Chapter 355: The Giant Eye of Terror

Thud!!!!

An unprecedented, terrifying roar exploded as if right beside the ear! The whole earth surged like waves! A dreadful shadow fell like a curtain! The Overwhelming Pressure, infused with the rotting scent of sulfur and stars, almost crushed their souls!

Xiaoyou unleashed her last speed, smashing open the dark‑purple vines!

Plop!

The three of them, like rolling gourds, tumbled helplessly into the narrow, dark opening that reeked of decay!

Just the next second after they fell in—

Rumble—rumble—rumble—!!!

A terrifying giant foot of indescribable size, covered in black, heavy scales with dark‑red, lava‑like light seeping through the gaps, trampled the spot where they had just been, as if divine punishment.

The ground collapsed and cracked like a fragile eggshell, forming a massive footprint pit dozens of meters across! The shockwave, dragging soil, rubble and burning debris, surged outward like a tsunami!

The foot's master seemed to pause, its lava‑like gaze sweeping over the shattered ruins, wondering why the faint "insect" scent that had displeased it vanished. Its massive body, large enough to block the sky, cast a shadow that completely enveloped the area.

Deep in the narrow, dark cave, Lin Yifan, Xiaoyou, and Lingling huddled together, daring not even to breathe; their blood seemed frozen.

Outside the mouth of the cave, the embodiment of destruction was within arm's reach.

Inside the cave, time seemed frozen into solid ice by the terrifying Overwhelming Pressure so close.

Lin Yifan, Xiaoyou, and Lingling, like statues poured into darkness, were cramped in the narrow, fetid space, their faintest breaths nearly halted.

Outside, the terrifying giant foot, clad in black scales and streaming lava light, stood where they had just been. The rumbling aftershocks of the cracked earth had not fully faded; stones and dust fell like drizzle from the cave entrance. Each falling stone sounded like a death knell striking their hearts.

The heavy, soul‑shaking pressure, like a solid tide, poured through the narrow opening into the tiny refuge. The air grew thick and scorching, smelling of sulfur and some star‑rotted stench. Lin Yifan felt his skull as if it would be crushed by the invisible force; the throbbing pain in his broken left shoulder became a trivial background noise under this Overwhelming Pressure. Lingling curled between him and Xiaoyou, its small body rigid as iron, trembling faintly with extreme terror.

Xiaoyou's condition was the most peculiar. Its injured body was taut; beneath its dark fur, the star‑river patterns no longer glittered but were fully restrained, as if locking all its breath inside. Its twin stellar eyes still emitted a barely perceptible cold silver light in absolute darkness, staring fixedly toward the cave mouth, embodying absolute stillness born of extreme vigilance. The soul link no longer conveyed aggression or hunger, but an almost instinctive camouflage and lurking when facing a predator, like the most seasoned hunter lying in wait, or prey praying not to be found.

Huff—hiss—

A muffled, indescribable breath like a hurricane tearing through a canyon sounded from just outside the cave. Carrying scorching heat and a dense aura of destruction, it surged into the cave, rattling Lin Yifan's tattered clothes, nearly lifting him out.

The terrifying presence was right outside the cave! It stopped! It was sensing! It was searching!

Lin Yifan's heart hammered wildly, nearly bursting his chest. He clenched his teeth, his mouth filled with the taste of blood, his intact right hand's five fingers digging deep into the cold, damp soil beneath him. He could not move! He could not make any sound! Not even the ripple of thought could occur!

Time passed second by second, each second feeling as long as a century.

The breathing outside the cave was slow and rhythmic; each inhale seemed to draw out all light and life, each exhale bringing lava‑like heat and the stench of death. The heavy Overwhelming Pressure, like a millstone, slowly crushed the nerves of every living thing inside the cave.

Lin Yifan's vision began to blur from hypoxia and excruciating pain, his consciousness teetering on collapse. He could only rely on his last instinct, keeping his body utterly still.

Suddenly, the rhythmic breathing paused.

Immediately, a more bone‑chilling, faint "hiss" sounded, as if some colossal thing was sniffing the ground extremely slowly…

A bone‑deep chill swept Lin Yifan's entire body in an instant! It seemed to be sensing the lingering ground scent in a way they could not comprehend. Their brief trace of fleeing into the cave was not without a trace!

