The Underground Guardians

Clang!

The air blade struck the gray-brown rock armor, sparks flying, leaving only a shallow white scratch. Lin Xiao cursed under his breath, rolled away quickly, his tail grazing his nose.

Mo Chen frantically pulled out a metal cylinder. "Three breaths to charge!"

The ground lizard on the right had already pounced, its four claws digging a shallow pit in the rock, and a foul stench filled the air.

Lu Yuan didn't move. His Soul Power perception spread like a fine net towards the three-headed earth lizard—its energy core was slightly below its chest, faintly resonating with the chaotic Soul Power remaining in the environment, like old tree roots sinking into the veins of ruins.

Troublesome.

In the blink of an eye, the Earth Lizard was already in front of Mo Chen. Lu Yuan sidestepped him and swung his left hand, sending a gray Interference Ball hurtling towards the Earth Lizard's face.

The sphere exploded, and invisible Soul Power rippled and spread.

The earth lizard's momentum faltered, the eerie green light in its eyes became disordered, and it shook its head.

Taking advantage of the gap, the Mo Chen rolled behind the metal pillar, and the cylinder began to hum.

"Lin Xiao! Hold him back!" Lu Yuan shouted. "Shi Jian, don't take the hit head-on with your shield, try to deflect it! Use the Crack to guide the attack!"

Shi Jian was taken aback, then gritted his teeth and nodded. He no longer poured his Soul Power into the shield, but instead guided the natural cracks on the shield. The Soul Power flowed through the cracks, creating a subtle and chaotic deflection force field.

The lizard in the middle sprayed out an energy blast.

Shi Jian roared, and the Rock Shield slanted upwards to meet it.

The green gelatinous energy blast struck the shield, but was slid by the chaotic force field, its trajectory deviating as it grazed the shield's edge and flew to the side and rear, "poof" piercing through the corroded pipe.

"It works!" Shi Jian's eyes lit up, but sweat was already beading on his forehead.

The battle stalled.

Lin Xiao maneuvered, sustaining minor but not fatal wounds. Mo Chen's energy accumulation was constantly obscured by debris. Shi Jian's Soul Power was released like a floodgate opening. Lu Yuan only had one Interference Ball left.

The three-headed earth lizard grew increasingly ferocious in battle, coordinating to compress space. One head launched a frontal assault, while the other two flanked it, unleashing energy projectiles at tricky angles.

"Retreat!" Lu Yuan ordered decisively, "Towards the exit! Don't turn your back!"

The squad fought and retreated.

With each step back, the earth lizard closed in. The hunger in its eerie green eyes almost materialized.

Lu Yuan's sensory network remained constantly entangled with the earth lizard. He discovered that whenever the earth lizard exerted its strength to pounce, bite, or spit, a brighter and more active ghostly green light would briefly flash at certain seams on its rock armor, especially at the neck, joints, and below the chest and abdomen.

Like a flash of light from an overloaded energy pipe.

That's a node!

"Lin Xiao!" Lu Yuan's voice suddenly rose, "Left one, feign an attack on its eyes! Force it to look up!"

Without hesitation, Lin Xiao flashed to the front, his palms flashing as he thrust his energy blades straight at the ghostly green pupils.

The earth lizard closed its eyes, tilted its head back, and used the hardest rock armor on its forehead to block.

Now!

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. The remaining Soul Power in his dantian was frantically drawn out, condensing at his fingertips into a pale silver thread thinner than a hair and almost invisible.

The control over Soul Power is incredibly precise.

The silk thread shot out silently, swift as lightning, precisely piercing the crevice in the rock armor below the lizard's neck, which had slightly opened due to the stretching as it tilted its head back—where a faint green light had just flashed.

puff.

A slight sound.

The pale silver threads of Soul Power pierced the crevice, and the moment they touched the active energy flow inside, it was like a needle piercing a high-speed gear.

The massive body of the lizard on the left suddenly stiffened.

The head-tilting motion stopped halfway, and a hoarse "hoarse" sound came from its throat. The eerie green light in its eyes flashed intensely. It tried to shake its head, but the movement became sluggish and uncoordinated.

Although it only lasted for a little over a breath, the opportunity has arisen!

"Shi Jian!" Lu Yuan roared immediately after, "That second one on the right is about to spit! Deflect the trajectory—hit the one in the middle!"

Shi Jian was already on edge. Upon hearing this, almost instinctively, he turned the Rock Shield to the side, adjusting the deflection force field generated by the cracks in the shield to a subtle angle, directly facing the earth lizard on his right that had just bulged its throat.

A dark green energy blast shot out.

The moment it hit the Rock Shield, it was like a stone skipping across water, suddenly pulled by the chaotic force field, tracing a strange arc and flying diagonally away!

Boom!

The energy blast struck the rock armor on the side ribs of the central lizard.

The green mist exploded, corroding the rock armor with a sizzling sound. The lizard in the middle, in pain, roared furiously and turned to bar its teeth and growl at its companion on the right. The lizard on the right, stunned by the impact, instinctively roared in response.

The partnership between the three-headed lizards showed obvious cracks for the first time.

"Mo Chen!" Lu Yuan's third command fell almost simultaneously.

Hiding behind the pillar, Mo Chen's cylinder was buzzing at its peak. He suddenly leaned forward, pointed the nozzle at the lizard in the middle that was slightly sluggish due to internal strife, and pulled the trigger.

A blazing white Soul Guidance Ray shot out, aiming straight for the earth lizard's eye socket!

The ground lizard hurriedly closed its eyes and turned its head away.

