Before falling into the water, Wu Tie had already fainted.
Fear and shock overwhelmed him. The consecutive shocks were too much for his frail body to handle.
A wave, several meters high, engulfed him, while the "Chi You Tooth" hanging on his chest continued to vibrate rapidly, emitting a buzzing sound.
The surrounding water flowed swiftly, resembling a giant python. Within moments, it dragged Wu Tie down to the bottom of the water.
Instinctively, Wu Tie took a breath, but before the water could enter his seven orifices, the dark water suddenly receded, revealing a narrow space just enough to envelop him.
With a hissing sound, air was forcefully drawn out of the water, rapidly filling the small space.
Wu Tie took a breath, his body convulsing violently. His eyes rolled rapidly under his eyelids, his mouth opened and mumbled incomprehensible words as his hands flailed about.
The water continued to drag Wu Tie towards the bottom.
Underneath this vast body of water, deep within the rock walls, countless water vents, numbering in the hundreds, were wildly spewing or devouring water streams. The countless water streams clashed rapidly, forming the large waves and whirlpools on the surface, as well as the terrifying dark currents beneath.
Wrapped in a small pocket of air, Wu Tie tumbled aimlessly in the water.
He continued to sink, until the strongest dark current pushed his body towards a hundred-meter-wide dark cave.
In an instant, an invisible vortex spun rapidly at the entrance of the dark cave, devouring everything that passed by. Wu Tie's body spun several times along with the water flow, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace as he entered the dark cave.
On the water's surface, a giant rock, several meters in diameter, was thrown down.
A bald, muscular man wearing heavy armor had one foot tied to the rock. He relied on an animal skin bladder for air as he descended from where Wu Tie had fallen into the water.
The rock dragged the man's body down to the bottom of the water.
The man widened his eyes, desperately scanning his surroundings. There was no light underwater, and he couldn't see anything in the pitch-black darkness.
The man sank nearly three hundred meters down, and the strong water pressure made it difficult for him to breathe. The dark current slammed into his body, deforming his face.
Finally, consumed by fear, he severed the rope tied to his foot and forcefully pulled the long rope around his waist, ascending to the water's surface at the fastest speed. Rapidly falling into the water and rapidly floating up, the man's lung tissue burst, and blood flowed from his mouth and nostrils.
Cracking and strange sounds echoed from the depths of the water.
A massive black shadow abruptly shattered numerous dark currents, swiftly passing through the turbulent water.
The man's body disappeared below the neck, and his severed head was carried by the swift water flow, rising up abruptly seven to eight meters above the water's surface, before crashing heavily back down.
A large amount of blood stained the water's surface, and as the wave rolled, both the blood and the severed head vanished.
A middle-aged man with a grim expression stood on the shore, glaring at the spot where the man's head had floated.
After a while, he turned around and gazed at where Wu Jin had disappeared.
A tall girl walked up behind him and softly asked a question.
The middle-aged man turned around, his gaze sweeping across the girl's forehead.
There was a faint white snake shadow about an inch long coiled on the girl's forehead. The snake shadow was rapidly dissipating. If the middle-aged man hadn't been observant, he might have even missed this faint snake shadow.
"What is this…" The middle-aged man suddenly touched his own forehead, running his fingertips over his skin, feeling a strange energy emanating from it.
"Bloodline avenger..." The middle-aged man's face turned extremely unpleasant.
"Abandon everything, leave this area quickly with the fastest speed. Remember, 'escape'!" The middle-aged man roared angrily. "Fast... remember, 'escape'!"
Blackness, everything was black, endlessly black.
Wu Tie woke up several times, his body being battered by the swift water flow, causing him to spin like a windmill. Soon, he fainted again.
In the end, he didn't know if he was alive or dead.
The water continued to wash over him, passing through hidden waterways between layers of rocks, passing through various underground water territories...
This was an extraordinary underground realm.
