Chapter 69: Use Me

Chapter 69: Use Me

Sang Xu was now caught between a rock and a hard place.

Leaving the pile of desiccated corpses would instantly expose him to Wang Hui’s gaze. Yet, remaining among them meant that once the Terracotta Generals, mounted on the corpses, drew near, he would inevitably be compelled to kneel and allow one to ride him.

He finally understood why Zhou Xia had previously warned them not to look up; these Terracotta Generals seemed to exert control through "eye contact."

Sang Xu had likely already fallen victim. Seven or eight seconds had passed since he made eye contact with the general, and Zhou Xia remained silent. Zhou Xia would never fail to warn him, which meant Sang Xu was probably hallucinating again, and the hallucination was blocking Zhou Xia’s voice.

He glanced at Han Rao and Shen Zhitang. Their eyes rolled back, they knelt in the space between two windows, tall, grotesque dark figures mounted on their backs.

They had succumbed earlier than Sang Xu. Like victims of a pyramid scheme, controlled by the Terracotta Generals, they had lured Sang Xu into making eye contact.

How cunning! A chill ran through Sang Xu’s heart. The malevolent entities in this ancient tomb were infinitely more insidious than anything he had encountered in previous dreams.

The desiccated corpses slowly converged on Sang Xu, drawing closer and closer until nearly all escape routes around him were blocked.

He had to decide quickly—was there any way out?

Think, think fast.

As the Terracotta General pressed in, his consciousness on the verge of fading, Sang Xu made a decisive move. He pinched himself hard and yelled, "Ancestor, save them!"

A thunderclap reverberated through the pagoda.

Like the resounding peal of bells and drums, the sound echoed in all directions. Han Rao and Shen Zhitang’s pupils snapped back into focus. Realizing they had been mounted, they were horrified. Spiderweb-like electric currents permeated the air, and the desiccated corpses emitted a charred stench. The dark, deformed figures atop them blurred one after another, seemingly reluctant to vanish.

Simultaneously, Zhou Xia materialized instantly before them. The towering, grotesque Terracotta General shadow swung a heavy iron sword straight down at Zhou Xia’s head. If it struck a flesh-and-blood body, the person’s skull would surely be split open.

Han Rao cried out, "Mr. Zhou, watch out above!"

But Zhou Xia made no attempt to dodge. The iron sword struck his head with a deafening crash.

The next moment, Zhou Xia’s head was completely unharmed, but the sword snapped with a loud crack.

As the lightning erupted, Wang Hui’s nine heads were instantly drawn to it. The spiderweb-like electric light Zhou Xia had unleashed wasn't aimed at the Terracotta Generals riding the desiccated corpses, but at these watchful serpent heads. The electricity coiled around their black necks, sizzling, yet they remained completely unscathed. Their golden pupils, in fact, glowed even brighter.

Sang Xu immediately realized that Wang Hui was not to be underestimated; Zhou Xia’s divine power seemed to have little effect on this creature.

Wang Hui’s nine heads surged into the window frame, and dazzling golden light enveloped the area.

Sang Xu made a swift decision and shouted, "Get onto Wang Hui!"

Activating his Intermediate State, he charged directly at the wooden wall. The planks splintered, and amidst the flying debris, he found himself in mid-air. Wang Hui’s massive body was right before him. He drew his dagger, plunged it into the scales, and precariously secured himself. Wang Hui let out a sharp hiss, convulsing, its nine serpent heads wreaking havoc inside the pagoda.

Zhou Xia clicked his tongue, grabbed the two useless individuals at his feet, and hurled them out. Han Rao and Shen Zhitang adjusted their postures mid-air, each drawing their daggers and embedding them into Wang Hui’s body, hanging on firmly. Black Girl leaped with all her might, latching onto Shen Zhitang. Meanwhile, Zhou Xia flickered through the void several times before finally landing on the serpent’s body.

Wang Hui was driven mad by pain, winding its way upward around the colossal pagoda. The group felt like they were on a roller coaster, ascending with it. Layer after layer of the pagoda appeared before their eyes. Sang Xu shouted, "Keep an eye out for the princess’s burial chamber!"

The three scrutinized carefully, eyes wide. Almost every level was filled with beast-faced desiccated corpses; there was no sign of a coffin befitting a princess. Wang Hui raced like the wind to the very top, its nine serpent heads roaring as they slammed into the dome. For a moment, heaven and earth shook, the ground trembled, and a crack appeared overhead, through which daylight seeped down like fine rain.