It's over!

The thought just rose—

Buzz!

At Lin Yifan's left wrist, the wound that had been temporarily still from Xiaoyou's blood "ice‑seal" and the terrifying Overwhelming Pressure suddenly throbbed violently, a soul‑rending tremor!

It was the drop of Xiaoyou's Void‑Star Essence that had seeped into his wound! Stimulated by the higher‑rank, even more terrifying and violent aura outside the cave, it suddenly became hyper‑active!

A faint layer of "ice crystals" glittering with ghost‑blue star specks and dim gold shards reappeared at his left shoulder wound, uncontrollably emitting an extremely weak, yet subtly resonant, cold ripple that contrasted with the outside aura.

The ripple was so faint it could almost be ignored, but in the absolute silence and oppression of the moment, to the terrifying presence outside it was like a spark in the dark!

Roar—!!!

A low, yet mock‑infuriated roar burst out! Louder than any previous sound! The cave shook violently, more soil and stones falling.

A colossal, terrifying vertical‑pupil blazing with dark‑red lava veins, like a hellish eye, slammed onto the narrow cave entrance! Its cold, frantic, destruction‑driven gaze, like a solid searchlight, pierced deep into the cave, instantly enveloping the three tiny, huddled figures!

We're discovered!

Absolute death descends!

Lin Yifan's mind went blank.

At that moment of utter hopelessness—

Cheep—!!!

Lingling, stuffed in the neck fur by Xiaoyou and forever trembling with fear, seemed to have its potential fully triggered by the hell‑eye's stare, emitting a shriek so sharp it could tear eardrums, utterly mismatched to its size!

The ancient rune on her forehead, long dimmed, at this moment reflected back, unleashing its final and fiercest silver‑white flash!

The light was not strong, yet it carried an extremely pure, ancient Moonshadow Fox essence! Like the last match in darkness, faint but instantly drawing the terrifying vertical pupil's full attention!

Moonshadow Fox! Half‑step Divine Being Bloodline! To any predator, it is an irresistible lure!

The fury in the vertical pupil was instantly supplanted by a greedier hunger! A massive, forked, dark‑red tongue dripping lava‑like saliva, like a gigantic siege hammer, screamed as it sliced the air, thrusting violently into the cave! It intended to first fling out the enticing little thing!

"No!!!" Lin Yifan's eyes bulged, his intact right hand instinctively reaching to grab Lingling!

But a figure moved faster than him!

Xiaoyou, who had remained absolutely still, moved in the split second between the hell‑eye's approach, Lingling's moon‑light burst, and the terrifying tongue's thrust!

It was neither lunging toward the opening nor protecting Lingling.

In its star‑woven eyes, which had been fixed on the opening, a flash of intensely human, ice‑cold resolve—and calculation? —blazed.

Just before the terrifying tongue could coil around Lingling—

Xiaoyou snapped its mouth open, not to bite the tongue but aimed at a seemingly unremarkable spot on the inner cave wall, covered in thick moss and fungi!

An ultra‑concentrated, void‑scented, eerie‑blue energy beam, like a precise laser, shot from its mouth and instantly struck that wall!

A bizarre scene unfolded!

The wall, struck by the eerie‑blue energy, did not explode but rippled like water! The moss and fungi withered instantly, revealing behind it a pitch‑black, narrow fissure only one person could pass, its destination unknown. A colder, underground‑river‑humid airflow with a stale metallic smell surged out from the crack!

This cave actually had another hidden exit?! Xiaoyou had discovered it long ago? It had been waiting for the chance?!

"Enter!!"

A cold, urgent, unmistakable thought, transmitted through the soul link, pierced Lin Yifan's nearly stalled consciousness like a steel needle!

At the same time, Xiao You's body unleashed its final strength, violently flinging the Lin Yifan it was holding and the Ling Ling hidden in its fur toward the newly opened dark fissure! It itself, using this reaction force, like a moth diving into flame, resolutely… rushed toward the terrifying giant tongue that had pierced the cave, dripping lava saliva!

