Chapter 160: Leaving the Group

Amidst a booming sound, all the Flying Swords pointed toward a single spot and stabbed into it successively. The membrane shook violently, its surface flickering with light, gradually being obstructed by the Sword Qi, causing a dent to appear on the membrane.

Wang Lin's eyes flashed, and the Crystal Light Flying Sword immediately shot out violently, continuously stabbing the dent at an extremely fast speed with a loud boom. Soon, the dent grew deeper and deeper.

At this moment, the snake-like creature seemed to have noticed the anomaly and began twisting its body violently. Wang Lin, feeling anxious, waved his large hand, and hundreds of Flying Swords immediately began attacking fiercely once more.

Finally, with a bang, the membrane shattered, and a dense, foul odor immediately sprayed out from within. Wang Lin flashed, pressed himself against the fleshy wall, and held his breath. The Medicinal Pill in his mouth instantly took effect, blocking all the foul odor.

After the foul wind passed, Wang Lin immediately rushed inside. The snake body within the giant snake had already shriveled up. Wang Lin had a vague feeling that this giant snake would definitely not be killed so easily. If there was a small snake inside the large snake, then would there be another snake inside the small snake?

More importantly, Meng Tuozi had previously said that this snake-like creature should be an Ancient Beast, equivalent to a Cultivator at the Soul Transformation Stage Great Perfection. One must know that the Soul Transformation Stage Great Perfection is almost the peak powerhouse in a Rank Four Cultivation Country.

Unless the cultivation of people like Gu Di had also reached Soul Transformation Great Perfection, based on Meng Tuozi's previous words, Wang Lin did not believe these individuals had reached Soul Transformation Great Perfection; at most, they were only at the Soul Transformation Middle Stage.

If that were the case, there would be no way to fight; they could only flee for their lives. Wang Lin had originally planned the same, but after watching for a while, he realized that besides having thick skin and flesh and spitting out poisonous fog, this creature seemed to possess no Divine Ability, which greatly surprised him.

He observed the others and found that although none of these old fellows spoke, their eyes flickered with hidden doubt.

Wang Lin had a bold guess in his heart: this creature only possessed the Physical Body of an Ancient Beast but lacked the Divine Ability comparable to a Soul Transformation Stage Great Perfection Ancient Beast.

This guess reached its peak when another snake head emerged from the snake's mouth. It was precisely because of this speculation that he finally made up his mind and dared to extract the marrow from the Ancient Beast's mouth!

In his opinion, this Ancient Beast was merely a façade. If he was inside, there would certainly be no danger. A strange thought even popped into Wang Lin's mind: was this Ancient Beast a peculiar creature, where a large snake contained a small snake, and the small snake contained another snake, until the ultimate small snake, hidden within an unknown number of snakes, was the true Ancient Beast!

As for the Physical Bodies on the outside, they were merely decorations used to conceal its true form, which is why it only possessed the Physical Body of an Ancient Beast but lacked its Divine Ability.

Thinking of this, Wang Lin's heart tightened. He quickly collected his thoughts and rushed to the junction between the snake head and the snake neck. Here, there was no membrane, and half a section of white bone was faintly exposed. Wang Lin pressed his right hand onto it without hesitation. Under the control of the Gravity Spell, he suddenly sucked, and the snake body immediately trembled and began rolling frantically.

At the same time, black light suddenly flashed from the head of the snake body inside the giant snake. The snake skin rapidly melted, and Meng Tuozi, looking horrified, leaped out. He was in a sorry state and quickly flew toward the giant snake's head at an extremely fast speed!

When passing the junction between the neck and the snake head, he spotted Wang Lin at a glance. After a slight hesitation, he urgently shouted, "Hurry and leave! This is a Parasitic Flood Dragon Snake! It has a total of nine snakes inside its body, and the innermost one is its true body, possessing the Ancient Beast's Divine Ability!"

As he spoke, he slapped the surrounding fleshy wall with his right hand. The fleshy wall, which was difficult for Flying Swords to injure, immediately turned dark and bruised. The snake-like creature cried out in pain and opened its large mouth, and Meng Tuozi instantly flashed out.

