Outside the Crimson Sea Blood Forest, Chen Tian entered without hesitation. This map was for levels forty to ninety-nine of White Fiend grade. Chen Tian's goal here was to level up. He was already over level seventy and close to eighty, and he wanted to reach level eighty before undertaking the Guardian Hall quests.
The Crimson Sea Blood Forest looked very eerie. The ground was a blood-red ocean, and when Chen Tian stepped on it, it felt like walking on water. Above his head, a blood-red forest grew among the clouds. Chen Tian looked at the blood-red sea floor and found the map to be extremely bizarre, perfect for leveling.
Walking along the paths of the Crimson Sea Blood Forest, Chen Tian moved at a relaxed pace, constantly releasing his Perception of Heaven and Earth to monitor his surroundings. Normally, his mind would be filled with information about the dynamics of all living beings within his perception range. But this time, nothing appeared in his mind. It was as if there were no monsters in this area, yet Chen Tian remained unconvinced.
As he walked on the ground of the Crimson Sea Blood Forest, bubbles began to burst in the blood-red ocean. Chen Tian's perception finally picked up several figures. A smile formed on his lips. This was more like it! Otherwise, it wouldn't feel like a leveling area at all.
Chen Tian stood still. After the blood-red bubbles burst, massive creatures emerged before his eyes. Chen Tian observed the swarming monsters. They resembled ants, covered in blood-red armor. Blood-red antennae sprouted from their heads, and they possessed eight scythe-like legs. Their bodies were enormous, and behind them was a round, bulging tail.
Chen Tian's Divine Eyes immediately scanned their information.
Crimson Forest Sea Ant
Level: White Fiend grade thirty-three
Health: 1035 White Points
Strength: 520 White Points
Speed: 600 White Points
Constitution: 100 White Points
Luck: 50
Weapon Mastery: 123 White Points
Skill Mastery: 225 White Points
Weapons: Antennae, Tail, Legs, Teeth
Abilities: Absorb and Convert
Traits: Tenacious and Unyielding
Skills: Blood Ant Sea Overwhelm, Convert, Thorny Antennae, Bite and Burst.
Chen Tian looked at the creatures before him, unconcerned about their White Fiend grade thirty-three level. It was just their sheer numbers that were daunting. These ants numbered in the hundreds. Ants were social creatures, and it seemed this behavior was replicated in the game world.
Chen Tian activated "Battle-Hardened," his body covered in golden armor. He faced the colossal Crimson Forest Sea Ants without fear and attacked. He gathered Divine Ice Cones on his fists and unleashed them towards the ant swarm.
The entire blood-red sea ground instantly froze over. The Divine Ice Cones shot towards the Crimson Forest Sea Ants. As the ice cones approached, the ants' bodies were enveloped in blood-red light, their armor appearing incredibly tough. The ice cones struck the ant swarm, only managing to knock a few ants aside. Chen Tian's brow furrowed. Their Tenacious and Unyielding trait was indeed troublesome.
The Tenacious and Unyielding trait gave these ants incredible defense and endurance, coupled with their overwhelming numbers, making them a formidable opponent for ordinary players. But Chen Tian, with his fearsome "Battle-Hardened" skill, was not deterred by numerical superiority.
Chen Tian immediately changed his tactics. Since Divine Ice was ineffective, he decided to use Divine Fire, as ants were generally afraid of fire. Divine Fire appeared in his palm. Chen Tian clapped his hands together and slowly pulled them apart, revealing a Divine Fire Lotus in the center of his palms. Chen Tian pushed his hands forward, sending the Fire Lotus towards the Crimson Forest Sea Ant swarm. To Chen Tian's surprise, the Fire Lotus disappeared as it neared the ants. It simply vanished, and the ants that were resisting in front became even more formidable.
This was too strange. How could such a peculiar thing happen? And ants that were not afraid of fire? This was a joke. If the game was designed based on real-world settings, then ants' weakness to fire should have been present.
"No, that's not right. They are still afraid of fire. What exactly happened just now?"
Chen Tian pondered, observing with his Divine Eyes. While he was reviewing the information, the Crimson Forest Sea Ants charged towards him, their massive bodies and sharp scythe-like legs aiming to crush him into a meat patty.
Chen Tian's wings slowly unfurled behind him, revealing azure-blue wings. With a leap, he ascended into the sky, flying above. The Crimson Forest Sea Ants on the ground stopped in their tracks and looked up at Chen Tian. The antennae of each ant extended, transforming into sharp spikes that shot towards the sky. Over a hundred spikes flew upwards. Chen Tian hadn't expected the Crimson Forest Sea Ants to be capable of this. They were supposed to be mindless monsters, yet they reacted in such a way.
Activating Extreme Dodge, Chen Tian weaved and dodged. He skillfully evaded every spike. Suddenly, from the blood-red forest above, countless blood-red light orbs rained down towards Chen Tian.
Chen Tian froze. Blood-red orbs from above, countless spikes from below, and his evasion routes were completely covered. This was a dire situation.
