Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

The next morning, everyone gathered in the living room.

Wang Long and Li Shan were not in good condition; dark circles hung under their eyes, indicating they hadn’t slept well. They were not only worried about the monsters outside but also wary of each other. It was no wonder their condition was poor.

Additionally, they didn’t have much food, especially Wang Long, whose stomach kept growling, and his lips were dry and cracked.

After some thought, Chu Xiu handed them some mushrooms to replenish their energy and hydration. He didn’t want them to mess up at a critical moment.

He also ate some himself.

After eating, he opened the door, and thick dust puffed up, making Chu Xiu frown. There were many footprints running back and forth on the ground, and a faint smell of blood lingered in the air.

"At least four unlucky guys must have died last night. No one would be stupid enough to explore at night, but they were still caught," Wang Long muttered uneasily.

Chu Xiu said nothing, looking thoughtfully at the footprints on the ground.

If the monsters were roaming randomly, the footprints going upstairs and downstairs should be mixed together. But now, a large number of descending footprints covered the ascending ones.

"It’s as if at a certain point, these monsters all rushed downstairs. Is it because of the sun? Do a large number of monsters hide when the sun comes out? Do they hate sunlight? That’s why there are fewer monsters during the day?"

Chu Xiu pondered.

Shaking his head, he led the group according to the plan.

With Yun Lu’s keen nose, they smoothly moved from the eighth floor to the eleventh floor and found the perfect ambush spot.

Chu Xiu had Wang Long and Li Shan set up the ambush while he and Yun Lu continued to explore.

He was eyeing the corpses of the trial participants who died last night.

Yun Lu’s nose proved to be incredibly useful, worthy of a B-grade talent. She quickly helped Chu Xiu locate all four corpses.

Their deaths were gruesome, with their souls almost entirely dissipated, but they still provided Chu Xiu with substantial fortification progress, upgrading his bone armor to +3.

The newly fortified bone armor now weighed 17 kilograms. The bone plates resembled white jade and were as hard as ordinary iron armor, giving him much more confidence.

Chu Xiu also gained nine points of professional experience.

During this time, he spotted other trial participants in the corridors, but they didn’t want to meet him. Seeing each other from afar, they quickly parted ways.

When he returned to the eleventh floor, it was almost ten o'clock.

"Why are you so slow?" Wang Long complained.

But seeing Chu Xiu’s transformed armor, his eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "Brother Chu, my talent and profession are more suited for combat. How about lending me your armor? I’ll return it after the fight."

Li Shan quickly chimed in, "Yes, Chu Xiu, I’m the bait. The monsters will definitely attack me first. You should lend me your armor!"

Chu Xiu gave them an exasperated look, not even bothering to respond.

Wang Long, a bit displeased, coldly snorted and patted his metal baseball bat. Li Shan looked embarrassed but didn’t dare say more. He also seemed puzzled, as if wondering why Chu Xiu’s personality had changed so much.

In his original impression, Chu Xiu should be a nice guy. Even if he didn’t lend it, he wouldn’t be so blunt.

Chu Xiu, of course, wouldn’t know Li Shan’s thoughts. He entered the room and began to check the layout.

Wang Long and Li Shan had set up the ambush in the living room. It was a square structure, and Li Shan had placed a two-meter-long wooden sofa in a corner, forming a small shelter for one person.

The heavy sofa served as a wooden shield. After getting inside, Li Shan used several large wooden boards to cover the top, creating a decent shelter.

Chu Xiu had to admit, Li Shan had some smarts. He remembered that Li Shan’s academic performance was quite good, often in the top ten of the class.

Li Shan’s chosen corner faced the main door. Once the door opened, the monster would charge directly, while Wang Long and Chu Xiu would hide in the blind spots of two adjacent corners.

Yun Lu would hide in a nearby room. Once the monster’s attention was fully drawn to Li Shan, she would close the door.

