Jade Shura was stunned by Bao Gu’s muttering, her lips slightly parted and unable to close for a long time. She thought Bao Gu was looking for a way out, but unexpectedly, she was digging up the dragon’s spine! To still be thinking about digging up dragon bones at a time like this, this courage was truly extraordinary!
Yu Mi’s eyes were also filled with confusion. They had already dug down to the ribs, and even pulled out the ribs completely, but there was no sign of the spine. She asked, “Could it be that someone deliberately arranged the ribs neatly here and took the spine for some other purpose?”
Jade Shura asked, “Are you… still going to keep digging?” Just for Bao Gu’s courage alone, she was in awe.
Bao Gu ignored Jade Shura, lost in thought as she pieced together all the information about this eerie place, then resolutely gritted her teeth and shouted, “Keep digging!”
Jade Shura exclaimed, “Aren’t you afraid of digging up something deadly?”
Bao Gu glanced at Jade Shura and asked, “If we don’t dig, are we just going to sit here and wait to die? Digging to the sides will lead to those strange living caves, digging upwards will bury us in the flowing corpse fluid, only digging downwards is the safest.” As she spoke, her hands never stopped digging.
Jade Shura said, “If you can think of it, wouldn’t the person who built this place have thought of it too? Wouldn’t they have set traps below?”
Bao Gu glanced at Jade Shura, gave a forced smile, and turned to Yu Mi, saying, “Senior Sister, keep digging.”
The corpse mist here was getting thicker, continuously corroding the protective treasure Jade Shura had activated. The light shield of her protective treasure was getting weaker, and the spiritual energy contained in the treasure was being consumed at an alarming rate. This place was filled with death energy with no spiritual energy to absorb. At this rate, her protective treasure would be completely exhausted in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, exposing her to the corrosive corpse poison. Jade Shura couldn’t help but feel a bit scared. She asked, “Bao Gu, can we really get out of here?” Perhaps Bao Gu’s calmness and confidence influenced her, making her feel a glimmer of hope despite knowing it was unlikely.
Another incense stick’s time passed, and Jade Shura’s protective treasure was completely exhausted. She painfully took out another protective treasure and activated it. This treasure was depleting even faster than the previous one. The corpse mist here was so thick that she could barely see or sense Bao Gu and Yu Mi, who were right next to her. No matter how many treasures she had, she couldn’t withstand this rate of destruction, with one treasure being ruined in less than an incense stick’s time! Each of her treasures was either painstakingly obtained from her master or earned through her own hard work. Losing these treasures was heartbreaking, and if they were all destroyed, her life would be in grave danger. She could no longer remain calm and asked, “Is there anything I can help with? Are you two okay?”
Yu Mi remained silent.
Bao Gu responded, “We’re fine. Your voice is trembling, are you scared?”
Jade Shura retorted, “Aren’t you scared?”
Bao Gu said, “No matter what, I have to get my senior sister out of here alive. I won’t let her die here.” As she spoke, she took another swig of monkey wine, glanced at the mountain of solidified corpse fluid in her oversized storage bag, and sighed.
Suddenly, Yu Mi spoke up, “Bao Gu!”
Bao Gu heard Yu Mi’s call and saw a treasure light flashing at the bottom of the deep pit, leaving her stunned.
Jade Shura exclaimed, “Is there really a treasure? It looks like a bead, could it be the dragon’s inner core?”
Bao Gu stared blankly at the flashing treasure light at the bottom of the pit, scratching her head in confusion, muttering, “Why isn’t it the dragon’s spine?”
Yu Mi also found it hard to believe. How could there be treasure light under this corpse wall? She said, “Bao Gu, release Ling’er.”
Bao Gu responded with an “Hmm,” summoned the little Celestial Fox that was drinking monkey wine in the blood oath token, and said, “Ling’er, take a look at what’s at the bottom of the pit.”
The little Celestial Fox looked around in shock, its fox eyes widening to the size of cow eyes. It then looked down at the pit, its fur standing on end, frozen in place, not knowing what to do.
Yu Mi asked, “What’s wrong?”
The little Celestial Fox said, “Remember the bloodsucker? It’s absorbing it!” It raised its fox paw and pointed down, saying, “It’s absorbing it!”
