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

"hiss--!"

A sharp hiss ripped through the deathly silence of the graveyard, carrying a chilling killing intent, clinging tightly to Lu Zhao's back like a leech! He didn't need to turn around to feel that the scarlet figures were moving at an incredible speed, carrying a strong aura of yin energy, rapidly closing the distance!

In my mental perception, the information about the scarlet figure flashed by:

【Evil Yin Serpent (Remnant Soul Aggregate), Level: 3】

Health Points: 100%/100%

[Status: Formless, Swift, Mental Impact, Soul Devouring]

Invisible?! No wonder it's so fast! This isn't a physical snake, but a multitude of spirits controlled by evil magic, a monster created by sorcery! No wonder it can silently abduct children and create illusions!

Alarm bells rang in Lu Zhao's mind, and he quickened his pace again, pushing the [Turtle Breathing Technique] to its limit, his body moving through the forest like an arrow released from a bow. But he knew that running alone would not be enough to shake off these intangible things! They were far faster than him and could ignore the terrain!

"Ouch—! That hurts! Help me!"

Just then, under a withered tree not far ahead, the phantom of a little girl in a floral-patterned jacket, her face streaked with tears, suddenly appeared, running towards him with outstretched little arms! Her voice was mournful, and her appearance was exactly the same as the source of the crying he had just heard at the graveyard!

It's an illusion! That evil entity's mental attack is back!

Lu Zhao's eyes narrowed, and he forcefully bit his tongue. The sharp pain instantly cleared his mind, and he remained unmoved. Instead, he pushed off with his feet and crashed straight into the phantom of the "girl"!

"puff!"

The phantom he passed through shattered like a bubble, leaving no trace. But in that instant, the crimson serpentine shadows behind him had already caught up! An extremely cold, chilling aura, seemingly capable of freezing the soul, locked onto him from all directions!

"hiss!"

Three scarlet snake shadows simultaneously opened their invisible giant mouths, biting towards Lu Zhao's back, neck, and legs! Although they had no physical form, what they were tearing at was his spirit!

"Get out of here!"

Lu Zhao roared, advancing instead of retreating, his body suddenly lunging forward and rolling to try and avoid a vital spot. At the same time, he activated a talisman that had been held in his palm with his mental power without hesitation and hurled it backward!

"Buzz—!"

The talisman ignited in mid-air with a dazzling crimson light, like a small sun bursting in the darkness. The yang and evil-dispelling power contained in the crimson light suddenly erupted!

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

Like boiling oil poured onto snow, under the crimson light, the three evil serpents let out painful, sharp hisses, their bodies twisting violently, and the scarlet light dimmed by more than half in an instant! Their fear of the exorcising talisman light was far stronger than their fear of physical attacks on the body!

[Successfully used the "Exorcism Talisman"! Deals Holy damage to the "Evil Serpent" (Lv3)!]

[The target has entered a state of "photophobia" and "disarray"!]

"A perfect opportunity!" A cold glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. He flipped himself up, advancing instead of retreating, and charged towards one of the Yin Snakes, whose movements were most stiff due to the impact of the talisman! The realgar powder on the woodcutter's knife emitted a faint aura, but at this moment, he poured all his spiritual power into it, pushing the [Refining Spirit Technique] to its limit. His spiritual power adhered to the woodcutter's knife, causing the blade to seem to radiate a barely perceptible energy fluctuation targeting evil spirits! This was his instinctive application in battle!

"cut!"

With all of Lu Zhao's spirit and strength, the wood-chopping knife slammed down hard on the twisted "head" of the yin snake, which was made up of resentment!

"Sizzle—!"

There was no tangible sensation of cleaving through a solid object; it felt more like slicing into a cold, viscous mist. Yet, the spiritual energy clinging to it burned like flames, instantly causing astonishing damage! The Yin Serpent let out a piercing hiss, its form exploding like a punctured bubble, turning into wisps of black smoke that slowly dissipated into the air.

[Mental energy attachment attack successful! Special effect triggered against spirits!]

[Deals critical damage to 'Evil Serpent' (Lv3)!]

[Successfully defeated the 'Evil Serpent'! Gained 80 experience points!]

[Obtained: Broken Yin Serpent Soul Core x1]

Success! Physical attacks have little effect on spirits, but when imbued with mental energy, the damage is multiplied! Moreover, mental energy attacks seem to be able to ignore some "invisible" defenses!

However, the remaining two Yin snakes had recovered from their "light-fearing" state and were now roaring even more frantically as they pounced again! They seemed to have learned their lesson and no longer condensed into snake shapes, but instead transformed into two constantly twisting and rolling balls of scarlet Yin energy, one on the left and one on the right, coiling around Lu Zhao with greater speed and more cunning attack angles!

