Chapter Forty-Eight: A New Domain

She reached out her hand and gave a gentle squeeze. The monster’s head instantly shattered. Although she was only at Tier 2 right now, it was more than enough to deal with such a mindless creature.

A cat-like mutated beast opened its mouth, lined with sharp fangs, and lunged to take a bite out of Li Luyan's calf.

The next second, Li Luyan raised her foot and ruthlessly stomped down on its head.

Its brain matter, a mixture of black and purple, splattered onto her lower leg.

"Meow-oooh!"

The miserable screech pierced the heavens, drawing even more of the same feline monsters.

The group of cat monsters had eyes flashing with a eerie green light. Their fur was matted and disorderly, the original color long gone, replaced entirely by a sickly cyan-purple.

"Interesting... The news previously said Tian'an City was a cat-loving city..." She chuckled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Instead, it carried a gloomy, chilling aura, like the bottom of a fathomless ocean—cold and impossible to read.

"Looks like it's true..." With so many small-scale monsters, using a utility knife and supernatural abilities was completely pointless. Fighting them this way would only drain her powers, and besides...

She glanced at Lin Youwei, whose entire body was wrapped in the power of moonlight, struggling to deal with the cat monsters. The power of the moon was practically useless during the day.

The little bastard jumped down from the vehicle, biting the necks of the cats one by one. Blackish-purple blood sprayed out, splashing onto its yellow fur.

Ah, ah... The Creator must definitely not die, or else the Lord would not forgive it.

Li Luyan shook her head in disgust. She would have to give this dog a bath later; it looked far too disgusting, as if it had rolled around in a mud puddle.

After reaching out to crush another vicious cat that tried to ambush her from a distance, Li Luyan stretched out her arms wide, her facial features twisting. The cats suddenly acted as if they were being controlled by an invisible force, inexplicably crowding together.

They struggled and bit each other, but it was all in vain. An invisible giant hand gathered them into a single clump, a sight that would make anyone gasp in horror from afar.

It looked like a turbid, muddy pit with something churning inside. The air was filled with piercing cries of "Mee-ah!" and "Meow-oooh!", but these were no longer normal cats—they had lost their minds and become entirely mutated.

The next second, Li Luyan retrieved a bottle of rubbing alcohol from her spatial storage and tossed it straight into the cluster of cats. The creatures bit the bottle open, spilling the alcohol everywhere.

She took out a lighter, ignited it, and threw it directly into the feline mass.

"Whoosh—!"

A ball of fire instantly surged upward. A smell of burning flesh filled the air, accompanied by the agonizing shrieks of the cats as the inferno grew increasingly fierce.

However, strangely enough, the drifting smoke was purple—not the pleasant purple of an evening sunset.

This purple was so deep it was almost black, looking ominously like toxic waste.

No, it was indeed toxic.

"What is going on? Why is my head inexplicably feeling a bit dizzy?" Lin Youwei pressed her fair, delicate hand against her head, staggering a couple of steps before pinching her own thigh to forcefully clear her mind.

"Not good. Everyone, get into the residential building first. This purple smoke is poisonous."

Li Luyan waved her hand, directing everyone to rush into the building.

A cat, not yet fully dead and engulfed in flames, lunged toward Yu Yue from behind.

At this critical juncture, before Yu Yue could even release her supernatural ability, Li Luyan grabbed her hand and yanked her into the building.

In the dark hallway, Yu Yue unconsciously clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Why? Why save her? Had she not always treated them with indifference, never truly viewing them as friends or family?

Li Luyan frowned as she looked at Yu Yue. "Be careful. Don't go dying on me." Despite her cold exterior, the trace of panic flashing deep within her eyes was impossible to hide.

"Wait, why do I feel like this... The hallway is pitch black and eerie. It's so scary." The little bastard nestled into Zhao Meina's arms, its little puppy head darting around anxiously.

"Quickly check if there are any hidden monsters lurking in the hallway."

"I-I don't seem to be able to scan them," the little bastard said, guiltily burying its head even deeper into Zhao Meina's embrace.

"Didn't you claim to have eyes of truth?" Yu Yue sneered, casting a sideways glance at the creature.

The little bastard extended its dog head back out and sophistically argued with Yu Yue, "That only works when looking at divine beings... Wait..."

Its nose twitched a couple of times. It immediately jumped down from Zhao Meina and began sniffing around Yu Yue. "There's a very familiar scent on you... Let me think whose it could be..."

Yu Yue's expression shifted. She grabbed it, scooped it up into her arms, and clamped a hand over its muzzle. "It's probably just from being smoked by that poisonous smoke earlier. Don't act like everyone is an old acquaintance."

"Plenty of people try to act familiar with me, but do you, a mere dog, deserve to?" With that, she tossed the little bastard right back into Zhao Meina's arms.

"Maybe that's it..." Then, as if remembering something, the creature looked at Yu Yue in shock. "Country bumpkin! You're actually willing to speak now? Though your attitude is still as abrasive as ever."

"Get lost."

"Alright, alright, I won't call you a country bumpkin anymore. Next time, save some food for me—you always save the most, hehe."

Li Luyan's expression grew solemn. She had just cast her mental web across the entire building, but the entire network felt as though it were veiled by an invisible layer of fog. It seemed there was a formidable entity residing within this structure.

She raised her hand to signal everyone to halt. "Get out, quickly! My mental web couldn't detect any monsters at all. There's a big boss in this building."

"Its tier is not low."

Everyone's expressions changed drastically. Understanding the implication immediately, they turned on their heels and bolted back the way they came.

Then, in the next second, the world spun violently.

Li Luyan opened her eyes to find herself trapped inside a room. Another domain?

She hadn't expected an ordinary-looking building like this to conceal a domain monster above Tier 3.

Everyone had been brought here, with the exception of Liu Qingye and the little bastard. That made sense; Liu Qingye’s true nature was a mystery, while the little bastard was a creation of the gods—it wouldn't be affected by a monster's domain or consume its own kind.

Among the group, Zhao Meina's condition was clearly the worst.

"Elder sister, my head is spinning so much, as if I've been twirling in circles ten times over."

Hearing this, Lin Youwei extended her hand, and a faint, delicate white light flowed like a gentle spring slowly into Zhao Meina's mind.

"How miraculous! Sister, I feel much better." Zhao Meina felt a profound sense of comfort, as if her entire body was soaking in warm water, inducing a blissful, floating sensation.

"Mm." Lin Youwei severed the thread of light, letting the final wisps dissolve into Zhao Meina's consciousness.

The entire room was barren, unlike the little bastard's domain which at least featured a stool representing its core body. This room was completely empty, lacking even a window.

"It's like a coffin," Li Luyan muttered, walking a full circle along the walls, but aside from getting a handful of dust, she found nothing else.

She furrowed her brow. "What on earth is the purpose of this domain? There isn't even a physical body for the monster."

"You guys need to come look at this." It was Zhao Meina's voice. Li Luyan quickly walked over and saw that Zhao Meina was holding a piece of paper.

Zhao Meina handed the paper over. "Sister, take a look. I just picked this up in the corner over there."

Li Luyan glanced toward the spot Zhao Meina pointed at, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. She had clearly walked past that exact spot moments ago, yet she hadn't seen any paper.

Clearly, this note had been placed there just now.

However, that wasn't what mattered. Since the person who left it clearly wished to remain unseen, they wouldn't show themselves. The crucial thing now was the content written on the paper.

She unfolded the note, and it read: