Chapter Fourteen: Triggered Mechanism Sweeps Away, Hunting Dogs Flee in Panic

A faint radiance enveloped the three of them, illuminating the area within several meters around them. Yet, for some unknown reason—perhaps because the ancient path was too dark or thick with drifting shadows—their visible range rapidly shrank, dwindling to merely one to three meters.

At that moment, the unmistakable sound of water droplets hitting the ground echoed from both ahead and behind. A chill wind swept around them, subtle yet biting enough to leave their faces feeling slightly parched and cold.

Ye Yu drew his guqin, cradling it with his right hand while his left slowly rested on the strings. A faint purple aura swirled at his fingertips, and his black eyes glinted with a sharp, icy light.

“Tick... tick...”

The dripping sound steadily approached, coming from both before and behind them in a synchronized, uncanny rhythm, as if some silent accord guided the droplets toward Ye Yu and his companions.

“Third!” Luo Feng whispered a warning, and immediately, a green radiance enveloped Ye Yu and Qu Zheng.

Luo Feng could now sustain the group’s enhanced state continuously, and half of his customized talent skill tree was dedicated to team support.

“It’s getting closer,” Ye Yu narrowed his eyes and murmured, sharing the situation with Luo Feng and Qu Zheng.

As a string-instrument specialist, Ye Yu’s hearing surpassed that of others, allowing him to detect sounds over a wider range. On this narrow ancient path, his auditory perception extended linearly, sharpening his awareness.

“Tick... tick... tick...”

When the dripping noise closed within twenty meters of their position, a streak of purple light suddenly flashed in Ye Yu’s eyes. He spun around, his left hand swiftly sweeping across the guqin strings. A surge of musical notes burst forth, and a radiant purple arc shot violently into the darkness behind them.

Whoosh—

A terrifying sight unfolded. As the purple arc illuminated its path, Ye Yu and the others recoiled with a mix of disgust and alarm. Crawling along the floor and walls were dozens of bone-white insect-like creatures, their grotesque forms exuding an intense, numbing cold with every movement.

Ye Yu counted silently—there were at least sixty of these skeletal bugs in view.

The purple arc struck many of them, but these creatures possessed a rudimentary intelligence far surpassing the sinister cultists Ye Yu had encountered in the forbidden Taishan zone. Upon sensing that they had been discovered, the bugs emitted a piercing, incessant “squeak” that sounded almost like a frenzied howl, their crawling speeds accelerating as if driven mad.

In reality, the harsh “squeaking” came from the grinding of their bony joints. Their hastened advance was a direct charge toward Ye Yu and his companions.

Without hesitation, Ye Yu struck the guqin again, releasing several more beams of purple light. At the same time, Luo Feng stepped forward, placing himself between Ye Yu, Qu Zheng, and the oncoming swarm. His left hand rose, swirling with strange green energy, which he unleashed with a reverse palm strike. His ring-shaped weapon glowed vividly with emerald light.

In that instant, Luo Feng’s strike repelled a group of the bone bugs at the front. He then slammed his weapon into the ground, triggering a circle of intricate ancient runes bathed in dazzling green light.

“Life’s Guardian: Purifying Retribution!” he intoned.

Green beams burst forth from the ground, scattering the skeletal insects. The beams seemed to inflict direct, potent damage, especially effective against these bone bugs.

“Third, you can attack now. The bugs marked by my ‘Life’s Guardian: Purifying Retribution’ are vulnerable to your skills,” Luo Feng explained.

Only then did Ye Yu understand: the bone bugs had been immune to attacks before, but Luo Feng’s skill had altered their state.

“Purple Wind Returns to the Clouds!” Ye Yu’s hand swept over the strings again, conjuring several fierce purple gusts that swept over the marked bugs. The violent winds even tore clear scars into the walls of the ancient path.

One after another, Ye Yu unleashed “Purple Wind Returns to the Clouds,” the gusts striking the initial wave of bone bugs before ricocheting onto others, continuing in relentless succession. Luo Feng’s “Life’s Guardian” marks made them susceptible to Ye Yu’s attacks, allowing him to deal significant damage and reduce the creatures to near death.

Qu Zheng, watching eagerly, produced a dozen silver darts from his waist pouch. Blue energy swirled around his left hand, tinting the darts a deep navy.

Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh—

“Executioner’s Blade: Sword Darts!” he shouted.

He hurled the silver darts, now crackling with lightning. Upon striking several bone bugs, the electric charge burned them to ashes in an instant.

