He hadn't expected Luo Feng and the others to be capable of killing this Black Monster.
As a level 4 Bounty Hunter, even he stood no chance against such a creature.
Let alone some young man before him.
All he hoped was that these people could hold off the Black Monster long enough to escape Mist Island safely.
The creatures of Mist Island couldn't leave its shores.
His words had barely faded when an astonishing scene unfolded.
Flames suddenly erupted from a man not far away, engulfing him completely like a being of fire.
Not only that, but a Flame Lotus rapidly formed in the man's hands.
The next moment, this Flame Lotus came flying toward him with incredible speed, passing by his side and continuing toward whatever lay behind him.
A tremendous explosion sounded.
The Flame Lotus had struck the Black Monster.
"AAAAHHH—"
An agonized shriek came from behind him.
Before he could process what was happening,
The flaming figure suddenly manifested a massive axe wreathed in fire.
In an instant, the burning warrior flashed past him, their brief contact lasting less than a second—yet the intense heat left him drenched in sweat.
Then came an earth-shaking impact.
He didn't need to turn around to know the Flame Axe had struck the ground.
A scorching wave of heat washed over his back.
Now he stopped fleeing and turned to look.
What he saw next nearly stopped his heart.
Behind him stretched an ocean of fire, as if he stood at the edge of an inferno.
The Black Monster had completely vanished, leaving only a solitary figure standing amid the flames.
The sight struck him with overwhelming force.
For a moment, he stood paralyzed, uncertain what to do next.
Luo Feng smiled as he examined the black crystal before him—another variety of Mist Crystal, a Black Mist Crystal.
When he'd approached the Black Monster earlier, he'd already scanned its attributes:
[Black Ghoul]
Level: 4, Excellent Grade
Description: Special creatures inhabiting the Black Mist of Mist Island. Exceptionally violent, bloodthirsty, and greedy, they've grown dissatisfied with merely consuming mist and animals—even other Colored Ghouls have become prey. Through mass consumption, they can rapidly increase their power in short periods.
Origin: Any creature that dies within Black Mist undergoes mysterious transformations.
Reading this, Luo Feng couldn't help but inhale sharply—the idea that Black Ghouls cannibalized their own kind was genuinely unsettling.
Fortunately, all Ghouls—regardless of color—feared fire, especially Luo Feng's unique flames.
A single Heavenly Flame Lotus had nearly blown the Black Ghoul apart.
Combined with Luo Feng's Heaven Splitting Axe, even a level 4 Black Ghoul stood no chance.
It could only meet its bitter end.
Luo Feng no longer hesitated at this moment. He extended his right hand and took hold of the Level 4 Mist Crystal.
"Obtained Level 4 Black Mist Crystal: +1"
Thousandfold Reward:
"Obtained Level 4 Black Mist Crystal: +1000"
Hearing the system's prompt, a delighted smile spread across Luo Feng's face. His next upgrade was now guaranteed.
This was a Level 4 Mist Crystal—its effects were undoubtedly far superior to those of a Level 3 crystal, as evidenced by the strength of these Colored Ghouls in life.
Black Ghouls treated White Ghosts as food.
Luo Feng didn't dare consume the Level 4 Black Mist Crystal in his hand directly. The side effects it could bring were severe. An ordinary person might lose their sanity almost immediately after ingestion, and it wasn't impossible for them to eventually turn into a Black Ghoul.
Luo Feng wasn't about to gamble with his life. It wouldn't hurt to let the Mystic Seed Water soak it for a while before consumption.
After tidying everything up, Luo Feng turned his attention to the person not far away. There was a reason he had saved this individual—he wanted to understand what had happened here.
Logically, Black Ghouls should remain within the Black Mist zones. Why had they ventured into the White Mist area?
With this in mind, Luo Feng asked, "What happened to you? Why were you being chased by Black Ghouls? Did you enter the Black Mist zone?"
Hearing Luo Feng's words, Hu Zhou finally snapped out of his daze—he'd been stunned by Luo Feng's earlier actions.
He quickly replied, "Thank you for saving my life. I'm Hu Zhou, a Four-Star Bounty Hunter from Mist City. This time, I brought five subordinates to gather resources on Mist Island. We knew the depths of the island were dangerous, so we didn't venture too far in. With our strength, we shouldn't have faced any major threats in the White Mist zone."
"Who could have predicted this unexpected situation? Black Monsters actually emerged from the White Mist zone. We'd only heard rumors about such creatures. The deeper regions of Mist Island have Mists of other colors, and each colored Mist zone has its own inhabitants. When we encountered these four Black Monsters, they immediately attacked us."
"There were six of us—one Level 4 and five Level 3. At first, we managed to hold our ground for a while. But after our first casualty, the Black Monsters quickly devoured my comrades' bodies. Their strength grew rapidly. In the end, I was the only one who escaped from our group of six. If you hadn't intervened, I probably wouldn't have made it to the island's edge before dying here."
After hearing Hu Zhou's account, Luo Feng fell into deep thought, his expression shifting. From Hu Zhou's description, even he didn't know why the Black Ghouls had appeared. Had some change occurred in the depths of Mist Island? It seemed necessary to investigate further.
He could only hope this wasn't related to the Soul-Bewitching Fruit.
At that moment, Luo Feng suddenly thought of something else and asked with some confusion, "I just noticed there was a blood-stained tiger near the Black Ghoul. What was that about? Is it your pet?"
Hearing Luo Feng mention the tiger, Hu Zhou's expression changed slightly as he smiled bitterly, "I don't know what's going on with that tiger either. At the time, we were fighting the Black Monster when suddenly..."