“It’s just like whack-a-mole—whoever pops up first gets hit. I can do this.”
The hand bones above my head linked together once again, transforming into a massive hammer. I aimed for the large tombstones and smashed down.
*Boom, boom, boom —*
“Cough, cough… stop hitting me!”
Lu Xiu dodged clumsily, his complaint cutting through the dust as he shouted at me.
“You look too much like them! I didn’t see you.”
My eyes darted around guiltily, and I scratched my cheek.
At that moment, a massive fragment of a tombstone was sent flying by the blast wave, hurtling straight toward me.
I spun my body, manipulating the bones to swing the hammer for a block, but my heart suddenly flared with pain. My entire body stiffened, and my movements slowed by a fraction.
The fragment was already right in front of my face.
‘I’m dead meat!’
*Boom —*
The giant rock crashed down, shattering the white bone throne into pieces.
“Cough… don’t get distracted during a fight…”
As the dust settled, Lu Xiu sighed and let go of the arm he had used to shield me. A gash ran across his forearm, and blood was gushing out, dripping onto the broken white bone.
Did Lu Xiu just save me?
*Thump, thump —*
My heart tightened, forcing me to curl up involuntarily.
‘It hurts.’
I immediately scanned the surroundings, but the layers of tombstones mixed with debris made it impossible to see which tombstone had activated the ability.
Lu Xiu frowned and helped me steady myself. He pulled a small silver crystal bottle from his pocket and threw it toward the cluster of tombstones burning with golden fire.
The bottle shattered, splashing countless droplets of silver liquid. It ignited upon contact with the fire, instantly transforming into slithering fire snakes that bloomed into a golden sea of flowers.
The pain in my heart gradually eased, but Lu Xiu’s expression remained grim.
“This can’t go on… we can’t find the demon’s true body. Fighting like this will only disadvantage us in the end. We have to find a way to break through, force a path in one direction, and leave this area,” he said.
He pulled out the compass he had used against the super seaweed mass and flicked it with his finger. The life-seeking pointer spun and finally locked onto a specific spot.
“Sui, you’re in charge of clearing the path. I’ll focus on anchoring the way to life… cough, cough…”
He suddenly covered his mouth with his palm. Looking at the blackened blood in his hand, the corners of his mouth quirked up.
“In the meantime, help me clear out these distractions, okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” After saying that, I felt like I lacked momentum, so I added, “I’ll protect you.”
The moment the words left my mouth, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Fine, I almost forgot he was still under attack right now.
I quickly spread out the giant bone palms and smashed them frantically into the surroundings. Only after destroying everything did I stand up, feeling a bit tired.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I am.”
“Then why use such a large-scale move?”
“It’s because I couldn’t find them…”
“Conserve your energy. Don’t end up collapsed from exhaustion and make me carry you.”
“I know, I know.”
He shook his head, stretched his body, and even did a quick warm-up.
“Let’s move.”
*Shing —*
His leather shoes carved a grey streak into the ground as Lu Xiu kicked off with force.
Holding the steady compass in one hand and gripping his burning sword in the other, he dashed in the direction of the pointer.
Tombstones rose from the ground one after another, trying to block him. He stepped onto the face of a tombstone, using it as a springboard to leap.
He rolled across the ground to dissipate the momentum, his blade sweeping out to slice the stones erupting from the walls in two.
Almost the moment he landed, the white bone tide arrived as promised, roaring from behind him to shatter the stone formation attacking from the darkness.
Lu Xiu timed it perfectly, grabbing a giant bone finger that was thrusting forward to ride the momentum.
From the rear, I withdrew my extended hand and clenched it in midair. In an instant, countless sharp bone thorns and brambles sprouted from the surface of the bone palm leading the charge.
They hooked and intertwined with each other, quickly locking into a thick bone chain. Another giant bone hand rose beside me, grasping the end of the bone chain.
Following my lead, it swung the chain.
The bone palm carrying Lu Xiu at the front and the bone hand at the back were now linked by the chain, turning into an incredibly massive meteor hammer that crushed everything in its sight.
*Crack, crack —*
The bone platform beneath my feet vibrated. I took a step back as a sharp tombstone tip pierced through the white bone under me, followed by a second and a third.
Below the ground, countless tombstones were growing like earth spikes, launching a frantic attack toward me.
Meanwhile, Lu Xiu had already landed, but the broken tombstones ahead were fusing together.
A deep black giant hammer smashed into the ground as a tombstone giant, composed of countless tombstone faces, twisted its body and let out a silent, high-pitched shriek, blocking his path.
“Sui!”
Hearing his voice, I opened one hand. A white flower bloomed in my palm, and a giant claw erupted from it to intercept a pointed tombstone sneaking out from the wall. My other hand aimed at the distant giant.
*Boom —*
Bone spikes shot out, instantly slamming into the giant that was swinging a fist at Lu Xiu, knocking it into the darkness.
Lu Xiu didn’t stop for a second. His figure blurred as he leapt up, changing direction in midair. The Unsharpened Sword reflected a cold light as he swung it toward the giant’s half-shattered chest.
The blade knocked aside the last of the stone armor on the chest and plunged into the deep black mire within.
“**PETRIFICATION —**”
The power of petrification activated, solidifying the giant inch by inch.
The giant hand that had been trying to grab Lu Xiu froze above his head, turning into a massive, grotesquely posed stone statue along with the rest of its body.
*Zing —*
Pulling out the blade, he stepped off the giant’s head and jumped down.
The muscles on his forearm flexed and tensed as he took a throwing stance, hurlng the burning sword toward the densest patch of darkness ahead.
The blade whistled through the wind, spinning a few times before piercing the darkness. The sword’s body stopped midair in an eerie fashion.
Then, centered on the sword’s tip, countless white cracks spread out, instantly covering the entire darkness.
With a crisp *crack*, the void in front of us began to shatter and peel away, finally revealing the cold metal door hidden behind it.
I clenched my fists, and the bone palms tightened, crushing the last tombstone before I jumped down from the bone nest.
The stones around us slowly melted, merging back into the ground. Everything returned to its original tunnel form, leaving behind only a scene of devastation.
“Is it over?”
A bone palm gave me a gentle push, sending me to land beside him.
“This is just the beginning.”
Lu Xiu shrugged. “There are probably several more demons inside.”
“Are they all lower-level demons?”
“I think so? Probably its loyal Tomb Keepers.”
“Can’t we win them over?”
“You’d need something to offer them…” He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m penniless, and aside from a bunch of food, you don’t have any treasures, do you?”
“…You’re probably right.”
With that, Lu Xiu pulled a card from his pocket, which had his photo and name printed on it.
*Beep —*
He swiped it at the door. The red light on the door instantly turned green. Then, the sound of mechanical gears clicking came from inside.
The tightly shut door moved, opening a gap. A draft of cold air leaked out, hitting me and giving me goosebumps. I quickly rubbed my arms to dispel the chill.
“Let’s go,” Lu Xiu said, stepping inside first.
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