Chapter 1151: Appearing

“Yan Luo, be careful,” Zu An whispered, gently touching the woman behind him, while remaining highly vigilant.

Yu Yanluo softly hummed in agreement, “We need to pay special attention to the ground, walls, and so on.” These were lessons learned through Yu Bin's painful experiences. As she spoke, she held the Thousand-Mile Mountain and Sea Map to shield them both. At the same time, she drew some patterns on the ground, hoping they would provide a barrier and buy them time if something suddenly emerged from below.

Zu An thought to himself that since neither of them relied primarily on mental attacks, they shouldn't be as severely countered by the monster.

On the other side, the other individuals’ hair stood on end. Having experienced this scene once before, they felt the fear even more acutely. They were all thinking the same thing: better for others to suffer than themselves. They desperately hoped the monster would target someone else so they could seize the opportunity to escape. After all, they now knew the map to exit, and they vowed never to return to this cursed place.

Everyone present looked worried. Their most effective mental attacks were useless against the monster, and they were unsure if their remaining abilities could protect them from its assaults. The Night Elf, who favored physical attacks and possessed swift evasive maneuvers, would normally have been much safer. However, having just been injured by Zu An, he was now the weakest and most vulnerable. He shot a venomous glare at Zu An, vowing that if the opportunity arose, he would feed him to the monster.

At that moment, a series of rattling drum sounds suddenly echoed through the cave. Everyone wondered if Poison Child Hui was foolishly making noise, as if he wanted the monster to know his exact location. They all turned to look, only to see him darting away like lightning. As he passed Zu An and Yu Yanluo, he flung his hand, and the rattle drum flew towards them, swaying ceaselessly and emitting a jarring noise.

Zu An instantly understood his malicious intent: the fellow intended to divert the danger, making the monster attack him and Yu Yanluo while he made his escape. Clearly, the previous incident had filled him with resentment, and even at this critical moment, he didn't forget to seek revenge.

Zu An was speechless. This guy was truly going all out; that rattle drum was his magical artifact, forged through countless years and experiences, yet he discarded it without a second thought. Both Zu An and Yu Yanluo were shocked and enraged. They tried to knock down the rattle drum to silence it, but its flight path was extremely erratic, evidently still being secretly controlled by Poison Child Hui. They had no time to curse him, focusing instead on dealing with the irritating rattle drum while remaining highly vigilant against a potential monster attack.

The Night Elf's eyes flickered upon seeing this, and a sinister grin touched his lips, clearly plotting something malicious as well. Paper Maid offered the two a sympathetic look, but given the situation, she could barely fend for herself. Kong Qing looked hesitant, wondering if he should save Zu An if he got into trouble, considering Zu An was the Princess's beloved.

In that brief moment, Poison Child Hui had already reached the cave entrance. He made a farewell gesture to Zu An, about to turn and continue his escape. Suddenly, a section of the wall beside him snapped shut, biting down on him and dragging him into the wall.

Everything happened so quickly that even with Zu An's cultivation, he couldn't clearly discern what had occurred. It seemed as if two scythe-like teeth had merged with the wall, then instantly closed around Poison Child Hui as he passed, biting him. But what kind of fierce beast in this world possessed such long fangs, capable of opening to 180 degrees?

Poison Child Hui let out a scream and struggled desperately. After all, he was a renowned villain with considerable cultivation. He braced his hands against the wall, trying to pull himself out. Unfortunately, he had already been severely wounded in that instant, and with his vital points trapped, he couldn't exert his full strength in that position. No matter how much he struggled, his entire body continued to be pulled into the wall.

Poison Child Hui spat out a mouthful of black blood, clearly indicating severe internal injuries. He then furiously flung countless blue powders into the wall. Poison Child Hui was renowned for his poisons and was naturally highly skilled in their use. Yu Yanluo herself had experienced it once before. Now, in such a desperate situation, he was undoubtedly holding nothing back, using his most potent poisons. Unfortunately, those potent toxins vanished into the wall as if into a bottomless sea, and the monster inside showed no reaction whatsoever. Instead, Poison Child Hui's flailing hands grew weaker and weaker, and the blood he spat out even contained fragments of internal organs.

