Master Ou listened to Han Wu, removed his outer coat, and gathered his master’s remains. He wrapped them in the coat and tied it into a bundle.

Han Wu placed it in his Dimension Bag, then resumed suppressive fire. He switched Locust-V’s bullets to the explosive rounds, which bombarded the air and the bats. He also controlled his 21 Small Locust Blades and cut down numerous bats.

Qin Shuang launched a barrage of Feather Darts and unleashed endless lightning at the swarm. She gripped her coin in her other hand, ready to deliver the finishing blow at any moment.

Master Ou held his hammer and stared at the mutated flying beasts in a daze. He tried to recall how he had escaped in the past. As he searched his memory, his gaze settled on a spot not far away from the bronze statue. According to his recollection, a hole there led to a distant location.

“I know how to escape!” Master Ou shouted as he ran toward that spot. He gathered his strength and struck the ground. The impact split the earth open and revealed a hole.

“This way! You guys, hurry up!” he shouted excitedly.

Qin Shuang and Han Wu rushed after him. Before entering, Qin Shuang unleashed her Railgun at the densest cluster of mutated beasts. A thunderous blast of lightning erupted and wiped out a large portion of the swarm.

Once inside, Han Wu used his Explosive Locust Blade to blow up the entrance and block the mutated beasts from entering. At last, they had time to catch their breath.

Han Wu waved his arm. “There are too many mutated beasts here. We can’t kill all of them.”

The battle had been dangerous, but it had its benefits. His Divine Weapon Atlas absorbed a lot of essence and was close to unlocking the sixth Divine Weapon. Moreover, Locust-V and the Gluttonswarm Ring had advanced significantly. With a few more days of the same intense slaughter, both would likely reach their maximum rank.

Qin Shuang had gained as much. Her Railgun’s final strike allowed her Divine Weapon Atlas to accumulate enough essence to unlock her fifth Divine Weapon: a pair of twin blades engraved with the Thunder Sparrow’s feather motifs. Lightning crackled and trailed behind each movement, giving the blades a striking presence. Moreover, this was a Divine-grade pair. Their initial quality matched Han Wu’s repeatedly upgraded Locust-V. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Han Wu felt defeated. He had to upgrade his Divine Weapons step by step, yet Qin Shuang’s began at the same level. It was ironic, but he wasn’t jealous. After all, the Fulther Blades were hers, and she was his.

The commotion above continued even after the trio disappeared. It was likely that they were feasting on the fallen bats.

Master Ou showed a hint of excitement. “I accidentally stumbled upon this place last time and managed to escape. Follow me.”

Qin Shuang and Han Wu shrugged and followed him. Master Ou led the way, but the cave had unexpected twists and turns. Before long, they were lost.

Master Ou started doubting himself. “That’s strange. I came here before. This should be the path.”

Han Wu stepped forward to take the lead. Although he had never been here, he had navigated enough mazes to dub himself as The Maze Killer. His confidence came from his core race. With countless locusts at his command, he could send them down different paths and receive real-time feedback. Finding an exit would be a piece of cake.

He summoned thousands of Glutton Locusts with his Gluttonswarm Ring and sent them spreading through the tunnels. He closed his eyes to track their movements and constructed a mental map of the maze. Within moments, he identified several possible exits.

After organizing the information, he said, “Follow me. I will take us to the first possible exit.”

Qin Shuang trusted him, but Master Ou didn’t. However poor his memory might be, he had escaped this place once before. This was Han Wu’s first time here, so how could he be that confident?

Still, he didn’t dare stray from Han Wu. Although he had a powerful God-grade Divine Weapon, he remained a blacksmith, not a warrior. His combat ability was negligible. More importantly, his master’s remains were in Han Wu’s Dimension Bag. Leaving now would serve no purpose, so he decided to follow.

They moved through the maze until they reached a large, cavernous room.

The room was empty; it was a dead end.

Master Ou was going to speak when Han Wu cut in. “My summoned locusts are dead. Something inside this place killed them.”

“We will know once we test it,” Qin Shuang answered as she tossed her Feather Darts. Hundreds embedded themselves throughout the room.

At first, nothing happened. Then, less than three minutes later, the first Feather Dart fell from one of the stone walls.

Qin Shuang immediately realized something was wrong. Her Feather Darts were supposed to root into their targets upon impact. Nothing could remove them except her, whether the target was living or inanimate. Yet this dart had fallen. The base of the feather looked corroded.

Han Wu looked over and understood at once. He was very familiar with the corrosion pattern. The feather had been digested. The cavern was no cavern at all, but the stomach of a life form.

How big was this creature to possess such a stomach? He did not know. He only knew that they had attracted its attention and had to leave immediately.

He had no time to explain. Viscous liquid began seeping from the walls. The air filled with an acidic stench, and the ground sizzled where the liquid touched.

“Run! That’s digestive fluid!” he shouted, grabbing the other two as he ran.

The three had just run out of the supposed stomach when a surge of digestive fluid burst out and corroded everything around it.

“Follow me and keep running!” He recalled the map and sprinted toward the next possible exit.

The digestive fluid pursued them relentlessly, as if something was controlling it.

Master Ou was stunned. He had come here before, yet the place had changed so drastically that he could no longer recognize it.

At a critical moment, Han Wu split his Small Locust Blades into 21 blades. The trio stepped onto them, and he controlled them to fly forward through the air. The extreme speed allowed them to evade the digestive liquid.

Soon, Han Wu brought them to the second possible exit. A gate stood before them, but he had no clue where it led.

“Master Ou, have you seen this gate before?” he asked.

Master Ou shook his head. He had no answer.