Lin Tang described the eerie nature of the black shadow, then asked Zhu Yingning if she had ever heard of such a thing.
Zhu Yingning was speechless. Are you serious? Severed fingers can be instantly reattached? Flesh carved from an arm can be stuck back on? It can survive a pierced heart? It's only destroyed after being dismbered into a thousand pieces? Does such an invincible being really exist in this world?!
"I'm telling the truth." Lin Tang was rather exasperated himself. If she hadn't run away and had stayed to witness it, she wouldn't be so skeptical.
Thinking back, when he killed Mu Jiuzhou, the feedback from his sword strike had felt off.
"That old man's body had issues too!" Lin Tang imdiately dashed back to the spot where Mu Jiuzhou had been killed.
Sure enough, the corpse was gone. Even the bloodstains had vanished without a trace.
"This..." Zhu Yingning was astonished.
Lin Tang scanned the area before crouching down and plucking an extrely fine, green mycelium from a crack in the earth. He crushed it between his fingers, causing it to vaporize and release an indescribably strange odor. He followed the scent, tracking it all the way to the box where the black shadow had been hidden.
He opened it.
The inside was now completely empty. The fungal mass that had devoured Mu Jiuzhou's corpse had mysteriously disappeared. Lin Tang's brow furrowed.
「A day later.」
Lin Tang arrived at another burial ground and expertly began to dig.
"Mmph... Mmph..."
Zhu Yingning, bound like a rice dumpling, had been tossed to the side. Watching the scene, her heart felt as if it were being torn apart. The person buried in this grave was her deceased husband—Tang Dingbo's son.
Since the Thousand-Year Huangsun Resin wasn't among Tang Dingbo's wife's burial goods, it stood to reason that it might be in his son's tomb.
"Lin Tang! You bastard! I hate you!" she scread. "Husband, I'm so sorry to disturb your eternal rest..."
Zhu Yingning hadn't batted an eye when Tang Dingbo was brutally killed. She didn't care when her mother-in-law's grave was desecrated. But her late husband was her absolute limit. Yet Lin Tang, completely disregarding her feelings, insisted on committing such a deranged and heartless act.
You could have at least knocked out! How could you make watch this with my own eyes?! Zhu Yingning cursed furiously in her heart.
Then, she froze, utterly stunned by what she saw.
Lin Tang opened the coffin. It was empty.
"Wait a minute, where's my husband?"
Lin Tang was just as surprised. "Could he have faked his death? Found sowhere else to live in anonymity?"
"Impossible!" Zhu Yingning shook her head vehently. "I saw him take his last breath... Besides, why would he give up his position as the young master of the Tang Sect? Is he insane?"
"Maybe he fell out of love with you and resorted to this desperate asure because he was afraid you'd never let him go," Lin Tang speculated, stroking his chin.
"You're full of shit!" Zhu Yingning roared in fury.
"Heh, it seems I've been too lenient with you. Daring to be so insolent already?" Lin Tang chuckled, then grabbed her and tossed her into the empty coffin. "Since you and your husband have such deep feelings for each other, and he's conveniently vacated his spot, you might as well take his place."
He then moved to seal the coffin and fill the grave.
"Ah! No, no, no! I was wrong! Please, Master, spare ..." Zhu Yingning wailed, struggling fiercely.
In the next mont, her head knocked against a hidden button.
BUZZ!
The ground for dozens of ters around the coffin began to tremble. Grooves about ten centiters wide appeared in the earth, forming a strange, complex pattern reminiscent of a talisman, as if drawn with the fluid grace of a dragon. From so unknown source, a large amount of rcury gushed out, flowing through the channels.
"What in the..." Zhu Yingning was dumbfounded. She had been present for her husband's entire funeral, and there were no such chanisms then. Who could have installed all this afterward? And why?
Seeing the rcury about to flood the coffin and drown her, she scread, her face pale with terror, "Master, save !"
Lin Tang yanked her out just as the entire area collapsed, sending a cascade of rock and soil plumting downward. Fortunately, his Qinggong was exceptional. With a light push, he propelled them far away from the danger.
At last, the two of them stood on the edge of a deep, massive pit. A colorless, odorless, yet highly potent poison gas billowed up from its depths, carried on an eerie, cold wind. Anyone else would have been killed instantly, but Lin Tang and Zhu Yingning, both experts in poisons, were unfazed.
As Lin Tang untied Zhu Yingning, he observed the pit below. It was funnel-shaped, with a circular altar at its center covered in a dense network of runes. A humanoid creature covered in green fur lay flat on the altar. Nurous tubes were inserted into its body, their other ends disappearing into the shadows. The altar was surrounded by a pool filled with rcury, the heavy liquid rippling slightly and casting an ancient, mystical aura.
Zhu Yingning stared, her expression one of utter disbelief. Then, her eyes widened and her body began to tremble. She covered her mouth and gasped, "Husband?!"
The green fur on the creature's face writhed and coalesced, gradually forming familiar features. It was the spitting image of her late husband.
He's really not dead? And he's getting up! What kind of monster has he beco?!
