1474 Earth Skeleton

Lin Huang lifted his head and looked around. This was a vast canyon; in the distance, one could see a continuous range of mountains looming on the horizon.

However, the most unusual thing was the sky.

The blue-black sky contained no stars at all and was covered with dark clouds. No sunlight illuminated this vast expanse of land; there were only the occasional blood-colored lightning flashes and flares of scarlet flame.

"Is this the real Abyss?" Xiao Mo could not help asking.

"This battleground is the product of combined fragments from both the Abyss and the material world," Lin Huang explained nonchalantly.

"My Divine Telekinesis has been suppressed. I can only sense up to a distance of three thousand meters." Chan Dou turned his attention to the more immediate issue right away. 

"I can only sense up to one thousand meters." Huang Wuji frowned slightly.

"There are still will remnants of Lords in this battleground. Anyone who is below heavenly god-level will have their Divine Telekinesis suppressed to about one-thousandth of their normal state."

Lin Huang also spread out his Divine Telekinesis. It was suppressed by an unknown force as well, but he still could sense up to around 1200 kilometers.

"Although Divine Telekinesis coverage range isn't wide, it's best that all of you keep it activated. In this battleground—in addition to Abyssal hunters—there are also spirit types that evolved from remnant corpses and souls left behind on the battlefield. There are also undying species, aberrant species, demons, and other monsters… There are some monsters that specialize in concealment and camouflage, and they can be very difficult to detect with the naked eye."

Lin Huang mentioned this because he had already noticed that not too far off, there were many hidden monsters around. However, he did not intend to take action.

There were only ten or so monsters in this wave, all of which were beginner-stage Virtual Gods. They were just right for Chan Dou and the other two to practice on—there was little sense in him making a move.

Due to the limitations of their sensing range, despite Lin Huang's reminder, Chan Dou and the other two still did not notice the group of monsters hiding not too far away.

However, it seemed that the group of monsters had other perception abilities and could sense the presence of Lin Huang and the other three from afar. Not only that, the monsters were sneaking up on them silently.

"Where do we go from here?" As Huang Wuji asked this, he was very clearly looking toward Lin Huang.

Upon hearing this question, Chan Dou and Xiao Mo also looked at Lin Huang.

As Lin Huang spoke, he projected a map. Since there was no way to fix positions within the battleground, they would have to determine their locations by themselves. This was not an obstacle for Lin Huang, whose probing range of Divine Telekinesis was extremely wide, but it was slightly more difficult for Chan Dou and the other two.

Seeing the three of them staring at the map with a blank expression, Lin Huang pointed to a dot on the map. "We're currently here, and we're facing this direction right now…"

Hearing Lin Huang describe their location so breezily, Chan Dou stared at him and asked, "How do you know our current location?"

"I've been here once before." Lin Huang concealed the fact that the probing range of his Divine Telekinesis was abnormally wide.

As one had to use Divine Telekinesis to confirm their own location, the coverage range of one's Divine Telekinesis had to be extremely wide to the extent that they could compare it with a map to know where they were.

After getting this answer, Chan Dou nodded and did not ask further. He pulled up his own map projection as well.

"From what I see, if we continue walking in this direction, we'll go deeper and deeper into the outer layer areas…"

Seeing that Chan Dou had started taking the lead, Lin Huang did not say anything more and waited for Chan Dou to finish talking before adding two reminders, "The distribution of the monsters on the map isn't completely accurate. Some monsters will migrate spontaneously, and some will also move due to man-made influences. Moreover, the Abyssal hunters also won't hunt according to the monster distribution rules and may appear anywhere in any area. It's also possible for intermediate-stage and high-level monsters to appear in the beginner-stage monster distribution area on the map. In short, don't trust the map too much. The information there can only be used as a reference."

Chan Dou and the others nodded solemnly, put away the map, and began flying in Chan Dou's chosen direction at low speed.

The group of them flew no more than ten meters above the ground, and they flew very slowly.