With another impact, the dome collapsed. A torrent of daylight eagerly poured into the cavern. Countless massive stones crumbled, crashing onto the pagoda below.

The three clung tightly to Wang Hui’s body, fearing they would be crushed. The pagoda was riddled with countless holes, its wooden structure unable to withstand such violent tremors and the impact of the giant stones, slowly collapsing bit by bit. Sang Xu struggled to lift his head, looking at the remaining structure of the pagoda. In a daze, he saw a crimson figure in silk skirts behind the wooden window on the top floor.

Was it a hallucination? He squeezed his eyes shut and looked again, but the figure had vanished.

"Zhou Xia!" he shouted. "There’s someone on the top floor!"

Zhou Xia vanished on the spot and reappeared a second later.

"There’s no one there," he said.

Wang Hui shuddered and crawled out through the crack.

Outside was a rift valley. Gnarled old banyan trees were pulverized one by one beneath the massive Wang Hui. Wang Hui crawled forward, continuously rolling, its scales grinding against the rocks. Sang Xu, Han Rao, and Shen Zhitang were all flung off, nearly crushed by its frantic rolling. Fortunately, Zhou Xia flashed repeatedly, tossing the three aside, preventing them from being flattened into pancakes under Wang Hui’s enormous body.

After shaking everyone off, Wang Hui suddenly turned back, its nine serpent heads opening their fang-filled, gaping mouths, emitting an earth-shattering roar.

Sang Xu barely managed to get up from the ground, covered in scrapes. Meeting its watchful golden eyes, his heart instantly turned cold.

Wang Hui had climbed outside to rid itself of the "fleas" on its body.

"Damn its mother..." Han Rao raised his gun, then felt that firing rifle bullets would be nothing more than scratching Wang Hui’s itch. "How do we fight this?"

"Can you use your Love Charm on it?" Sang Xu asked.

Han Rao was baffled. "It has so many mouths, which one do I kiss?"

Kissing it would probably be useless. Such a massive serpent, who knew how many thousands of years it had lived—its rank was surely several levels higher than that of a Knocking Gate Stranger. Han Rao simply couldn’t charm it.

Zhou Xia appeared beside him, his expression grave. "You all retreat."

Sang Xu immediately understood his meaning—he was going to hold off this Wang Hui for them.

"Can you handle it?"

His gaze fell on Zhou Xia’s collar, and Sang Xu noticed that the skin beneath was covered in black patterns, dripping with blood.

Every time he used his divine power, his body suffered tremendously.

Right now, the Zhou family elder’s body had reached its limit.

Wang Hui lowered itself, hissing as it slowly approached. It was the posture of a beast preparing to hunt, assessing who was the weakest. Once it locked onto a target, no one could survive its teeth and claws.

Han Rao hoisted Shen Zhitang onto his back and turned to run. After a few steps, seeing Sang Xu hadn’t followed, he went back to pull him along. Honestly, staying here offered no chance of victory. Zhou Xia could at least put up a fight, and he wasn’t human to begin with—maybe he could survive? Sang Xu naturally understood this logic. Seeking advantage and avoiding harm was his principle. He knew he should run without looking back.

Eating Zhou Xia’s ashes was to become stronger. Sleeping with Zhou Xia was to make him protect himself.

He had frequently shown favor to Zhou Xia, feigning friendship, all so that in a life-and-death moment like this, Zhou Xia would step forward for him. He had never loved Zhou Xia—it was always just exploitation.

The long dream was perilous, and he had to maintain absolute rationality.

"Ancestor, I’m leaving first," Sang Xu said softly behind him.

Zhou Xia didn’t turn around, only coldly said, "Get lost."

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance, and soon there was no trace of anyone nearby. Without looking, Zhou Xia knew that little liar had already vanished without a trace. It would be false to say he wasn’t disappointed, but he hadn’t held much expectation to begin with. Why demand that a lying cheat share life and death with him?

Old Sang family, I’ve watched over this child for you until now—I’ve done my utmost. From now on, I won’t care about his life or death.

He took a deep breath, spiritual energy surging through his entire being. The power of his divine ability coursed through his limbs and bones. Since losing the corpse worm, it had been a long time since he had unleashed such power. His flesh couldn’t withstand the rushing lightning and would be burned to charcoal within the next few minutes.

A few minutes—those useless idiots should be able to find a safe place to hide, right?

