Tomb Raiding: All Things Merge, Starting with 400x Strength

The group had just passed through the mesmerizing corridor and were still recovering from the previous thrill when the scene before them made their hearts tighten.

A vast underground swamp stretched out before them, filled with colorful poisonous miasma, like a dreamlike yet deadly fog.

"This poisonous miasma looks dangerous, everyone be careful."

Zhang Hao reminded him with a serious expression.

Everyone put on gas masks, but they soon discovered that ordinary gas masks were no match for the poisonous miasma.

The toxic miasma contained strong corrosive substances, and within moments, mottled corrosion marks began to appear on the surface of the gas mask.

"What can we do? The gas mask is useless!"

"The fat man shouted anxiously."

Just then, a ripple suddenly appeared in the swamp, and a huge mud monster emerged from the mud.

This mud monster was covered in countless wriggling tentacles, each one emitting a nauseating stench.

Its body seemed to be made of rotten mud and slime, and it made a "sizzling" sound when it moved.

Before anyone could react, the Mud Monster swung its tentacles and attacked them.

The fat man raised his gun and fired a burst of bullets at the Mud Monster, but the bullets hit it as if they were stuck in a mud pit, only splashing up some mud and causing almost no damage.

At the same time, countless poisonous leeches emerged from the swamp.

These venomous leeches moved with lightning speed, instantly surrounding the group.

Their mouthparts were incredibly sharp, easily piercing through people's clothing, attaching themselves to their skin, and beginning to suck their blood.

"Ugh! These things are so troublesome!"

As Xie Xiaohua brandished her weapon, trying to drive away the poisonous leeches, she cried out in pain.

The group was in dire straits, with the triple threat of poisonous miasma, rotting mud monsters, and poisonous leeches making every breath they took a dangerous one.

At this critical moment, Wu Tianzhen suddenly remembered the leather map in his hand.

He hurriedly unfolded the map and carefully searched for a safe route through the swamp.

"Don't panic, everyone. There's a relatively safe route marked on the map. Let's follow this direction!"

Wu Tianzhen shouted loudly.

Zhang Hao took a deep breath, quickly forming hand seals. A powerful energy surged from his body, forming a temporarily invisible purification barrier around everyone.

This barrier kept the poisonous miasma out, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath.

"I can only maintain this barrier for a short time, everyone hurry up!"

Zhang Hao shouted.

Holding the black gold ancient sword, Zhang Qilin led the way.

His gaze was resolute, and every step he took was steady and powerful. When he encountered mud monsters and poisonous leeches blocking his path, he swung his knife without hesitation.

The black gold ancient sword seemed to come alive in his hands, gleaming with a cold light as it slew the strange creatures one by one.

The group followed closely behind Zhang Qilin, making their way along the path marked on the map.

They had to be careful with every step they took, for fear of getting stuck in the mud.

The poisonous miasma relentlessly eroded Zhang Hao's purification barrier, hissing as if it were the whispers of a demon.

"Brother Hao, how much longer can we hold on?"

"I can't believe it," the fat man asked nervously. Zhang Hao gritted his teeth and said:

"Almost there, we'll be out of this dangerous area soon, just hang in there!"

Just as the barrier was about to break, everyone finally saw the edge of the swamp.

They exerted all their strength and quickened their pace, successfully escaping the poisonous swamp the moment the barrier shattered.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Recalling their experience in the swamp, everyone was still shaken.

However, they knew that this was just a small episode in their journey, and that many more unknown dangers awaited them ahead.

The insect nest tunnels are fraught with danger; the monstrous insects are ferocious and difficult to withstand.

After struggling through the poisonous swamp, before they could even catch their breath, a tunnel filled with huge honeycomb-like structures appeared before them.

Before they even stepped into the tunnel, they heard a buzzing sound coming from inside, as if countless bees were flying around.

"This sound is a bit off, everyone be careful."

Zhang Qilin gripped the black gold ancient sword tightly with vigilance.

The group cautiously entered the tunnel, where the walls and ceiling were covered with densely packed beehives, each about the size of a fist.

Suddenly, a strange insect emerged from the hive. Its body was black, its carapace was hard, and its mouthparts were sharp, making it look extremely ferocious.

Before anyone could react, even more strange insects poured out of the hive, surging towards them like a tide.

These strange insects were so numerous that they instantly overwhelmed everyone.

The fat man shouted in terror:

"How can we possibly defeat so many bugs!"

He quickly raised his gun and fired at the strange insects, but the bullets only made "bang bang" sounds when they hit the insects' shells and could not penetrate their defenses.

