“Go in? Sure! Like I’m afraid of it!” Upon hearing they were going to act, Bai Jimu immediately tossed his earlier fear to the back of his mind.
Rubbing his hands together, he was about to rush toward the pool’s edge, wanting to find a place to enter the water or a path into the cave.
“Dumb dog! Watch where you’re going!” Ming Shu shouted urgently.
Before she finished speaking, Bai Jimu stepped on a rock covered in slippery green moss.
With a slip, he lost his balance and fell with a solid thud, his elbows and knees slamming directly onto the hard rock edge.
“Mmph!” He grunted, baring his teeth.
Ming Shu rushed over to help him up. “I told you not to be reckless! Where did you hurt yourself? Is it serious?”
Bai Yanzhou also cast a concerned look, preparing to step forward to check.
But Bai Jimu scrambled up by himself, patting the mud and moss off his body nonchalantly and shaking his arms and legs. “I’m fine, I’m fine! No big deal, doesn’t hurt at all!”
There was even a small hole scraped in the sleeve at his elbow, and one could vaguely see the skinned wound inside seeping blood, but he acted as if nothing had happened.
His attention was already completely drawn to how to enter the cave.
“Bro, Mr. Xiao, how do we get across? Swim? This water looks really cold!”
Ming Shu looked at the obvious scrape on his elbow, the corner of her mouth twitching. “With skin this thick, you really are a fighter among Beagles…”
Bai Yanzhou shook his head helplessly, walked up, and pulled his arm over.
Only then did Bai Jimu say “Oh” and notice he was injured.
“Eh? When did I scrape it?” He looked surprised, as if the injury were on someone else.
Bai Yanzhou took a small porcelain bottle from his pouch, poured out a little pale green powder, and gently sprinkled it on the wound.
“Be careful next time.” His tone carried the admonishment of an elder.
The powder brought a cool sting upon touching the wound.
Only then did Bai Jimu hiss and suck in a breath, but that was all; he didn’t even frown.
Xiao Duchuan watched all this, slightly surprised by Bai Jimu’s peculiar constitution, but he didn’t ask further. His attention was more on the environment.
“No need to swim,” he pointed near the cave entrance. “Look over there. There are protruding stones in the shallow water. We can step on them to get across. But be extra careful, the stones are very slippery.”
Having determined the route, the group cautiously approached the cave entrance.
The rocks by the pool were indeed exceptionally slippery.
Even with extreme caution, it was hard to avoid slipping.
Bai Jimu fell the most times, his knees and palms taking repeated hits.
But each time, he got up quickly without a care, chanting “doesn’t hurt, doesn’t hurt,” and continued to charge forward, making Ming Shu want to put a leash on him.
Conversely, when Ming Shu almost slipped once, she twisted her ankle slightly.
Although not serious, the pain made her suck in a breath of cold air, and her movements instantly became much stiffer.
Noticing this, Bai Yanzhou immediately signaled everyone to pause.
He squatted down to check her ankle carefully.
After confirming it was just a slight sprain, he used a special technique to set the bone and applied some ointment to disperse blood stasis.
“Thank you, Dr. Bai.” Ming Shu thanked him gratefully.
Comparing herself to a certain dumb dog who was covered in injuries yet completely oblivious, she felt mentally exhausted.
Xiao Duchuan watched silently from the side as Bai Yanzhou skillfully treated the injury, his eyes flickering slightly.
This teacher was the one he knew, the shadow he had been chasing for a thousand years.
Finally, they arrived at the cave entrance.
The rich stench and evil energy were almost palpable, rushing at them and suffocating them.
Inside the cave was pitch black.
Only that thump… thump… sound, like a beating heart, echoed rhythmically, adding to the eeriness.
Xiao Duchuan snapped his fingers, and a cluster of ghostly blue flames ignited at his fingertips, barely illuminating a small area ahead.
The cave entrance was large, extending inward.
The ground and walls were covered with something like dark red moss or a fungal carpet.
Stepping on it felt soft and wet, making a slight squelch sound, which was very disgusting.
“Stay close to me.” Xiao Duchuan whispered, stepping into the cave first.
Coal Ball followed closely at his feet, his golden pupils like two small lamps in the darkness.