Lin Tang's eyes also widened in astonishnt, but he quickly found it amusing. "See? I told you he faked his death to get away from you..."
"How can you laugh at a ti like this? Are you not even a little bit scared?" Zhu Yingning's skin crawled with horror. She felt no joy at seeing her husband alive, only extre terror. The unknown is always the most frightening thing.
Unexpectedly, the humanoid creature shook its head and spoke. "I am not your husband."
"Th-Then who are you?" she stamred.
The green fur on its face shifted again, morphing into the visage of Mu Jiuzhou. "I am your grandfather."
Zhu Yingning was silent.
Lin Tang was silent.
"What, are you surprised?" Mu Jiuzhou spread his arms, a smile on his new face. "From ancient tis, my Mu Clan has dedicated itself to researching the Immortality Technique. But the many secret techniques passed down by our ancestors were all boastful and exaggerated; in practice, they were all disappointing.
"Now, with the rapid developnt of modern biological science, we discovered that combining it with our ancestral secret techniques yields outstanding results! It has greatly extended my lifespan and even provided with several suitable bodies... But it's still not enough to achieve true rejuvenation, true immortality. Do you have any idea how it feels? To have hope so close, yet still be trapped in despair? I refuse to accept it! I don't want to die! I want to live forever!"
His face twisted with an intense, fanatical obsession. He suddenly locked his gaze on Lin Tang, his eyes burning as if he were looking at a priceless treasure. "And then, I t you! Young man, what is that Cultivation Technique you practice? What is that power within you? I can feel it... it's perfect for ! If I can unlock its secrets, I will surely achieve eternal life!
"I was just about to send my n to capture you, but you delivered yourself right to my doorstep. You are mine now, young man. Beco one with ! Hahahaha—"
He laughed maniacally, then leaped toward Lin Tang.
"So you're the one who possessed my husband's body, you old, undying bastard? He's your own grandson! How could you, you despicable old monster?!"
Zhu Yingning hadn't even fully processed this shocking revelation before Lin Tang kicked her, sending her flying far away. In the next instant, he clashed with Mu Jiuzhou.
This Mu Jiuzhou was completely different from the one he had easily cut down with a single strike. He was formidable, no weaker than a Grandmaster! This was the first ti since leaving the mountain that Lin Tang had been forced onto the defensive from the very start of a fight, retreating again and again.
His divine sword, though incredibly sharp, was neutralized by the spreading green fur, which t his blade with a strange softness. The fur entangled his sword endlessly. No matter how many strands he cut, more would take their place in a chaotic ss. He unleashed his normally unstoppable Cultivation True Qi, but Mu Jiuzhou absorbed it like a starving ghost feasting on a banquet. He was like a parched field soaking in the spring rain, becoming more vibrant and full of life.
"Yes, that's it! More! I need more! Give it to ! Let devour you!"
"Fuck off!" Lin Tang roared, his movents becoming more agile, his sword strikes growing ever fiercer.
Zhu Yingning tried to flee again, only to find that several black shadows had appeared, surrounding her and cutting off all escape routes. She looked back at the fight. Even soone as prodigiously talented as Lin Tang, who was unbelievably powerful for his age, was now in a precarious situation.
Zhu Yingning despaired. We're completely finished! Now that I know his great secret, he'll surely kill to silence . He'll probably take my body and turn it into one of those monsters. If I had known it would co to this, why did I endure such humiliation? Calling him 'Master,' letting him sha again and again... I should have just died from the start. The regret was so overwhelming she could have cried herself to death.
Just like that, Lin Tang was plunged into crisis, repeatedly finding himself in perilous situations, only to escape by a hair's breadth each ti. He was like an indomitable cockroach, incredibly resilient. Though clearly at a disadvantage, he was sohow impossible to crush.
Gradually, Mu Jiuzhou grew anxious. After all, he was no longer in his pri. This body, which had belonged to Zhu Yingning's late husband, was young, but it wasn't as compatible as his original one. To put it bluntly, it was a half-finished product. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so much ti hiding on this altar.
Damn it, I can't hold on much longer! Mu Jiuzhou cursed internally. He imdiately ordered the black shadows to join the fight.
"Yes, sir!"
The black shadows sward Lin Tang.
Zhu Yingning started to cover her eyes, unable to watch, but then she saw that Lin Tang's divine sword—which had been ineffective against Mu Jiuzhou—sliced through the black shadows with ease. Their limbs were severed, but they were reattached almost instantly.
Lin Tang wasn't lying. These things are immortal. How can he possibly win?
ROAR—
Lin Tang decisively unleashed his ultimate attack. A dragon-shaped True Qi crashed forward with devastating force, annihilating all the black shadows. The cost, however, was imnse. Lin Tang's form faltered, and he beca severely weakened.
"Now!" Mu Jiuzhou cried out in ecstasy. The green fur all over his body shot out, becoming as hard and sharp as the spines of a sea urchin. They stabbed viciously toward every inch of Lin Tang's body.
Lin Tang had no way to dodge. He was on the brink of death
User Comments
0 comments from readers