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"Kill them!" Ning Yuzhou said calmly to the others.

Since Shi Wuming was trapped in the nest of leeches, the swarm, like wolves that had caught the scent of blood, surrounded him, making it convenient for the others to attack.

Without a word, Wen Qiao grabbed a spiritual dagger and began slashing at the mutated leeches.

Both Su Molan and Pei Qiyu acted decisively, quickly moving to help. The hundred razor-thin flying blades controlled by Pei Qiyu were even more lethal, and soon, countless mutated leech corpses floated around.

As the number of leech corpses decreased, Shi Wuming’s figure was finally revealed.

Shi Wuming looked as though his soul had fled, his eyes fixed and unfocused, clearly not himself.

However, seeing that not a single wound was left on him after the mutated leeches had bitten him, and that their mandibles had even been shattered, they realized that apart from the fright, he was completely unharmed.

It appeared the mutated leeches' mandibles were equally ineffective against him.

By the time they had killed all the mutated leeches, the water in the passage also receded, carrying away the corpses of the mutated leeches, leaving the area completely dry.

Shi Wuming finally snapped out of it, feeling deep sorrow and anger. He pointed at Ning Yuzhou and was about to speak when a spiritual pill was flicked at him, nearly making him choke.

Pei Qiyu retracted his flying blades, walked over, and patted him on the shoulder, sighing with emotion, "I misjudged you before. I didn’t expect you to be so useful."

Having someone with a strong physique who couldn’t be injured no matter how much they were thrown around was truly a blessing for them. Whenever they faced any challenging situation, they could just push him to the front, use him as bait, and there would be no difficulty they couldn’t overcome.

Truly, Shi Wuming was incredibly useful!

Shi Wuming swallowed the spiritual pill and ignored him, silently hugging his knees and squatting in a corner.

Seeing that he had contributed quite a bit earlier, Wen Qiao, uncharacteristically, gently comforted him, "Brother Shi, don’t take it too seriously. None of us have your kind of strong physique. At times like this, it has to be you. You’ve helped us a lot."

Shi Wuming looked up at her expressionlessly.

Wen Qiao affirmed, "Look, because of you, we’ve passed this challenge again! Brother Shi, you’re quite formidable."

That sweet and soft call of "Brother Shi" was something no normal man could resist.

Shi Wuming felt a wave of pleasure and finally perked up, saying happily, "Little sister Qiao is right! As an older brother, it’s only natural to help my younger sister with her troubles! Don’t worry, if we face the same situation again, I’ll step up."

Ning Yuzhou glanced at him with narrowed eyes.

Then Shi Wuming complained to Ning Yuzhou, "Brother Ning, I can deal with water plants and stones, but next time we encounter bugs, please find another way. I hate bugs the most!"

"Oh, I got it."

Ning Yuzhou responded casually, not seeming to care, which left Shi Wuming feeling frustrated.

After experiencing the stones and water, everyone also grasped the situation in the maze.

"There are likely trials set up at various points in the maze. The stones and water from earlier were part of these trials. There should be other trials ahead," Ning Yuzhou speculated. "As long as we pass them smoothly, we can leave the maze without issue."

Pei Qiyu couldn’t help but laugh, "Yes, with our expert at overcoming challenges here, there’s no problem." He then patted Shi Wuming on the shoulder sincerely and said, "Brother Shi, we’ll count on you next."

"Get lost!"

Amid the jokes, everyone knew deep down that it was probably as Ning Yuzhou had guessed.

Sure enough, they soon encountered a fire formation next.

Flames erupted everywhere, blocking the entire passage, and the traces of strange fire within the flames made it clear that this was no ordinary fire.

When he saw the flames spreading towards them, Shi Wuming warily eyed Ning Yuzhou, afraid that Ning Yuzhou would kick him into the fire to test the flames once more.

Although his body was strong enough to resist damage, being burned by the strange flames would still cause immense pain.

Ning Yuzhou glanced at him lightly and took out a crimson fire stone, which exuded the power of the heaven-and-earth strange flames, specifically the Heart of Earth Flame.

Thanks to the Pure Water Lotus Seed, Ning Yuzhou had already refined and absorbed the Heart of Earth Flame. Although he hadn't completely subdued it, he could already command it. Even if he couldn't fully unleash its power, it was sufficient for his needs.

He threw the fire stone into the flames.

The Heart of Earth Flame was instantly released from the stone, rapidly devouring the surrounding flames.

Strange flames can consume each other. The maze's flames possessed the power of strange flames but were likely recent transformations, so they were weaker compared to the mature Heart of Earth Flame. Under its consuming power, the flames quickly died out, leaving only a few sparks that the Heart of Earth Flame ignored.

Su Molan slashed out with her sword, and the sparks instantly vanished.

"Wow, amazing!" Shi Wuming said excitedly, "Isn't this much better? No need to push me out as bait anymore, right?"

Wen Qiao said with a smile, "You're absolutely right, Brother Shi."

Hearing that "Brother Shi" again made him feel utterly refreshed, as if he had just drunk ice water on a scorching day, feeling invigorated.

Su Molan and Pei Qiyu looked at him with pity. Was he getting too confident? There was still more for him to endure.

Sure enough, they soon encountered another trap—an arrow array, followed by blade traps.

Each time, no matter how cautious Shi Wuming was, Ning Yuzhou would kick him out as bait, allowing them to seize the opportunity to break through the traps.

After several instances, though Shi Wuming seemed unharmed, the high-grade robe from the Soul Hall he wore became tattered.

Shi Wuming had no choice but to change his clothes and complained to Ning Yuzhou, "Can you stop kicking me out as bait every time? Can I at least catch my breath?"

"Sure," Ning Yuzhou was very generous, "Next time, I won't kick you."

Shi Wuming immediately brightened up, still quite trusting of Ning Yuzhou's character.

Until they turned a corner into a passage and encountered a group of puppet statues attacking them. This time, Ning Yuzhou didn’t kick Shi Wuming out.