DipNovel Chapter 29 Main Hall
Chapter 29 Main Hall
In the dim light, the monster that had attacked from above was revealed in its entirety. It was massive, covered in bluish-black scales, with bloodshot eyes. Most striking was its right arm, severed at the elbow; though the wound had stopped bleeding, it looked even more gruesome!
Qin Yuan chuckled upon seeing this: "Oh ho! A regular customer! You were quick to escape on the ghost ship, but now you dare to come looking for trouble?" He realized why this beast dared to launch an attack despite Qin Jiu's aura; it turned out he was driven by revenge for the severed arm.
Just as Qin Yuan was confronting the one-armed sea monkey, Wu Xie, Fatty, and Zhang Qiling crawled out of the tunnel behind him.
The one-armed sea monkey's scarlet eyes were fixed on Qin Yuan, a low, hateful roar emanating from its throat. It slammed its hind legs into the ground, poised to pounce on Qin Yuan!
Qin Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he lowered his center of gravity, preparing to counterattack.
However, halfway through its charge, the sea monkey's eyes flashed with cunning. Its massive body twisted into a strange arc halfway through its journey, using its remaining left arm to brace itself against the ground and change direction. Like a black lightning bolt, it pounced straight at Wuxie, who had just regained his footing and hadn't fully grasped the situation!
It was just a feint attack; its target from the beginning was Wuxie, who seemed the easiest to bully!
"Damn it! Why is it me again?!" Wu Xie was terrified when he saw the sea monkey rushing towards him. He cursed and instinctively turned to run. But in his panic, he tripped over a loose stone slab and fell flat on his face!
The fall was incredibly humiliating, but by sheer coincidence, it allowed him to avoid the sea monkey's determined attack! Sharp claws, carrying a foul stench, grazed his back, only managing to tear a hole in his trousers.
The sea monkey's attack missed, but its forward momentum hadn't subsided. The fat man, who had been alertly hiding to the side, reacted quickly, cursing under his breath, "Damn it!" He then forcefully pried a heavy bronze mirror off a frame next to the wall, swung his arm, and smashed it hard against the back of the sea monkey's head!
A muffled thud!
The bronze mirror struck the sea monkey's scaly skull with a resounding thud. Although it didn't cause a fatal injury, it made the monkey's head buzz and left it feeling dizzy.
In pain, the sea monkey immediately abandoned Wuxie, its eyes flashing with ferocity, and turned to charge at the fat man who dared to ambush it!
"Oh my god!" the fat man yelled, threw the broken glasses frame at the sea monkey's face, and turned to find a place to hide.
But the sea monkey was too fast and was about to catch up with the fat man!
Just then, a figure appeared like a ghost – it was Qin Yuan!
He sidestepped the fat man and delivered a fierce side kick, striking the sea monkey in the side waist!
"Bang!"
The kick, imbued with enhanced power, sent the sea monkey, weighing hundreds of pounds, flying into the air in an arc, landing squarely on Zhang Qiling, who had been standing quietly to the side.
The sea monkey was also fierce. It rolled twice on the ground, shook its dizzy head, and its eyes gleamed even more fiercely. It put its limbs on the ground, growled, and was about to pounce again!
However, just as it raised its upper body, Zhang Qiling moved.
He took two running steps, then suddenly leaped into the air, and in the instant he passed over the sea monkey's head, he knelt heavily on both sides of the sea monkey's neck.
The enormous impact force slammed the sea monkey's body, which it had just lifted, back onto the ground!
Zhang Qiling clamped the sea monkey's head tightly between his knees and twisted his waist forcefully.
"Crack—!"
He twisted the sea monkey's head 180 degrees, and the direction its scarlet eyes finally fixed on was its own back!
The sea monkey's massive body convulsed violently a few times before finally collapsing to the ground, motionless.
The entire battle took only a dozen seconds, clean and efficient!
Watching Zhang Qiling's fluid and skillful attack, Qin Yuan couldn't help but whistle and exclaim, "Beautiful!"
Wu Xie, who had just gotten up from the ground and was still in shock, stared in disbelief.
The fat guy was already slapping his thigh, excitedly shouting, "Awesome! So damn handsome! This guy's awesome!"
Zhang Qiling stood up expressionlessly, lightly shook off non-existent dust from his trousers, and glanced at the corpse on the ground, his eyes still indifferent.
Having resolved this unexpected trouble, the group finally had time to carefully examine the main hall of the tomb where they were.
The tomb chamber was much more spacious than the previous "storeroom," and it also had a dome inlaid with apophyllite for lighting. Around the perimeter were some ancient and strangely shaped bronze vessels and stone sculptures, but the most eye-catching feature was the very center of the tomb chamber. There was a huge stone slab there, and on the slab stood a miniature architectural model made entirely of gold.
In front of the highest palace on the model sat a black, shriveled, dried corpse.
