Chapter 526 - 396: Undying Monsters
As soon as the voice echoed, a guard by Chen Minzhi's side leaped forward. With both hands wielding steel swords, they swung down, creating two deep blue arcs of light that flashed like ferocious tigers descending the mountains, and with a swift motion akin to lightning, only the sound of 'chi chi' was heard as the Corpse Snake was severed into two parts, its head detached from its body, spilling yellowish pus-like fluid all over the ground.
"Who allowed you to act!" Hong Mingyue's pretty face turned pale.
Although the Corpse Snake was a Demon Insect, after all, it was transformed from Hong Yuying, making it difficult for Hong Mingyue to take action herself.
"When a Corpse Snake first hatches from its egg, it is at its weakest. After hatching, with each person it devours, its strength increases slightly. Once it has consumed a hundred people, it will transform into a Corpse Dragon, rampaging across the heavens," Ye Lingyue remarked indifferently after glancing at Chen Minzhi's guard.
Chen Minzhi narrowed his eyes slightly and took another look at Ye Lingyue.
Ye Lingyue had once read about such creatures like the Corpse Snake in the Five Poison Treasure Record by the Jade Hand Poison Master.
It was rumored that during its larval stage, a Corpse Snake could disguise itself as an Elixir Pill. Unwary people might mistake the Corpse Snake eggs for Elixir Pills and consume them recklessly, thinking they were taking spiritual medicine to strengthen their bodies, not knowing that they were in fact lethal poison eggs.
Although Ye Lingyue recognized the Corpse Snake, she had never seen one before.
From the swift action of Chen Minzhi in killing the Corpse Snake, it seemed he had recognized the insect eggs early on. Yet, he chose not to warn anyone. This man was indeed very vicious.
"Hong Mingyue, you think I'm cunning? You knew there was something odd about that thing, yet you watched as Yuying swallowed it. After all, she is your half-sister." Hong Mingyue glared at Ye Lingyue, as if the death of Hong Yuying was entirely her fault.
"Heh~ Hong Mingyue, it seems you have forgotten. My surname is Ye, not Hong. Trying to claim kinship now, where were you more than a decade ago? Besides, I had already warned everyone. Hong Yuying chose to ignore the advice and sought her own death. No one else is to blame. If I were you, I'd advise everyone else to drop whatever they have and prioritize saving their lives," Ye Lingyue's lips curved into a sardonic smile.
Everyone's complexion changed. Just like Hong Yuying earlier, they had been eager to snatch up the Elixir Pills, which now rolled out of their hands.
Those who held Martial Arts Stone Carvings, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and Spiritual Artifacts also hesitated.
"Yulang, Grandfather, quickly throw away what you're holding in your hands." Having witnessed the gruesome death of Hong Yuying, Hong Mingyue chose to err on the side of caution.
Compared to Hong Yuying, Hong Yulang was Zhuge Rou's only son, and the sole heir of the third family branch; he could not afford to take any risks.
Hong Yulang hesitated, casting another glance at the stone carving in his hand.
The scene of Hong Yuying's death lingered in his mind. Clenching his teeth, he threw aside the Martial Arts Stone Carving he held.
But just as everyone threw down their possessions, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
The very moment Hong Yulang's stone carving hit the ground,
It burst with a loud 'bang,' turning into a puff of yellow smoke.
From within the smoke, a stone carving monster emerged. Its body was covered with bumps and draped in moss-like spots. With a swing of its limbs, it whipped up a furious gale and seized Hong Yulang's left arm.
Caught by surprise, Hong Yulang turned pale and even forgot to run.
"Let him go!"
Hong Mingyue, as a practitioner of Reincarnation First Path, moved as fast as lightning. A fierce gust collided with the stone carving monster.
Hong Mingyue, already a martial artist of Reincarnation First Path, delivered a palm strike powerful enough to scatter a several-hundred-pound boulder into dust. However, after releasing Hong Yulang, the stone carving monster faced Hong Mingyue head-on, with a rumble akin to thunder echoing during their confrontation.
Hong Mingyue felt a churning in her chest and her arms went numb, her feet instinctively retreated a dozen steps.
The stone carving monster was flung out and fell against the wall, immediately collapsing into a pile of rubble.
Luo Song rushed to save Hong Yulang, who still wore a pale and shocked expression.
Looking around, not only the stone carving dropped by Hong Yulang, but also the treasures held by Zhuge Yi and others, turned into various forms of monsters the moment they hit the ground.
In an instant, numerous were dead or injured. The weaker Martial Artists and Alchemists, unable to even call for help, were torn in half by the monsters.
Although everyone had experienced life and death battles, except for Cong Lv and Sword Slave who had been on the frontline, it was their first time witnessing such a bloody and brutal scene.
Those of fainter heart, like Princess Qing Bi, were already terrified and looked like they might faint at any moment.
Ye Lingyue and others, who had not entered the Dark Pavilion and were protected by Sword Slave and Cong Lv, were not attacked by the monsters.
After saving Hong Yulang, Hong Mingyue felt a surge of blood and internally remarked on the astonishing strength of the stone carving monster; it was far more formidable than the Sixth and Seventh Rank Spiritual Beasts of the mainland.
Just as she was about to circulate her Qi to stabilize herself, she suddenly saw the stone carving monster, which she had shattered into rubble, start to move again.
The broken pieces of rubble stuck together piece by piece—legs, body, and head—it was as if it had come back to life.
Hong Mingyue and Luo Song also felt their hearts trembling with fear.
Strong as they were, facing such undying, incessant monsters, they would eventually reach the limits of their strength.
Looking at the other slain monsters, they too were the same; after being crushed, they regenerated with astonishing recovery speed.
It brought to mind what Ye Lingyue had warned everyone earlier about not touching anything – a piece of advice that now seemed extremely wise.
More and more monsters emerged from the four Dark Pavilions.
Even Chen Minzhi and others, who had earlier been relaxed, had changed their expressions.
"Feng Xun, have you noticed anything?" Cong Lv, who knew Feng Xun was well-versed in arrays, asked.
The arrangement of this stone chamber was unusual and seemed to incorporate some formidable Array.
After assigning Sword Slave to protect Ye Lingyue, Feng Xun had been silent, but his gaze kept shifting towards various parts of the chamber, indicating he had realized something.
"Everyone, we must assign four people to shut down the four mechanisms. If I'm not mistaken, this is an Immortal Array. The mechanisms you opened earlier have triggered this Array. Everything must be restored to its original state to break the Array. Remember, the four Dark Pavilions must be closed simultaneously," said Feng Xun, to which the others reacted with skepticism.
Ignoring the impression of Feng Xun as a frail, sickly Prince with no significant abilities,
Those switches that had previously opened the Dark Pavilions were now surrounded by layers of monsters.
At this moment, everyone was struggling to survive; no one wanted to recklessly provoke these monsters, risking being torn apart and ending up dismembered.
For a while, nobody made a move, and the monsters in the stone chamber once again began to stir.