No one expected Chuchen to appear in this situation, let alone save that woman.
The woman hid behind Chuchen and pointed at us, saying, "Left Guardian, kill them."
To think that Chuchen was called Left Guardian—could it be that Chuchen was also part of the Cult of Spirits?
Mu Xuanche pointed at Chuchen and said, "Leave the person; you can go."
"We can try to see if I can take the person with me," Chuchen replied with a face full of arrogance.
The two of them clashed again, with Mu Xuanche clearly gaining the upper hand.
With a swift turn, Chuchen was thrown back. He staggered a few steps until he was beside the woman, looking as if he had already been injured.
I stared at Chuchen and asked, "Are you sure you want to save her?"
Chuchen looked at me with a strange expression but eventually nodded.
"Alright. As long as you answer me one question, I'll let you go, and consider it a repayment for your kindness."
He looked at me as if he wanted to say something but ultimately kept silent, giving me a slight nod.
"Are you part of the Cult of Spirits?" I asked him.
"Yes."
After answering my question, he turned and took the woman away. She struggled but was forcibly dragged off by him.
"This debt has been repaid. Next time we meet, I won't hold back."
It was Mu Xuanche, his cold and chilling voice echoing in my ears. I already understood what he meant.
He was right; Chuchen's debt had indeed been settled. He saved my life, and I returned the favor—fair and square. No one owed anyone anything.
I sighed and said to Mu Xuanche, "Let's go. There might still be trouble with Mingyue; we need to check on her quickly."
"There's no time."
Before I could ask him what he meant, the stone door behind us suddenly collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Fortunately, Mu Xuanche pulled me away just in time; otherwise, I would have been crushed by the falling stones.
"What did you do to the stone door?"
I was taken aback by Mu Xuanche's question and mumbled in response, "Just now, she rubbed my blood on the stone door. I don't know what happened."
"That's bad."
A voice came from behind me. I turned around to see my master and the other two.
My master seemed fine, but my senior brother and Mingyue looked a bit disheveled. It seemed they had also gone through a fierce battle just moments ago.
Confused, I asked, "Master, what's wrong?"
The Master explained, "When I entered just now, I sensed something was off. Seeing the Six Ding Six Jia Formation made it clear that we had fallen into a trap. Those six murders were merely to lure us here, to open this great door and release the Evil Spirit inside."
"Damn it, I almost got killed by that Zombie over there, and now there's a Great Ghost in here. What are we going to do now?" Shangguan Mingyue exclaimed in frustration.
"Face the soldiers when they come, and let the water flood the earth," the Master commanded, leading us forward.
The path we came from was already blocked, so we could only hope to find an exit through this Cave.
As we entered the stone door, the surroundings were particularly dark and damp, and the air was thick with an unpleasant odor.
We hadn't walked far when we heard the sound of water ahead.
The senior brother who was scouting ahead ran back and said, "Master, there's a Dark River up ahead."
The Master nodded. "That's right. This is it." He then turned to Mu Xuanche and asked, "Xuan Wang, do you remember him?"
"Of course I do."
The Master continued, "Do you have confidence in getting out?"
Not understanding what they were discussing, I noticed Mu Xuanche glance at me before replying, "Sixty percent."
The Master was somewhat pleased. "Alright, let's go."
When we reached the riverbank, the Master instructed Li Mubai to drag a wooden boat out from a corner. It was unclear how he knew there was a boat here.
The five of us squeezed into the boat, with the eldest disciple at the helm, slowly making our way forward.
We hadn't traveled far when a disgusting stench wafted toward us, causing everyone to cover their noses.
"Look!"
Shangguan Mingyue suddenly shouted, and we turned to see what she was pointing at.
Oh no!
A group of bloated corpses was drifting toward us.
Each corpse was at least twice the size of an average man, their fronts whitened from being soaked in water.
They were clad in armor, making it impossible to tell from which era they came. A horde of ancient corpses!
"Quick, Li Da, hurry up!"
The Master urged Li Mubai to paddle faster, but it was already too late.