"Oh no! We're caught in a pincer movement!"

A sense of foreboding washed over Lu Zhao. Killing one earlier had already been a surprise attack; now, facing two, the pressure had increased dramatically! He spun rapidly, his body darting like a fish through the gap between the two crimson energies. A wisp of yin energy grazed his shoulder, instantly sending a chilling cold piercing his body, numbing his arm, draining 5% of his health, and inflicting the negative status effect of [Yin Chill Invasion (Slow)].

"Hiss!" Another wave of yin energy rushed towards his face, its stench overwhelming and carrying a strong mental impact, attempting to annihilate his consciousness directly!

"Break it!"

Lu Zhao roared, concentrating all his mental energy to condense an invisible barrier in his sea of ​​consciousness, forcefully resisting the mental impact!

"Buzz—!"

A sharp pain shot through his head, as if he had been struck by a sledgehammer, instantly depleting nearly 30% of his mental energy! But thankfully, he held on! He was neither dizzy nor confused.

Seeing that their attack had failed, the two serpents became even more frenzied and pounced again!

Lu Zhao knew he couldn't continue fighting! This place was too close to the cemetery; more evil spirits could be alerted at any moment, or the "real culprit" might personally intervene! He had to finish the fight quickly or escape immediately!

Without further hesitation, he reached into his robes with his right hand, retrieved the last pure soul power fragment, pressed it to his brow, and instantly absorbed it! The surge of pure soul power not only instantly replenished his depleted mental energy but also invigorated his spirit, slightly reducing the negative effects of [Yin Cold Invasion].

[Absorbed 'Pure Soul Power Fragment' x1, mental power fully restored! Divine attribute slightly increased!]

[God: 2.8 → 2.85!]

At the same time, he flicked his left hand, throwing the other, and last, exorcism talisman directly towards the collapsed tomb! The target wasn't the pursuers, but the lair! A diversionary tactic!

"burst!"

The talisman transformed into a crimson beam, shooting like a meteor into the entrance of the collapsed tomb where the Yin energy was most concentrated!

"boom--!"

A muffled explosion resounded, and crimson light burst forth within the tomb, followed by a faint, even more furious and painful howl! Clearly, the attack had been effective, wounding the evil entity hidden within that controlled the Yin Serpent!

"hiss--!"

The two pursuing serpents shuddered violently at the same time, their movements becoming noticeably stiff! Clearly, the injury to their main bodies had had a significant impact on them!

Seizing this critical moment, Lu Zhao turned around without hesitation, channeling all his strength into his legs, and sprinted towards the depths of the dense forest in the opposite direction of Li Family Village! He no longer cared about direction or restrained his breathing; he only wanted to create distance as quickly as possible!

The two yin snakes seemed to have received orders from their master. They stopped pursuing and hovered in place, emitting unwilling hissing sounds. Then they changed direction and flew back to the collapsed tomb.

Without looking back, Lu Zhao ran for several miles until the chilling killing intent that felt like a thorn in his back completely disappeared, and until there was nothing abnormal within the range of his spiritual perception. Only then did he lean against a large tree and begin to breathe heavily.

His clothes were soaked with sweat, mixed with mud and dust. He checked his condition: his health had dropped by 7%, his stamina was more than half depleted, and although his mental energy had been restored by the soul power fragments, the fatigue from the continuous battle and mental shock had not yet subsided.

He slowly raised his right hand, in which lay a gray crystal emanating a faint chill—the [Broken Yin Serpent Soul Core]. This was the reward for slaying the Yin Serpent, containing a purer Yin energy than the previous [Broken Soul Core], but also more impure and violent.

"This thing will probably be more difficult to purify, but the effect should be better as well." Lu Zhao put away the soul core and looked coldly into the depths of the dense forest behind him, towards the direction of the graveyard.

This time, it was an encounter, a test, and a warning. He witnessed the evil creature's methods—mental attacks, creating illusions, commanding invisible serpents, setting up evil formations, and entrenched in the lair where yin energy gathered.

"This thing is not simple. Moreover, it's injured." A cold smile curled at the corner of Lu Zhao's lips. Although it was dangerous, he did not leave empty-handed. He figured out the opponent's methods, confirmed that its true form was afraid of the power to exorcise evil, and more importantly, he obtained a piece of its "flesh and blood".

Should we go back and reconsider, seeking help? Or...?

He glanced at the [Broken Yin Serpent Soul Core] in his hand, then felt the nearly 3 points of divine attribute increase within his body, and a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Now I know its 'weakness'."