Bai Yanzhou followed, with Bai Jimu and Ming Shu bringing up the rear.
The passage winds downward, and the air becomes foul and stifling.
After walking for about ten minutes, a faint light and clearer chanting came from ahead.
The chanting was in an ancient and obscure language, filled with the flavor of blasphemy and madness.
Xiao Duchuan signaled everyone to stop. He moved silently to a corner and cautiously peeked out to observe.
Bai Yanzhou leaned beside him, looking toward the light source.
A massive underground cavern appeared before their eyes.
In the center of the cavern was a circular altar built of black stones.
The altar was carved with blood sacrifice patterns of the same origin as the rock outside, but more complex and bizarre, currently emitting an ominous red light.
Around the altar knelt three people wearing modern outdoor clothing. Their eyes were empty as they mechanically repeated the ancient chant, hands raised high, palms facing upward.
Above them floated several irregularly shaped fragments emitting faint starlight—fragments of the meteorite core!
In the very center of the altar, a mass of thick, black-red energy was constantly gathering and writhing, vaguely forming the phantom image of a giant snake with multiple heads.
It was Xiangliu!
That heartbeat-like pulsing sound was coming from this phantom image!
“It’s Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li, and Auntie Wang! They are the missing herb pickers!” Bai Jimu whispered in surprise. He recognized two of them as the missing persons the inn proprietress had mentioned.
“Their minds are controlled. They’ve become part of the ritual.” Bai Yanzhou said gravely. “We must interrupt the ritual, save them, and take the meteorite core fragments.”
“I’ll go get the fragments!” Bai Jimu volunteered. His attention was already drawn to the glowing fragments, and confident in his speed, he felt this kind of dash-and-grab mission was made for him.
“Don’t be impulsive!” Ming Shu tried to grab him, but it was too late.
Bai Jimu, like a wild dog off the leash, rushed out from the corner and sprinted straight for the altar!
His sudden appearance immediately broke the balance in the cavern.
The chanting of the three controlled herb pickers stalled, and their empty eyes turned in unison toward Bai Jimu.
The Xiangliu phantom in the center of the altar also let out a silent roar.
A powerful mental shockwave spread out like a tangible ripple!
“Careful!” Xiao Duchuan’s eyes sharpened. He instantly deployed an invisible barrier in front of Bai Yanzhou, blocking the mental shock.
Ming Shu’s face paled from the impact, barely stabilizing her mind.
Bai Jimu, bearing the brunt of it, felt his head buzz as if hit by a sledgehammer.
A violent dizziness assailed him, causing him to stumble.
This kind of attack, directly targeting the mind, was obviously beyond his expectations.
He shook his head, forced down the discomfort, and continued charging toward the altar, reaching out to grab the suspended fragments!
Just then, another change occurred!
The ground around the altar suddenly cracked open.
Several tentacle-like things made of sticky black-red energy shot out swiftly, instantly wrapping around Bai Jimu’s limbs and waist.
The tentacles carried a strong corrosive nature and an evil power that drained life force.
“Ah!” Bai Jimu screamed.
It wasn’t pain, but an indescribable weakness and suffocation from his life force being forcibly extracted.
He struggled with all his might, but the tentacles tightened, and he felt his strength draining away rapidly.
Even more terrifying, where the tentacles tightened, his clothes corroded instantly, and his skin began to burn.
This damage with energy attributes seemed to touch his bottom line for pain, causing him obvious suffering!
“Little Bi!” Bai Yanzhou’s expression changed, and he acted immediately!
Several silver needles, thin as ox hairs and quenched in evil-breaking liquid, shot out, accurately hitting the tentacles binding Bai Jimu!
Sizzle! The tentacles burned and smoked upon contact with the medicinal liquid, and their grip loosened slightly.
Almost at the same time, Xiao Duchuan moved!
His figure swept past like a ghost.
The ghostly blue flames at his fingertips flared, transforming into a sharp blade of fire that slashed viciously at the tentacles!
Boom! The collision of fire and evil energy caused an explosion.
Several tentacles snapped and turned into black smoke, dissipating.
Freed, Bai Jimu staggered back a few steps and was supported by Ming Shu, who had caught up.
He gasped for air, his face pale.
Obvious scorched marks were left where the tentacles had wrapped around him, throbbing with pain.
