Riding on the back of the green ox, Yan Shouyi and the other two rapidly approached the camp.
However, Lin Zitong’s condition was dire. She coughed up blood incessantly, her face pale, and most importantly, Yan Shouyi saw wisps of her vital spirit dissipating from her body.
This was a sign that the venomous Gu had infiltrated her soul, causing it to scatter!
“You little brat! Hold on!”
Yan Shouyi was filled with anxiety. He had never imagined that intending to bring Lin Zitong back to his hometown to visit would now directly threaten her life!
The venomous Gu was too potent. If this continued, before they could even reach the camp, Lin Zitong would be consumed by the Gu, her soul dispersed to oblivion!
Even the sorcerer, upon seeing her, shook his head and said, “It’s no use. She can’t hold on.”
“No, she won’t!” Yan Shouyi held Lin Zitong tightly.
He had already lost Lin Zitong once; he absolutely would not watch her die again.
At that moment, the skull mark on Lin Zitong’s palm flashed with a dark light, followed by a surge of black energy that enveloped her body and coiled around her.
Seeing this, Yan Shouyi was overjoyed. “It’s her! It’s Lian He!”
Yan Shouyi had previously speculated that Lin Zitong might be the princess of the Fish Shu Kingdom, and the consciousness within her was Lian He, the princess’s maid.
Although he still didn’t know how Lian He reincarnated with the princess’s soul and resided within Lin Zitong, Lian He had already saved Lin Zitong once before, and he assumed she wouldn’t stand idly by this time!
“Lian He, is that you?” Yan Shouyi asked.
The familiar voice responded, slightly surprised, “How do you know my name?”
Hearing Lian He’s reply, Yan Shouyi became even more certain of his guess: Lin Zitong was the reincarnation of the Fish Shu Kingdom’s princess, and the consciousness within her was Lian He!
Yan Shouyi hurriedly said, “Now is not the time to explain this. Zitong has been poisoned by a Gu, and her soul is being eroded. Do you have a way to remove the poison?”
Lian He was silent for a moment before replying, “My power is also very limited now. I cannot directly detoxify, but I can slow down the erosion of the Gu on the soul. It should buy your master about two days!”
“Two days is enough! As long as the progress can be delayed, I will definitely find the origin Gu and break the curse!” Yan Shouyi exclaimed excitedly.
He understood that he couldn’t always rely on others, so even if Lian He could only buy time, it was enough to make Yan Shouyi thrilled.
Lian He said, “After I slow down the erosion, I will fall into a deep sleep and will be unable to respond to you. Therefore, there are some things I must tell you beforehand!”
“What?” Yan Shouyi was startled.
“The poison Gu that your master is infected with is called the Ancient Shu Soul-Devouring Gu, a very powerful venomous Gu. And as far as I know, only one person in this world knows how to raise this Gu. His name is Jiang Wusheng, the High Priest of the Qing Jiang Kingdom!”
Qing Jiang Kingdom, High Priest?
And this Ancient Shu Soul-Devouring Gu?
How did this matter become connected to the ancient Shu land during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period?
Yan Shouyi said, “That’s not right. The one who attacked Zitong was King Jian. King Jian was a figure from the Song Dynasty, which was a dynasty after the fall of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, separated by at least a hundred years. Also, King Jian’s tomb is in Jianzhou, while the Qing Jiang Kingdom is in Shu land, over four thousand li apart. They shouldn’t be related!”
Lian He’s tone was also very confused, but this was not the time to think about it. “In any case, you must be extremely careful. Jiang Wusheng hates your master to the bone. If you truly encounter him… alas! Let’s not think about it anymore. Saving your master is the priority!”
With that, Lian He began to use all her strength to prevent the venomous Gu from eroding Lin Zitong’s soul and fell into silence, no longer communicating with Yan Shouyi.
After the conversation with Lian He, Yan Shouyi felt a hidden sense of unease.
Ancient texts did not record the deeds of this High Priest Jiang Wusheng of the Qing Jiang Kingdom, but judging by Lian He’s urgent and nervous tone, Yan Shouyi knew that Jiang Wusheng was not someone to be trifled with.
Most importantly, Jiang Wusheng hated the princess of the Fish Shu Kingdom. If he saw Lin Zitong, he would undoubtedly transfer his hatred for the princess to Lin Zitong.