Desperately, he stretched out a hand towards Kong Qing and the others, his voice a mere whisper, "Save... save me..." The others swallowed hard, but no one moved. They had only gathered due to shared interests, so they certainly wouldn't risk their lives at a moment like this. As for Zu An and Yu Yanluo, they remained indifferent. This fellow had, in a sense, brought this upon himself; he deserved it. The light in Poison Child Hui's eyes dimmed, and the next second, with a final tug from within, his entire body vanished into the wall.

Zu An, using his vital energy for a sound transmission, asked the others, "Did any of you get a clear look at what it was?"

"No, it just looked like two large pincer-like appendages," replied Paper Maid.

The Night Elf tightened his grip on his sword. He had originally intended to escape through the nearby tunnel while Poison Child Hui was caught, but the passage was too narrow, and he feared passing through might alert the monster and lead to an attack on himself. Furthermore, that very opening was shown on the map as the only way to exit the mine, leaving him conflicted.

At this moment, Kong Qing said with some confusion, "Huh, why isn't the terrifying pressure as intense as last time?"

Just as Zu An was about to ask, a sudden surge of alarm jolted him. He pulled Yu Yanluo upward and leaped. Where they had just been, a monstrous maw violently snapped shut, its two sharp, gleaming teeth closing like scissors. Yu Yanluo's defensive patterns were instantly shattered by the bite. The monster clearly hadn't anticipated its sure-hit attack missing its mark. It shot upward, lunging towards them like lightning.

Seeing Zu An under attack, the Night Elf felt not fear, but delight. He quickly darted towards the tunnel where Poison Child Hui had met his end, determined to use this opportunity to escape.

Zu An had no time to spare a thought for him. As the monster lunged out, he finally got a clear look at its appearance. It resembled a gigantic, elongated worm, its body gleaming with a metallic luster. Its head was indistinguishable; instead, at its front were two pincer-like teeth, and when its mouth opened, countless serrated rings were visible inside. Its appearance was very similar to a Bobbit worm from his previous life's animal documentaries, only immeasurably larger.

"How 'refreshing' would it be to be bitten by a mouth like that?" Zu An was still imagining how painful it must have been for Poison Child Hui when he was bitten, when the strange long worm already spewed out a cloud of black mist from its mouth. It clearly intended to use this black mist to poison them both. Yu Yanluo unfurled the Thousand-Mile Mountain and Sea Map, absorbing the black mist. She then tried to absorb the strange worm itself, but it remained completely still, evidently impervious to her map's power.

She had no choice but to activate her Medusa's Eye, her eyes glowing. After resting and taking healing medicine, she had recovered some of her vital energy and could barely exert some strength. Covered by her gaze, the strange worm's body stiffened momentarily, but it didn't turn to stone and quickly recovered. But that brief moment was enough. Zu An drew his long sword and plunged it directly into what he assumed was its "head."

A gush of green liquid sprayed out, and the entire long worm thrashed wildly, instinctively trying to retract into the ground. The immense force from his hand made Zu An stumble, nearly dragging him back into the earth. He quickly employed the technique of "Thousand-Catty Drop," stomping his feet onto the ground with a resounding boom, leaving deep imprints. The strange worm twisted frantically, dragging his feet and carving two deep marks across the ground.

Seeing this, Yu Yanluo rushed over to help him, but even with their combined cultivation, they struggled to hold it back. Just then, Paper Maid took action, sending countless paper money tokens flying towards the creature. However, they merely sparked against its surface without inflicting any damage. Kong Qing's eyes narrowed, and a three-colored divine light flashed. With a soft pop, green liquid also oozed from the surface of the long worm.