Chapter 300

Chapter 299

Wen Guangun silently gazed at the ghastly pale face in the lake for a moment before tugging on the Thousand Silk Vine.

The vine was tightly clutched by a hand and could not be pulled free. With no other choice, she decided to repeat her previous trick and prepare to reel in the corpse that had conveniently come within reach.

However, just as she was about to do so, the hand released the vine, and both the corpse and the gourd-shaped spirit artifact vanished together.

Ning Yuzhou, Pei Qiyu, and Su Molan also witnessed this scene, their faces showing surprise.

"Could it be that the corpse doesn't want you to take the gourd spirit artifact?" Pei Qiyu pondered, his expression changing slightly. "Could these corpses still have consciousness?"

"That's impossible; they show no signs of life," Su Molan replied, then whispered to the invisible Su Xing, "Su Xing, have you found anything?"

Ever since encountering Baili Chi and his group, Su Xing had resumed its invisibility, occasionally retreating into its body to sleep, making its presence undetectable.

However, if they asked something, it would respond as long as it was awake.

Sure enough, a faint voice came through: "There is something in the lake."

"What is it?" Wen Guangun asked.

"I don't know. I can sense it, but I don't know what it is."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze toward Corpse Lake.

At this moment, the boat was surrounded by floating corpses in the lake. Under the ghostly pale moonlight, corpses were everywhere, though their eyes were closed and showed no sign of life, the scene was still particularly eerie.

Even cultivators felt some trepidation at this sight.

A loud explosion echoed, water splashed everywhere, and various fragments and corpses surged toward the boat along with the burst of water.

The corpses' eyes remained closed, but as they emerged from the water, their bodies moved, attacking the boat.

The skeletons quickly engaged in battle, striking down the vicious corpses that had rushed out of the lake and sending them back into the water.

Wen Guangun and the others did not join the fight; they still intended to fish for corpses and spirit artifacts. Since they had already fished one corpse that remained intact in the storage bag, it proved that not all corpses attacked—there must be some pattern, and if they could grasp it, they could avoid the dangers of Corpse Lake.

The four people, along with two beast companions, hid to the side, taking advantage of the chaos to observe the situation in the lake.

Clearly, the skeletons had experience dealing with the vicious corpses' attacks. Although the situation was urgent, they held their positions, blocking the attacks and ensuring the safety of the passengers in the cabin.

However, some unfortunate skeletons, positioned too close to the windows, were thrown out of the boat whenever it was violently shaken by the vicious corpses' attacks, and before they could struggle, they were dragged into the lake by the agile corpses.

At this point, they noticed that while the vicious corpses in the lake attacked the boat, they did not board it. As long as they could withstand the attacks, there was nothing to fear.

Wen Guangun, with her keen eyesight, spotted a complete spirit artifact among the floating debris in the lake. The Thousand Silk Vine shot out and returned with the item Wen Guangun had targeted.

This time, no corpse obstructed her.

Wen Guangun happily grabbed the item, and when the others looked over, they saw a translucent green multifunctional bracelet, which was also a King-level spirit artifact. One ring could split into hundreds, making it an extremely powerful weapon.

Holding the bracelet in her hand, Wen Guangun glanced at Ning Yuzhou and Pei Qiyu.

Pei Qiyu quickly said, "No need to give it to me; I'm a man and don't need such things."

Since he didn't need it, neither did her husband.

So Wen Guangun put it away and continued to wait, ready to pick up more items.

Seeing her actions, Pei Qiyu and Su Molan felt a sense of unreality.

They knew these two were very powerful and couldn't be judged by normal standards, but to be able to fish for magical treasures in Corpse Lake and catch King-level spirit artifacts at will was truly extraordinary.

What was going through this girl's mind? How could she think of fishing for corpses and spirit artifacts in Corpse Lake?

Next, they watched as Wen Guangun fished out several more spirit artifacts, all King-level: a long trident, an ebony box, a Phantom Sound Bell, and a Fire Cloud Square Heaven Seal.

"How can there be so many King-level spirit artifacts in this lake?" Su Molan said incredulously.

If finding the spirit sword and bracelet earlier could be attributed to luck, now they realized that these spirit artifacts must have been the weapons used by the vicious corpses in life, and their weapons were at least King-level spirit artifacts.

This suggested that the corpses in the lake must have belonged to individuals of considerable status in life.

Pei Qiyu mused, "No wonder those cultivators want to enter. This place must have once been a battlefield. After the cultivators died, due to certain reasons, their corpses did not decay, and their spirit artifacts were preserved."

Having caught so many treasures, Wen Guangun was generous, giving the Phantom Sound Bell to Pei Qiyu and the Fire Cloud Square Heaven Seal to Ning Yuzhou.

"In the future, don't use the Demon Sound Bell to conceal the Heaven Mirror; use the Phantom Sound Bell instead," Wen Guangun told Pei Qiyu. "To avoid being hunted down because of your demon cultivation, and to prevent involving Su Molan and Su Xing, I won't forgive you."