The reason was very simple. Flying high would make it easy for them to be discovered, and would cause them to become targets. Flying fast could also easily cause air turbulence and draw unnecessary attention.

Lin Huang trailed behind the three leisurely, watching Chan Dou and the others getting closer to the direction where the monsters were hiding. However, he did not speak up to remind them. 

This was because he knew that he could remind them once, but he could not keep reminding them for the second and third time. Only after encountering the monsters themselves would they truly commit this to memory.

When the team had approached within a certain distance, Chan Dou suddenly frowned slightly.

He detected no anomalies within his Divine Telekinesis sensing range, and there was nothing unusual in sight, but his intuition was sending him warning signals.

"Wait a minute!" He made a decisive decision and waved his hand to stop everyone from moving forward.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Mo was a little bewildered.

"Did you discover anything out of the ordinary?" Huang Wuji immediately increased his vigilance.

"I didn't find anything unusual, but my intuition's sensing there's danger ahead…"

Chan Dou had just finished speaking when they heard a hissing sound. Thousands of meters away, the earth began churning rapidly, before surging toward Lin Huang and the others like a wave. 

The tumbling wave of sandy soil roiled higher and higher, increasing in speed. Almost the next instant, it loomed in front of Lin Huang and the others.

Lin Huang had long since vanished in a flash, silently appearing hundreds of meters above the ground and observing the reactions of the three people below him.

Seeing the wave gradually drawing closer, the three were visibly stunned for a moment before they reacted. They began fleeing toward the higher areas in the direction that they had come from.

Chan Dou was the calmest among them and only adjusted his flying altitude to be slightly higher. He narrowed his eyes and observed for a while, then went into combat mode right away.

This was because he already knew what was approaching.

Huang Wuji and Xiao Mo had retreated some distance in a panic. Seeing that Chan Dou did not follow suit, they stopped fleeing.

"Don't panic; it's a spirit type—an Earth Skeleton." After that, Chan Dou added, "Normally its combat level doesn't exceed beginner-stage virtual god-level."

Earth Skeletons were originally skeletons buried beneath the ground that had transformed into spirit types. They were skilled at moving through the earth, but their abilities were not considered strong.

At Chan Dou's words, Huang Wuji and Xiao Mo visibly calmed down.

Both of them had read the monster guide for the great world and had some understanding of Earth Skeletons. Hearing that it was this type of monster, they immediately felt a rush of relief.

Not long after Chan Dou finished speaking, the sand had already barreled its way in front of him. Chan Dou did not fight back either, but let it swallow him up.

Following that, roaring sounds of battle came from within the tumbling sand and the sand's rolling momentum visibly weakened.

Huang Wuji and Xiao Mo glanced at each other, then they moved almost simultaneously, transforming into two streams of light that plunged into the tumbling sand.

Seeing the three of them officially in combat mode, Lin Huang nodded in satisfaction.

Not long after, the tumbling sand's momentum gradually halted. The dust billowing into the air blocked Lin Huang's view, but with Divine Telekinesis, he could observe everything happening behind the curtain of sand clearly.

The Earth Skeletons were easily beheaded by Chan Dou and Xiao Mo, and their numbers were rapidly decreasing. Although Huang Wuji's abilities were limited by his combat strength, he also was able to move freely within the dust and draw fire from several Earth Skeletons, assisting the other two in completing their kills.

Although this was the first time the three of them had joined forces, they had surprisingly good chemistry.

After merely three to four minutes, fourteen Earth Skeletons had all been beheaded on the spot.

The tumbling sand also became still, leaving behind only a pile of earth that looked as if it had been dug over by an iron plow.

Lin Huang's figure gradually descended. He glanced at Chan Dou before turning his gaze on Xiao Mo and Huang Wuji. "Don't panic when you encounter a situation. Observe first, then only make your decisions…"

After briefly discussing some issues regarding the three, Lin Huang allowed Chan Dou to continue leading the team forward…