Wang Hui let out a long hiss and rose, scales bristling. The air became a raging torrent, trees uprooted. Miles away, villagers by the large water pit stared in terror at the strange phenomenon in the distant mountains. The forest was in disarray, and in the flood, only Zhou Xia stood firm, like an unyielding iron thorn.

In an instant, Wang Hui and Zhou Xia charged at each other simultaneously. Nine massive golden pupils reflected the same murderous figure. Zhou Xia flashed several times in succession, electric light coalescing into sharp blades. As Zhou Xia closed in on Wang Hui’s face, the blades suddenly split into nine, stabbing directly into Wang Hui’s eyes. Eight blades struck true; the one in the very center missed.

Zhou Xia was struck head-on by this intact viper head, as if a truck had plowed into him. He was sent flying and crashed to the ground, leaving a large crater beneath him.

Wang Hui, having lost eight of its eyes, roared madly and rampaged blindly through the forest. Zhou Xia coughed up a mouthful of blood; the lightning recoil had charred half his body and left ugly black markings spreading across his face. Wang Hui roared furiously, slowly backing away, crouching low, its last remaining golden eye locking onto Zhou Xia. In Zhou Xia's identical golden eyes, the figure of Wang Hui was also reflected.

He knew it was time to merge with the corpse worms and become a more complete version of himself. Although he hadn't recovered all the corpse worms, the two he had now were enough to restore some of his power and memories. Yet, he felt a trace of hesitation. For some reason, it seemed as if a dark fear was hidden in his heart, as though people-devouring demons lurked in his past—once he merged with the corpse worms, those demons would leap out from his history.

Screw it, no time to worry about that. Zhou Xia wiped the blood from his mouth, stood up, took out the two corpse worm beads from his pocket, and crushed them in his hand. The beads shattered, and the corpse worms sank into his palm.

In an instant, a small amount of his power returned. But at the same time, countless chaotic images flashed through his mind—men and women, old and young, the sound of weeping echoing in his head. His head throbbed with pain, veins bulging at his temples. He saw a palace illuminated by everlasting lights, standing at the edge of the mountains, as if waiting for his return.

His distant past was right there.

"Hey, monster," Zhou Xia said softly, "have I met you before?"

The two charged at each other again. Chaotic lightning arced, and violent explosions shook the heavens and the earth, turning the entire area into scorched earth. As the black smoke cleared, Wang Hui's scales had fallen off, revealing raw, bleeding flesh, but it still struggled to stand. On the other other side of the scorched earth, Zhou Xia knelt on one knee, his face shattered and his entire body charred completely black.

A pair of feet stopped in front of Zhou Xia. He looked up, his eyes filled with blood, his vision washed in crimson.

He saw Sang Xu's striking face, eyebrows furrowed.

An illusion? he thought. How could that little liar have come back?

Sang Xu crouched down and touched his blackened cheek. "Ancestor, you're in quite a state."

Zhou Xia finally realized it wasn't an illusion—it was really him.

"Weren't you leaving?" Zhou Xia gritted his teeth.

"I said I was leaving first, not that I wouldn't come back."

"Why did you come back?" He narrowed his eyes. "Looking to die?"

"Not to die—to find my husband," Sang Xu said.

Zhou Xia: "..."

He was almost infuriated by Sang Xiaoguai. Even at a time like this, he was still spouting sickeningly sweet nonsense.

"Zhou's original body has completely collapsed." Sang Xu peeled away his shattered black sweatshirt, revealing cracked skin beneath, blood flowing freely. Sang Xu stroked his bleeding chest and said, "You need to switch to another one to keep fighting."

"Switch to whom?" Zhou Xia sneered. "You'd willingly give me one of your friends?"

Thinking of Han Rao and Shen Zhitang, he couldn't help but feel disdain—one stank of sweat, the other was as weak as a newborn chick. He didn't want either of them.

Possessing their bodies would make him feel unclean.

"Possession doesn't necessarily mean death, right?"

Those possessed by ghosts didn't all die, after all.

The body of a Knocking Gate practitioner should be stronger than Zhou's original body, who had no divine power and spent his days snorting powder.

Sang Xu had already made up his mind.

"What are you planning?" Zhou Xia frowned.

Sang Xu gently pressed against his blackened chest and kissed his chapped lips.

For some reason, Zhou Xia felt that this kiss was different from all the others.

In an instant, the raging wind ceased, and the world fell silent. In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, he could only hear Sang Xu's hoarse whisper.

"Take me, Ancestor."