Roaming the Four Seas - Chapter 157: The Bat Cave

As they ventured deeper into the transformed Bullfighting City, the perils of reversing the universe's cosmic order clearly surfaced. Using spiritual energy as a conduit, demonic venom and deep-seated resentments manifested everywhere. The stronger one's cultivation, the greater the threat one faced—the exact opposite of the mortal realm.

Finding himself on the brink of death, Lin Taixuan no longer dared to casually unleash his divine abilities. Walking side by side with Su Ye, he imparted all his knowledge regarding the Great Cataclysm of the Sexagenary Cycle. To prevent the toxic miasma from resurfacing, he refrained from condensing spiritual seals, choosing instead to pass down his teachings orally.

"During the Great Cataclysm, the demonic entities generated by evil qi are entirely different from spirit beasts that absorb the essence of heaven and earth to gradually attain sentience. These fiends learn and mimic the skills of those around them, maturing into powerful monsters within an extremely short span of time."

Su Ye calmed his mind to absorb the fundamental knowledge supplemented by Lin Taixuan, his brow furrowed as he mused, "If that is the case, the demons that originally existed in the world must surely know how to control these fiends... Otherwise, given their rate of cultivation, the weaker ones would be completely slaughtered by the entities born of the Cataclysm."

"Only a small fraction of demons and monsters know the methods to control these evil specters."

"And the rest?"

"They hide and wait until the Cataclysm comes to an end."

Su Ye fell silent. Fireworks are brilliant, yet they last only for a fleeting moment. The fiends born during the Great Cataclysm were much the same. They acted as a cataclysmic scourge spawned by heaven and earth, wreaking havoc for a time before rapidly perishing as the accumulated malevolent thoughts were exhausted. A few years of mortal devastation were exchanged for more than fifty years of peace, allowing all things in heaven and earth to recover and recuperate.

"In just these few years, I wonder how many common folk will die untimely deaths," Su Ye sighed involuntarily.

Before Lin Taixuan could reply, a earth-shattering roar suddenly echoed. Chen Mu, who was leading the way, and another Daoist cultivator were caught completely off guard, plunging into a sinkhole spanning several miles wide.

Su Ye and Lin Taixuan, being the closest, hurried over and leaned down to peer inside. A colossal suction force suppressed their sea of qi, dragging both of them into the pit as well. Su Ye grabbed Lin Taixuan—who had yet to fully recover—and summoned the Great Luo Fire Shield to protect them both. Before long, they reached the bottom of the pit.

Though perceived as a mere dozen meters deep, its distance in real space might have been no taller than the sole of a shoe. This distorted spatial perception trapped those thoroughly familiar with the geography of the Great Qian Dynasty within an unknown maze.

With two muffled thuds, the remaining two Daoists also tumbled into the sinkhole.

"Where are Junior Brother Chen and Junior Brother Ma?" asked the rugged-looking Daoist, supporting the female Daoist whose arm had been severed, lowering his voice as much as possible.

Lin Taixuan replied, "Su Ye and I fell straight down here and have not yet laid eyes on the two junior brothers. There is no time to lose..."

"Ah!"

A scream filled with bitter hatred pierced the air.

Though others might not have been able to make it out, Su Ye, utilizing the perception of the Ten Directions Dream Realm, could not possibly have missed it.

"Senior Lin, you must not act rashly. I will handle this pit," Su Ye warned in a loud voice, lest Lin Taixuan, in his eagerness to save lives, provoke the demonic venom once more. There was only a single Blood-Clotting Pill, and the little demonic beast Shui Huan had also fallen into a deep slumber. There was no other way to save him.

Lin Taixuan, exceptionally perceptive, also realized the demonic array's suppression of those with high spiritual energy. Unless absolutely necessary, he could no longer risk his life.

Su Ye illuminated the ancient seal scripts on the Yin-Yang Mirror, executing an inch-punch to shatter the rubble blocking their path. A dim and gloomy grotto suddenly came into view. The ink-wash perception of the Ten Directions Dream Realm clearly mapped out everything within it.

Upon a stone platform to the north sat a throne with a skull carved into its back. Two rusted swords hung crossed behind the backrest. The cavern walls were dotted with thousands of black specks.

