NABC Chapter 10 Eyes in the Dark
Chapter 10 Eyes in the Dark
Zhao Chen flew rapidly toward the aura in the cave.
The deeper they flew into the cave, the more drastically the surrounding temperature dropped. This was not ordinary cold, but a chilling cold that could penetrate straight to the soul, pierce the bones and corrode the feathers, as if thousands of ice needles were piercing Zhao Chen's body.
Fortunately, Zhao Chen had just broken through to the first level of Qi Refining, and his body contained blazing true essence. The two energies, one cold and one hot, intertwined fiercely within Zhao Chen's body, which actually made the Crimson Flame Technique run even faster.
"Interesting." A fighting spirit flashed in Zhao Chen's eyes, and his speed increased instead of decreasing.
At his current speed, he had covered the distance of five thousand zhang in just half an hour. Zhao Chen landed steadily on a protruding dark blue rock, his divine sense spreading forward like a tide.
Ahead lay a massive underground cavern, pitch black inside. A chilling aura emanated from its depths, not just one wave, but a dense, swarming mass, clearly the presence of some kind of ferocious, gregarious beast.
Zhao Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
Packed beasts are always more troublesome than solitary ferocious beasts. They may be weak individually, but once their numbers are overwhelming, they can crush the few with their numbers. The wolf pack Zhao Chen encountered before was a good example of this.
"First, ascertain the truth of the matter."
Concealing his fiery aura and clinging his crimson-gold wings to his body, Zhao Chen stealthily slipped into the depths of the cave like a shadow.
The cave was winding and bottomless, and the cold grew stronger as it went down. Zhao Chen crept along the wall, his mind constantly on high alert. After traveling a thousand feet, he finally heard a continuous rustling sound in his ears—the sound of countless creatures crawling and wriggling, coming from all directions.
Zhao Chen suddenly stopped, spreading his divine sense in all directions.
Even with his resolute will, Zhao Chen couldn't help but gasp upon hearing this.
In front of the cave was a gigantic underground space spanning thousands of feet in diameter. The ground, cave walls, and dome were all covered by a kind of pitch-black spider! Each one was half the size of a human, covered in black velvet, with eight slender legs, and the tips of its forelimbs glowing with a deadly blue venom. There were more than a thousand of them, densely packed together, making one's scalp tingle at the sight.
At the very center of the space, a giant spider, far larger than its kind, was coiled up.
It was about thirty feet long, with strange dark red patterns on its back that were faintly glowing in the darkness. Its eight blood-red eyes, like rubies, were locked on the direction of the cave entrance—it had already sensed Zhao Chen's arrival.
Zhao Chen smiled.
"Now that I've been discovered, there's no need to hide anymore." No longer concealing his aura, Zhao Chen unleashed a burst of crimson flames, spread his wings, and flew straight into the spider's nest.
In an instant, the spider swarm went berserk!
Countless black spiders swarmed in, scaling the walls and ceilings, attacking him from all directions with ghostly speed. Zhao Chen flapped his wings and soared into the sky, his figure nimbly weaving through the spider swarm, fighting and retreating simultaneously. After dodging the first wave of attacks, he suddenly swooped down, his claws tearing through the air like sharp blades, ripping a black spider to shreds and devouring it on the spot.
A faint trace of cold energy flowed into Zhao Chen's body, slowly merging with the true essence in his dantian. Although his cultivation was still at the first level of Qi Refining, every bit of energy was being rapidly absorbed by his physical body, and his foundation was being continuously strengthened.
More spiders fearlessly pounced. Zhao Chen tore at them with his claws, pecked with his beak, and flapped his wings, flames raging everywhere. One by one, the black spiders turned to corpses under his hands, but the spider swarm was simply too vast, impossible to kill or annihilate. Zhao Chen's body gradually became covered in the corrosive fluids of the spiders, his wings began to stick, and his speed gradually slowed down. Several venomous spiders even took the opportunity to cling to Zhao Chen's body, their venomous stingers piercing deep into his feathers.