In no time, the sixty bone bugs were whittled down to just a dozen or so. The survivors halted, their incessant squeaking seeming like frantic communication. Moments later, they gradually retreated, melting back into the darkness. Clearly, facing Ye Yu’s trio, they chose flight.

“How did so many of these bone bugs appear inside this puzzle-laden ancient path? Is this route actually a monster’s passage?” Qu Zheng asked, a bitter smile on his face. Could it be that the pattern was misleading—that the path led the wrong way?

Ye Yu shook his head slightly and sheathed the guqin. “Enough speculation. For now, we must press forward.”

“Right. If we truly face monsters, so be it,” Luo Feng nodded. Retreat would be the worst choice.

Qu Zheng sighed, crestfallen. “I wanted to solve puzzles, not fight monsters.”

As they advanced another hundred meters, Ye Yu suddenly stomped his foot, producing a sharp, crisp sound.

“Bang.”

The stone beneath his left foot sank three or four centimeters into the ground.

“Looks like trouble’s coming,” Ye Yu said with a resigned shrug. Luo Feng and Qu Zheng shared his helplessness—some trap had been triggered.

Suddenly, a fierce wind howled through the ancient path, and in an instant, the three were swept away by the gale, vanishing from sight. The path, now emptied of them, plunged back into profound silence and darkness.

…

Elsewhere, within the ancient path where the “Witch King” commanded the hunt for monsters, four figures dashed frantically, their faces etched with panic.

“Damn! Run faster!”

“Keep moving!”

“Drunk Hero” and Huang Hong shouted hoarsely, their voices tinged with desperation.

Behind them, a colossal beast nearly nine meters tall pursued relentlessly. It resembled a massive hunting dog, its skin etched with ancient runes faintly glowing red. Its four limbs were perfectly muscled. Had the four not run so swiftly, the beast would have overtaken them instantly.

Its razor-sharp teeth gleamed menacingly, its speed rapid yet playful, as if toying with its prey. It easily closed the distance to within five meters, mouth opening wide to snap—but then it roared and halted, granting them precious moments to flee.

“This monster is at least elite class, and it’s deliberately not devouring us. Damn!” Lowei observed, his beastly eyes reflecting deep mockery.

“Even so, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t kill this hunting dog,” Drunk Hero said grimly, his tone laced with anger and helplessness.

Drunk Hero and Lowei repeatedly launched ranged attacks, but whenever the beast raised a paw, it effortlessly shattered their assaults.

“Damn it! There has to be a way!”

Suddenly, the shadows beneath Drunk Hero expanded dramatically. This shadow-laden environment should have favored the Witch King, but here they faced a thick-skinned, unkillable foe.

From the growing shadows burst countless inky-black chains, writhing like serpents to bind the beast’s legs. Yet, it broke free in under ten seconds.

“Damn, can’t even hold it once restrained?” Drunk Hero cursed softly before turning and sprinting onward.

Huang Hong and the others followed closely. Huang Hong glanced back at the beast and said, “Maybe there’s a condition to killing this hunting dog. So far, we’ve only managed to reduce its health by 40%, but it instantly regenerates back to full. If this goes on, we’ll tire ourselves out before it ever falls.”

“Let’s find a place to hide from this monster first. Only by losing it can we figure out how to deal with it,” Tan Cong nodded.

Lowei ran at the rear, summoning a puppet to momentarily stall the beast’s pursuit.

“My puppet can only hold for twenty seconds. We must lose it within that time,” he warned.

“Understood.”

The four exchanged determined looks, then surged forward with sudden bursts of speed. Several long-range teleports propelled them swiftly ahead.

Lowei severed his puppet’s connection and sprinted at full speed.

The hunting dog, momentarily distanced, snarled in fury and swatted the puppet aside, resuming its rapid chase. Yet, the gap was too great for it to close, only faint, blurred silhouettes of the four ahead visible.

“There’s a large gate up ahead. Let’s open it together and rush inside!” Drunk Hero commanded.

“Got it.”

They quickened their pace, pushing the gate open. Turning back, they saw the beast had closed to within fifty meters, less than a hundred meters behind.

Together, they slammed the gate shut, using every ounce of strength to wedge massive crossbars and lock it tight.

Thud—

The beast collided violently with the gate, the booming impacts deafening.

“That was close. If that gate hadn’t held, it would have broken through,” the four collapsed exhausted onto the ground.

Huang Hong panted, “This gate won’t hold long. We have to move deeper inside to put more distance between us and that monster.”

“This gate isn’t truly locked,” Drunk Hero said, his voice grim. “We only wedged it to keep it from opening. When we first opened it, it was pushed inward!”

His words caused the others’ eyes to widen with alarm.

“Run!”

…