Chapter 181 Underground Race Against Time!

Chapter 181: Chapter 119: Underground Race Against Time!

Then, they suddenly began to flee, crowding together as they squeezed deeper into the crevices, desperately burrowing into the cracks of the stone wall.

The rock wall finally cracked open, burst apart by an outward-expanding force from within. Crushed stones scattered in all directions, filling the air with dust.

A segment of a massive pincer poked out of the fissure—it was something ten times thicker and ten times longer than the Rock Worms. The monster was over fifteen meters long, its entire body covered in a dark yellow carapace edged with fine, dense bristles.

Its head was a hideous amalgamation: two rows of inward-curving maxillipeds, a pair of massive fangs, and countless tiny, wriggling tentacles. Its eyes consisted of two rows of ocelli, neatly arranged along both sides of its head shell, each one a dark red.

This was a Desert Centipede! And Chen Shang had seen one before!

The one outside Saphireon’s Vault was nearly identical to the one before him. The patterns on its carapace, the Energy circulation patterns, and even the curvature of its fangs were exactly the same. However, the modifications on this type of centipede... were unregistered. The Tower Guard had once speculated that it was a lost creation of a Black Wizard. As a result, Chen Shang went on high alert, quietly gathering his Power.

The centipede did not attack them. It crawled down from the rock wall, coiling its body into a ring and encircling Chen Shang and Alicia in the center. Its pincers flared open, and its fangs were raised, aimed in the direction the Rock Worms had fled.

The Rock Worms had completely lost their will to fight the moment the centipede appeared. Dozens of worms huddled together were speared one by one by the centipede’s claws, threaded onto its pincers like meat on a skewer. Bodily fluids splattered, leaving streaks of dark green across the stone walls. The remaining Rock Worms burrowed into the deeper underground crevices, disappearing without a trace.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the fissure the centipede had emerged from.

A figure walked out of the darkness, wearing a dark gray robe with the hood pulled low, revealing only a pale chin. He had a gaunt figure. The moment he appeared, the centipede fell silent, and simultaneously, a notification popped up on Chen Shang’s interface.

[Extractable Entry Detected: Earth Escape (Blue) — Source: Mysterious Person / Desert Centipede Controller. Completeness: 47%. Extract?]

"Extract!" Chen Shang commanded in his mind.

A deep Blue light flared, and immediately after, the interface vibrated again.

[Mythical Resonance conditions met! Earth Escape (Blue) + Space Anchor·Fragment (Blue) + Space Expansion·Fragment (Blue) can be fused into the Divine Techniques entry: Shrinking Earth (Purple). Fuse?]

"Fuse!"

Three streaks of Blue light converged on the interface. The heaviness of Earth Escape and the emptiness of woven Space twisted into a single strand, transforming into a pale Gold light.

[Shrinking Earth (Purple): Incomplete Celestial Spirit Technique, Close But Far Away, Shrinking Inches.

The Space beneath one’s feet is folded. The actual distance of a single step is ten or a hundred times the original, depending on the Magic Power output. Completeness: 41%.]

Chen Shang closed the interface, raised his head, and looked at the mysterious man.

The mysterious man finally turned around. The shadow of his hood obscured most of his face, revealing only a pair of dark gray eyes. Those eyes lingered on Chen Shang for a moment, then fell onto the Cyan Jade Gourd at Alicia’s waist before shifting to the Divine Sword at Chen Shang’s waist.

Alicia bowed slightly. "Sir, thank you for your assistance. We are Apprentices from the Starfall Laboratory, here to collect Earth Element samples."

Her tone was respectful, treating the mysterious man as a Wizard they had encountered by chance. It was quite common for a passing Wizard to lend a helping hand to Apprentices.

The mysterious man did not respond. His gaze lingered on the Divine Sword for a long time. Then, he reached out and spread his five fingers. "Give me the sword."

Alicia’s smile froze.

Chen Shang did not hesitate. He instantly unleashed the Water-Fire Heaven Extremes he had long been gathering. Without even checking the results of his attack, he grabbed Alicia’s arm with his other hand and activated Shrinking Earth.

The ground beneath his feet folded the very moment he stepped forward. He only took a single step, yet this step spanned nearly a hundred meters, taking them directly from the edge of the fissure into the deeper shadows of the rock wall.

Behind them, the mysterious man was momentarily hindered by the Water-Fire Heaven Extremes for mere fractions of a second. His figure then instantly shrank into a blurry speck as he gave chase.

But the centipede was even faster!

Its dark yellow carapace left an afterimage in the darkness. The speed at which its pincers snapped open was barely slower than Shrinking Earth.

When Chen Shang took his second step, the centipede’s fangs snapped shut precisely where he had just been standing. The rock shattered, and crushed stones flew everywhere. One of the fragments smashed into Chen Shang’s back, making him grunt in pain.

He didn’t stop. He activated Shrinking Earth for a third, fourth, and fifth time in rapid succession. With every step he took, his Spiritual Force Field vibrated violently, as if someone had struck a muffled bell within his Sea of Consciousness. A nosebleed trickled out; the warm liquid slid over his lips and dripped onto his robe.

Alicia didn’t speak. Her face was as pale as a sheet of paper, but she knew exactly what to do. She neither struggled nor slowed him down, instead silently deploying Defensive Witchcraft.

The centipede’s body writhed through the narrow crevices, its carapace scraping against the rock walls and throwing off showers of sparks. Its speed noticeably increased after Chen Shang’s sixth use of Shrinking Earth... It had learned to predict his movements!

It anticipated the exact location where Chen Shang would land every time. Its pincers no longer lunged at where he had stood, but instead snapped toward the spot he was about to materialize. On his seventh use of Shrinking Earth, he had barely taken half a step when the centipede’s fangs were already waiting at his landing point. Chen Shang forcefully changed direction, but the fangs grazed his shoulder, tearing a gash in his robe.

"That Wizard is controlling it! He’s locked onto us!"

The stability of Shrinking Earth was broken. The two of them were violently ejected from the rock, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Alicia was the first to scramble up. Acting like a magical machine gun, she hurled a barrage of Frost Witchcraft behind them. Without even glancing back to see if it hit, she quickly helped Chen Shang to his feet.

"Let’s go," Chen Shang said, gritting his teeth as he stood up. He released several Huluwa from his Space Book, attached his own aura to them, and sent them fleeing in different directions to create a diversion.

Then, he activated Shrinking Earth once more. His Spiritual Power was completely depleted, but he couldn’t stop now!

A few moments later, the Wizard arrived at the scene. Sensing auras scattering in all directions, he raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. But how long can you run?"

He selected a direction and gave chase.