One hour spent.

Lin You spent all of it hunting demons and advancing continuously.

Finally, as dusk approached, he reached the deepest region of the Mechanical Empire.

To his surprise.

The deepest part of the Mechanical Empire wasn’t as prosperous and advanced as he imagined.

Instead, it seemed a bit... ruined?

Indeed.

Ruined.

Like an abandoned area in a huge city, everywhere were dilapidated buildings.

Even the metal on the buildings had basically corroded into black, or had completely collapsed, turning into a massive pile of ruins.

Standing upon it, he felt nothing but solitude and vast emptiness, nothing else.

A slight breeze swept across, brushing Lin You’s face, carrying a faint smell of rust, causing him to frown, covering his mouth and nose with his hand.

"Let’s go, let’s check it out first."

Since he had already arrived, it was naturally impossible to leave directly.

After all, in such an old area like this, it’s often easier to find other useful clues or Lord Demons.

Because other lords were busy fighting over the control center, they hadn’t explored this place.

It’s the best opportunity to seize the moment.

Without hesitation, he quickly observed the surroundings and led the Plant Army across the ruins, continuing deeper.

Scenery on the side.

Gradually transformed from bustling streets to an old, abandoned area.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Lin You stopped, his expression filled with uncertainty.

Just then, as he walked through the ruins, a chilling sensation struck him, causing his body to involuntarily shudder.

As if something was watching his every move.

Something is wrong with this place!

Lin You felt secretly alarmed, decided not to proceed further.

Instead, he cautiously surveyed the surroundings, slowly retreating with his species.

"Bang!"

A sudden muffled sound was heard.

He felt a pain in his back, as if he had just collided into an invisible wall!

Lin You’s expression changed, he looked back, touched cautiously.

A ripple spread out, and indeed an invisible wall appeared before him.

Moreover, it allowed entrance but blocked exit.

His species were trapped inside, just like him.

"This is..."

Lin You frowned, sensing something amiss, and immediately moved along the wall, seeking a way out.

But to his shock, wherever he went, even the sky, was blocked by invisible walls.

As if isolating the entire old area.

He tried having Lingxi attack, unable to break through the wall.

Even private chats failed miserably!

"This is big trouble now..."

Lin You’s face darkened, a sense of dread gradually rising.

And just then, from the originally quiet old area, a faint muffled noise echoed.

"Bang bang... bang bang..."

Like the sound of a heartbeat, echoing in his ears.

Lin You froze for a moment, then his hair stood on end, turning back to the direction of the sound.

Heart...

Heartbeat...

Could it be so coincidental?

Lin You’s expression grew increasingly grim, not daring to hesitate, he summoned all his outside species back to him.

He tried to contact the territory, couldn’t summon the species back there, had to store them in Origin Space.

What shocked him even more.

The ruins seen from outside had now taken a different form, a faint black gas pervading the air.

[Note, influenced by Evil Qi, All Attributes decrease by 5%]

A sudden alert rang in Lin You’s mind, startling him.

Evil Qi.

It was Evil Qi!

He quickly opened the species attribute interface, and sure enough, apart from the Royal Family, all species had their attributes reduced by 5%.

But he was too preoccupied to ponder why the Royal Family wasn’t affected.

Gathered all the plants around him, formed an ironclad formation, took a deep breath, began exploring the surroundings.

He’s not one to sit around helplessly.

Since the retreat path was blocked, he could only advance, seeking a way to escape.

All one thousand five hundred plus species marched grandly into the ruins, cautiously moving toward the direction of the heartbeat sound.

And as the group ventured deeper, the surrounding Evil Qi grew increasingly dense.

From initially decreasing attributes by 5%, it turned into a 10% reduction, counteracting Lingxi’s natural Aura Effect.

That wasn’t all.

The closer Lin You got, the more intense the heartbeat sounded.

As if a heavy hammer smashed against his chest, making his face pale, breathing difficult.

Could it be.

Really that heart?

Lin You was greatly alarmed, his pace gradually slowing down.

Yet.

As he hesitated about whether to proceed further.

A terrifying scene suddenly appeared before his eyes, causing his pupils to gradually contract.

In the skies above an abandoned factory area less than two hundred meters away.

A giant, blood-red heart floated there.

Like a blood moon hanging high in the night, continuously pulsing.

Thick waves of Evil Qi spread from the heart, extending in all directions like black tentacles, moving up and down in the air.

"Boom boom... boom boom..."

The drum-like heartbeat echoed in his ears.

Lin You’s face instantly turned pale.

Feeling a surge of blood, almost uncontrollably erupting from his mouth, he hurriedly retreated.

This was not the most shocking thing for him.

What shocked him the most was the huge heart in front of him.

Floating above it was a shadowy figure!

With arms spread wide, continually absorbing the blood-red aura emanating from the heart!

