“Ugh… this is disgusting… and that smell, what is this place? Are we in the belly of some sort of demonic beast?”

Zhang Liena exclaimed as she gazed at the pale gray walls and the muck on the ground. The group of nascent soul masters had successfully infiltrated the Azure Capital. They had discovered an entrance to an eerie underground cavern that initially appeared quite ordinary. However, as they pressed on in their quest to locate the city's inhabitants, the landscape began to undergo a dramatic transformation.

The walls gradually became adorned with what appeared to be flesh and arteries, and this grotesque pattern continued to extend across both the walls and the surroundings as they ventured deeper. Zhang Zhi, with a look of concern, extended his hand towards the fleshy wall and gently brushed his fingertips against it.

"This is not natural, nor is it the result of any typical demonic cultivation. It's as if this entire underground realm is a living entity."

As the group continued to navigate through this bizarre underground landscape, the air grew thicker with an unsettling atmosphere. Whispers echoed through the cavern, barely audible but filled with an undeniable sense of despair and anguish. The walls seemed to pulse and quiver with a disturbing rhythm, and an unpleasant odor lingered in the air, a nauseating mix of decay and something far more sinister.

“This is indeed strange, the walls are reacting to my flames…”

Huo Qiang couldn't resist poking the pulsating walls with his finger, and he promptly activated his flames in an attempt to incinerate this peculiar obstacle. To everyone's astonishment, the entire place began to rumble, as if it were a living entity. It was increasingly likely that they were inside some form of living creature, or that these tunnels were interconnected in a mysterious way. It appeared that the tunnels could possibly sense pain, as attacking or burning them triggered a visible reaction.

“Elder Qiang, I think we should refrain from doing such things. It might be possible that these tunnels could constrict or…”

“Or?”

Before Zhang Zhi could respond to that question, all the nascent soul masters turned their attention to a dark section of the tunnel. From within, they could hear a strange noise resembling a high-pitched scream. Even after the rumbling ceased, it continued to persist and draw nearer to their location.

"This could jeopardize our position..."

"You see what you've done? You dense fool! If we make it out of here alive, I'll kill you myself!"

Liena shouted, realizing what Zhang Zhi had been implying. If this tunnel was part of a living creature, disturbing its walls would reveal their presence. Now, they had been exposed, and some unidentified creatures were approaching them. All of them got ready with Huo Qiang heading to the forefront, his fists clad in plasma energy that illuminated this corridor.

As the eerie noises drew closer, the group tensed, their senses on high alert. The dimly lit tunnel seemed to close in around them, and the grotesque, fleshy walls pulsated with a malevolent energy. Whatever was approaching was not friendly, and the group prepared for a confrontation.

Moments later, a horde of grotesque, malformed creatures emerged from the shadows. They resembled twisted amalgamations of various beings, with mismatched limbs and horrifying features. These abominations shuffled toward the intruders, their movements unnatural and jerky.

"Stay together, we can’t let them surround us!"

Zhang Liena commanded, her voice steady despite the disturbing sight before them. She unleashed her spiritual energy, creating a burst of wind energy with her fans. The razor-sharp blades flew towards the malformed monsters, cutting them into smaller parts.

Huo Qiang followed suit, releasing torrents of plasma energy that enveloped his fists. With powerful punches, he sent bursts of searing heat through the oncoming horde, reducing some of the abominations to ashes. Zhang Zhi, on the other hand, employed his refined control over water-based spiritual energy to create dense barriers, shielding the group from the relentless onslaught of the creatures.

Despite their formidable skills, the grotesque entities were relentless in their advance. They seemed to be drawn to the intruders like moths to a flame, driven by a dark and insatiable hunger. The group quickly realized that these creatures were not ordinary foes; their resilience and regenerative abilities made them a formidable challenge.

"We need to find a way out of here, fast!"

Zhang Liena urged as she dispatched more of the creatures with a flurry of wind-based attacks. But escape was easier said than done. The labyrinthine tunnels continued to twist and morph, leading the group deeper into the nightmarish landscape. It was as though the very walls of this living entity conspired against them, guiding them further into its dark and grotesque heart.

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As they pressed on, the group encountered more of these malformed creatures, each wave more relentless and grotesque than the last. They fought valiantly, but exhaustion began to set in, and it became clear that they couldn't keep up this pace forever. The grotesque creatures seemed to be an endless horde, and the group's situation grew increasingly dire.

"We need to find the source of these abominations and put an end to this. If this continues we will just exhaust all of our spiritual energy before we get to the end.”

“That’s all fine, but what do you propose we do? There aren’t that many places we can go, should we split up?”

