Chapter 7

Before he hit the water, Wu Tie had already fainted.

Fear, shock, and two consecutive jolts—his frail body could not withstand them.

A wave several meters high swept him into the water, and the 'Chi You Tooth' hanging from his chest continued to vibrate urgently, emitting a 'buzzing' sound.

The surrounding currents were turbulent, like giant pythons, dragging Wu Tie down to the bottom with a few twists.

Wu Tie instinctively took a deep breath, and before the water could invade his orifices, the dark currents around him suddenly retreated, revealing a small space just large enough to envelop him.

With a 'hissing' sound, thin threads of air were forcibly extracted from the water, quickly filling this tiny space.

Wu Tie took a deep breath, his body convulsed violently, his eyes rolled rapidly under his eyelids, his mouth opened, and he muttered incoherently, his hands flailing wildly.

The current dragged Wu Tie down to the bottom.

Below this vast body of water, on the deep rock walls, hundreds of water holes were either spewing or swallowing water furiously. Countless streams collided here, forming the large waves and whirlpools on the surface, and even more terrifying undercurrents beneath.

Encapsulated in the small air pocket, Wu Tie tumbled wildly in the water.

He continued to sink, and eventually, the strongest undercurrent pushed his body toward a dark cave over a hundred meters in diameter.

An invisible whirlpool at the cave's entrance rotated rapidly, devouring everything in its path. Wu Tie's body spun several times and was swept into the cave, vanishing in an instant.

On the surface, a massive boulder several meters in diameter was thrown down.

A bald, muscular man in heavy armor, with one foot tied to the boulder, and a leather air sac providing him with air, fell from where Wu Tie had hit the water.

The boulder dragged the man's body down to the bottom.

The man's eyes widened as he strained to look around. There was no light underwater, and everything was pitch black.

The man sank nearly three hundred meters, the intense water pressure making it hard for him to breathe. The undercurrents battered his body, distorting his face.

Finally, in fear, he cut the rope tied to his foot, yanked the long rope around his waist, and rose to the surface as quickly as possible. The rapid descent and ascent caused his lungs to burst, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

A strange 'cracking' sound came from the depths of the water.

A massive black shadow suddenly shattered countless undercurrents, flashing through the turbulent water.

The man's body below his neck disappeared, and his head was carried by the turbulent water, rising to the surface with a 'splash,' shooting up seven or eight meters before landing heavily on the water.

A large patch of blood stained the surface, and the waves swept away both the blood and the head.

A middle-aged man stood on the shore, his face dark, staring at the spot where the man's head had surfaced.

After a while, he turned and stared blankly at the place where Wu Jin had disappeared.

A tall woman approached him from behind and asked softly.

The middle-aged man turned, his gaze sweeping over the woman's forehead.

A faint, inch-long white snake shadow was coiled on the woman's forehead, rapidly dissipating. If not for the middle-aged man's keen eyes, he might have overlooked this snake shadow.

"This is..." The middle-aged man rubbed his forehead, his fingertips brushing his skin, feeling a strange sensation.

"Bloodline Vengeance..." The middle-aged man's face turned extremely grim.

"Abandon all burdens and heavy equipment, and escape this area as quickly as possible." The middle-aged man snarled angrily: "Hurry... Remember, it's 'escape'!"

All around was black, an endless expanse of black.

Wu Tie regained consciousness several times, the turbulent currents battering his body, causing him to spin like a windmill in the water, and he would soon faint again.

In the end, he didn't know if he was dead or alive.

The currents carried him through hidden waterways in the rock layers, through various underground water bodies of different sizes...

This was a wondrous underground wonderland.

A circular basin spanning nearly a thousand miles was filled with various strange plants, and countless bizarre creatures thrived within it.

On the periphery of the basin was a vast expanse of sandy desert, dark and ominous, hiding who knew what.

The rock dome, several miles high, was densely embedded with countless gems of various sizes, which emitted a bright light, illuminating the vast space.

On one side of the basin, a terrifying fissure in the rock wall spewed boiling lava, which, with a deafening roar, flowed into a deep, bottomless abyss on the other side of the basin.

The lava provided the basin with precious heat.

Both the plants and the strange creatures relied on the heat from this lava flow to sustain their life.

On the opposite side of the basin, another fissure in the rock wall, also several miles wide, spewed turbulent water with a roar.

The waterfall cascaded into the basin, forming a massive river.

Smaller tributaries branched out from the main river, flowing to the edges of the basin, providing the basin's life with precious water.

Near the lava flow, a waterfall several miles wide plunged into the scorching lava in the abyss.

The lava evaporated the waterfall, and the dense steam rose several miles high, spreading along the smooth dome. The mist and steam nourished the fertile land, and thick moss and vibrant vines grew everywhere on the rock walls and stalactites.

Wu Tie was spewed out from the river waterfall.

The 'Chi You Tooth' hanging from his chest gradually stopped vibrating, as if it had exhausted its strength.

The small air pocket disappeared, and Wu Tie was immersed in the water, carried to the shore by the gradually calming currents.

A skeleton of a gray rock lizard leaned against the shore, and Wu Tie's small body was caught by the jagged bones, fixing him in place.

Wu Tie was in a deep faint, and without external interference, he might have remained unconscious until he died.

The surroundings were quiet.

A venomous black widow spider, as large as a human head, slowly crawled toward the river.

On the ugly head of the black widow, several pale green eyes scanned the surroundings.

The spider's fangs occasionally clashed, and faint sparks could be seen. Its sharp claws scratched the ground, producing a sharp scraping sound.

It crawled closer to Wu Tie.

Closer, even closer.

About a thousand meters away, on a small hill, a moss-covered mound suddenly emitted a sharp, inaudible sound wave.

