Chapter 343: Ancient Salamander

He didn't know how long had passed; perhaps an instant, perhaps ages.

Lin Yifan finally vaguely sensed that his body's falling speed seemed to begin slowing.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

As a few muffled splash sounds rang out in succession, the massive impact nearly knocked the wind out of Lin Yifan.

A slightly warm, intensely sulfur‑smelling liquid instantly engulfed him.

Water?

No, it must be hot spring water!

Lin Yifan was all too familiar with a sulfur‑scented hot spring like this.

When he was on Earth Star, he had once worked at a hot‑spring inn where this smell lingered year round.

But this place felt more like an underground Dark River!

He struggled to surface, gagging, greedily inhaling the air.

The air was warm, carrying a heavy mineral scent and the previously detected rotting odor.

After a brief adjustment, his eyes could barely see; this place was not total darkness.

High above, a massive irregular fissure left by a collapse let in faint skylight like distant stars, barely illuminating below.

In this vast underground chamber, the light came from the surrounding rock walls.

Embedded in them were countless strange ores or lichens emitting eerie blue, grim green, and dark purple glows, like hellish stars, casting the space in a bizarre, ominous atmosphere.

The water was deep, about forty‑to‑fifty degrees, perhaps fine at first, but after a while Lin Yifan felt a lingering heat.

Looking around, he first saw Ling Ling floating not far away, supported by a few dark‑gold vines.

Her tiny body was soaked, a dim rune on her forehead, a faint silver streak at the corner of her mouth, her breath weak, but she was still alive!

Lin Yifan felt a slight relief.

"Ling Ling!" he paddled hard, trying to reach her.

But at that moment, his soul link jolted violently.

A wave of cold, alert, even slightly... uncertain emotion traveled through the link.

It's Xiao You!

Lin Yifan snapped his head around, following the link's guidance toward his side‑rear.

He saw that Xiao You was not floating; its night‑dark tiny body was now steadily... standing on the water's surface!

Indeed, standing!

Its four little paws rested steadily on the water, tiny ripples radiating from it, yet its body seemed weightless, perfectly balanced.

Flowing galaxy patterns beneath its fur slowly glowed, emitting a faint silvery‑blue halo, strikingly visible in the dim underground space.

Its star‑shining eyes vigilantly scanned the bizarre rock walls and the endless, warm, sulfur‑scented water.

It seemed to instinctively repulse and guard against the environment itself, far beyond the anger it felt toward the previous lava giant claw.

"This place... feels off."

Lin Yifan's heart sank. Xiao You's reaction explained the problem better than any words.

He paddled to Ling Ling's side, using his still‑functional left hand to gently place her onto a floating massive spirit‑crystal fragment.

The dark‑gold vines seemed over‑exerted, temporarily quiet, coiling around his right arm like a strange bracer.

"Ling Ling, wake up!" he gently patted her icy cheek, trying to channel a faint breath of energy.

"Um..." Ling Ling let out a painful whimper, her long lashes trembling, finally managing to open her eyes.

Her fox‑like eyes were filled with bewilderment and weakness; the dim rune on her forehead made her appear even more pitiable.

"Yifan... brother..." her voice thin as a mosquito's hum, "Where... are we? That... monster..."

"We shook it off for now, but we fell into a strange place," Lin Yifan said quickly, watching the surroundings warily, speaking with utmost caution:

"Xiao You's condition is odd; it's very alert here, perhaps there's danger."

Ling Ling struggled to sit up a little, also seeing Xiao You on the water surface and the surrounding walls glowing faintly.

She inhaled a few breaths of cold, sulfur‑scented air; the dim rune on her forehead flickered faintly.

"Such... such an ancient aura..." Ling Ling's voice trembled with fear as she said:

"Older than the ancestors' bone aura, even more chaotic, and..."

Her words confirmed Lin Yifan and Xiao You's feeling. This place was far from benign.

At that moment, Xiao You, who had been quietly standing on the water, suddenly snapped its head; its star‑shining eyes locked onto the deep water ahead of Lin Yifan and Ling Ling's position.

"Ugh!"

A low, threatening roar emanated from its throat, its fine shard‑like fangs glinting coldly in the dim light.

Lin Yifan and Ling Ling's hair stood on end instantly!

Whoosh!

Almost as Xiao You gave the warning, the previously calm water erupted violently.

A massive, flat tail sheathed in thick teal‑black scales, like a prehistoric crocodile's tail‑whip, tore through the water with a sharp screech and nauseating stench, lashing toward the spirit‑crystal fragment they occupied.

It was too fast!

So fast that Lin Yifan only managed to thrust Ling Ling under his body.

Boom!!!

The spirit‑crystal fragment shattered under the tail's strike, breaking apart like tofu.

The terrifying force hurled Lin Yifan together with the Ling Ling he was shielding, slamming them far away.

Puff!

Lin Yifan felt as if a battering ram had struck his back; his throat went sweet, and blood spurted out wildly.

Lingling let out a short, pained cry in his arms.

The two of them, like kites with broken strings, crashed once again into the bone-chilling water.

"Roar!"

Amidst the splashing water, a hideous head burst forth from the surface.

It was an enormous head, like a salamander's magnified countless times.

Covered in thick, bluish-black scales, with several twisted bone spurs atop its head, and a pair of huge, lidless yellow vertical pupils filled with primal hunger and ferocity.

It opened its massive maw, revealing dagger-like, interlocking rows of ghastly white teeth, and a thick, stinking reek rushed forth, clearly seeing them as a delivered feast.

This ancient giant salamander lurking beneath the water was the true predator of these waters.

Just as the giant salamander burst from the water and its hideous maw was about to snap shut on Lin Yifan and Lingling, who had just fallen in—

A silver-blue light, like a meteor tearing through the gloom, instantly swept across the water's surface.

It was Xiao You!

Its small body erupted with a terrifying speed completely at odds with its size.

Its four paws trod the water, leaving trails of silver-blue afterimages on the surface.

Just as the giant salamander's fangs were about to close, it appeared like a teleport at the side of that enormous head.

There was no roar, only icy killing intent.

It suddenly raised one of its front claws.

On that tiny claw, the flowing star-river patterns abruptly blazed to a blinding intensity, condensing into a miniature, spinning star vortex! Carrying the severing will of a dying star, it slashed down viciously.