239: Chapter 239 Exploring the Demon's Lair, Magical Perception

The wind swirled dead leaves at the edge of the dense forest, and debris slid across the ground as if pushed backward by something invisible.

Chen Wuwang did not stop his pace, his right knuckles tapping lightly on the hilt of the dagger at his waist—three short, forceful taps.

This was his signal to confirm the alert status.

Bai Ling, behind him, nodded slightly. Her fingertips traced a semicircle in front of her chest, and a wisp of pale green light slid down her wrist, seeping into the soil.

"Something is moving," she whispered. "It's not the Zerg, and it's not human."

Chen Wuwang narrowed his eye—the one without the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye—and gazed at the forest ahead, which was shrouded in mist.

On the screen of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, chaotic ripples flickered, as if the signal had been shredded by something.

He reached out and swiped in front of his eyes, turning off the automatic analysis mode and manually locking onto the terrain contours within fifty paces ahead.

The image stabilized somewhat, but it remained blurry, with purple-gray noise along the edges.

"Demonic Qi interference?" he asked.

Bai Ling did not answer immediately; she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.

Her hair moved without wind, and a few silver strands at her forehead floated up as if buoyed by an invisible current.

Her lips parted slightly, and she exhaled a single syllable—extremely light, yet it caused the surrounding air to vibrate.

"Hum—"

A response came from underground, low and echoing, like some kind of giant beast turning over in its sleep.

"More than one," Bai Ling opened her eyes, a flash of silver light passing through her pupils before quickly fading. "In the direction of the cave entrance, a hundred zhang away, the concentration of Demonic Qi has tripled. In the deepest part... something is presiding over it."

Chen Wuwang didn't say anything; his left hand reached up to touch the three claw marks on his left cheek, pressing lightly.

This was a habit of his when thinking, helping him stay clear-headed.

He stared at the screen, recorded the vibration frequency from just now, and saved it to the System log.

The [family rise system] had not refreshed its instructions for the day yet, but he knew that for some things, one could not wait for heaven's will; one had to seize it for oneself.

"How much longer can you hold on?" he asked.

Bai Ling bit the tip of her tongue, the taste of blood making her eyes clearer. "Ten minutes. If I probe deeper, the heroic spirits will become restless."

"That's enough." Chen Wuwang raised his hand, signaling her to stop. "Don't push yourself."

He walked forward two steps and stood on a protruding rock, widening his field of view.

Ahead was a collapsed slope with sparse vegetation. The ground was split by several fissures, pitch-black as if someone had slashed them open with a knife.

The edges of the fissures were covered in that purple-gray moss—the same as before—where Spiritual Qi was reduced to zero, unable to be absorbed even by the most basic Spirit Gathering Array.

He crouched down and reached out to touch the moss.

A cold sensation came from his fingertips, as if he were touching dead flesh.

When he withdrew his hand, his fingernails were stained with gray-green residue. He rubbed them together, and the powder fell away with a rustle.

"It didn't grow naturally," he whispered. "Someone fed it."

Bai Ling walked over and stood half a step behind him and to the side.

She didn't close her eyes again, but she could feel that aura still seeping out—Demonic Qi like a tide, surging up from underground in wave after wave, carrying the smell of rot and rust.

"They are adapting," she said. "When we first saw it, the Demonic Qi was scattered, but now... it has formed veins. Like blood vessels."

Chen Wuwang sneered. "It seems they are coming for us."

He stood up and scanned his surroundings.

There was no birdsong, no insect chirping; even the wind had gone quiet.

This patch of forest seemed to have been drained of all sound, leaving only the two of them as living beings.

"Why do you think they chose this moment to emerge?" he asked.

Bai Ling shook her head. "I don't know. But one thing is certain—they aren't afraid of us discovering them."

"Deliberate," Chen Wuwang added. "They want us to see it."

He looked back in the direction of the Main Peak.

The defense System was still running, but the distance was too great; mechanical support would take at least seven minutes.

The earth vein defense array in this area had also been eroded by Demonic Qi, making the signal intermittent. They were now isolated troops.

"You said 'presiding over' earlier." He turned back around, staring at the collapsed area. "How strong?"

Bai Ling was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "I have never seen Demonic Qi density of this level. At least... above the Transformation Stage. Possibly... Nascent Soul level."

Chen Wuwang raised an eyebrow.

A Nascent Soul level Yao Beast was not considered top-tier in the Eastern Wasteland, but one that could lurk underground for so long without being detected, and even distort the earth vein's Spiritual Qi, was certainly no ordinary specimen.

Furthermore, this place was too close to the Main Peak, too close to be a coincidence.

"Not a stray species," he said. "It was planted here long ago."

Bai Ling nodded. "And... it knows we are watching it."

Chen Wuwang's mouth twitched. "Then let's not keep it waiting too long."

He walked forward, his pace faster than before.

