Underground Space

Just as he turned the corner, Gu Xi raised his dagger to throw.

But at that moment, Gu Xi froze.

When he charged over, he thought the skeletons had run into resistance from the cultists and wanted to rush in to save them.

But he never expected the scene before him to turn out like this.

At the corner of the corridor lay a massive underground space.

The entire space was as large as seven or eight football fields. Looking up, he couldn't even see the ceiling, only vines hanging down from above.

At the far end of the underground space stood a huge abandoned stone gate. A group of Black Robe Cultists surrounded the gate like statues, showing no reaction even as a battle broke out nearby.

In the pitch-black underground space, their motionless forms truly resembled neatly arranged terracotta warriors.

No matter who saw such a scene in the darkness, their skin would crawl.

But that wasn't even the most important part.

Gu Xi could clearly hear the breathing of these Black Robe Cultists, yet they didn't even turn their heads. All of them faced the abandoned stone gate without moving, just like statues.

Even when the skeletons appeared with weapons, they showed no reaction—unless a weapon struck them, only then would they draw their own to counterattack.

Because of this, the four skeletons under Gu Xi's command had already pushed ahead.

This situation made Gu Xi pause for a moment, then he broke into a grin.

This was a good thing. If they only woke up when hit, then he'd make sure none of them ever woke up.

Gu Xi raised his scimitar and slashed at a nearby Black Robe Cultist.

When the blade came down, it felt like chopping into rotten wood, nothing like cutting into a person.

Luna simultaneously flashed behind the Black Robe Cultist. From the bronze mirror she held against her chest, a nether-blue tentacle shot out and tapped the cultist's back.

The Black Robe Cultist, who had been cut by Gu Xi, was about to draw his weapon to retaliate, but with Luna's touch, frost rapidly spread across his entire body, robbing him of all normal movement.

Gu Xi swung his blade back around and lopped the Black Robe Cultist's head clean off.

With a ding, a message popped up in front of Gu Xi.

[Elite Cultist Kill (Lv.2), gained 19 EXP. Due to combined attack, Contract Undead gained 16 EXP.]

Glancing at the message, Gu Xi's eyes lit up.

Looking at all these motionless Black Robe Cultists, he felt incredibly fortunate.

Truly, after surviving a great calamity, blessings followed.

He had just escaped, and now he'd stumbled upon a treasure trove for farming experience. If he didn't go all out now and level up, when would he?

"Luna!"

Luna immediately understood Gu Xi's intent. Without needing another command, she pointed her Touch of Frost forward, tapping a nearby standing Black Robe Cultist.

Gu Xi followed up with his scimitar, slicing straight at the cultist's neck.

This cultist was even unluckier—he didn't even have a chance to come to his senses before dying under Gu Xi's blade.

[Elite Cultist Kill (Lv.2), gained 17 EXP. Due to combined attack, Contract Undead gained 13 EXP.]

With two cultists dead, Gu Xi knew this plan worked. He and Luna quickly moved upward, shifting their target to the other nearby Black Robe Cultists.

Just as Gu Xi and Luna were about to go on a killing spree, another group of Black Robe Men emerged from a nearby passage.

There were twelve of them in total, split into four groups. Each group had two Black Robe Cultists carrying a motionless Black Robe Man.

The passage these Black Robe Men came from was closer to the one Gu Xi had exited. As soon as they entered the underground space, they spotted Gu Xi, who was about to start killing.

"Who goes there? An infidel invasion!"

The moment they saw Gu Xi, they shouted loudly, drew their weapons, and charged. The Black Robe Men they had been carrying were dropped on the spot, unable to move a muscle.

And with their shouts, Gu Xi noticed that the nearby Black Robe Cultists were starting to turn their heads toward him.

"Fall back!"

Gu Xi made the decision instantly. He bent down, dragged a Black Robe Cultist's corpse, and retreated to the passage he had come from.

Luna followed closely, floating in front of Gu Xi with the bronze mirror in her arms.

The few skeletons that had fought their way far ahead also received Gu Xi's order. They abandoned their enemies and hurried toward Gu Xi's position.

But these skeletons were quickly surrounded by the now-active Black Robe Cultists. In just a few moves, all four skeletons were shattered into pieces.

After killing the skeletons, more and more Black Robe Cultists turned their gazes toward Gu Xi.

At this moment, Gu Xi gripped his scimitar tightly with one hand, his eyes fixed on the movements of these Black Robe Cultists.

There were too many.

If they had stayed motionless like before, Gu Xi could have taken his time turning them into experience.

Now, he had to run.

Gu Xi shot Luna a look. Luna opened her mouth and sucked in a breath toward the charging Black Robe Cultists.

"Ahhhh~"

Banshee's Wail activated.

The dozen-plus Black Robe Cultists charging forward all clutched their heads and dropped to the ground at once.

Gu Xi then kicked the corpse he had just dragged over toward these cultists.

"Lesser Corpse Explosion!"

Boom!

The blast from the corpse explosion instantly killed six Black Robe Cultists.

[Kill Cultist (Lv1), gained 11 Points of experience. Due to Combined Attack, Contract Undead gained 6 Points of experience.]

[Elite Cultist Kill (Lv2), gained 8 Points of experience. Due to Combined Attack, Contract Undead gained 19 Points of experience.]

[Kill Cultist (Lv2), gained 11 Points of experience. Due to Combined Attack, Contract Undead gained 10 Points of experience.]

[...]

But right after the corpse explosion, new Black Robe Cultists charged over.

They trampled over the bodies of their exploded comrades, raised their weapons, and rushed at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi wanted to catch his breath, but there was no time for that. He pointed at a corpse on the ground and triggered another Lesser Corpse Explosion.

As the explosion went off, Luna activated Banshee's Wail once more.

Both spells detonated at the same time, killing another batch of Black Robe Cultists.

[Kill Cultist (Lv2), gained 13 Points of experience. Due to Combined Attack, Contract Undead gained 5 Points of experience.]

[Elite Cultist Kill (Lv2), gained 16 Points of experience. Due to Combined Attack, Contract Undead gained 11 Points of experience.]

[Kill Cultist (Lv1), gained 4 Points of experience. Due to Combined Attack, Contract Undead gained 3 Points of experience.]

[...]

But by now, all the Black Robe Cultists in the Underground Space had come to life. Like Walking Dead, they pressed in toward Gu Xi.

The corpse explosion had barely finished, and the gap it had blown open was already filled by over twenty more Black Robe Cultists.

Gu Xi glanced at his own mana.

"Luna, five more corpse explosions. Cast a Touch of Frost to freeze this area."

Luna nodded and quickly prepared Banshee's Wail.

Just as Gu Xi was about to point at a corpse at the feet of the Black Robe Cultists, a voice came from behind him.

"Duck!"