One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Chapter 364 again?

Zhang Chulan felt a chill run down his spine, and lightning crackled around him again, white arcs of electricity popping and illuminating his tense face.

But this time, it wasn't just carrion beetles that appeared.

From the cracks in the ceiling pipes, more iron beetles poured down like a black waterfall—they swarmed together, pouring out of the pipe openings like a black river cascading down from the sky, crashing to the ground with a "whoosh," and then rapidly spreading in all directions.

Emerging from the sewage outlets and shadows on the ground was a larger, dark red beetle with strange human face patterns on its back!

Those facial patterns weren't simple designs—they truly resembled distorted human faces, with eyes, noses, and mouths, each with a different expression. Some were laughing, some were crying, some were screaming, and some were expressionless. They stared at you in the flashlight beam, making you feel as if countless eyes were watching you from the backs of those insects.

Where they crawled, the ground sizzled slightly, leaving behind streaks of charred, smoking marks. The marks looked as if they had been scratched by a red-hot iron rod, with charred edges and a concave center.

From the broken culture jar, some pale, translucent worms emerged, eyeless and possessing only a sucker-like mouthpart. They varied in size, some as small as a finger, others as thick as an arm, and still others as long as a snake. Their bodies were segmented, each segment covered with fine rings; as they wriggled, these rings expanded and contracted, propelling their plump bodies forward.

They wriggled, releasing a sweet, cloying fragrance. The scent was so strong it felt almost tangible, seeping into your nose and making your head feel heavy and your eyelids droop, as if an invisible hand was pressing your head down.

"Don't smell that fragrance! It's a bewitching leech!" Master Wang shouted, biting his tongue at the same time—a sharp pain came from the tip of his tongue, and the taste of blood filled his mouth, dispelling most of his drowsiness.

In the corner, from among the pile of bones, several creatures resembling leeches magnified a thousand times, with sharp mandibles, crawled out. Their dark red bodies were covered with suckers, which opened and closed, revealing fine, needle-like teeth inside. When their bodies were elongated, they looked like sausages; when they were shortened, they looked like balls of flesh. Wherever they crawled, the blood and flesh scraped away, leaving nothing but blood and flesh residue on the ground, even scraping off the soft tissue from the bones.

"Bone-eating worms, bewitching leeches, blood-sucking leeches... Damn it! They've all come out!"

The bald bear was terrified. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he desperately tried to back away. He braced himself on his elbows, dragging his broken leg like a wounded worm. But behind him was the steep, wet, and slippery slope he had come from. He slipped and fell backward after only two steps, landing on his back and hitting the back of his head on a rock. The pain made him see stars.

"Too much! Even more than before!"

Master Wang's face was grim. Freezing the swarm of insects outside had taken a heavy toll—his Qimen formation required continuous output to maintain, and every second it lasted drained his Qi. Moreover, the workshop space was relatively enclosed, and the freezing might affect his own people. If he cast "Freezing a Thousand Miles" again here, they would freeze into ice pops before the insects even died.

"Don't engage in a direct confrontation! Find a place to hold your ground or charge forward!"

Nie Lingfeng's gaze quickly swept across the workshop.

The central treatment pool area is the most open and also the easiest to be surrounded. Once surrounded by the insect swarm from all sides, they will be trapped in the middle, attacked from all sides, with no way to retreat.

That row of metal doors... the passageway behind the torn-open door is the only potentially relatively safe route. The passageway is narrow, only allowing two or three people to pass side by side, which can limit the number of monsters that can flank from the side or rear.

However, the passageway is narrow, and if there are monsters inside, or if it is blocked, it is a dead end—once you go in, you will be trapped, with enemies blocking your way in front and pursuers behind, and there is nowhere to run.

"Enter the passageway!"

Nie Lingfeng made a decisive decision.

Staying here will only lead to being overwhelmed by the swarm of insects. The tunnel can at least limit the number of monsters that can flank from the side and rear. As for what's inside the tunnel—we'll find out once we're inside.

"Wang Ye, Chen Duo, clear the way! Chu Lan, Ling Yu, protect both flanks! Bao'er, cover our retreat!"

"Yes, sir!"

Master Wang Ye was the first to rush out.

He moved with unpredictable speed and precision, each step landing precisely on a trigram of the Eight Trigrams. His hands formed hand seals, his fingers flying across the paper, with a yellowish-brown aura flowing between them.

"Kun Zi·Tu Liubi!"

"Boom—Boom—!"

Two low earthen walls rose from the ground in front of them. The walls were not high, only knee-high, but thick enough to stand like two thresholds across the road. The swarm of insects rushing in from the front crashed into the walls and were momentarily blocked. The insects in front couldn't climb over, but those behind pushed their way up, forming a wriggling hill in front of the walls.

Chen Duo followed closely behind.

Her figure was light and graceful, like a leaf blown by the wind, weaving through the gaps behind Wang Ye. Her hands flicked rapidly, and pale purple powder sprinkled from her fingertips, like a wisp of purple smoke.

The dust settled among the insects, and the first ones to come into contact with it immediately became sluggish. Their legs felt like they were made of lead, difficult to lift or lower. Some began to spin in place, while others started biting each other—they couldn't distinguish friend from foe, mistaking their own kind for enemies and frantically biting at them with their mouthparts.

It is a type of poison that can interfere with nerves and cause confusion.

Zhang Chulan and Zhang Lingyu stood on the left and right respectively.

Lightning and dark thunder intertwined, forming a moving barrier of death.

Zhang Chulan's white lightning exploded on the left, crackling and popping, turning any insects trying to approach from the left into charred remains. Wherever the lightning passed, the insects exploded, charred, and smoked instantly, like flies struck by high voltage.

