Chapter 1150: Surrounded

"What!" Zu'an and Yu Yanluo were greatly astonished. They had previously fought the Azure Wolf King, who possessed a ninth-grade cultivation, an enormous body, and formidable physical strength. Even a human Grandmaster would find it difficult to defeat him in a real fight.

Such a top-tier fierce beast, eaten?

Kong Qing's expression also soured. "My injuries were sustained at that time as well," he said.

Zu'an and Yu Yanluo were even more surprised. The Azure Wolf King was Kong Qing's mount, meaning Kong Qing had to contend with two powerful opponents simultaneously. Furthermore, there were other nefarious figures present, such as Paper Bride and Viper-Venom Child. Yet, the assailant managed to injure Kong Qing and devour the Azure Wolf King?

"What on earth was that thing?" Zu'an quickly asked.

"I don't know," Kong Qing replied through gritted teeth.

"You don't know?" Zu'an was astonished. He wouldn't have been overly surprised if the answer had been that Emperor Zhao Hao had attacked them, but "I don't know" was completely unexpected.

Kong Qing himself was a Grandmaster, and there were so many other masters present, yet they hadn't even clearly seen their assailant.

Noticing his strange gaze, the others looked somewhat embarrassed. Paper Bride explained, "When that thing appeared, it was accompanied by a thick black fog. We couldn't see its appearance clearly at all, and the black fog was extremely corrosive, preventing even spiritual perception from penetrating it to investigate."

"That's why I was caught completely off guard when it ambushed me," Kong Qing said, a flicker of fear in his eyes. As a Grandmaster, he normally had a clear mental map of his surroundings and never imagined something could lurk so close without him sensing it. "It suddenly burst out from underground and killed the Azure Wolf King in an instant, giving him no time to even resist."

"Killed in an instant?" Zu'an and Yu Yanluo exchanged glances. To instantly kill a ninth-grade Azure Wolf King—what terrifying power that must possess.

"Didn't you take the opportunity to counterattack?" Yu Yanluo asked curiously. All present were top masters, and with the Azure Wolf King serving as a meat shield, they should have reacted by then.

"We did counterattack, but our attacks seemed to have little effect on it," Paper Bride said with a troubled expression.

"No effect at all?" Zu'an frowned. Even Yan Xuehen, if facing the combined attacks of so many masters, would find it difficult to emerge unscathed.

Kong Qing, who had the highest cultivation among them, said gravely, "I've been pondering this, and it is indeed peculiar. After much thought, I believe it's because our primary expertise lies in spiritual attacks. However, that monster seems to be immune to them; our attacks had no effect whatsoever."

Only then did Zu'an recall that Kong Qing, Paper Bride, and Viper-Venom Child all specialized in spiritual attacks. Their first instinct when facing danger would be to use their ultimate moves, but who would have known the opponent was immune to spiritual attacks?

The Night Elf, on the other hand, excelled at physical attacks, but his cultivation was lower, and it would be difficult for him alone to injure the opponent.

He suddenly remembered Yu Bin's records and asked, "Before the attack, did you hear any strange or terrifying sounds?"

"Strange or terrifying sounds?" Kong Qing frowned. "No."

"No?" Zu'an was puzzled. How was this different from Yu Bin's records?

At this point, Viper-Venom Child said grimly, "We did hear some strange sounds before, very similar to what you described. However, when we were attacked, everything around us was eerily quiet."

Zu'an nodded. It seemed that once the creature entered its hunting state, it became silent. That would make it impossible to guard against.

Just then, Kong Qing said, "Do you have a map of this mine? We want to leave and return to the surface, but we've been circling around here for days."

As he spoke, his old face flushed with embarrassment. A Grandmaster, along with so many other top masters, had actually gotten lost.

But he couldn't be blamed. The mine tunnels were intricate and pitch-dark, making it easy to get lost. During the last attack by the monster, the group had fled in a panic, desperate to escape, and had no idea where they ended up.

Furthermore, with black fog everywhere, their spiritual senses couldn't probe very far, causing them to wander in circles underground as if trapped by a ghost.

Although these masters had storage pouches and wouldn't run out of food anytime soon, the constant presence of a powerful entity lurking, ready to hunt them at any moment, pushed them to the brink of mental collapse.

Yu Yanluo did not answer directly; instead, she countered, "Did you encounter any of my subordinates on your way here?"

The others shook their heads. "We haven't seen a single soul these past few days, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten lost."

Both Zu'an and Yu Yanluo realized this was true. If they had indeed seen Xingnu and the others, why would they need to ask for a map?

