Gu Jianlin was extremely tense. He knew that even a minute of delay could put the girl in his arms at fatal risk, but there was a pressing problem at hand.
The issue was, they had no idea where to go.
The internal structure of the Ancient God's corpse was an intricate maze, and they were completely clueless about the correct path forward.
The guide left by Old Gu didn't include a detailed map—just a vague direction.
But there were countless crossroads in the stone cave ahead. Who knew which way to go?
It was all too easy to get lost in this underground labyrinth.
"Don't panic, search slowly. We don't have the abilities of Spirit Mediums or Divination Masters."
Even in the face of doom, Su Youzhu remained calm and said evenly, "We'll have to rely on ourselves. Maybe we should look for human traces left here and then profile deeply?"
Her father had that ability, so the son probably could too.
Gu Jianlin held her tightly and knew there wasn't enough time for an in-depth profile.
A brilliant thought suddenly flashed in his mind, and he muttered to himself, "Wait a minute, if Candle Dragon Venerable built this tomb using an Ancient God's corpse, but I just saw with my own eyes the dismembered Fire Qilin—how did this Ancient God revive? It's clear there's only one possibility."
Candle Dragon Venerable had used spatial and temporal powers to piece this corpse back together!
"Youzhu, does your Ghost Slayer Path have peculiar sensitivity to spacetime anomalies?"
He asked, "Can you sense disturbances in spacetime?"
Su Youzhu lifted her captivating eyes and replied, "Yes."
"Then head toward where the spacetime anomalies are."
Gu Jianlin said in a deep voice, "This is the fastest way. Even if we occasionally take the wrong path, it's still the quickest option."
Su Youzhu didn't ask why; she trusted the boy holding her unconditionally.
"Left, second corridor."
"Keep to the left, fourth entrance from left to right."
"Forward... Huh? Why is there no passage?"
Gu Jianlin sprinted forward, only to be stopped by a massive stone wall.
"Let me handle this!"
Butcher charged forward, Qi Force erupting violently!
With a thunderous boom!
He smashed through the wall like an unstoppable bulldozer.
Gu Jianlin couldn't help but cheer for this brute's recklessness.
At the same time, the cavern behind them shook with deafening roars as more and more cracks appeared.
Mysterious faceless, single-eyed creatures crawled out of the fissures, chillingly grotesque.
Butcher roared from up ahead.
Gu Jianlin looked forward and saw a pitch-black void emerging in the distance, dark and profound.
Su Youzhu fished out an ancient bronze compass from her pocket and handed it to him. "This can traverse spacetime."
For a fleeting moment.
When Gu Jianlin grasped the bronze compass, it felt like he was clutching at a lifeline.
Candle Dragon Venerable, my good sister.
"Butcher, stay close!"
Gu Jianlin strode forward and infused spirituality into the bronze compass!
Instantly, the swirling black void began to spin, swallowing them like an enormous beast!
With a thunderous crash!
Gu Jianlin, clutching the girl tightly in his arms, fell heavily to the ground.
He landed on his back and slid several meters across the floor before finally stopping.
Su Youzhu, lying atop him, groggily lifted her head and looked around.
With another resounding thud!
Butcher crashed onto the ground, the sound of countless bones shattering accompanying his landing!
"If nothing went wrong, we should have succeeded."
Gu Jianlin held the girl and stood up. "This is the Ancient God's brain."
They were in a blood-red cavern, its walls composed of raw flesh and membranes, adorned with countless horrific corpses. Their faces lacked features, with only a sinister crimson vertical pupil.
At the end of the cavern lay an indistinct blood-red entity.
It resembled a blood-colored crystal, entangled by countless scarlet veins, grotesque and bewitching.
On the ground, a multitude of terrifying creatures lay prostrate, encircling it.
"These things aren't going to suddenly come back to life, are they?"
Butcher, visibly shaken, had developed a psychological aversion to these creatures.
"No, they're already dead—drained of everything."
Su Youzhu pointed at them and said, "Look carefully at their bodies."
Gu Jianlin noticed it too—countless blood-red threads snaked across the floor, piercing into their inert forms.
His eyes narrowed as he spotted several dried corpses on the ground!
Butcher, summoning courage, rummaged through them and unearthed some personal items. "Brother Gu, boss! These are people from You Ying Group, candidates backed by Master. Years ago, when the dimensions were unstable, they forced their way in and ended up trapped here."
Gu Jianlin approached, still holding the girl, to examine them with a serious expression.
There were bits of discarded food, crumpled plastic bags scattered on the ground.
The fleshy walls bore marks of explosions, along with cuts and gashes from swords.
It all painted a picture of utter desperation before these corpses met their end.
"No wonder Master knew so much about this underground ruin. If I'm not mistaken, these people must've carried some kind of spirit-channeling medium capable of transmitting information to the outside world. From the very moment they descended here, they were destined to become expendable. It's just that they had no idea."