze was as cold as a knife, fixed on the direction from which the two auras were coming.

In the night sky, two almost imperceptible dim lights are rapidly magnifying.