Chapter 201: 201 Chapter 200: Into the Darkness

Being almost blind while shrouded in utter darkness wasn't the only thing that terrified me. It was the complete absence of life. With my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps, I could sense qi everywhere I went. On an ordinary day, I would be surrounded by vibrant life and active qi, the presences of people and martial artists going about their daily lives or angaging in whatever activities they desired, even at a distance.

I had never felt so utterly alone and isolated before. It was as if someone had cut off all my senses and put me inside an empty labyrinth, where I was doomed to wander alone for all of eternity, with no human companion, nothing. Hell, never mind human companion, I couldn't even detect the life of vermin, insects, bugs, anything.

The whole place felt sterile and completely bereft of life. At least during my time in Sen Lin Forest, I wasn't isolated. There were lots of magical beasts and demonic creatures inhabiting the forest with me. No matter how deep I was within the abyss, I could always detect the faint presences of magical beasts in the distance.

This was the first time I felt truly isolated, cut off from the rest of the world, alone and completely on my own.

Swallowing, I pushed up my glasses with my free hand, which was supposed to be holding onto the plasma pistol…except that I did not own a plasma pistol. For some reason, I was half-expecting Genestealers or Genestealer Hybrids to emerge from the shadows, lunging at me and tearing me apart with their flashing claws…

No, no. wrong story. I wasn't in an underhive city built during the 41st millennium. I was in a xianxia world. There would be no foul xenos hybrids dwelling in the underground tunnels of Tushan City, no mutants with extra arms and eyes scurrying around here and seeking shelter from the tyrannical Imperium, no underground Chaos Cults carrying out their heretical rituals, no underhive gangs waging wars against each other.

I hope.

Besides, Tang Qi Hong was already delivered safely back to Flame Volcano, from what I heard anyway. That was good. I moved better on my own. Better one person stumbling around in the dark than two, or it would be the blind leading the blind.

Actually, where was I? I just knew this was the passageway, but it branched off to a web of corridors, each leading in different directions. I stopped at a junction, unsure of where to take. No, I didn't even know where the hell I was.

"I need a light," I muttered, regretting not storing a flashlight inside my storage device. No doubt it would have come in handy now, and I could rely on the light to read the map in the secret handbook…

Wait, what?

"I do have a light," I exclaimed in realization. Two of them, in fact. Retrieving my smartphone, I activated the flashlight option and cast a faint, luminous glow on the barren corridors before me. The nightvision adjusted and the green tinge vanished, to allow my vision to better adjust to the sudden glare. Bringing out the secret handbook, I displayed the 3D holographic map of the labyrinthine secret passageways, which illuminaed the entire area in a gentle blue light.

"Wow…it even has a GPS function," I murmured when I caught sight of an icon that indicated my position, made out of a circle on top of a triangle. To ensure that I was correct, I moved a few paces forward, and was vindicted when the hovering icon shifted further along one of the blue-tinted 3D paths. "That's really convenient!"

Celebrating inwardly, I skimmed through the map and picked out the best and fastest route to take. Wanting to get out of this creepy underground labyrinth as quickly as possible, I broke into a jog and followed the shimmering holographic map.

At this rate, it shouldn't take me more than an hour to reach the sect.

A few minutes into my journey, however, the hairs on the back on my neck stood and I felt a prickling sensation, as if something was watching me. I quickly spun around, wondering if I had really seen a dark shape dart away at the edges of my periphereal vision, but despite shining my smartphone's flashlight on the area, I picked out nothing.

"…"

I held my breath for a few moments, glancing around nervously and tightening the grip on my secret handbook. I had sheathed my Azure Lotus Sword in order to both consult the map and wield my smartphone, so I was practically unarmed at the moment.

After a tense few seconds, I registered nothing, no movement. My glasses also didn't pick up anything, the readings staying static and zero.

Turning around, I took a few steps forward.

Rustle.

There it was. The rustling sound. I quickly whirled around, but again I found myself greeted by nothing but shadows.

Damn it, I know I heard that!

No doubt about it, there was something in here with me. Even though I couldn't sense its qi or detect its presence, I could hear it. I could feel its gaze. The damned thing was watching me from the shadows, enjoying my disquiet.

Feeling spooked, I kept my smartphone and drew my Azure Lotus Sword while conjuring my Snow Aegis to hover around me protectively. If there was something that ambushed me later, my Spirit Shield would protect me from it.

Or so I hoped.