Xie Xiaohua also drew her weapon and engaged in a fierce battle with the strange insect.

He was agile, his blade flashing, and he killed many strange insects in a short time.

However, there were simply too many strange insects, and he gradually felt overwhelmed.

While dodging the attacks of the strange insects, Wu Tianzhen pondered a countermeasure.

He saw some dry branches nearby, and an idea struck him. He quickly picked up the branches, lit them with a lighter, and tried to drive away the strange insects with fire.

However, these strange insects seemed unfazed by the flames, and they continued to frantically attack the group.

Just when everyone was in dire straits, the fat man suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He remembered that he still had a small amount of explosives left in his backpack.

"Everyone, get out of the way! I have an idea!"

The fat man shouted, quickly took out the explosives, lit the fuse, and then threw the explosives towards the top of the tunnel.

With a deafening roar, the rocks at the top of the tunnel were blasted apart by explosives, and a large number of rocks fell down, instantly blocking the insect swarm's path.

The strange insects were buried under the rocks, emitting screams of agony.

"Come on!"

Zhang Qilin seized the opportunity and shouted loudly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the group rushed through the gaps between the rocks and ran forward as fast as they could.

The strange insects chased after them desperately, but because the passage was blocked, they were unable to catch up with the group for the time being.

The group ran a long way until they could no longer hear the strange insects before stopping.

They collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their faces etched with exhaustion and terror.

"This was really close; I almost died here."

The fat man said with lingering fear.

After checking their injuries, everyone discovered that many of them had deep wounds from being bitten, and blood was flowing freely.

Although the toxicity was not strong, the pain from the wounds was still unbearable for them.

"Everyone, please treat your wounds first. We can't stay here for too long; we need to leave quickly."

Zhang Haoqiang, suppressing his exhaustion, said.

Everyone took out their own medicine and gave the wound a simple bandage.

They then stood up and continued moving in the direction indicated by the map.

They knew that more dangers awaited them ahead, but they did not back down because they held a firm belief in their hearts: to uncover the most core secrets of the Kunlun Mountains.

The group had barely escaped the insect hive tunnel when they were shocked by the sight before them.

The path indicated on the map actually involves traversing an active underground lava field.

A massive lava lake stretched out before them, bubbling and churning. The scorching heat distorted the air, and lava spewed out intermittently, making it resemble a hellish furnace that could erupt at any moment.

"How are we going to get across?"

The fat man looked at the lava lake in front of him and said with a look of despair.

Wu Tianzhen frowned, carefully observing her surroundings, trying to find a safe path.

"Don't panic, everyone. Let's look along the edge of the lake and see if there's a narrow rocky path we can take."

Wu Tianzhen said.

The group carefully made their way along the edge of the lava lake. The rocks under their feet were scorching hot, and with each step, they could feel the soles of their shoes being baked until they softened.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of sulfur, making it difficult to breathe. They had to be constantly careful to avoid being hit by spewing lava.

Suddenly, an elemental creature made of lava and rock leaped out of the magma and pounced on them.

This elemental creature was enormous, engulfed in raging flames, turning the ground red-hot wherever it went.

It waved its enormous arms, creating a wave of heat that kept people at bay.

"careful!"

Zhang Qilin shouted and charged forward, wielding the Black Gold Ancient Blade.

He moved nimbly, weaving through the elemental creature's attacks, trying to find its weakness.

However, the elemental creature's shell was incredibly hard; when the Black Gold Ancient Blade struck it, it only produced a string of sparks but could not cause any real damage.

The group was locked in a fierce battle with the elemental creature. Although Zhang Qilin and Zhang Hao managed to temporarily withstand its attacks thanks to their powerful strength, the others were exhausted by the intense heat.

Under the scorching heat, everyone's sweat evaporated quickly, and water resources were consumed rapidly.

Everyone felt parched, their throats felt like they were on fire, and their bodies gradually became weak and sluggish, with the risk of dehydration and fainting at any moment.

"I can't take it anymore, I can't hold on much longer, water... I need to drink water."

The fat man said weakly, his lips were chapped and his skin was dry and peeling.

Wu Tianzhen looked at her nearly empty water pouch and felt extremely anxious.

"Hang in there, everyone. We'll find a safe place to rest as soon as possible."

Wu Tianzhen encouraged everyone.

Just when everyone was about to give up, Zhang Hao suddenly came up with a solution.

He concentrated and cast a spell, creating a brief, cool shield around everyone, temporarily alleviating the intense heat.

"Everyone, hurry up and move forward, my shield won't last long."

Zhang Hao shouted.

Protected by Zhang Hao's shield, the group quickened their pace.