Wang Lin's eyes flashed. Not only did he not leave, but he immediately pressed his body tightly against the fleshy wall, concealing his figure.

Just then, a slightly smaller Red Flood Dragon suddenly rushed out from the shriveled snake body. Its body flickered with electric light as it suddenly pursued Meng Tuozi.

Wang Lin pressed his body against the fleshy wall, completely motionless. After Meng Tuozi and the Flood Dragon flew far away, his eyes flickered. Meng Tuozi had ill intentions; his willingness to tell him these things while escaping was definitely an attempt to get Wang Lin to leave with him, thereby diverting the Flood Dragon's pursuit target.

Wang Lin sneered internally. He was unwilling to get entangled with these people. If the third barrier required him and he managed to open it, that would be fine. But he knew he didn't know any Death Curse Spell at all. If the third barrier didn't open, this group of Demonic Cultivators would definitely kill him in anger to vent their frustration.

Moreover, even if it were opened, if he lost his utility, even if he wasn't killed immediately, he would certainly become a subject for the Demonic Lord of Six Desires to use his demonic attack on. Wang Lin clearly recalled the young man's blank eyes.

Originally, Wang Lin planned to find an opportunity to leave during the first two layers. If no chance arose, he would simply cause chaos on the third layer. When everyone was fleeing for their lives, they certainly wouldn't have time to keep an eye on him.

But now, Wang Lin changed his mind. Since the Red Flood Dragon had already chased them out, the interior of this snake corpse should currently be the safest place. His eyes flickered, and he exerted a strong suction force with his right hand on the spine. The giant snake immediately shook violently, and Wang Lin felt his blood Qi surge upward, his body involuntarily crashing upwards.

His expression was grim. He circulated the Spiritual Power within his body, instantly stabilizing himself. The feeling of surging blood Qi still persisted. Wang Lin swept his Divine Sense outward through the gaps between the giant snake's teeth. After getting a clear look, he immediately froze.

The enormous snake-like creature was rapidly descending at an extremely fast speed, sinking into the pitch-black Void Realm in the blink of an eye.

After about half an hour, the descending speed finally slowed down. Finally, the snake body shook, and muffled roars came from outside. It was a long time before silence returned.

Wang Lin took a deep breath and continued to absorb the bone marrow without hesitation. At this point, the giant snake no longer trembled, showing no abnormality. Gradually, a drop of golden liquid slowly floated out from within the spine. A faint fragrance immediately wafted over. Wang Lin's expression was serious. He slapped his Storage Pouch, and a jade bottle flew out.

After carefully placing the golden liquid into the jade bottle, Wang Lin exhaled deeply. After putting it into his Storage Pouch, he immediately flew toward the snake's mouth. Wang Lin flashed out through the gaps between the giant snake's terrifying teeth.

There was darkness before him, without a trace of light. Wang Lin changed his Hand Seals with both hands and shouted softly, "Go!" Immediately, a Fireball the size of a human head appeared silently before him and floated forward.

Following the light of the Fireball, Wang Lin surveyed his surroundings. Gradually, his expression turned strange.

To be precise, this was also a stone block floating in this Land of Nothingness, except that this stone block was several hundred times larger than the place he had been before.

The enormous snake-like creature was currently resting its head on the stone block, its body hanging down, extending to an unknown distance. The snake-like creature had its eyes tightly shut and possessed no Qi.

Wang Lin observed carefully for a moment and analyzed that this snake-like creature must have temporarily lost its vitality because the Red Flood Dragon had left its body, similar to a Cultivator's Nascent Soul leaving the body, which caused it to fall down from above.

This also explained why the creature showed no abnormal movement when he was extracting the marrow fluid earlier.