Bai Ling followed, quietly pinching a stealth talisman in her palm to suppress the fluctuations within her body.

The two of them moved one after the other, advancing along the edge of the fissures.

The ground became softer and softer; stepping on it felt like treading on rotting meat, with each step sinking in a little.

After thirty paces, Chen Wuwang suddenly stopped.

He raised his hand, signaling Bai Ling not to move.

Ten paces ahead, the ground had split into a V-shaped opening, about two zhang wide and bottomless.

The rocks at the edge were charred black, as if scorched by high heat, yet there were no traces of flame burns.

He crouched down, used the tip of his dagger to pick up some gravel, and placed it under his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye for scanning.

"Temperature is normal, but the molecular structure is abnormal," he muttered to himself. "It looks like it was torn apart by some kind of high-frequency vibration."

Bai Ling leaned in to take a look, and her expression changed. "This isn't physical destruction... it's magic disintegration."

"What do you mean?"

"It means," she lowered her voice, "that this opening was 'cut' from the inside by someone. It used high-level spatial magic."

Chen Wuwang stared at the opening and said nothing.

Spatial magic was mastered by very few in the Cultivation World.

Those capable of using it to this extent were either ancient remnants or... outsiders.

He suddenly recalled the instruction the System had given three days ago: "Yao Beast nest appears in the back mountain".

At the time, he thought it was remnants of the Zerg, but looking at it now, it was probably not that simple.

"Do you remember the energy residue from when Mo Yuan last attacked?" he asked.

Bai Ling shook her head. "It's different. This one is more... primitive. It's like it tore open the fascia of the earth's crust directly."

Chen Wuwang stood up, walked to the edge of the opening, and looked down.

Black, so deep it was bottomless.

But his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye captured a trace of something unusual—there was a faint reflection at the bottom, like the shell of some kind of crustacean.

"Something is moving down there," he said.

Bai Ling walked closer, holding her breath.

She closed her eyes again, concentrated a wisp of green light at her fingertips, and slowly probed outward.

The thread of light descended, but as soon as it touched that layer of black mist, it snapped with a "pop".

"A barrier," she opened her eyes, her face pale. "Natural, but it has been reinforced. I can't get in."

Chen Wuwang nodded and didn't let her try again.

He had already simulated seven or eight combat methods in his mind, but he had no confidence in any of them. Against an opponent of this level, forcing his way in was tantamount to suicide.

He looked down at the time.

There were three hours left until the System refreshed.

His fingers tapped the dagger hilt again—this time, five taps.

"It's not a test," he whispered. "It's a must-fight battle."

Bai Ling heard him and didn't ask.

She knew what Chen Wuwang meant.

This kind of layout, this kind of intensity, could not be just to scare people.

What the opponent wanted was not retreat, but a decisive battle.

"We have to go back," she said.

"No," Chen Wuwang shook his head. "Further ahead."

"But you just said—"

"I said we couldn't force our way in," he interrupted her. "But we can take a look."

He took a thumb-sized metal sphere from his robes, its surface covered in runes.

This was the "Spirit Energy Probe" recently made by Chen Tiezhu, capable of operating for a short time in high Demonic Qi environments.

He pressed the switch, and the probe unfolded six thin legs, crawling toward the edge of the opening like a spider before slowly descending.

The screen began to transmit images back.

At first it was pitch black, then, little by little, outlines emerged.

On the rock walls, it was densely packed with egg sacs.

Each was the size of a human head, covered in purple-gray moss, and inside, one could vaguely see wriggling shadows.

And in the deepest part, a huge shadow coiled in the center of the underground cavity, like a giant beast pieced together from countless arthropod limbs, lying there quietly, motionless.

But Chen Wuwang could see clearly—on its abdomen, a pair of compound eyes were slowly opening.

Staring straight at the probe.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath and immediately cut the signal.

The probe lost contact instantly.

He grabbed Bai Ling's wrist and retreated five steps, stopping only when his back was against a large rock.

"Did you see it?" Bai Ling's voice was tight.

"I saw it," Chen Wuwang caught his breath. "The big guy, it's awake."

Bai Ling swallowed. "It knows we're here."

"Yeah," Chen Wuwang nodded. "And... it's waiting for us to go in."

He looked up at the sky.

The clouds were hanging very low, and sunlight could barely penetrate them.

The forest was terrifyingly quiet; even the wind had stopped.

His right hand pressed on the dagger, while his left hand silently asked the System in the depths of his consciousness: Are there any new instructions?

No response.

He knew that in this battle, he could only rely on himself.

"Pass the order down," he whispered. "All teams stand by in place, and no one is allowed to approach the collapsed area. Notify the Main Peak to prepare the Level 3 combat readiness protocol."

Bai Ling nodded and immediately took out a communication talisman to begin operating it.

Chen Wuwang didn't speak again; he stared at the opening, his eyes as deep as an abyss.

He knew that with the next step, there would be no turning back.