The spider's bloated abdomen exploded, and the eyes on its head also burst, spraying venom and pus several meters.

In its dying moments, the spider emitted a shrill 'squeak.'

Wu Tie suddenly woke up, and with an unknown surge of strength, he gritted his teeth and stood up, instinctively looking at the spider's location.

When Master Huifu taught him, he had also imparted some basic knowledge of toxic creatures.

Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong, the three brothers, had once caught live venomous spiders and, under Wu Zhan's instructions, trained Wu Tie in basic survival skills.

These venomous creatures could appear in any corner of the stone fortress, and everyone had to be vigilant, always on guard against their movements.

Having received such training, the black widow's cry immediately woke Wu Tie.

His mind was blank.

It seemed as if countless black shadows were swirling in front of his eyes, large patches of blood were rolling, and countless overlapping white faces were floating.

His body was stiff, cold, and devoid of any strength.

Life seemed to be rapidly leaving his body.

Wu Tie even thought he was already dead. He opened his mouth and struggled to breathe, but he couldn't feel any air.

The spider was right below him, no more than half a meter away. Its head and bloated abdomen were shattered, but its thumb-thick, foot-long legs were intact.

Wu Tie suddenly closed his mouth and swallowed with difficulty.

His mind was completely blank, and only the instinct for survival controlled his body.

He suddenly sat down, an action that almost exhausted his last bit of strength. He grabbed a spider leg, opened his mouth, and bit into the white flesh at the broken end, pulling hard.

He couldn't taste anything.

One spider leg, two spider legs...

After eating several legs, a warm sensation filled Wu Tie's stomach, and he collapsed on the mossy ground by the river, falling asleep.

After a short half-hour, a black mamba, as thick as Wu Tie's arm and about two meters long, slithered toward him.

The snake cautiously approached Wu Tie, ten meters, five meters, half a meter...

The snake opened its mouth, and a small amount of highly toxic venom dripped from its four fangs.

The fangs approached Wu Tie, ready to bite...

Several thousand meters away, on the small hill, a fist-sized piece of the mound suddenly burst, and the fist-sized piece of soil instantly vaporized.

A red light flashed, and the snake's head disappeared.

The snake's body convulsed violently.

The red light flashed again, and the snake was cut into thirty pieces.

Each piece of the snake could only wriggle on the ground, posing no threat to Wu Tie and unable to escape.

There was no blood on the wriggling snake segments, and the wounds were smooth, with no sign of blood.

After an unknown amount of time, Wu Tie woke up.

He opened his eyes and saw the plump snake segments beside him. He instinctively grabbed a piece of snake meat and bit into it.

Half a snake was eaten clean, and he fainted again.

From the snake segments Wu Tie had bitten, snake blood flowed.

In just a short while, several venomous spiders, two or three snakes, and a gray rock lizard crawled over.

These creatures, which could easily kill Wu Tie, mysteriously fell and were mysteriously killed.

Especially the gray rock lizard, whose death left a scent that marked the appearance of a terrifying predator on this riverbank.

For a long time, no other creatures approached Wu Tie.

Wu Tie woke up, ate the food beside him, and fainted again, continuing to sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, he woke up and ate again.

The water in this section of the river, just emerging from the underground waterways, was very cold, making the temperature on the riverbank much lower than in other areas. Therefore, except for a few fierce species, no other insects or reptiles were active nearby.

Due to the cold temperature, the dead venomous creatures and the gray rock lizard did not rot quickly.

After Wu Tie had gnawed off half the tail of the gray rock lizard, he finally stood up.

He washed his body by the river and looked around blankly.

There was no familiar 'Xu Sun' on the dome, but the light from the night gems was not much different from the 'Xu Sun'.

Behind him was a river several miles wide, with calm water, and occasionally, a ripple could be seen beneath the surface.

Wu Tie had never seen such a scene, but he instinctively felt uneasy.

He took a few steps back, trying to stay as far away from the river as possible.

Turning around, Wu Tie looked into the distance.

Everywhere were strange-looking plants.

Wu Tie had never seen such plants.

Some resembled familiar crops like earth mushrooms, white mushrooms, and large meat mushrooms, but they were much larger.

Others were two or three meters tall, with many branches, and Wu Tie had never seen anything like them.

However, these strange branched plants were relatively rare, scattered randomly.

His body swayed, and although he had regained some strength, his mind was still blank. Wu Tie looked into the distance with a dazed expression, and his feet moved, ready to wander in a random direction.

A very bright flash appeared in the distance.

Wu Tie saw the flash, paused, and without thinking, walked heavily toward it.

The ground was slippery, covered with thick moss, and Wu Tie fell after every few steps. It took him a long time to cover the few thousand meters.

He was covered in dirt, and his arms and legs were numb from the falls.

Shivering, Wu Tie looked at the small hill over a hundred meters high in front of him, gritted his teeth, and climbed up.

As he climbed, Wu Tie was suddenly tripped by a small mound. He fell face-first, and the mound wobbled, and a round object rolled out.

"Cough, you kicked Grandpa's head!" Wu Tie lay on the ground, panting, and heard a very stiff voice.

"Cough, can you understand what Grandpa is saying?" The voice was right next to him, almost shouting in his ear: "You have some perseverance... If you had given up halfway, Grandpa would have left you alone."

"These past few days, to save your little life, Grandpa has worked his heart out, more than taking care of a real grandson... Of course, Grandpa doesn't have a grandson, but that doesn't matter... You are all Grandpa's grandsons!"

Wu Tie panted, struggled to lift his head, and looked at the source of the voice.

His body suddenly convulsed, his vision went black, and he fainted again.

This time, he was scared unconscious.