Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen abruptly halted, a crimson fireball materializing before him.
The fireball rapidly expanded, swelling to several dozen meters in diameter in the blink of an eye. A scorching heatwave surged outward, causing the surrounding Primordial Qi to churn violently.
With a wave of his hand, Song Wen launched the fireball forward, sending it hurtling toward the pile of rubble ahead.
The rocks exploded violently, scattering debris in all directions amidst billowing smoke and dust.
Undeterred, the fireball continued its relentless advance, pulverizing the rubble for kilometers until the tunnel reappeared.
Boom, boom, boom...
A series of thunderous explosions echoed from the depths of the tunnel, their source unknown.
As for Song Wen, after releasing the fireball, he flipped upside down and plummeted downward headfirst!
A blood-red Armor-Piercing Cone suddenly materialized above him.
The cone, formed from the Blood Sea Seal, was roughly sixty centimeters long but nearly a meter thick.
Spinning rapidly, the Armor-Piercing Cone shot toward the ground.
The solid rock crumbled like tofu before its might, the cone effortlessly carving out a vertical shaft nearly a meter wide.
Song Wen followed closely behind the cone, plunging deeper into the earth.
To hinder the Giant Hound Void Beast's pursuit, Song Wen deliberately carved the vertical tunnel extremely narrow, barely wide enough for his body to pass through. Even the nine tentacles sprouting from his head had to cling tightly to his body, their long ends swaying wildly behind him as he fled.
This made Song Wen resemble a colossal squid, dragging its lengthy tentacles as it desperately fled for its life.
Meanwhile, the newly grown tenth tentacle had already reached a length of thirty feet. According to the shadow void, once it reached fifty feet, his incubation would be complete.
He had descended only a few dozen miles when a ferocious roar echoed from above.
"Awooo!"
The Giant Hound Void Beast had arrived, its howls reverberating outside the tunnel.
Song Wen felt a sharp pain in his divine soul and immediately redirected the Armor-Piercing Cone to drill horizontally.
Just then, another piercing shriek pierced the air.
"Wooo..."
This shriek, too, sent a searing pain through Song Wen's divine soul.
It was unmistakable: the seventh-tier resentful spirit had arrived.
True to the shadow void's prediction, the resentful spirit had indeed sensed Song Wen deep underground. However, it showed no interest in him as fresh blood food, instead charging madly toward the Giant Hound Void Beast.
The Giant Hound Void Beast naturally had no desire to engage in a prolonged battle, but the two combatants were evenly matched, neither capable of swiftly defeating the other, resulting in a stalemate.
Song Wen seized this opportune moment, but instead of attempting to bypass the conflict and return to the surface, he continued drilling deeper underground.
Leaving this place might lead him to encounter other void fiends or resentful spirits. It was safer to remain here, using the battle's surging momentum to mask the shadow void's hatching aura.
Moreover, Song Wen possessed Earth Evasion Talismans. Even if one of the combatants emerged victorious and still had the energy to pursue him, he could simply activate a talisman to shake them off.
He didn't drill straight down; instead, he changed direction every few dozen miles. This ensured that any void fiends or resentful spirits attacking from above would be blocked by the thick layers of rock.
After descending a thousand miles, Song Wen halted.
He carved out a thirty-meter-wide cavern and sat down cross-legged.
"Shadow void, how's the battle above?" Song Wen asked.
"It's fiercely contested," the shadow void replied. "No victor yet."
"Then hurry up and complete the hatching as soon as possible," Song Wen urged.
"Yes, Master," Shadow Void replied, immediately focusing all its energy on absorbing the Soul Source Essence raining down from the Black Hole above.
To ensure Shadow Void could concentrate fully on its hatching, Song Wen summoned the Nether Fox to guard the surroundings.
Moments later, the Nether Fox suddenly spoke.
"Master, the battle above has reached its conclusion. The void fiend has been defeated, severely wounded, and is fleeing frantically toward the tunnel entrance. The resentful spirit refuses to relent and is in hot pursuit."
