The monster's tongue stopped.
Lu Chen released his right hand and switched the sword back to his left.
His left arm was still numb, but his fingers could move—enough.
He pressed his right hand against the pommel, supported the front of the hilt with his left, drew a deep breath, then slammed down.
The blade plunged into the eyeball, sinking all the way to the hilt.
The monster's body suddenly arched like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Those eyes opened at once, closed at once, then opened again at once. A ghostly green light flickered madly, like a lamp on the verge of burning out.
Its mouth stretched as wide as it could go, releasing a shrill howl—not from its throat, but from every single eye. The overlapping voices made even the remaining walls of the stone chamber tremble.
Lu Chen was hurled back by the sound wave and slammed into the wall behind him.
The wall was already covered in cracks. It shattered on impact, and falling rubble buried him beneath it.
He crawled out from the broken stones and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Only half the true essence in his dantian remained. The Red Sun Pill's medicinal power was still burning, but it would not burn for much longer.
His left arm was still numb, hanging at his side like a stick.
His right hand gripped the sword. The silver-white radiance on its blade had dimmed until only a thin layer of fluorescence remained.
The monster stood hunched amid the ruins of the stone chamber. The ceiling above its head was already gone, replaced by a grayish-white wall of fog.
It was even larger than before, having grown from ten zhang to fifteen. Its body had split apart every remaining wall, and rubble