How has the rift grown this large already?

If it expands a couple more circles, it will match the size during the Demon Tide.

Speaking of which, the rift suppressed by the Slime has also enlarged considerably; originally the size of a fist, it has now expanded by half. Fortunately, the two-color Slime is quite large, and can block it for quite some time.

Lin Jun is worried that one trouble won't be resolved before another arises, eventually turning the entire Deep Area into some kind of chaotic competition, where there isn't a winner at the end.

The cavern where the Chis Rift is located is only three connected caverns away from the former Snake Cave, now known as Puki Fortress, precisely at a delicate alert distance.

In fact, since the last setback in the Snake Cave, the Chis have been avoiding the areas where the Fungal Mat spreads, seemingly wary of the Puki.

But Lin Jun still managed to locate them using the scout Puki.

The search was easier than expected; the caverns cleared by the Chis were almost too "clean."

That kind of near-pillage clearing left not just life extinct, but even moss and lichens swept away, leaving only bare, lifeless rocks.

Following the emptied caverns, Lin Jun discovered the location of the rift within a few days.

After scout Puki No.1 was killed and sacrificed, Lin Jun immediately dispatched No.2 and No.3 to conduct a circular reconnaissance around the rift area.

The feedback was simple: the Chis are conducting a large-scale, bloodthirsty hunt in the Deep Area.

They are like tireless butchers, sweeping the dark underground.

Flesh, plants, even Demon Crystals, were being collected and brought back to their lair.

Lin Jun even discovered their "supply wagon"—a type of demon known as the [Chis-Clumsy Beast].

This creature has eight short and sturdy legs covered in tough calluses, supporting its heavy yet exceptionally stable body.

Its most striking feature is its enormous pouch that almost drags on the ground, producing a dull growl as it slowly moves.

Its head resembles an oversized vacuum cleaner; as its huge mouth opens and closes, accompanied by a low "woo-voom" sound, everything from scattered minced meat, broken shells to nutrient-covered soil and rocks on the ground, is sucked in forcefully.

Once their pouches are filled, they turn around and slowly crawl back to the depths of the rift.

Every group of Clumsy Beasts is accompanied by a guard species, clearly because these "transport vehicles" lack self-defense capabilities.

Lin Jun's expansion spreads life and order in the caverns.

Each conquered cavern becomes a vibrant fungal mat kingdom, adorned with mushrooms, with Puki bustling around, forming a self-sufficient ecological node.

However, the malicious Chis clan is different; they only know destructive plunder.

They don't seem to intend to move their lair out; they just want to pillage resources around the rift.

Of course, not every cavern attracts them; those with powerful demons are bypassed, high-temperature caverns with lava are bypassed, and those with Fungal Mats are now bypassed...

Even the pressure from wild demon invasions on Lin Jun's first few caverns has notably decreased due to their clearing activities.

Honestly, if they were a bit further, like seven or eight caverns away, Lin Jun wouldn't bother with them.

Considering logistic problems, their operational radius is limited.

But a mere three-cavern distance obviously falls within the threat of being ambushed at any time.

Yet, stuffing them back into the rift is evidently not easy.

Not to mention whether they can be beaten, just the low temperatures near the rift are beyond the Puki's tolerance.

After digesting the last batch of Beetles, Lin Jun's [Cold Resistance] has finally reached Level 5, allowing activities nearby but the status isn't ideal.

In Lin Jun's view, this resistance must reach Level 6 or even Level 7 to make the Puki immune to the severe cold within.

The path to upgrading [Cold Resistance] naturally falls onto these Chis emerging from the rift...

The Fungal Mat has already started spreading towards the Chis direction, inside and out, with the "inside" naturally being the Drilling Puki advancing while dispersing spores along the network.

Since it's far from the decisive stage, and the expedition cannot be affected by the Chis, it would be counterproductive, thus Lin Jun only has a Puki capacity of about six hundred.

Under non-saturated combat power, Lin Jun naturally targeted the relatively weak "supply units"...

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Within a cavern full of large nets, some agile, reptile-like Chis were severing the connection points of the webs and the rock walls with sharp blades.

Once severed, the web would drop along with the prey remains on it, eaten by the dozen Clumsy Beasts below.

As for the owner of these webs, they had already been killed by the Chis assault team a day ago.

A football-sized Eye Worm floated in the center of the cavern, continuously spinning to scan the surroundings.

At a certain moment, its half-closed eye suddenly opened, quietly signaling throughout the cavern and extending far beyond.

It saw the Puki coming!

All Clumsy Beasts halted their feeding and began running towards the rift, albeit slowly even at full speed.

Meanwhile, the guarding demons charged in the opposite direction, attempting to secure advantageous terrain near the passage entrance.

Past experience taught them that Puki's range is powerful; they must engage in melee in corners and cover positions at the passage entrance.

Unfortunately, Puki were even faster.

A dozen scaled and balled-up Puki charged out first, diving into the Chis, and "boom," exploded seamlessly without a pause.

The explosion shot the scales off the Puki around like fragments from a grenade, piercing many Chis—alive but rendered useless for combat.

The massive damage momentarily halted the Chis' charge; they tried to slightly spread out the formation instead of maintaining such a dense setup.

If not, even without those ranged Puki, a few more rounds of self-destructing Puki would annihilate this guard team completely.

While it was reorganizing its formation, Lin Jun wouldn't wait for it.

The Puki promptly claimed firing positions, subjecting these Chis to a barrage of cannon fire.

The few remaining Chis guards didn't survive after three rounds of mushroom cannons.

Now, the Clumsy Beasts hadn't even made it from the cavern to the passageway, completely like lambs to the slaughter.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, the Eye Worm in the sky tried to escape.

Its form blurred and vanished from sight.

But with Lin Jun's dual vision of [Magic Perception] and [Sound Wave Detection], its position was clear-cut.

Though the Eye Worm is high in the air, hard for the Puki to hit, a few bats among them quickly chased after it, jetting upwards.

Even with half losing control, swirling crazily in the air, four managed to catch up to the Eye Worm using [Wake Jet].

With four explosions, the shattered body of the Eye Worm fell amidst the sky-high fungal threads.

This bug, despite being over Level 30, has pitifully low blood volume, unable to withstand the self-destruct of two Puki, let alone four.

After resolving the Eye Worm, the dozen Clumsy Beasts below suddenly panicked, huddling together trembling, as the Puki boldly approached.

However, in the feedback of [Sound Wave Detection], a big creature from the home of the Chis is coming over.

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