### Chapter 4: Form is Nothing but Emptiness (5)
Underfoot lay a veritable carpet of insect eggs, with a dark red light streaming in from the cave entrance beside him.
In the vertical pits of hell, piercing screams echoed, and the battle between them and the fire dragon raged on.
However, it was clear that the little critters, in their desperate bid to reclaim their spawning grounds, were gradually wearing down the fire dragon’s power. Eventually, a fallen species flung itself onto the fire dragon, and together, they plunged into the boiling magma, a fiery mutual destruction!
“Puff, puff, puff…”
That’s the sound of fallen species flapping their wings outside the cave. They seemed worried he might ruin their precious eggs, which is why they hadn’t launched a full-on attack just yet.
Liao Chen found himself in a bit of a pickle.
From what he had gathered so far, it appeared that the Demon Emperor’s tomb might not actually be here. The overwhelming demon energy in this place was likely due to the demonesses producing a fresh batch of insect eggs.
Liao Chen had initially believed that demonesses were merely vile spirits drifting between heaven and earth or creatures that had long absorbed the essence of nature. But this exploration showed him that not only could demonesses possess offspring, but they also hid in this secluded valley, undetected by anyone without some serious skills, inadvertently releasing their demon energy.
The problem arose, though, from the fact that Frost North Snow and he had initially thought this was the Demon Emperor’s resurrection site—after all, the demon energy here was downright overwhelming.
If the Demon Emperor wasn’t here, then where on earth could he be? Had the Demon Sect’s prophecy missed the mark?
“Puff, puff, puff…”
The flapping of the fallen species outside grew quicker, and it seemed they were losing patience.
Liao Chen, knowing full well that the insect eggs beneath him were future demonesses, felt a pang of mercy for the little unborn critters. He tried to avoid stepping on the eggs as he ventured deeper into the cave.
Despite being trapped, he refused to give up on finding a way out. The fleeting red image in his mind gave him all the more reason to escape quickly.
When he had surveyed the vast cave, he had noticed walls riddled with numerous holes. His exploration was focused on figuring out whether these openings were interconnected.
If there was indeed a way through, it would be his one and only chance to escape.
The demonesses couldn’t fly in these tight caves, losing their pride in mobility, and with the passageways being so narrow, he didn’t have to worry about getting ambushed from multiple angles.
Clop, clop, clop.
From the sound, it was clear then that a few fallen species had burrowed into the cave, about ten meters away from him.
However, with countless insect eggs in the way, they were too afraid to charge in full force, fearing they might squish their unhatched offspring.
Just then, Liao Chen heard faint “clop, clop, clop” sounds ahead.
He felt a surge of joy, realizing there must be a passage between the caves.
“Amitabha, well done, well done.”
He muttered a Buddhist chant and suddenly sprinted toward the source of the sound. The egg sacs he stepped on squished like broken eggs, oozing thick goo.
After unleashing the fire dragon, his Buddha beads had depleted their last bit of spiritual energy, and at that moment, he was just using them as a weapon.
“Smack!”
Liao Chen knocked aside an incoming fallen species like it was a bad date. Behind it was a narrow passageway that seemed to allow only single-file access.
Sweet! Just what he needed.
He dashed over it as swiftly as a cheetah.
Barely escaping the egg zone, he felt a wave of relief as his feet hit solid rock again.
What if these demonesses had been raised by humans from birth? Would they still be as bloodthirsty and arrogant as they were now?
Unfortunately, he might never see that answer.
“Roar!”
Having squeezed through the narrow passage into another cave, he found himself swarmed by a dozen fallen species wailing upward.
They appeared to be signaling their comrades about their newfound target. And half of them were distinctly red, obviously stronger than your average fallen species.
But they were up against Liao Chen.
Especially now that he had the will to survive, the Buddha beads in his hand became like mighty hammers. Anything that came into contact with them was smashed to bits!
Liao Chen fought his way from the very bottom of the cave to within mere meters of the top opening, where a crimson-hued fallen species finally caught up with him.
“Bam!”
He struck first, delivering a headbutt with the beads that caught the fallen leader off guard.
But the leader was tougher than he looked. It caught the beads in mid-air, and they both bounced back with a stalemate, twisting and turning like a bizarre tango.
The bead strand, now smeared with black bl**d, couldn’t handle such a forceful back-and-forth, and with a resounding “bang,” they burst open like fireworks, scattering a hundred and eight beads all over the place.
Liao Chen felt a stab of pain in his heart.
Those beads had been with him for almost twenty years.
If only they had a bit of spiritual energy left, he could reassemble them in an instant. But they had long run dry, and now, there was no putting that genie back in the bottle.
“Roar!”
The fallen leader howled, and in an instant, dozens of fallen species swarmed into the cave, surrounding Liao Chen like he was a freshly mowed lawn of vegetables.
Without his trusty weapon, seeing the endless waves of enemies coming at him made his heart sink.
Plus, after a long battle, he had exhausted a ton of stamina. Trying to break free from this enemy prison felt nearly impossible.
“Great Might Heavenly Dragon!”
And just then, a voice that sounded like pure divine music echoed from outside the cave.
It was Frost North Snow! She had jumped down into the abyss!
From the sounds, she seemed to be having a tough time just next to the vertical magma shaft.
Hearing his companion calling for help, even before they met, the thrill in his heart was impossible to hide.
“Great Might Heavenly Dragon!”
Liao Chen unleashed an unprecedented surge of power, and with one swipe, at least five fallen species turned to dust.
Seizing the moment while they were stunned, he leaped out of the cave, clawing his way up the rock wall with a monkey-like agility.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
The fallen species were relentless, some were using the corpses of their fallen comrades as makeshift weapons, pouncing on Liao Chen massing like a wave.
“Ahhhh!”
At that moment, Liao Chen was still less than five meters from the cave’s top, yet the enemies were closing in. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he couldn’t unleash his full strength and desperately cried out.
In this life-and-d*ath moment, a red figure suddenly appeared above him.
Accompanied by a gentle breeze, an incredibly domineering force shot straight up into the air.
“Great Wish Earth Store!”
“Boom!”
The fallen species that surrounded Liao Chen were obliterated by this force, scattering like leaves in a gust of wind, dropping into the magma pit to be turned to ash.
“Monk, did you miss me?”