Bao Gu and Yu Mi exchanged a glance, then focused their attention on the little Celestial Fox. Bao Gu asked, “What is it?”
The little Celestial Fox cried out, “See for yourself!” It let out a wail and retreated into the blood oath token at the fastest speed, practically fleeing in panic.
Bao Gu, Yu Mi, and Jade Shura all felt a sense of foreboding: they had definitely dug up something terrifying.
Suddenly, a faint “thump” sounded from the bottom of the pit. The sound was so subtle, yet it scared the three of them, who were already on edge. They looked at each other, hoping to see denial in each other’s eyes, but instead saw fear.
Then came a second “thump,” slightly louder than the first.
“Thump!” The third sound was clearly audible.
“Thump thump—thump thump—” It sounded as if something had come to life, the “thump thump” growing louder, like a weak heart slowly regaining strength.
As the sound grew clearer, the treasure light slowly rose, seemingly approaching the three of them.
Yu Mi and Jade Shura, terrified, instantly vanished into the void.
Seeing her senior sister and Jade Shura disappear, Bao Gu also wanted to retreat into the void. Suddenly, she remembered that if this thing had absorbed so much blood over the years, who knew what terrifying existence it had become? Even if they hid in the void, they might be forced out! If she stayed outside, she could at least shield her senior sister. She quickly rummaged through her oversized storage bag for anything that could be used in a fight, soon clutching the last few Nascent Soul-level talismans in her hand.
The sound grew closer, and the treasure light drew nearer.
Each “thump” felt like a heavy drumbeat on Bao Gu’s heart. As the sound grew louder and closer, Bao Gu felt her heart being jolted with each beat, causing a dull pain.
As it rose, the surrounding corpse mist gradually dissipated.
Bao Gu finally saw what was rising!
It was a fist-sized, glowing heart. Clearly, the bead and treasure light they had seen earlier were emanating from it.
The heart looked like it was made of blood amber, bright red and translucent, with blood flowing inside. As it rose, Bao Gu saw a blood vessel extending downward.
Bao Gu would bet her head that there was something else at the bottom of the pit.
The heart was very close to her now, each beat seemingly causing internal injuries, making her heart tremble. She felt a surge of blood and a metallic taste in her throat. Fearing that the blood would alert the heart, she tightly pressed her lips together, forcing the blood back down. She knew that anything nurtured by such a large blood-sucking formation wouldn’t be good! If they waited any longer, they would have no chance of survival. She glanced at the void where Yu Mi had disappeared, then suddenly charged towards the bottom of the pit on her flying sword, shouting, “Senior Sister, if you get a chance, escape!” She then swung her Golden Core-level sword with all her might at the blood vessel connected to the heart.
A sharp, piercing scream echoed around them.
The heart, which had been slowly rising, twisted in the air, spraying blood from the severed vessel. Bao Gu clearly saw a faint golden sheen in the blood. She remembered that the blood of the Duobao Spirit Monkey had this sheen, known as divine blood.
The heart twisted and lunged towards Bao Gu.
Bao Gu activated her battle technique, gripping her dual swords tightly and slashing at the heart.
Yu Mi suddenly appeared beside the heart, raising her Lihuo Sword and slashing at it! The Lihuo Sword struck the heart, only making a small cut, but the Lihuo on the sword ignited it, and the fire quickly spread.
Jade Shura also appeared, stabbing her curved blade into the heart, but only managed to pierce the tip.
The heart-wrenching scream echoed around them, causing Bao Gu, Yu Mi, and Jade Shura unbearable pain, as if their eardrums were about to burst and their heads were being pierced by steel needles.
Blood seeped from their eyes, ears, and noses.
The burning heart fell.
The scream gradually weakened.
Bao Gu felt her vision darken, even her flying sword wobbled. The scream weakened after a few more cries, otherwise, it would have killed her.
Bao Gu, holding on to her last bit of strength, took a big gulp of monkey wine. The medicinal and spiritual properties of the wine flowed through her body, bringing her back to her senses.
