CHAPTER 116: AMBUSHED

Turning back time—a few minutes earlier.

Just as Xu Tao infiltrated the Leviathan’s insides, he noticed a problem.

"Damn. This place is way too big to search before time runs out."

Currently, Wu Zetian was fighting the Dual-Soul Wraith Pharsa. She might’ve been strong enough to go toe-to-toe with that wraith, but the Lost System should’ve limited her powers.

She was level 250 now, just like Jehanne and Arthur. That meant her Qi wasn’t as vast as it had been back in the cultivation world.

’If she fought with her usual style, she’d run out in minutes!’

That was what worried Xu Tao the most.

Of course, he wasn’t concerned about Wu Zetian herself—she was practically a stranger. What worried him was that if Zetian lost, then the next target of the wraith would be those down below—Jehanne in particular.

"Roaming around blind isn’t wise. I should do this efficiently," Xu Tao muttered, then sheathed his sword.

He stood still, relaxed his entire body, and closed his eyes. Faint traces of Qi pulsed from him like a radar, probing the space. He was feeling out the interior and, if possible, trying to locate the monster’s weak point.

"...Mmh?"

But his estimate was way off. This alternate space inside the monster wasn’t just large—it was ginormous. He’d already reached the limit of his Qi detection range, yet hadn’t even grazed a single "edge."

"At this rate, I can only rely on luck..." he muttered, disappointed.

Fighting tentacle monsters while wandering would only drain his already halved Qi. He couldn’t afford to be wasteful—or he’d run out before even finding the Leviathan’s core.

"No," Xu Tao shook his head. "There must be a clue somewhere..."

The Leviathan was a living being that had turned its insides into an alternate dimension. Even so, there had to be rules—like the consistent placement of organs.

"As long as I find two organs as reference, I should be able to deduce where the rest are located!"

A new idea dawned on him, making his lips curl up. Although he still had to rely on luck, at least now he had a direction.

"But first," he scoffed, "I gotta do something about these hindrances."

"Grrrr..."

While he stood still, the Leviathan’s defense mechanism—tentacle-like monsters—had surrounded him completely.

"I’d rather not waste my Qi on you," Xu Tao sighed, drawing his sword. "But you leave me with no choice!"

At that moment, several tentacles lashed out, systematically blocking escape routes and thrusting toward him with lethal precision.

"I’ve seen that before!"

But Xu Tao had been fighting them for a while. Though their coordination was superb—almost like a hive mind—they still had plenty of openings.

With a single draw and swing of his sword, he sliced through the entire wall of tentacles.

"...!"

From the severed ends, white digestive fluid burst out, shooting toward Xu Tao in a secondary attack.

"Ninth Rib! Defense Formation—Water Veil!"

Casually twisting his metallic folding fan—the Celestial Fang of 108 Formations—he neutralized everything. Not only did he block the fluids, he absorbed them into the watery barrier and detonated it outward, creating an explosion from the center.

With a path now open, he rushed through and sliced through the monsters, aiming directly at the ruby-like crystals in their cores—crushing them in one strike.

"I’m in a hurry, so get out of my way!"

Of course, he didn’t wipe them all out. Time was tight, and his Qi limited. He couldn’t afford to waste either. As soon as a route cleared, he dashed forward, then used Ground Shrink to jump ahead as far as his eyes could see.

"Huh?!"

But on the third use of the technique, he came to a sudden stop. Looking up, he spotted a cavity in the ceiling’s meat wall. Inside, something was squirming.

"That’s..." Xu Tao’s eyes widened. "No doubt, that’s the uvula!"

An organ normally found at the back of a human throat! What it was doing inside a Leviathan was anyone’s guess—but it gave him a clue.

"In short, if I head up from here, I can reach its brain!"

Finally, a lead!

Of course, he didn’t leave the dangling meat alone. With a flurry of sword swings—dozens in a flash—he sliced the uvula into a thousand pieces.

RUMBLE!

"W-What...?"

Immediately after, the entire space began to shake. Xu Tao, floating with Cloud Steps, couldn’t feel the vibrations directly, but he could see them.

All four walls were spasming like a snake writhing forward. Seeing this, Xu Tao gulped. "I’ve got a bad feeling about this..."

The rumbling grew worse by the second. Xu Tao kept a wary eye in all directions, tense for what might come next, until—

"Shit! No way?!"

From deep ahead... a massive flood was surging toward him. It wasn’t water—of course not—but digestive fluid!

Xu Tao made an immediate decision.

"I’ve gotta run!"

Unfortunately, the way "up" was directly ahead. He couldn’t delay. Using Ground Shrink, he sped toward the upward cavern—

"GRR!!!"

"Fuck...!"

Only to spring a trap—tentacle monsters lunged from the meat-lined shaft like jack-in-the-boxes, pouncing the moment they saw him.

With his speed, dodging was easy. But that wasn’t the problem. The real issue was that he couldn’t advance!

The digestive flood was rising fast. If he stayed, he’d be melted into black goo just like that unfortunate bread earlier!

"Nothing risked, nothing ventured...!"

Xu Tao decided to gamble. Sheathing his sword, he wrapped Qi around his foot—and then—

BAM!

—kicked the meat wall and launched himself diagonally upward!

With his strength, his body shot through like a cannonball, barely avoiding the tentacles. Each time he was about to hit a wall, he adjusted and kicked again, bounding upward like a ricocheting bullet.

"AAAAARGH!"

Like a pinball, he bounced left and right in a complex pattern, weaving through the defenses. It wasn’t without cost, though.

As soon as he reached another large cavern up above, he yanked off his footwear.

He had kicked walls coated in digestive fluid—it was obvious they’d melt.

"...Fortunately, my foot’s still intact." Xu Tao sighed, then looked up.

"And luckily, it looks like I found the jackpot too."

Ahead, in the cavernous space, was a wrinkly organ the size of a hot-air balloon. The central control unit of any living being—

"For such a huge creature, you’ve got a pretty small brain."

Xu Tao grinned, drawing his sword once more.

"Well then... let’s carve in some new memories it won’t forget!"