The ray grazed the rocky armor of the brow bone, sending out a trail of sparks, and struck the slightly softer edge of the left eyelid.

Sizzle!

The stench of burnt flesh filled the air. The lizard let out a deafening scream, its left eye tightly shut, oozing a thick, dark red liquid. It frantically shook its head, its thick tail lashing wildly, sending rocks flying everywhere.

Chaos erupted completely.

"Go!" Lu Yuan seized the opportunity, shouted in a low voice, and turned to rush towards the entrance of the tunnel.

Lin Xiao, Mo Chen, and Shi Jian followed closely behind.

The four unleashed their full Soul Power and fled for their lives.

Behind them, the roars and muffled thuds of the earth lizards mingled together, slowing and disrupting the sound of their pursuing footsteps.

They dared not look back, and ran desperately along the way they had come. The torches swayed violently, their light and shadow dancing wildly.

His lungs felt like they were on fire. Shi Jian's steps were unsteady. Mo Chen's face was deathly pale, and he was still tightly clutching the dim soul-guiding cylinder in his hand.

After running for an unknown amount of time, the dim yellow light of a campsite and the sound of people appeared ahead.

The moment they burst out of the tunnel, Lu Qinghe and several valley Soul Master who were guarding the entrance immediately rushed forward to meet them.

"Close the door! Block it!" Lu Qinghe roared.

Several men roared as they forcefully pushed a heavy metal plate, reinforced with rough wood and gravel, toward the entrance of the passageway. It was a remnant of a discarded protective door that had been dismantled a few days earlier.

With a muffled rumble, the metal plate snapped firmly into the groove, sealing the entrance.

On the other side of the door, the faint sounds of the ground lizard's unwilling roars and scratching could still be heard, but they gradually faded away.

It's safe now.

The four men collapsed on the open ground of the camp, panting heavily.

Everyone was injured. Lin Xiao's arm was cut open by a flying rock. Mo Chen lost a shoe while running, and his feet were blistered. Shi Jian's Soul Power was most severely depleted, and he was paralyzed on the ground, unable to move. Lu Yuan's old injury on his side was throbbing, and cold sweat mixed with dust streamed down his face.

Soul Power was completely depleted.

The other people in the camp gathered around, offering water and bandaging the wound, their eyes filled with lingering fear.

Shen Moxin strode over, quickly examining the injuries, her brow furrowed. "No fatal wounds, but the Soul Power depletion is too great; he needs rest. Especially Shi Jian." She looked at Lu Yuan, "Is it really that dangerous deep inside?"

Lu Yuan took a few gulps of water, wiped his mouth, and nodded.

"A three-headed, mutated Rock Armor Ground Lizard, estimated to be over two thousand years old." His voice was hoarse. "Its hide is thick, its strength is immense, and it can utilize the residual energy field of the ruins. In a direct confrontation, even if all four of us were to fight, we might not be able to win."

A suppressed gasp filled the air.

Shi Jian was helped up and sat against the wall. He looked at Lu Yuan with a complicated expression. During the battle just now, Lu Yuan's precise observation, instantaneous tactical adjustments, and timely application of his "crack deflection" technique... all shocked him.

Not just him.

Lin Xiao tore off strips of cloth and hastily wrapped them around his arm, glanced at Lu Yuan, and said nothing. But in those amber eyes that always had their chins slightly raised, beneath the arrogance, there was something else.

Mo Chen caught his breath, looked at the ruined soul-guiding cylinder in his hand, then at the sealed tunnel entrance, and muttered, "Our new home... what's buried underneath is no pushover."

Lu Yuan didn't reply.

He leaned against the cold stone wall, closing his eyes. The details of the battle replayed in his mind—the earth lizard's energy node, the moment Shi Jian successfully deflected it, the timing of Lin Xiao's feint attack, Mo Chen's final blow...

Chaos, haste, and perilous situations.

But it was under the pressure of life and death that this hastily assembled team, still estranged from one another, began to form a semblance of cooperation for the first time. It wasn't based on trust or affection, but on an almost instinctive execution of orders and a shared desire to seize the only way out in a desperate situation.

He opened his eyes and his gaze swept over his exhausted but still alive companions.

A new home is built upon ancient ruins that have slumbered for millennia, with unknown dangers and treasures below and formidable enemies relentlessly pursuing it from the outside.

And they, just now, stumbled and staggered on the edge of this dangerous foundation, took their first step into becoming a "team".

Shen Moxin knelt down and gently cleaned the blood from the wound on his side. "Where's the Source Seed Crystal? Did you get it?"

Lu Yuan patted the leather pouch that was tightly bound around his waist.

"Got them," he said. "Three. And a few fragments of ancient manuscripts." He paused, his voice even lower, "The manuscripts mention something... about ' the Rule Shackles,' about ' Origin Energy.'"

Shen Moxin's fingers paused almost imperceptibly.

"Let's discuss this in detail when we get back." She quickly treated her wound and stood up. "The most urgent thing is to recover. That temporary door won't hold out for long; we need a more robust defense system, and..." She looked towards the deep passageway, "... we need to find out just how many 'neighbors' are hiding down there."

Lu Yuan nodded.

He leaned against the stone wall and slowly stood up. His whole body ached, and his Soul Power was depleted, but his mind was unusually clear.

The campfire crackled and burned, casting flickering light on the still-shaken faces of the people. In the distance, behind the sealed metal door, the scratching sounds of the ground lizards had long since ceased, leaving only a heavy, unknown silence.

He gripped the leather pouch at his waist tightly.

Several Key were found. But behind the keyholes, there was clearly not only treasure, but also a hungry beast guarding it.