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

The chaotic energy storm ignited by the Soul Core had not yet completely subsided; the air was filled with frenzied ripples of yin energy, resentment, and exorcising power. The Plague Mother's enormous body, constructed of flesh and mycelium, convulsed and spasmed violently, like an insect thrown into boiling oil, emitting heart-wrenching, inhuman screams. Its countless twisting and waving tentacles had also lost their order, wildly lashing out at the surroundings, carving deep furrows into the ground and sending pebbles flying.

Its core—the pulsating, dark red tumor—was now flickering with light, its surface covered in fine cracks, like shattered glass. Dark red pus seeped continuously from the cracks, emitting a stench ten times stronger than before. The health bar above its head was visibly plummeting!

[Plague Mother (Core State) Health: 100% → 68% → 45% → 33%!]

[The Plague Mother has entered a state of 'Extreme Chaos,' 'Severe Injury,' and 'Core Damage'! All attributes have decreased by 30%! Energy control is disordered!]

An opportunity! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! A cold glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. Without any hesitation, he leaped from the talisman array, charging out like a cheetah! The thirty-step distance was instantly closed under the full power of the [Turtle Breath Technique]! In his hand, the [Evil-Slaying Talisman (Mid-Grade)], already imbued with all his spiritual energy, transformed into a dazzling crimson-gold stream of light, shooting straight towards the core of the Plague Mother's cracked and dimly lit tumor!

"Hiss—!"

The Plague Mother seemed to sense a deadly threat, letting out an even more shrill howl. Several enormous tentacles frantically rolled back, trying to intercept the crimson-gold light, while the core of the tumor contracted violently, attempting to retreat!

But it was too late! The speed of the exorcising talisman was incredibly fast! Moreover, the Plague Mother was in a state of extreme confusion and severe injury, making her movements much slower! The crimson-gold light precisely passed through the gaps in the tentacles' interception and slammed hard into the core crack of the tumor!

"boom--!!!"

This time, it was a real, deafening explosion! The crimson-gold power of exorcism, like the true fire of the sun, poured fiercely into the cracks in the core of the Plague Mother! It clashed and annihilated the chaotic Yin energy and the Plague Mother's own evil poison energy in the most violent way!

"Pfft! Sizzle—!"

A nauseating explosion rang out! Under the impact of the crimson-gold light, the core tumor of the Plague Mother melted, vaporized, and exploded instantly, like an ice block being poured with molten iron! Countless foul-smelling tissues, mixed with pus, blood, bits of flesh, mycelium, and viscous black gas, scattered and flew in all directions like fireworks!

[Use the 'Exorcism Talisman (Medium)' to hit the core of the Plague Mother! Trigger a critical hit! Deal devastating Holy/Exorcism damage to the core!]

[Mother's HP: 33% → 5%!]

[Core severely damaged! The Plague Mother is in a dying state! All attributes have decreased by 80%! She has lost most of her special abilities!]

Success! The core was almost completely destroyed! The Plague Mother's health bar plummeted instantly!

"roar--!!!"

A roar filled with endless pain, resentment, and final madness erupted from the Plague Mother's shattered body! Its remaining tentacles lashed wildly, no longer attempting to attack Lu Zhao, but instead clinging tightly to its broken core, seemingly trying to reassemble it. Streams of dark red, viscous pus gushed from the wounds like blood, but the collapse of the core seemed irreversible.

The previously sluggish infected villagers and infected guards froze in place like puppets without strings the moment the core of the plague was severely damaged. The mycelium wrapped around their bodies withered and peeled off rapidly, and then they collapsed to the ground one by one, no longer moving. Clearly, there was some kind of master-servant relationship between them and the plague mother; when the master died, the servants perished.

Lu Zhao felt a sense of relief, but he didn't let his guard down. A dying beast is the most ferocious! Without pausing, without even glancing at the fallen plague-infected villagers, he stomped heavily on his foot, using the momentum to charge forward again! In his hand, the last [Exorcism Talisman (Good)] had already ignited!

"Strike while the iron is hot!"

He moved with lightning speed, lunging straight at the huddled, writhing mass of flesh! This time, he didn't attack the core—that thing was already mostly destroyed. His target was the Plague Mother's head, if it even had one! Or rather, the area within that mass of flesh where, in his perception, the mental energy fluctuations were most concentrated and most violent!

