Chapter 9: The Blood-Drinking Fiend

“Brother Wei, have you rested enough?”

As Wei Cheng reappeared, all eyes immediately converged on him, with Zhang Yong unable to conceal his displeasure. The past few days had been agonizing for everyone. Although martial artists at the Innate Realm needn’t worry about food and drink for now, if things kept dragging on like this, they would end up trapped and starved to death within these walls. Yet, without Wei Cheng, none dared to venture out alone.

“Let’s begin. Everyone, prepare for battle. There must be tremendous danger beyond this mineshaft.”

Wei Cheng wasted no words, taking the lead into the tunnel. The others followed in single file, relaying the removal of stones. Anxious and uneasy, all harbored a blend of hope for escape and fear of what awaited them.

This time, Wei Cheng had barely cleared five meters before the sealed tunnel was fully opened. A familiar, gentle radiance filtered through—it was a Transmission Stele, identical to the one before, three meters tall, floating three feet off the ground.

In that instant, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat, but none dared make a move until Wei Cheng had calmly cleared the entrance of all debris, allowing the light to stream into the depths of the mine.

“Everyone, fall back! Fall back!”

“What’s happening, Brother Wei?” Zhang Yong and the others squeezed to the front, their eyes darting anxiously.

Wei Cheng simply pointed above the Transmission Stele, where hundreds upon hundreds of large bats hung upside down from the rock ceiling.

Below, the scene was similar to before: a space the size of a basketball court, furnished with stone beds, tables, and chairs, alongside more than a dozen shriveled corpses that once might have been miners.

The situation was clear.

“Brother Wei, your defense is the strongest—we have to trouble you again.” At this, Zhang Yong handed over a piece of Blaze Stone. He wasn’t the only one to have mined Blaze Stone; Shen Qianshan had extracted one too, though he’d perished before he could use it. Now, the stone had ended up with Zhang Yong. Having witnessed Wei Cheng ignite spider webs and incinerate the spider demon with a Blaze Stone, they naturally thought to use it to break through this time as well.

But could this single stone really annihilate all the bat demons?

Wei Cheng doubted it, but he didn’t refuse. The Blaze Stone was indeed powerful, but using it required skill and timing. With his current defense, he was confident he could withstand the blast.

“Is everyone ready?” Wei Cheng asked, his gaze settling on Bald Brother. This time, he needed to find a way for Bald Brother to touch the Transmission Stele—after all, there were only ten slots.

Bald Brother merely smiled back, simple and honest.

The others, meanwhile, were all itching for action, ready to sprint at any moment.

Let’s hope for the best.

Wei Cheng wasted no further time. With the Blaze Stone in one hand and his pickaxe in the other, he vaulted from the tunnel entrance. His agility rivaled those who practiced the Swift Swallow Technique.

This was the transformation brought by unblocking two Innate meridians. With the power of two cycles’ worth of inner strength, he could now wield great strength with ease, as nimble as a swallow and as mighty as an ox. The shortcomings of the Mountain Shifting Technique had been largely overcome.

Wei Cheng’s appearance did not alarm the bats above. He walked forward unhurriedly, drawing ever closer to the Transmission Stele.

When only ten meters remained and the bats still hadn’t stirred, the tension among those in the tunnel reached a breaking point. Suddenly, it dawned on them: if the bats weren’t disturbed, wouldn’t Wei Cheng seize the advantage once more? That was intolerable!

Someone immediately tried to make a dash for it, and the crowd surged forward in a chaotic rush. Feet pounded, stones were kicked aside, and inevitably, the noise roused the bats.

A foul, gusty wind erupted as the horde of bats swooped down like lightning, their stench overwhelming and their wings blocking the stele’s glow.

Even then, most people still thought only of rushing forward—to touch the Transmission Stele first, everything else be damned.

But then came the blood-curdling screams. Those who relied on their mastery of the Swift Swallow Technique and water-skimming, grass-leaping skills managed only a dozen meters before being overrun, pinned beneath a writhing mass of bats. Their bodies were pierced, and in moments they were drained to lifeless husks.

Their speed just wasn’t enough.

The screams snapped the others back to reality, especially since no one had been left alone so far.

Those who practiced the Mountain Shifting Technique possessed tough hides and great strength. Even when attacked, they could tear bats off and smash them dead with their pickaxes.

As for those who practiced the Purple Mist Technique, they now held the advantage—particularly the brash and fearless Zhang Yong. In this moment, he truly served as a pillar of calm and decisiveness. Fearless, his Purple Mist energy surged, and with the first level of the Soaring Dragon Palm, he tore through the crowd like a giant purple eel, striking left and right. Any bat that crossed his path was instantly crushed, bones shattered, tendons snapped—a corpse in a blink.

In the span of an instant, he actually managed to stabilize the situation—had there not been so many bats.

But every second saw someone tackled and drained before help could arrive.

Meanwhile, Wei Cheng, advancing alone, faced even more bats.

Yet as he activated his Mountain Shifting inner strength and unleashed the first level of the Golden Bell Shield, a phantom bell shimmered into existence, rendering the bats’ attacks utterly ineffectual.

He waited for the perfect moment, then struck the Blaze Stone, and as sparks erupted, hurled it with all his might toward the cluster of bats attacking the others.

As expected, the Blaze Stone had barely flown ten meters before detonating in a thunderous explosion. A blaze engulfed the bats, and a shockwave of fire swept through the area, sending bats—and Zhang Yong’s group—tumbling like stalks of corn in a gale. They landed in a heap, battered and bruised, but for the moment, the immediate mortal danger had been alleviated.

Wei Cheng, having thrown the Blaze Stone, turned his back just as the shockwave crashed into him. The Golden Bell phantom flickered, then shattered, but it absorbed the brunt of the impact.

The bats besieging him were obliterated.

Using the force of the blast, Wei Cheng lunged forward and reached the Transmission Stele, pressing his hand against it.

The familiar radiance shrouded him for three full seconds. Elsewhere, the others scrambled to their feet, only for the surviving bats to shriek and attack anew. The slaughter was not yet over.

But Wei Cheng was unafraid. His abundant Mountain Shifting inner strength coursed through him, the Golden Bell phantom once more manifesting three inches from his body. Wielding his mining pick, he swept through the bats, who could not evade his full-strength blows.

Each strike erupted in a mist of blood.

In mere moments, he had slain thirty to fifty bats.

Yet the bats were simply too many. Over there, Zhang Yong and his remaining companions—now only a dozen—fought desperately, still trying to charge toward the Transmission Stele, but they could not break through.

Wei Cheng, shield engaged, carved a path through the bats, intent on rescuing them.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. Instinctively, he rolled aside just as a black shadow flashed past, missing him but skewering a Mountain Shifting practitioner who had sought safety by Wei Cheng’s side—only to die all the quicker for it.

The elusive Stone Fiend had been drawn out once more.