"Are you just going to leave like this? You're not going to avenge the Azure Wolf King?" Yu Yanluo frowned.

To her surprise, Kong Qing said, "The strong prey on the weak; it's the law of nature. If it wasn't skilled enough, being eaten is normal. The immediate priority is to preserve our remaining strength. If we lose more companions for the sake of revenge, it would be a greater loss than gain."

The others also looked as if this was perfectly logical, finding nothing wrong with his statement.

Yu Yanluo was speechless.

She couldn't help but glance at Zu'an, sending him a qi message: "I find I can't understand the mindset of these demon races, nor can I accept this kind of behavior."

Zu'an replied, "It proves your way of thinking leans more towards humans, and in your heart, you identify more with humanity. It's preposterous for that scoundrel Xu Yu to insist on treating you as a demon."

Yu Yanluo's expression grew a little dim. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stay among humans in the future, nor will I fit in among the demon races."

Zu'an smiled slightly. "You can stay here with me; I will always accept you."

Yu Yanluo felt a sweetness in her heart and couldn't help but purse her lips into a smile.

Kong Qing saw them exchange glances, assuming they were discussing something. He had no idea what they were actually talking about.

Seeing their delay in agreeing, Kong Qing gritted his teeth and said, "It was our mistake to descend into the mine so rashly this time. We will compensate Lady Yu later. Furthermore, if the two of you can provide us with a map to leave, we will all owe you a favor, and you will earn the friendship of our Peacock Clan."

Zu'an considered that Yu Yanluo was heading to the demon race territories, and the Peacock Clan was a royal clan among demons. Having their protection or goodwill would be beneficial.

Besides, forcing them to stay and fight the monster together was pointless. These fierce individuals would certainly not be willing, and given their malevolent nature, who knew if they would act selfishly at a critical moment, perhaps by ambushing the two of them to slow the monster's pursuit...

Thinking this, he nodded and agreed, "Mr. Kong, you're too kind. It's always better to have one more friend in the world than one more enemy."

Seeing him agree, Kong Qing was overjoyed, but still uneasy. He quickly looked at Yu Yanluo; she was the owner of this mine, and she hadn't spoken yet.

Yu Yanluo nodded. "What Azu says, I say."

"Thank you both!" Kong Qing found it a bit strange; Yu Yanluo's tone sounded somewhat like a wife agreeing with her husband.

However, no matter how imaginative he was, he would never have guessed that Lady Yu, once peerlessly beautiful but always maintaining her distance from everyone, had now fallen in love with this young man.

At this moment, Yu Yanluo moved her hand gracefully, and various glowing lines flowed, forming a simple map in the air.

"This is your current location. If you head in this direction, you'll reach the surface," Yu Yanluo explained. Of course, she wouldn't expose the entire map of the mine to them, only drawing a small section of the immediate vicinity.

"Thank you, Lady Yu!" All present were masters, and extensive knowledge and sharp memory were basic qualities for them. They memorized the map in the air with just a glance, requiring no physical paper.

Just as Kong Qing and the others were about to bid farewell, a scraping sound, like fingernails dragging across a blackboard, echoed through the mine tunnel, making everyone deeply uncomfortable.

Everyone's expression changed. This time, the sound was closer than ever, as if it were right next to them.

Kong Qing and the others quickly assumed defensive postures. Zu'an noticed that while they subtly formed a defensive perimeter, their distances from each other were considerable. Clearly, they dared not fully trust their backs to anyone else, each reserving a measure of caution against their companions.

Zu'an had no intention of criticizing them. They were elite practitioners of the wicked path; if they were naive enough to fully trust their companions, *that* would be a cause for criticism.

However, he and Yu Yanluo had no such concerns. They stood back-to-back, reminding each other to be careful.

Just then, another series of strange sounds echoed, making Zu'an's hair stand on end.

It was indeed very similar to the background sounds often heard in horror movies from his previous life.

He tried to pinpoint the source of the sound, but due to the mine's unique terrain, filled with cavities, each tunnel seemed to act as a megaphone. With echoes everywhere, it was impossible to tell where the sound originated.

He attempted to perceive his surroundings with his spiritual sense, but found that black fog had appeared in many areas, blocking spiritual detection.

Masters were accustomed to sensing their surroundings in advance. Now, in this situation, they felt like they had become deaf and blind, making them extremely uneasy.

Suddenly, all terrifying sounds vanished, followed by an unsettling and profound silence.

Zu'an recalled Kong Qing's earlier description; it seemed the monster was now ready to attack!