In a circular basin with a radius of thousands of miles, all types of strange vegetation thrived, and countless peculiar creatures bred and flourished within this basin.
Outside the circular basin was a vast expanse of rocky desert, pitch-black and mysterious.
Countless gemstones were embedded in the towering rocks above, emitting a constant bright light, illuminating this massive space.
On one side of the basin, a terrifying crack split the rock wall, spreading dozens of miles wide. Boiling magma gushed out from the crack with a deep roar, sliding into the deep abyss on the side of the basin.
The magma provided precious heat for this entire basin.
Both the vegetation and the peculiar creatures relied entirely on the heat brought by this magma flow to sustain their vibrant lives.
Opposite the magma flow, separated by the entire basin, another crack several dozen miles wide opened in the rock wall, and swift water flow rushed out accompanied by a deafening sound.
The waterfall washed over the basin, forming a massive river within. Numerous tributaries spread out from the main channel, flowing towards all corners of the basin, providing precious water sources for the life within.
Near the magma flow, a wide waterfall several miles wide cascaded down, plunging fearlessly into the abyss of scorching magma.
The magma evaporated the waterfall, billowing water vapor rising several miles high, spreading in all directions along the smooth dome. The mist was dense, and the water vapor nourished the soil and the water in this space. Thick moss and vibrant vines grew on the rock walls and stalactites all over.
Wu Tie was spewed out of the river waterfall.
The "Chi You Tooth" hanging on his chest gradually stopped vibrating, seemingly exhausted.
The tiny air pocket disappeared, and Wu Tie soaked in the water. Following the gradually calm water flow, he was washed to the bank.
The skeletal remains of a gray rock lizard leaned against the bank. Wu Tie's small body was hung up by the rugged bones, firmly fixed in place.
Wu Tie was immersed in a deep faint. If there was no external interference, he would likely remain unconscious until he died.
Silence surrounded him.
A poisonously large black widow spider crawled slowly towards the riverbank.
On its hideous head, a few emerald green compound eyes scanned left and right. Its venomous fangs collided with each other, emitting occasional flashes of sparks. Its sharp claws scraped against the stones on the ground, making sharp friction sounds.
It slowly approached Wu Tie, getting closer, and even closer.
Wu Tie had injuries, and a faint trickle of blood oozed out.
The spider caught the scent of the sweet and fragrant blood and suddenly accelerated towards Wu Tie.
Ten meters, one meter, half a meter...
A few thousand meters away, on the slope of a small hill, which overlooked this section of the river, a fist-sized chunk of the hill suddenly burst open, and a clot of soil the size of a fist instantaneously vaporized.
A burst of red light flashed, and the snakehead of the spider disappeared completely.
The snake's body started violently wriggling. Once again, red light flashed, and the spider was cut into more than thirty sections.
Each segment of the snake body could only slither on the ground, unable to pose any threats to Wu Tie, nor could they leave Wu Tie's side.
Segments of the snake body were without any traces of blood, their wounds were smooth, and no blood flowed from them.
After some time, Wu Tie woke up.
He opened his eyes and saw the fat snake segments beside him. Instinctively, he grabbed a segment of the snake meat and bit down fiercely.
Half of the snake was eaten clean, and his vision blacked out again, and he fainted.
Blood flowed from the bitten-off snake segment.
In just a moment, several venomous spiders, two or three poisonous snakes, and a gray rock lizard crawled over. These creatures that were enough to easily kill Wu Tie inexplicably fell to the ground, killed by an unknown force.
Especially the scent left behind by the gray rock lizard indicated the appearance of a formidable predator on this riverbank.
For a long time, no insect or reptile approached Wu Tie.
Wu Tie woke up and consumed the nearby food.
Fainted, continued to sleep.
After an unknown period of time, he woke up again and ate.
The water in this river had just rushed out from the underground, so it was very cold, making the temperature near the riverbank much lower than elsewhere. Hence, apart from a few ferocious creatures, no other insects or reptiles were active nearby.
