"It was driven off?" Evan Yang crouched down to inspect the blood. Sure enough, there was a trace of Nether-Origin Force in it. He stood up, surveyed the area, and, based on the blood trail and lingering aura, pinpointed the Netherfire Beast's hiding place.
About half an hour later, the blood trail faded, but Evan discovered a cave. He carefully entered, accompanied by his Night-Eye Technique, and soon reached the deepest point. There, he saw the injured Netherfire Beast lying in the cave—but the sight before him stunned him.
The Netherfire Beast was no longer the terrifying monster from before. It gradually shrank, turning into an underground mouse, now curled up in a ball and staring at Evan Yang in fear.
"Aren't you the Netherfire Beast from earlier?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"I—I am, but not anymore." A timid voice replied. Hearing this, Evan realized the creature had gained intelligence, but he was curious—weren't all spirit beasts here supposed to lose their nature? How could it still speak?
So Evan Yang asked, "You haven't lost your nature?"
"I did, but you knocked me awake just now." the timid underground mouse replied.
"Knocked you awake?" Evan Yang was puzzled—how could someone be knocked awake? The timid underground mouse extended its front paw, which still bore traces of blood, but the blood no longer contained Nether-Origin Force.
"Without that terrifying power, I returned to normal. It was you who drove that force out of my body." said the underground mouse.
Evan Yang was baffled. Was the Netherfire Beast really restored to its original form just by being taught a lesson? Unable to believe it, Evan released Lynn Lin and the others, explaining the situation to them.
Then Ember Yang, Melody Wood, and Lynn Lin surrounded the underground mouse. The mouse, seeing Ember Yang, hid behind her, leaving everyone confused. It pleaded, "Since we're all spirit beasts, please save me—I don't want to die."
Everyone was speechless. Apparently, the underground mouse sensed Ember Yang's aura wasn't human and was now begging for help. Lynn Lin laughed, "Weren't you acting tough just now? What happened? Now you're cowering and begging for mercy?"
"Big sister, I really didn't mean it. I obviously wasn't myself just now," the underground mouse pleaded.
"Let it go. It clearly has no idea what it did before, and with such a timid nature, how could it possibly attack us?" Melody Wood smiled.
Ember Yang nodded, "That's right."
"Fine, fine. Everyone says to let you go, so you're safe. But you have to tell us—how can we get into that strange place more quickly, the place that drew you in and turned you into a big monster?" Lynn Lin said.
"Ah, you want to go there?" the underground mouse exclaimed in shock.
"Of course. What's wrong?" Lynn Lin asked, curious at the mouse's surprise.
"It's really dangerous there. Anyone who goes in goes mad—none come out normal. I think you shouldn't go." said the underground mouse.
"Don't worry. We have this powerful guy with us—it's fine." Lynn Lin said, pointing at Evan Yang.
The underground mouse saw they were determined to go, and having witnessed Evan Yang's strength, it began to explain. It said there was a tunnel nearby leading straight there. Hearing this, Lynn Lin was delighted—finally they could go underground and avoid running into more crazed spirit beasts on the surface.
"Thanks. You can go now," Lynn Lin said after hearing the mouse's words. The underground mouse hurried away, slinking off in a panic.
"Scaredy mouse," Lynn Lin commented as she watched it run off so quickly.
"Well, it is a mouse—and an underground mouse at that," Ember Yang said.
Evan Yang and Melody Wood nearly burst out laughing, but quickly regained their composure. Lynn Lin glared at Ember Yang, "Would it kill you not to say that?"
"Hey, I was just saying it casually, Sister Lynn. Don't get mad. Let's get going," Ember Yang said with a smile.
Evan Yang also spoke up, "Let's go."
So the four of them followed the shortcut, heading forward. The underground tunnel was indeed quiet; for at least half an hour, they encountered nothing strange.
Just when the four thought they would safely reach their destination, a pair of glowing eyes appeared ahead. The eyes flashed, then quickly vanished.
"Did you sense that?" Evan Yang quickly noticed something ahead and stopped to ask.
"No, I didn't. Don't scare us—is there something there?" Lynn Lin recalled their previous encounters and quickly ran to hide behind Evan Yang.
Ember Yang and Melody Wood also moved to stand beside Evan Yang. At that moment, a shadow flickered and appeared behind them. Evan Yang spun and struck out with his palm, meeting the thing behind them head-on.
Everyone saw a human-shaped shadow, but it was no longer truly human—its hair was wild, black blood dripped from its mouth, and its fingernails were unnaturally long.
"Roar." The figure let out a sound like a monster.