Chen Tian inwardly declared, 'Ice Fire Explosive Flame Kill!'
Divine Fire manifested on his left side, Divine Ice on his right. The Divine Ice and Divine Fire seemed to compress, and with a bang, Divine Fire Spikes and Divine Ice Spikes erupted from Chen Tian's body, all attacks exploding.
Chen Tian's figure reappeared, and he looked towards the forest in the sky behind him. In the trees, blood-red birds, as if engulfed in flames, resided above. There were thousands of them, all looking at Chen Tian with hostility.
Chen Tian was bewildered. He hadn't done anything! Why were they looking at him like that? Was it because he was too handsome?
Chen Tian ignored the blood-red birds overhead. They wouldn't dare leave the forest, so Chen Tian was safe. His current concern was how to defeat the Crimson Forest Sea Ants.
According to the information panel, the tails of these Crimson Forest Sea Ants could absorb and convert energy into their own power. Chen Tian could only use physical attacks; energy attacks were ineffective.
The Chameleon Ball transformed into a longbow in Chen Tian's hand. It was an azure-blue, rippling longbow with ice-blue wings on either side. In the center of the bow was a curved notch. This weapon was called the Azure Sea Bow, a White Fiend grade ten-star quality weapon. However, its durability had degraded by ninety percent. Chen Tian didn't want to repair it and decided to use it up here.
After all, the Chameleon Ball had recorded many White Fiend grade weapons. Currently, Chen Tian had no shortage of equipment. His spoils from the thirteenth floor alone had yielded hundreds of pieces of equipment. Having abundant gear gave him the freedom to be selective.
Chen Tian drew the longbow, then spoke, "I have the bow, but no arrows! This longbow requires energy arrows. A miscalculation."
Chen Tian, feeling helpless, swapped the longbow for dual blades, also White Fiend grade ten-star weapons with ninety percent durability. Most of the weapons in Chen Tian's Chameleon Ball were around fifty percent durability. He might as well destroy them if they were going to break. Chen Tian shook his head slightly. In the sky, a bow and arrow was the most suitable form of attack, but he had no arrows.
He had no physical arrows, only energy arrows. Chen Tian felt a headache coming on. With dual blades in hand, this battle was destined to end.
He swooped down to the ground, dual blades spinning. With a rumble, he landed. Chen Tian's figure split into over a hundred clones. The best way to deal with a swarm was with a swarm of your own. Chen Tian's clones retained seventy percent of his main body's strength, and with the "Battle-Hardened" buff, the clones' strength would eventually surpass that of these monsters.
Chen Tian felt that "Battle-Hardened" was truly a versatile skill, capable of synergizing effectively with any other skill.
Chen Tian's main body appeared before a Crimson Forest Sea Ant, his dual blades flashing. With a series of slicing sounds, the ants' tails fell off, and blood spurted out. Chen Tian observed with his Divine Eyes. The ant's ability had disappeared. It seemed the tail was indeed a weakness. However, Chen Tian's dual blades had shattered.
Chen Tian never imagined that his dual blades, even with only ten percent durability remaining, would break. The hardness of the ants' tails was simply unbelievable.
Helpless, Chen Tian summoned longswords with his hands again. The ground of the Crimson Sea Blood Forest became a scene of Chen Tian's clones battling the Crimson Forest Sea Ants.
The sound of tails being cut repeatedly echoed. Chen Tian's dual longswords appeared, and he continued to attack the ants' tails, severing them. Their health didn't decrease, but they lost an ability. Chen Tian didn't mind. Without that ability, they would be easy to kill.
After some time, all of Chen Tian's clones vanished. Chen Tian and the Crimson Forest Sea Ant swarm faced each other. These ants were now rendered powerless, all their tails severed. Chen Tian paid a heavy price, losing ten White Fiend grade thirteen-star quality weapons. It stung. This battle had cost him thirteen weapons. These creatures' armor was indeed incredibly tough.
Chen Tian summoned Divine Ice in his left hand and Divine Fire in his right. A gale appeared behind him, forming a tornado. Divine Fire entered it, and the tornado propelled the Divine Fire, fanning the flames. Ordinary wind couldn't extinguish this Divine Fire. Divine Ice entered the tornado. As the tornado spun, ice shards covered it. Chen Tian rotated his legs and kicked out.
A Divine Ice and Divine Fire Tornado swept towards the Crimson Forest Sea Ant swarm. Spell: Tornado Destruction!
This was a spell from the cultivation world, enhanced by Chen Tian's addition of Divine Ice and Divine Fire, pushing its power to a new level.
The Divine Ice and Divine Fire Tornado engulfed all the Crimson Forest Sea Ants. Countless flesh and blood, broken limbs, and arms, and blood splattered onto the ground. Chen Tian's tornado dissipated.
Chen Tian looked around in confusion. He had clearly killed the Crimson Forest Sea Ants, yet there was no electronic sound notification, no experience information. Could it be that these creatures weren't dead?
Before Chen Tian's crushed-up bodies, they began to writhe. All the remains slowly converged and flowed into the blood sea on the ground.