The corrupting beasts' struggles caused the calm lake to ripple again.
Every time a corrupting beast struggled to swim back to the shore, the insectoids guarding the lake would bite the corrupting beast and throw it back to the center of the lake.
After this cycle repeated a few times, the monster hiding under the water seemed to be enraged. All that could be seen was a huge shadow flashing under the water.
The rippling lake suddenly had huge waves. The entire lake seemed to be overturned as it rushed toward the shore.
The corrupting beasts that had not drowned after struggling in the lake for a long time were all sent to the shore by this huge wave.
The one inside was indeed a picky eater!
Qi Yuan's eyes flickered.
With the corrupting beast's characteristics, other than other corrupting beasts, there would not be any other existence that would treat it as food.
Since the one inside was so picky and would rather spend the effort to get rid of the corrupting beasts than swallow them, this gave him a chance to fish in troubled waters.
Under the Blazing Angel's control, the corrupting beasts that were sent to the shore by the monster at the bottom of the lake were once again thrown into the water by the insectoids.
The surface of the lake that had not completely calmed down became lively again.
The corrupting beasts' struggles and the splashing of water made the lake seem particularly noisy at night.
Not long after, the monster at the bottom of the lake was enraged again. As a black shadow flashed past, all the corrupting beasts that were struggling in the water were once again sent to the shore by the upturned waves of the lake.
However, this time, the monster at the bottom of the lake was clearly much stronger. None of the insectoids that were sent to the shore could remain intact. Black mucus gushed out from their broken bodies, polluting a large area.
If they were ordinary Rank 3 insectoids, they would have been wiped out by this attack. However, the corrupting beasts' strong vitality allowed them to survive. Although some of the corrupting beasts had their heads smashed and could no longer stand up, most of them were only crippled and could still struggle to move their bodies. This showed how tenacious their vitality was.
"Continue to throw them!"
Under Qi Yuan's command, the Blazing Angel controlled the insectoids and threw all the corrupting beasts, dead or alive, into the water.
Not only that, Qi Yuan also ordered Blazing Angel to only leave half of the insect beasts behind to guard the area. The rest of the insect beasts went to capture more polluting beasts nearby and continuously threw them into the water.
Under the efforts of the Bug Beasts, the number of Polluting Beasts in the lake increased. Although the underwater monster cleared the water surface several times and crushed many Polluting Beasts, it still could not match the speed of the Bug Beasts' transportation.
In less than half an hour, the number of polluting beasts in the lake had exceeded 20. The originally clear lake surface was also polluted by the black mucus and became turbid, as if there was an oil spill.
The frequency of monsters appearing in the lake was also decreasing. It seemed that they had given up on the idea of cleaning up the polluters.
"It should be about time!"
Qi Yuan muttered to himself as he looked at the lake that had been tainted black.
Although the underwater monsters were powerful, that was only their strength. It did not mean that their intelligence was superior to that of humans. As long as they found a way to deal with it, they would be able to get away with it.
"Throw a Bug Beast down!" Qi Yuan said in a low voice.
The Blazing Angel immediately controlled a Bug Beast to jump into the lake. However, because there were too many polluting beasts in the lake, this Rank 3 Bug Beast that was used as bait did not attract the attention of the monsters in the lake. Instead, it was eaten by a group of polluting beasts.
Seeing that the polluting beasts had eaten all the Bug Beasts and the monsters in the lake did not appear, Qi Yuan slowly stood up and prepared to fish in troubled waters.
Qi Yuan glanced at the Sign-In Light Beam in the middle of the lake and took a deep breath. Dozens of polluting beasts were scattered around the lake like stepping stones.
"Now!"
Using the Speed of Steel, Qi Yuan rushed towards the center of the lake like an arrow leaving the bow.
Qi Yuan jumped more than ten meters from the shore. Just as he was about to fall into the water, he stepped on the head of a polluting beast and stomped down with force.
The polluting beast was stomped into the water. Qi Yuan used the momentum to jump more than ten meters to the right and stomped on the head of another polluting beast.
With the help of these polluting beasts, Qi Yuan flew across the lake and quickly approached the center of the lake.
The lake was not a swamp. If he wanted to freeze the surface of the lake and condense the Path of Frost, he would need to consume a lot of energy. The powerful energy fluctuations were very likely to attract the underwater monsters. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Qi Yuan could only use this method to fish in troubled waters.