Before she could catch her breath, she heard movement from the bottom of the pit. The distance was too far for her to sense what was happening below, so she quickly looked at Yu Mi and Jade Shura’s reactions, only to see them both glance at her before vanishing into the void. Clearly, they had heard something and went to investigate!
Bao Gu, worried about her senior sister’s safety, didn’t want to be left behind. She rode her flying sword downwards at the fastest speed.
The distance of a few meters was covered in an instant!
As she passed through the darkness, her surroundings suddenly brightened!
Since entering this corpse mountain, Bao Gu had been relying on night vision and spiritual sense to see. The sudden brightness was almost blinding. She closed her eyes to adjust, but her spiritual sense had already scanned the surroundings.
It was a cave, with walls identical to those above. The only difference was that many small tubes extended from the walls to the center of the cave, forming a ball, with a person? A skeleton? lying on top.
It was clearly a skeleton, but there were some muscle tissues and organs in the chest cavity.
Bao Gu could clearly feel that the skeleton was alive and watching her. Her gaze fell on the long tube hanging from the skeleton’s chest cavity, and she glanced at the heart, now reduced to a few remaining flames, not far away. She forced herself to stay calm and said, “Greetings, senior!”
The skeleton’s eye sockets suddenly lit up with two flame-like lights, reflecting Bao Gu’s image. The tubes embedded in the walls pulsed violently, as if liquid was rapidly flowing towards the central ball.
Bao Gu’s heart skipped a beat, thinking, “Could those be eyes? Or ghost fire? And is that liquid corpse fluid?” Whatever it was, she knew a major change was imminent.
Yu Mi’s voice suddenly rang out, “Be careful!” She appeared around Bao Gu, the firelight from her Lihuo Sword enveloping them. She shouted, “This is an old ghost that has cultivated for tens of thousands of years! The skeleton has grown flesh!”
Bao Gu was so scared her liver trembled. She quickly handed the Nascent Soul talismans to Yu Mi, shouting, “Senior Sister, you handle the talismans this time!”
Yu Mi slashed through the firelight, throwing all the Nascent Soul talismans at the skeleton, then grabbed Bao Gu and flew towards the top of the pit.
Bao Gu closed her eyes and shouted, “My Nascent Soul talismans, they’re all gone!”
Jade Shura’s voice suddenly rang out, “Run!” She emerged from the void and fled towards the top of the cave.
Bao Gu shouted, “What’s going on…?” Before she could finish, her ears were filled with a buzzing sound, and her ears were ringing. She felt a blinding white light beneath her feet, with lightning flashing, turning into a sea of lightning. She even felt herself being electrocuted… Judging by the power, could it be a Divine Transformation talisman?
A long, sharp cry suddenly echoed from the bottom of the pit, a sound Bao Gu had never heard before, but it gave her a sense of overwhelming power.
Bao Gu, in a daze, thought, “It must be an illusion! My ears are ringing, how could I hear this sound?” Suddenly, she clearly sensed a shadow emerging from the sea of lightning, a shadow that twisted like a dragon, but with claws and horns! Though it was just a shadow, Bao Gu immediately recognized it as a flood dragon!
The flood dragon circled in the air and then dove towards the sea of lightning at the bottom of the pit!
Bao Gu immediately thought, “Is this the flood dragon’s soul making a final attempt to revive?” As the thought crossed her mind, the flood dragon shadow had already entered the ball of tubes and disappeared, revealing the dragon’s spine she had been searching for!
A long dragon spine, with claws and a head, broke through the sea of lightning, but seemed unable to escape the lightning’s grasp, struggling and writhing in the lightning—
Bao Gu felt her understanding of the world shatter! “Father, can someone tell me what’s going on? Why is a flood dragon that died who knows how many years ago, with its bones scattered, still rolling in the lightning?”
The sea of lightning and the dragon’s skeleton moved out of her spiritual sense range, making it impossible to see the bottom of the pit. Her eyes were filled with white light, and her spiritual sense detected her senior sister tightly holding her. Bao Gu said, “Senior Sister, you really care about me, don’t you?” She couldn’t hear her own voice, so she shouted, “Senior Sister, am I deaf?” She touched her ears and found sticky liquid, then saw blood on her hand. Bao Gu was stunned!
