153: Glimmer of Light and Rotten Bone Tracking

The forked path was narrower than imagined, with towering black rock walls on both sides. The walls were covered in dense, tiny holes, and faint scratching sounds could vaguely be heard coming from within.

Liu Shan sprinted, pressing against the rock wall; his soles crushed the gravel on the ground, creating rapid noises that were exceptionally harsh in the silent passage.

The pressure behind him followed like a shadow, and the roar of the humanoid mist seemed to explode right beside his ears. Each vibration caused the rock walls to shed dust, and small stones pelted his back, bringing waves of dull pain.

He dared not look back, only staring fixedly at the faint light ahead that was growing brighter.

The faint light exhibited an eerie cyan-green color, like some kind of will-o'-the-wisp, yet it was more stable than one. Vaguely, he could see that the source of the light seemed to be an open space.

"Almost there... a little faster..."

Liu Shan's lungs felt like they were about to burst, and his throat was filled with the metallic taste of blood. His New Power had long since been exhausted, and he was relying entirely on a will to survive to keep going.

The Three-colored Imprint on his forehead was shockingly hot, as if warning him of something, yet it could not provide any substantial help.

The cyan-green light at the end of the passage suddenly flickered violently. Following that, a rich stench of rot drifted along the passage, even more pungent than the aura of the humanoid mist, making one want to retch.

Liu Shan's footsteps faltered, and a strong sense of unease welled up in his heart.

In this stench of rot, there was a trace of a familiar aura—similar to the aura of those small black fish at the bottom of Chenyuan Lake, yet richer and more dangerous.

However, the footsteps behind him were already close at hand, and the shadow of the humanoid mist was even projected onto the rock wall in front, constantly elongating and drawing near.

There was no choice left.

Liu Shan gritted his teeth and charged into the open space at the end of the passage.

The sight before him made him gasp.

This was a massive karst cave. In the center of the cave was a black swamp, in which floated countless skeletons—some human, others of various Yao Beasts. The bones were covered in a layer of viscous green slime, which was constantly bubbling and emitting that pungent stench of rot.

The cyan-green light was emanating from the swamp itself; those slimes flickered in the darkness like countless pairs of will-o'-the-wisp eyes.

Even more terrifyingly, crawling along the edge of the swamp were dozens of giant insects. These insects possessed scorpion-like tails and spider-like long legs, their bodies covered in dark green carapaces. They were staring fixedly at the intruding Liu Shan with compound eyes, green slime dripping from their mouths as they emitted "hissing" sounds of threat.

They were another type of guardian of the Ancient Ruin—Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders!

Liu Shan's heart sank to the bottom. With Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders in front and the humanoid mist behind, he was completely trapped in a desperate situation.

"Roar—!"

The roar of the humanoid mist rang out at the passage entrance. Immediately after, that blurry black figure appeared at the entrance, its scarlet eyes sweeping across the cave before finally locking onto Liu Shan by the swamp, walking toward him step by step.

The Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders seemed to fear the aura of the humanoid mist and retreated one after another, yet they did not leave, clearly unwilling to give up on Liu Shan, their "prey."

Liu Shan watched the humanoid mist approaching step by step, then looked at the surrounding Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders eyeing him covetously, his brain working rapidly. He could feel that while the Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders were dangerous, they seemed to fear the humanoid mist even more; this might be his only chance.

He took a deep breath and suddenly charged toward the Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders at the edge of the swamp!

"Hiss—!"

The nearest Rotting Bone Scorpion Spider was enraged; it suddenly raised its scorpion tail and shot a stream of green venom at Liu Shan!

Liu Shan had been prepared; his body rolled suddenly to the side. While dodging the venom, he happened to charge underneath another Rotting Bone Scorpion Spider. He raised his hand to condense his last shred of New Power, turning it into a blade of light, and slashed fiercely at the Rotting Bone Scorpion Spider's abdomen!

