Chapter 82: Blood Spurt

"Damn it!!"

At the instant when a chill rushed over his scalp, Shen Chen's pupils dilated, and a wave of sorrow surged in his heart, realizing that he had finally met his match!

He knew exactly what was coming. In the moment he raised his head, he indeed saw a pair of lantern-like eyes glaring at him with a fierce light, rapidly descending. At the same time, a blood-red mouth filled with sharp teeth suddenly loomed over him.

This was a dead end. Trapped inside the stone pillar, the only exit was at the top, and Shen Chen had nowhere to retreat or hide!

Instinctively, Shen Chen grabbed the crimson gold longsword on the ground and pulled it out, determined to deliver one last strike before dying. Even if he was inevitably going to be bitten into two by the fish king, he wanted to leave a scar on that giant's blood-red mouth.

"Wait, there's still a trick!"

However, just as he raised the longsword, a flash of inspiration struck Shen Chen. The momentum of the sword thrust suddenly stopped.

Then, Shen Chen made an incomprehensible move. He abandoned his resistance, put away the longsword, bent down, and squatted at the bottom of the water, like a frog gathering strength in its hind legs. His eyes were fixed on the rapidly approaching blood-red mouth, and his breathing had stopped!

Inside the stone pillar, with the fish king's speed, the mere dozens of feet distance was covered in a blink. The human boy below was about to become a snack. The fish king's mouth opened wide, almost touching the inner wall of the stone pillar as it lunged down.

"Go for it!"

However, just as the fish king was about to bite Shen Chen in half, the latter suddenly roared, concentrating all his over 70,000 pounds of bloodline power into his legs. He kicked backward with all his might, and his body shot out like a sailfish leaping out of the water, quickly disappearing into the fish king's mouth.

"Crack!" A loud sound of teeth clashing echoed underwater, but this force, capable of tearing apart subterranean black crystals, did not cause a single drop of blood to spurt.

The fish king probably never dreamed that in the moment its jaws closed, the prey it thought could not escape had already slipped into its belly.

A moment later, the fish king slowly swam out of the stone pillar, and the surroundings returned to silence...

...

"Ugh... What does this big guy usually eat? It's so disgusting!" In the darkness, Shen Chen struggled to move his body, quickly realizing that everything he could touch was a sticky, foul-smelling substance.

He was already inside the black stone fish's belly.

That move was akin to a desperate gamble with his life, but fortunately, Shen Chen won. His body shot out fast enough that, although he was almost immobile inside the fish king's belly, he miraculously managed to save his life!

"Brother Mirror, I owe you for creating that water barrier. Otherwise, I might have suffocated in this belly..." Shen Chen felt relieved.

His desperate move was indeed the key to survival, but if it weren't for the magical bubble-like water barrier on his skin, the sticky, foul-smelling liquid in the fish king's belly would have easily killed him.

After all, the black stone fish could digest even stone fragments. How could Shen Chen's flesh and blood withstand the corrosion here!

Moreover, Shen Chen was not comfortable. Although the fish king's body was large, the space inside its belly was cramped and narrow. He couldn't even stand up, let alone move an inch. It felt like he had fallen into a swamp, surrounded by unknown sticky substances.

"Huh? What's this?" Inside the fish's belly, Shen Chen struggled to feel around. After a moment, his left hand seemed to touch something soft and furry.

Instinctively, Shen Chen pulled the soft thing over. When he brought it to his face and saw it with the light from his forehead... Ugh! Shen Chen almost vomited the black stone fish meat he had eaten a few days ago, his stomach churning!

It was the hind leg of some unknown fierce beast, as big as a sheep's leg, already mostly digested. It was as disgusting as a sheep's leg left in the wild for months. Shen Chen almost vomited bile!

"Wait!"

After gagging, Shen Chen suddenly had an idea. His eyes narrowed, and a wave of excitement appeared in them.

In this endless underground river, how could the remains of a wild beast end up in the fish king's belly? Could it be... that this big guy had previously left to attack beasts on the shore?

Yes!

There was no doubt about it. The fish king had indeed left for a while, swimming out through the round hole above the natural stone chamber. Now, thinking about it, that hole likely led to the outside world!

At this thought, Shen Chen trembled with excitement. Trapped in the darkness for nearly three months, he had been hoping to escape and see the sky again. Now, it seemed he could see a glimmer of hope!

"No, I need to get out of this fish's belly first. Otherwise, I might really become this big guy's snack..."

In his excitement, Shen Chen began to think of a way to escape the fish king's belly. He tried to break through the fish's flesh, but it was too solid. With the limited strength he could muster, he couldn't break through.

