Ambush in the Cave

Darkness thickened like ink that could never be dissolved.

Li Yuan pressed himself against the cold, damp rock wall and moved forward slowly like a shadow. The layer of humus beneath his feet was so soft that it swallowed his steps, forcing him to tread with utmost care. The passage was not straight but twisted and winding, riddled with branching paths like a maze. The air grew heavier with a mingled stench of mold, sulfur, and faint blood.

He relied entirely on senses that far exceeded those of an ordinary person, along with his faint sensing of the residual Netherworld Curse Power, to barely discern the way. The deeper he went, the more vague, unnatural marks began appearing on the rock walls. Twisted and chaotic, they exuded an evil aura and vaguely echoed the patterns on the Talisman Fragments.

In the silence, tiny sounds began slipping into his ears.

Not wind. Not dripping water. Suppressed breathing, the rustle of fabric scraping against stone, and a low scraping sound, as though something were writhing beneath the earth.

He had been targeted.

Li Yuan halted, his body completely melting into the shadow cast by a protruding rock. Even his breathing nearly stopped. Crimson Sun Qi and Blood settled and circulated within him, suppressing every sign of life to the absolute minimum.

In the darkness not far ahead, several Ghostly Green Lights silently lit up like will-o'-the-wisps. They were not torches, but more like the eyes of some wild beast, cold and bloodthirsty.

There was more than one. The same Ghostly Green Lights appeared to his left, his right, and even in the direction from which he had come.

He was surrounded.

"Whoosh!"

A piercing whistle tore through the deathly silence! A short blow dart shot toward him from directly ahead, its tip gleaming with an anomalous blue light in the darkness as it flew straight for his throat!

Li Yuan jerked his head aside. The dart grazed his neck and buried itself in the rock wall behind him with a soft thunk, its tail still trembling.

The attack was the signal!

"Hiss—!"

Scalp-numbing hisses rang out from every direction! Several black shadows pounced from the darkness like ghosts! They no longer had human forms, resembling instead some kind of monsters twisted by curse power, crawling on all fours. They moved with astonishing speed, carrying a heavy stench and rippling curse power as they brandished claws and bone blades, lunging at Li Yuan's hiding place!

At the same time, black shadows dropped from above the rock walls on either side, sealing off his retreat!

Li Yuan's eyes sharpened. He knew he could no longer stay hidden. With a low roar, he stopped suppressing his aura, his body releasing like a bowstring drawn taut to its limit! He did not fully activate the Crimson Sun Battle Body, but his qi and blood instantly surged, his muscles bulging as a savage presence burst forth!

"Clang!"

The Iron Rod came free, carving a cold arc through the absolute darkness as it precisely deflected the first claw to reach him! Sparks burst forth!

The monster possessed tremendous strength, numbing Li Yuan's arm from the impact. He spun with the force, his Iron Rod striking like a venomous snake flicking out its tongue as it stabbed at the bone blade attacking from the other side!

"Clang!"

Metal rang against metal! The attacker was knocked back, but more monsters had already surged in! Claws, bone blades, and even slimy tentacles came at him from every angle!

Li Yuan whirled the Iron Rod like a windmill, barely holding his own in the narrow passage. His movements were simple and efficient; every block and every counterattack carried a heavy, ferocious force and the ruthless savagery of jade and stone shattering together. The Iron Rod crashed against bone blades and claws in a dense barrage of explosive impacts!

A claw broke through his defense and raked viciously across his back!

"Riiip!"

His clothes tore apart, yet when the claw scraped across his dark-red skin, it produced a teeth-grating screech. It left only several White Marks, unable to penetrate! The monster seemed to freeze in surprise.

Li Yuan seized that instant of opening and drove the Iron Rod backward, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, piercing straight through its skull! Viscous, foul-smelling fluid splattered out.

But even more attacks followed close on one another! A whip-like tentacle coiled around his ankle and yanked hard! Li Yuan lost his footing and staggered forward, while three or four bone blades stabbed toward the vital points of his chest and abdomen!

At the critical moment, a crimson-gold light flashed in Li Yuan's eyes. He held back no longer!

"Boom!"

