Chapter 180 - 119: Underground Race Against Time!

Chapter 180: Chapter 119: Underground Race Against Time!

When the white light dissipated, a grayish-white landscape stretched out beyond the Teleportation Gate. Crushed stones of all sizes littered the view—some as small as fists, others as large as houses. Even larger ones crouched on the solid ground like primordial behemoths. A massive High Tower loomed nearby.

Alicia furrowed her brows slightly. There was no grass here, no trees, no Water... not even a single trace of living creatures. The sky was grayish-Purple, devoid of clouds or a sun. Only a blurry Nebula hung at the zenith, dim and resembling a half-closed eye. Moreover, the air was thin and the temperature low, though not extreme.

Alicia reached out her hand, forming an Ice Needle in her palm. It remained stable in the air for a long time before finally melting. "The Earth Element concentration is very high, while the Water Element is practically nonexistent," she noted. "The power of my Ice Witchcraft will decrease here, but its duration will be extended."

Chen Shang did not speak; his Eye of Truth was already active. The rubble on the ground wasn’t composed of Ordinary stones. Every piece was soaked in Earth Elements. Consequently, under the vision of the Eye of Truth, those grayish-white rocks appeared earthy yellow, emitting a dull glow. However, the Quality of these stones was too low to meet Chen Shang’s needs, nor did they trigger any special attributes.

The underground Earth Element concentration was even higher. For every hundred meters of depth, the concentration nearly doubled. Chen Shang also spotted dense networks of underground fissures, likely torn open by tectonic movements from some bygone era. These cracks extended downward from the surface, their depths bottomless. The Earth Element concentration at the edges of several fissures was abnormally high, so dense it was glaring.

"Let’s go!" he said, selecting a fissure and stepping into the void. Alicia followed right behind him, condensing Ice Crystals under her feet to slow her descent.

The beginning of the crack was narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time. The stone walls on both sides were rough and jagged. Chen Shang condensed a layer of One-Element Heavy Water into a protective film over his body to prevent being scraped by the rocks. After free-falling for about fifteen minutes, the fissure gradually widened—from accommodating one person to two, and then to a width where three could walk side by side. The color of the stone walls also shifted from grayish-white to dark gray, its surface shimmering with a fine metallic luster, indicative of oxides from certain crystals or metal Ores.

Deep underground, mineral veins sintered by subterranean pressure and temperature were everywhere. Since they held little value, Chen Shang only casually collected a few. As they ventured deeper, the Earth Element concentration grew increasingly dense. Deep within the rocks, certain dark yellow spots of light even moved sluggishly, resembling glowing schools of fish in the deep sea.

"Something’s coming!" Chen Shang suddenly stopped and whispered. His Eye of Truth captured several slender, grayish-white shadows moving rapidly against the stone walls. They were incredibly fast.

These strange creatures were over three meters long, their bodies composed of segmented carapaces. Fine bristles lined both sides of each shell segment. They had no eyes on their heads—only circular maws filled with sharp teeth, which opened and closed to swallow massive amounts of rock debris.

"Rock Worms," Alicia said, identifying the creatures and immediately sharing their details. "They are social creatures. Average adults are Tier Two, surviving by devouring Earth Elements. They generally don’t initiate attacks on creatures larger than themselves."

No sooner had she spoken than more Rock Worms surged from the crevices in the walls. Over a hundred of them entered their field of vision, their grayish-white bodies squirming rapidly along the stone as they closed in from all directions. Their maws opened wider, sharp teeth glinting coldly. Clearly, they were highly interested in these two Flesh and Blood Creatures.

Chen Shang abruptly drew his Divine Sword, its blade erupting with light like a miniature sun in the darkness. The approaching Rock Worms shrank back momentarily when struck by the radiance, only to lunge forward even more violently. The Fire Cutting property of the Divine Sword provided no particular advantage against the Rock Worms, but its sheer sharpness more than made up for it. Chen Shang slaughtered them, practically felling one with every strike. The blade sliced from head to Tail, shattering carapaces and sending bodily fluids spraying. Yet, even more Rock Worms poured out from the fissures to fill the gaps.

Alicia waved her hands in rapid succession, shooting dozens of Ice Needles from her fingertips and pinning them precisely into the joints of the worms’ armor. The Ice Elements attached to the needles exploded inside the worms, freezing their fluids. However, since Rock Worms were Earth Element creatures, their resistance to ice was much higher than that of Flesh and Blood Creatures. They would likely recover their Life Force in the span of two or three Hourglasses.

Taking advantage of Alicia repelling the swarm, Chen Shang sheathed his Divine Sword at his waist. He brought his hands together, condensing a sphere of Samadhi True Flame compressed to its absolute limit. The dark Gold Fireball was only the size of a fingernail, but its heat exceeded fifteen hundred degrees. He flicked the Fireball toward the densest cluster of Rock Worms. The Fireball exploded, its shockwave carrying intense heat in all directions. The dozen or so closest Rock Worms were engulfed by the Flames, their carapaces cracking and peeling under the high temperature as their bodily fluids evaporated into steam.

But before the steam could even dissipate, yet another wave of Rock Worms flooded out of the fissures. Their numbers seemed endless. The sight of those grayish-white bodies peeling off the stone walls was enough to evoke physiological disgust. It was absolutely a nightmare scenario for anyone with trypophobia.

Just as Chen Shang was about to increase his magical output, he suddenly looked down in another direction and discreetly tugged on Alicia’s sleeve. Though Alicia lacked the Eye of Truth, she also sensed that something was wrong. Immediately after, the rock wall shuddered. Something much larger was surfacing from deep underground. Upon feeling the tremor, the Rock Worms ceased their assault, pressing their bodies flat against the stone walls and remaining completely motionless.