The Plague Mother seemed to sense Lu Zhao's intention, its remaining tentacles flailing wildly in an attempt to stop him. But it was already at its last gasp; its tentacles moved slowly and weakly, utterly unable to hinder Lu Zhao's ghostly figure. Lu Zhao ducked, shifted to the side, rolled, and dodged the two limp tentacles, instantly closing in to within three zhang of the fleshy mass!

"Die!!"

With a fierce shout, the last [Exorcism Talisman (Good)] transformed into a slightly weaker but still sharp crimson-gold light, which, like a javelin, pierced fiercely into the most violent center of the spiritual energy within that mass of flesh and blood!

"laugh--!"

Like a red-hot iron rod plunged into a snowdrift, the Plague Mother's remaining body stiffened abruptly, then erupted in a final, frantic struggle! But its core was destroyed, its power like a rootless duckweed; this struggle was futile. Crimson-gold exorcising power exploded within it, like a wildfire, completely igniting and burning away its last vestige of life!

"Hiss...ho..." A hiss, like air leaking out, filled with resentment and despair, came from deep within the flesh and blood, growing weaker and weaker until it finally faded into deathly silence.

The enormous, repulsive mass of flesh stopped writhing, quickly turning grayish-white and shriveled, as if all moisture had been drained from it. The writhing tentacles, like mud that had lost its support, drooped down, turning into puddles of foul-smelling pus.

[Successfully defeated 'Plague Mother' (Unnamed) (LV9)!]

[Experience points gained: 1200!]

[Level upgraded to Level 8!]

[Title Acquired: Plague Slayer (Deals +8% damage to enemies affected by diseases, toxins, and plagues; receives -5% damage from these types of enemies)!]

[Items obtained: Corrupted Heart (Core) x1, Plague Mother Remains x1, Plague Poison Crystal (Medium Grade) x8, Yin Sha Crystal (Medium Grade) x5, Fragment of "Plague Poison Corpse Refining Technique" x1]

[Special Item Obtained: Unknown Evil God's Emblem (Fragment) x1]

[Ding! Host level detected as level 8, meeting the requirements to unlock the 'Skill Fusion' function! This allows you to fuse skills of the same origin and type, with a chance to create higher-level, more powerful skills. The first fusion is free; subsequent fusions require experience points and special materials.]

A flood of experience tips instantly filled the screen! The generous rewards gave Lu Zhao a jolt, especially the rapid leveling up, the newly added "Skill Fusion" function, and the "Unknown Evil God's Emblem," which made him even more excited!

But he had no time to examine it closely, nor to catch his breath. For, in the instant the Plague Mother died completely and her core energy dissipated, the pervasive, grayish-white plague miasma over the entire ancestral hall ruins—no, over the entire Beiling Village—began to violently churn and dissipate, as if its source had been lost! A dense, pure, and destructive primordial plague gas suddenly erupted from the Plague Mother's remains, like a dark green shockwave, instantly engulfing the entire ancestral hall area!

Lu Zhao's expression changed drastically! He was too close! This plague gas was the most concentrated and deadliest toxin released after the Plague Mother's death! It was more than ten times more concentrated than the plague gas that had spread before!

"not good!"

He instantly activated the protective talisman he had prepared in his chest! A faint, pale golden light shield had just appeared when it was violently struck by the dark green plague surge!

"Pop!"

The protective shield shattered instantly! It held out for less than a breath! Lu Zhao felt an indescribable energy, carrying an aura of destruction, decay, and poison, piercing his skin, muscles, blood, and even bone marrow like countless red-hot steel needles! Intense pain instantly swept through his entire body! His life points plummeted at an alarming rate!

[Affected by the 'Plague Mother's Origin of Plague Energy'! The amulet shattered!]

[Health points -25%! -20%! -15%! ...]

[Additional Status: Deeply Corrupted by Plague! Health is rapidly decreasing at a rate of -5% per minute! All attributes are reduced by 20%!]

[Additional Status: Soul Burning! Mental energy continuously depletes, -1 point per second!]

Excruciating pain, dizziness, weakness, coldness... a wave of negative effects washed over him! Lu Zhao groaned, his vision blurred, and he nearly collapsed. He bit his tongue hard, forcing himself to stay awake through the excruciating pain, frantically circulating the [Turtle Breathing Technique] to suppress the rampaging plague within his body, while simultaneously activating the [Spirit Refining Technique] to resist the erosion and burning sensation that was directly attacking his soul.

