The dozens of abyssal creatures guarding the spatial rift were swallowed whole by Kraken in an instant.
Only when nothing more could be sucked out did the massive red tentacle—so large it obscured half the horizon—finally loosen its grip and slip back into the depths of the sea, revealing the slightly widened spatial rift.
Standing atop the physical form of Kraken, Ye Bai twitched her lips as she watched the little girl-shaped spirit inside the fishing basket let out a satisfied burp, a small puff of visible black smoke escaping from her tiny mouth.
Before the smoke could dissipate, Kraken immediately opened her mouth and swallowed it back down.
Ye Bai: "..."
Using [Insight], Ye Bai saw that Kraken's level had risen to 75—two levels higher than before—an astonishing conversion rate.
Meanwhile, thanks to the shared experience, Ye Bai herself had leveled up from 52 to 53. A few more rounds like this, and accumulating enough experience to reach level 60 wouldn’t be out of reach—she might even be able to undergo her third class advancement upon returning!
The thought sent a thrill through her. She patted the obedient little girl’s head and praised, "Good job, just like that! Now, stay right here and don’t move. I’ll go lure more over for you."
"Okay! Not moving!" Having tasted the benefits, Kraken obediently sat in the fishing basket and loudly agreed.
The next steps were a repeat of the previous scenario—Kraken used her tentacles to send Ye Bai back through the spatial rift, then waited in the original waters for the next meal to be delivered.
This time, when Ye Bai entered the rift, the surroundings were eerily empty. All the abyssal creatures guarding this area had already been sucked away by Kraken, and the disturbance hadn’t yet triggered a chain reaction.
The entire process had been too fast, and abyssal creatures were inherently chaotic by nature. Even under the rule of an Abyssal Lord, discipline was loose—a stark contrast to the rigid order of undead creatures. Still, given time, the Abyssal Lord’s fortress would eventually notice something was wrong.
The remaining abyssal creatures were scattered across different regions, and luring them one by one would be tedious. The best option now was the Abyssal Lord’s fortress she had spotted earlier.
Ye Bai had come at the perfect time to exploit the time gap—before the fortress could raise its guard—and pull another wave of monsters.
After a moment’s thought, she removed [Perfect Mask], revealing her true identity. The spatial rift would remain stable for six more in-game days, and this method would make luring creatures more efficient and concentrated.
Ye Bai made her way to the Abyssal Lord’s fortress. Unlike the cliffside fortress she had seen before, this one was larger and simpler in structure—built from black stone, resembling a small volcano submerged in magma.
On the floating black rocks around the magma pool, countless abyssal creatures could be seen either moving about or outright swimming in the molten lava.
[You have discovered ‘Abyssal Lord’s Fortress.’ +10 Historical EXP, +100,000 EXP.]
Ye Bai stopped at the edge of the magma pool. Stepping into the lava would inflict environmental damage, but this distance was enough to immediately draw the attention of the imps at the outermost edge.
Seven or eight imps spotted Ye Bai, immediately halting their play as their flaming bat-like wings flapped, sending them charging toward her.
Instead of retreating, Ye Bai advanced—
[Abyssal Fireball]
"Boom!"
A black-red fireball infused with magic exploded upon impact, instantly obliterating the group of imps with its flames and blast damage.
Though imps were mere foot soldiers of the abyssal forces, their passive ability was infuriating—each imp could "steal" 10 MP (Spirit Energy) from an enemy per day, gaining a temporary boost. Ten points might not seem like much, but the abyssal forces excelled in overwhelming numbers, and in large groups, they could drain an entire mana bar—a nightmare for magic-based classes.
Worse, since it was a passive ability, Ye Bai couldn’t use [Dispel] to counter it.
Killing the imps would refund the stolen MP, but knowing their racial traits, Ye Bai prioritized wiping them out first.
The imps’ deaths drew the attention of more abyssal creatures further away, their health bars turning red as they surged toward her.
The scene from the rift repeated itself—Ye Bai nimbly maneuvered along the magma pool’s edge, absorbing useful skills while firing [Ice Bullet] at every monster within sight.
Unlike the disciplined undead, abyssal creatures had no sense of order. The flip side was that they were easily provoked and prone to losing all rationality—in other words, their aggro was easy to secure. That was why, after being attacked near the rift earlier, they had mindlessly chased her through to the other side.
And once Kraken started pulling them in, escape became impossible.
Uncertain whether the Abyssal Lord was present, Ye Bai decided not to push her luck. Once she had drawn in most of the creatures active in the magma zone, she turned and fled.
But just then—
The entire massive fortress trembled violently, the magma pool’s surface rippling and churning in response.
"Oh no!"
Ye Bai’s heart lurched—she realized the Abyssal Lord must have noticed her. She quickened her retreat.
"Rumble…"
From the volcano-like peak of the fortress, grinding sounds echoed as if something enormous was stirring within.
"What insignificant insect dares trespass upon the domain of I—the mighty Kedar?!"
A booming voice rang out behind her, the words effortlessly translated—a sign of the demonic tongue spoken by high-tier abyssal beings. The tone carried less anger and more amusement, even excitement.
Ye Bai didn’t need to look back to know—this was undoubtedly the ruler of this abyssal layer.
She hadn’t expected that even at a distance of over 500 meters from the fortress, she’d still catch the Abyssal Lord’s attention.
But as the saying went, you couldn’t skirt the river’s edge without getting wet. This was the inevitable risk of using such an efficient luring method.