A scorching blast of air exploded outward from him! His body abruptly swelled, muscles piling up like solid boulders and bursting his tattered clothes apart completely! His skin wholly turned dark red, crimson-gold patterns emerging clearly across it like lava flowing beneath his flesh!

[Crimson Sun Battle Body], once more!

The instant the tentacle around his ankle touched his body, it was scorched black and severed by his blazing qi and blood! The bone blades stabbing toward him struck his knotted chest and abdominal muscles with dull bangs, unable to pierce through. Instead, they cracked under the rebounding force!

Li Yuan let out a roar like a primordial Fierce Beast and snatched the head of a monster before him with one massive hand, his Five Fingers tightening!

"Squish!"

Like crushing a ripe watermelon!

The Iron Rod in his other hand now seemed weightless under his immense strength as he swept it sideways! Riding a scorching blast of air, it directly cut the two monsters at his side in half at the waist!

Like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, he rampaged through the monsters! Fists, elbows, knees, legs—every part of his body turned into a most terrifying weapon! Every collision came with the crack of breaking bones and the dying wails of monsters!

Yet these monsters twisted by curse power seemed to possess neither fear nor pain, continuing to swarm forward one after another. Their blood and bodily fluids carried intense corrosive properties and curse power. When they splashed onto Li Yuan, they hissed and sizzled. Though they could not immediately breach the defenses of his battle-body state, the icy curse power within them constantly tried to erode his qi and blood.

Even more troublesome, the low chanting rose again from the depths of the darkness, clearer and more urgent than before! A powerful wave of curse power carrying the intent to bind was rapidly gathering!

Li Yuan knew he could not afford to prolong this fight! He kicked a monster blocking his path, sending it flying with such immense force that it was embedded directly into the rock wall. His eyes locked onto the direction from which the chanting came—it was beyond a bend in the passage!

Ignoring the scattered attacks around him, he drove off with both legs like a maddened savage elephant, charging toward that direction! The monsters in his way were sent flying or crushed beneath his feet!

Just as he was about to rush past the corner—

From beyond it, an even more solid and thicker gray-black Bone Spike shot straight at him with a shrill scream! It was far faster than any previous attack! The air around the Bone Spike seemed to freeze, fine ice crystals forming within it!

It was that Deacon-level existence! He really was here!

Li Yuan's pupils constricted. Without slowing his charge, he crossed his arms before his chest and drove the Crimson Sun Battle Body to its utmost limit. The crimson-gold patterns over his dark-red skin blazed brilliantly like burning flames!

"Boom—!!"

The Bone Spike slammed viciously into his crossed arms!

A tremendous explosion rang out, and the entire passage seemed to shudder! Violent curse power collided head-on with scorching Crimson Sun Qi, while chaotic torrents of freezing and blazing energy blasted outward, throwing even the monsters pouncing nearby into the air!

Li Yuan let out a muffled groan. The tremendous impact lifted his feet off the ground and sent him flying backward, where he slammed hard into the rock wall behind him. Chips of stone came pattering down. His arms throbbed with Sharp Pain and numbness. Though the Bone Spike had failed to fully pierce his defenses, its tip had already exploded, and an even purer, more vicious curse power burrowed frantically into his flesh and bones like maggots clinging to the bone!

The Crimson Sun Qi and Blood within him began circulating on its own, fiercely contending against the newly invading curse power. Scorching agony and icy cold swept through his Whole Body once more.

From behind the corner, a figure clad in an exquisite Dark Green Cloak slowly emerged, a new bone staff wreathed in dense black qi held in hand. Gray-green pupils stared coldly at Li Yuan, who was embedded in the rock wall and temporarily unable to move.

"Walking straight into the net." The hoarse voice carried a trace of triumph.

More Ghostly Green Lights lit up from the darkness on all sides, slowly closing in.

Li Yuan spat out the blood froth in his mouth and struggled down from the indentation in the rock wall, steadying himself. He looked at the Netherworld Cult Deacon, then at the growing number of twisted monsters around him. He bared his teeth, blood staining them as they gleamed especially stark and white in the darkness.

"When the net breaks, we'll see who dies."

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