Su Molan and Su Xing were brought away from Pleiades Continent by them, and helping them within their capabilities was nothing much.

Pei Qiyu: "..."

Pei Qiyu's complex feelings were instantly dispelled by Wen Guangun's words.

Although the Phantom Sound Bell was a King-level spirit artifact, its grade was inferior to the Heaven Mirror, which was an ancient demonic artifact and a unique item. While Pei Qiyu wasn't greedy for King-level spirit artifacts, he silently accepted it, appreciating Wen Guangun's thoughtfulness.

Then Wen Guangun said to Ning Yuzhou, "Husband, the Fire Cloud Square Heaven Seal is a fire attribute item, perfect for containing hetero-fire."

With the addition of hetero-fire, the Fire Cloud Square Heaven Seal's offensive power would greatly increase, making it suitable for Ning Yuzhou's self-defense.

Ning Yuzhou smiled and said, "Thank you, Chui."

Wen Guangun put away the remaining items and continued to observe the situation outside.

Perhaps even heaven disapproved of Wen Guangun's opportunistic behavior. As she continued to fish for treasures, a vicious corpse attacked their location.

The vicious corpse's attack struck the bone pillar in front of them, shattering it. Wen Guangun raised a soil eggshell to block.

Seeing the corpse close its eyes yet attack as nimbly as a living person, a sense of unease welled up in their hearts. They blocked its attacks one by one, only defending and not attacking.

With Wen Guangun around, defense was naturally not a problem; the four of them were not in dire straits.

After smashing some bones at their location to pieces, the corpse finally left.

Witnessing this scene, the four finally confirmed that these corpses were truly dead. They had no consciousness of their own, as if controlled by something. They could not judge the effectiveness of their attacks and would shift targets once a certain level was reached.

The four found a secluded spot to hide, still with no intention of returning to the cabin.

Having grasped the attack patterns and dangers of the corpses, it didn't matter whether they returned to the cabin or not. At this moment, they were more interested in what was in the lake, wanting to understand its existence.

A splash echoed, as if something had fallen into the water.

Wen Qiao instinctively looked over, then exploded, subconsciously wanting to jump out of the boat, but was quickly held back by Su Molan.

"Miss Wen, what are you doing? It's dangerous outside!"

Wen Qiao urgently said, "Wen Qiuqiu fell into the water!"

Su Molan and Pei Qiyu were greatly alarmed, indeed finding that Wen Qiuqiu, who had been following them, was gone.

The two peered outside the boat and saw that besides the corpses and spirit artifact fragments in the lake, there was now a large fur ball.

The large fur ball floated on the surface, swaying gently with the movements of the corpses emerging from the lake, like a floating dart.

Perhaps sensing their worry, the Wen Qiuqiu floating on the lake looked up at them and chirped.

The three fell silent simultaneously.

At this moment, Ning Yuzhou said, "Wen Qiuqiu jumped in by itself just now."

"Jumped in by itself?" Wen Qiao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly recalled that Wen Qiuqiu had mentioned wanting to explore the lake when they were on the third level.

After calling to them, Wen Qiuqiu dove directly into the lake.

The silver-white fur ball soon disappeared underwater.

Wen Qiao watched worriedly for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "I haven't given Wen Qiuqiu the water-repelling pill yet. Can it manage on its own?"

Thinking she had made some new discovery, Pei Qiyu and Su Molan tensed up, but upon hearing her words, they were speechless.

Ning Yuzhou comforted her, "It's fine. Wen Qiuqiu is a companion beast of a Zhusian Ling, a little water won't be a problem for it."

Although still very worried, since Wen Qiuqiu had already dived down without any signs of struggle, Wen Qiao couldn't jump into the lake to bring it back. She could only wait patiently.

Seeing her absentmindedly staring at the lake, not even fishing for corpses or spirit artifacts, the three knew she was still very worried about Wen Qiuqiu and also began to pay attention to the situation in the lake.

The attacks of the corpses continued, dragging many skeletons into the lake, never to be seen again.

The number of skeleton guards around them decreased, forcing some skeletons from the cabin to come and help defend the boat. The skeletons bustled about, their clattering sounds mingling in the air.

However, to the human cultivators, both corpses and skeletons were considered a form of dead bodies. No matter how intense their battles, they did not appear bloody or terrifying, failing to evoke a sense of crisis.

Thus, no matter which side encountered trouble, it did not stir any ripples in their hearts, making them feel like mere spectators.

After an unknown amount of time, the corpses finally retreated.

The full moon hung high in the sky, and the lake's surface calmed. Although many spirit artifact fragments floated on the surface, the corpses had vanished.

Looking at the bone boat, after this battle, it appeared battered and worn, barely holding together. However, the skeletons were delighted. The retreat of the corpses proved they were finally safe. Even if the boat was damaged, as long as it could continue sailing on Corpse Lake, there was no problem.

The boats made by the Sturdy Bone Clan were still reliable for the skeletons.

The skeletons tidied up briefly and soon returned to the cabin to rest.

Wen Qiao and the others remained on the deck, waiting for Wen Qiuqiu to return.

