Eldritch Horror Theatre

What an underhanded sneak attack!

The moment the door opened, Fu Qian felt a slight shock to his sanity.

Behind the door lay a massive underground space, divided into different sections by branching corridors.

Overhead, lights spaced about ten meters apart stretched far into the distance.

Yet, this enormous space was currently saturated with a thick, swirling red mist.

The mist carried an indescribable stench, a foulness so intense and pungent it rivaled a skunk that had gorged on excrement to kill itself.

Ever since becoming a transcendent, Fu Qian’s sense of smell had been heightened to unprecedented levels. The stench hit him heavily in an instant.

Holding his breath immediately, Fu Qian looked around and discovered yellowish-white, vein-like structures lying beneath the red mist.

Whether beneath his feet or on the walls, this strange substance was everywhere. Some wound into threads, while others tangled and coiled, stretching all the way into the distance.

At first glance, it looked as if the entire building had come alive.This was a bit twisted! No matter how you looked at it, this was not what a Night Watchers Base should look like.

Was the mist seeping out from the walls?

Fu Qian frowned.

He could clearly see a row of identical doors lining one side of the corridor, likely leading to separate, independent rooms.

Recalling what the girl upstairs had said, it seemed these rooms were used to contain things.

As for these veins...

Fu Qian narrowed his eyes, carefully observing their trajectory, and found that their source seemed to be the adjacent corridor.

Should he go take a look?

All the way down here, besides the three people he had knocked out upstairs, he hadn’t encountered any other guards.

Leaving right now didn’t quite make sense. It wouldn’t properly achieve the goal of striking the grass to startle the snake.

Fu Qian quickly found himself an excuse to openly satisfy his curiosity.

Stepping forward quietly, Fu Qian followed the direction of the veins toward the other corridor.

These things really seemed to possess living traits. Fu Qian looked down at his feet.

Every step he took seemed to trigger a slight tremor through them.

Fu Qian soon reached the corner. Concealing his aura to the absolute maximum, he quietly peeked his head out.

WTF?

At the other end of the corridor, a pair of eyes was shockingly staring right back at him.

Fu Qian took a deep breath, recognizing the owner of those eyes.

Yuan Shan!

Why are you holed up down here instead of out catching people?

Fu Qian had planned for many possibilities, but running headfirst into this boss was not one he had expected.

Yuan Shan was currently standing in the middle of the corridor, right in front of one of the room doors.

However, the seemingly sturdy metal door now sported a massive hole.

Shockingly thick veins extended from the breach, crawling along the walls and floor, sprawling out wildly in all directions.

Yet the vast majority of them were tightly wrapped in a massive black Cocoon, struggling relentlessly inside.

The giant Cocoon was stretched into exaggerated shapes by the tearing force, yet it held fast without a single rip.

Was Yuan Shan trying to figure out a way to seal this thing inside?

Fu Qian instantly understood what this Demigod was doing.

No wonder she hadn’t gone out to catch anyone herself; it seemed she was busy handling an abnormal situation down here.

Unfortunately, looking at the surrounding mess, it seemed she could only delay it temporarily.

Of course, now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Yuan Shan was still locked in an intense staring match with him.

Seeing this Demigod staring fixedly at him...

Fu Qian instantly realized how he had been discovered.

She had sensed the tremors passing through the veins beneath his feet as he walked.

Run!

Without a second’s hesitation, Fu Qian spun around and sprinted away.

Bumping directly into Yuan Shan—this level of striking the grass to startle the snake was definitely enough.

It wasn’t even just her. From his fleeting glimpse just now, there were at least three other people standing beside Yuan Shan.

The strength of each person felt no lower than Tier 4.

If they were the guards here, this lineup was way too stacked!

No wonder there were no guards outside; they simply weren’t needed!

Going full throttle, Fu Qian sprinted back along the path he had come from.

The moment he burst out of the Underground, he saw lights flashing outside. People were already continuously rushing over.

Sure enough, she had remotely notified her subordinates to block him.

Fu Qian was just about to charge straight out when his legs suddenly tightened. His calves had been bound by two things resembling black silk ribbons.

”Since you are already here, why the rush to leave?”

Yuan Shan’s charming voice rang out. She walked out gracefully from one side, looking at Fu Qian with a smile.

This woman had actually gotten ahead of him!

Fu Qian looked at Yuan Shan. Sure enough, every Demigod had their own exceptional abilities.

”Your actions are truly incomprehensible.”

Yuan Shan shook her head as she sized Fu Qian up.

”You have served the Night Watchers for many years, always diligent in your duties as a guard. Yet recently, you triggered a mystical restriction without authorization, stole materials, and left an absolute mess down below.”

”And now you have returned.”

”What exactly is your goal?”

So I did find the right place after all!

Henrik stole the Blood of Thorns from here, and those foul-smelling veins appeared because of it?

Fu Qian quickly extracted this information from Yuan Shan’s words.

”Not going to say a word?”

Seeing Fu Qian remain silent, Yuan Shan shook her head and beckoned with her right hand.

”No rush. We can take our time to chat.”

With a light wave of her finger, black strips continuously appeared, crisscrossing to weave a dense net that dropped over Fu Qian.

Trying to trap me in a Cocoon like the one back there?

Watching the giant black net descend upon him, Fu Qian shook his head.

SAN minus 1.

Under Yuan Shan’s suddenly grave gaze, his Mythical Form activated.

Having a Demigod as a sparring partner was a rare opportunity indeed.

Fu Qian glanced at his palm, sensing the changes in his body.

The next moment, he leaned back and spread his arms wide.

What was that move called again?

Black and red bloomed. Countless vine-like tentacles exploded outward from Fu Qian’s hands, feet, and torso.

Amplified by the Mythical Form, every single tentacle carried force comparable to his former Biochemical Demonic Arm, blasting indiscriminately at everything in the surroundings.

Tendril Barrage Devastator!!

They blotted out the sky...

”Dodge!”

Faced with this terrifying strike, Yuan Shan completely lost her former composure.

The sky full of black ribbons suddenly tightened, attempting to block the omnipresent tentacles.

However, the seemingly indestructible ribbons only held for a single second before they were utterly shattered.

Boom!

In an instant, the unimpeded tentacles tore the entire hall apart. Countless pieces of rubble and broken glass rained down from above.

The black Cocoon was forcefully ripped apart, and even someone as strong as Yuan Shan felt her breath hitch.

Fortunately, thanks to Yuan Shan’s obstruction, the others had retreated in time, preventing any casualties.

Amid the chaos, a tentacle grabbed onto a massive tree outside, then sharply contracted.

Using that pulling force, Fu Qian’s body shot out, tearing right past the group, and he sprinted away without looking back.

”Stop chasing!”

Catching her breath, Yuan Shan shook her head and reached out to stop the others.

”He is not Henrik! Beware of luring the tiger away from the mountain.”