Duan Xianxing crouched down and used the tip of his sword to gently flip open the corpse's collar. It was a middle-aged man dressed as a rogue cultivator, with a thumb-sized blood hole in the center of his back. The edges of the wound were tinged with an eerie greenish-black hue.
"Killed in one strike," Liu Qingyang said in a low voice. "It looks like some kind of long, thin, sharp weapon."
Duan Xianxing stared at the wound for a long while before suddenly shivering. "Do you guys feel like... this wound looks like it was 'sucked' out by something?"
Before his voice could fade, a faint rustling sound came from deep within the tunnel, like the sound of countless tiny feet rubbing against the stone walls.
Zhu Yinxi raised his hand to set up a soundproofing array. "Don't make a sound."
In the darkness, several spots of ghostly green light lit up before quickly disappearing.
Under the light of the night-luminescent pearl in Li Nanzhu's hand, a fleeting shadow was reflected on the stone wall—it was a centipede as long as an adult's arm. Its carapace shimmered with a metallic cold light, and as its hundred legs scraped across the stone, tiny sparks actually flew.
The shadow vanished quickly, and Zhu Yinxi frowned, observing the corpse once more. His pupils suddenly constricted.
"Back away!"
Just as he spoke, the edges of the greenish-black blood hole began to swell, and the corpse itself started to twitch violently.
In the next instant, the corpse's abdominal cavity burst open. Dozens of black lines shot out. Liu Qingyang’s reaction was half a beat too slow; as he retreated, three small holes were pierced through his left sleeve—the fabric instantly corroded into a grayish-green ash.
"My magic robes!" Before Liu Qingyang could even feel the sting of the loss, Duan Xianxing charged forward first. Blue-purple lightning exploded from his sword blade, causing the black lines to spasm and twist in the electric light, yet three still managed to penetrate the thunder net, aiming straight for his throat.
Clang!
A clear, resonant flute note rippled out, the sound waves condensing into pale blue water-like ripples in the air.
Those three black lines slammed into the sonic barrier and instantly felt as if they had fallen into a quagmire. The damp water-qi slowed the movements of the centipede larvae by thirty percent.
Duan Xianxing took the opportunity to strike, severing the black lines into two segments. However, the severed black lines actually wriggled in mid-air, regenerating.
More larvae crawled out from the corpse's seven orifices, pouncing toward the group like a mass of writhing black hair.
"Leave it to me!" Liu Qingyang threw out three crimson iron pellets, which exploded into a fire net upon impact. Simultaneously, Li Nanzhu tossed out five explosion talismans. The talisman papers ignited the moment they touched the larvae, and the combined force of the fire net and the explosions burned the larvae into flying ash.
Seeing that no more insect eggs appeared, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"What the hell is this? So disgusting!!" Duan Xianxing rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. These larvae weren't powerful, but they were pure nightmare fuel.
"Forget what they are. There was a big guy behind us just now, and it's likely it heard the noise and is coming back. Let's move!" Li Nanzhu scooped up Suisui. Fortunately, Suisui was just a pile of bones; the larvae were clearly uninterested in bone, which allowed it to escape unscathed.
However, before they had gone more than two steps, Zhu Yinxi stopped again, his expression grim.
"What is it, Second Senior Brother?" Duan Xianxing poked his head out to look, and his face instantly twisted as well.
Under the light of the night-luminescent pearl, the situation in the tunnel ahead was laid bare. The cracks in the rock walls were filled with pearlescent egg sacs. Some were already translucent, and the writhing black shadows inside were clearly visible.
"Gag..." Liu Qingyang suddenly dry-heaved. "Look at that..."
Several cultivators' corpses were wedged in the stone crevices, their chest cavities split open like blooming flowers, stuffed full of swollen egg sacs. Some of the eggs were currently hatching, with dozens of larvae crawling out of the deceased's eye sockets.
Li Nanzhu's mouth twitched. She felt alright, but her Second Senior Brother... if she remembered correctly, he was a neat freak. Seeing these things and then imagining the egg sacs exploding... hiss!
It was no wonder his expression was so terrible. It was a miracle he hadn't lost his temper yet.
"Squeak squeak!"
Because Li Nanzhu was close to the wall, Suisui curiously reached out a claw, attempting to touch the pearlescent thing on the wall.