Wang Lin looked at the giant snake, his eyes flickering slightly, then he sighed inwardly and finally gave up his internal plan. The giant snake lying here was like a mountain of treasure placed before him. Leaving aside everything else, just its Brain Core and snake skin were already priceless. However, Wang Lin did not let these things cloud his judgment. Not to mention whether he could pierce the fleshy wall outside the Brain Core or remove the creature's armor, the Red Flood Dragon that left its body could return at any time. If it encountered Wang Lin, even if Wang Lin had a hundred lives, he would be instantly killed.

After taking another look, Wang Lin took out the Anti-Poison Pill given by Meng Tuozi from his mouth. The Medicinal Pill had already shrunk by half, but Wang Lin still carefully placed it inside his Storage Pouch. Without further ado, he extinguished the Fireball. This time, he leaped up, realizing that the firelight was too dazzling in this dark Void Realm. For the sake of safety, Wang Lin could only fly in the dark.

Gradually, his eyes slowly adapted to the darkness. Although he couldn't see everything around him clearly, he could at least make out some outlines.

Apart from the stone blocks being hundreds of times larger, this place was similar to the area above, except that the speed at which the stone blocks moved was slightly faster than above. Furthermore, waves of danger constantly emanated from all directions.

Wang Lin proceeded cautiously, slowing his speed. Often, he would observe carefully for a long time before daring to move even a few zhang. Just as he landed on a stone block, his body suddenly stiffened. In front of him, a black shadow flashed past.

Wang Lin held his breath, remaining motionless, staring intently ahead. Gradually, he made out some outlines. In the very center of this stone block was a mass of black shadow, approximately a hundred zhang in size. Countless tentacles extended from its body, extremely long and swaying irregularly.

The black shadow that flashed past just now was one of those tentacles.

After seeing clearly, Wang Lin retreated slightly. This strange creature could survive here, so its strength must be extremely powerful, not something he could provoke. After slowly retreating a few zhang, he reached the edge of the stone block. Wang Lin kept his eyes locked on the creature, suddenly pushed his body backward, floated up lightly, and swiftly flew away into the distance.

After flying several hundred zhang away, Wang Lin took a deep breath. He looked up at the boundless Void Realm above and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Only by reaching the stone blocks where they had originally arrived could he find the light circle leading out.

Wang Lin remained silent for a moment. He dared not let his Divine Sense spread too far, or he might attract danger if he provoked some powerful creatures. He slowly flew upward. Seeing a massive black shadow above, he quickly stopped and examined it carefully for a long time. Only after confirming it was a conical stone block did he slowly approach.

But just then, a red light suddenly appeared from above, carrying a strange whistling sound, and rapidly rushed downward. Wang Lin immediately flashed out, pressing himself tightly against the conical stone wall beneath the stone block, remaining completely motionless.

The red light flashed past the stone and fell downwards, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Wang Lin's scalp tingled. In that brief moment, he vaguely saw that the red shadow was clearly the Flood Dragon that had flown out from the snake-like creature earlier to pursue Meng Tuozi.

Now that the Flood Dragon had returned, he didn't know if Meng Tuozi and the others were dead or alive. Wang Lin sneered, left the stone wall, and slowly flew upwards. After climbing onto the stone, he immediately cautiously observed his surroundings.

This was a stone without any living creatures. After observing for a long time, Wang Lin breathed a sigh of relief, sat down cross-legged on it, took a sip of spiritual liquid, and carefully watched the area below.

Once the red Flood Dragon returned to its body, it would surely notice the abnormality. Wang Lin was silent for a moment, then immediately sank into the stone. He patted his forehead with his right hand, and the Heaven Defying Bead instantly appeared. His eyes flickered, and he immediately entered the Heaven Defying Space.

Not long after he entered the Heaven Defying Space, a furious roar came from the depths below. The red Flood Dragon immediately shot out like lightning from below, roaring as it consecutively shattered several hundreds-of-zhang-sized stones. Its eyes gleamed with a cold light, and its body instantly flashed as it searched the surroundings.

This Flood Dragon already possessed a certain level of intelligence, knowing that the person who stole the marrow likely hadn't gone far. Thus, it roamed around with fierce eyes. After a long time, the Flood Dragon, still finding nothing, roared madly a few more times before reluctantly lying down on a stone, slowly calming down.

