74: Chapter 74 The Rampage of the Demonic Vine! The Cage of Desperation

Spiritless Ruins, Fourth Underground Level, ecological planting zone.

In the dark jungle, tensions were high.

More than a dozen Tactical Hunter Hounds equipped with high-voltage arc emitters locked their scarlet electronic eyes onto Gu Shen. Their extremely well-developed anti-joint mechanical legs tensed up, and the arc emitters on their backs emitted a harsh "ziz ziz" sound.

Gu Shen gripped the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade with both hands. Deep blue lightning danced wildly on the blade's edge, and his Qi Refining Level 7 Peak mana surged violently.

Just at the moment when the Thunder-Magnetic Force and the mechanical beasts' arcs collided and sparked in the air...

Boom!

The humus-rich ground of the entire Fourth Underground Level trembled violently and abruptly!

The strange, sweet fragrance that had originally been silent in the air instantly turned into a nauseating, fishy stench. Those thick, mutated vines that had been lying dormant on the steel supports and buried deep underground seemed to be thoroughly stimulated by this massive energy fluctuation and roared to life!

"Screee—!"

A terrifying, shrill screech, like the crying of an infant, exploded from underground.

Their predatory instincts were completely awakened!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Dozens of ink-green blood vines, as thick as buckets and covered in barbs, violently broke through the soil from all directions! They had no eyes; relying solely on their absolute greed for energy and blood, they began an indiscriminate, frenzied slaughter!

Bang!

One of the mechanical hunter hounds at the very front was struck squarely in the abdomen by a thick, protruding root. The extremely hard high-carbon steel armor was actually caved in and deformed by the force, and the entire mechanical beast was sent flying several yards away like a broken sack.

"Zzzzt!"

The mechanical pack retaliated instantly, with deep blue high-voltage arcs pouring out from their backs, fiercely striking the mutated demonic vines. Charred, foul-smelling sap splattered everywhere, but this only incited even more terrifying ferocity in this mutated jungle.

"Master! The mutated mother plant in the ecological zone has gone completely berserk! It's treating us and these killing machines as fertilizer!" Crab shrieked on Gu Shen's shoulder.

"Heaven helps me!"

A gleam of light burst into Gu Shen's eyes. This dog-eat-dog chaotic situation was the perfect opportunity for him to escape!

"Go!"

He didn't linger in the fight for a second. Green light surged on his body, and the Wood Armor Technique formed instantly. Activating his shadow shoes to the limit, he turned into a blur, weaving madly through the dancing vines and mechanical wreckage.

Whoosh!

A vine covered in jagged teeth coiled viciously toward Gu Shen's ankle from the side.

"Scram!"

Gu Shen didn't dodge or retreat. He slammed his left hand, holding the black turtle shield, into it, and the terrifying force of his bone-refining strength instantly shattered the vine. His right hand swung the gold-severing saber, cutting through the wreckage of a mechanical beast blocking his path, and he dove into the refined iron passageway leading to the Third Floor!

Bang!

Gu Shen turned around and used all his strength to slam the heavy refined iron door shut, pulling down the locking lever.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Outside the door, the sounds of the rampaging vines and mechanical hunter hounds fighting were deafening. Heavy impacts pounded against the door panel, causing dust in the passageway to rain down.

Gu Shen panted heavily, turned around, and walked toward the other end of the passageway—the lead-steel gate leading to the Third Floor biochemical purgatory.

As long as he passed through this door and returned to the security room where he had previously set up his Restriction, he would be able to temporarily escape this endless pursuit.

However, when Gu Shen walked to the blast-proof lead-steel gate, his heart sank to the bottom.

It wouldn't budge.

No matter how much he channeled the great strength of his Bone Refining Art, the gate, which could previously be pushed open from the inside, now felt as if it had been welded to the surrounding walls, remaining completely motionless. The indicator light on the edge of the gate flickered with an extremely glaring red light.

"Master... it's physically locked."

Crab's voice carried a deep sense of despair. "That existence on the Thirteenth Floor, after locking the elevator on the Sixth Level, also cut off the access permissions for all main passageway gates between the floors. It wants to trap us like caged beasts on this level!"

The retreat was sealed, and the path ahead was blocked.

The refined iron door behind the passageway had already begun to show terrifying bulges and deformations under the frenzied bombardment of the vines and mechanical beasts.

At most half an incense stick of time, the door would be broken.

"A dead end?"

Gu Shen leaned his back against the cold iron wall and closed his eyes. He didn't panic; the more desperate the situation, the clearer the cultivator's mind became.

In his mind, countless details flashed by like lightning.

The heavy-duty Puppet on the Sixth Level, the existence capable of Possession on the Thirteenth Floor, the locked gate... and, just now on the Fourth Underground Level, those dozen mechanical hunter hounds that suddenly descended from the sky and flanked him!

Gu Shen suddenly opened his eyes, two rays of solid-looking sharp light flashing in the darkness!

"Crab!"

Gu Shen spoke extremely quickly: "Since those black mechanical hounds could bypass us from other areas to cut off our retreat, what does that mean?"

Crab's central processor instantly overclocked.

"Master, do you mean..."

"The Sects of our Great Yu Cultivation World, besides the main entrance and the visible walkways, must have extremely hidden Formation secret passages and material transport channels!"

Gu Shen stared fixedly at the mechanical spider on his shoulder, enunciating every word: "The existence on the Thirteenth Floor can lock the doors and the central freight elevator. But that massive arsenal on the Sixth Level cannot possibly rely on just one elevator to operate! This thirteen-story underground palace must have another set of hidden shafts used for dumping Materials that don't go through the main entrance!"

A word to the wise!

Crab's dry electronic voice instantly rose by an octave: "Master is wise! I remember now! In the layout of this Shelter, besides the central elevator, there are shafts distributed in the four corners—southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest—used for waste disposal and tactical airdrops!"

"They use an extremely ancient pure mechanical gravity structure and are not connected to the main control network at all! That guy on the Thirteenth Floor cannot lock a purely physical secret passage!"

"Where?" Gu Shen was extremely decisive.

"Right above our heads!"

The mechanical spider's detection head swept upward violently, locking its red light onto an inconspicuous, rusty square grate on the ceiling of the passageway.

"Master, this is the access hatch for the No. 3 tactical waste shaft between the Third and Fourth Floors! Going up, it leads directly to the waste transfer station on the Second Floor; going down, it leads directly to the perimeter of the arsenal on the Sixth Level!"

Boom!

The refined iron door behind them made a teeth-grinding tearing sound, and a mutated vine covered in barbs had already squeezed in through the gap.

"Go!"

Gu Shen didn't hesitate at all. He kicked off the passageway wall with both legs, his entire body shooting upward like a spring.

A cold light flashed from the gold-severing saber in his hand.

Shing!

The rusty refined steel grate was cut off at the root. Gu Shen hooked the edge of the shaft with one hand, used his waist and abdomen strength, and like an eel, instantly drilled into that narrow, dark tactical waste shaft!

Bang!

The very next breath after he drilled into the shaft, the refined iron door below shattered completely. The rampaging mutated vines and a few broken mechanical beasts surged into the passageway, but they could only let out roars of impotent rage at the pitch-black secret passage above.

Inside the secret passage.

Gu Shen braced his hands and feet firmly against the two walls of the shaft, slowly climbing upward.