After running through the plan in his mind and ensuring there were no omissions, Chu Xiu nodded to Li Shan.

[Start.]

Chu Xiu gripped his bone spear tightly and shrank into the corner.

Li Shan took out a metal pot and lightly tapped it on the ground, producing a distant metallic clanging sound.

"Clang—"

The sound quickly faded, and the apartment remained as silent as ever.

Li Shan increased the force and tapped again.

"Clang—"

Chu Xiu’s palms began to sweat, and his heart started racing. He had maintained his composure, but now, facing the real fight, it was inevitable to feel nervous.

The Abyss was not a game. The consequence of a mistake was death!

"Clang—"

Li Shan tapped once more. This time, after waiting for a few seconds, there was a sudden light tapping sound at the door.

Chu Xiu tensed immediately.

From his angle, he couldn’t see the door. His helmet restricted his vision, but he could hear the heavy footsteps approaching.

As they got closer, he could hear hoarse breathing, like someone gasping for their last breath after having their throat cut. But the sound and breath were much larger, mixed with the stench of blood and body odor.

It's coming.

Chu Xiu felt as if he could still smell the flesh it had torn from its last prey.

Even without seeing it, he knew a massive, ferocious beast had entered!

Suddenly, Chu Xiu’s peripheral vision caught a swift black shadow!

It was too fast. In the blink of an eye, a broad back covered in black fur appeared before him!

This was a two-meter-tall humanoid creature, with an enormous latissimus dorsi indicating its strength in swinging. Its chest and back were covered in coarse black fur, providing effective protection. Its limbs, devoid of fur, were extremely muscular and almost devoid of fat, with a terrifying blue-black skin.

As Li Shan screamed in terror, the creature’s back muscles swelled, and it swung its right hand down heavily!

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, wood splinters flew everywhere. The heavy wooden sofa was smashed to pieces by its immense strength, shattering several wooden boards!

From beneath came Li Shan's shrill scream, "Chu Xiu! Wang Long! Do something!"

Chu Xiu’s heart pounded wildly. The monster’s fierce roar made him instinctively want to retreat. This was a genetically imprinted fear when facing a beast far stronger and bigger than oneself!

But reason overcame his instinctive fear. He gritted his teeth and thrust his bone spear forward!

Sensing the wind, the monster suddenly turned its head, revealing a ghastly, decomposing face!

Chu Xiu’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly suppressed his fear and pushed the spear forward with all his might!

"Rip!"

The creature was turning, and the sharp spear tip pierced its side. Chu Xiu immediately felt enormous resistance, as if he had hit tightly woven cloth instead of flesh.

After piercing about seven or eight centimeters, the spear encountered massive resistance, unable to go further. Chu Xiu looked down and saw a large blue-black hand gripping the spearhead tightly!

His heart skipped a beat in terror. The monster had stopped his full-force thrust with one hand!

Before he could recover from the shock, an immense force traveled up the spear, lifting Chu Xiu off the ground. The monster used the spear as a lever and hoisted Chu Xiu into the air!

"Bang!"

With a thunderous crash, Chu Xiu was slammed into the ceiling. Debris rained down as his head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer, and his organs felt displaced by the impact!

"Boom!"

Another loud crash followed as he fell from a height of three meters. The 17-kilogram bone armor didn’t offer much protection, instead intensifying the impact, causing pain all over his body.

His ears buzzed, and he faintly heard Yun Lu’s terrified screams.

Struggling to prop himself up, he saw a pair of bloodthirsty, scarlet eyes staring at him.

Something was wrong. Chu Xiu’s head was dizzy from the impact, but he knew something was wrong. This monster was strong, but it should have been a trapped beast.

Li Shan's desperate scream brought him back, "Wang Long, get in here!"

Chu Xiu glanced sideways. Wang Long, who was supposed to attack with him, stood frozen, his legs trembling, hands shaking with the baseball bat.

He was completely petrified.