And at the moment of his appearance, the figure slowly turned around.

A pair of abyss-black eyes looked down on him, silently observing.

"You shouldn’t be here."

The voice was calm as water, like an emotionless machine.

Even the gaze was incomparably cold.

"Who are you!"

Lin You’s face slightly darkened, questioning loudly.

The aura emanating from the person wasn’t strong, just like him, only Tier Eight.

But appearing in such a place and absorbing the terrifying aura of that heart was extremely bizarre.

Facing his question, the young man with black eyes did not answer.

Instead, he spoke indifferently, "Since you’re here, die."

As the voice fell, the evil aura beside him surged madly, quickly condensing into a large swarm of chaotic beasts of various forms, crashing to the ground.

The number wasn’t large, only five hundred.

But when Lin You saw their information, his heart was greatly shocked.

[Name: Chaos Fiend (Lord)]

[Race: Chaos (Hero)]

[Level: Tier Eight (???)]

[Power: ???]

[Constitution: ???]

[Agility: ???]

[Spirit: ???]

[Skills: ???]

[Dark Incarnation: ???]

[Introduction: A fiend condensed from Chaos Qi, possessing extremely formidable attack capabilities.]

A unit panel with a lord suffix!

Lin You was completely shocked.

He was witnessing such a strange event for the first time.

This panel looked like a unit panel, yet the name was marked with "Lord".

Lord-level units?

Were there even such powerful units in the Ten Thousand Realms!?

But he didn’t have time to think further.

The moment those five hundred chaotic beasts appeared, they roared in unison and suddenly charged at him.

With such speed, they turned into black shadows in the air.

Their aura was comparable to that of Tier Eight Lord Demons, a full five hundred Lord Demons!

In the Ten Thousand Realms, someone possessed such formidable units!

"Cyan Gang!"

Not daring to be careless, he commanded Cyan Gang to unleash Barbaric Roar.

In an instant, all the plant species emitted a red aura, fiercely colliding with the charging chaotic beasts.

"Tear!"

The steel-like claws of the chaotic beasts suddenly slashed down, instantly shredding the Immortal Flower blocking the way into pieces.

Seeing this, Lin You quickly commanded the Ancient Tree Legion led by Cyan Gang to step forward, launching War Trample and Barbaric Charge.

"Boom!"

Several muffled explosions echoed in his ears.

Both the plant units and the chaotic beasts retreated, ending in a stalemate, further alarming Lin You.

Understand this.

His plant units were under the protection of the Symbiotic Moss, strengthened by Barbaric Roar, stronger than typical SSS-level Lord Demons.

Even with the aura reducing 10% of their attributes.

His Dragon Mighty and Dominator’s Certificate similarly reduced the opponents’ attributes by 10%.

Even then, they ended in a stalemate. How powerful were these Lord-level units!?

"To withstand my units, you are quite remarkable."

The voice of the young man with black eyes resounded again.

It sounded extremely indifferent, without a trace of emotion, the gaze calm as stagnant water.

As the words fell, all the chaotic beasts roared in unison, charging again.

Three hundred plant units fighting against five hundred lord units, the disadvantage was immediately apparent.

In a matter of moments, several plant units were torn apart by claws, dying along with their Symbiotic Moss on the spot.

Not to mention those without the Symbiotic Moss’s buff, they were completely no match.

They couldn’t even halt the enemy’s advance!

"Buzz!"

A buzzing sound, the Life Curtain and Guardian Barrier appeared simultaneously, encompassing all the plants.

Relying on the shield’s damage reduction and the Elf Sage’s group healing.

The two sides started exchanging blows wildly over the front line, continuous explosions ringing in his ears.

The Banshee Vine’s tendrils covered the entire battlefield, attacking the chaotic beasts.

Yet even so.

The casualties of Lin You’s plant units were rapidly increasing, losing nearly a third in the blink of an eye.

The attacks of the chaotic beasts seemed to carry a tearing piercing effect, easily shredding through the plant defenses.

Along with their numerical advantage, almost two-on-one, leaving him helplessly beaten back, retreating.

Relying solely on a few members of the Royal Family was futile!

In the Ten Thousand Realms. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

There were beings with such powerful Tier Eight lord status.

He had never even heard about it!

Seeing his dwindling units, Lin You had a fierce look on his face, suddenly looking at the distant heart.

Seizing the few seconds left of Barbaric Roar, with a ruthless determination, he commanded the Big Cannon to aim at the young man and the heart.

"Bang!"

Sparks erupted, a fiery streak tearing through the sky, streaking straight toward the air.

The terrifying power finally altered the expression of the young man with black eyes.

Almost without hesitation, he severed the connection with the heart, falling to the ground.

And that shot, like a star-piercing blow, with a long fiery tail, blasted towards the heart!