His finger swept across the light beam, and the third Rank 2 Talent Point quietly formed.
After signing in successfully, Qi Yuan did not dare to stop at all. He was about to step on the struggling polluting beasts and quickly leave this dangerous lake when danger suddenly arrived.
The waves instantly became turbulent. He had been observing the area below and caught sight of the elusive underwater shadow.
It was a huge fish. The moment he saw it, Qi Yuan finally understood why the Rank 3 Bug Beast that was comparable to an elephant disappeared quietly in the water.
This fish was too big!
Just the part of its body that Qi Yuan had sensed with Area Detection was bigger than any Bug Beast that he had ever seen. It was definitely a huge monster.
The underwater monster looked a little like a catfish, but its head was even bigger, almost occupying half of its body length. When it opened its mouth, its huge mouth was like a black hole. Not to mention an elephant, even ten of them could be swallowed in one gulp.
Although the size of a Bug Beast was not necessarily proportional to its body size, such a huge monster fish was definitely not weak.
As the underwater monster fish floated up, Qi Yuan suddenly felt a fatal danger. It was more dangerous than the danger brought by the Blazing Angel's possession!
This meant that this huge monster fish was even stronger than the Blazing Angel!
It was very likely to be a Rank 4 or even a Rank 5 Elite Bug Beast!
The monster fish floated up very quickly, and danger suddenly arrived.
After a moment of panic, Qi Yuan quickly calmed down.
With the monster fish's speed, it would surface in two seconds. It was impossible for him to quickly escape in such a short time.
Therefore, he could not let the monster fish target him!
The monster fish that had floated up several times was obviously in a rage. Once it discovered his existence, he would definitely die instantly.
Qi Yuan could still clearly remember the mental suppression he felt when he faced the four-eyed snake lizard. Now, this huge monster fish could probably suppress him on a physical level.
Bug Beasts had very sharp senses. How could he make the monster fish ignore him?
The lake surface was already polluted by the black liquid. Bug Beasts mainly relied on their senses of energy to sense their surroundings. The stronger the Bug Beast, the more sensitive it would be to energy. Therefore, if he wanted to make the monster fish ignore him, he could not release any energy waves and let it treat him as a polluter!
Qi Yuan's mind moved, and he quickly activated Energy Control. He restrained all the energy waves around him, and his whole person quickly turned into a piece of cold steel.
At the same time, Qi Yuan did not continue to step on the polluting beasts to move forward. Instead, he stretched his body and tightly strangled a polluting beast's throat, pressing his body tightly against the polluting beast's.
The cold and stinky lake water soaked his body. Qi Yuan even took the initiative to turn off the area detection, silently waiting for the monster fish to send him away.
The polluting beast struggled fiercely, but Qi Yuan, who was attached to its back, did not move. While he restrained his energy waves, his breathing and heartbeat almost stopped. At this moment, Qi Yuan really became a pendant on the polluting beast, a piece of metal without any signs of life.
Except for the polluting beast that was being strangled by Qi Yuan, even the surrounding polluting beasts did not realize that a "food" had mixed in with them.
"Splash!"
Monstrous waves rose in the water again, and Qi Yuan instantly felt dizzy.
Thousands of tons of polluted lake water, wrapped in dozens of polluting beasts, together with Qi Yuan, turned into a water dragon and poured toward the shore.
Success!
Qi Yuan did not have time to rejoice. He felt a terrifying and irresistible force seeping out from every drop of water around him, and a crisp cracking sound was heard.
It was the sound of bones being crushed by the enormous water pressure.
Amidst the intense pain, Qi Yuan instantly thought of the few polluting beasts that had been violently crushed.
In the previous waves, under the terrifying strength of the monster fish, none of the polluting beasts could resist.
It was the same this time.
The only difference was that this time, it was not only the polluting beasts that were being crushed, but also himself, who was mixed in with the polluting beasts.
The monster fish that had been forced to the surface several times was obviously infuriated, so the crushing force this time was even more terrifying than before.
The moment the bones were crushed, Qi Yuan clearly felt the polluting beasts being strangled and crushed into a puddle of stinking mucus.
