Chapter 44: Tomb Guardian (Third Session)

Chapter 44: Tomb Guardian Beasts (Part 3)

"Eight of them!" Wu Yu took a deep breath. "Including the two from just now, that makes ten Water Monkey Kings! How on earth were these monsters even born?"

"How are you holding up?" Zhang Qiling asked, looking at Wu Yu with concern.

If he were alone, he could at least run if he couldn't win. But given Wu Yu's current state, it was impossible to tell how much longer he could last.

"We'll just have to risk our lives, what else can we do!" Wu Yu drew a deep breath, retrieved a metal case from his zither box, and opened it to reveal a silver syringe filled with a crimson liquid.

"Gulp, I really want a sip of that!" Fatty blurted out involuntarily.

The moment the liquid was injected into his body, Wu Yu felt a terrifying surge of power erupting and burning within him. The whites of his eyes became bloodshot, as if they were about to burst at any second.

"Brother Qi, go ahead and attack, you don't need to worry about our safety!" With that, Wu Yu leaped onto the zither box, formed hand seals with both hands, and sent nine swords flying simultaneously.

"Kill!"

With a furious shout, Wu Yu directed the nine flying swords straight toward the enemy.

"Holy shit!" Fatty and Tianzhen were left completely speechless at this sight.

Although Wu Yu had previously demonstrated his sword-control abilities, the difference in power between wielding two swords and nine swords was astronomical!

Seeing this, Zhang Qiling did not hesitate and charged forward with his blade drawn as well. He could clearly sense that Wu Yu's current condition was extremely poor.

In particular, that injection of red serum felt deeply sinister to him. If he could, he would have stopped Wu Yu from using it. But the current situation simply did not allow for it.

What the four of them did not know was that, while they were locked in combat with the Water Monkey Kings, a pair of eyes was watching them intently from the darkness somewhere nearby!

Initially confident of victory, the watcher was utterly shocked the next second by Wu Yu's display of nine flying swords moving as one.

"Such immortal-like methods... Wu Yu, just who on earth are you?!"

The figure turned and quickly melted back into the shadows, traversing a series of quiet, secluded corridors before finally pushing open a stone door.

The pitch-black surroundings instantly transformed into a crimson world!

Right in the center of the room grew a bizarre tree made of glowing red crystal, which looked more like a work of art than a living plant.

The branches were tied with bronze bells using red threads, bearing a striking resemblance to the ones found on the bellies of the corpse beetles in King Lu's palace.

Under the reddish glow, the identity of that shadowy figure was revealed—it was none other than A-Ning.

Pulling out her satellite computer, A-Ning quickly established a connection and started a video call. "Boss! I've reached the destination, but I just witnessed Wu Yu's abilities. It's terrifying, he doesn't feel like a mortal at all. Should we still proceed with this plan?"

"Wu Yu is indeed an exceptionally powerful individual, perhaps even surpassing Zhang Qiling!" The foreign old man on the other end was none other than Jiedekao (Crumpley). "But so what if he's strong? If he cannot be of use to us, we must prepare to make an enemy of him. Since he is a strong enemy, we must eliminate him early to prevent future trouble."

"Furthermore, although the Wu family is no longer down to its last scion, those two young fellows have walked themselves into a dead end. As long as Wu Sanxing doesn't want his old Wu family line to die out, then... Oh no, A-Ning..."

Before Jiedekao could finish his sentence, his expression changed drastically. Before he could say another word, A-Ning was suddenly hoisted up by a mass of long hair, and her computer was smashed to pieces.

A female ghost-like entity slowly emerged from the shadows. Unlike others of her kind, her eyes actually carried a hint of playfulness—a sign of genuine sentience!

Though the sound she emitted from her mouth was still the same piercing, eerie shriek, it was entirely clear that she was completely different from the female corpses outside!

Looking at the despairing, struggling A-Ning, the creature grew even more delighted. What they loved most was feeding on that aura of despair and the emotion of terror.

Finally, inching closer and gazing into that terrifying face, A-Ning closed her eyes, intending to end her own life to escape her fate.

Yet at that exact moment, she felt a chill on her lips, and an unprecedented wave of horror flooded her mind. Snapping her eyes open, she discovered that the terrifying entity was actually kissing her!

The Kiss of the Corpse Woman!

Legend had it that only after a female corpse entity kissed a man could they be reincarnated! Therefore, they almost always operated alongside Water Monkey Kings: the monkeys were responsible for killing and eating people, while the entities were responsible for the kiss...

Of course, in the outside world, this was rumored to be water monkeys or water ghosts searching for scape-goats, and as the tale spread wider and wider, it eventually became household knowledge.

The Kiss of the Corpse Woman could drain a person's spirit completely, plunging them instantly into a state of despair, emptiness, and lifelessness. Generally speaking, without a long period of recuperation, recovery was utterly impossible.

Even if one managed to recover, they would spend the rest of their lives haunted by nightmares.

After a long while, their lips parted.

A-Ning was casually tossed aside, and the entity silently drifted away. She seemed completely indifferent to whether A-Ning lived or died. Once her purpose was served and she had extracted what she wanted from her victim, that was enough.

In fact, many people with fragile mental states died on the spot after being drained in this manner by a female corpse entity.

Thus, the cooperation between the corpse entities and the Water Monkey Kings was indeed a devastatingly effective combination.

Left behind after receiving the Kiss of the Corpse Woman, A-Ning became completely dazed, foolish, and half-mad.

As the entity closed the stone door, a draft swept through, causing the wind chimes on the red crystal tree branches to tinkle lightly, while a bloody scent lingered in the room.

Back in the main hall, Wu Yu suddenly sensed an unusual stirring from the zither box at his feet. A second later, little Si Ting poked her head out, swaying her two tiny leaves.

Ever since the battle on the ghost ship, the little thing had become capable of leaving her pot for short periods.

"What are you doing? I'm very busy right now, you know!" Wu Yu murmured softly to Si Ting, who had already crawled up his thigh and into his collar.

"Ah, right, you must be interested in these Water Monkey Kings, right? Don't be polite then—the ones over there killed by Brother Qi are all yours!"

Instantly, Si Ting's two small leaves began to flutter rapidly, and Wu Yu felt a surge of joyful and delighted emotions echoing in his heart, a smile gracing his face.

If Si Ting grew just a bit larger—even without reaching the terrifying heights she attained in the original story—she would still provide him with immense assistance. If he remembered correctly, the region of the Insect Valley was a tropical rainforest!

With Si Ting around, things there would be twice as easy with half the effort!

"What the heck was that?" Tianzhen rubbed his eyes, thinking he had just caught a glimpse of some green light flashing near Wu Yu's neck before it vanished instantly.

While manipulating the nine swords, Wu Yu gauged the effects of the medicinal power coursing through his veins. "Brother Qi, lend me some of your blood!"

Wu Yu shouted. Zhang Qiling did not speak, simply giving a slight nod.

Seizing an opportunity, the nine flying swords flashed past Zhang Qiling, each leaving a shallow cut on him as they passed.

The wounds were not deep, but all nine swords were now stained with the unique blood of the Qilin.

Suddenly, the sword blades blazed with a brilliant radiance, and urged by his internal energy, the sword auras expanded and flickered like ravenous beasts ready to devour their prey.