"Suisui, don't touch it!" By the time Li Nanzhu realized, it was too late. It was an egg sac swollen to its limit, the outline of the black shadow inside already distinct. Under Suisui's touch, the egg sac split open with a pop.
Dozens of larvae shot out, only to be burned to cinders by the explosive flame sand Liu Qingyang threw just in time.
"This isn't right..." Zhu Yinxi used spiritual energy to lift an insect egg. "I've never seen any ordinary larva with this kind of terrifying jumping ability right after hatching."
"Then what do we do now..." Liu Qingyang's face was solemn. "There are insect eggs everywhere ahead. If we advance recklessly..."
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
Before he could finish, the moss on the rock walls moved without any wind. The group was startled and whipped around.
They saw that the tunnel they had just come through was now blocked by something.
When an iron-wire centipede poked its head out from the shadows, Duan Xianxing nearly dropped his sword.
The thing's legs alone were as long as an adult's arm. Its carapace shimmered with the cold light of coffin nails. As its mouthparts opened and closed, three hollow bone spikes dripped with viscous black liquid, which hissed and produced wisps of green smoke as it corroded the stone floor. Most terrifying of all were the crystalline protrusions on its back—clearly an unformed second pair of compound eyes.
"Iron-wire centipede," Li Nanzhu took a deep breath. "They live in swarms, are bloodthirsty, and their shells can reflect low-tier spells."
The four people and the insect remained in a stalemate. Zhu Yinxi's voice suddenly echoed in their minds: "Slowly back away. This insect has tier 3 strength; we can't face it head-on."
The group slowly retreated, but behind them were dense clusters of insect eggs. Li Nanzhu’s breathing gradually quickened.
The rustling in the distance suddenly grew more intense, and more and more ghostly green points of light lit up in the darkness.
"Run!"
The four of them could no longer care about anything else and bolted toward the other end of the tunnel. Behind them came the clicking sound of clashing carapaces.
The rock walls shook violently as countless iron-wire centipedes surged out from the crevices, each carrying a fist-sized egg sac on its back.
The egg sacs burst one after another, and the sky filled with black lines like a torrential downpour.
Duan Xianxing's lightning struck the centipedes' backs, but strange patterns emerged on the carapaces, reflecting all the electricity. More adults surged out from the shadows, sparks flying as their back plates collided.
"Left!" Liu Qingyang had just shouted when he saw a black tide seeping from the left rock wall—it was a living wall made of countless larvae.
They devoured and merged with each other, instantly forming a giant web that covered the tunnel.
Li Nanzhu's explosion talismans erupted into a sea of fire on the insect web, but the charred remains of the larvae regenerated rapidly. Three bone spikes poked out from the gap, each entwined with a foul-smelling mist. They surged forward, tangled together like a pitch-black tide.
"What the hell! Weren't they afraid of fire just now!" Duan Xianxing shouted, his voice trembling slightly. It wasn't that he was cowardly; he just found these things truly revolting!
Zhu Yinxi also turned and unleashed another sound wave, but the sound wave was actually reflected upon impact, gouging deep marks into the rock walls.
"Run to the right!" Li Nanzhu tossed out four acceleration talismans. She felt the sound of wind in the right-hand tunnel—it was a way out!
Wind gathered beneath their feet, but the rustling behind them grew closer and closer.
Duan Xianxing suddenly turned and formed a hand seal, his thunder spiritual root exploding with full force: "Startling Thunder!"
Three bolts of lightning crashed down from the tunnel ceiling, and the front row of centipedes stiffened in the lightning.
Liu Qingyang took the chance to smash a jade bottle at his waist. Explosive flame sand refined by a refinery master scattered everywhere, and Li Nanzhu’s explosion talismans added fuel to the fire. The shockwave from the explosion temporarily blocked the insect tide.
Zhu Yinxi's flute also suddenly blared. The spiritual energy sound waves fanned out, flipping over the front row of adults and exposing the vulnerable segments of their underbellies. Duan Xianxing seized the opportunity again, thrusting his sword into the softest part of a centipede's belly. Blue-green fluid sprayed all over his face.
"Gag—" Duan Xianxing wiped his face frantically. "This smell is even more pungent than Brother Liu's socks that haven't been washed in three months!"
