Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

These crystal-shelled scorpions are extremely fast, and their shells offer good resistance to physical attacks.

Zhao Xinchun's dagger made a crisp "clanging" sound when it struck, which was not very effective. This annoyed her. The monsters in this underground space were really not suitable for her to deal with!

There was nothing he could do about it; after all, martial arts weren't omnipotent. If he had known it would be like this, he wouldn't have let Zhao Xinchun come along; it would have been better to send a heavily armored warrior instead.

Sun Yao's fireball, while capable of causing damage, also seemed to trigger some kind of refraction in their shells, resulting in a small-scale streaking of light that was extremely dazzling and quite troublesome.

"I'll do it!" Wu Zhan roared, and just as the three scorpions gathered and pounced, he suddenly raised his foot and stomped heavily on the glowing moss on the ground!

The earth roared!

boom!

A powerful shockwave spread out from Wu Zhan, bringing the three scorpions to an abrupt halt as they charged forward, with dizziness indicators appearing above their heads!

- 678! - 701! - 665!

Liu Nian launched his Shadow Strike, appearing behind Poison Scorpion like a ghost, his Earthshaker gauntlets whistling through the air!

- 1155!

- 3348! (Soul-Draining Strike)

[Soul Drain Strike damage +5!]

A scorpion that had been stunned was instantly killed! The second one had just recovered from its stun when Liu Nian delivered a finishing punch.

Duang ~

[Heart of Steel activated! Health +63]

At this moment, the poisonous scorpions around them awoke, and Liu Nian immediately added another kick—

The earth roared!

-3766! -3756! -3762! -3781!

The surrounding scorpions were instantly killed or wounded!

[Hellish Curse in effect: Armor and Ability Power +3]

Then, Liu Nian launched an unstoppable attack, smashing a group of poisonous scorpions into pieces!

[Hellish Curse activated! Armor and spell power +5!]

Your pet "Echo" has gained experience points.

[Echo level upgraded to 2!]

[Echo level upgraded to 3!]

[Echo level upgraded to 4!]

[Echo level upgraded to 5!]

……

Several flashes of light indicating an upgrade appeared on the little guy's body. He seemed to have grown slightly larger, and the color of his carapace had become deeper, indicating that his attributes had been comprehensively enhanced.

It seemed excited, vibrating gently and making a "buzzing" sound.

As they continued their journey, they encountered even more diverse bioluminescent fungal creatures, including the [Glowing Spray Mushroom LV.18] that could spray paralyzing spores, the [Mimetic Moss Monster LV.20] that would ambush them from beneath the glowing moss, and even the [Blinking Fungus LV.19] that could teleport instantly through the mycelial network.

The battles became more frequent and intense, but after a period of adjustment, the team became more and more adept at coordinating, especially with Liu Nianding leading the way, making the journey much faster than before!

Echo's level quickly rose to 10, and its body visibly grew to the size of a scorpion.

Liu Nian's level has also reached 19, and he has maxed out the level of Intent Fist with 5 levels. The effect is: (16 CD, 90% HP Battle Spirit storage, damage: 100% Battle Spirit + 10% maximum HP + 50% attack power)

Name: Liu Nian

[Level: LV.19]

[HP: 15887/16953]

Energy: 956/1900

Attack: 1390

[Faqiang: 153]

Armor: 342

[Magic Resistance: 72]

Attack Speed: 2.1

[Heart of Steel: 457 floors, provides 11998 health points]

[Soul Drain Strike: 405th floor, provides 1669 damage]

[Hellish Curse: 138 stacks, grants 138 armor and spell power]

[The Fang of Malice: Transformation grants 475 health]

[Malicious Fangs: Transformation grants 695 attack power]

However, just as everyone was fighting with great enthusiasm and preparing to cross the fungus forest in one go, the master craftsman Mekkatorque, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped. He took off his goggles, wiped them vigorously, put them back on, and repeatedly compared the map in his hand with the surrounding environment. His short body seemed somewhat anxious.

"Stop! Warriors... wait a minute!" He slapped his forehead in frustration, his voice tinged with unease. "Something's wrong, something's very wrong!"

"What's wrong, Master Mekkatorque?" Wu Zhan stepped forward and asked.

"We...we might be lost!" Mekkatorque said gravely. "I remember clearly that the previous times I've passed through here, this route was dangerous, but there were never this many, this densely packed monsters! And the shape of the surrounding fungi doesn't match the reference points on my map...Damn it, is this fungal forest itself moving? Or is there something wrong with my map?"

"Huh?" Everyone was surprised to hear this.

What's going on?

The NPC actually got lost?

Wu Zhan frowned. His experience told him that in the game, such deviation from the planned route often meant two things: either a hidden side quest had been triggered, or there was an undiscovered special area nearby, such as a secret dungeon.

"Everyone stay alert and keep an eye on your surroundings. See if there's anything unusual!" Wu Zhan immediately gave the order, while gripping his shield tightly.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately dispersed, cautiously exploring the surrounding fungal communities emitting various fluorescent lights, the twisted trees, and the rugged rock walls.

The echo on Liu Nian's shoulder seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere. It stopped buzzing excitedly and instead became somewhat restless. Its two front pincers gently tapped on Liu Nian's shoulder armor, making a crisp "tap-tap" sound. Its head kept turning, as if listening to something.

A moment later, Zhao Xinchun, whose senses were most acute, suddenly uttered a soft exclamation: "There's a corpse here! It looks like... a human?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately moved closer.

Zhao Xinchun parted a dense clump of hanging mycelium, revealing a skeleton half-leaning against the rock wall!

The clothes on the skeleton had long since rotted away, but a badly corroded short sword and a broken small round shield lying nearby were clearly of human origin!

The skeleton was contorted in a grotesque position, as if it had died in extreme pain or struggle, and the bones had an eerie, decaying color.

"Are they really human remains? Or something like elves?" Sun Yao asked doubtfully.

Chen Suan crouched down and examined the remains carefully: "No, elf bones are whiter and lighter, and the ribs are different. This is definitely human remains. But the time of death... is impossible to determine; it's been too long, and there's no way to summon the spirit anymore."

"How could there be human remains here?" Sun Yao asked疑惑地. "Besides us, could other humans have been here a long time ago?"

"It could be an NPC? After all, player corpses disappear on their own after a while; they can't be preserved for very long."

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the unexpectedly discovered human skeleton, the echo on Liu Nian's shoulder suddenly became more agitated. It vibrated violently, emitting a sharp and rapid "humming" sound, and raised its two front claws towards the incredibly thick rock wall in front of it as if it had been threatened!