Due to the cold temperature, the dead venomous creatures and gray rock lizard didn't decay too quickly.
When Wu Tie finished gnawing half of the lizard's tail, he finally stood up.
He washed his body by the riverbank and looked around in confusion.
There was no familiar "False Sun" in the sky, but the light emitted from the night gemstones was not inferior to the "False Sun."
He turned his head and saw the river channel stretching for dozens of miles, with a calm flow occasionally disrupted by ripples.
Wu Tie had never seen such a scene before, but he instinctively felt uneasy.
He took a few steps back, trying to distance himself as much as possible from the river channel.
Turning around, Wu Tie looked into the distance.
There were strange and peculiar plants everywhere.
Wu Tie had never seen such vegetation before.
Some resembled the crops he was familiar with, such as earth rice mushrooms, white mushrooms, and large meat mushrooms, but their size was much larger.
There were also some plants, two or three meters tall, with numerous branches and twigs. Wu Tie had never seen anything similar.
However, this peculiar branch-like vegetation was relatively scarce, randomly scattered everywhere.
His body trembled, and although he had regained some strength, his mind was still empty. Wu Tie looked into the distance with a confused gaze, took a step, and was about to randomly choose a direction to walk in.
A glaring flash caught his attention in the distance.
Wu Tie saw the flash and stood frozen. His mind blank, he didn't think about anything, but with heavy footsteps, he walked towards the source of the flash.
The ground was slippery, covered in lush moss, causing Wu Tie to stumble and fall every couple of steps. It took him a long time to cover a few kilometers' distance.
Covered in dirt, his limbs even felt numb from falling repeatedly.
Shivering all over, Wu Tie looked at the small hill over one hundred meters high, gritted his teeth, and climbed up along the hill.
Climbing, climbing, Wu Tie suddenly tripped over a small mound and fell to the ground. The small mound shook, and a round object rolled out from it.
"Cough, you kicked Grandpa's head!" Wu Tie lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Near his ear, came an extremely stiff voice.
"Cough, can you understand what Grandpa is saying?" The voice was so close to Wu Tie's ear that it was practically shouting. "You brat, you've got quite the perseverance. If you had given up halfway, Grandpa would have left you."
"For the past few days, Grandpa has been pouring his heart and soul into saving your life. I've been taking care of you more diligently than taking care of my own grandson... of course, I don't have a grandson, but that doesn't matter... all of you are my grandsons!"
Wu Tie gasped for air, and amidst his heavy breathing, he heard the voice.
He mustered his strength and lifted his head to see where the voice was coming from.
In an instant, his vision darkened, and he fainted again, this time scared into unconsciousness.
He woke up terrified this time.
Empty-headed, countless shadows seemed to loop around him, with large splashes of blood swirling, and numerous overlapping white faces drifting.
His body stiff, cold, devoid of strength.
It seemed like his life was rapidly leaving his body.
Wu Tie even thought that he had died. He opened his mouth wide, struggling to breathe, but he couldn't sense any breath.
The venomous spider was right under his foot, just half a meter away. The venomous fangs and its bloated abdomen exploded, and venomous liquid oozed out bit by bit.
The venomous fangs approached Wu Tie, about to bite down...
Several kilometers away, on a small hill, a small mound suddenly burst, and a fist-sized clump of soil instantly vaporized.
A red light flashed, and the spider's head disappeared completely.
The snake's body started writhing violently. Another red light flashed, and the snake was cut into more than thirty sections.
Each section of the snake's body could only squirm on the ground. It posed no threat to Wu Tie and was unable to move away from Wu Tie's side.
The sections of the snake body lacked any trace of blood, and the wounds were smooth, without any blood flow.
After some time, Wu Tie woke up.
He raised his head, seeing the plump snake segments beside him. Instinctively, he grabbed a segment of snake meat and bit down fiercely.