Liu Qingyang was busy burning another wave of larvae with explosive flame sand. Hearing this, he was furious. "Bullshit! I change my socks every day! And how would you know what my three-month-unwashed socks smell like! Ah!" Liu Qingyang suddenly let out a scream.
Three adults had somehow circled around to the flank, and the bone spike of one had already grazed his back.
Li Nanzhu quickly cast one fire lotus attack after another. Fortunately, Liu Qingyang also activated his protective magic tool in time, and together with Li Nanzhu, they knocked it back.
Zhu Yinxi hit three high notes in succession again, the sound waves condensing into substantial pale blue ripples in the air.
This time, even the rock walls resonated. Dozens of egg sacs popped and exploded, but even more black-line larvae splashed out.
"Don't use sound waves to vibrate the eggs!" Duan Xianxing roared as he retreated. "The more you damn well vibrate them, the more come out!"
They stumbled around the next corner, only for iron-wire centipedes to appear in front of them again.
Six iron-wire centipedes were currently feasting on the corpse of some unlucky cultivator, their shells covered in shredded meat and brains. Hearing the commotion, they all looked up, their mouthparts opening to reveal the spirally arranged barbs inside.
"What bad luck! Ahhh!"
"Run! What are you standing there for!" Liu Qingyang kicked away a pouncing larva and grabbed Duan Xianxing, following the other two as they sprinted in another direction.
Lightning danced wildly on Duan Xianxing's sword. "I'd rather be struck by lightning ten times than touch these disgusting things!"
Just as he turned his head, his body suddenly collided with something soft. Duan Xianxing turned back and came face-to-face with a bloated human face.
It was a corpse hanging from fungal filaments, its chest cavity stuffed with pearlescent eggs. As he touched it, several half-hatched larvae crawled out of its nostrils.
"Holy shit!! Ahhh!" He slapped the corpse away with the flat of his sword. "I'm going to have nightmares! Ahhh!!!"
"Is this cave dwelling a bug's nest? One nest after another!" Although Liu Qingyang found it somewhat comical, he really couldn't bring himself to laugh in this situation. This tunnel was simply too long; there was no telling how much longer they would have to run.
Zhu Yinxi suddenly grabbed everyone. "Wait! Look ahead!"
On the ground of the tunnel not far away, some glowing blue powder was scattered, shimmering like stars in the darkness.
And the centipedes also seemed to be deliberately avoiding that area.
As they got closer, the group realized it was fluorescent fungi growing on the rock walls, with spores drifting in the air, forming a hazy mist of light.
"Wait!" Li Nanzhu suddenly skidded to a halt. "These spores..."
"Who cares!" Duan Xianxing grabbed her and charged forward. "It's better than being eaten by centipedes!"
The four of them rushed into the fluorescent spore zone, and the insect swarm behind them suddenly stopped at the edge.
The first few adults tapped the ground restlessly with their bone spikes, but they wouldn't take a single step into the mist.
"They... don't dare come in?" Liu Qingyang gasped for breath, looking back in disbelief.
Zhu Yinxi observed the spores cautiously. "These are moon-fluorescence fungi; they have a paralyzing effect on insects."
Duan Xianxing plopped down on the ground. "Finally, a chance to breathe..."
Li Nanzhu, however, furrowed her brows. "Wait, do you guys feel like... breathing is a bit difficult?"
Everyone then realized that after inhaling the spores, there was indeed a slight sensation of numbness in their chests.
Zhu Yinxi immediately performed a hand seal, and a clearing wind talisman circled the four of them, blowing the surrounding spores away.
"Don't inhale them directly," he warned. "A small amount is fine, but too much will paralyze the whole body."
Liu Qingyang looked around. "This place is actually quite beautiful..."
In the ghostly blue fluorescence, the entire tunnel looked like a dreamscape. The rock walls were covered in glowing fungal filaments, and translucent fungal umbrellas hung from the ceiling. The blue light they emitted cast eerie shadows on everyone's faces.
Filamentous spore sacs hung beneath the fungal umbrellas, vibrating slightly with the rhythm of their breathing, looking like countless peering eyes.
"It's beautiful alright," Duan Xianxing rubbed his arms, "but it's giving me the creeps..."
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