But soon, its body shot out again, rushing towards the black shadow with countless tentacles that Wang Lin had previously seen on a certain stone.

The moment the Flood Dragon charged, the tentacles immediately shook rapidly, quickly intertwining to form a cone shape, confronting the red Flood Dragon without fear.

Rumbling sounds continuously echoed from below. At the same time, various lights flashed repeatedly, and massive spiritual power fluctuations swept outwards like a hurricane. Stones shattered one after another, and even the stone where Wang Lin was located was affected, nearly half of its size destroyed.

This great battle lasted for about a day before slowly subsiding. The black shadow, which had incurred the Flood Dragon's wrath, ultimately retreated. As for the Flood Dragon, it was also heavily injured. After roaring several times, it finally quieted down.

Ten days later, Wang Lin left the Heaven Defying Space. His body flashed, appearing on the stone. The moment he appeared, he immediately spread his Divine Sense, closely observing his surroundings.

There were noticeably fewer stones around, but many more small碎石. After a long time, Wang Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief. After a brief deliberation, his body immediately flew up, ascending upwards.

After consecutively passing several stones, Wang Lin's body suddenly paused, staring ahead. In that instant, he saw a碎石 suddenly disappear at a certain position in front.

Wang Lin's expression was solemn. He slowly retreated, and at the same time, with a wave of his right hand, several碎石 immediately flew over from the surroundings. Wang Lin pointed forward and softly said, "Go!"

The碎石 immediately flew forward. This time, Wang Lin stared intently ahead, only to see the stones disappear abruptly not long after flying out.

Wang Lin took a deep breath. He had seen clearly that a black opening had suddenly appeared at the location where the碎石 vanished. Due to the extreme speed and unclear vision, at first glance, it seemed as if the碎石 had suddenly disappeared.

Wang Lin was silent, staring ahead. He patted his Storage Pouch, and a Flying Sword lay across his chest. He tapped the sword with his right hand, and the Flying Sword immediately shot forward.

In a blink of an eye, it reached the spot where the碎石 had disappeared. Suddenly, the black opening appeared again. The moment it swallowed the Flying Sword, Wang Lin's right hand abruptly formed Hand Seals and he low-growled, "Shatter!"

The Flying Sword burst into pieces with a bang, shooting out in all directions the moment the black opening closed. Wang Lin stared intently, and with a wave of his right hand, one of the fragments immediately changed its trajectory and returned to his hand.

Wang Lin stared at the few drops of black liquid left on the Flying Sword fragment. Around the liquid, the Flying Sword fragment showed signs of corrosion.

"It's not a spatial Rift!" Wang Lin immediately confirmed. The reason he was so cautious and tested multiple times was his concern about spatial Rifts here. If there were any, the danger level of this place would increase by another Rank.

After all, Wang Lin was no longer a Soul Devourer but had a Physical Body. Under the tearing of a spatial Rift, all things would be destroyed.

Wang Lin breathed a sigh of relief, spread his hands, and gave a fierce shake. Immediately, all the surrounding碎石 gathered, forming a ring-shaped碎石 belt around his body.

He flew horizontally for a long distance before flying forward again. Along the way, whenever a碎石 disappeared, he would immediately change direction. Gradually, after multiple observations, Wang Lin was able to confirm that the existence that swallowed碎石 like a spatial Rift was actually a strange creature whose form was invisible to the naked eye.

The body structure of this creature was extremely bizarre; even Divine Sense could not discern any clues. Wang Lin could only deduce this answer based on his understanding of spatial Rifts from his countless years as a Soul Devourer in the Outer Realm.

Along this path, Wang Lin was extremely careful. This place was fraught with danger at every step; a slight carelessness could lead to his demise. Especially for a Core Formation Cultivator like him, it was no less perilous than a Dragon's Pond and a Tiger's Den. Even a single oversight would result in death.

For all this time, Wang Lin silently calculated that he had only traveled less than a thousand li. This thousand li, if it were under normal circumstances, he would have flashed past in a very short time, but now, it had taken him several days.