Relying solely on the illuminated cast by the 3D holographic map from the secret handbook, I continued making my way through the corridor. If I wasted too much time jumping at shadows, I would back in the sect way past morning, or even noon. Not that I could tell the time, what with being trapped inside and all. Well, I could always consult my smartphone, and it mentioned that it was 3 in the morning. Not exactly a good hour to be up, but being a student, I had strange sleeping hours, so that didn't bother me one bit.

What bothered me was the rustling sound. I heard it again, but I ignored it, hastening my steps until I was almost running.

"!!"

For some reason the rustling sound was growing louder, as if whatever was causing it was drawing closer to me. I spun around instinctively, lashing out with my sword, but struck nothing. It was my imagination, after all…

…or I thought it was, until I caught a glimpse of razor-sharp fangs, gleaming claws and a forked tongue before the monstrosity disappeared into the darkness again, scurrying away.

"What the hell is that?!" I demanded, though there was no one around to answer. I swear, that thing actually resembled a purestrain Genestealer, but that was impossible. This was the wrong universe, the wrong story. I was carrying a Spirit Sword and a Spirit Shield, not a laspistol and a chainsword. And I wasn't some legendary Commissar who claimed that he had a fraudulent reputation. Not to mention, I didn't have any sidekick with his trusty meltagun to back me up.

"…huff…"

I began running as quickly as I could. But whatever it was, the horror was chasing me, and from the scurrying across the ground, it was fast. Much faster than me…

"Hiss…!"

Its tongue lashing out, the creature lunged at me, but I used my footwork technique, Duo, and evaded it. The creature crashed through the space where I had been occupying a millisecond ago, its claws rending empty air. It raised its bald, grotesque head, stunned, only for a mobile turret from my Snow Aegis to punch a hole through its skull with a qi beam.

The creature screeched as it crashed onto the ground, going into spasms before finally quieting down.

"The hell is that?"

Tucking my Azure Lotus Sword under my armpit, I retrieved my smartphone and cast my flashlight over it. It looked like a purestrain Genestealer, but it wasn't – otherwise Games Workshop would sue me. Rather, it looked like a cross between the Japanese youkai Kappa, with a shell-like carapace on its back, and a reptilian bug. A forked tongue, a skull-like face with mandibles, and claws curving from scaly arms and legs. It looked as if it usually moved on all fours, but its hind legs were thicker and more massive, implying that it also spent a fair amount of time standing on twos.

It was unlike anything I had seen before, and I was sure I had spent a fair amount of time studying demonic creatures and magical beasts. I certainly hadn't seen anything like this creature in the encyclopedias I had read.

"Oh, whoops. Looks like you found out about them."

A familiar demonic voice echoed throughout the labyrinth and I stilled.

"You…!"

I recognized the voice. He was the shadowy, demonic existence who dwelled underneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, trapped in the lake beneath that huge platform at the foot of Flame Volcano. The guy who repeatedly tried to possess my body over and over again, only to be repelled by my Snow Aegis.

"Yes. Me." The demonic existence laughed mockingly. "It's been a while. I see you've upgraded your spiritual defenses again." I felt something press against the invisible barrier that Snow Aegis cast over me. "You truly are a cautious young man."

I ignored his taunts and attempts to subjugate me and instead focused on the grotesque corpse lying in front of me.

"Were you the one who created these monsters?"

"What? Create these monsters? Me? Goodness, no!" the demonic existence howled with laughter. "What makes you think I can create these monsters? I'm sealed underneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, for heaven's sake! If I have the ability to create monsters, I might as well use it to escape my bonds centuries ago!"

Well, he had a point there, but I wasn't going to trust him so easily. Giving the thing a wide berth, I continued on, relying on the blue holographic map.

"These creatures have been living under the city for decades, undetected by you pathetic humans." The shadowy voice chuckled again. "They are not of this world."

That caught my attention. "You mean they are aliens?" I blurted out.

"Aliens?" the demonic existence sounded like he was frowning, as if he found that word unfamiliar.

"Um, beings from another world," I quickly qualified.

"Ah, yes. Then they are probably aliens. Like I said, they are not of this world." The shadowy existence paused dramatically. "It seems that you still aren't aware of the demonic world. On occasion, the barrier between this world and the demonic world thins, and foul monsters such as these sometimes slip through. That's how they got here, and with no one to hunt them down, they quickly prospered and built their nest in this area."

"…prospered?" I repeated, not liking the sound of that.

"Yeah." The demonic existence giggled sinisterly. "You really didn't think that was the only one of its kind living down here, did you?"

When he finished his sentence, I heard that same rustling sound again, only this time there was a lot more of it. From the sound of it, it seemed like there was at least a dozen of this monster's comrades scurrying in the darkness behind me.

"Holy fuck…!"