A numbing sensation instantly spread throughout his body. Zhao Chen's heart tightened; he knew this couldn't continue. He immediately stopped fighting them and took flight, soaring to the top of the cave. Zhao Chen took a deep breath, and the true essence within his dantian began to surge wildly. He opened his mouth and unleashed a magnificent fiery dragon!
As the blazing flames swept across, the black spiders emitted mournful hisses wherever they passed, their fur began to burn, and their limbs curled up into a ball, instantly turning the entire underground space into a sea of fire.
Seeing this, the thirty-foot-tall giant spider finally erupted in fury and attacked! Its piercing hiss echoed throughout the cave, and with all eight legs propelled, it pounced on Zhao Chen like a black meteor. Zhao Chen, however, remained calm under pressure, controlling his body to plummet downwards and evade the attack, while simultaneously clawing fiercely at the giant spider's abdomen!
With a hissing sound, the claw tip pierced flesh, but was firmly held in place by the spider's hard carapace, only penetrating half a foot. The giant spider, in pain, began frantically lashing out at Zhao Chen with its venomous limbs, and a poisonous sting pierced Zhao Chen's right wing! A powerful numbing sensation shot through his brain, and his right wing slowly lost sensation. Zhao Chen swayed, crashing heavily to the ground from mid-air.
In that critical moment, Zhao Chen exerted all his strength, unleashing an extreme burst of flame! At point-blank range, the giant spider had no way to dodge; its head was engulfed in flames, howling and writhing in agony. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhao Chen staggered to his feet, and before the spider could recover, he spewed out flames again, one, two… until his true energy was nearly exhausted.
Finally, the ferocious giant spider collapsed to the ground, its body charred black, and it was lifeless.
Zhao Chen collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. His body was covered in wounds, and numbness began to spread throughout his body. Struggling to his feet, Zhao Chen grabbed a burnt black spider beside him and began to devour it frantically.
As the massive amount of spider corpses were devoured and refined by the Crimson Flame Technique, Zhao Chen's true essence began to become increasingly abundant and full, and his dantian was even slightly swollen—his cultivation at the first level of Qi Refining had reached its peak!
Zhao Chen lay prone on the ground, folded his wings, and focused his mind on his body, guiding the surging power to break through his cultivation bottleneck. A soft thud echoed from his dantian; like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, he successfully broke through to the second level of Qi Refining!
Once his cultivation level stabilized, Zhao Chen did not stop. Instead, he turned his gaze to the charred body of the thirty-foot-tall giant spider, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
"A highly nourishing food."
As Zhao Chen began to devour the giant spider leader, the moment the chilling essence within the spider surged into his body, the bone-chilling cold clashed violently with the fiery true essence. A tearing sensation of ice and fire swept over his entire body, as if to rip Zhao Chen's flesh apart.
However, under the operation of the Devouring Talent, this violent power was slowly stripped away, purified, and refined, and integrated into its own foundation.
Zhao Chen gritted his teeth and persevered. His body, meridians, and bones began to strengthen wildly under the dual tempering of his Devouring Talent and ice and fire. Every inch of Zhao Chen's flesh and blood was undergoing a transformation, and his Crimson Flame Raven Body became increasingly powerful.
One day, two days, three days...
As the giant spider's devoured talent was completely digested and absorbed, Zhao Chen's cultivation began to soar, rushing from the second level of Qi Refining to the late stage and peak. The true essence in his dantian began to surge like a tide, far exceeding what was needed to break through the realm!
Just then, the immense true energy within his dantian exploded with an unstoppable force, breaking through everything in its path—
Qi Refining Level 3, broken through!
Zhao Chen abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of crimson-gold light appearing and disappearing within them, flames swirling and intertwining around him. His body swelled to over ten zhang in length, his wingspan reaching a full twenty-five zhang, the golden feathers shimmering with iridescent light, and the feeling of power surging through his entire being reached its peak. The cultivation speed brought by this Devouring Talent was ten times, even a hundred times, stronger than ordinary cultivation!
Spreading its wings, it looked up into the deeper part of the cave, which was still dark and deep, with no end in sight.
With a flap of his wings, Zhao Chen stopped and transformed into a streak of fiery red light, resolutely speeding towards the deeper parts of the cave.