Huo Qiang directed his question to Liena, who had been leading them through one of the tunnels. These passages branched out like arteries, offering multiple pathways. With Zhang Dong absent and being unable to rely on his system's mapping function, they were now navigating in the dark.

“If only Senior Brother was here…”

“Stop relying on my husband, I know he is great but we must get through this without him!”

“I think, I know what we can do Elders…”

Zhang Zhi was the one who finally spoke up, even as the others continued to race through the tunnels. He had made a realization as they progressed, and he believed that this revelation could potentially lead them out of this labyrinth.

"What is it, Zhi? What did you observe?"

"It's the walls, they pulsate at a specific rhythm, and it quickens in certain areas. I believe that if we follow these vibrations, we'll find our way to an exit!"

“Yes… there is something to this pulsating phenomenon, that must be it!”

The others quickly focused on the fleshy walls that acted like veins. The path they were on continued to pulsate at an increased pace as they followed it and after arriving at another fork they quickly identified a path that would follow the same pattern.

“But wait, what of the monsters? They will just keep chasing us, even if we find the right path, what if there is a stronger beast just waiting for us at the end?”

“Oh? You can actually think things through?”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

Huo Qiang furrowed his brow, feeling the weight of the truth in Zhang Zhi's words. It was highly probable that at the conclusion of this labyrinth, a more formidable monster awaited them. They had already triggered the trap that had set these monsters against them, and if they allowed all of them to converge in the final chamber, the odds would certainly not be in their favor.

“Grand Elders, allow us to help! We will distract these abominationis while you infiltrate this place further!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

Qiang, Liena and Zhi weren’t the only ones here. They were accompanied by seven other nascent soul elders. They were a lot weaker and felt that they couldn’t really contribute to a fight too much. Nevertheless, they realized that they could redirect these monsters away from the main group. As they lured the creatures away, the other three could continue with the mission on their own.

With the plan now in action, the group of nascent soul elders divided into three teams. The seven elders formed two smaller teams, one with three members and the other with four, and each group took separate paths. They skillfully divided the wave of monsters among themselves, using their spiritual attacks on the walls to entice the creatures and guide them in their respective directions.

Zhang Liena, Huo Qiang, and Zhang Zhi pressed onward along the pulsating path, following the eerie rhythm of the fleshy walls. They moved swiftly and efficiently, each step propelling them deeper into the heart of this living labyrinth. As they ventured deeper, the unsettling ambiance of the place intensified. The walls seemed to close in around them, pulsing with a sinister life of their own. The whispers grew louder, as if the very walls of the labyrinth were trying to communicate some malevolent intent. The grotesque creatures that pursued them before weren’t there anymore so the strange sounds were pointing to a confrontation soon.

After what felt like an eternity of winding through the nightmarish tunnels, they finally reached a massive chamber. The walls of the chamber were adorned with grotesque patterns that seemed to writhe and squirm, and at the center of the chamber lay a massive, pulsating heart-like organ.

"That must be the source!"

Zhang Zhi said, his voice filled with a mixture of awe and disgust. This red organ was not the only thing that was here as when they glanced around it, the true face of this place became apparent.

“What are those strange things… Are there people inside of them? Is this what became of the citizens of the capital?”

The heart-like organ in the center pulsed with an eerie glow, connected to numerous pulsating veins that stretched out like roots throughout the chamber. But what truly chilled them to the bone were the strange, pod-like structures that hung from the walls. Each pod contained a humanoid figure, encased in a gel-like substance. It was as though the citizens of Azure Capital had been captured and assimilated into this grotesque, living entity.

The chamber was surprisingly vast, and a multitude of pods clung to the walls, mirroring the pulsations of the central heart in this expanse. With just one look, it was evident that there were tens of thousands of these peculiar pods scattered all around. However, despite the chamber's considerable size, it couldn't possibly accommodate the millions of citizens who once inhabited the city. It became apparent that they had only arrived in one of the locations where the people were being held captive, and there were still more places to discover.

“Should we destroy the heart? It must be the cause for all of this!”

“Wait Qiang, stop!”

Before Liena could restrain her overconfident friend, the heart began to pulse rapidly in response to the approaching brute, emitting an unusual spiritual energy signature. Without delay, the organ began to ascend from the ground, shrouded in a peculiar green translucent substance. Swiftly, the heart disappeared into this mass, undergoing a transformation into a bizarre and fleshy golem-like creature.

“Great going you idiot, now we have to fight with it!”

Liena frowned and readied her battle fans, if they managed to slay this monster then perhaps part of the city would be liberated and their mission would be on it’s way…