Chapter 137

At the moment I faced the gray immortal, I was actually somewhat surprised.

From the moment I entered the tomb's entrance until now, it has been too smooth.

I looked around; the piles of black coffins made me feel a bit suffocated.

The Mystic Cat stood before me, tense all over, it lifted its little head, the runes on its two upright ears continuously flashing green light, and the spark at the tip of its tail also flickered.

This was the first time I had seen it in this state, so I also looked up following its gaze.

On the tomb's semi-arched ceiling, right in the center hung a coffin.

That coffin was covered entirely in talisman paper, obscuring its original appearance.

But upon close inspection, one could see tiny pinholes in some of the talisman paper, as if they had been pricked by a needle.

I narrowed my eyes, lowered my gaze, and once again landed on the gray immortal before me.

The gray immortal immediately flashed a fawning smile at me.

I also smiled and said, "Bai Xian'er, you're oozing pus."

As I spoke, my gaze fell to the ground at the gray immortal's feet; the gray immortal also subconsciously followed my look, and in the next instant, "he" reacted too late—unfortunately, it was already too late, and the Mystic Cat had already pounced.

The Mystic Cat is incredibly psychic; it doesn't even need me to issue any command—it can already carry out the attack I want.

This little guy really saves me a lot of worry.

Bai Xian'er had clashed with the Mystic Cat before; her first breakdown was when the cat scratched her face, revealing her true form.

This time, as the Mystic Cat lunged at Bai Xian'er, countless scriptures appeared all over its body, and it kept meowing nonstop, as if chanting sutras.

This crushing attack made me feel once again the changes in the Mystic Cat.

During this period, it followed Liu Junyan in receiving offerings, chanting sutras and meditating together, and its mana advanced by leaps and bounds.

Perhaps its back wound has mostly healed, restoring it to the state it ought to have?

I watched as the Mystic Cat leapt straight onto Bai Xian'er's head and swiped down with a paw; Bai Xian'er instantly revealed her true form.

Her body was covered in wounds oozing black blood, with pus seeping from the wounds; her face was rotted away, yet it gave off no foul smell.

No matter what, the Bai Family's medical skill is superb beyond doubt; I don't know what powder Bai Xian'er used, but it temporarily sealed the stench of decay on her body.

What a pity such excellent medical skill.

Bai Xian'er tried to resist, but when the scripture barrier enveloped her, she let out a piercing shriek and instantly turned into a white hedgehog, curling up on the ground and trembling.

If she weren't at her wit's end, why would Bai Xian'er cooperate with Dou Zhifu, letting him carry her into the Dou family's ancestral tomb?

Her reason for coming here is only twofold.

First, to ruin the feng shui of the Dou family's ancestral tomb; second, to find a chance to transform into the appearance of a gray immortal to deceive me, waiting for an opportunity to obtain my salvation.

She achieved the first point, but she failed at the second.

She was utterly defeated.

While the Mystic Cat attacked Bai Xian'er, I did not relax my vigilance, constantly observing the surroundings.

Bai Xian'er did not enter the tomb alone; she also had a most capable helper—a little monster.

Where is that little monster?

In a flash, I suddenly realized something and shouted toward the Mystic Cat at the tomb's center: "Mystic Cat, come back, quick!"

As I shouted, I had already picked up the hexagonal palace lamp and run toward it; I wasn't sure whether this little guy would obey me at this juncture.

I must make sure to grab it out immediately.

Just then, with a boom, one of the coffins on the upper right wall moved.

Its movement further confirmed my guess, and I shouted again: "Mystic Cat, come back!"

It was just a hair's breadth away—just a little more and it would have killed Bai Xian'er; the Mystic Cat was unwilling.

But after I called it twice, it snorted at me somewhat impatiently, yet still leapt onto my shoulder, and I retreated with it repeatedly.

Almost at the same instant it jumped onto me, the sliding coffin from the upper right fell down.

The moment that coffin landed, countless coffins around the cavern walls all turned their heads and rushed toward the center point.

This is Lu Ban's technique; you could never imagine what its Formation Array uses as a carrier, or where its mechanism lies.

Every Formation Array has a Zhènyǎn; sometimes a Zhènyǎn can be a gate of life, or a gate of death.

Bai Xian'er cannot survive; this is an established fact.

Her disguise has been seen through by me; she is at her wit's end.

Yet even in this situation, she remains standing still without moving; why?

She is doing it to lure me over, to use me as a backing.

The coffin in the upper right is the Zhènyǎn; likely Dou Zhifu had marked it long ago, and that little monster should be hidden inside the coffin.

I didn't pause, shouting loudly: "Feng Wu, come forth!"

The long bow was instantly in my hand; with my other hand holding the hexagonal palace lamp, I hooked the bowstring, aimed at the coffin that is the Zhènyǎn, and with a whoosh, a flame shot out, striking the coffin's head.

I then fired two more bursts of flame in succession; the Mystic Cat kept meowing, the scripture barrier protected my whole body, and its paws incessantly scratched my ears.

It was only the pads scratching me, without extending its claws.

It was urging me to flee.

But I simply did not move.

The best chance to escape was when I first called the Mystic Cat.

At that time, the coffin forming the Zhènyǎn had not yet moved; I slipped away silently, and thus avoided the subsequent predicament.

But now, not only has the Zhènyǎn moved, the surrounding Formation Arrays are also active; no matter which direction I run, the end result will either be buried under falling coffins or crushed to death.

The only way to survive now is to destroy the coffin that is the Zhènyǎn and break this coffin Formation Array.

All three bursts of flame hit the coffin; the instant the third burst penetrated the coffin, the lid flipped open, and that neither-human-nor-beast little monster leapt out, its body flinging forward as countless flesh spines shot toward me.

The Zhènyǎn coffin behind it instantly ignited in a flash, roaring flames spewing tongues of fire in all directions, unstoppable.

As the Zhènyǎn coffin was set ablaze, the surrounding coffins that had rushed down, after a brief hover, all fell uncontrollably to the ground.

The whole Mushi interior shook like an earthquake, boomed, and dust flew up.

We were surrounded by those coffins in the center of the Mushi.

Meow!

The Mysterious Cat let out a sharp cry, the sutra barrier blocked the little monster's flesh spikes, it pushed off with its four legs, its pure black body like an arrow leaving the bow, and shot toward the little monster.

The Mysterious Cat chased the little monster around inside the tomb, leaping and fighting, its claws occasionally scraping the coffins, producing a grating sound.

The ground shook violently, the stacked coffins swayed, and could collapse at any moment, crushing me.

The white hedgehog, collapsed on the ground, suddenly transformed into human form; she lay face up, eyes closed, after two squeaks she seemed to have fallen into the Chaos realm, murmuring: 'Do you still remember?'

"That year, when we first took human form, he held prayer beads in one hand and a soul-collecting talisman in the other, walking alone toward us, he asked, 'Do you want to become demons, or do you wish to become gods?'"

"Two lines of blood tears flowed down from Bai Xian'er's eyes; her pupils, which had begun to dissipate, seemed at this moment to be infused with a new soul: 'But in the end? He fell into heart demons before any of us, succumbed to the evil path! If we could start over, would you… still be as determined as before to accompany him onward?'"