Chapter 159

The old man led the way, followed by Li Miao and three great shamans, winding through the karst cave until they reached an inconspicuous cave entrance.

The few Miao people all had pale faces.

Clearly, that Miao King was right here. And these Miao people of the twelve clans were truly afraid of her to the bone.

As Li Miao walked, he asked casually.

"Come to think of it, what do you mean by 'unsealing' the Miao King that you mentioned before?"

The old man proceeded cautiously, looking around as he answered.

"We used some special Gu insects to block the Miao King's perception."

"The Miao King's body and habits have become similar to Gu insects; without external stimulation, she will fall into hibernation. It is precisely because of this that we dared to do things in secret and hand the clues to you, my lord."

"However, if she wakes up, she will immediately discover what we have done. At that time, we will surely die."

"Previously, we thought that if the Imperial Court didn't receive the clues and we had no chance to send another message, we would have to wake her up. After she killed us, when the Imperial Court's army swept in, she would probably still keep some people to be used."

Speaking to this point, the old man couldn't help but sigh.

"But if she sees you, my lord, and knows that we led outsiders in, I'm afraid she won't hold back."

"Oh."

Li Miao responded noncommittally, and the hearts of the few Miao people sank even further.

After walking a few dozen more steps, the old man stopped.

"My lord, this is it."

He squatted down, lifted a well-camouflaged stone slab on the ground, and revealed a jar inside.

The old man picked up the jar and turned to look at Li Miao.

"My lord, this is the Gu insect that seals the Miao King. If one dies, the entire containment system will collapse, and the Miao King will wake up."

"The Miao King's terror is truly not an exaggeration on our part."

"My lord, think again; really don't want to wait for the Imperial Court's army?"

Li Miao glanced at him and raised his hand with a Profound Heaven Finger.

"Nattering on."

Snap.

Clatter—

Pfft.

With a soft sound, the jar shattered in response, the fragments falling to the ground to reveal a jet-black cicada, which Li Miao crushed with a single finger.

In the silence, the faces of the few great shamans turned paler and paler.

Inside the passage, only the increasingly heavy breathing of the few people echoed.

After a while, a "rustling" sound suddenly came from the depths of the cave. At first, it was barely audible, but then it gradually became dense and harsh, making one's eardrums tremble as if they were about to split.

"She's awake..."

The old man muttered to himself.

However, this movement lasted for a while and then stopped on its own. The cave fell into silence once again.

"Did she go back to sleep?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

"No."

The old man shook his head.

"The Miao King's habits are no different from Gu insects; if there were movement, it would actually be better. Now that there is no movement, it means she has already discovered us, hidden herself, and is preparing to strike."

"Things have reached this point... my lord, please follow me!"

The old man had also practiced witchcraft and Gu arts since childhood, and his character foundation had a streak of ruthlessness. Now that there was no way back, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, hesitating no longer.

"Use the 'Transform' character technique!"

He shouted, raised his hand first, revealed sharp nails, and slashed fiercely at his own wrist, blood gushing out.

The old man brought the wound to his mouth, greedily sucking his own blood until the wound turned white. Then he raised his hand into a fist and slammed it fiercely into his own stomach.

"Wah—"

A mouthful of filth was vomited out, from which a spider the size of a fist crawled out, crawled up the old man's leg to his neck, and bit down.

The old man's face instantly turned red, his eyes were covered in bloodshot veins, and saliva flowed from his mouth. At the same time, his originally hunched figure suddenly straightened up, his atrophied muscles expanded together, and he suddenly turned into a tall, sturdy man.

The other three great shamans also followed suit, all becoming tall and fierce.

And those few Gu insects that were vomited out fell to the ground, losing all signs of life.

"Oh, quite a lot of tricks."

Li Miao exclaimed.

"My lord, this 'Transform' technique can last at most half an hour; after that, we will be cripples. Let's set off quickly."

The old man said.

"Good."

Li Miao nodded, performed light-body techniques, and like a wisp of smoke, floated rapidly toward the depths of the cave entrance.

The few great shamans followed behind him, running with great momentum, rumbling as they ran forward together.

After only a moment, the few arrived at the cave entrance.

Li Miao raised a hand, stopping the few great shamans.

"Stop, don't fall down."

The old man poked his head out to look outside the cave, speechless for a moment.

Outside this cave entrance, it was empty, with no place to land.

He looked around; the narrow karst cave in his memory had turned into a spherical hollow a hundred feet wide. Hundreds or thousands of cave entrances were densely distributed on the stone walls, and at this moment, they were poking their heads out from one of them.

In the center of the bottom of this hollow, there seemed to be a large patch of black and white liquid, rolling continuously.

The old man looked closely and was too shocked to speak.

That was no liquid... it was clearly countless snakes, like the sands of the Ganges, jet-black all over, covered with white patterns.

They were intertwined, slowly wriggling, looking from afar like rippling water.

"The wilderness of Yongzhou produces strange snakes: black bodies with white patterns; everything they touch dies; if they bite a person, there is no cure..."

"My lord, be careful. You must not be bitten by these snakes, otherwise, there is no cure."

The old man muttered.

Just as he was speaking, he heard an "oh" from the side.

A figure walked past him and jumped down.

"My lord!?"

He exclaimed suddenly.

How could this Imperial Guard be so reckless!?

It's over, it's over; if you want to commit suicide, fine, but don't take us with you!

Just as he didn't know what to do, he heard Li Miao's calm voice.

"Just fight from a distance, isn't that enough?"

"Have you ever heard of a palm technique that descends from the heavens?"

The old man was stunned.

"Wh, what..."

Li Miao had fallen halfway, then suddenly paused in mid-air, his figure rising by a foot, and then floated like a falling leaf above the large patch of snakes.

"The Tathagata Palm."

In mid-air, a true energy palm print a foot square faintly appeared and suddenly descended.

BOOM!!!!

In an instant, the sound wave rolled, shaking the four directions.

Splash! —

Like a ripe persimmon being punched, juices splattered everywhere!

That black and white mass suddenly had a hole in it.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Countless true energy palm prints fell, dust flew, blood splattered, actually crossing the hundred-foot space and splashing onto the old man's hem, instantly turning it pitch black.

The fabric rotted and fell to the ground, hissing.

The old man didn't notice at all, staring blankly at Li Miao, muttering.

"That is clearly the Ming Cult's 'Great Nine Heavens Palm'..."

"What kind of cultivation is this..."

(End of chapter)