Lin Ye used a protection rune to set up a spiritual energy shield behind Yiven.

The monsters that had been forcibly separated from the metal crosses gave Lin Ye a very bad feeling; he really didn't want to come into contact with them.

Moreover, Yiven was, after all, a high-level spiritual energy user. The fact that even she was being chased so frantically clearly indicated that these monsters were not easy to deal with.

"Shop Owner, we should run. These monsters contain chaotic rule power. Coming into contact with them or attacking them will be affected."

Yiven struggled to swim to Lin Ye's side. Her condition was poor; it seemed she could be submerged by the bloody water at any moment.

Just as she said, the spiritual energy shield completely collapsed the moment those monsters merely got close to it.

Lin Ye tried to manipulate spiritual energy to pull Yiven out of the bloody water, but he found that Yiven's body seemed to have become part of the Sea of Blood and couldn't be separated from it.

"It's useless. I can't get out at all right now. Shop Owner, how are you managing to float in the air?"

Yiven asked, somewhat puzzled.

"...I didn't even notice until you mentioned it. This should be related to something inside my body."

This Sea of Blood seemed to actively capture creatures that approached it. Lin Ye had God's Blood and the Flesh and Blood Rule Fragment within his body, plus he was wearing the Disaster Hazmat Suit, which was why he could be immune to this effect.

Lin Ye took out the Dragon Fishing Rod, used the fishing line to tie up Yiven, and then quickly retreated into the distance. Only after shaking off those monsters did he stop.

"Cough, cough... Shop Owner, you should just leave me here. Moving through the bloody water alters my body's structure. If I'm dragged any longer, I might be transformed into something strange."

Yiven floated painfully in the bloody water, like an animal about to drown.

"If you don't mind, I can help you deal with the problem inside your body."

Lin Ye thought of the incomplete mutation diagram he had obtained earlier. The knowledge on it was likely related to the bodily alienation caused by this Sea of Blood.

"I don't mind. Being able to survive is already good enough."

Yiven seemed to relax a little.

Lin Ye began to examine the situation inside Yiven's body. A large number of bizarre mutation structures had already appeared inside her. These mutation structures were transforming her body, trying to turn her into some kind of pre-programmed 'thing'.

"Fortunately, it's not serious yet."

Lin Ye attempted to mutate the mutation structures inside Yiven, but these structures were extremely stubborn. After being affected by the mutation rune, they would continuously transform between three different structures.

And as long as Yiven moved within the Sea of Blood, these mutation structures would transform other normal structures within her body into these three types of mutation structures.

Lin Ye tried to stop this transformation, but he failed.

This was some kind of mature mutation system that had been tested over time, not something that could be cracked in a short period. Even Lin Ye couldn't do it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

But Lin Ye could forcibly handle this situation.

Those mutation structures rapidly burned away inside Yiven's body. Lin Ye then used the surrounding bloody water as material to repair Yiven's body. Soon, Yiven returned to a normal state.

"That'll do. As long as we deal with it periodically from now on, there won't be any problems."

Lin Ye continued to drag Yiven forward with the Dragon Fishing Rod. He wanted to be the first to reach the highest point of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range. He had wasted some time just now; it was time to speed up.

"Thank you, but wait! I can swim forward myself!"

Yiven protested loudly.

"That's too slow, and it's not easy to avoid those monsters. Besides, this makes it easier for me to handle the problems inside your body."

Lin Ye began to accelerate. The surrounding blood gradually exerted a kind of gravitational pull on him, like some monster trying to swallow him whole.

But this couldn't stop Lin Ye's advance. Stability is the opposite of falling. Through the Falling Rule Fragment, he had gained some understanding of maintaining stability.

It took some time for Lin Ye to finally drag Yiven to the edge of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range. Detouring around those monsters had caused him to waste a lot of time.

"Finally up here."

Yiven lay sprawled on the ground composed of red flesh chunks, relaxing her body.

The Sea of Blood was part of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range, so Yiven could leave the Sea of Blood and move within the mountain range.

"This place might be even more dangerous than inside the bloody water. You'd better not relax too much."

Lin Ye also landed on the ground. Like those metal crosses, as the altitude increased in this area, spiritual energy and mental energy would be suppressed.

"Don't worry. I'm just not good at dealing with things related to rules. In other aspects, I'm still very reliable."

Yiven revealed a very sunny smile, speaking with great optimism.

"...Then do your best."

Lin Ye couldn't be that optimistic. Holding the Cross Scepter like a walking stick, he began to climb the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range.

The surface of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range didn't have paths in the conventional sense, but there were many giant flesh-and-blood structures on it. Using these structures, they could successfully ascend to higher places.

But Lin Ye had only walked a short distance before he stopped. He looked at the peak of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range and silently took a step back.

"What's wrong?"

Yiven asked, confused.

"Do I look like an idiot?"

Lin Ye asked with a perfectly calm expression.

"No, you're much smarter than me."

Yiven said with a smile.

"Then please put a little more effort into setting traps. This place is laughably safe."

Lin Ye took another step back. He had already sensed something abnormal when he received that information.

When encountering a certain situation, Lin Ye generally considered its cause and process. If he could gain some benefit from it, he would also consider whether that benefit had any problems.

Just like when he received that information earlier, Lin Ye was thinking about why there would be a situation requiring the collection of the mutation diagram. If some entity was guiding this matter, who was it, and what was its purpose?

After that, it became quite obvious. The entity capable of guiding this could only be the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range itself. The purpose was basically only one possibility: to lift the sealed state of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range's main body.

Therefore, during the process of collecting the mutation diagram, some situation would definitely occur that would lead to the unsealing of the Flesh-and-Blood Mountain Range.

Faced with such a situation, Lin Ye certainly couldn't stay on top of the giant Metal Cross Structure, because he couldn't determine the difficulty of unsealing the mountain range.

If only he could unseal it, then it wouldn't be a problem. But if just anyone could unseal it, or if there were others who could, like those cross followers, then it would be very troublesome.

At that time, Lin Ye might be killed here by the very items he used.

So he wouldn't just sit and wait.

"You figured it out a long time ago?"

Yiven tilted her head, an innocent and adorable smile appearing on her face.