Above the Wan Yuan Plain in the Endless Abyss.
"Haha, such immense power!"
Dylan laughed wildly, brutally slaughtering every enemy around him.
For some unknown reason, he had developed a taste for slowly tearing enemies apart with his claws.
After his bloodline mutated and he successfully advanced to the legendary stage, his strength had undergone a tremendous leap.
Not only had his physical body become far more formidable, but Dylan also discovered with delight that his bloodline mutation granted him more Dragon Language Magic, a powerful magical ability exclusive to dragon-blooded beings.
Because of this, the entire dragon-blooded army immediately launched a ferocious assault after Dylan's ascension.
They had reached the core region of the first layer of the Endless Abyss, at the edge of the tunnel leading to the second layer.
"Truly, a blessing in disguise," Dylan mused. "I never expected to gain the chance to become legendary during this invasion!"
"Though the process was painful and cost me my sanity…"
He extended his hand, gazing at the beautiful dragon patterns on his scales in awe.
"Power always comes with a price."
While Dylan reveled in his newly acquired strength, a dragon-blooded soldier approached him.
"Lord Dylan, we've reached the core region of this world, but we cannot sense the exact location of the world core."
Dylan sneered at the report.
"Hmph, you fools! This isn't some so-called core region!"
He pointed toward a deep tunnel crawling with abyssal creatures.
"The true core of this world lies at the very bottom of this tunnel!"
"This utterly bizarre world differs greatly from those we've invaded before. It has a multi-layered structure!"
"In other words, if we wish to completely destroy this world, we must conquer multiple layers consecutively!"
Dylan took a deep breath, a greedy expression spreading across his face.
"Perhaps I don't even need to destroy this world. I could leave its core intact."
"From the beginning, the core has been calling to me, beckoning to grant me even greater power!"
"As long as I can approach It…"
"Perhaps I can uncover the ultimate secret of this world…"
"And become even stronger!"
By this point, Dylan's lust for power had begun to override his reason, and he gradually forgot his ultimate purpose.
Unknowingly, his soul started to resemble the creatures of this world: irritable, extremely greedy, tyrannical, and completely devoid of morality and mercy.
Under Dylan's transformed mindset, the entire dragon-blooded army began marching down the irreversible path of corruption.
---
Upon reaching the second layer of the Endless Abyss, the army pressed forward toward the entrance of the third layer, relentlessly advancing.
Yet the deeper one went into the Abyss, the greater the chaos: rules, elements, environment, climate, even space and time themselves warped and twisted.
But the deeper one went, the stronger the Abyssal creatures, and the more resources they could obtain.
The creatures in the first layer of the Endless Abyss were merely pitiful rejects of the Abyss's depths.
Though the second layer creatures were not much stronger, they still posed significant trouble to the already weary dragon-blooded army.
New monsters appeared. Some could tear through steel armor. Some wielded toxins that could rot a body instantly. Some could drain the blood of an entire dragon-blooded slave in one bite.
These monsters multiplied mysteriously.
With each fallen dragon-blooded soldier, grotesque worms would appear and greedily consume their corpses.
Some seriously wounded soldiers, unable to resist, were devoured alive.
The army had previously conquered worlds only as large as the first layer of the Abyss.
Now, having advanced twice that distance, they were exhausted.
The Endless Abyss was vast beyond imagination.
Many dragon-blooded soldiers reached their limits and demanded rest.
Dylan's response:
"Rest? You dare?!"
"You have only one choice: keep moving forward until you collapse!"
Anyone daring to object was torn apart.
Slaves, soldiers, even slightly weaker strong beings—all were forced forward by Dylan's absolute tyranny.
Under this crushing pressure, the army began to change in terrifying ways.
Comrades who once fought back-to-back now used each other as shields for survival. Once-caring leaders sacrificed their subordinates for even a fleeting reward. Once-loyal soldiers fled hopelessly, stabbing retreating comrades in the back. Even strong beings twisted their minds, acting on grudges or missed opportunities.
Every step deeper into the Abyss brought the army closer to becoming mindless beasts.
Even these intelligent creatures exhibited bloodthirst and cruelty surpassing native Abyssal creatures.
---
"What is the most terrifying aspect of the Endless Abyss?"
At the Abyss's bottom, eyes closed, Chu Hao—the embodiment of the Abyss's will—observed Dylan's army with his mind.
He knew exactly what had happened to Dylan's forces.
"Some say it's the horrifying environment: the toxic air, the indistinguishable skies."
"Some say it's the monstrous creatures, twisted and malicious beyond comprehension."
"Some say it's the unpredictable chaos rules, where even fate itself can be warped, and no one knows their future."
"None of these are correct…"
Chu Hao stood, expressionless.
"The greatest terror of the Endless Abyss is the gradual loss of humanity."
"All goodness fades with time here."
"Family bonds sever, love vanishes, friendship betrays…"
"Every being in the Abyss faces the darkness and sin within their own hearts upon entering."
"This is a path of irreversible corruption!"
Chu Hao then shifted his focus to the third layer, waiting for Dylan's arrival.
---
"It's time…"
At the end of the shadowed tunnel, a battered, torn dragon-like creature, crawling and shrieking in pain, finally reached the third layer.
"Let's end this farce!"
Chu Hao smiled a strange, ominous smile at the approaching Dylan.