Chapter 116: The Deadly Cave

At this moment, Mu Chen had no strength left to speak, sitting on the ground gasping for breath. He then knocked on the ground with his hand; the soil beneath no longer gave way. Sniffling, he smelled his pants leg and quickly stood up, running aside to retch.

Zhou Yi, seeing Mu Chen like this, suddenly recalled what caused the soil in the cave to collapse earlier. Unable to hold back, both of them vomited their bile.

The ground was not soil at all; it was clearly bat guano.

Before they could recover, they sensed a large figure rapidly approaching. Looking up, it was an enormous bat king.

They were not afraid of its size but feared the number of bats. Seeing the bat king coming, they quickly drew their weapons to confront it.

However, before they got close, the bat king emitted a series of “toot-toot” sounds.

A sharp headache suddenly struck them; the ultrasonic waves from the bat king were disrupting their brainwaves.

They clapped their hands over their ears, but since the ultrasound was not a conventional sound, this was ineffective.

Seeing their state, the bat king emitted the “toot-toot” sound again, as if mocking them.

Zhou Yi felt like his head was about to explode. If they allowed the bat king to continue, they would either faint from the pain or suffer a mental breakdown from prolonged brain stimulation.

Refusing to surrender, Zhou Yi bit his tongue hard. The pain from his tongue distracted him, easing the headache just enough to bear it.

With a faint clarity remaining, Zhou Yi grabbed the Lihuo Sword and charged at the bat king. The bat king, seeing him rush forward, spread its wings, preparing to dive down on Zhou Yi.

In the pitch-black cave, although Zhou Yi had his Heavenly Eye open, he could not see clearly. The bat king was the dominant creature here. Despite Zhou Yi’s spiritual energy, he could not overpower the bat king quickly.

As Zhou Yi and the bat king tangled, the ultrasonic waves served to locate Zhou Yi’s position. The headache eased slightly, and Zhou Yi called out to Mu Chen, intending for them to kill the bat king together.

No matter how powerful the bat king was, it could not withstand their combined attack. Shortly after, Zhou Yi seized a moment when the bat king dodged his sword and slashed its secondary wing with the Lihuo Sword. The bat king howled in pain and fled.

Just as they were about to pursue, a smaller bat flew out from the depths of the cave, heading straight for them. The bat king was female, and this smaller bat was male—they were a pair.

Dealing with one bat king was already difficult; with another joining, they dared not linger and turned to flee.

After a few steps, Zhou Yi grabbed Mu Chen. “Do you still have any Fire Thunder talismans?”

Mu Chen shook his head, indicating he had used them all.

Their arrival here relied heavily on those Fire Thunder talismans. Now that they were gone, returning meant risking being torn apart by the bats.

“Don’t run. Fighting two big ones is better than fighting many small ones,” Zhou Yi said, then turned to attack the two large bats again. But looking back, the bats had vanished.

“Yi Ge, why didn’t those two bats follow us?” Mu Chen asked, panting.

After prolonged intense fighting, the effects of oxygen deprivation were becoming more apparent.

“I injured the bat king earlier; it’s probably gone back to heal!” Zhou Yi, also gasping, slumped to the ground.

“There’s no oxygen here; we can’t rest,” Mu Chen swallowed hard and said with effort.

Oxygen deprivation dulled their minds. Though Mu Chen said they couldn’t rest, he too leaned against Zhou Yi, exhausted. “Yi Ge, what do we do now?”

“What talismans do you still have that work?” Zhou Yi asked, hoping Mu Chen still had something useful.

Mu Chen shook his head. “Other talismans only work against zombies and ghosts. They’re useless here.”

Zhou Yi sighed deeply. Their situation was dire. The tunnel was a straight path with no other exits, but he was not one to give up.

His narrowed eyes flashed coldly, stubbornness rising again. Shaking his head firmly to clear the dizziness, he said, “Let’s go kill those two beasts. I’m not going to suffocate here.”

Having been together for days, Mu Chen was used to following Zhou Yi’s lead, even when it was wrong.

They stood and walked for a long time. The cave was pitch-black, and they had to remain constantly vigilant against the bat king. Their minds were so focused that they lost all sense of time.

Ahead, the cave split into two identical tunnels. Both knew they had to choose carefully; one wrong choice could mean death.

“Yi Ge, which way should we go?” Mu Chen asked.

Zhou Yi looked and found no clues. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a matchbox and said, “After lighting this match, we’ll go toward whichever way the flame flickers. How about that?”

This wasn’t just luck—when a match is lit, the flame naturally leans toward areas with more oxygen. If there’s no oxygen, the flame will quickly extinguish.

Mu Chen nodded in agreement, and Zhou Yi grinned. He pulled out a match and struck it. The flame flickered left and right twice, then went out.

They exchanged a glance, both feeling helpless. Oxygen was too thin here; even when lit, the flame gave no clear direction.

Zhou Yi squinted and pointed to the left tunnel. “We’ll go this way!”

He then led the way into the left tunnel. After a short distance, a faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

Having stayed long in the oxygen-poor environment, their minds were slightly unclear. Both sniffed hard at the bloodstain smell.

Zhou Yi turned to Mu Chen with a silly grin, licking his lips. “What is this place? Why am I here?”

“I want beef! I want to drink wine!” Mu Chen said, eyes wide open. If he weren’t a cultivator, he might have already passed out.

Zhou Yi shook his head. He hadn’t understood a word Mu Chen just said. “Don’t be afraid. With me here, there’s nothing to fear. They’re all just appetizers for me.”

Mu Chen grinned broadly and looked at Zhou Yi, eyes full of greed. “Beef! I want beef!”

While saying this, Mu Chen lunged at Zhou Yi and bit his shoulder.

At this moment, Zhou Yi couldn’t dodge. The long mental strain had left them both somewhat unhinged, though in different ways.

Zhou Yi felt sharp pain in his shoulder but didn’t cry out. Instead, he seemed entertained, chuckling foolishly. Mu Chen had bitten through his skin and was sucking his blood, but Zhou Yi remained oblivious.

“Yi Ge, wake up!”