"What's going on?" Evan Yang had never seen a creature like this—half human, half monster. Lynn Lin quickly explained, "This is a monster—even more completely monstrous than before. It can turn into human form, and the higher ones can mimic humans perfectly, walk among them, and have their own consciousness."
"You sure know a lot," the monster remarked, its voice sounding exactly like a human's.
"What kind of spirit beast are you?" Evan Yang asked after punching it back.
"Me? I'm a powerful pangolin spirit beast, but now I live as a human. Your punch isn't strong enough to break my defense." As it spoke, armor-like scales appeared all over its body.
"Wow, that's wild," Lynn Lin exclaimed in surprise.
Ember Yang snorted, "Hmph, can't break you? I'll burn you instead." She spat a mouthful of flame at it, scorching its body. The monster immediately curled up inside its armor, leaving only a pile of armor before them.
"Are you a turtle or a pangolin?" Lynn Lin laughed at the sight.
Just then, the monster vanished—burrowing underground. Evan Yang frowned, "It really is a pangolin. Even the hardest rocks can't stop it from disappearing so quickly."
A small hole appeared ahead. As everyone searched, the ground beneath Lynn Lin suddenly collapsed. Evan Yang spun to grab her hand, but Lynn Lin vanished in an instant.
Ember Yang cried out, "Ah—Sister Lynn!" The spot where Lynn Lin had stood now looked like a deep abyss.
Evan Yang refused to let such a thing happen again. He immediately told Ember Yang and Melody Wood, "You two go into my inner space. I'll go down and check."
Melody Wood and Ember Yang understood the situation and didn't make things difficult for Evan Yang, who then flashed and entered below.
Below was like a deep abyss, pitch black. Using his Night-Eye Technique, Evan Yang kept descending, sending out voice transmissions in hopes Lynn Lin would hear him. But here, not a single sound could escape—it was as if the place swallowed all noise.
"Strange, why can't any sound travel here?" Evan Yang wondered aloud.
With sound unable to transmit and divine sense useless in such darkness, the only thing he could rely on was a swarm of Phantom Spirit Birds. He released batches of them, searching for any trace of Lynn Lin.
"Sound can't travel, and divine sense can't search in this darkness. All I can do is rely on these Phantom Spirit Birds." Evan Yang sent out wave after wave, hoping to find Lynn Lin's whereabouts.
But after half an hour, Evan Yang felt as if he had entered a bottomless pit—darkness all around, and not a trace of Lynn Lin. It was as if she had vanished completely.
"Damn it, I should have put Lynn Lin and the others into my inner space sooner," Evan Yang muttered in frustration.
Just as he thought he’d never find Lynn Lin, the Phantom Spirit Birds sent a message—a landing spot had been found in a certain direction, with many creatures gathered there. Lynn Lin was surrounded by all kinds of monsters.
Seeing this, Evan Yang wasted no time and rushed in that direction.
"You monsters!" Lynn Lin shouted angrily.
"Pangolin, where did you catch this human? We've never run into one before," asked a long-nosed monster.
"Don't mention it. I ran into a few damn humans up above. One of them was really tough, and this one's mouth was especially foul. I couldn't stand it, so I risked my life to drag her down here," the pangolin replied.
"Oh? Is that so? Do you think that strong one will come here?" the long-nosed monster asked.
"You think this place is easy to find? It took us years to locate this spot, and it's so quiet here that even sound can't escape. What do you think?" the pangolin laughed.
"That's true. Today, let's play with a human for once—it's always humans playing with us." The long-nosed monster said. Lynn Lin cursed, "You disgusting things, get away from me!"
"Call us disgusting? We'll show you what disgusting really means. Hey, Little Mao, it's your turn!" The long-nosed monster shouted. From a room behind, a creature covered in feet and eyes rushed out toward them.
Seeing its appearance, Lynn Lin nearly vomited.
"Little Mao, see? This is a human. Maybe you've never seen one before. Show her what you can do—don't hold back, electrocute her!" the long-nosed monster said.
"Okay." The furry monster stood there, then all its fur and feet bristled up. Suddenly, a current of electricity shot out, striking Lynn Lin.
Lynn Lin was electrocuted, screaming in pain as her hair stood on end.
"You... I'll kill you all!" Lynn Lin shouted in fury, trying to fight back, but found herself trapped inside a transparent golden barrier.
"It's useless. You humans can't escape—just be our playthings," the long-nosed monster sneered.
"Damn you, ugly nose! When I get out, I won't let you off!" Lynn Lin yelled angrily.
"Not interested in arguing with you," the long-armed monster snorted.
Just then, the pangolin said, "Oh right, I almost forgot—when I went out earlier, I brought back news. They're gathering everyone over there."