—Run! Just make it to the rift!
Ye Bai had prepared for this worst-case scenario. The rift wasn’t far from the fortress—once she crossed it, she’d be safe.
Abyssal Lords were at least demigod-tier beings, meaning their minimum level was 80, with higher layers corresponding to greater strength.
Though Kraken hadn’t yet reached the demigod threshold of level 80, the deep sea was the domain of the deep-sea races. In aquatic environments, their power was amplified, while abyssal creatures suffered severe debuffs. Even if Kedar pursued her through the rift, Kraken could leverage the terrain to escape if overpowered.
Ye Bai sprinted at full speed, not even sparing a glance back to see what the Infernal Lord looked like. All she could sense was the growing cacophony behind her, the ground beneath her feet trembling violently.
"Ah—!"
A familiar cry rang out, and Ye Bai's eyes lit up as she noticed Autofis running alongside her.
Its uncanny ability to blend into the surroundings, making it easy to overlook, wasn’t just effective against enemies—even Ye Bai had momentarily forgotten about it.
Now, catching its signal, Ye Bai understood immediately. Mid-sprint, she wrapped an arm around Autofis’ neck and swiftly swung herself onto its back, their coordination seamless.
Mounted on Autofis, Ye Bai could tell its speed had improved significantly compared to before. After feasting on high-tier fish meat with Kraken all this time, it seemed the benefits weren’t just limited to her own experience gains—Autofis had clearly undergone some unknown enhancements as well.
Only now did Ye Bai have the luxury of glancing back at the Infernal Lord she had provoked.
The next moment, she sucked in a sharp breath.
A massive, thick-bodied serpentine head, covered in black-and-red scales, emerged from the molten lava.
The head alone was at least twenty meters wide, its crimson eyes swirling with what looked like flowing magma. But the true horror lay in the fact that this wasn’t the only one.
As the lava churned, one after another, gigantic serpent heads rose from the depths—one, two, three… seven in total. All seven pairs of cold, malevolent eyes locked onto Ye Bai.
This was a Hydra Lord.
Like all multi-headed monstrosities, the number of heads directly correlated with its strength. Ordinary hydras had three heads, ranging between levels 60 to 65, and their size was nowhere near this terrifying. A seven-headed hydra like this? Ye Bai didn’t even need to use [Insight] to know it had to be at least level 85.
Each of the Hydra Lord’s heads resembled that of a cobra, the flattened hoods adorned with twisted, ever-shifting patterns—natural inscriptions of Infernal Script.
The moment Ye Bai’s gaze landed on those markings, she froze. Five seconds later, a system notification flashed:
[You have gazed upon the Infernal Brand of an Infernal Lord. You have suffered a Soul Burn.]
[You have gained +10 proficiency in ‘Infernal Script’.]
Along with the prompt, Ye Bai watched as her health and mana bars each dropped by 500 and 100 points, respectively.
This was one of the signature passive abilities of an Infernal Lord. The downside? Staring too long dealt true damage. The upside? Well, it was an excellent way to grind Infernal Script proficiency.
As long as she avoided fixating on the markings for more than five seconds, she could dodge the effect.
"Heh… Foolish little insect. Do you not know that gods are not to be gazed upon?" The nearest head hissed, its massive form slithering forward in pursuit.
The serpentine body stretching out from the lava seemed endless, with no visible tail or branching point where the other heads connected—clearly a result of some advanced magic.
Despite its colossal size, the Hydra Lord, Kedar, moved deceptively fast, quickly overtaking the other Infernal creatures chasing Ye Bai.
Among the pursuing horde, the smarter and swifter ones hastily cleared a path for Kedar. The rest? They were mercilessly crushed beneath its bulk, absorbed into its monstrous form without a trace.
For the chaotic denizens of the Infernal Realm, "friendly fire" was just another Tuesday.
And just as Kedar had "helpfully" pointed out, for the average player, Infernal Brands were best avoided—no amount of magic resistance or defense could mitigate the damage. Even with the language proficiency reward, it wasn’t worth the risk, since a few extra glances could mean instant death.
But Ye Bai, having shaken off the initial shock? She wasn’t just going to look—she was going to stare hard.
[You have suffered a Soul Burn.]
[You have gained +10 proficiency in ‘Infernal Script’.]
[You have suffered a Soul Burn.]
[You have gained +10 proficiency in ‘Infernal Script’.]
[...]
Once her health dropped to dangerous levels, she simply leveled up. She wasn’t about to waste this golden opportunity to farm—when you had enough experience points, you could afford to be this reckless.
Of course, pushing things this far wasn’t without risks. So, while she was at it, Ye Bai also pulled out the magic scroll containing the Paper Man from her inventory. In situations like this, it could serve as an extra pair of eyes, warning her of incoming dangers on an informational level.
In fact, in the split-second chaos, a wild thought even crossed her mind: if the Paper Man could alter text, could it also modify the Infernal Brands on Kedar’s body? And if so… what would happen?
Meanwhile, the moment the Paper Man emerged and saw Ye Bai riding Autofis toward the spatial rift with an Infernal Lord hot on their heels, it was utterly stunned—though its astonishment took an unexpected turn.
With awe, the Paper Man exclaimed, "As expected of Bai Ye! With just a casual move, you’ve drawn out one of the mightiest Demigods!"
Ye Bai: "...Uh. Th-thanks?"