"I can't...fall here!"

He staggered, almost crawling, as he rushed towards the [Miasma-Avoiding Array] he had set up earlier! The yellow light shield of the array was the only barrier that could isolate this terrifying plague at this moment!

Three steps... two steps... one step!

Just as his health dropped below 30% and his consciousness began to blur, he lunged forward and rolled into the range of the rune array!

Warm, fresh air rushed into his lungs, like rain after a long drought. The yellow light shield of the talisman array firmly blocked the dense, almost tangible, dark green plague gas outside. Lu Zhao collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, each cough bringing up dark red blood froth. Large patches of bluish-black mottled appeared on his skin, the marks of the plague gas's erosion. He felt his blood burning, his bones growing cold, and his soul being roasted over a fire.

But he survived.

[The miasma-avoiding array is in effect, isolating the area from external plague.]

[Status: Deeply Corroded by Plague! Health is continuously decreasing by 5% per minute! All attributes are reduced by 20%!]

[Status: Soul Burning! Mental energy is continuously depleting, -1 point per second!]

[WARNING: Health below 25%! Critically injured! Please treat immediately!]

"Cough...cough..." Lu Zhao struggled to pull out the last two [Blood Replenishing Pills] and [Antidote Pills] from his pocket and shoved them haphazardly into his mouth. The pills transformed into two warm currents upon entering his mouth, temporarily stabilizing his rapidly plummeting health and mental strength. However, the [Deep Plague Erosion] and [Soul Burning] conditions remained, like a persistent, insidious disease, constantly eroding his life force.

He struggled to sit up, then sat cross-legged, focusing all his energy on circulating the [Turtle Breathing Technique] and [Spirit Refining Technique]. The Turtle Breathing Technique would slowly restore his strength and life force, while the Spirit Refining Technique would stabilize his mind and resist the erosion of his soul. He had to stabilize his condition as soon as possible and leave this hellish place!

Outside the talisman array, the dark green plague gas was slowly dissipating, but at a very slow pace. Inside the ancestral hall, the remains of the plague mother were rapidly decaying, turning into pools of black pus that seeped into the ground. The corpses of the plague-infected villagers around them were also quickly rotting after the mycelium withered. The entire ancestral hall resembled a giant, slowly healing abscess.

Lu Zhao endured the pain, his gaze sweeping over the items scattered beside the remains of the Plague Mother. The [Corrupted Heart (Core)] was dull and cracked, but the terrifying plague it contained could be felt even through the talisman array. He dared not touch it, carefully picking it up with his hand wrapped in cloth, wrapping it several times with talisman paper, then tightly binding it with cloth before placing it in his storage bag. He did the same for the other items, especially the [Unknown Evil God's Emblem (Fragment)], which felt cold to the touch and carried an ominous aura. He glanced at it only once before wrapping it, along with the fragment of the "Plague Corpse Refining Technique," in layers of cloth and stuffing it into the deepest part of his storage bag. Now was not the time for research.

Having done all this, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. The protective shield of the rune array was flashing incessantly, a sign that its energy was about to run out. He had to regain his mobility and leave this place before the rune array failed! Otherwise, the remaining plague outside would be enough to kill him.

Time ticked by. Thanks to the effects of the elixirs and the Turtle Breathing Technique, Lu Zhao's health was barely maintained at around 20%, no longer declining, but the effects of [Deep Plague Erosion] and [Soul Burning] showed no signs of abating. A stronger method to detoxify and purify his soul must be found as soon as possible!

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the protective barrier of the talisman array flickered a few times and then completely dissipated. However, the dark green plague gas outside had finally thinned to a level that was no longer a deadly threat.

Lu Zhao struggled to his feet, feeling as heavy as a mountain and his head spinning. He took one last look at the ruined ancestral hall and the rotting corpses, took a deep breath, and, enduring the excruciating pain and weakness, turned around and, with faltering yet unusually determined steps, walked toward Qingmu Town.

Behind them lay a deathly stillness and miasma being dispersed by the sunlight. Ahead lay a journey home, its fate uncertain.

But he won. Although the price was heavy, he ultimately won.