"Puchi!"

The light blade cut open the soft abdomen, and green body fluid sprayed out. The Rotting Bone Scorpion Spider emitted a shrill hiss and began to writhe crazily, its long legs flailing wildly, just enough to block the path of the humanoid mist behind it.

The humanoid mist was enraged; it raised its pitch-black palm and struck out at the injured Rotting Bone Scorpion Spider!

"Bang!"

The Rotting Bone Scorpion Spider's body was sent flying like a broken sack, landing heavily in the swamp, and was instantly swallowed by the green slime, leaving only a few faint hisses.

But this brief obstruction had already given Liu Shan a chance. Taking advantage of the moment when the other Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders were startled and the humanoid mist was blocked, he leaped and jumped into the black swamp!

The cold, viscous liquid instantly enveloped his body, and a powerful suction force came from the depths of the swamp, attempting to drag him to the bottom. Countless skeletons scraped against his skin, bringing bone-chilling cold and a sickening sensation.

Liu Shan endured the discomfort, desperately paddling his limbs as he swam toward the opposite bank of the swamp. He knew that although the swamp was dangerous, it might be the only place where he could temporarily avoid the humanoid mist and the Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders.

Behind him came the hissing of the Rotting Bone Scorpion Spiders and the roaring of the humanoid mist; clearly, neither of them had expected Liu Shan to jump into the swamp.

The suction of the swamp grew stronger and stronger, Liu Shan's movements became slower and slower, and the air in his lungs was about to run out. Just a moment before he was about to suffocate, his fingers finally touched the soil of the opposite bank.

He exhausted all his strength, grabbed a rock on the bank, and dragged himself up. He lay on the ground, coughing violently and spitting out a few mouthfuls of black slime.

Just after catching his breath for a few moments, he felt a familiar pressure coming from behind.

He looked back sharply and saw the humanoid mist standing on the opposite bank of the swamp, its scarlet eyes staring fixedly at him, its pitch-black palm slowly raising, seemingly preparing to attack him from across the swamp.

Meanwhile, in the swamp, those green slimes suddenly began to boil, and countless skeletons floated up from the bottom of the water. Under the influence of the humanoid mist's power, they actually began to piece together and combine, forming a giant skeleton monster that swam toward Liu Shan!

Liu Shan's pupils contracted sharply.

He had just escaped one desperate situation only to fall into a new one.

There was the humanoid mist on the opposite bank, a skeleton monster in front of him, and other dangers might be hidden all around.

He struggled to stand up and looked toward the other side of the cave. There was a low cave entrance there, covered by dense vines emitting a cyan-green light, making the situation inside unclear.

But that was the only way out.

Liu Shan gritted his teeth, turned around, and charged toward that cave entrance.

Behind him, the skeleton monster had already crawled onto the bank, emitting a harsh sound of grinding bones, its speed shockingly fast.

The humanoid mist's palm had also struck down, and a black beam of energy shot through the swamp, carrying an aura of destruction as it fired at his back!

He was still a few steps away from the cave entrance.

The sharp claws of the skeleton monster were already close at hand.

The black energy beam was about to strike his back.

Liu Shan could feel the aura of death enveloping his entire body.

He lunged forward and dived into that vine-covered cave entrance.

The moment he entered the cave, a loud noise came from behind—evidently, the energy beam and the skeleton monster had collided.

The vines at the cave entrance closed automatically, completely cutting off the sound and light from outside.

Liu Shan collapsed onto the cold ground, gasping for breath, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

In the darkness, he vaguely heard a low sound, like chanting, coming from deep within the cave.

The sound was ancient and mysterious, carrying an indescribable attraction.

He did not know what was waiting for him ahead.

But he knew he had to keep moving forward.

Because the threat behind him could catch up at any moment.

Liu Shan struggled to stand up and walked, step by step, in the direction from which the sound came.

In the darkness, it seemed that something was slowly opening its eyes.