Is it here?
Cui Fu hurried back to Chu Fan's side, holding his long saber and warily scanning the surroundings.
At the same time, curiosity surged in his eyes, eager to know what kind of ferocious beast this was that had slaughtered countless martial artists countless years ago.
Whoosh...
A faint whistling sound echoed all around. Chu Fan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
The light was already dim, and he couldn't see much even with his eyes open.
Furthermore, judging from the whistling, the approaching entity was extremely fast.
Thus, it was better to abandon his eyes and rely solely on his senses to attack.
Cui Fu had not yet reached Chu Fan's level and could only continue to observe his surroundings with his eyes. When he saw a dark shadow flash by in the darkness, the hand holding his long saber tightened involuntarily.
The fear brought by the unknown was difficult for even a Grandmaster to control.
Hoo...
Suddenly, there was a sound from the left. Just as Cui Fu realized the attack was coming, Chu Fan's long spear had already been half-unleashed.
Bang...
"Roar..."
A piercing wail resounded. Seeing what had been impaled by the spear, Cui Fu moved his lips, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
It was a wolf with entirely black fur and blood-red eyes.
However, upon closer inspection, it was somewhat different from a wolf, for its fangs were longer and sharper, and faint scales were visible beneath its fur. Its claws glinted with cold light, as if even steel could be easily torn open like mud.
Thump...
Chu Fan flicked his wrist, withdrawing the long spear from the ferocious wolf's body.
Seeing the wounded wolf on the ground trying to escape, Cui Fu quickly stepped forward, raised his long saber, and brought it down.
"Huh?"
As the saber fell, the expected scene of a severed head did not materialize. Instead, it only sank halfway in. Cui Fu then realized that the ferocious wolf's defense was indeed extraordinary.
It was also thanks to Chu Fan's formidable strength, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pierce the wolf's body with a single strike earlier.
Confirming the ferocious wolf was completely dead, Cui Fu returned to Chu Fan's side and asked in confusion, "This is the thing you mentioned earlier?"
In his mind, the creature that appeared should have been very powerful. In reality, it didn't seem as dangerous as he had imagined.
"This is just a small one!"
"Moreover, there are quite a few around, and they've already noticed us!"
"The truly dangerous one is their king!"
"Ah..."
Cui Fu suddenly realized he had gotten happy too soon.
He knew that although the ferocious wolf was not like ordinary wolves, it still possessed some wolf-like characteristics. And according to wolf behavior, they were indeed pack animals, so there must be many more around.
If even the smaller ones were so difficult to kill, the wolf king would undoubtedly be even more formidable.
"Let's go!"
Chu Fan let out a low shout and then led Cui Fu forward.
Since they had made preparations before entering, they would not turn back immediately just because of encountering such minor trouble.
After advancing only a short distance, the whistling sounds around them became more pronounced.
Although they couldn't see, it was evident that at least three ferocious wolves were surrounding them, ready to attack at any moment.
Chu Fan's expression remained calm. He passed by a section of incomplete skeletons and found a broken sword. He bent down and picked it up, holding a long spear in one hand and the broken sword in the other.
Whoosh...
The ferocious wolves circling them launched their attack again, not one, but three, as if coordinated, charging at the two from three directions.
Swish...
Chu Fan flung his arm, and the broken sword flew directly at one of the ferocious wolves, while his long spear, at an extremely tricky angle, pierced another ferocious wolf once more.
The remaining ferocious wolf, without Chu Fan's instruction, Cui Fu knew it was his to handle. He swung his long saber upward without hesitation, slicing across the ferocious wolf.
Hit by the saber, the ferocious wolf seemed unharmed and tried to disappear into the darkness as it landed.
Swoosh...
As the ferocious wolf reached the point where it was no longer visible, it was directly pinned to the ground by the long spear with precision, letting out a wail of unwillingness before falling silent.
"Go!"
After retrieving the long spear, Chu Fan increased his speed and headed deeper into the area.
According to his perception, there were at least dozens of ferocious wolves active in the vicinity.
These ferocious wolves possessed considerable intelligence. If they continued to linger, the number of attacking wolves would only increase. Chu Fan knew that eventually, even he would not be able to defend against them comprehensively.
The only thing they could do was to accelerate their advance and find the astrolabe in the shortest possible time before retreating.
The two of them charged forward unhindered, with dozens of ferocious wolves howling and pursuing them from behind.
However, the deeper they went, the more shocked Cui Fu became. According to his estimation, they had already forcefully advanced at least three to four kilometers, yet they still hadn't reached the deepest part of the forbidden zone.
Secondly, the incense stick he had been using to search for the astrolabe was about to extinguish.
Without guidance, finding the astrolabe in this vast, vision-obscured land would be even more difficult.
Nevertheless, seeing that Chu Fan had no intention of stopping and was pressing onward into the depths, Cui Fu suppressed the words of dissuasion that had reached his lips.
In a short while, the incense stick extinguished.
"Xiao Fan, shall we wait for me to set it up again?"
"Without guidance, we might be wasting a lot of effort!"
Chu Fan shook his head decisively and said, "No need for guidance. The astrolabe is in the deepest part."
Cui Fu raised his eyebrows, wanting to ask how he knew the astrolabe was in the deepest part, but he had no time to speak.
But since he had said so, he could only lower his head and strive to keep up with Chu Fan's pace.
Behind them, the pursuing ferocious wolves were not far behind. Pairs of blood-red eyes were flashing.
If the two of them stopped, they would immediately be surrounded by the ferocious wolves.
They continued to push forward.
As they walked, Chu Fan suddenly slowed down and stopped.
"Xiao Fan, why did we stop?"
Cui Fu asked, while warily watching their rear.
"Those things aren't chasing us anymore!"
"Their range of activity is likely limited!"
Cui Fu looked back carefully and saw that the ferocious wolves had indeed stopped pursuing them. The red lights flashing in the darkness were gradually receding.
"Have we reached the deepest part?"
Beasts generally had their own territories. Cui Fu thought that these beasts were mainly guarding the outer areas and did not dare to enter the depths.
Chu Fan nodded, scanning the surroundings, and said, "Perhaps!"
"Or it's possible that there are even more dangerous things in this place, which prevents them from entering!"
Cui Fu, who had been secretly pleased about finally reaching the depths, felt as if he had been doused with a basin of ice water upon hearing Chu Fan's words, because he knew Chu Fan's analysis was not unreasonable.
Even before entering this place, he had sensed the presence of something dangerous in the depths.
But up to this point, apart from seeing some small ferocious wolves, they hadn't encountered anything else. Even the wolf king mentioned by Chu Fan hadn't appeared yet. Cui Fu felt the latter possibility was more likely.
After a slight adjustment, the two continued to advance.
The light in the depths gradually became brighter, and they could faintly see further ahead, as if there were giant mountains.
"How was this place formed?"
Cui Fu was very puzzled. Without personally entering this place, he could not imagine that such a vast space existed underground and that it had not collapsed over so many years.
After advancing a further distance, their vision was no longer obstructed.
"This..."
Upon seeing the scene in the deepest part, Cui Fu was stunned into stillness.
Even Chu Fan, who had experienced much, was filled with shock at this moment.