Earth Fiend is Still a Fiend

Before the sky had fully brightened, the overseer walked into the shack, swinging his whip.

"Exploration team! Get up!"

Li Tui opened his eyes and ceased his cultivation. The others woke up one after another, rustling as they put on their clothes.

Wang He sat on the straw mat, dazed, staring at the faint light leaking through the roof. It took him a long while to crawl up, his movements stiff. Zhao Laosuan tied his straw-rope belt, whispering vague Buddhist chants under his breath.

Meanwhile, the thin, small figure in the corner had already risen and was carefully wrapping his feet with rags.

When the nine of them were driven to the open ground, the fog was still thick, and a damp, cold sensation enveloped everyone. The middle-aged cultivator stood with his hands behind his back. Behind him stood two overseers, their leather whips neatly coiled, their gazes scraping over the nine men.

"Today, you will explore Tunnel Seven," the middle-aged cultivator began, his voice as flat as if he were reading a ledger. "There was a collapse the day before yesterday, and the situation inside is unclear. You are to go in, map out the tunnel's direction and the extent of the collapse, and keep an eye out for any new chisel marks. Come back and draw a map."

"That place has heavy 'miasma'." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the nine men like he was counting livestock. "Stay alert. Don't die in there without even being able to send word back, forcing others to collect your corpse."

The overseers began distributing tools: chipped pickaxes, a few lengths of coarse hemp rope, and torches with slightly damp wicks.

"Go." The middle-aged cultivator waved his hand.

The two overseers escorted the team toward the depths of the mine.

The first stretch of the path was still relatively spacious, and there were some traces of pickaxe excavation.

But the further they went, the fewer signs of human activity there were. The tunnel grew narrower, gradually taking on the appearance of a natural cave. Water dripped constantly from above, making "tap, tap" sounds as it hit the stagnant pools.

The torchlight was insignificant in the thick darkness, barely illuminating the few inches in front of their feet. The sound of their footsteps echoed in the cavern, mixed with the overseers' scolding: "Walk faster! What are you dawdling for!"

The air grew colder. It wasn't the usual chill of a mountain cave, but a cold that seeped into the marrow of one's bones. Li Tui secretly circulated his internal energy to resist it.

His internal energy moved through his meridians with extreme difficulty, as if wading through a swamp. The surrounding cold aura was pervasive, drilling into his pores in thin wisps, disturbing his mental clarity.

Li Tui diverted the majority of his focus to guarding his mind while keeping the Azure Wood Art running at its slowest, steadiest pace.

"This godforsaken place..." Zhao Laosuan shivered in front of him. "Why is it so cold..."

"Shut up and keep walking." The overseer cursed, snapping his whip with a crisp "crack."

The tunnel continued to narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The rock walls on both sides were slick and covered in dark green moss.

The torch flames began to flicker uneasily, sometimes stretching long, sometimes shrinking into dim yellow balls, as if suppressed by an invisible force. The black smoke grew thicker, stinging their eyes.

The chill in the air almost condensed into substance. The breath Li Tui exhaled formed white mist in front of him, refusing to dissipate.

Just then, a strange sound came from the middle of the group.

"Hhh... hhh-hhh..."

It sounded like someone was being strangled, desperately gasping for air.

Everyone turned around abruptly. The torchlight shone over in unison.

Chen was hunched over, his hands clutching his own throat tightly, his fingers white from the pressure. His face was swollen and purple, his mouth wide open, unable to make a complete sound, only intermittent gasps. His eyes were wide, his pupils unfocused and dull, staring straight at a point in the void.

"Chen?" The young man walking next to him reached out tentatively, wanting to pull his arm.

"Don't touch him!" the overseer behind them shouted sharply.

It was too late.

The moment the young man's fingers were about to touch Chen's sleeve, Chen suddenly looked up.

In the torchlight, everyone saw his appearance clearly.

On his face and neck, blood vessels bulged like twisted earthworms crawling under his skin. A large amount of blood was slowly seeping from his seven orifices. They heard a gurgling sound in his throat, as if he had swallowed something, and then he slowly bared his teeth, revealing a set of yellow teeth stained with blood.

That was no longer the appearance of a human.

His murky whites were bloodshot, his pupils completely white, containing only some indescribable, bottomless malice.

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"ROAR!"

A roar that sounded nothing like a human voice exploded from Chen's throat. His entire body tensed like a fully drawn bow, and then he lunged at Zhao Laosuan, who was closest to him!

"Ah!"

Zhao Laosuan only had time to let out a short, sharp scream before being tackled by Chen. The two rolled into the stagnant water, splashing everywhere. Chen straddled Zhao Laosuan, his hands tightly gripping the other man's throat, his head shaking crazily from side to side, a beast-like low growl emitting from his mouth.

"Help! He's gone mad! Pull him off!" someone screamed.

"Hold him down! Hurry, hold him down!" the overseer roared.

The narrow tunnel instantly erupted into chaos!

Screams, curses, shoving, and the sound of bodies colliding merged into one. Several people lunged forward to pull Chen away, only to be thrown off.

However, Chen's strength was shockingly great; he swung his arm and threw a burly man aside, who hit the rock wall with a heavy thud and a muffled groan.

The torches were knocked over in the struggle. One, two... the light dimmed rapidly. Only a few remaining torches flickered unsteadily.

Li Tui had pressed himself against the rock wall the moment the incident occurred, his back firmly against the cold, damp stone.

But the instant Chen let out that roar, the cold aura in the tunnel surged violently!

Li Tui felt an icy chill, far more intense than before, ruthlessly pierce into his body!

This is bad!

Li Tui's heart sank, his consciousness nearly swallowed by the icy chill and chaos.

But just as he thought he was about to follow in Old Chen's footsteps.

That crazily invading, cold aura suddenly changed!

It was as if guided, bound, and redirected by an invisible force; instead of wantonly destroying his meridians, it was slowly channeled deep into his dantian.

Even more bizarrely, a wisp of extremely pure, cold energy—stripped of most of its violent will—peeled away and naturally merged into his qi circulation!

The pale green qi produced by the Azure Wood Art, which had been struggling to circulate in this area, gave a slight tremor upon receiving this wisp of cold energy, and its flow speed actually increased!

Li Tui's pupils constricted.

He understood.

The cold aura in this mine vein was actually a type of "Fiend."

And in this life, he possessed the talent of Blood Fiend Affinity.

This talent was equally effective against this "Earth Fiend"!

In the distance, the chaos continued.

Old Chen's roars grew increasingly wild, interspersed with the gradually weakening groans of Zhao Laosuan. The light of the only remaining torch flickered, casting the shadows of people fighting frantically against the rock wall.

"Damn it! I can't hold him down!" someone screamed, "He's biting me!"

"Use the rope! Tie him up!" the overseer shouted in exasperation.

Li Tui slowly straightened his body.

He took a deep breath.

The icy air poured into his lungs, but this time, Li Tui did not resist the cold fiendish aura; instead, he allowed it to enter his body. At this moment, Li Tui's dantian was like a parched field meeting cool rain, radiating a intense vitality.

Li Tui looked down at his palms.

This body... was craving more "Earth Fiend."

Danger?

A faint, almost invisible arc tugged at the corners of Li Tui's mouth.

Things that others avoid at all costs are... a tonic for me!

If you like this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.