If a Rank 2 steel defense could be destroyed in an instant, then these polluting beasts that were only Rank 3 or Rank 2 were even more defenseless.
All the polluting beasts died almost instantly.
A cold intent swept across the lake shore. The Blazing Angel frowned and stared at the lake surface.
"Roar!"
After discovering the culprit that had been harassing it, the monster fish let out an angry roar, and the tyrannical intent launched a fierce attack at the Blazing Angel.
The Blazing Angel groaned, and her energy-formed body instantly rippled like water. It was not until a few seconds later that the ripples in her body slowly returned to normal.
The turbid lake surface once again became clear, and the monstrous giant wolf slowly calmed down. The Blazing Angel, whose body had become slightly more illusory, looked around and frowned.
A few insectoids that had not retreated in time at the edge of the lake had already disappeared. The other insectoids that were slightly further away from the lake shore, although they were not swept into the water by the monster fish, were all lying on the ground under the tyrannical mental attack just now. They were all dead.
The Blazing Angel was stunned. After a while, she finally remembered that her master seemed to have disappeared!
The long-term meal ticket was gone!
The Blazing Angel looked around in a panic, and finally found the dying Qi Yuan in a pile of mangled corpses of the polluting beasts.
Qi Yuan's eyes were wide open as he stared at the gloomy sky. The monster fish's furious attack had not only shattered his bones, it had even destroyed most of his internal organs. If not for his Tier 2 Steel Defense, he would have been reduced to a pile of mush just like those Corrupted Beasts.
No matter what, he had luckily escaped this time.
He had survived from the mouth of an incomparably powerful elite insectoid.
Feeling his broken body, Qi Yuan could vaguely feel the Steel Self-Healing healing his body. Although the injuries this time were serious, it was still lighter than the fall of the old city.
If he did not die, was he still human?
Qi Yuan thought in a daze.
Injuries of this degree might not be able to kill a polluting beast, but it was more than enough to kill an ability user. However, he had already suffered such fatal injuries twice, and had survived each time.
The life force of a polluting beast was very tenacious, but destroying its head and polluting core could also kill it.
What kind of injuries could kill him?
Decapitation?
Destroying the heart?
Annihilating the soul?
Or, burning the bones and scattering the ashes?
While Qi Yuan was thinking, a white floral dress suddenly came into view. The Blazing Angel stared at Qi Yuan, her eyes filled with joy. This joy was so obvious that Qi Yuan could read the meaning behind her eyes.
That's great!
My long-term meal ticket is still alive!
Under Qi Yuan's gaze, the Blazing Angel obediently stood to the side, no longer blocking Qi Yuan's admiring gaze of the night sky.
Qi Yuan lay on the ground, not too far away from the lake.
The polluting beasts in the lake had all been cleared, and the turbid lake water had returned to its clear state. The monster fish had also vented its anger, and if there were no special circumstances, it should not cause trouble again.
Rather than going further into the wilderness, it was better to stay by the lake and recover from his injuries. At least those unknown Elite Insectoids and Heart Eaters would not rashly approach this lake.
Qi Yuan felt the recovery speed of his body. Although he had accumulated enough metal in his body, the Tier 1 [Steel Regeneration] was still a bit slow in the face of injuries of this degree. If he wanted to fully recover, he would probably have to wait until dawn.
Qi Yuan pondered for a moment and decided to use the talent points he received from Signing In to upgrade the [Steel Regeneration] to Tier 2.
With a thought, a Tier 2 talent point fused with Asterite's energy, directly activating the Tier 2 [Steel Regeneration]. The consumption rate of the accumulated metal in his body instantly increased by several times, and his body's recovery speed also became much faster.
Qi Yuan silently felt the recovery speed of his body. He would be able to fully recover in about an hour.
However, the amount of metal in his body seemed to be insufficient.
Tier 2 [Steel Regeneration] could heal fatal injuries of this degree within an hour. If it was upgraded to Tier 3, would I be able to quickly recover as long as I don't die instantly?
Just as the [Steel Regeneration] was upgraded to Tier 2, the Blazing Angel keenly felt the change in Qi Yuan.
In her perception, a cluster of Asterite's energy disappeared into thin air.
The Blazing Angel's mouth twitched, and her expression slowly became sad. Why did the food suddenly decrease?