It wasn't to attack, but—voluntarily sending itself toward that giant tongue!

In the instant Xiao You was about to touch the giant tongue, all the ghostly blue light on its body became extremely restrained, and then… erupted with a thunderous roar!

However, it wasn't an offensive explosion, but an extremely bizarre, space‑warp‑like fluctuation! The galaxy‑like patterns flowing around it shone wildly, rendering its tiny figure vague and unstable, as if it were about to temporarily "vanish" from this spatial layer!

It intended to use itself as bait, employing this special method to briefly disrupt the terrifying entity's lock, buying Lin Yifan and Ling Ling a final sliver of survival!

"Xiao You!!!" Lin Yifan's roar was drowned out by the cave's tremors and the giant tongue's piercing screech as it tore through the air.

He was hurled violently by a massive force, his vision spinning wildly; the last scene he saw was the terrifying lava giant tongue snapping shut, completely swallowing the space‑distorting, blurred Xiao You! Then, without pause, it continued sweeping toward him!

The next second, Lin Yifan, clutching Ling Ling, crashed heavily into that pitch‑black, narrow fissure exuding a chilling airflow!

A fierce impact and tumble struck in an instant!

His body collided and scraped wildly against the rough, sharp rocks; the "ice crystal" at the broken left shoulder emitted a teeth‑aching shattering sound, and the excruciating pain engulfed him like a tsunami.

Darkness.

Rapid descent.

In his ears roared the whistling wind and the rumble of rocks tumbling.

In his final consciousness, only remained the cold, resolute flash in Xiao You's star‑like eyes just before being devoured by the giant tongue, and the even more enraged, prey‑taunting, earth‑shaking roar echoing from outside the cave…

Then, everything fell into endless darkness and rolling.

The earth's gravity's frantic pull and the boundless darkness persisted as if for a century, or perhaps only an instant.

Lin Yifan's consciousness shattered completely amid the excruciating pain and rolling; the only lingering sensation was cold—bone‑piercing, omnipresent, saturated with heavy moisture and a metallic rust smell.

Boom!

The final heavy impact almost shattered his remaining consciousness. The cold liquid surged back through his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes, choking his lungs and forcibly stimulating his nerve endings.

Water! A massive amount of water!

He was sinking in a swift, icy underground Dark River!

The instinct to survive overrode everything. His intact right hand paddled frantically, his battered body struggled in the icy current. A tearing pain radiated from the broken left shoulder; the "ice crystal" formed from Xiao You's blood, now riddled with cracks from the violent impact and water flow, began seeping fresh blood again, turning into faint pink mist in the dark water.

"Ling Ling!" he shouted in his mind; the cold river water prevented him from speaking. His right hand fumbled in the water.

A furry, equally desperate little body crashed into his arms.

It was Ling Ling! She was still alive!

Lin Yifan felt a slight relief, his right hand tightly clasping the little fox, he paddled upward with all his might.

Puff—!

His head finally broke the surface; he greedily, violently inhaled the cold, damp air, coughing up mouthfuls of river water. Darkness still enveloped his sight; he could only gauge his position by the sound of the flow and his sense of touch.

It seemed to be an immensely wide underground river channel, the current rapid and the water chillingly cold. The air was heavy, suffused with the smell of water, rust, and an indescribable mustiness. In the distance, a faint light source could be discerned—not natural light, but a ghost‑like, pale‑blue moss clinging sparsely to the towering distant cavern walls, offering only minimal illumination, which only made the subterranean world appear more eerie.

"Yifan brother…" Ling Ling's voice was feeble, clinging tightly to his shoulder, her whole body drenched, shivering from the cold.

Lin Yifan looked around, his heart sinking. They had been swept to the center of this Dark River, far from any possible shore. In his current condition, carrying Ling Ling, it was impossible to endure the raging icy current long enough to reach land. Blood loss, excruciating pain, and cold were swiftly draining the last heat and strength from his body.

And what chilled his heart even more— the soul link.

The cold, resilient link between him and Xiao You grew exceedingly weak, like a candle flickering in the wind, seemingly ready to snap completely. What came through the link was no longer clear thoughts, but a sensation of chaos, pain, forced confinement and… consumption?