These scythe beetles are so aggressive, acting like they've seen their mortal enemy from the moment we met, looking as if they're about to devour Qin Shilei whole.
Qin Shilei sidestepped the creature's forward-stabbing limbs and swung his right hand, aiming for the scythe beetle's right chest and abdomen.
Clang!
A shower of sparks erupted, as if he had struck metal.
He hadn't expected the scythe beetle's carapace to be so incredibly tough.
Missing its attack, the scythe beetle immediately wheeled around and charged again, its speed noticeably increased.
The primal energy within Qin Shilei's dantian surged into his Blood Soul Sword, following his will.
Nourished by the primal energy, the Blood Soul Sword grew even more vibrant, flashes of silver lightning occasionally arcing across its crimson surface.
He thrust the sword into the joint of the creature's raised forelimb.
With a clang, the scythe beetle’s left forelimb was severed by Qin Shilei's blade.
"Screeeech!"
The wounded scythe beetle let out a piercing shriek.
Simultaneously, an arc-shaped energy blade formed from its remaining forelimb and rapidly shot towards Qin Shilei.
Qin Shilei dodged the energy blade with a flash, then became a blur, circling the scythe beetle and unleashing a barrage of sword strikes.
Before long, all six of the scythe beetle's legs were dismembered.
His final strike landed on its neck, severing its head.
He had thought these scythe beetles were much stronger, but it turned out they were nothing special.
Aside from their hard carapaces, they were far weaker than a Tyrant.
Their overall combat strength was around plastic eight or nine stars.
Just then, a gust of wind sound came from behind him.
"Master, be careful."
Xiao Qiang descended from the sky, his claws plunging into the body of a scythe beetle that had just crawled out of a cave.
He then flew back up into the air and hurled the creature down with great force.
*Splat!*
The scythe beetle was smashed to death, blood and gore spewing from its orifices.
Qin Shilei peered into the cave again but found no sign of a third scythe beetle emerging.
Where did this cave lead?
Could the scythe beetles have come from a secret realm?
Qin Shilei felt like a kitten was incessantly scratching at his mind.
After some thought, he decided to investigate the suddenly appearing cave.
He first took out a long rope and tied it to a tree not far away.
Then, he fastened a headlamp to his forehead, clipped on a rappelling device, and slid down into the cave along the rope.
After descending several dozen meters, a pair of glowing blue eyes suddenly floated up towards him.
Thunderclap Stab!
Qin Shilei instantly unleashed a skill from the "Thunderclap Nine Heavens" technique, obliterating the creature.
*Bang bang bang!*
The scythe beetle's corpse repeatedly struck the cave walls as it tumbled deeper into the abyss.
The sounds grew distant and then abruptly faded into silence.
Qin Shilei continued to descend.
During his descent, he killed two more scythe beetles.
After sliding down another hundred meters, he finally saw what lay at the deepest part of the cave.
The bottom of the cave was a flat surface, shimmering with a faint blue luminescence, like a curtain of water.
Just then, another scythe beetle emerged from the watery curtain.
A flash of cold light, and Qin Shilei's sword severed its head.
The headless body of the scythe beetle sank into the watery surface, disappearing without a trace.
Qin Shilei plunged his Blood Soul Sword into the watery curtain, it felt like he was thrusting into a highly viscous liquid.
He pushed the sword in until the entire blade was submerged. After a moment, he pulled it out again.
The Blood Soul Sword showed no change.
Qin Shilei pondered for a moment, then extended the index finger of his left hand.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
The other world is extremely dangerous. It is not recommended for the host to enter at this time!
A voice suddenly rang out in his mind, startling Qin Shilei so much that he almost lost his grip on the rope and fell.
Qin Shilei carefully distinguished the voice and realized it was from the Universal Attribute Refresh System.
The attribute system actually issued a warning?
Could the attribute system communicate?
"Are you there? Come out and chat." Qin Shilei silently called out several times in his mind.
Unfortunately, there was no response.
Never mind, if it couldn't communicate, it couldn't communicate.
Qin Shilei turned his attention to analyzing the system's prompt.
The other world?
Could this be a spatial rift?
Were those scythe beetles creatures from another dimension?
Was the pillar of light that appeared earlier a phenomenon formed when the spatial rift opened?
Numerous thoughts flashed through Qin Shilei's mind.
Since the attribute system said it was extremely dangerous and not recommended to enter at this time, he would not enter for now.
But should he just leave this passage open indefinitely?
What if powerful creatures from the other side came through the rift?
Or perhaps stronger creatures couldn't pass through yet, and only the scythe beetles could.
If the scythe beetles were as numerous as zombies, that would also be a considerable problem.
Qin Shilei thought for a moment, then excavated a large area around the cave above the spatial passage.
With a wave of his hand, a dirt vehicle was precisely positioned above the spatial rift, completely blocking it.
He figured that scythe beetles that had just passed through the spatial rift wouldn't find it easy to deal with a dirt vehicle equipped with a thick steel plate.
If they couldn't easily break through to the surface, they might just turn back to their own world.
To be safe, Qin Shilei placed three more trucks above to seal the cave entrance.
Just as Qin Shilei was preparing to climb out of the cave, Xiao Qiang's high-pitched warning cries suddenly came from above.
Qin Shilei scrambled with all his might, quickly climbing towards the exit.
The eagle cries from above the cave entrance grew more and more urgent.
From their hurried calls, he could tell that Xiao Qiang was urging his master to climb up quickly.
But the cave was almost vertical, and Qin Shilei couldn't climb fast.
And the cave was too deep. As he climbed to about ten meters from the entrance, a massive head appeared above the opening.
Using the spotlight on his forehead, Qin Shilei was astonished to discover it was the head of a Tyrant.
Before he could even figure out how a Tyrant had suddenly appeared in this valley, he felt the rope in his hands suddenly go slack, and he uncontrollably plunged deeper into the cave.
Cloud Ascending Ladder!
Qin Shilei immediately stepped his left foot on his right and then his right foot on his left, rapidly ascending towards the top.
The primal energy in his dantian continuously flowed into the Blood Soul Sword in his hand, preparing to unleash a powerful strike to repel the Tyrant and break out of the cave.
Suddenly, the sky above him darkened, and a colossal figure descended from above.
It was Xiao Qiang swooping down, intending to force the Tyrant away and allow his master to safely emerge from the depths of the cave.
Xiao Qiang's silhouette swept past the cave opening, indeed forcing the Tyrant back, leaving the area above the cave clear.
Qin Shilei leaped out, only to see over a dozen blood-stained feathers slowly drifting down.
Xiao Qiang had been injured while forcing the Tyrant back.
Before Qin Shilei could check on Xiao Qiang's injuries, the scene before him made his heart pound, his hair stand on end, and his rain-soaked body felt chilling, as if he had suddenly plunged into an ice cellar at minus thirty degrees Celsius.
Thousands of mutated zombies packed the small valley, all staring at him with their blood-red eyes.
In the center of the horde stood a figure clad in a cloak.
Zombie King?
The image of the Zombie King provided by the military instantly flashed in Qin Shilei's mind.
When had the Zombie King brought its subordinates to this valley?
This was no time to ponder why the Zombie King and its followers were here.
The Tyrant's fist, as large as a sandpot, was already hurtling towards him.