With a yell, I took off in the corridor that the holographic map pointed me into, shutting the book and hoping my memory wouldn't lead me astray. An inhuman screeched echoed behind me, and I spun around on reflex, only to see a bunch of claws flashing toward me.

Fortunately, Snow Aegis moved in to intercept, and the claws bounced off its hard surface without leaving a scratch. The grotesque monster snarled in frustration at being thwarted, but I replied by directing one of my six flying mobile turrets to incinerate its head with a well-aimed qi beam and it slumped into the ground.

As it fell like a sack of potatoes, I caught a glimpse of an entire horde of monsters, which probably numbered more than a hundred. Deciding to just call them Deros for now, I coordinated my six hovering mobile turrets to launch a concerted volley of fire, the qi beams lancing through the thick carapace of the shrieking monsters and slaying a few.

Over and over again, my mobile turrets fired, but for every single one they slew, three more took its place. I was sprinting full out now, using my footwork techniques to widen the gap between us as much as possible, but for some reason these Deros were still able to catch up with me.

What insane speed!

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Growling, another one of them lunged at me, slashing to eviscerate me, but once again my Snow Aegis intercepted it. While my Spirit Shield was busily defending me from that assailant, a second one threw itself at me. I used Tui to retreat to a safe distance, causing it to sprawl over the spot where I was running along a millisecond ago, but a third one reared up and slashed at me.

"Fuck this!" I shouted, eerily reminiscent of a renowned Commissar, and parried its claws with my Azure Lotus Sword. Ice coated the Deros's arm and it recoiled in shock, trying to break free of the ice. But I didn't give it a chance and severed its other arm, spraying ichor and noxious fluids all over the place. The wounded Deros wailed and swung its frozen claw clumsily at me, but I effortlessly ducked under it before replying with a riposte that took its head off and sent it flying like a hideous baseball into its approaching brethren.

Well, it seemed that martial arts techniques worked just as effectively against these monsters as qi beams, so I plunged my Azure Lotus Sword into the ground.

"Enhance Armament!" I shouted and unleashed a wave of ice that froze the entire corridor. In under a minute, the entire space was covered in ice, the screeching and crawling Deros entombed in frost and immobilized.

Standing up, I noted with vague horror that a good number of them had been scrambling along the walls and ceilings, hooking their claws into the concrete surface as they pursued me. If that was the case, I had to ensure the ceilings were clear whenever I moved into a new room – a Deros could well be hanging from the ceiling, waiting for me to walk under it so that it could ambush me.

"Demons from another world, you said?" I muttered as I took a deep breath. If that was the case, that explained why I didn't sense their presence. They weren't emanating qi. Or at least not qi that I recognized. Whatever lifeforce they emanated, it wasn't a spiritual energy that originated from this world.

"Yeah. Not bad. You actually defeated so many of them. This old man is impressed." The shadowy existence chuckled from afar, his tone admiring. "I really want your body more and more."

"Well, you're not getting it," I retorted as I straightened my feet and adjusted my glasses. With a swing of my sword, I shattered the entire swarm of Deros, their frozen bodies falling apart in hundred thousands of frosty fragments.

I glanced at the corpse and recoiled. No doubt the readers would be demanding that I ate these, but I refused. I wasn't going to risk my life to satisfy a reader's curiosity. If these things weren't from this world, then there was no telling what the consequences would be. I might die if I consumed them, or I might lose my humanity and become a berserk monster, enslaved to whatever hive mind that was controlling them. If there was one, in the first place.

"I have to warn the sect," I murmured as cold dread filled my guts. If the secret passageways were crawling with these things, then going through them when evacuating Flame Volcano would be suicide. We needed to clear them out with Blood Blades, and given the war going right now, we didn't have the manpower to spare. Moreover, we also needed to escort the civilians with martial artists to protect them from stragglers or ambushes, which demanded even more manpower. Plus such an escape would be fraught with high risks and danger, and no doubt we would be slowed down even more while being pursued by enemies.

Of course, the best way was to set these Deros on the enemies besieging our sect, but reality wasn't that convenient. I had no idea how to lure these Deros into the open…hell, I wasn't sure I wanted to allow them to go into the open, where they might escape and spread in other parts of the world. Best to keep these monstrosities contained here.

Even though my glasses would have recorded everything, I made sure to take a picture of a few of the Deros's corpses with my smartphone, to show the sect. As visual evidence, and also so that they knew what they were getting into when they descended into the passageways later to flush out these horrid things.

"…"

While I did so, I heard faint scuttling quite some distance away, and I tensed. Despite just wiping out an entire horde of them, it seemed that there were still more prowling around the passageways. Just how many of them were there?