He hoped that King Jian’s tomb only contained King Jian, and not the so-called Jiang Wusheng.
Yan Shouyi thought this, and suddenly noticed movement from Lin Zitong in his arms.
She opened her eyes again, her face regaining its color. After taking a few breaths, Lin Zitong, as if nothing had happened, struggled to sit up:
“What happened to me?”
Yan Shouyi recounted what had happened to Lin Zitong. Upon hearing this, Lin Zitong also became somewhat nervous.
After all, finding a Gu that could erode the soul inside her without any reason would make anyone worried.
But Yan Shouyi held her hand. “We’ll go to King Jian’s tomb together. We will definitely find the origin Gu. I will always be by your side.”
With Yan Shouyi’s promise, Lin Zitong was no longer so afraid. She straightened up and became strong again, pursing her lips and saying, “With you here, I’m not afraid.”
Although the Gu had temporarily stopped eroding Lin Zitong’s soul, finding the origin Gu remained an urgent matter.
The green ox rapidly approached the camp.
…
Meanwhile, back at the camp, Boss Zhou and his group, despite their best efforts, were only able to fight the massive tomb-guarding serpent ghost to a standstill.
Furthermore, they had seen a dark light emerge from underground earlier and, not knowing where it had gone, felt even more worried and fearful.
The tomb-guarding serpent ghost, with its immense size, agile body, and indestructible scales, had succeeded several times, directly devouring several living people.
The extraordinary individuals who had survived thus far possessed some degree of power. They were cautious, preventing the serpent ghost from easily succeeding again.
However, continuing this stalemate was not a solution. They dared not compete with this tomb-guarding serpent ghost in terms of stamina.
If this continued, even if they were not eaten by the serpent ghost, they would be exhausted to death!
Ma Xingping said coldly, “Boss Zhou, I’m afraid we are no match for this serpent ghost. Why don’t we retreat and come back another day?”
“No, this opportunity is rare. The serpent ghost is incredibly cunning. If we leave now, no matter how much we lure it next time, it won’t come out again!”
Although Boss Zhou was angry, for some reason, his attitude was unusually stubborn.
Ma Jinxuan frowned. He found Boss Zhou’s behavior very strange.
Despite being timid, he had now become reckless.
This was no longer a matter of greed. There must be something in King Jian’s tomb that attracted Boss Zhou, making him risk his life to obtain it!
Since Boss Zhou was unwilling to retreat, Ma Xingping had no choice but to engage the tomb-guarding serpent ghost.
What angered him was that Yang Li, the earth-moving Taoist priest who had the most advantage in dealing with the serpent ghost in their team, had disappeared at this time.
This fellow was clearly hiding in the shadows, intending to wait for them to fight each other to a mutual destruction, and then reap the benefits!
Suddenly, Ma Jinxuan, who was at the very front, was maneuvering the tomb-guarding serpent ghost with a flying tiger claw. With a moment of carelessness, the serpent ghost seized the opportunity and broke his flying tiger claw!
Ma Jinxuan tumbled to the ground in a sorry state, unable to move for a while. It looked like his ankle was at least sprained, making it impossible for him to escape!
And the cunning and brutal tomb-guarding serpent ghost had long since set its sights on this troublesome human woman.
It quickly coiled its tail around Ma Jinxuan, then raised its enormous tongue, looking down at Ma Jinxuan on the ground.
At this moment, Ma Jinxuan was the serpent ghost’s trapped prey!
When Ma Xingping saw this, his eyes immediately reddened. He could foresee what would happen to Ma Jinxuan in the next second!
And he, as her brother, was too far away from Ma Jinxuan to rescue her in time!!
Life and death hung in the balance!
“You beast, take this!!”
At the critical moment, a bolt of lightning flashed from the bamboo forest, and then the tomb-guarding serpent ghost let out a loud cry of pain!
Its eye had been struck by a surprise attack, and it was now blind in one eye. The wound around it was torn and festering, even carbonized, emitting black smoke!
Seeing this, Ma Jinxuan’s mind immediately conjured the image of Yan Shouyi.
That was the Palm Thunder. Within a hundred li radius, who else could use it besides Yan Shouyi?!
Had that Lu Ban descendant Yan Shouyi not left, but returned to fight?!