Chapter 447: Barreling Into the Corpse Forest

As Wu Xian and Fatty Tiger began running.

The Labyrinth's Will also realized its encirclement plan had been exposed, so the lurking malevolent entities no longer hid—they leapt out of the darkness one by one.

One woman ran with her chest up and back down, limbs bent backward, head staring straight ahead, her face dominated by a gaping mouth, blood caked in her teeth, her skull spinning like a gyroscope, perfectly stable even while sprinting, revealing her grotesque expression clearly.

One old man, bloated like a pig, but with human mouths growing on his eyes, nose, and ears; he ran with his body leaning forward, arms flailing like boneless ropes, his shoulders alternating rhythmically as six mouths shouted in unison.

"Hungry, I'm so hungry!"

One puppet, no taller than a knee, crawled like a stray dog on all fours, its back bearing a metal hammer; as it ran, its wooden parts clacked together with a creaking sound.

And one giant centipede, three meters long…

All these creatures were twisted and horrifying, exuding overwhelming dread.

Wu Xian turned his head and ran faster.

"There are seven altogether—far fewer than when we faced Xia Xia Caoqing!"

The situation was dire; if caught, they'd have to fight to the death. Ordinary people, even glancing back at these malevolences, would freeze in terror.

Yet under this pressure, Wu Xian's tense heart finally eased.

Wu Xian had long suspected he might be punished by the Labyrinth's Will.

But his worst fears were far worse than this—yet only seven ordinary malevolences had come to hunt him, even fewer than those sent against Xia Xia Caoqing.

This meant that, to the Labyrinth's Will, he, who sought to stir up great chaos, posed less threat than a single malevolence obeying the Labyrinth's rules!

That entity lurked in the shadows, hearing all, seeing all, communicating with humans in dreams, controlling malevolences—seemingly omnipotent within the underground maze.

Yet such a being…

When eliminating threats, sent only seven malevolences—and even then, crept closer cautiously, afraid he'd notice.

Is killing Wu Xian so hard? Send a hundred malevolences—he'd be dead instantly.

Does the Labyrinth's Will refuse to, or is it unable to?

Seeing through the Labyrinth's Will's hollow strength, Wu Xian grew even more relaxed; mid-run, he leapt onto Fatty Tiger's back.

After the third invocation of the Su Ni Yu Hu, Fatty Tiger's physique had changed—he could no longer carry a person, but now he could bear Wu Xian and sprint like the wind.

Fatty Tiger ran so fast that soon he nearly outpaced the seven malevolences.

Wu Xian gripped Fatty Tiger's scalp.

"Slow down a bit—don't let them lose us."

Fatty Tiger growled in protest but slowed his pace.

Riding Fatty Tiger wasn't as comfortable as imagined; though he could ride and they moved swiftly, the beast's gait jolted violently, tossing Wu Xian's innards like a storm—had he not used all his food to heal Fatty Tiger, he'd have been vomiting nonstop.

And the cave's terrain wasn't straight—some stretches wide, some narrow, some requiring him to bend low; every obstacle demanded effort to pass.

Soon the path grew familiar—they were nearing the Upside-Down Corpse Forest.

Wu Xian gritted his teeth against the jolting and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Help! Someone save me! Is anyone here to rescue me?"

"I'm diabetic—my blood is sweet! I never exercise—my bones are soft! I bathe in herbal brews daily—my flesh is pickled to perfection."

"If I'm caught, those malevolences will devour me alive! Who among you would let such a delicacy slip away?"

Wu Xian's voice was heart-wrenching, echoing far and wide—too obvious in its baiting, but to lure malevolences, such crude words worked best; subtlety meant nothing to them.

Several malevolences not controlled by the Labyrinth's Will were drawn in, and the number of monsters chasing them grew.

Wu Xian smiled in satisfaction.

He was going to set a fire anyway—why not let it burn more? Even one fewer malevolence meant smoother action tomorrow.

Hss…

Fatty Tiger slammed to a sudden stop.

They had reached the entrance of the Upside-Down Corpse Forest.

Before them lay a scene that chilled the soul: over a hundred upside-down corpses stood rigidly blocking the entrance, heads downward, eyes either cloudy or rotted away, yet every empty socket stared fixedly at Wu Xian and Fatty Tiger.

Behind the upside-down corpses hung countless coffins suspended from the cave's upper reaches, exuding a chilling, decaying aura.

Wu Xian swallowed hard—he'd been terrified by this sight before and hadn't fully recovered, but now he had to face it; he patted Fatty Tiger's back.

"Charge in—head straight for the center of the Upside-Down Corpse Forest!"

"Aaaoo!"

Fatty Tiger roared, his voice brimming with the authority of a beast-king; his yellow-white body surged forward with unstoppable might, charging into the corpse horde.

The rotting, stinking upside-down corpses swung their arms, their legs swaying like grass in the wind, trying to block Wu Xian and Fatty Tiger's path.

Wu Xian curled his fingers toward the corpses.

【Heat-Up Method + Ding Mao Fire Incantation!】

A fireball wreathed in the aura of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches hovered at Wu Xian's fingertip; due to the Heat-Up Method, this incantation glowed far brighter than before.

"Go!"

The fireball shot forth, striking the corpse line; the first corpse hit exploded, spraying flaming chunks and carving a gap for Wu Xian and Fatty Tiger.

Fatty Tiger lunged forward, planted his front paws into the gap, then pushed off with his hind legs, his powerful tiger body leaping high—clearing over ten meters in a single bound, vaulting from the front of the corpse line straight to the rear!

A normal tiger could leap six meters; Fatty Tiger, enhanced, had absurdly superior jumping power—even this distance wasn't his limit.

After entering the Upside-Down Corpse Forest, Fatty Tiger slowed.

The terrain here was complex, littered with coffins; every few steps required a turn, and the deeper they went, the higher the ceiling became, the coffins arranged in increasingly intricate patterns.

Wu Xian was pleased—ample space meant flames could burn fiercer.

Occasionally, upside-down corpses dropped from coffins above, using their fall speed to attack—hitting him was ideal, but even missing, they'd splash him with chunks of rotting flesh.

At first Fatty Tiger dodged easily; later, he grew exhausted.

As more upside-down corpses surrounded them and other malevolences drew near, movement within the forest became nearly impossible—everywhere were tangled legs, every sight filled with grasping hands—a scene from hell.

Fatty Tiger bore multiple bloodstains; Wu Xian's curly hair had been ripped out in clumps; his specially wrapped white fur cloak was torn all over.

But after enduring all this…

They had finally reached the center of the Upside-Down Corpse Forest! (End of Chapter)