Or…were there more than one nests?

Either way, I didn't want to stay and find out, so I increased my pace and hurried out of there as quickly as I could, activating the holographic map once again to guide my way.

*

I spent the next two hours fighting my way through the underground tunnels, slaughtering what seemed like hundreds of Deros that swarmed the area. Well, it was probably less, but given the traumatic experiences I had been through, it was understandable that it felt like a lot more.

My Snow Aegis was vital in helping me survive, the barrage of suppressing fire it laid down with the mobile turrets killing countless charging Deros, while I finished off those that got too close with my sword. In another two instances there were way too many of them for my Snow Aegis or melee combat to take on, and I froze the lot of them with Azure Lotus Sword's Enhance Armament (okay, it was actually a Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula technique, but just let me geek out, okay?). Unfortunately, that technique consumed a lot of qi, and using it a few times in succession was draining.

By the time I neared my destination, I was exhausted.

Worse, it turned out that the Deros were not alone. There were other forms of demons from another world that populated the space. A hulking warrior form with scythes for arms and a dinosaur-like head protected by thick carapace, I christened Tyrant Warrior. I had scliced off the arms of one and then beheaded it, but not after taking a few scratches from its razor-sharp scythes. Unlike the Deros, the Tyrant Warrior was a lot more skilled, delivering fast, rapid strikes with its scythes and even using feints to confuse me.

But somehow I succeeded in killing it, more because I had the advantage of wielding ice element techniques than becase I was better in swordsmanship, to be honest.

Then there was the scouting life-forms that I called the Cthulos because of its tentaclular mandibles and grosteque faces. Like the Tyrant Warrior, it also possessed scythes for arms, and a serpentine tail tipped with wriggling feelers. A disgusting creature, what was terrifying about it was that it could blend into the surroundings and become near invisible. Fortunately, my glasses picked out the blurs of movement, which allowed me to see where it was coming from and parry its otherwise lethal strikes. Twisting my sword, I then blasted it apart with a Heavenly Draconic Meteor Strike, in no mood to hold back and allow it to slink off into the shadows and disappear once again.

"Huff…huff…"

Wiping the disgusting ichor from my face, I kicked a chunk of the blown up Cthulos away and carried on. Its partner attacked me, and I barely blocked its attack in time, my Snow Aegis swooping in to intercept its deadly strike. Its prehensile tail whipped around to pierce me, but I deflected it with my Azure Lotus Sword. Unfortunately, by this point I was worn down by exhaustion and unable to counterattack properly.

Falling to my knees, I watched helplessly as the Cthulos batted my Snow Aegis away and prepared to decapitate me.

"Pscyh!" I sneered childishly. Above me, six mobile turrets fired in unison, their combined volley of qi beams puncturing the Chtulos's carapace and obliterating it in a small explosion of exoskeleton and ichor.

Taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the nausea when I accidentally inhaled the noxious stink of the damned demon, I rose unsteadily to my feet while leaning on my Azure Lotus Sword. I was so very tired. Too exhausted. I just wanted to collapse on the ground and sleep.

But if I did so, the Deros, Cthulos and Tyrant Warrior would be all over me in a minute. Even now, I could hear rustling in the distance.

They were still nearby.

"Damn it…" I muttered, willing myself to kep my eyes open. "How much further?"

My gaze drifted to the holographic map. My icon was right under the Flame Volcano, which meant I was already at my destination. Good. I was here. I felt an immense wave of relief wash over me and nearly collapsed from joy.

Before I realized it, I had returned home!

Now the only problem was how to get out of this godforsaken hellhole and reunite with the sect. I didn't want to wander around here, only to find that there no goddamned exit!

"Scree…!"

"What now?" I snapped, my patience and mental condition stretched to their extreme limits. This was a new sound, one that wasn't made by the Deros. Turning around, I saw a swarm of what looked like Deinonychus (which Jurassic Park and Michale Crichton mistakenly named as Velociraptor) bounding toward me. there were two distinct groups – one had the sickle-like claws curving lethally from their arms as they charged toward me ferociously, while the other group were armed by like seemed like biological guns.

No, seriously. Biological guns.

As if to confirm my suspicions, the gun-wielding group fired at me, launching what seemed like leeches or worms. I jumped away and watched in horror as the swarm of worms hit the ground and thrashed about frantically, their razor-sharp teeth gnashing at thin air. Mercifully, they expired seconds after failing to find a host, and slumped onto the ground.

I wasn't going to poke them to confirm if they were dead, though, and wisefully kept my distance.

