Chapter 226: Underworld Firefly
“Huh? There are people from the royal family, the Purple Mist Sect, and the Li Family here.”
“What are they doing? Why aren’t they moving forward?”
“Who knows, maybe they’re dividing some spoils.”
Just then, another group of people arrived, shouting and causing a commotion in a mixed crowd.
These were martial artists from the second and third-rate forces. Half of them had died, and the remaining half just barely made it here, and there were still many of them.
“What’s that sound?” Qing Jianzi, Yang Pojun, and Li Tongtian all moved their ears, picking up a buzzing sound that was getting increasingly closer.
Fang Lin suddenly shouted: “Get in quickly!”
Before his words had fallen, Fang Lin rushed into the rightmost tunnel, followed closely by Qing Jianzi who gestured for the Purple Mist Sect members to follow.
“Let’s go!” Yang Pojun roared, leading the royal family members and the Purple Mist Sect members into the rightmost tunnel.
Li Tongtian, with a gloomy look, rushed without a word into the middle tunnel. The Li Family members naturally closely followed him, daring not to delay a moment.
The hurried escape of the three forces caused some confusion among the people following behind.
“What the hell is that? Why is a ball of fire floating above?” A lone martial artist pointed at a small insect fluttering erratically ahead.
Buzz Buzz Buzz!!!
The next moment, a swarm of blue fireflies surged out from the leftmost tunnel, heading straight for those people.
“Ah!!! This fire!”
“It’s killing me!”
“Help!”
···
At this moment, the area of the three-way junction turned into a blue sea of fire, resembling a purgatory on Earth.
Countless blue fireflies swarmed all over, and the moment their fiery bodies barely touched anyone, they would instantly engulf their entire body. Coupled with the high speed of the fireflies, these martial artists had no chance to dodge.
Immediately, countless people were burnt to death. Those martial artists who managed to get here with difficulty turned instantly into charred corpses, a sight too horrible to bear.
Some people retreated in fear, their eyes full of horror, not daring to have any thoughts. They ran away as fast as they could.
Any chance, any treasure, they can all go to hell. With these blue fireflies around, they had no chance of seeking any lucky encounters or treasures.
But the fireflies were like ruthless predators. No matter how fast they escaped, they couldn’t outfly the fireflies. None of those who ran back were spared, all perishing under the flames.
Of course, among these people, there were some who didn’t panic. Upon seeing the power of these fireflies, they didn’t consider running back at all and immediately rushed into the other two tunnels.
There were also a few daring ones who brought out some treasures, actually intending to subdue the blue fireflies.
And these people, naturally, died extremely miserably. The fire of the blue fireflies carried a strange power that couldn’t be extinguished. Any treasure that came into contact with it would instantly be set on fire.
However, these blue fireflies did not fly into the other two tunnels, only hovering at the entrances for a while before shifting their targets to the remaining people outside the three-way junction.
No one would have thought that not even half a day into the opening of the Endless Dungeon, nearly half of the people were dead or injured.
Meanwhile, in the rightmost tunnel, the Purple Mist Sect and the royal family had stopped, panting heavily.
Fang Lin looked back and seeing no blue firefly had flown in, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At the moment, nobody had the mind to check the surroundings or even consider what danger there might be. What filled their minds was the luck of having survived a calamity.
The blue fireflies were terrifying, and everyone didn’t stand a chance against them. All they could do was to flee.
They could imagine that the martial artists who arrived later were probably victims of the blue fireflies.
“Fang Lin, what the hell are those things? Why are they so horrifying?” Meng Chaoyang asked, still in shock.
Everyone else also looked at Fang Lin. Amongst them, Fang Lin had reacted the quickest, and likely only he knew the origin of the blue fireflies.
Fang Lin sat on the ground, looking serious: “I read about those bugs in an ancient book. They were called Underworld Fireflies. They’re extremely delicate but the fire they carry is exceptionally lethal. Even a slight brush can pose a mortal threat.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd looked desperate. Some of the women were trembling, clearly frightened.
“Does the Underworld Firefly have any restraint?” Qing Jianzi asked with a frown.
Fang Lin pursed his lips and shook his head: “I don’t know, perhaps there is.”
Even Fang Lin didn’t know how to deal with the Underworld Firefly, the crowd was full of worry, a hint of despair hidden in their hearts.
In truth, Fang Lin knew how to handle the Underworld Fireflies. After all, everything in the world is interconnected, there is no such thing as a truly invincible life.
The Underworld Firefly, although powerful and its flame hard to handle, had one fear: moonlight.
In the presence of moonlight, the flame on the Underworld Firefly would immediately dissipate. Without its flame, the Underworld Firefly is extremely weak.
But in the pitch-black dungeon, where would they find moonlight?
“Hm, isn’t it because you, Fang Lin, are pretending to be mysterious? Clearly you know how to deal with the Underworld Fireflies but won’t tell us?” Just then, a scoff was heard.
Fang Lin looked in the direction of the sound and saw Gu Hanshan speaking.
And Gu Hanshan’s words made some in the crowd look skeptical, their gazes towards Fang Lin changing slightly.
Fang Lin remained calm: “Gu Hanshan, if you have a solution, then stop being so sarcastic.”
Gu Hanshan sneered: “I’m not as good as you, Fang Lin. What Underworld Fireflies? Maybe you made up this story to deceive us. Who knows if what you’re saying is true or false, unless you can prove it.”
Fang Lin laughed, shook his head, and didn’t bother to add anything further.
Qing Jianzi cast a glance at Gu Hanshan, his eyes full of dissatisfaction.
Yang Pojun, on the other hand, quite believed Fang Lin. He said: “Fang Lin, thanks to you this time, otherwise we would have suffered heavy losses.”
Yang Pojun’s gratitude came from his heart. When he thought back, he felt a chill. If Fang Lin hadn’t stopped them earlier, they would have already been inside the left tunnel. And that’s where all the Underworld Fireflies were. If they had gone in, would they still be alive now?
And then Fang Lin’s quick reaction, leading them into this tunnel, had saved everybody’s lives.
In short, Fang Lin had saved them all.
“The people of the Li Family have fled into the middle tunnel. I wonder how they’re doing.” Qing Jianzi said.
Yang Pojun snorted: “Who cares? It’d be best if they all died.”
Fang Lin suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed, as he stared at the ceiling above. The more he looked, the more serious his face became.