Quickly, Shen Chen gave up on the futile struggle and began to feel around.

When he entered the fish's belly, he didn't let go of his crimson gold longsword, intending to use it to cut his way out.

However, when he rushed in, the momentum was too strong, and the longsword had fallen somewhere in the fish's belly. Shen Chen was frantically feeling around to find the sword.

After feeling around in the sticky liquid for a long time, Shen Chen's right hand finally touched something hard. His body was immobile, and he couldn't turn his head to see what it was.

But Shen Chen was sure it wasn't the crimson gold longsword he was looking for. From the sensation in his fingers, it seemed to be a round, ball-like object, about the size of... a human head, with an irregular shape!

"Damn, I can't have really touched a human head, can I?" Shen Chen was terrified. The corroded hind leg of the unknown beast had almost made him vomit. If he now touched a severely decayed human head... Sigh!

Shen Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the churning in his stomach, and dared not think further.

At this moment, he could barely move, and only his arms could exert some force. To see what it was, he had to slowly bring it to his face, but even a half-foot distance was blocked by the sticky liquid.

But the thought of possibly placing a decayed human head under his eyelashes made Shen Chen shudder with disgust, his hair standing on end.

"Never mind, curiosity killed the cat. I'll find my crimson gold longsword first and get out of here!" After some thought, Shen Chen temporarily suppressed his curiosity, gently let go of the hard object, and focused on finding his sword.

...

After about an hour, with great effort, he finally found the sword. The fish's belly seemed small, but due to the severe limitations on movement, the process of finding the sword was no easier than when he was digging through the solid rock cave.

Fortunately, he finally found the sword. After feeling the hilt with his left hand, Shen Chen used all his strength to slowly pull the sword back.

At this moment, he was completely lying in the fish's belly. To cut through the fish's belly, the only way was to bring the sword to the top of his head, then grip the hilt with both hands and saw through the flesh!

This process continued for several hours, each movement extremely difficult. Even with over 70,000 pounds of bloodline power, it was a challenge. Otherwise, even a peak Blood Fusion realm cultivator, or even a higher realm, would have no chance of survival in the fish king's belly, unable to move a finger!

Meanwhile, outside, as Shen Chen gripped the sword and cut, the fish king, feeling the intense pain in its belly, began to struggle fiercely, thrashing and colliding with the stone chamber. Several walls were shattered, and even the massive stone pillar in the center was broken layer by layer!

"Boom!"

"Rumble~~~"

In an instant, the entire underwater area shook violently, like the sky was collapsing, with shockwaves spreading in waves.

The fish king's strength was terrifying, capable of exerting hundreds of thousands of pounds of force. Even a peak Condensation Realm expert would not be a match for it in the water.

However, it was unfortunate that the human who was fighting it was inside its belly. Despite its immense power, the fish king could not harm Shen Chen.

After about three hours, the stone chamber finally fell silent!

At the same time, the massive body of the fish king slowly stopped struggling. Soon, it flipped over, floating quietly at the bottom of the water, a terrifying gash on its belly, black blood staining the surrounding water.

"Pant, pant... I almost suffocated!"

After a few breaths, Shen Chen poked his head out of the gash, his face filled with the joy of surviving a near-death experience!

Shen Chen quickly crawled out of the fish's belly and looked at the massive creature before him, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

If it were any other way, even a hundred of him would not be a match for the fish king. If Shen Chen's guess was correct, the fish king's strength should be comparable to a human Condensation Realm expert, even stronger than the old ghost from Yufeng who had pursued him!

"I've heard that the more powerful a spirit beast, the richer the essence in its body. The essence of this fish king should be in its brain, right..." Shen Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought. After finally defeating this massive creature, he naturally wouldn't leave without taking anything. Such a powerful beast was a rare find, and almost every part of it was valuable!

Of course, the fish king was so large, and Shen Chen's bloodline power was astonishing, but he couldn't possibly carry the entire fish while swimming.

Shen Chen was quite optimistic. If he couldn't take much, he would take the best. He dragged the dead fish king to one side of the water, raised his sword, and began to pry open the fish's massive head.

This was another arduous and lengthy process. It took him half a day to finally pry open the fish king's skull.

Instantly, a crystal-clear, milky white gel-like substance, emitting a fragrant aroma, appeared before Shen Chen. The fish king's brain was surprisingly small, about the size of a large bowl, exuding a lustrous glow, clearly not an ordinary substance!

In fact, black stone fish were already considered rare treasures by the world. This black stone fish, having cultivated to become a king and having consumed real