Wang Lin could no longer calculate the exact number of days; all his energy was focused on constant vigilance.

Time slowly passed, and Wang Lin himself did not know how long he had been flying in this place. Long periods of intense vigilance and caution allowed him to narrowly escape crises time and again.

On this day, Wang Lin rested briefly on a stone. His spiritual power hadn't been depleted much, but his mind was utterly exhausted. This was fortunate because Wang Lin had been accustomed to caution before entering this place. Otherwise, anyone else would have long been tormented to exhaustion and buried here.

After resting for a moment, Wang Lin took a deep breath, stood up, and tapped his right hand in the Void Realm several times. Immediately, the Crystalline Flying Sword flashed out, spinning wildly around the stone. Gradually, large chunks of碎石 were shaved off the outer edge and drifted away.

Wang Lin extended his hands, and the碎石 immediately gathered. During these past few days of travel, Wang Lin had always used碎石 to clear his path. Whenever the碎石 ran out, he would gather materials on the spot, cutting some from the stones.

After these碎石 formed a ring, Wang Lin immediately leaped forward, flying slowly.

Gradually, as he flew a certain distance, Wang Lin's brows immediately furrowed. He stopped in mid-air, his eyes flickering as he observed his surroundings. The darkness in this area had dissipated considerably; the higher he went, the more a faint glow seemed to emanate from all directions.

As for where this light came from, Wang Lin had no time to ponder. He was now intently observing his surroundings, a slight sense of unease in his heart.

His eyes had now completely adapted to the darkness, and with the faint glow here, he could basically see everything clearly. He roughly calculated that from here upwards, within approximately ten thousand li, there was only one碎石 floating.

All of this was too illogical. Based on Wang Lin's experience, these碎石 usually appeared every few li. Even if a stone shattered, there would still be some碎石 and dust. But here, there was absolutely nothing.

There are only two explanations: first, a fierce battle had just occurred here, causing a hurricane to rage and blow all the stones, except for that one, far away, leading to this scene.

Second, there were countless creatures similar to spatial Rifts here, constantly devouring stones over the years, consuming them all completely.

Wang Lin had a basis for this. He had personally seen a huge conical stone being completely devoured by a suddenly appearing large mouth. In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, that seventy to eighty zhang-sized conical stone had vanished without a trace.

Wang Lin hesitated. If this place was truly like this, then he would have to take a detour. Otherwise, once he entered, he would immediately be in danger.

After a brief deliberation, Wang Lin's right hand pointed at a碎石 in front of him. The碎石 slowly drifted forward and quickly entered the area. It floated a great distance inside without disappearing. Wang Lin pondered for a moment, then tapped his hands around him several times. Immediately, all the碎石 around him lined up and pushed forward.

Wang Lin was not in a hurry; he stood quietly in place, watching the碎石 slowly advance. After a long time, the碎石 arrived near the only large stone within ten thousand li.

Near there, one of the碎石 suddenly disappeared. Wang Lin's pupils contracted, staring intently. A moment later, another碎石 disappeared. Soon,碎石 continuously vanished, and finally, as they passed the massive stone, all the碎石 disappeared completely.

Wang Lin's eyes flickered as he memorized those points. Based on his experience over these past days, Wang Lin knew that those creatures resembling spatial Rifts were unable to move and seemed to be fixed in certain positions.

However, he could not rule out the possibility that they might move. Wang Lin was silent for a long time, but still gave up on the idea of entering. This place was too bizarre; he would rather spend more time going around it than risk entering, as he could not afford the cost of failure.

Having made up his mind, Wang Lin retreated. Again, he used the Crystalline Flying Sword to cut down a large amount of碎石, forming a circle around his body, and then flew to the side.

Gradually, Wang Lin's expression grew even more somber. He had already flown very far, but this blank area seemed boundless, without any discernible boundary.

If this blank realm were likened to a white belt, then it seemed to traverse this Void Realm. After flying for several days, Wang Lin had no choice but to abandon his plan of going around it.