The Zhang brothers, though having just dodged the attack of the Thousand-Eyed Ghost, had eyes that glowed with a blood-red light, appearing both enchanting and eerie.
The Zhang brothers didn't notice anything amiss with themselves and, seeing Gu Qingzhou's shocked expression, asked in confusion, "Young Master Gu, why are you looking at us with such a strange gaze?"
Gu Qingzhou frowned and tentatively asked, "Don't you feel unwell?"
The Zhang brothers shook their heads in unison, instinctively glancing at each other, unsure why Gu Qingzhou was asking such questions out of the blue. However, after their glance, they immediately noticed the strange red hue in each other's eyes.
"What's going on?" The Zhang brothers' faces turned grim, not knowing what had happened to them.
Gu Qingzhou also had no idea what was happening to the Zhang brothers and could only turn his gaze to Su Xi. Since she had been able to notice the abnormality so quickly, perhaps she knew something. After all, Mount Penglai often dealt with yin energy, and they would know more than him.
Having confirmed this, Gu Qingzhou looked at Su Xi and asked, "Junior Sister Su Xi, what do you think about this matter?"
"How do I think about it?" Su Xi wanted to say that she naturally used her eyes to see.
But she knew that if she really said that, the Zhang brothers would surely become enraged and embarrassed.
Facing two Foundation Establishment stage experts, even with the weapon she had just developed, she wouldn't gain any advantage. Moreover, Gu Qingzhou was hovering nearby, watching with ill intent. If a fight broke out, her chances of suffering were high.
Exposing her strength too early would only lead to her utter ruin.
Therefore, she took out two talismans from her person and handed them over. "They have been infected by yin energy and need to be controlled immediately. Otherwise, once it enters their brains, even immortals cannot save them."
Upon hearing Su Xi's words, the Zhang brothers took the talismans and affixed them to themselves.
After Zhang Yuan affixed his talisman, he looked at Su Xi and questioned, "Our bodies didn't react at all, what is this?"
Su Xi was not nervous when questioned and replied, "Why are you panicking? I haven't chanted the incantation yet."
With that, she began to chant the incantation to activate the talismans.
As Su Xi chanted, the ordinary-looking talismans instantly turned bright red and began to tremble continuously. Black lines were drawn out from the Zhang brothers' bodies and absorbed into the talismans.
Once no more black lines emerged from the Zhang brothers, the talismans quickly shattered into fragments and fell to the ground. Simultaneously, the Zhang brothers' eyes returned to their normal color.
Seeing that Su Xi possessed such means, Gu Qingzhou couldn't help but regard her with higher esteem. He had initially planned to use Su Xi in the end, but now there was an unexpected bonus.
"Junior Sister Su Xi is indeed a worthy disciple of our Uncle-Master. Now our chances of obtaining treasure will increase significantly." After showering Su Xi with praise, Gu Qingzhou beckoned everyone to continue towards the second level of the ancient tomb.
The second level was structurally similar to the first, only darker. With Su Xi's cultivation, she could not see more than ten meters ahead.
Zhang Yuan, having experienced the previous incident, felt a lingering unease. He stopped at the entrance and looked at Gu Qingzhou walking ahead. "Young Master Gu, what dangers are there in this level?"
Gu Qingzhou had been able to confidently produce something to counter the Thousand-Eyed Ghost previously, indicating he had some knowledge of the place. To minimize danger ahead, it was natural to be cautious.
Gu Qingzhou, sensing Zhang Yuan's implicit blame for not informing them of the dangers beforehand, responded calmly, "The last time I came here, the second level only contained some immature Silver-Scaled Scorpions. Even if they have grown a bit, with so many of us, we should be enough to handle them."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
They might not have ways to deal with other creatures, but they had methods to handle driving demonic beasts, even those nourished by yin energy.
In contrast to the Zhang brothers' relaxation, Su Xi did not feel at ease.
The ordinary-looking fire-poker she carried was emitting waves of heat, as if warning of impending danger.
Although Su Xi didn't know why the fire-poker was reacting so strongly, she decisively chose to trust it.
After all, it was the fire-poker's warning that had saved her from the Thousand-Eyed Ghost's sneak attack. Now that it was reacting again, caution was necessary.
"Ssss..."
Suddenly, a series of scraping sounds against the floor reached everyone's ears. The sound was not loud, but in the darkness, it made one's scalp tingle.
"They're finally here," Zhang Yuan said, looking in the direction of the sound with excitement.
Those who control beasts need to borrow the power of demonic beasts to increase their strength. The more powerful the demonic beast, the greater their increase in strength. Especially rare demonic beasts like the Silver-Scaled Scorpion, if they could be subdued, their combat power would greatly improve.
Zhang Liao harbored the same thoughts, standing at the forefront, looking eagerly ahead.
Soon, from the darkness ahead, scorpions about three inches in size, golden yellow all over, began to crawl out. Each scorpion held its tail's stinger aloft, its pair of emerald green eyes fixed on the group.
Upon seeing the scorpions, Zhang Yuan and Zhang Liao turned to Gu Qingzhou with grim expressions.
They said Silver-Scaled Scorpions, so why were they Golden-Scaled Scorpions?
Although the difference between Golden-Scaled Scorpions and Silver-Scaled Scorpions was only one word, the two were as different as the moon and fireflies, incomparable.
Golden-Scaled Scorpions, as peak-level Rank Two demonic beasts, were incredibly tough all over, and their tail stingers were highly venomous. Furthermore, they were gregarious creatures. Once entangled with them, even cultivators at the Golden Core stage would suffer greatly.
Zhang Liao and Zhang Yuan, as cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, facing thousands of Golden-Scaled Scorpions was tantamount to寿星公上吊-seeking death.
They only wanted to increase their strength, not ascend to heaven directly.
Gu Qingzhou recognized their concerns and said, "These Golden-Scaled Scorpions have not fully evolved, and their strength has not reached its peak. If we retreat now, we will all die here."
He was also shocked. The Silver-Scaled Scorpions turning into Golden-Scaled Scorpions indicated that something abnormal had occurred in the tomb. However, even knowing the tomb was abnormal, they were halfway through, and he absolutely could not give up.
Zhang Liao and Zhang Yuan knew Gu Qingzhou was not lying. To survive, they could only fight desperately.
The two of them opened their beast-taming bags and released all the demonic beasts they had raised. Simultaneously, they threw handfuls of medicinal powder.
This powder could forcibly enhance the combat power of their demonic beasts. Although it would damage the beasts afterwards, they couldn't afford to worry about that now.
Instantly, the battle between the demonic beasts commenced rapidly.
However, the Golden-Scaled Scorpions were too numerous. Although some were intercepted by their flying rats, a considerable number broke through the defense and charged towards the group.
Gu Qingzhou let out a cold snort and summoned his Qilin Fan. A green light enveloped the group, shielding them from the sneak attacks of the Golden-Scaled Scorpions.
Seeing that the Golden-Scaled Scorpions could not harm them, Zhang Liao and Zhang Yuan increased their output of spiritual energy.
Being able to subdue Golden-Scaled Scorpions, this trip would be incredibly profitable for them.