“Yanluo, be careful,” Zu An said, gently touching the beauty behind him. At the same time, he maintained the utmost vigilance.
Yu Yanluo replied, “We have to be especially careful of the ground, walls, and the like.”
They had learned that from the experiences Yu Bin left behind with his blood as the price.
As she spoke, Yu Yanluo took out the World Painting to protect them. At the same time, she drew some diagrams on the ground. That way, if some creature actually tunneled through the ground, it might be slowed down for a moment, at least buying them some time.
Zu An thought to himself that he and Yu Yanluo didn’t specialize in spiritual attacks, so they were less likely to be countered as badly by the monster as the others.
…
Meanwhile, the fiend race group was absolutely horrified. They had already gone through this once, so the fear they felt was magnified.
They were all thinking the same thing: It’s fine if one of the others die, as long as I survive. They each hoped that it would go after one of their companions so they could take the chance to run. Either way, they all knew the way out now. They would never come back to this blasted place again.
Still, they all looked worried. The spiritual attacks they were most proficient in were ineffective against the monster. They weren’t sure if their abilities would be enough to help them survive its attack.
The dark elf would normally have been much better off, as he excelled at physical attacks and his movement technique was fast and tricky, making him much safer than the others. But because he had been wounded by Zu An, he was now in the greatest danger instead. He gave Zu An a resentful look. If he had a chance, he would definitely personally send Zu An into the monster’s mouth.
Suddenly, the sound of a rattle echoed through the cave. The others all thought, Venom Child, are you an idiot? Are you worried that the monster doesn’t know where you are and want to help it out?
They all looked toward him. However, Venom Child rushed forth like a streak of lightning. As he passed by Zu An and Yu Yanluo, he waved his hand. The rattle flew over to the two of them and continued to shake, releasing an ear-splitting noise.
Zu An instantly realized what Venom Child was trying to do. He was deliberately leading the trouble over to the two of them, to have that monster attack him and Yu Yanluo. Meanwhile, he would take the chance to run. It was obvious that he still had a grudge against the two of them from what had happened last time. Even now, he remembered to take his revenge.
Zu An was speechless. This fella really is going all out here! That rattle was Venom Child’s magic weapon, something he had refined personally for who knew how many years; and yet now, he was just abandoning it.
Zu An and Yu Yanluo were shocked and furious. They wanted to destroy the rattle to silence it, but the rattle flew in a strange pattern. Venom Child was definitely still controlling it from the shadows. The two of them couldn't even spare the effort to curse him at that point; as such, they endured the annoying rattling while being on guard against a possible attack.
The dark elf’s eyes flickered. A malicious smile appeared at the corners of his lips; he clearly also harbored bad intentions.
Paper Bride gave the two of them a sympathetic look. But with how things were, her own safety was the most important.
Kong Qing looked hesitant. This man was the one the clan lord cared about. Should he save them if they were endangered?
At that instant, Venom Child appeared near the entrance. He made a ‘bye-bye’ gesture toward Zu An, and was about to turn around and continue flying. Suddenly, however, the wall next to him closed in on itself, swallowing him up completely.
It happened so quickly that even with Zu An’s cultivation, he couldn't see what exactly had happened.
Two sharp, sickle-like teeth emerged from the walls. They instantly enveloped Venom Child, clamping down on him. But what kind of vicious beast had such long canines, and ones that grew at such a wide angle?
Venom Child screamed miserably and struggled frantically. Still, he was a well-known criminal with decent cultivation. He grabbed the wall surface, trying to pull himself free. Unfortunately, he had already been seriously injured in that instant. His vitals were being squeezed from both sides, so he couldn't even gather any strength. He remained stuck in the wall no matter how he struggled.
He coughed out a mouthful of black blood. His internal organs were clearly seriously injured. However, with a wave of his hand, a large cloud of glistening blue powder flew toward the wall.
