Xi Wen and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They had only been inside for a short while, and everything seemed fine? When had Old Niu become so strong? For a moment, they were all confused, but they still proceeded into the cave, as they trusted each other implicitly.
As they all discovered the corpse of the black snake, Li Chonglou, who had successfully killed it, returned to his normal appearance. Clad in tattered clothes, he emerged from the snake's ruptured belly.
"Little Li!" Old Niu cried out with surprise. Li Chonglou glanced over and also spotted Xi Wen's group. "It's good that they arrived in time," Li Chonglou thought to himself with relief. However, his current condition was somewhat precarious. Having forcefully exploited the potential of his acupuncture points, he was now suffering the backlash from them.
Still, the backlash was within his tolerance. Thus, his current state only manifested as a somewhat dishevelled appearance. His upper garment, in particular, had been torn to shreds from his earlier surge in size, with only a few tattered strips remaining on his body.
"Are you alright?" Xi Wen and the others gathered around him. Seeing Li Chonglou in such a state, they all instinctively assumed he had been swallowed by the black snake.
Li Chonglou nodded and said, "I'm fine, but it seems this big fellow had some trouble of its own." As Li Chonglou spoke, he cast his gaze upon the black snake, now nothing more than a corpse. To conceal the truth, he decided to play along. He could discern the expressions on everyone's faces and understood their assumptions immediately. "A misunderstanding is good," he mused inwardly, "it saves me a lot of explaining."
Li Chonglou's plan unfolded smoothly. After a cursory examination of the black snake, the group concluded that it had succumbed to its own internal issues, providing Li Chonglou with an opportune moment within its belly to inadvertently kill it.
"But this fellow's defense wasn't that impressive. Even if it hadn't died, we could have handled it," Dong Lai, a member of the suicide squad, said as he poked the black snake's corpse. With minimal effort, he felt a portion of the snake's body give way, clearly indicating a lack of robust defense. Following Dong Lai's lead, the others also touched it, collectively marveling at how the black snake had grown so large for naught.
Unbeknownst to them, as they spoke, Old Niu's mouth twitched silently. "Not impressive, my foot! If I hadn't run fast, I would have been crushed to death just now!" Old Niu silently felt his still-aching back. To prevent the others from learning of his embarrassing ordeal, he ultimately swallowed his words.
With the matter resolved, the group's spirits lifted. Believing the ice bullets at the cave entrance would still be effective, they felt no immediate need to ascend. Instead, they began to rest within the cave. Li Chonglou's upper garment was practically ruined. Fortunately, a teammate had a spare set of clothes, and their builds were similar. The teammate pulled out a shirt and tossed it to Li Chonglou.
As they all wore the same uniform, the shirt Li Chonglou received was also identical. Upon donning it, Xi Wen and the others' eyes lit up. "Little Li, this shirt suits you quite well. You look much more spirited in it." Li Chonglou, his lips slightly pale, simply smiled without replying and then sat down to rest. Everyone else assumed Li Chonglou was experiencing residual fear after his near-death experience. In reality, he was strenuously suppressing the backlash within his body.
To avoid raising suspicion, Li Chonglou continuously used his internal energy to tightly seal each of his acupuncture points. As long as he prevented all his acupuncture points from connecting, he could suppress his internal injuries. However, this was not a long-term solution. The more tightly he sealed his acupuncture points, the more severe his injuries would become once he released them. Therefore, as soon as Li Chonglou sensed that the others were no longer paying attention to him, he released his internal energy.
In the next moment, Li Chonglou let out a muffled groan, and a stream of blood uncontrollably spilled from the corner of his mouth, but he quickly wiped it away. No one noticed his abnormality. Li Chonglou, unconcerned, immediately closed his eyes and circulated his internal energy to regulate his condition.
However, at this very moment, Li Chonglou discovered an unexpected surprise. The essence of "Mai Qian" was fundamentally training all acupuncture points. The current all-encompassing backlash within Li Chonglou's body had, by chance, activated the conditions for "Mai Qian" to function: all acupuncture points in his body were simultaneously in a state of extreme weakness! This meant that all his acupuncture points were at the same level. As Li Chonglou circulated his internal energy for regulation, the operating method of "Mai Qian" was automatically activated along with it!
To think that regulating his condition could unexpectedly activate "Mai Qian"! Li Chonglou felt as if he had won the lottery. His earlier dejected mood completely vanished.
However, this time, Xi Wen and the others did not rest for long. Just fifteen minutes later, he stood up and instructed everyone to prepare for departure. Li Chonglou was roused from his regulation by Old Niu beside him. Although his regulation was interrupted, the operating method of "Mai Qian" was not affected by his actions. "Mai Qian" was originally capable of growth during combat. However, due to the interruption of his regulation, the speed at which "Mai Qian" operated within his body immediately halved.
"Never mind, I've already gained enough. Nothing in the world is perfect," Li Chonglou comforted himself, casting aside the interruption of his regulation. He then followed Xi Wen and the others out of the cave.
When they returned to the entrance of the second level, the frozen barriers were also on the verge of dissolving. The rested group did not hesitate, proceeding to the depths of the second level using the same method as before.
About ten minutes later, a massive silhouette suddenly appeared before them.
"Captain, it's a herd of mutated oxen." Xi Wen's expression immediately turned grim. Not only him, but the faces of the entire suicide squad, save for Li Chonglou who was unaware, also turned grim.
"Brother Niu, is there trouble?" Li Chonglou couldn't help but ask Old Niu beside him.
"There is trouble. In the second level, what we fear encountering most is the mutated ox herd. These creatures are not only tough-skinned but also have weak nervous systems. Ice bullets are almost ineffective against them," Old Niu explained, shaking his head repeatedly. "Furthermore, aside from ice bullets, other weapons like assault rifles also inflict minimal damage on them. These fellows' flesh is incredibly dense." He concluded with a sigh, "It seems our luck is truly poor. We've even encountered the rarest mutated ox herd."