Zhang Lingyu's black Yin Lightning flowed on the right side, thick and viscous, spreading across the ground like ink. Insects that touched the black lightning were like falling into a swamp; their movements slowed down first, then they were enveloped, eroded, and melted by the black lightning, finally turning into a pool of black water.

Two beams of light, one on the left and one on the right, like two rivers of different colors, divided the surging insect swarm in two, leaving a safe passage in the middle.

Nie Lingfeng carried Xiaoyun and stayed behind with Feng Baobao.

Feng Baobao wielded her katana, creating a screen of light. This screen wasn't circular, but rather a constantly shifting polygon with edges as sharp as knives. Any insect that approached, regardless of size, would be sliced ​​into pieces upon entering the screen—some split in half, some had their heads severed, and some were cut into three pieces.

The blade flashed so fast that the insect's body didn't even have time to react before it was being slashed open, still lunging forward. After taking two or three steps, it realized it had been split in two and fell to the ground with a "thud."

Nie Lingfeng would occasionally strike out with his palm. A chilling wind surged from his palm, like a cold wave, freezing and knocking away swarms of insects chasing him. The frozen insects were as hard as stones, crashing to the ground with a "crackling" sound, shattering into pieces. The knocked-away insects flew backward like cannonballs, knocking over even more insects behind them.

Like a sharp knife, the group struggled forward through the surging swarm of insects, rushing towards the torn metal door.

The distance of just a few dozen meters felt like crossing mountains of knives and seas of fire.

Insects kept breaking through the defenses.

Zhang Chulan was bitten on the leg by several bone-eating insects—they had crawled out from cracks in the ground, and when he looked down at the insects, his leg was already exposed through gaps in the golden light shield. The protective golden light fluctuated, and a burning pain shot through him, like being scalded by a cigarette butt. He looked down and saw several small holes in his trouser leg, with a small red patch of skin underneath. Fortunately, the golden light had blocked most of the damage.

Wang Ye's Taoist robe hem was stained with the sticky fluid sprayed by the bewitching leech—the fluid was milky white, viscous like glue, and sprayed out with a "plop." He immediately felt dizzy, and the scene before his eyes began to spin, as if he were drunk. He quickly bit his tongue, and a rush of blood filled his mouth; the pain brought him back to his senses. Looking down, he saw that the hem of his Taoist robe had been corroded with a large hole, the edges charred and curled.

Bald Bear screamed in agony. He had no protective skills and was ensnared by several blood-sucking leeches. These leeches, each the size of a palm, had their mouthparts tightly attached to his calves and arms, their bodies heaving as they sucked blood. He could feel his blood being drained, his body growing colder and weaker. Fortunately, Chen Duo managed to flick out a Gu worm specifically designed to control leeches—a small, silvery-white beetle. It landed on one of the leeches, its mouthparts piercing its body. The leech immediately released its suckers as if electrocuted, curling into a ball and rolling off Bald Bear's body.

Finally, the group rushed to the metal door.

Wang Ye was the first to crawl inside. He swept his flashlight across the passageway—there were no living creatures for the time being. Scattered on the ground were more dried bloodstains and broken bones, but at least there were no insects.

He immediately turned around, placed his hands on either side of the door frame, and a thick, earthy-yellow aura emanated from his palms.

"The character 'Gen' signifies immovability, like a mountain!"

A steady, heavy earth elemental force surged from both sides of the door frame, like two invisible walls, temporarily blocking the doorway. The force was not a physical wall, but a viscous, mud-like force field. The insect rushed in, and its speed immediately slowed down, as if it were struggling in a swamp.

While it couldn't completely stop the swarm, it greatly slowed their influx.

"Come in quickly!"

The crowd filed in.

When Zhang Chulan rushed in, he was still throwing lightning balls behind him, which exploded with a "bang," sending a swarm of insects flying. Zhang Lingyu was the last one—no, Nie Lingfeng was the last one.

After entering the passageway, he did not immediately follow, but instead slapped the twisted door panel with his backhand.

"Heavenly Frost Fist - Frost Condensation and Spirit Focus!"

A surge of icy air erupted. A shimmering blue light exploded on the door panel, freezing it to the wall. The ice spread from the edges of the door panel outwards, like a blooming ice flower, quickly covering the gaps between the door panel and the frame.

This formed a simple ice gate.

Immediately, a series of impacts and gnawing sounds came from outside the door—insects slammed against the ice door with muffled thuds; their mouthparts gnawed at the ice surface, making a crunching, teeth-grinding sound.

The ice gate shook violently, sending ice shards flying. Fine cracks appeared on the ice surface, spreading outwards like a spider web. The cracks continued to widen and deepen, and through the ice, one could see swarms of insects frantically crashing and gnawing at the gate.

It's obvious it won't last long.

"Go! Don't stop!"

Nie Lingfeng said in a deep voice, holding Xiaoyun in his arms, and continued forward along the passageway.

The passageway also sloped downwards. The incline was steeper than before, and the ground was more slippery, making it almost impossible to stand in some places. Zhang Chulan slipped and almost fell, but Feng Baobao grabbed his collar to steady him.

The air was thicker with the stench of blood. It wasn't fresh; it was aged, fermented—as if something had been stored inside for a long time, rotting and fermenting, turning into a cloying, nauseating smell.

There is also a kind of... indescribable, deep "rumbling" sound, as if countless life pulses are converging together.

The sound did not come from hearing.

It's more like a tremor that acts directly on the mind and body. It's not something you "hear," but something you "feel"—in your bones, in your blood, deep in your soul.

It makes your heart beat in sync with it.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

The sound was like a heartbeat. So much like one. One beat after another, steady and powerful, each one making your heart leap. You tried to control your heartbeat, but you couldn't—it was too strong, so strong that your heart wouldn't obey its own commands.