Ye Xiu followed Old Liu's voice and looked back at the intestinal wall beside him. Indeed, several deep scratches had appeared on it, from which thick streams of blood were surging out, flowing down the intestinal wall until they quickly submerged Old Liu's feet.

"Hiss..." With a long sound and a scorched odor, some white smoke drifted into their sight. Old Liu's shoe seemed to be corroded by a strong acid, burning a hole through it.

"Hurry up and run!" Seeing the danger, Ye Xiu dragged Old Liu and scrambled forward desperately, but the soft, yielding ground of the intestinal wall greatly slowed their pace.

Old Liu, still confused and not grasping the situation, was jerked back and forth by Ye Xiu, naturally feeling indignant. However, when he stopped and looked back at the spot where the scratches had been, it was already engulfed in smoke, and only then did he realize: "That wasn't ordinary acid at all; it was clearly digestive fluid. This intestine is trying to absorb us both."

"Yes, you are absolutely right!" Ye Xiu reluctantly shoved the stagnant Old Liu, his eyes fixed firmly ahead, "Master, think of a solution quickly! Look, our old nemesis is here again!"

Old Liu turned his head, his eyes filled with terror. Appearing before them was a cluster of white eggs, hanging densely and exactly above their path on the intestinal ceiling. Those pristine white objects were unmistakably what he had seen on the neck of the child carrying the Runei Fierce Bird previously. Damn it, what a small world.

"Look, some eggshells are already broken." The situation was extremely critical. Ye Xiu watched as a fierce bird head poked out and roared, "Why are these things here? Could it be that they parasitize a person's body like this?"

Old Liu also looked around while walking ahead of Ye Xiu: "The Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation is indeed venomous; it brought us directly inside a person infected with the Runei Fierce Birds. There's powerful digestive fluid behind us and newly hatched, ravenous fierce birds ahead. There is no option but to fight head-on."

"Fight head-on? Do I have to use my Violet Flame again?" Ye Xiu didn't mind for himself, but his Violet Flame caused significant harm to Old Liu's body. Moreover, the situation here was unclear. While the Violet Flame could eradicate the fierce birds, what about the digestive fluid slowly seeping down?

An idea struck Old Liu. He reached into his waist pouch and produced a seal shaped like a swastika, placing it behind them. As he chanted certain words, the seal instantly emitted a brilliant yellow radiance, separating the intestinal wall into two segments. When some of the digestive fluid lightly touched the edge of the isolated section, thick smoke immediately billowed up. Old Liu felt assured and turned back, saying, "The Qi Dao Shu Swastika Seal can temporarily isolate the digestive fluid. We must break through the fierce birds in this time, or we can only wait to die."

"Then hurry!" Ye Xiu accelerated and rushed ahead, his hands already covered in Violet Flame. He assumed that if it was just ordinary damage, it shouldn't affect his body, but as he reached the first nest of eggs, Ye Xiu realized his assumption was wrong.

"Waa..." The contents of those eggs seemed to sense Ye Xiu's approach. In an instant, a claw shot out and pierced squarely into Ye Xiu's shoulder. At that moment, their heads became visible—long beaks like bayonets and bloodshot eyes oscillating before Ye Xiu.

"The Blood of the Death God is indeed black," Old Liu also saw the wound inflicted by Ye Xiu's fierce bird. He lunged forward, flashing past the fierce bird that had grabbed Ye Xiu. His movements were lightning-fast; with that single sidestep, his Thin Blade sliced across the fierce bird's neck without fail, cleanly severing its head. "Go."

Old Liu's action exhilarated Ye Xiu. As a Death God, Ye Xiu certainly wouldn't be easily outdone by a Daoist. At this moment, he forcefully shook off the claw gripping his shoulder and unleashed the maximum power of the Violet Flame from both hands, blasting towards the flock of birds ahead. Instantly, a clattering shower of black crows fell, clearing a path.

"Rumble..." Simultaneously, inside the intestine behind them, the seal of Old Liu's insignia was breached by the now-magnified flow of digestive fluid. All the acid surged towards Ye Xiu's face like a deluge with the upheaval of the gut.

"Your spell failed so quickly!" Ye Xiu shot Old Liu an annoyed glance, while he himself kept his dual-handed flames firing non-stop at the descending fierce birds, not daring to pause for even a moment. "See those red bud-like things ahead? Just like when we entered, those are the exits."

"Ah, damn it! Your flames don't harm you, but I'm getting scorched!" Old Liu's Thin Blade was fast enough, but it was too short and too small; it could only deal with one fierce bird at a time. Moreover, with Ye Xiu continuously charging and fighting in front with his Violet Flame, sparks inevitably splashed onto Old Liu, leaving him covered in black soot. "You see the exit, why don't you smash it quickly? The digestive fluid behind is about to flood my backside!"

Ye Xiu found Old Liu's miserable state quite amusing, but at this critical juncture, he had to focus all his energy on the red buds ahead. Based on his experience entering the intestine, those things were still just gas; all he needed to do was concentrate his power to break through them. "I can't help it; I still can't control the intensity of the Violet Flame. Be careful yourself."

"Yowch!"

"Boom..." Following Old Liu's shriek and a violent explosion, Ye Xiu dragged Old Liu through the gateway of the red buds. Due to the impact of the blast, both men were thrown heavily onto the ground. Of course, some fierce birds that had been perfectly roasted fell with them, even emitting a faint aroma of barbecue.

"Ptoo! Ptoo!" Old Liu spat saliva while climbing up from the ground. His originally white magic robe was now completely black, and he himself looked like a piece of charcoal. "If I knew I would be burned this badly, I should have just let those beasts bite me a few times; perhaps that wouldn't have been as miserable."

Ye Xiu looked at the corpses of the fierce birds on the ground and spread his hands helplessly. "I'm really sorry. I've only just learned to control this Violet Flame and genuinely didn't know how to moderate it. If you blame anyone, blame the extreme malevolence of the Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation. Even near the formation's core, it nearly killed us, and even our Master almost kicked the bucket."

"You still have the nerve to make light of the situation," Old Liu, despite being somewhat scorched, was still full of vigor. He casually picked up his Thin Blade, about to strike Ye Xiu, when he suddenly stared wide-eyed behind Ye Xiu. "What is this place? Why are there so many black canisters here?"