Judging by Carl's appearance, it seems he just went through a fierce battle and barely escaped with his life; his aura is very unstable.

The direction in which Carl is fleeing is exactly towards where Herag is located.

Although Herag is not afraid of him now, he doesn't want to appear in this form before other wizards so soon.

Outside the Death Swamp Ruins, he is still just a very weak Gaseous Wizard.

Even the slightest possibility of exposure must not reveal his secret too early.

Therefore, Herag doesn't plan to meet Old Man Carl in this form for now.

If he can't recognize Herag, that's fine, but if he does, he would have to silence him.

But a Crystalization Wizard always has many means, and he's not confident he can completely eliminate Old Man Carl.

Carl's talent spell is very unique; that kind of spatial magic is a bit tricky for Herag to deal with.

In theory, with such a talent spell, Carl should at least have no problem protecting himself.

Yet now he is fleeing in panic, indicating something must have happened.

Herag glanced at the Ghost and said in a deep voice, "A human is coming from over there, go and take care of him."

The Ghost turned to look, but it hadn't sensed the arrival of Old Man Carl yet.

But since Herag said so, he must be right.

The Ghost bowed and said, "Yes, Master."

Rising up, the Ghost floated towards Old Man Carl. Without a physical form, it was entirely a black shadow like ink.

Carl kept running forward while glancing back at his rear.

He was already panting heavily, and his running speed gradually decreased.

Leaning against a tree, Carl gasped for breath, trying to rest there for a moment.

The temperature around him suddenly dropped, and Carl's pupils constricted as he looked up to see the floating Ghost.

"A Ghost!" Carl's mood plunged as if into an icy abyss.

A Ghost is a powerful demon from the Abyss Plane, which he wouldn't necessarily be able to handle even in peak condition, let alone now.

Without any superfluous words, the Ghost directly spread out a large black mist, wanting to envelop Carl.

Carl reacted quickly, Flashing to a position over a dozen meters away, dodging the black mist.

But the Ghost was even faster; its form trembled, spreading the black mist far and wide, covering the sky.

The black mist quickly enveloped Carl entirely; during this process, patches of the black mist bizarrely appeared in the distance.

Carl's talent spell couldn't take care of every part of his body at the same time.

Each time, he could only distort the space around one part of his body, leaving him helpless against this comprehensive, seamless attack.

Carl's magic power was already running low, and his shield shattered after only a short time.

The Ghost's black mist was highly corrosive, capable of corroding even magic power.

Struggling, Carl Flash appeared again over a dozen meters away, but the black mist already adhering to him clung like a bone-biting maggot, corroding his flesh.

Inside Carl's body, his magic power surged wildly, constantly resisting the invasion of the black mist.

"Death Decay (Abyssal Language)." The Ghost uttered a muffled, strange syllable.

The various vegetations on the ground instantly withered, and a layer of frost appeared on the ground.

Carl's body was also covered with a layer of white frost, his features quickly shriveled, as if drained of something.

Carl's hair rapidly withered, becoming as lusterless as straw.

Next, his hair began to fall out, and as the wind blew, large clumps started to flutter away.

Bare patches of scalp were left on Carl's head, looking very unsightly.

Even more terrifying, the flesh on Carl's body began to dry up, resembling withered wood.

His skin quickly shriveled, appearing like old tree bark.

Carl's entire body hunched, curling like a baby.

Not long after, Carl completely stopped breathing.

Death Decay can absorb a creature's life energy; weeds and such plants were instantly drained, turning into dead grass.

If Carl were in peak condition, escaping shouldn't have been a problem.

But he was already injured and utterly powerless to escape.

Once the black mist stuck to him, dealing with and resisting the mist consumed all his energy.

After the Ghost used Death Decay, Carl was even less able to resist, only able to watch his life energy drain away.

At his age, his life energy was already running low, and it was soon completely drained.

After Carl died, the Ghost continued to shroud Carl's body in black mist.

A few minutes later, the black mist dissipated, leaving only a pile of bones on the spot.

After thoroughly dealing with Carl, the Ghost turned back to report.

"Nicely done," Herag praised softly.

The Ghost bowed its head and said, "It's my honor to serve you, Master."

Herag turned and surveyed the surroundings, saying, "Continue to lead the way; let's take a look around."

The opening time for the Death Swamp Ruins is only three days, and Herag doesn't plan to venture to other places.

There are quite a few resources to collect here with the Ghost, and it's safe enough.

This entire area falls under the Ghost's sphere of influence; no stronger demons exist here.

Venturing to other places would not only be risky but also might encounter other wizards.

Anyway, he'll be automatically teleported out when the time comes, so Herag plans to stay here safely.

While Herag collected nearby resources, the Ghost and Human-faced Monkey followed obediently like underlings.

His Space Ring was filled with various magic potion materials and casting materials, making a sizable profit.

By nightfall, Herag stayed under the giant tree of the Ghost.

The branches were lush, serving as a canopy.

Herag lay under the tree, practicing meditation as usual.

The Ghost and Human-faced Monkey played the roles of guards, patrolling and watching over the surroundings.

The moonlight shone down, making the surroundings not appear very dark.

"Do you want to go back?" Herag asked after finishing his meditation.

The Human-faced Monkey couldn't speak or communicate telepathically, merely scratching the back of its head.

The Ghost replied, "Master, I long to return every moment, but the dimensional rift has been sealed."

It was curious about how Herag managed to arrive here, but since Herag didn't mention it, it wouldn't ask.

Matters concerning superiors shouldn't be questioned.

At dawn, about two hours before sunrise.

Deep in the western side of the Black Forest, a red light pillar shot into the sky, illuminating the night.

At this moment, this red light pillar could be seen throughout the Death Swamp Ruins, drawing many gazes.

Herag also opened his eyes, feeling the intense magic power fluctuation.

He looked up to watch the red light pillar and sensed a familiarity about it.

"This is..."

This red light pillar looked remarkably similar to the one Old Man Carl used to seize control of the Witch Array in Black Rock Valley, almost identical.

"The Witch Array of the Death Swamp Ruins... could it be..."

Suddenly, Herag realized what kind of Witch Array could be inside the Death Swamp Ruins, if not the one sealing the dimensional rift.

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