The second group closed the distance in a single bound, lunging at me. Snow Aegis hovered between us, the six mobile turrets firing and felling a large number of them, the qi beams cutting a deadly swathe through the swarm, but there were too many of them.

I decided to christen the shooty ones Terror Gaunts and the melee ones Horror Gaunts. Because I lacked imagination. Yay.

Ducking under one of the Horror Gaunts, I swung my Azure Lotus Sword and cut it in half. Using Tui to retreat to a safe distance, once again I plunged my Spirit Sword into the ground and unleashed my Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula to freeze the whole batch of them. Fortunately, they seemed even weaker and more fragile than the Deros, and the whole lot of them instantly shattered into nothingness. Horror Gaunts or Terror Gaunts, it did not matter.

"Huff…huff…"

Damn it, there was no way I could keep this up. I had to find the exit, and I had to find it now!

Just when I thought that, things took a further downturn. A low, rumbling sound echoed throughout the passageway. While I stumbled back, cursing my luck, I caught sight of something enormous pull into view.

The new demon had to be as big as a tank. Covered in armored carapace, it was hunched over, almost like an Ankylosaurus but with a therapod-like head filled with dagger-like teeth. To my utmost horror and disgust, a sac that hung from its belly distended and wirthed, and the creature gave birth to a trio of Terror Gaunts. The smaller demons slid from the sac, still covered in foul fluids, and then slowly stood up with a cry.

Seconds after their birth, they were already aiming their biological guns at me.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" I moaned. Well, there was no use asking. I was probably the first human to have encountered it. Or encountered it and survived, anyway, but that was all bound to change if I didn't get off my exhausted ass and destroy it before it spawned a new horde of Terror Gaunts. Deciding to name it Terror Gon for now, I struggled to my feet and faced it, occasionally stepping to the side to duck the flying flesh-eating leeches that the Terror Gaunts fired from their gun-like hands. Gripping my sword with both hands, I focused.

The temperature around me plummeted. The Terror Gaunts were the first to feel it, immobilized by the extreme cold, before frost materialized over their carapace and entombed them in ice. The Terror Gon growled anxiously as it tried to escape, its attempts to give birth halted by the ice that now rapidly froze over its belly. Its large, spider-like legs cracked, coated in ice and no longer able to bear its weight, and it fell onto the ground.

Absolute Zero.

I was holding nothing back now, freezing the entire area. Raising my sword, I swung it and unleashed a qi blast that shattered a huge portion of the now roaring Terror Gon. It struggled to claw its way toward me, but my six mobile turrets hovered over it and blasted chunks of its head off. Blinded, the Terror Gon wailed in agony, its sharp appendages thrashing about and gouging pieces of concrete out of the floor and pillars.

My mobile turrets fired again, the qi beams lacerating the Terror Gon and seeking its more vulnerable spots. Taking a deep breath, I held my sword parallel to the ground but maintained a distance from the flailing Terror Gon. Thrusting my Azure Lotus Sword forward, I unleashed a modified Heavenly Draconic Meteor Strike that was meant for long range, which lanced through the Terror Gon's core before blowing it up.

"Huff…"

By now I had very little qi left. If I wasn't careful, I would collapse in this underground passageway and ended up being an easy meal for the demons roaming inside here. I was sure I had fought enough for one army. I just wanted to leave the cleanup to others now. Of course, I wouldn't mind participating in the mission later to purge the place of these horrifying demons, but only after I get some rest.

"…"

My eyes refused to stay open. My breaths coming out in short pants, I raised my hand and swiped at the holographic map. Where was I? Yeah, under the Flame Volcano. Where was the nearest exit?

A few meters away. There should be a staircase. I caught sight of it.

Taking another deep breath, I unsteadily rose to my feet and staggered toward the stairs. I wanted to sprint. I really did, but my legs refused to obey me and my lungs refused to cooperate.

Fortunately, no other demons attacked me on my short journey to the stairway. It probably was only five minutes at most, thanks to my exhaustion, but it felt like an hour to me. Sucking in another lungful of air, I stumbled up the stairs, practically crawling on fours instead of walking, and crashed onto the door.

As usual, a current of invisible qi rippled out and scanned my secret handbook. The door slid open to allow me access and I gratefully hurled myself through the opening. Not knowing where I was, I staggered into the crowded room, knocking over a couple of tripods, a cauldron and equipment as I did so, and falling over to the ground.

Behind me, the door slammed shut, sealing the demons lurking behind in the passageway.

As if all the energy had left me, I collapsed on the ground and instantly fell asleep, unaware that the sky was about to brighten, the golden rays of breaking dawn trickling through the window above me and casting a soft glow upon my prone body.

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