Under the special illumination of the star map on the dome, the surrounding walls displayed four holographic projections on the light screens. The images were bizarre and fantastical, seemingly depicting the construction history of this celestial palace.
Wu Xie rubbed his sore knee, his curiosity overcoming the pain, and limped to the wall. He looked up at the projected lights and exclaimed in amazement, "What is this place? Is ancient technology this advanced?"
The fat man, however, was more interested in the stars on the ceiling, rubbing his hands together as he pondered which luminous pearl was the largest and easiest to pry off.
Seeing this, Qin Yuan helplessly covered his forehead: "My dear fat man, wake up, those are fish-eye stones, not luminous pearls. They're plentiful and filling, but worthless! If you're really itching to get your hands on them, we can study them later and see if we can pry off that golden figurine and take it with us." He pointed to the model of the Heavenly Palace on the central stone plate.
The fat man's enthusiasm waned considerably upon hearing that it wasn't worth much, but his eyes lit up again when he heard about the gold figurine, muttering, "Gold? That's worth a fortune..."
Just then, Qin Yuan noticed that Zhang Qiling was not attracted by the golden model in the center or the light and shadow on the wall, but was standing alone in a corner of the tomb chamber, staring blankly at the wall.
There used to be a bronze mirror embedded there, but the fat man had just taken it off in his haste to smash the sea monkey. Now all that's left is a dark, half-person-high hole, deep inside and its destination unknown.
Qin Yuan walked over and stood beside Zhang Qiling, asking in a low voice, "What did you find? Should we go in and take a look?"
Zhang Qiling stared at the cave entrance, his brow furrowed, as if sensing something or weighing his options. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head, his voice low and deep: "The aura is off, very chaotic."
However, just as he finished speaking, a suppressed cry of pain suddenly came from the side! He suddenly clutched his head with both hands, his face showing extreme pain and confusion. His eyes instantly lost focus, as if controlled by something. He made unconscious hoarse sounds, and then rushed towards the hole in the wall that had just appeared without any regard for anything else!
"Tianzhen! What are you doing?!" The fat man, who was closest, was startled. Seeing Wuxie about to plunge headfirst into the unknown black hole, he reacted quickly, rushing forward and grabbing Wuxie's waist tightly from behind. "Stop him! He's possessed!"
Without the fat man even needing to shout, the instant Wu Xie's unusual movements first appeared, Qin Yuan and Zhang Qiling had already darted to his sides like two arrows released from a bow. Each on one side, they gripped Wu Xie's arms like iron clamps, firmly fixing him in place.
Wu Xie was restrained, but his body was still struggling wildly. He let out inhuman growls, his strength was astonishing, his eyes were empty, and he had completely lost his self-awareness.
"Damn it! Let me, Fatty, handle this!" Seeing this, Fatty loosened his grip on Wu Xie's waist, walked around to Wu Xie's front, breathed on his finger, and flicked it hard at Wu Xie's forehead!
"Boom!"
A crisp, loud flick on the forehead!
"Ouch!" Wu Xie winced in pain, gasping sharply. His unfocused eyes instantly sharpened, regaining their clarity. He clutched his forehead, which had instantly swelled up, and looked at the three people surrounding him with a mixture of shock and anger. "What...what are you doing? Fatty, why did you flick me? It hurts so much!"
"What? To save your life!" The fat man pointed irritably at the dark hole. "You were like you were possessed, insisting on crawling into this hole, and I couldn't stop you!"
Looking at the deep cave entrance, Wu Xie recalled the countless chaotic illusions that had suddenly flooded his mind and the strong urge to enter it. He couldn't help but shudder, filled with lingering fear.
Everyone looked at the strange cave entrance and became wary.
"This place is weird, I think we should..." The fat man hesitated and wanted to suggest finding another way out.
However, he hadn't finished speaking...
"Waaaaah..."
A faint sound, like a woman sobbing, suddenly drifted out from the depths of the black hole!
Wu Xie listened intently for a moment, then his expression changed, and he exclaimed, "That voice... it sounds like A Ning?!"
The fat man shook his head vigorously: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! That woman is probably plotting against us somewhere! It's definitely some dirty thing from the tomb mimicking human voices to lure us in! We can't go!"
Wu Xie frowned, a look of struggle on his face. Although he was furious that A Ning had used him as a shield, it was, after all, a human life at stake. "What if... what if it's her? We can't just stand by and watch her die, can we?"
Qin Yuan looked at the black hole from which the crying sound came, then at Wu Xie with a determined expression and the reluctant Fatty, and finally turned his gaze to the silent Zhang Qiling.
Zhang Qiling met Qin Yuan's gaze, then looked at Wu Xie, and finally nodded.
"Let's go," Qin Yuan sighed, adjusted Qin Jiu's position in his arms, and walked towards the cave entrance first. "Whether it's a person or a ghost, we'll have to go in and see for ourselves. Be careful, everyone."