Dozens of Rank 10 Annam Centipedes launched the first attack, their thousand legs seemingly flying close to the ground.
Their speed was like black lightning, darting back and forth through the rat swarm, dazzling to behold.
With every attack, their venomous fangs precisely struck the rats' vital points.
Accompanied by a dull 'thud', a rat instantly died, its movements as swift as a phantom, leaving no time for reaction.
The Rank 10 Annam Centipedes also spewed out rolling clouds of poisonous smoke, a chilling deep green that, like a thick toxic mist, enveloped the passage tightly in the blink of an eye.
The mutated rats struggled painfully in the poisonous mist, some rolling frantically on the ground, others crashing around, emitting tragic screams.
The screams were heart-wrenching, sending shivers down one's spine, as if one were in a horror story.
The Fifth-Order Four Fiend Insect Soldiers, wielding their Evil Qi-shrouded limbs, moved like xenomorphs, exuding an aura that made other life forms tremble with fear, as if entering an uninhabited realm.
Each swing brought forth a black afterimage, the power of the Four Fiends surged, and all living things retreated.
Even though the size difference between the two was still quite obvious, the mutated rats were like paper under their hands.
Wherever their limbs reached, nearby mutated rats were cut in half at the waist, blood splattering everywhere, forming pools of blood in the passage.
The ground became muddy and covered with shredded meat and internal organs, and the air was filled with a strong, pungent smell of blood, making one nauseous.
The 5th Order Thorn Horned Beetles, on the other hand, charged wildly with their incredibly strong physiques, like out-of-control heavy tanks, leaving a trail of devastation wherever they went.
Their huge Spiked Horned Tyrant Bug rammed the mutated rats, sending flesh and blood flying, and dull 'thudding' sounds continuously echoed, like ripe watermelons being violently smashed.
The bodies of the mutated rats were like fragile paper under the Spiked Horned Tyrant Bug, easily torn apart, with minced meat flying everywhere, the scene was tragic, and the passage seemed to have turned into a living hell.
As the saying goes, when people number in the tens of thousands, they become boundless; now, on the battlefield, Zhou Qi's various dependents combined numbered in the thousands, and the mutated rats were endless, countless, with over ten thousand on the battlefield alone.
The entire passage, and even the entire underground cave, erupted in fierce combat; this was the first time Zhou Qi had encountered such a large-scale war, and he felt his blood boiling.
He was just a little curious as to what so many mutated rats survived on.
After a fierce, almost frenzied, slaughter, the dependents finally broke through the mutated rats' defenses.
Large mutated rats lay dead throughout the underground cave, occasionally accompanied by Fifth-Order Four Fiend Insect Soldiers with crushed bodies.
The entire scene was truly gruesome; the most disgusting slaughterhouse in the world would be no more so.
Zhou Qi successfully occupied the underground ruins; the cave was filled with a thick, suffocating smell of blood and decay.
He observed that the surrounding walls were covered with ancient symbols, twisted and bizarre in shape, like mysterious codes from an ancient era, or perhaps imprints left by some mysterious ritual.
The central Uroboros head statue exuded a mysterious aura, standing silently there.
Zhou Qi only felt that it was unimaginably large; just one snake head was larger than a football field, truly shocking!
At this moment, Uka looked around blankly, strange insects occupied various key points and began to clear the corpses on the ground; everything was so orderly, yet it felt empty inside.
On the other side, Zhou Qi could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart and eagerly began to explore the ruins.
He carefully searched under the statue's base and finally discovered a hidden compartment.
The moment he reached out to open the compartment, a dazzling light suddenly shot out, making his eyes squint; once he adapted to the light, he saw a crystal inside that emitted strange energy fluctuations.
As soon as Zhou Qi touched the crystal, a powerful, almost chaotic force instantly surged into his body.
He felt a 'buzz' in his head, and his Mental Energy began to grow uncontrollably and wildly, as if his entire being was about to explode from this power.
His inner Mental Energy landscape began to expand rapidly, from 150 meters in circumference to 160, 180...
After a full quarter of an hour, Zhou Qi's inner Mental Energy landscape had expanded to 300 meters in circumference, capable of extending to a radius of 3000 meters, and his controllable power index soared.
"This feeling is just too wonderful."
Zhou Qi freely extended his Mental Energy outwards, feeling as if he were an omnipotent deity at that moment.
He then opened his attribute panel: looking at his life strength, which had already become 25 points, he couldn't describe how thrilled he was.
Zhou Qi was immersed in the ecstasy brought by the surge in power, his entire being enveloped by an invisible glow, every cell cheering and filled with a craving for and control over power.
He stretched his body freely, feeling the surging power within him, like a roaring river.
The corners of his mouth unconsciously curved upwards, revealing a smug smile, completely unaware of the subtle and eerie changes occurring in his surroundings.
The towering Uroboros head statue, like an ancient and mysterious monument, stood silently in the center of the cave.
Inside the statue, a dim but infinitely majestic consciousness was slowly reviving, like a sleeping giant awakened by the spring breeze.
This wisp of consciousness slowly awakened, instantly releasing a vast and eerie Mental Energy, like a surging black tide, carrying endless oppression, surging towards Zhou Qi.
Caught off guard, Zhou Qi was instantly struck by this Mental Energy, his head feeling as if it had been violently struck by a heavy hammer.
With a 'thump', his vision went black, and his body swayed uncontrollably, almost falling straight to the ground.
Zhou Qi's eyes widened in horror, realizing that his consciousness was being pulled by an invisible force, rapidly swirling into a boundless dark vortex, as if about to sink to the bottom of a lake.
In the depths of that vortex, cold, deep eyes stared fixedly at him, exuding a chilling killing intent.
"Pathetic and insignificant lower life form, how dare you covet my power? Your Soul shall be the first sacrifice for my revival!"
An ancient, Vicissitudes , yet infinitely tyrannical and greedy voice exploded in Zhou Qi's mind, making his Soul tremble violently, like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.
Only then did Zhou Qi realize that this was likely a remnant wisp of consciousness from the Titan Uroboros.
This ancient Titan, who had lived for countless years, now dared to usurp his body, devour his Soul, and control his physical form...