The Daoist surnamed Ma had his chest pierced by a sword, his sea of qi completely vanished. Countless vampire bats, their surfaces shimmering with an eerie red glow, swarmed over Ma's corpse, draining him dry of blood.

"Junior Brother Ma!"

Several shrill cries echoed dully within the bat cavern, much like tossing a fiery vortex into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves. The chittering shrieks of the red-glowing bats carried a soul-shaking force that kept reverberating within their seas of consciousness.

The female Daoist was the first to succumb, dropping to one knee as she hammered her thigh fiercely with her left hand, barely maintaining her lucidity through sheer pain. Protected by the Great Luo Fire Shield, Lin Taixuan remained immune to the soul-sharks' attacks.

Su Ye rushed to the side of the female Daoist and the rugged-browed Daoist, summoning the Buddha-Bone Prayer Beads to safeguard their minds.

The bronze-gilt sword was in hand. The five fingers of his right hand emitted a faint glow. The tip of the ring finger on his left hand shone with a fiery-red "Fire" character. At the same time, the middle finger of his right hand lit up with another "Fire" character written in ancient seal script.

Lin Taixuan called out in a loud voice, "Mr. Su, do not use Fire Escape against the fiends here! If they learn it, it will become even more dangerous."

Hearing this, Su Ye immediately reined in the flames. He summoned several top-tier East Sea night pearls obtained from Lixiang Island and tossed them onto the uneven ground. Where his sword blade swept, several red-glowing bats fell dead. However, the viscous demonic blood smeared across the blade. Within a few breaths, the number of red-glowing bats slain by Su Ye reached over a thousand.

Sword-qi lotuses drifted in all directions. A pale-black bloody mist lingered thick in the air. The demonic venom carried a slowing effect, causing Su Ye's sword forms to gradually grow heavy.

Lin Taixuan summoned the Seven-Stars Sword, intending to lend a hand.

"Senior Lin, do not strike," Su Ye said in a clear voice. "A minor affair, this junior can handle it."

Suddenly, a gust of gloomy wind struck. The Seven-Stars Sword swept out, deflecting the sword thrust by Chen Mu. Just as he wanted to ask what Chen Mu was up to, the latter suddenly opened his mouth wide, revealing four sharp fangs. He bit into the neck of the rugged-browed Daoist, injecting flesh-corroding demonic venom into his body. The terror in the rugged-browed Daoist's eyes froze, and his life was permanently halted.

"No..." the female Daoist let out a shrill scream. "Why would you do such a thing?!"

She saw a pair of eyes. A pair of scarlet, ferocious eyes. Devoid of emotion, filled only with madness. The four sharp fangs were stained with her junior brother's un-dried blood. Hands possessing immense strength clamped onto the female Daoist's only remaining arm. He opened his jaws and lunged for her neck.

A Seven-Stars sword pierced into Chen Mu's mouth, driving straight through to the hilt. The tremendous force pinned the demonized Chen Mu directly against the cavern wall.

Left in lingering terror, the female Daoist trembled slightly, unable to utter a single word.

A look of grief and regret crossed Lin Taixuan's eyes as he reached out to stroke the intact upper half of Chen Mu's face. Chen Mu's eyelids closed at his touch. Lin Taixuan gripped the hilt, intending to pull out the Seven-Stars Sword.

Suddenly, a powerful, sinewy hand clamped onto Lin Taixuan's wrist.

"Senior Brother, are you afraid of unleashing your spiritual energy?"

Chen Mu's voice had turned hoarse, originating not from his throat, but from his neck which was riddled with several tooth holes, thus remaining unaffected by the piercing of the Seven-Stars Sword.

"Who are you?" A surge of anger and killing intent rose in Lin Taixuan's heart. Even if invaded by demonic venom, he would slay the fiend that desecrated his junior brother's corpse.

"Beloved Senior Brother, I am already a dead man. The only reason I am not yet dead is to embark on the road together with you, and with that arrogant brat."

"In your wildest dreams!"

A pale-black ancient bronze sword slashed out in a half-moon arc. The hand gripping Lin Taixuan snapped off at the wrist. There was no blood, nor any pain.

Chen Mu opened his scarlet eyes, the madness contained within them seeming capable of destroying everything.