A great splash of incredibly viscous mud poured from the sky, turning Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan into mud people instantly.

It took Zhang Xiaohou quite some effort to clean himself up, and now, he was turned into a mud monkey again. {TL Note: Xiaohou can also mean little monkey}

Mo Fan was in a better spot, not because he was not splashed with the mud, but he was rather filthy to begin with, so an extra layer of mud did not really make any difference.

"Brother...brother Fan... what should we do now?" Zhang Xiaohou who had finally met up with Mo Fan, managed to create some distance from the Giant Poisonous Centipede. However, the distance was soon cut short when the two monsters flanked them from both directions.

Zhang Xiaohou could feel his stomach flip-flopping, seeing the two gigantic monsters charging in their direction.

He thought he finally had the chance to slaughter some demon beasts after becoming an Intermediate Magician. However, he was still extremely tiny standing in front of these Commander-level demon beasts.

"I guess I'm left with no choice!" Mo Fan stared at the muddy swamp. All he could see was waves of mud splashing toward them.

Clenching his teeth, he could picture his fangs extending longer and his pupils changing color.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan did not feel like using the power of the Demon Element, as each time it was used, he was selling more of his soul. He could not even tell if he would still be alive after using it this time!

Every time he used the power, he would have to survive four Soul Breakdowns; all his previous efforts would be in vain!

The Giant Poisonous Centipede floated on the mud and wriggled rapidly in an S-shape like a water snake. Every time it uttered a roar, a great lump of mud would pour down from the sky, followed by the disgusting gust of its breath.

If it weren't for the missing limbs on the second-half of its body which hindered its balance, it would have caught up to Zhang Xiaohou easily!

The centipede had huge mandibles on both sides of its mouth, looking like two steel blades. They clacked loudly as it was swimming across the swamp. It could not wait to tear the guy that had stepped on its tail into pieces!

The centipede was shrieking endlessly. It turned out that its old enemy, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, was posing a great threat to it, so it did not dare to lunge forward at its prey straight away.

Likewise, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard did not expect to bump into the centipede, either. Its lantern-sized eyes were staring at the extremely poisonous demon beast. Its cave-sized mouth bellowed at the Giant Poisonous Centipede in warning.

The roars of the demon beasts were deafening!

However, the hesitation of the two beasts somehow bought Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan, who was stuck in between them, some time.

That being said, the two Commander-level demon beasts were not brainless, either. They quickly came to an agreement between themselves. In order to showcase their savagery, they would first tear the damned humans into pieces first!

"A vortex, Brother Fan, it's coming!" In the nick of time, Zhang Xiaohou burst out screaming when the life-saving vortex finally appeared in the swamp.

Mo Fan had seen it too. He immediately stopped himself from activating the Demon Element.

He grabbed Zhang Xiaohou and used the shadow of the mountain from the setting sun to cast Fleeing Shadow!

A giant claw swept out; the Xuanwu Giant Lizard had launched its attack. The force of the slap alone was enough to crumble a small hill, let alone two Magicians!

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou dodged the attack with the Fleeing Shadow. However, the shockwave from the slap was utterly terrifying. It managed to knock both Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou out from the shadow they were traveling in.

Both of them were knocked flying. It felt like their bones would fall apart any second now...

Luckily, they happened to be knocked toward the vortex. If they were flying in the other direction, they would surely be killed by any simple attack from either the Xuanwu Giant Lizard or the Giant Poisonous Centipede.

Falling from the air, Mo Fan quickly grabbed Zhang Xiaohou tight and plunged right into the vortex.

---

The layer of rocks under the swamp had collapsed. The thick mud was sucked into the underground river with a strong current.

As the bottom was blasted open, the water level of the swamp began to sink rapidly. It started from a small whirlpool with a diameter of a few meters, but it soon expended as the opening expanded...

The surface of the black swamp was peaceful just a few moments ago, calm enough to reflect the night sky, but it was now filled with rumbling waves and a rain of mud pouring down a big hole.

The two gigantic creatures stood in the swamp. The rolling waves seemed to have little effect on them. They continued to roar at one another in the midst of the stand-off, completely ignoring the whirlpool that had appeared!

The whirlpool gradually grew larger. Its diameter had reached twenty meters!

From the beasts' perspective, the whirlpool was not as tiny as it was before. The mud nearby poured into the hole at an insane pace, trying to fill the empty space.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou had already jumped into the vortex. The flow dragged them down further, and they soon found themselves right at the center of the vortex!

The two creatures pounced at the vortex when they saw the humans being dragged away by the current.

Due to their enormous sizes, as they lunged in the same direction, they both mistakenly assumed that the other was trying to attack them. As such, the Giant Poisonous Centipede responded by smashing its head into the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, while the later raised its front limbs and pressed its weight down on top of the centipede's body!

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard raised half of its body into the air before slamming it down hard. The terrifying impact ended up stirring a ring of tsunami, starting from the center of the lake.

The Giant Lizards at the shores of the swamp were no longer in the mood to enjoy their peaceful rest. The mud tsunami had already driven them somewhere far away, leaving a great mess on the trees, the ground and the foothills of the mountain.

---

Under the swamp, a great force surged from the surface of the water, instantly shattering the vortex.

Fortunately, Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were already in the pillar of water flowing down to the underground river. If it weren't for the cushioning from the mud and water, the force would have blasted a bigger hole under the swamp. The whole swamp would have collapsed, and there was no way they would have survived!

Li Man had already moved a distance away from the hole prior to the blast. Her ears were deafened by the echoes as the waterfall poured down with an unending roar.

The splattering mud from the pillar of water was so strong that it could even shatter the rocks to pieces.

The layer of rocks was punctured, and the whirlpool was created as planned. However, it would be a great surprise if the two men being dragged around by the current would feel at all great after their journey...