"That's good news," Song Wen remarked.
He glanced sideways at Shadow Void's newly formed tentacles, which had already grown to over twelve meters in length, indicating the hatching was imminent.
Just then, all nine tentacles began frantically absorbing the surrounding Primordial Qi.
Due to the cave's confined space, the Primordial Qi within was instantly depleted.
Strands of dark energy surged from the surrounding rock walls, only to be devoured by the tentacles.
The patterns on the tentacles' surfaces gradually began to emit an eerie black glow, as if announcing the impending transformation and rebirth.
Shadow Void visibly grew agitated, its nine tentacles beginning to writhe in unison.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cave was too narrow, and the tentacles slammed against the surrounding rock walls.
The ground shook violently, and countless boulders tumbled down.
These falling rocks posed no threat to Song Wen or the Nether Fox, but the Nether Fox suddenly grew alarmed, pointing a claw at the ceiling.
"Master, the ceiling is collapsing!"
Only then did Song Wen notice the cracks spreading rapidly across the ceiling, growing wider and longer.
The rock layer above was thousands of miles thick. If the entire structure collapsed, even a Void Refinement Stage cultivator like himself wouldn't be able to withstand such immense pressure.
Song Wen swiftly summoned the sun-chasing spear and thrust it into the northern rock wall.
The spear, wreathed in dazzling light, pierced through the stone with unstoppable force, carving out a massive tunnel over thirty feet high.
He then activated the Blood Sea Seal, conjuring a crimson protective shield above them.
Using his spiritual power to pull the Nether Fox along, Song Wen darted into the tunnel.
Rumble!
A deafening roar echoed behind them as the original cave collapsed completely, taking the newly carved tunnel down with it.
Meanwhile, the shadow void's nine tentacles continued to absorb Primordial Qi while flailing wildly, sending rocks flying from the tunnel walls.
"Shadow void, stop!" Song Wen shouted in his Sea of Consciousness.
But the shadow void remained deaf to his pleas, its tentacles still thrashing about.
Song Wen focused part of his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness and suddenly noticed that the shadow void's eyes were tightly shut, its body emitting a faint, ethereal glow, as if it were in some kind of unconscious state.
Just as Song Wen was about to give up in frustration, the sun-chasing spear, which had been clearing the path ahead, suddenly met no resistance. The tunnel opened into a vast, irregular cave. Its walls were uneven and jagged, its ceiling soared high above, and its floor was strewn with jagged rocks and towering stone pillars.
Song Wen slipped into the cave and hovered in mid-air, finally giving the nine tentacles room to move freely.
"Nether Fox, are there any dangers in this cave?" The cave was too large for Song Wen's divine sense to scan completely, so he had to rely on the Nether Fox's senses.
"Master, rest assured," the Nether Fox replied. "There are no other living beings here."
"That's good," Song Wen replied, quietly waiting for the shadow void to complete its hatching.
In the pitch-black depths of the earth, everything was silent except for the Primordial Qi constantly being drawn toward and injected into the shadow void's body. Time seemed to have lost all meaning.
How long had passed?
The shadow void's newly formed tentacles finally stretched to a length of fifteen meters.
A tremendous aura erupted instantly, stirring the Primordial Qi and sending loose rocks flying through the cave.
The Nether Fox couldn't withstand the oppressive force and immediately showed signs of pain.
Seeing this, Song Wen quickly pulled the Nether Fox to his side and conjured a Mana Shield to protect it from the pressure.
He still needed the Nether Fox to monitor the surroundings and dared not store it in his Spirit Beast Pouch.
The oppressive force arrived swiftly and dissipated just as quickly, vanishing completely after a few dozen breaths.
Along with it, the nine tentacles that had been hovering above Song Wen's head quietly retracted into his Sea of Consciousness.
The Nether Fox felt a sudden relief, but its expression abruptly changed.
"Master, something is coming through the tunnel we just opened—it's that seventh-tier resentful spirit!"
(End of the Chapter)