Chapter 23: The Sinister Eye
The blood-red pupils glared viciously at Lu You.
Seeing this eerie scene, Lu You once again activated a Thunder Technique Talisman and struck out.
Several corpses were electrocuted into flying ash.
Only then did the crimson pupils suddenly show a trace of strange emotion, and then dissipated together with the bodies.
"I knew it. Under normal circumstances, once everyone enters through a hidden door, there's no reason to close it again."
Lu You hesitated. Those few corpses had clearly been turned into puppets. If it weren't for his continuous use of Thunder Technique Talismans raising the temperature too high and reducing the bodies to ash, those puppet corpses would have been able to keep fighting him even after suffering heavy damage.
As for who was controlling the puppets, there was no need to guess, it had to be those bizarre eyes.
"Looks like Senior Sister is here."
With the Divine Eye Talisman, Lu You had also seen familiar sword marks on the corpses just now, identical to the traces left when Senior Sister Zeng slew those bandit cultivators.
Glancing at the corridor beyond the hidden door, Lu You once again urged the Thunder Technique Talismans, plastering them along the walls like wallpaper as he cautiously advanced inward.
This time, his goal was to rescue Senior Sister, there was no need to confront the strange eyes head-on.
As long as he found her, he could use Thunder Technique Talismans to stall for time and then activate a Teleportation Talisman.
Thinking this through, Lu You no longer felt afraid.
After all, back on the rear mountain that night, although the strange eyes were powerful, they still lacked the ability to instantly tear through his densely layered Golden Light Talismans and kill him.
What's more, his Golden Light Talismans had now been upgraded, all refined with high-grade materials, making them roughly three times stronger than before. In addition, he had officially reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, allowing him to control a greater number of talismans with higher speed.
At the end of the corridor behind the hidden door stood a real, genuine tombstone.
Across the surface of the massive tombstone, mysterious runes surged ceaselessly. At its very top was a pair of tightly closed eyes.
Drip
For no apparent reason, a trace of life essence suddenly condensed in the air and fell onto the tombstone. The tightly shut eyes twitched, as if they were about to open at any moment.
Opposite the tombstone, of the ten Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Verdant Cloud Sect and the powerful disciples they had brought along, fewer than five remained. They were Zeng Yan, Bai Zihua, and three other Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Facing the five were corpses lying scattered in all directions, all dressed in the robes of Verdant Cloud Sect disciples. Every one of them had lost the life essence at the center of their brow. With a swing of his long sword, Bai Zihua beheaded a corpse that was struggling to rise.
"My protective artifact is already destroyed. When it opens its eyes again, the one whose life essence gets drained will be me." Standing opposite the tombstone, Bai Zihua tossed the long sword in his hand to Zeng Yan.
"Once I'm controlled, there's a good chance I'll slaughter all of you. But that's also your opportunity, if it wants to control me, the time it needs will be much longer than with anyone else."
After sacrificing the lives of more than a dozen companions, Bai Zihua and the others finally figured out the abilities of the tombstone and the sinister eye.
Within this ancient tomb, whenever a living being died, its life essence would be absorbed by the tombstone and then supplied to that sinister eye.
And every half incense stick's time, the sinister eye would open once, anyone gazed upon by it would become its puppet.
Most of the corpses here had been controlled by the sinister eye, attacked Bai Zihua and the others, and were then cut down in return.
The so-called "opportunity" referred precisely to the instant when the sinister eye opened. Only by attacking at that exact moment could one truly injure it; otherwise, all attacks would be absorbed by the tombstone.
"Zeng Yan, although you're only at the ninth level of the Qi Refining realm, among everyone here, you're the only sword cultivator." Bai Zihua spoke as if arranging his final affairs. "Only a sword cultivator can unleash the full power of this artifact. While the sinister eye is trying to control me, the rest of you junior brothers must find a way to kill me immediately. And you, Zeng Yan, you must find a way to blind those eyes."