“Damn it… that thing sucked my yang energy!” He cursed with lingering fear, having genuinely felt the danger this time.
At this moment, the three controlled herb pickers seemed to receive a command. Their eyes turned crazy, and they roared as they pounced toward the group!
Their movements became abnormally swift, and sharp black nails grew from their fingers.
Clearly, they were temporarily enhanced by Xiangliu’s power.
“Stop them! Don’t take their lives!” Bai Yanzhou shouted, flicking both hands to scatter more powder, trying to slow them down.
Ming Shu pushed Bai Jimu to a safe spot, flipped her wrist, and shot countless silver needles like scattering flowers, accurately aiming for the joints and acupoints of the three herb pickers to subdue them.
Xiao Duchuan engaged the Xiangliu phantom condensing in the center of the altar directly.
Ghostly blue flames surrounded him, turning into roaring fire dragons that charged at the black-red energy body.
Fire and evil energy collided and annihilated each other continuously, shaking the entire cavern violently!
Bai Jimu looked at the chaotic battle before him, touched the painful welts on his body, then looked at the meteorite core fragments still suspended above the altar.
He gritted his teeth. “Haven’t got the fragments yet!”
Spotting an opening, he charged toward the altar again!
This time, he learned his lesson, trying his best to avoid the ground where tentacles might emerge, moving as agilely as a true hunting dog.
One of the herb pickers, temporarily subdued by Ming Shu’s needles, suddenly broke free and pounced at Bai Jimu from the side, sharp nails aiming straight for his ribs!
“Careful!” Ming Shu exclaimed.
Bai Jimu reacted extremely fast, dodging sideways to avoid a vital hit, but the nails still gashed a deep, bone-exposing wound on his arm.
Blood gushed out instantly!
Bai Jimu only grunted. He glanced down at his profusely bleeding arm without even frowning.
Instead, using his momentum, he kicked the obstructing herb picker away and continued pouncing toward the altar, as if that injured arm didn’t belong to him.
“This guy…” Ming Shu watched, dumbfounded.
She was angry at his recklessness but also had to admire his terrifying drive, as if he didn’t know pain.
Bai Jimu finally reached the altar and grabbed the suspended meteorite core fragments.
The fragments were cold to the touch, carrying strange energy fluctuations.
The moment he grabbed the fragments, the Xiangliu phantom in the center of the altar let out a deafening roar.
Although it was a silent mental roar, it shook everyone’s souls.
The phantom’s condensation speed accelerated abruptly.
A giant snake head formed of pure evil energy suddenly detached from the altar, opened its maw, and bit down toward Bai Jimu, who was holding the fragments!
The power contained within was enough to annihilate him instantly.
“Little Bi! Throw the fragments away!” Bai Yanzhou shouted urgently, trying to rush over, but was firmly entangled by the other two crazed herb pickers.
Xiao Duchuan’s eyes turned cold.
The ghostly blue flames around him surged, forcibly pushing back the main body of the phantom engaging him.
He turned to save Bai Jimu, but the distance was too great; it was too late!
In this moment of peril, Bai Jimu did something unexpected.
He didn’t throw the fragments, nor did he try to dodge.
The attack range of the energy snake’s head was too large; he couldn’t dodge.
He simply pulled the hands holding the fragments into his chest, curled himself up, and used his back to forcefully take the bite of the energy snake head!
He was using his own body to take the hit and protect the fragments he had just obtained!
“No—!” Ming Shu screamed.
BOOM—!!!
A massive explosion rang out, and black-red evil energy instantly swallowed Bai Jimu!
Strong energy shockwaves spread outward, even cracking the patterns on the altar!
When the energy light dissipated, Bai Jimu was half-kneeling at the edge of the altar.
His back was scorched black, his clothes shredded, and his skin covered in terrible cracks.
Blood seeped continuously from the cracks, turning him into a bloodied figure.
But he maintained his curled posture, hands tightly protecting his chest, where the meteorite core fragments were safe and sound.
He coughed violently, each cough bringing up flecks of blood foam.
He looked up toward Bai Yanzhou and Xiao Duchuan, forcing an ugly but slightly smug smile. “Bro… got… the fragments…”
With that, his body swayed, and he collapsed forward.