Hummm—
The underground tremors pounded like a death knell, reaching their peak barely three feet beneath his soles.
That razor-sharp killing intent had already pierced through the loose topsoil. The next instant would bring the lethal strike bursting from the earth.
In this critical moment, Lin Mu didn't scatter in panic like a startled rabbit, nor did he resort to any Killer Moves that would expose his hidden cards.
His gaze was cold as ice. His right foot came down hard on the ground in what seemed like a casual stomp.
"Fall!"
Deep within his aperture, the dormant Red Mud Gu trembled violently.
Primeval Essence poured forth in a torrent as an obscure Earth Path fluctuation traveled through his meridians, silently infusing into the soil beneath his feet.
The originally hard, dry sand structure collapsed in an instant, transforming into a pool of viscous, heavy, adhesive red mud swamp.
This change occurred only three feet underground—the surface appeared unchanged.
But for an Earth Path Gu Master traveling at high speed beneath the ground, it was like suddenly crashing from a smooth highway into a pool of glue.
Thud.
A muffled impact sounded underground. The rapidly approaching vibrations lurched to a sudden halt, like a speeding carriage slamming into a wall.
Just as Lin Mu had predicted, Earth Path Gu worms encountered vastly different resistance in different mediums. His opponent had "hit the wall."
This fleeting pause saved Lin Mu's life.
But he didn't let down his guard—if anything, every muscle in his body tensed to the extreme.
Because he sensed that the underground killer hadn't foolishly erupted from the earth in frustrated rage. Instead, the moment he met resistance, he immediately ceased all movement and went completely dormant.
"A veteran."
Lin Mu's heart sank slightly. His opponent was cautious—realizing the target was troublesome, he immediately changed tactics.
Sure enough, merely two breaths later, an extremely faint sound emerged from underground—like the beating of insect wings.
It was the voice transmission technique unique to Earth Path Gu Masters, drilling directly into the sickly green poison mist surrounding them.
"Green Snake, this kid's got something strange going on. If you don't want to die too quickly, help me probe his depths."
From within the poison mist came a sinister response, the voice drifting and elusive, tinged with mockery:
"Heh, there's actually a Gu Master that you, 'Burrowing Rat,' can't handle?"
"Fine then. That turtle shell over there is too hard to crack anyway—I'll come play with this little fellow."
Following this brief exchange, the firepower that had been frantically hammering Ah Zhong's bronze-skinned iron-boned defense instantly weakened by more than half.
Even the offensive pressure on Lin Feng eased slightly.
"Since I can't kill you, I'll force you to move—force you to reveal an opening."
This was the instinct of a seasoned hunter, and the terror of coordinated teamwork.
The moment Lin Mu sensed something was wrong, the poison mist that had been slowly drifting around him suddenly churned violently.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three shrill, piercing sounds tore through the air, shattering the silence of the mist.
Three finger-length needles of ghostly blue—Aura Breaking Needles—shot from the mist at his rear flank in a triangular formation.
The needle tips flickered with an unsettling blue glow, clearly laced with deadly poison, specifically designed to penetrate protective Primeval Essence.
The angle of this strike was extremely cunning.
They weren't aimed directly at Lin Mu's vitals. Instead, they sealed off all his escape routes to the front, rear, and right. No matter how he dodged, the only path to survival was a lateral leap to the left.
And that was precisely the "kill zone" where the underground assassin was waiting.
This was a naked, open stratagem.
Either be riddled with poison needles, or leap into the trap and be gutted by the underground killer.
"Damn it!"
Lin Mu's pupils contracted sharply.
Though his Earth Ring Body was agile, in this cramped space where every move had been calculated, there was nowhere to maneuver.
Instinctively, he glanced toward the center of the formation.
There stood Ah Zhong, the Rank 2 expert. There stood Lin Feng with his sharp sword.
Because the enemy had diverted firepower to attack Lin Mu, the pressure on Ah Zhong had dropped dramatically. Those arms like bronze and iron were now idle.
If he were willing to spare some of his defense, or if Lin Feng sent out a single arc of sword qi, they could easily deflect these three poison needles and rescue Lin Mu from his predicament.
This should have been natural. After all, they were "teammates" now—"comrades sharing life and death."
Ah Zhong did indeed sense the crisis on this side.
As a loyal household guard, his instincts made him want to turn around—to help this hardworking collateral branch youth block this calamity. After all, he had the capacity to spare right now.
However.
A hand, light yet brook-no-refusal, pressed down on Ah Zhong's shoulder.
Ah Zhong's entire body went rigid. He turned his head and met Lin Feng's eyes—cold as ice.
Lin Feng said nothing. He simply shook his head slightly at Ah Zhong.
The meaning in those eyes couldn't have been clearer:
"Don't move."
"We need to conserve our Primeval Essence for that powerful enemy who hasn't shown himself yet. If we act now to save him, we'll expose your defensive blind spots and spend our trump cards."
"He's just a collateral branch member. If he dies, he dies."
"Let him use his life to probe the enemy's capabilities—to see what other tricks are hiding in this poison mist."
This was the calculus of those in power. In Lin Feng's ledger, Lin Mu had never been a teammate—just a useful pawn.
And since he was a pawn, he had value in being sacrificed.
The hesitation and struggle in Ah Zhong's eyes flickered for just an instant before fading into lifelessness.
He withdrew the helping hand he'd been about to extend, turned back around, and focused all his defenses on protecting Lin Feng and the trembling Lin Wan'er.
This scene lasted only a heartbeat.
But in Lin Mu's eyes—watching intently from the other side—it stretched as slowly as an entire year.
He watched Ah Zhong's rigid back. He watched Lin Feng's cold profile. The last shred of hope in his heart crumbled completely.
"As expected. This is the Gu World. Without value to exploit, you're just a stray dog by the roadside."
"Fine then. Lin Feng, you really are something. Today's grudge—I'll remember it."
A self-mocking yet savage cold smile curved Lin Mu's lips.
At this very moment, the scene seemed to freeze.
Above him, the ghostly blue poison needles screamed down, carrying the deathly aura of instant lethality.
Below him, the underground killer waited poised, gripping a bone-scraping blade.
Beside him, his "teammates" watched coldly, refusing to lift a finger.
In this sickly green prison of poison mist, Lin Mu stood utterly alone—like a discarded piece abandoned by the entire world, balanced on the precipice between life and death.