Half of the snake was eaten clean, and in front of him, everything went black, and he fainted again.
Blood trickled out of the bitten snake segment.
In just a moment, several poisonous spiders, two or three poisonous snakes, and one gray rock lizard crawled over. These creatures that were enough to easily kill Wu Tie suddenly fell and were killed by an unknown force.
Especially the scent emitted by the gray rock lizard marked the appearance of a terrifying predator on this riverbank.
For a long time, no worms or reptiles approached Wu Tie.
Wu Tie woke up and ate the food beside him.
Fainted again, continued sleeping.
After an unknown amount of time, he woke up again and ate.
The water in this river had just rushed out from the underground, so it was very cold, making the temperature near the riverbank much lower than elsewhere. Hence, apart from a few ferocious creatures, no other insects or reptiles were active nearby.
Due to the cold temperature, the dead venomous creatures and gray rock lizard hadn't decayed too quickly.
When Wu Tie finished gnawing half of the lizard's tail, he finally stood up.
He washed his body by the riverbank and looked around in confusion.
There was no familiar "False Sun" in the sky, but the light emitted from the night gemstones was not inferior to the "False Sun."
He turned his head, looked towards the river channel, which stretched for dozens of miles with a calm flow occasionally disrupted by ripples.
Wu Tie had never seen such a scene before, but he instinctively felt uneasy.
He took a few steps back, trying to distance himself as much as possible from the river channel.
Turning around, Wu Tie looked into the distance.
There were bizarre and peculiar plants everywhere.
Wu Tie had never seen such vegetation before.
Some resembled the crops he was familiar with, such as earth rice mushrooms, white mushrooms, and large meat mushrooms, but their size was much larger.
There were also some plants that grew two or three meters tall, with numerous branches and twigs. Wu Tie had never seen anything similar.
However, this peculiar vegetation with intertwined branches was relatively scarce, randomly dispersed.
His body flickered, and although he had regained a bit of strength, his mind was still empty. Wu Tie looked into the distance with a bewildered gaze, took a step, and was about to randomly choose a direction to walk in.
A blinding flash appeared in the distance.
Wu Tie saw the flash, and he stood stunned. His mind was blank, and he didn't think of anything, but with heavy steps, he walked towards the source of the flash.
The ground was slippery, covered in lush moss. Wu Tie stumbled and fell every couple of steps. It took him a long time to cover a few kilometers.
Covered in dirt, his limbs were numb from falling repeatedly.
Trembling all over, Wu Tie observed a small hill over one hundred meters high, gritted his teeth, and climbed it.
Climbing, climbing, Wu Tie suddenly tripped over a small mound and fell to the ground. The small mound shook, and a round object rolled out from it.
"Ahem, you kicked Grandpa's head!" Wu Tie lay on the ground, gasping for breath, and near his ear came an extremely rigid voice.
"Ahem, can you understand what Grandpa is saying?" The voice was near, practically shouting in Wu Tie's ear, "You lad, you've got quite the perseverance. If you had given up halfway, Grandpa would have left you."
"For the past few days, Grandpa has poured his heart and soul into saving your life. Grandpa has taken care of you more diligently than taking care of my own grandchildren... of course, I don't have any grandchildren, but that's not important... all of you are my grandchildren!"
Wu Tie breathed heavily, and amidst his heavy breathing, he heard the voice.
Summoning his strength, he raised his head to see where the voice was coming from.
In an instant, his vision went dark, and he fainted once again, this time terrified into unconsciousness.
Glossary:
巫铁 (Wu Tie) - Wu Tie (character name)
蚩尤牙 (Chi You Tooth) - Chi You Tooth
洪流 (hongliu) - water flow
水流 (shuiliu) - water current
巫金 (Wu Jin) - Wu Jin (character name)
巫银 (Wu Yin) - Wu Yin (character name)
巫铜 (Wu Tong) - Wu Tong (character name)
虚日 (xuri) - False Sun