WHOOSH!
Five figures soared into the air. Some cast the Flying Skill, others the Light Feather Skill. With Wind Fluff swirling around them, they sped across the crowns of the towering ancient trees.
Pang Peng had called in a few favors, borrowing an Invisibility Scepter from someone. Under the effect of a high-level Invisibility Skill, the group not only blended into the air but also erased all traces of their biological signals, doing their best to avoid the mycelial perception network.
Then...
With the occasional cast of the Gravity Skill making them weightless, the group felt as light as air, plunging from above the sea of trees straight into the depths of the dense forest.
That wasn’t all.
There was also Yan Ziqian’s ’Force of Nature’ Rune. After absorbing natural Plant Energy, it would grant a significant boost to all their physical attributes for five minutes, along with a lifesteal attack property.
After a short rest midway, it wasn’t long before they successfully reached the edge of the forest fissure. At this particular time, there was no one else around, leaving the entire place to them.
After confirming the bounty for the altar structure was correct—and even finding an additional sacrificial quest for Soul Sandstone—the group immediately entered the cave.
The beams of their tactical flashlights pierced the dark Earth Realm ahead.
As they went deeper, they took the left fork as always. The air grew colder, and when they felt themselves pass through an invisible barrier, even the air seemed to stagnate. They knew they had entered the cave dwellers’ territory.
This was the Hunter’s Path area in the first half of the cave.
Yan Ziqian finally spoke. "This place is probably a sanctuary the fungus can’t touch. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be relying on us humans to sacrifice materials for them."
The elemental fluctuations, once active outside, were now muffled and suppressed, as if veiled by a heavy shroud.
The fissure itself was dead silent. There was no wind, no dust, as if even sound and light were being devoured.
"Most likely."
Su Chen thought for a moment and agreed. The fungal spores would have a hard time breaching the cave dwellers’ immune systems; at the very least, they were far more robust than any squishy Mage.
But this was no sanctuary.
It was more like a living tomb, and the danger level was extremely high.
They had just escaped the tiger’s den only to enter the wolf’s lair.
But for the sake of the lucrative, limited-time rewards like the class Authority, they had to risk it all.
"There are cave dwellers."
Yan Ruoruo warned them. A ripple spread through her exquisite, amber-like eyes. With her Lv4 Spirit Element Insight, she could capture the hidden life signatures in her line of sight.
It seemed that after yesterday’s sweep, more cave dwellers had emerged from the deep pit area.
Perhaps sensing a gaze upon it, the cave dweller hiding behind a rock ledge was about to erupt into a killing frenzy, but Xiaoye moved first. It silently activated Shadow Pounce, flashing through a tear outside of reality.
The next instant.
It was already beside the cave dweller. A dark light flared as a dark-gold claw blade tore through its shoulder blade. The cave dweller let out a muffled roar and, enduring the intense pain, swung its Bone Blade backhandedly. The high-frequency vibrations of the slash were enough to shatter rock.
But the ferocious strike only pierced an afterimage.
Xiaoye’s form vanished from the physical plane for a moment, reappearing in the cave dweller’s left blind spot. Before its opponent could rebalance, another Soul-Splitting Claw plunged in from under its ribs, completely shredding its heart.
"Nice."
Su Chen was delighted by Xiaoye’s performance. Just yesterday, fighting an ordinary cave dweller would have meant trading injuries, a rather messy affair.
But now, having obtained the Shadow Warlock’s class Authority and evolved into a Soul-devouring Dog, it handled ordinary cave dwellers with ease. It was practically toying with them.
Its Dark Vision also gave it crystal-clear Perception Power, which, combined with its keen sense of smell, made it nearly impossible for enemies to hide.
SWOOSH!
An arrow was loosed. A Wind Split Arrow shot through the air, piercing a figure high on the rock wall and knocking it down with a single shot.
Yan Ruoruo’s eyes narrowed. She had instantly spotted the enemy’s trail and exposed its weakness. Aided by the limited-edition Magic Recurved Longbow she had acquired, her accuracy was impeccable. The figure that fell had clearly been pierced through the head.
However, its tenacious Life Force allowed it to struggle on like an undying cockroach, its compressed air cannon firing randomly in all directions.
Seeing this, Su Chen remotely fired a Strong Thought Burst, completely crushing its head.
"Don’t conserve energy. We still have the Rainfall Necklace."
Yan Ziqian said. They had prepared for everything for today’s expedition. Their heavy backpacks contained some Wind Fighter Grass; the backs of its leaves were covered in countless transparent air sacs that, when crushed, would generate immense lift.
This was obviously in preparation for the vertical corridor. Furthermore, with the help of Yu Ziyuan, the team’s biologist specializing in forest research, they weren’t intimidated by all fungi. They had even harvested a specific type of Airbag Mushroom.
When carbon dioxide levels in the environment became too high, it would automatically shatter and release a massive amount of oxygen. This served as an excellent danger signal. At the same time, if someone felt unwell, they could also crush it manually.
In addition.
Gong Jun, the team’s materials science expert, had also stepped up. With his Handy Shaping Skill, it was like giving a tiger wings; he had finally lived up to expectations and successfully forged the firearms.
And just as he had said, the difficulty in hand-making modern firearms lay with the bullet primers.
The structural materials were a secondary concern.
This was the most critical technical bottleneck restricting civilian-made firearms.
Fortunately, as a chemistry student from a top university and a Gold Medal winner in competitions, once the materials were gathered, creating the primers was no problem at all for Yan Ziqian.

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