They trudged along the narrow, rocky path, each step arduous.

Just as the shield was about to disappear, they finally saw the exit from the lava area.

With all their might, they broke free and escaped this terrifying lava hell.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, feeling the joy of surviving a disaster.

After going through countless hardships, the group finally crossed the scorching lava field, thinking that the danger was temporarily over. However, the scene before them made their hearts sink to the bottom once again.

An incredible, frigid world appeared before them, surrounded by eternal ice that had never melted, as if time itself had frozen there.

As soon as they stepped into this world, a bone-chilling cold swept over them, and everyone felt as if countless needles were pricking their skin, with every pore trembling.

“This is too cold!”

The fat man couldn't help but shudder, his teeth chattering.

Their breath instantly turned into white icy mist, which lingered in the air.

An invisible, icy energy was constantly eroding their body temperature and will, causing their movements to become stiff and sluggish, each step feeling like dragging a thousand-pound shackle.

My thoughts seemed to freeze, my brain became drowsy, and my reactions became sluggish.

Wu Tianzhen felt her body getting heavier and heavier, and her consciousness gradually blurred. A thought of giving up began to grow in her heart.

In this extremely cold environment, Zhang Hao knew that if no measures were taken, everyone's lives would be in danger.

He gritted his teeth, concentrated his mind, and burned his own energy to warm everyone.

He swiftly formed hand seals, and a faint golden light emanated from his body, gradually spreading and enveloping everyone. Under the protection of this golden light, the chill subsided slightly, and their bodies gradually regained some sensation.

"Brother Hao, thank you for your hard work."

Wu Tianzhen said gratefully.

Zhang Hao waved his hand, his face pale, but his forehead was covered in sweat, clearly indicating that maintaining this energy shield was extremely taxing on him.

"Don't relax, everyone. We need to find a way out of here as soon as possible."

Zhang Hao said, panting heavily.

The group continued their arduous journey. The ice was extremely slippery, and they had to move their feet very carefully, afraid of slipping and falling.

On this silent ice field, only their heavy breathing and slow footsteps could be heard.

Even more frightening is that something seems to be frozen in those ice layers, and occasionally a blurry black shadow can be seen flitting by.

"Look, what is that?"

"I can't believe it!" Xie Xiaohua cried out in terror, pointing at a dark shadow that flashed by quickly through the ice.

Everyone immediately stopped and stared nervously at the ice.

A huge black shadow loomed in and out of the ice, its strange shape sending chills down one's spine.

The dark figure seemed to sense everyone's gaze and suddenly rushed towards them at an extremely fast speed.

Everyone was so frightened that they all retreated. Zhang Qilin quickly drew his Black Gold Ancient Blade, ready for battle.

However, just as the shadowy figure was about to hit the ice surface, it suddenly disappeared, leaving everyone in shock.

"What the hell is this?"

The fat man asked, still shaken.

No one could answer his question, and this mysterious shadow cast an even heavier shadow over their hearts.

With trepidation, the group continued their journey through the frigid icy hell, unaware of the terrors and unknowns that awaited them ahead.

After overcoming numerous hardships, the group finally reached the end of the map.

Before me lay a vast underground cavern exuding a primitive, ancient, and indescribably magnificent aura. In the center of the cavern, the outline of an unimaginably enormous altar or ruins could be vaguely seen.

That place seems to be the end of everything—the place where the ancient gods slumber, the core secret of the Kunlun Mountains.

Everyone looked at the scene before them, feeling both excited and nervous.

Excitingly, after overcoming countless hardships, they finally found the legendary place and were about to uncover the secrets of the ancient gods;

What's nerve-wracking is that they don't know what dangers and challenges they might encounter in this mysterious place.

"We're finally here."

Wu Tianzhen said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Be careful, the atmosphere here is strange, and there may be unknown dangers."

Zhang Qilin said warily, gripping the black gold ancient sword tightly with both hands.

Zhang Hao nodded, his expression grave, and said:

"Everyone, be careful and don't approach the altar easily. Observe the surrounding situation first."

The group cautiously entered the underground cavern. The surrounding air seemed to freeze, filled with a suffocating atmosphere.

Their footsteps echoed clearly in the empty cave. As they approached the altar, a strange sense of oppression washed over them, causing their hearts to beat faster involuntarily.

Suddenly, a dazzling light shone from the altar, and everyone quickly covered their eyes with their hands.

After the light disappeared, they saw a huge figure appear on the altar, radiating powerful energy fluctuations that sent chills down their spines.

"What... what is this?"

The fat man cried out in terror.

Before anyone could react, the enormous figure charged toward them at incredible speed.