However, before Wen Qiuqiu returned, Baili Chi and Ge Rusong, the brothers from the third level, came down. Their expressions indicated they had come specifically to find them.

"Are you all right?" Baili Chi ran over and asked, "When the corpses attacked the boat, I wanted to come down to find you, but Senior Sister Liu said I wouldn't be of much help and would only slow you down..."

Seeing they hadn't returned, Baili Chi was very worried, especially during the corpse attack, when he wanted to come and find them.

But what Liu Qingyun said was true; he wouldn't have been much help. However, he couldn't let his senior brothers and sisters come either, which left him feeling frustrated.

The third level of the bone boat was indeed very safe; the corpses did not attack the third level. Liu Qingyun and her group did not face the direct attacks of the corpses.

Since the corpses posed no threat to them, they naturally wouldn't care how the skeletons dealt with the corpses, nor would they leave the third level for the sake of Ning Yuzhou and the others.

Liu Qingyun and her group understood this clearly.

"Thank you, we're fine," Ning Yuzhou replied, acknowledging his concern.

Seeing they were all unharmed, Baili Chi was relieved. He looked around and asked curiously, "Where's Wen Qiuqiu?"

"It went back into the demon beast pouch."

Baili Chi didn't doubt it, and Ge Rusong and the others didn't ask further, so no one knew that a demon beast had actually ventured into the terrifying Corpse Lake and hadn't come back.

Then, Baili Chi told them, "I just asked the skeletons, and they said the bone boat has safely passed through the center of the lake. There shouldn't be any more corpses attacking from the water, and we should be able to reach the opposite shore of the Ten Thousand Bone Flame Land safely."

The skeletons had experience with the attacks of the corpses.

Generally, after the bone boat left the shore, the corpses only attacked from the bottom of the lake, requiring only a bit of caution, posing no real danger. It was only when the boat reached the center of the lake that things became most dangerous. Not only were there more corpses, but they were also more ferocious. Once they safely passed this section, the rest of the journey would be safe.

After chatting for a while, seeing they had no intention of returning to the third level, Baili Chi decided to stay with them.

The Ge brothers had no choice but to let him, thinking there was no longer any danger ahead. They returned to the third level.

Baili Chi was talking to Ning Yuzhou when he suddenly noticed Wen Qiao leaning over the ship's railing, seemingly doing something. He glanced over and was stunned to see her pulling out an intact royal-grade spirit artifact from the lake with a vine.

This time, the spirit artifact she fished up was a defensive bracelet for women.

A royal-grade defensive bracelet could withstand one strike from an Emperor Yuan Realm cultivator. Wen Qiao felt a bit regretful; if it were a men’s bracelet, she could have given it to her husband for protection.

She put away the bracelet and continued to watch the lake, preparing to fish up a corpse.

"What is Miss Wen doing?" Baili Chi asked in surprise.

"Fishing for spirit artifacts!"

After understanding what was happening, Baili Chi was both amazed and impressed, and began to speculate about Corpse Lake.

"Corpse Lake isn't the most famous place in the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones. According to the information we received, this lake wasn't particularly noteworthy. I didn’t expect there to be so many hidden treasures here. If those people knew, they would surely regret missing out on Corpse Lake." Baili Chi muttered.

Ning Yuzhou glanced at him and asked gently, "Prince Baili, do you know much about the outside world regarding the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones?"

Baili Chi thought for a moment before saying, "Not much, I suppose. They only know about a few places because... well, let me put it this way: the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones is actually another small Netherworld that remained on the human cultivation continent after the Three Realms Passage closed."

"A small Netherworld?" Pei Qiyu suddenly sneered, "Prince Baili, even if we are ignorant, we know what the Netherworld is. But looking around the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones, where is the aura of the Netherworld?"

Baili Chi didn’t get angry; he scratched his head and smiled, "That’s what I heard them say, but I don’t really understand it myself."

Baili Chi was not very old and his cultivation level was not high. His knowledge of the Thirteen Palaces of Dry Bones came from needing to guide his senior brothers and sisters to find something very important to their sect.

This was the truth that Ning Yuzhou and the others pieced together based on their recent interactions with Baili Chi and his companions.

If one paid close attention, they would notice that Baili Chi was a very principled person. Though he seemed foolish and revealed everything to outsiders, he never disclosed the most critical matters. Sang Yufei and the others had worried that Baili Chi might blurt out their mission’s purpose, but such a thing never happened.

Baili Chi could tell them everything about himself but wouldn’t speak out of turn about others.

Just as Wen Qiao was about to fish up another spirit artifact, the thousand-thread vine was grabbed again.

She leaned forward to look and saw the same corpse that had appeared in the lake before, which had previously stopped her from taking the gourd-shaped spirit artifact. Her memory was excellent, and she recognized it immediately.

Could this one also not be taken?

Wen Qiao, thinking this, instinctively loosened her grip on the thousand-thread vine, intending to reel it back in, but found that she couldn’t. The corpse was holding onto the vine tightly.