Bian saw the creatures moving to other smaller tunnels to find a sleeping spot.
Those small tunnels were actually small rooms, providing a safe space for the creatures to sleep.
There were over forty breaching tunnels in the distance, and he didn't know which one to head to.
As he was walking in one direction, he suddenly paused and began walking away from the central tunnels.
"That bat from earlier is following me."
Bian clearly sensed some low-frequency sonar waves bouncing on his body through the Dongxuan Sutra.
It was obviously the echolocation ability of the bat, but he wasn't worried at all.
While he might not have a weapon just yet, he wasn't scared of fighting any ordinary creature one on one.
This was actually a good opportunity to grab some gene points and increase his fitness.
"Bao'er, I need you to be quiet for a little while." Bian urged her, and she readily agreed.
It hadn't even been up to two hours since he evolved, so she wasn't hungry or tired yet.
Bian stopped in his tracks and turned his neck, just in time to dodge the pointed tip of a flying syringe.
The metallic sheen proved it wasn't a force that could be blocked by the body. A reminder for him to take the fight seriously.
He rushed towards the source of the syringe, but there was nothing there but darkness.
Swoosh!
The syringe flew by again, narrowly missing his eye this time.
Bian stood still, understanding that the bat was more cunning than it looked.
It kept its distance, coincidentally avoiding the range of the Dongxuan Sutra and attacked with its geno core.
Still, it was sensing his position using ultra-low-frequency waves.
Bian dodged the syringe and focused his Dongxuan sense on the sonar waves.
The waves came from above his left arm. Some touched him while others carried on, reaching the floor.
"Found you!"
He mentally traced the trajectory of the waves and pinpointed the location of the beast.
He waited for the syringe to strike at him again. Then he swiftly avoided it before sprinting towards the source of the sounds.
He heard a slight panicked screech as the bat left the ceiling and flew in another direction.
Still, it was too late as Bian had already gotten close to the bat, revealing it within the Dongxuan sense.
"It just had to be airborne."
Bian groaned before he summoned the Solum Mirror.
Unlike the cauldron, which was slow and heavy, the Solum Mirror could fly at very fast speeds.
It looked like a rectangular mirror with smoothed corners, making it an octagonal shape.
The entire casing was cast bronze except for the mirror itself, which couldn't reflect much in this dark environment.
'Go attack.'
Bian gave the command, swatting away the syringe, which had gotten too close to him.
The mirror traveled very fast, at least three times faster than the syringe, and smacked the head of the bat.
Bian had already activated the Empirical Will, rushing to the bat, who was falling.
He caught the two-meter bat before it hit the ground and put it into a chokehold.
The syringe came flying towards his head, but the Solum Mirror blocked its attack, barely getting a scratch in the process.
Bian was impressed with the speed and durability of the mirror. It could make for good improv during a fight, just like he used it right now.
He gathered more strength into his arm and snapped the neck of the bat with a sudden movement.
Crack!
Immediately after he snapped the neck, the Solum Mirror floated in front of the bat, and a translucent ethereal fluid flowed from the bat into the mirror.
[Ordinary Creature Dark-Winged Screecher Killed. No Beast Soul Available. Bronze Geno Core Received: Blood-Sucking Syringe. Eat the flesh to gain 0 to 10 ordinary geno points randomly.]
Bian heard the announcement saying that there was no beast soul available.
Instead, a new column had formed in front of the Solum Mirror.
[Bronze Solum Mirror: 1 / 100]
'My beast soul!'
Bian cried out internally.
He was just starting out in the fourth sanctuary. He needed all the beast souls he could get his hands on.
'So the mirror can extract souls and consume them. Then I guess it wasn't a waste after all.'
Although Bian didn't know what would happen once the counter reached a hundred, he knew that the beast soul had ultimately benefited him.
He looked at the body of the bat and turned to face Bao'er.
"Are you hungry?"
She looked at the bat and shook her head vehemently.
Bian released a sigh and stored the mirror and syringe.
He activated Vitality Drain, elongating his claws and drastically speeding up the refinement of his blood.
"Mmhm."
He struggled for a few seconds, trying to puncture the flesh of the bat.
He finally succeeded but was already feeling lightheaded from running Vitality Drain without a source of blood.
His claws went into the body of the bat, rapidly absorbing its blood to strengthen his system.
[Flesh Of Dark-Winged Screecher Eaten. One Ordinary Geno Point Acquired.]
[Flesh Of Dark-Winged Screecher Eaten. One Ordinary Geno Point Acquired.]
...
As the announcements rang out in his head, Bian could feel himself getting stronger.
His bones became tougher, and his muscles could handle more power.
By the time he was done absorbing all the blood from the body, his Ordinary Geno Points had increased to five.
The difference in fitness was definitely qualitative and Bian reasoned that if he fought the bat again, he could snap its neck outrightly, without first weakening it by chocking.
Bian looked at the desiccated body of the bat and thought of a proper way to dispose of it.
When he scanned the area earlier, he had found some tunnels which led to a maze on the outside.
The outside signifying that it wasn't coated with thick metals that could withstand even mutant creatures.
If he kept the body there, then eventually, one of those tunneling zombies might find and consume it.
He summoned the cauldron and tried out an experiment.
He placed the body inside, and once he unsummoned it, the body was unsummoned along with the cauldron.
"That makes things easier."
Bian said as he walked to one of those tunnels that led to a maze outside.
He saw that the lever was broken, preventing people from opening the door, but he had a tool for this peculiar situation at his disposal.
He brought out the geno core of the bat and stuck the needle of the syringe into the corresponding part. Then he pulled down gently, opening the door with a loud sound.
"Damn!"
Bian cursed and hurriedly summoned the cauldron, intending on dropping the bat.
To his surprise, the cauldron was interacting with the desiccated body inside.
A clear stream of a water-like substance flowed from the four walls of the cauldron, forming a spiral at the middle.
The water was not actually water but a mystical power of the cauldron, and it all converged on the body like a tornado.
"Hey, what was that?"
Bian heard a voice from the distance.
He picked up some rocks from the open tunnel, unsummoned the cauldron, and left quickly, narrowly avoiding a lower-class spirit that came to check the area.
Bian went to the only tunnel which was left open. Four wolves, and a little black spider slept in the cramped tunnel.
It looked like the door was left open for the last person, but they wouldn't be returning ever again.
As Bian closed the door, he was relieved that closing it was not as loud as opening it.
It was slightly noticeable in the night, but barely, and most creatures nearby wouldn't be too concerned about it.
They all had the perfect habit of minding their business.
Still, one of the wolves was actually a primitive-tier creature.
Bian didn't think for a moment he could beat a Primitive creature fairly. Especially one with three followers.
He carefully went to the corner, behind all of them, and used the Dongxuan Sutra to mask himself as best as he could.
Then he brought out the five rocks he had grabbed earlier.
He put down Bao'er, who was already getting sleepy, while he focused on the stones in his hand.
The Empirical Decree had been tingling. He felt that he just needed two things to use it.
Here they were.
Bian picked up one of the stones in one hand and another one in his other hand.
He felt the texture of the stone and used the Empirical Decree.