Chapter 284: It Really Is a Good Idea!

At this moment, the octopus monster seemed to have become even more intelligent and began to change its strategy: it no longer launched fierce attacks against any single person, but instead used its seemingly infinitely extending tentacles to seal off the three's range of movement, and triggered more trap devices buried deep underground that had not yet been activated by shaking the ground...

"Wait—if we can destroy the control center from the ground, that should solve the problem, right?" Just as everyone was struggling to hold on, Wang Zhenqiu, who had been responsible for keeping watch and observing the changes in the surroundings, had a flash of inspiration and suggested, "I remember that before coming in, I discovered a stone tablet beside the entrance with a marking that looked like a structural diagram of the entire maze... Perhaps that is the key."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan's eyes lit up: "That is indeed a good idea! But how can we break through the encirclement here to get over there?"

Just then, the entire space suddenly began to tremble violently. A loud noise came from above, and amidst the flying dust, one could vaguely see huge rocks crashing down toward their location...

"Watch out!" Following a sharp warning, the three of them used all their might to try to avoid this disaster from above. At the same time, Wang Zhenqiu took the opportunity to grab Lin Xuan and the other, using the Instant Teleportation skill to bring them directly to a corner at a relatively safe distance. "Although this isn't a long-term solution, it counts as temporarily avoiding a head-on collision. Next, we proceed according to plan."

Once everything calmed down, the three pairs of eyes fell in unison upon that massive body in the distance that was gradually revealing its true form. At this moment, their hearts were in their throats, and they dared not relax in the slightest.

"Are you ready?" Wang Zhenqiu looked at his companions beside him, his tone low but carrying unprecedented determination.

"Of course." Lin Xuan gripped the weapon in his hand, his eyes filled with an undying fighting spirit, "No matter what, we cannot let this guy hinder our progress!"

Xiao Qing smiled slightly, her smile filled with an eager-to-try emotion for the upcoming challenge: "Then... let us go and meet it together!"

Inside the dim secret passage, only the occasionally flickering torches provided a faint light. Lin Xuan, Xiao Qing, and Wang Zhenqiu gripped their weapons tightly, watching their surroundings vigilantly. Suddenly, a dense sound of flapping wings broke the silence, and countless black figures rushed at them from the darkness—they were swarms of bats, their eyes filled with greedy light.

"Watch out!"

Wang Zhenqiu reacted first, brandishing the Long Sword in his hand, and several bats charging at the front were immediately slashed into two pieces. But more bats had already approached rapidly, opening their blood-red maws in preparation to attack. At this moment, the entire passage was occupied by these crazed creatures, and the air seemed to be drowned out by their shrieks and the sound of flapping wings.

"We have to think of a way, otherwise we won't be able to kill them all!" Lin Xuan shouted, while using the sword in his hand to fend off several small beasts attempting to attack his face. However, in such a narrow and dark space, any bit of light would become a fatal temptation for these nocturnal predators, making the situation even more chaotic.

Xiao Qing looked around calmly, then had a sudden inspiration and said: "I remember that books once mentioned that fire is one of the best ways to drive away most animals... Why don't we give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, the other two's eyes lit up instantly. "That's right!" Lin Xuan responded, "If we could make this space a little brighter..."

After exchanging glances, they began to act. Xiao Qing took an oily substance out of her backpack and sprinkled it into the air; at the same time, Wang Zhenqiu lit a fire starter and threw it upward with force—the two made contact and instantly produced a ball of flame!

In an instant, the intense light illuminated the entire secret passage, causing those bats that had originally intended to launch an attack to retreat one after another. Some even turned around and fled directly, the entire swarm appearing extremely panicked. Seeing the significant effect, the three looked at each other and smiled, their hearts involuntarily feeling a sense of relief.

But the good times did not last long; just as they were preparing to take the opportunity to move forward, they suddenly heard an unusual sound coming from not far behind them...

"What's the situation?" Wang Zhenqiu asked, looking at Lin Xuan in confusion.

Before he could answer, a huge Yinying slowly moved out from deeper within, its massive body occupying almost half of the corridor. Different from the small bats before, this time what appeared was an abnormally large monster—its wingspan reached at least five meters, and a pair of sharp eyes locked firmly onto the location of the three.

"Damn it... this is no ordinary creature." Lin Xuan muttered to himself, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "We may have triggered a powerful existence guarding this place."

Facing this sudden turn of events, even the bravest Wang Zhenqiu could not help but feel a trace of nervousness. But he quickly pulled himself together and loudly encouraged his two companions: "Guys, don't be afraid! We were able to handle those little fellows just now, so we can definitely deal with this big guy. As long as we are united, there is no difficulty we cannot overcome!"

Xiao Qing nodded, a confident smile appearing on her face: "That's right. Since we have already come here, there is no turning back. What's more... I am still looking forward to seeing a 'monster' in the true sense of the legend~"

Having said that, the three stood close together, ready to welcome the upcoming challenge. And that huge figure seemed to have had its fighting spirit stirred up as well; after a low roar, it charged over violently...

"Let's go, let's give it a memorable memory!" Lin Xuan said loudly, the Black Long Blade in his hand reflecting a cold light.

The giant bat wings flapped up a violent wind, and the surrounding leaves and gravel were all swept up. The three stood their ground, their eyes filled with determination and unyielding spirit.

"This monster's speed is really fast!" Wang Zhenqiu shouted to Lin Xuan beside him while rapidly dodging the claw attacks descending from the sky. He held a small, shining mirror tightly in his hand, waving it whenever a threat approached to form a dazzling barrier in the air to block the opponent.

Xiao Qing, meanwhile, transformed into a light breeze, wandering on the periphery of the battle. "I can feel that the elemental power contained in the air around here is unusually rich; perhaps we can use this for something." Her words drifted into the ears of the two along with the airflow.

"Hmm, I noticed that too." Responding to her was Lin Xuan's calm voice, "But let's solve the crisis at hand first before talking about anything else. You two cover me for a moment!"

Having said that, Lin Xuan held the blade in one hand and thrust forward. After tracing a perfect arc in the Void, it suddenly erupted with brilliant light, charging directly at the massive creature right in front. "Ha! Taste my full-power strike!"

However, a scene that made everyone's jaws drop occurred—the seemingly powerful attack only made the giant beast pause its steps for a moment and did not cause much damage. Instead, after a brief moment of astonishment, it became even more violent.