Venom Child was known for his poisons, so he definitely had some extremely formidable ones in his arsenal. Yu Yanluo had personally experienced that before. He was in a desperate situation, so there was no reason for him to hold back. As such, he used his most dangerous poison.
Unfortunately, when the toxins entered the wall, they seemed to vanish into nothing. The monster inside didn’t seem to be affected at all.
Instead, Venom Child’s arms grew more and more powerless. His bloody coughs had even begun to include pieces of his internal organs. He reached out his hand toward Kong Qing and the others in despair, his voice growing weaker and weaker as he begged, “Save…Save me…”
The others gulped, but no one did a thing. They had only been together because their interests aligned to begin with. In such a situation, why would they put themselves in danger for another?
Zu An and Yu Yanluo were even more indifferent. This fellow had gotten what he deserved.
Venom Child’s expression grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, the creature inside tugged backward, and his body disappeared into the wall.
Zu An asked the others with ki, “Did you all see what that thing looked like?”
“No. I only saw two large clamp-like things.” Paper Bride replied.
The dark elf gripped his sword even more tightly. He had initially wanted to seize the opportunity to leave while Venom Child was trapped, but the path was too narrow. He had been worried that he might alert the monster and that he would be attacked instead. It was necessary to go through the opening to leave this place, so he felt conflicted.
Kong Qing exclaimed in confusion, “Hm? That terrifying pressure seems to be gone now.”
Zu An was about to ask something when he was alerted by something. He grabbed Yu Yanluo and leaped aside.
A massive, sinister mouth ferociously closed over the spot where they had just been. The two sharp teeth flickered like a pair of shears. Yu Yanluo’s defensive preparations had been instantly crushed.
The monster clearly realized that the attack it thought would definitely succeed had failed. It moved forward slightly, then shot at the two of them like a bolt of lightning.
When he saw the monster attack Zu An, the dark elf wasn’t alarmed; instead, he was happy. He quickly rushed toward the direction Venom Child had escaped in. He wanted to take the chance to get out of here.
Zu An didn’t have time to pay attention to the other group at all. However, he finally saw what the monster looked like after it lunged at him.
It was like a giant centipede, its entire body flickering with a metallic luster. It was hard to tell where its brain was. It had two pincer-like teeth in front of its jaws, and its mouth was wide open, revealing countless rows of saw-like teeth inside. It looked like a bobbit worm from Zu An’s previous world, but it was countless times larger.
Being bitten by that kind of mouth might really be a new kind of suffering… Zu An even began thinking about how much pain Venom Child must have been in when he was bitten.
A blast of black fog flooded out of the strange bug’s mouth. It clearly wanted to use the fog to poison the two of them.
Yu Yanluo opened up the World Painting and sucked all of the black fog inside. She had initially planned to try to capture the bug, but it wasn’t affected at all. She couldn't suck it in.
Her eyes shone as she began to use the Medusa’s Eye. After the short period of rest she’d had and the medicines she had taken, she had recovered a bit of ki. That at least allowed her to muster a bit of strength.
The strange bug’s body rapidly stiffened when it was caught in her gaze, but it wasn’t petrified and quickly recovered.
However, that moment was already enough. Zu An’s longsword left its scabbard as he stabbed it into the monster’s ‘head’. Green liquid spurted out. The centipede struggled frantically, seemingly wanting to shrink back into the ground.
The tremendous recoil running along his sword made Zu An stagger, and he was almost dragged into the dirt. However, he quickly stamped downward with his feet, carving two deep grooves into the ground.
Yu Yanluo quickly pulled him backward when she saw that. Even with the two of them working together, it still hadn’t been enough.
Just then, Paper Bride made a move. Countless strips of paper shot toward the monster’s body. Unfortunately, they only left sparks across the monster’s outer shell and were unable to harm it at all.
Kong Qing’s eyes narrowed. A three-colored divine light flashed, and with a loud spurt, green liquid gushed out of the worm’s body.