The current was too swift; we were going upstream while these corpses floated downstream. In an instant, they collided with us, blocking our path.
One of the corpses was about to collide with the boat, and Li Mubai used a paddle to push it away. However, the body was too large, and Li Mubai could hardly move it.
Seeing that Li Mubai was struggling, Shangguan Mingyue rushed over to help.
With a great effort,
"No!"
By the time the master shouted, it was already too late; the corpse that had been pushed away had split open.
Rustling sounds echoed continuously. Although the noise was not loud, it was particularly unpleasant, sending chills down one’s spine.
I felt an itch on my foot and looked down to see several large black insects crawling up my leg. I reached out and swatted them with Shiro.
As a result, the noise grew tighter and more urgent.
When I looked up again, I saw that the split-open corpse was filled with insects—a massive swarm of at least thousands of them charging toward the boat.
The group tried to fend them off but found themselves overwhelmed. In desperation, the master took action and burned a talisman, summoning a burst of thunder and fire.
Only then did the insects slowly hesitate to approach, and all the ones on the boat were killed.
Although the insects were dealt with, our current predicament remained unresolved.
A body had split open, and so many insects emerged. What about the ones surrounding us?
Dozens of corpses tightly encircled our boat, leaving us with no way out.
Now, Li Mubai didn't dare to move those bodies easily. If one were to split open again, who knew if Master could summon the thunderfire to save us once more?
"Master, what should we do? I feel like I'm going to be sick."
Shangguan Mingyue complained while covering her mouth. As for me, I could hardly hold it in anymore. If I weren't leaning on Mu Xuanche, I would have surely fainted from nausea.
Ugh.
What was happening? My stomach was starting to ache slightly.
Could it be that during the fight earlier, I had disturbed the fetus? Mu Xuanche's lineage must be strong; I hardly felt any signs of pregnancy.
If that were true, it would mean I had harmed this child.
The cramping pain came in waves, and to avoid adding to everyone's burden, I didn't dare to speak up.
I quietly lay in Mu Xuanche's embrace. Even this slight frown was noticed by him.
He reached out and lifted my head so that my face was facing him, asking gently, "What's wrong?"
The cramping in my stomach intensified with each wave. Not daring to hide it any longer, I quietly leaned closer to Mu Xuanche's ear and whispered, "My stomach hurts."
His expression changed, and he seemed a bit nervous as he reached out to touch my stomach.
Then, a cold breath flowed from his hand into my abdomen. The pain began to subside.
"Are you feeling better?"
Seeing him ask, I nodded to reassure him.
His brows furrowed in concern, and a hint of irritation seeped into his tone. "We need to get out of here quickly. The child inside you... the energy here is too strong; it might frighten him."
After saying this to me, he walked ahead and switched places with Li Mubai.
When Master saw his movement, he asked, "Xuan Wang, what are you planning to do?"
His face was dark and grim as he replied ominously, "You go call that old thing out. I'm going to negotiate with him."
"Are you sure?" Master asked again.
"If it were just you and me, we could easily get out with the three of them. Do you think we have any other options?"
Master's expression turned somewhat grim at Mu Xuanche's words; no one wanted their disciple to hold them back.
With no other choice, Master took out a talisman and stood at the bow of the boat, chanting an incantation.
"Five Thunder Three Thousand Generals, Eighty Thousand Thunder Soldiers, come swiftly. Urgent as the law commands."
As the talisman burned to ashes, the bodies that had been surrounded ahead seemed to be pulled away to one side.
They split into two streams, drifting away in an orderly manner from both sides of the ship.
Soon, the calm water surface began to ripple, as if something large was floating towards us.
Everyone around held their breath, their hearts pounding.
The waves grew closer, and before long, we saw an armored corpse drifting towards us.
Unlike the other bodies, this one was standing upright.
Though its eyes were closed, the imposing aura on its face was as if it were alive, instilling fear in those who gazed upon it.
The corpse came to a halt directly in front of the ship, standing still.
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