Cave Refuge

"But if that monster could be so easily killed, then based on the abilities of those Bat Monsters that first came through the Space Transmission Channel, it should have been possible to kill it without regard for casualties.

Moreover, what's crucial is that as is well-known, capturing alive normally costs much more than killing.

Yet even so, before the monster came to Blue Star, it had been trapped by layers of chains, indicating that the world on the other side had not found a way to kill the monster.

Although that head, which clearly had a will of its own, was unexpectedly sent into the Cave by Dong Tianyu and decomposed, Dong Tianyu still felt that something was amiss.

After all, if the monster could have been so easily killed, the opposition wouldn't go to the trouble of sending the monster to Blue Star.

Despite the initial traversal through the Space Transmission Channel being by those Bat Monsters wielding cold weapons, if you say that was a spur of the moment decision, Dong Tianyu absolutely wouldn't believe it.

Just when Dong Tianyu wondered if he had just been fighting the air here, those people collecting valuable items on the water suddenly felt something wrong with their bodies.

As the discomfiture in their bodies grew, those uncomfortable people suddenly felt a bit thirsty.

At first, some people became a bit thirsty, not just others, but even those individuals didn't pay much mind, as after a fierce battle, drinking water to replenish bodily fluids is quite normal.

However, the more they drank, the thirstier they became, until after they had finished all their carried freshwater, then others realized there was something strange about the people searching everywhere for water to drink.

Honestly, if this was another post-apocalyptic world, freshwater might still be a precious resource, but in their era, due to the presence of Awakeners and Artifact Manipulators, freshwater has become as readily available as tap water used to be.

So under normal conditions, whether it's the Hunting Group or the Pioneering Group, usually, as each team has people with the ability to create water, there basically shouldn't be a shortage of water.

Yet suddenly a lack of water appeared within the group, and it wasn't just one person feeling thirsty and lacking water, this was an abnormal situation.

And this thirst seemed almost contagious, as more and more people staying on the water's surface started feeling unbearable thirst, unable to resist the urge to drink water.

At this moment, none of those who had come here to investigate were incompetent, so upon noticing others around them facing the same situation, they instantly understood something was abnormal.

They endured the urge to jump into the water for a refreshing drink, especially since the water they were currently in had been contaminated by the blood that flowed out after the monster's death.

Not to mention they had already noticed that their current state was similar to pre-Natural Disaster wild insects parasitized by Iron Wireworms. Although their bodies weren't lacking water, under the control of the Iron Wireworms, continuous erroneous hunger and thirst signals were being sent to their brains.

They then endured the desire in their hearts and immediately sat down cross-legged to introspect their internal situation.

Through introspection, they indeed discovered in their bodies the continuous urge making them drink water - the 'chief culprit'.

It turned out many elongated creatures had taken up residence in their esophagus, the creatures outwardly resembling the Iron Wireworms that lived in animals before the Natural Disaster.

Perhaps because their Cultivation Levels as Martial Artists had improved, strengthening their stomach's digestive system, the Iron Wireworms in their bodies had not settled in the stomach but instead resided on the outer side of the esophagus.

Upon seeing the parasites that had merged with their esophagus, everyone's expressions drastically changed.

Despite having confirmed the presence of parasites in their body, so far they had just felt thirsty and had not shown other symptoms, thus they weren't excessively worried about this situation."

After all, at this time, because of the existence of Awakeners and Artifact Manipulators, even if you are missing arms or legs, your body can be fully restored. Thus, once the cause of the condition was confirmed, they no longer worried.

Of course, although they talked a good game, their bodies were honest. Everyone immediately gave up clearing the battlefield and all set sail for home.

Dong Tianyu had also noticed the situation below. If it wasn't for the fact that Dong Tianyu had always maintained a Spiritual Power Shield when venturing out, he might have been infected as well.

Through the exploration with Divine Sense, Dong Tianyu finally discovered why everyone below had parasites in their bodies and when they had come into contact with these parasites.

Dong Tianyu never expected that these parasites originally only lived inside the body of the monster. While residing in the monster, they basically maintained the form of larvae.

When Dong Tianyu used explosives to blow up the monster's head, the parasites, carried by the blood, sprayed directly into the air and water.

The likelihood of finding a suitable host in the air is not high, whereas most of the parasites essentially opted to remain in the water, waiting for a suitable prey to infiltrate and parasitize.

As for transmission through the air, there is no need to mention it, but those survivors actively went into the water earlier to retrieve more benefits.

Although they understood that people like them not only lacked the power but also the courage to venture deep into dangerous areas, so most of them collected resources on the outskirts to earn benefits.

At this time, Monster Blood had become a relatively common resource. Although this resource was very common, the price ceiling and floor were extremely high, requiring professional appraisal to sell at a proper price.

Regardless of whether the selling price of this Monster Blood was high or low, when the monster died, the blood gushing out spread like a flood, directly dispersing throughout this sea area.

The quality of this beast blood may have originally been high, but it definitely declined significantly after being diluted by seawater.

Even if the lowered price was still low, the water around was full of seawater mixed with Monster Blood.

As long as the price of this mixture exceeds the cost of the bottles by twice, they can make a significant profit by selling this mixture. After all, at this time, mixtures containing Monster Blood were ubiquitous.

Normally, although blood dissolves in water, if there is no external disturbance, the speed of natural merging of blood and water is very slow.

The state of Monster Blood scattered into the water is actually the same as ordinary human blood dropped in water; if there is no external force, it will not merge quickly.

Therefore, to maximize the collection of mixtures with a higher content of Monster Blood, many people actively jumped into the water and used containers to collect the Monster Blood that gradually mingled with the water.

After those people jumped into the water, they didn't notice that many black filaments had inexplicably appeared in the water.

Normally, even though those Martial Artists did not make preparations in advance, even if they had heard of such things, once they entered the water, they could not avoid this situation.

Who could have imagined that such a huge monster had such tiny parasites inside its body?

When everyone realized the anomaly in their bodies, the ships lingering nearby immediately embarked on their return journey.

After all the ships in the surrounding waters had left, the blood that had already scattered and blended with the water, like rewinding a tape, all returned to the body of that monster.