The room was filled with a thick, noxious fog as the Poison God Cultivator began channeling his Qi. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my instincts telling me that danger was imminent. Without a moment's hesitation, I reached into my pocket and withdrew ten small pills, each one packed with a lethal dose of poison. As I flicked them between my fingers, they detonated in a shower of colors, filling the air with corrosive fumes that spread rapidly throughout the room.
My heart pounding, I turned to my temporary ally and handed him a small, white pill. "Eat this if you want to live," I said, swallowing one myself. As the fumes closed in around us, I could see the fear in his eyes. "What's happening?" he asked, his voice choked with panic.
"This is a smoke curtain," I explained, watching as the fog swirled and coalesced around us. "It should stop them from making any big moves. And if they do..." I trailed off as a blinding light lit up from within the fog, followed by the sound of coughing and screams of pain.
"He's preparing an attack," my ally warned, but I shook my head. "Nope, he's fucked," I said with a grim smile. Moments later, the light flickered and died, leaving behind only the sounds of suffering and death.
A small skull mark appeared on my chest, signifying that I had successfully killed a cultivator. I felt a sense of grim satisfaction, but I knew that there was still danger lurking in the shadows. "Not bad, but there is no need for me to fight you here when I'm at a disadvantage," the Poison God Cultivator taunted. "Once I regain my cultivation base, I'll be seeking you out. Be ready!"
I watched as he disappeared into the shadows, my hand instinctively reaching for my revolver. "You actually scared them off," my ally said in disbelief. I shook my head. "You can't count on a cultivator's words. He might still be here, hiding. Be ready for anything."
As the fumes began to dissipate, we waited in tense silence, our eyes scanning the room for any sign of movement. When the smoke cleared, we were relieved to see that the Poison God Cultivator had indeed fled. "Good, he left," I said with a sense of relief.
But just as my ally let out a breath of relief, I pulled out my revolver and fired a shot right next to his ear. The blast was so loud and sudden that he froze, unable to move or speak. "Shit," I heard from behind us. "How did you know..."
"It's a skill difference," I said calmly, turning to face the Poison God Cultivator. "You never left. No Poison God Cultivator worth his salt would ever shy away from poison. I knew you'd still be here. Not only that, I also know what book you own."
The Poison God Cultivator grinned as his wounds healed before my eyes, the bullet popping out of his skull and clattering to the ground. "And what book is that?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement.
"It's the Body Heritage," I said, my voice tinged with apprehension. "There's no way we can harm him or damage him. The fact that he survived the poison and being shot in the head is proof enough of that. Let's get out of here."
Without another word, I threw more pills and canisters behind us as we ran for the exit. As we emerged into the corridor, my heart
As we walked down the seemingly endless corridor, my heart was pounding with anticipation. However, once we arrived at the end of the hallway, my heart sank as I gazed into the vast emptiness before me. Looking up, I couldn't believe my eyes. Something strange was happening in the labyrinth. The rooms were shifting and changing before my very eyes. The walls were rising and falling, and the tiles on the floor were transforming into new shapes. Everywhere I looked, cultivators were darting from one room to another, leaping from platform to platform, all while being pursued by terrifying monsters and creatures that howled like banshees.
At that moment, the other cultivator turned to me and spoke, "I guess this is where we part ways."
With a heavy heart, I replied, "I guess so."
it was clear that my presence brought nothing but trouble to my companion. With the body cultivator now fixated on me, I couldn't blame him for thinking that he would have better odds going alone.
"What's your name?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern.
"I'm Shen Mo."
"Good to meet you, Shen Mo. Good luck in the trial," he said, offering me a reassuring smile before leaping down into the empty air. I watched in awe as he effortlessly landed on a platform that had moved into the perfect angle, and then jumped to another one, disappearing from sight.
Inspired by his display of agility, I too jumped up and grabbed onto the edge of an incoming platform. The explosions from the room we had just left behind reverberated through the air as I pulled myself up. When I looked back, I was stunned to see that the entire room was splitting into parts and fusing together, creating more complex rooms and structures.
Determined to stay ahead of the Body Cultivator, I forged ahead, constantly changing directions - up, down, back, and even sideways - in a bid to lose him.
As I moved through the maze, I noticed that other cultivators were quick to notice the skull on my chest. Their reactions were all the same - they avoided me like the plague. "Good," I thought, "this is enough to scare off the small fries."
But my confidence was short-lived. I soon found myself on the edge of a newly forming room. As the wall slid down, I barely managed to dodge the Steel Fanged wolf that lay in wait behind it. The wolf landed behind me, but I was quick to react. With a swift kick to the chest, I flung it off my platform and jumped into the newly opened room.
I moved forward, but the wall behind me closed, trapping me inside one of the largest rooms of the entire maze. It was like a squared city with hundreds of doors leading inside. I watched as more cultivators entered through the doors, and each time one did, the door behind them closed.
Panic set in as I realized that I was trapped inside with all these cultivators, none of whom I recognized. I knew that everyone was a potential enemy. Several cultivators started preparing for battle, understanding that this was a trap - but I sensed that it was something worse.
And then it happened.
As the walls shook and slid down, the sound of scraping stone filled the chamber. Suddenly, a small chamber was revealed, and the air was filled with a musky scent. Inside, the chamber were Demonic Beasts. Their eyes glowed with a fierce red light, and their razor-sharp teeth glistened in the dim light. The first to come out was a group of three Steel Fanged Wolves.
They were large and muscular, with thick fur covering their bodies. The wolves immediately lunged at a lone cultivator who tried his best to fight back. But the wolves were too strong, and the cultivator was quickly overwhelmed.
Seeing him struggling and dying, no other cultivator helped him. That was a mistake. More doors opened, and more silver-fanged wolves came out. They then began picking cultivators off one by one, their teeth tearing flesh and cracking bones. Only then did one of the cultivators speak, "We have to fight back! We'll be hunted down one by one like this!" he said, his voice quivering with fear.
As the cultivators grouped together, they began to move with purpose, their eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger. Some held weapons tightly in their hands, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Others had their backs to the wall, their expressions tense with fear. The wolves were everywhere, their snarls and growls echoing off the walls. It was clear that cooperation was necessary if they wanted to survive this deadly trial.
But even as they worked together, there was an underlying tension in the air. No one wanted to be the first to let down their guard and risk their life for a stranger. And so, when one of their own was about to be killed, the cultivators did the bare minimum required to count as 'helping'. They killed some of the wolves, but only when it was safe to do so.
I, for one, decided to remain neutral, avoiding the gaze of the wolves and keeping a low profile. I wasn't alone, as many other cultivators also chose to stay out of the fray. But this peace was short-lived, as more walls opened up, revealing larger chambers than before. And it wasn't long before a group of ten Nargacougars emerged from the darkness.
These beasts which I've encountered before were nothing to scoff at individually, but now as a pack, the situation became much worse. These black half cougar half-bat with Leathery wings that spanned several dozen feet long were out for blood.
Their claws were sharp enough to rip steel like butter, and their first step was enough to strike fear into the heart of even the bravest cultivator in this place. The Nargacougars had the ability to turn invisible, making them almost impossible to detect which made everyone who thought they had a chance before having their heart sink.
They began screeching with voices so loud that it felt like my eardrums were about to burst. It was clear that they were using sound to locate their prey, just like bats did. And with a single screech, they could pinpoint the exact location of every cultivator in the room. The hunt had begun, and there was nowhere to hide.