The vertical eye-like "Peering Rune" appeared on his brow, and a piece of information surfaced in his mind.
"Name: Advanced Corpse Beast. A powerful Corpse Beast evolved from a Low-Level Corpse Beast. Possesses a certain level of intelligence in addition to the instincts of a Low-Level Corpse Beast. Each Advanced Corpse Beast possesses one unique special ability acquired through evolution, and has a certain probability of evolving into a Higher Intelligence Being: Undead."
The figure that suddenly flashed out from the dark corner of the corridor was indeed an Advanced Corpse Beast.
Unlike the previous Corpse Beast that had evolved a third hand, this Advanced Corpse Beast had evolved a bone blade in its right arm.
The bone blade was over a foot long and extended from the outer muscle of its right arm. It was incredibly sharp. Just now, it had used this bone blade to slice across Ding Longyun's chest, leaving a deep wound that nearly disemboweled him.
If Ding Longyun hadn't received Su Li's warning and instinctively retreated, that single blow would have sliced open his entire upper body and instantly killed him.
Blood sprayed violently from Ding Longyun's chest. He cried out in pain and retreated. Su Li roared and charged forward, swinging the iron rod.
With a "clang," the Advanced Corpse Beast raised its left arm. The iron rod struck its left arm, and bone instantly shattered. Its left arm was broken by Su Li's iron rod.
However, for a Corpse Beast, apart from the fatal weakness of the head, no amount of injury elsewhere could kill them.
The Advanced Corpse Beast deliberately sacrificed its left arm to block Su Li's iron rod. It swung its right arm from below, bringing the sharp bone blade up to disembowel Su Li from below.
The bone blade attacked with shocking stealth. Su Li sucked in a cold breath.
He had used full force on that one blow to save Ding Longyun. His body was leaning slightly forward, and he had no time to recoil. He watched as the bone blade was about to travel up his abdomen, slicing him open all the way from his belly to his chest. This was a fatal wound that the healing power of the Spiritual Source could not fix.
It was too late to withdraw the iron rod and block the bone blade from below. Su Li could only risk swinging his left hand down, activating the "Gluttony Fangs" to intercept.
In the gloom, the bone blade was too fast. A slight miscalculation, and Su Li's left hand, or even his entire left arm, would be gone.
With a crisp "clash," the four Gluttony Fangs narrowly blocked the upward bone blade. Even so, Su Li still felt a slight coolness across his abdomen. The tip of the bone blade had pierced his lower abdomen by about one or two centimeters. Su Li immediately raised his leg and kicked the Advanced Corpse Beast with a "bang," sending the monster flying backward.
Watching the Advanced Corpse Beast tumble away, cold sweat broke out all over Su Li's back. The sudden exchange was incredibly dangerous; he had just dodged death by a hair's breadth.
This type of Advanced Corpse Beast was truly terrifying, perhaps even harder to deal with than the Level 3 Marine Iguana Monitor.
Ding Longyun, clutching the wound on his chest with his left hand, roared and charged toward the Advanced Corpse Beast Su Li had just kicked away, steel shovel held high.
The Advanced Corpse Beast hit the ground and immediately rolled across the floor. The steel shovel struck the floor, sparking and grating with an ear-splitting sound, showing that the enraged Ding Longyun had put all his strength into the blow.
Su Li quickly followed, bringing the iron rod down repeatedly onto the rolling Advanced Corpse Beast.
With two "clangs," the Advanced Corpse Beast raised the bone blade that extended from the outer side of its right arm, blocking Su Li's iron rod. Ding Longyun's steel shovel missed the monster and struck the ground. He quickly swept the shovel horizontally along the floor and with a "smack," struck the monster's right shoulder. The sound of bone shattering immediately followed.
The bones in the Advanced Corpse Beast's right shoulder were pulverized. Its right arm immediately lost all strength and drooped down. Su Li seized the opportunity, stepped forward, extended his left hand, and let the "Gluttony Fangs" slice into the Corpse Beast's face, carving four deep bloody gashes.
The fuzzy white hair on the Advanced Corpse Beast's face retracted and vanished. A Spiritual Source quickly emerged from the bloody gashes on its face, shot toward Su Li's forehead, and merged into him.
His entire body was enveloped in a thermal current. The injured areas were covered by this current, accelerating the healing of his wounds.
Su Li took a deep breath. With the acquisition of this Spiritual Source, he now needed only three more Spiritual Sources to successfully advance.
Sounds came from the corridor ahead: a group of Corpse Beasts was emerging, stumbling toward them.
Su Li activated the "Peering Rune" to observe. Thankfully, they were just a swarm of low-level Corpse Beasts. A group of Advanced Corpse Beasts would be disastrous.
"I need two more. Su Li, how many more do you need?" Ding Longyun, still breathing heavily, turned his head. He had suddenly heard sounds coming from the stairwell leading to the 31st floor, and several dark shapes emerged: Water Rat Beasts rushing up from below.
"Xuehui, the low-level Corpse Beasts are for you." Su Li thought that Xu Xuehui was already a Level 1 Spiritual Source Wielder and possessed at least 500 jin of strength. With the speed, power, and reaction time expected of a Level 1 Spiritual Source Wielder, even though she was a 13-year-old girl, dealing with these lowest-level Corpse Beasts wouldn't be difficult.
Xu Xuehui heard Su Li's words, nervously gripping the hammer as she ran down to his side.
Su Li turned and joined Ding Longyun to deal with the Water Rat Beasts rushing up from the other stairwell.
Ding Longyun had already gotten a head start. Although his chest was severely wounded and bleeding, fighting the Water Rat Beasts was still not difficult for him. Spotting a lunging Water Rat Beast, he slammed his steel shovel down, knocking the monster to the ground and crushing its head. A Spiritual Source immediately merged into his forehead.
Having acquired the Spiritual Source, the wound on Ding Longyun's chest began healing at a visible rate. He instantly felt energized. "Only one more!" he shouted, leaping forward and charging toward the next oncoming Water Rat Beast.
Su Li killed a Water Rat Beast at the same moment, gaining one Spiritual Source. He now needed two more Spiritual Sources to break through. Behind them, the swarm of Corpse Beasts was surging into the corridor. The fastest one reached Xu Xuehui.
Xu Xuehui, facing a Corpse Beast by herself for the first time, was full of tension. She stared at the charging monster and instinctively retreated instead of attacking.
Su Li had been covertly watching her. Seeing this, he sighed softly, spun around, and moved behind Xu Xuehui. He swung the iron rod, breaking the arm of the Corpse Beast that was reaching for Xu Xuehui, and barked, "Now!"
Hearing Su Li's voice, Xu Xuehui's courage surged. She swung the hammer tightly held in her hand.
With a "thud," the hammer struck the low-level Corpse Beast's head accurately. With her current strength, the hammer delivered a strong impact, instantly smashing the low-level Corpse Beast's head. A Spiritual Source merged into Xu Xuehui's mind, and a message appeared in her head.
(End of Chapter)