Among everyone present, Bai Zihua was the strongest. If the sinister eye succeeded in controlling him, everyone else would be slaughtered by Bai Zihua as a puppet. As for the remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators, although none of them were weak, when it came to single-target offensive power, the strongest was actually Zeng Yan, who had just broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining during the fighting in the ancient tomb.
Zeng Yan took the long sword. No one present spoke; even the remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't look at her. It wasn't that they looked down on Zeng Yan—they were afraid that even their gaze might place pressure on her.
In the next second, the eyes atop the tombstone suddenly moved. Instead of opening once every half incense stick's time, they appeared ahead of schedule.
Faced with this unexpected development, none of them panicked. Bai Zihua fearlessly met the blood-red pupils, trying to draw the sinister eye into controlling him, while Zeng Yan, the instant the eyes opened, merged woman and sword as one and shot straight toward the sinister eye's pupil.
But this time, the sinister eye didn't look at anyone. Instead, it revealed a strange expression, as if it had discovered something faintly familiar yet impossible to grasp.
Immediately afterward, a hint of a human-like smile flashed across the sinister eye. It neither controlled Bai Zihua nor paid any attention to Zeng Yan stabbing toward it. Instead, the sinister eye and the tombstone abruptly tore themselves from the ground and flew toward the entrance, bypassing Bai Zihua and the others.
In just an instant, the sinister eye vanished without a trace.
"Why did that sinister thing run away?"
Bai Zihua wasn't relieved at all, his brows were tightly furrowed. "That tombstone can actually move. No, we have to chase it. We can't let it devour any more life essence."
On the other side, Lu You, who was plastering talismans along the corridor walls, suddenly felt the Evil-Repelling Talisman on his chest grow hot. Without the slightest hesitation, Lu You immediately activated a Golden Light Talisman. Right after that, he flung a handful of Thunder Technique Talismans forward while retreating frantically.
Boom!
A massive tombstone appeared before Lu You. When the sinister eye atop the tombstone saw Lu You bathed in golden light, a distinctly human-like smile appeared in its pupils. That expression clearly said: You actually came back.
The next moment, the sinister eye fixed its gaze on Lu You. That bone-chilling sensation—like his blood freezing—once again surged through his body.
Purifying Heart Talisman.
Having experienced this once before, Lu You was fully prepared. After realizing that the sinister eye specialized in mental attacks, the instant it appeared, Lu You cast countless Purifying Heart Talismans on himself.
By shifting his line of sight and under the effects of the Purifying Heart Talismans, he neutralized the sinister eye's control and, with a few quick flashes of movement, dashed into the main hall.
A trace of surprise flickered through the sinister eye on the tombstone, it clearly hadn't expected Lu You to escape again. Realizing Lu You was trying to flee, the tombstone carried the sinister eye in pursuit.
"Do you know what a nuclear explosion is?"
Lu You, who had emerged a step ahead, completed his setup. The small cauldron was summoned from his mind-space, and massive quantities of Thunder Technique Talismans flew out of it, quickly filling the entire hall. At this point, only the spots where the tombstone and Lu You stood still had any room left to move.
Holding the small cauldron in his hand, Lu You first activated the Thunder Technique Talismans plastered along the walls of the hidden passage, blasting the secret door into collapse and cutting off the tombstone's escape route.
Watching the tombstone charge toward him, the corner of Lu You's mouth lifted.
The Teleportation Talisman activated.
According to Lu You's calculations, the hall was completely packed with Thunder Technique Talismans, leaving nowhere to step, and exactly a hundred meters away lay the nearest safe location.
As a result, the Teleportation Talisman defaulted to teleporting him within that safe range.
In the blink of an eye, after several rapid trial jumps, Lu You was transferred from the hall into the secret passage that had just been sealed by the explosion.
"Senior Sister should be here."
Lu You returned to the hidden passage, and then detonated every single talisman inside the main hall.
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