As the eyes opened, the eyeballs within were completely bone-white, emitting an indescribable, eerie dread. Zhang Qiling's heart tightened, and his Black Gold Ancient Saber, rather than retreating, advanced with increased speed!
Another saber, following like a shadow, moved alongside him. Though they exchanged no words, their understanding was telepathic, as if they were twin brothers with shared thoughts at this moment.
Their speed was extreme, their saber tips almost blurring into afterimages with their bodies. Their target was the center of the slowly rising skull!
But then, with a "clang!"
As a blinding white light erupted, a solid wall instantly materialized before the sitting corpse!
Saber tips collided with the steel wall, sparking furiously, the ear-piercing screech of friction echoing through the confined space!
"This is... materialization?"
Wu Tianzhen watched, stunned for a moment, but then he abruptly looked at the corpse!
"Xiao Ge, be careful! That corpse now possesses subconscious abilities!"
The instant Wu Tianzhen's voice reached him, the steel wall before Zhang Qiling's eyes softened, transforming in the blink of an eye into gleaming, obsidian scales!
"Not good!"
The Black Gold Ancient Saber, which he had intended to retract, suddenly twisted its angle. He and the scales erupted almost simultaneously!
The saber tip, with unstoppable force, thrust downwards. In the center of the shimmering scales, a pair of eerie green vertical pupils appeared!
Had this wall transformed into a colossal monitor lizard?!
As Zhang Qiling clashed fiercely with the giant lizard, he pushed off the ground and instantly retreated!
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty felt a sharp pain in their shoulders as he pulled them away at high speed from the palace interior.
The moment they landed on the branches of the bronze tree outside, illuminated by the flashlight beams, the stone palace rippled like water, suddenly folding and twisting into a coiling black serpent!
This ability to materialize was approaching that of spoken commands manifesting reality!
The black serpent, as thick as an iron pillar, emitted a bone-shaking creak as it slithered on the bronze tree. It slowly tightened its coils, its venomous eyes instantly locking onto the three figures on the branch!
"Go!"
With a sharp cry, Zhang Qiling flashed away, meeting the charging serpent's head mid-air!
Under the immense force, the Black Gold Ancient Saber groaned under the strain. Zhang Qiling skillfully shifted, releasing the force at the moment of contact. His blade angled, diverting the giant snake's attack towards the peak.
With a deafening explosion, the serpent's head collided with the stone summit, sending fragments of rock and earth raining down upon it.
The giant serpent's skin was like hardened iron, stones striking it with a metallic clang. Though unable to break its defense, it still agitated the creature, its vertical pupils narrowing as it bared its fangs!
Just as it locked onto Zhang Qiling, arching its body to gather strength for a strike!
A flash of saber light appeared. After a moment's pause, the serpent's eyes, each as large as a round table, burst into bloody mist!
It was Zhang Qiling, who had leaped out from the serpent's coils. The giant lizard had transformed into a wisp of bloody water flung from the edge of the Black Gold Ancient Saber!
Having struck true, Zhang Qiling fell downwards, unable to find purchase in the air. But then, a roar sounded, and Hei Mao, with a few leaps, weaved through the serpent's body and caught Zhang Qiling perfectly.
Seeing this, Zhang Qiling did not hesitate. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he gathered strength and charged forward. The stone wall where he had just landed exploded into rubble, scattering with a crackle.
He sprinted several times on the writhing serpent's body, accurately pinpointing its vulnerable spot in the darkness. With a leap, his Black Gold Ancient Saber pointed downwards, launching a fierce strike!
But at this moment, the serpent's body suddenly stiffened, as if being kneaded by an invisible hand. It contorted like putty and transformed into a soaring eagle, its ferocious beak agape, poised to swallow Zhang Qiling whole!
Under the force of gravity, Zhang Qiling plummeted downwards, but in an instant, something seemed to flash through his mind. Without looking back, he threw his hand behind him, precisely catching the grappling hook thrown by Zhang Qiling!
Zhang Qiling exerted force on his arm, and Zhang Qiling spun in coordination. They traced a curve through the air before landing gently, standing beside Zhang Qiling.
Together, they battled the soaring eagle. Below, on the tree branches, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty watched, their hearts pounding with fear.
As碎石 (suì shí -碎石) occasionally fell, and the two figures darted and weaved within the giant bird, firing bullets now would easily lead to friendly fire.
"Damn it!" Fatty cursed. "Later, I'll just throw a bomb directly into that bird's mouth and blow it to hell!"
"No," Wu Tianzhen immediately retorted.
"That corpse can completely control the power of the bronze tree. If you throw a bomb in there, it'll immediately materialize the bird into an iron box and trap the two Xiao Ge. Your bomb might not even hit who you intend!"
"...Bloody hell!" Fatty climbed up a bit, trying to find a loophole to directly eliminate the corpse. But he found that although the bird seemed to fly erratically, it protected the corpse's platform so thoroughly that they couldn't even see the corpse from their current position.
"It's just that we can't control the bronze tree like that corpse..." Wu Tianzhen anxiously pondered, but suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him!
...They couldn't freely control their own subconscious, but they could certainly control the other's subconscious!
"Fatty!" Without delay, he instantly shouted upwards, drawing Fatty's attention. His mind raced as the words tumbled out.
"We need to make that platform fall!"
"What?!" Fatty was confused. His mood was explosive, and a string of colorful curses poured out of his mouth.
"Isn't it Tianzhen, have you gone mad? You want the platform to fall?"
"Yeah, yeah, fall. Make that platform sprout wings and fly over, or have this tree 'crack' and drill halfway into the ground to drag it down!"
"Fall? How could it be so ea—"
Fatty stopped mid-sentence, suddenly frozen. Wu Tianzhen, on the other hand, beamed with joy and jumped up to clap Fatty on the shoulder in celebration.
"You're amazing, Fatty! You succeeded on the first try!"
There, within the embrace of the bronze tree branches, under the protection of the giant bird, the platform carrying the corpse, before everyone's eyes, transformed into a bald goose!
The goose, upon appearing, was still disoriented. But as it looked up, good heavens, a massive eagle was staring down at it, scaring it into honking and flapping its wings, jumping left and right.
The few watched as a one-eyed worm, which was about to enter the body through the carvings on the bronze tree branches, was unexpectedly kicked by the goose. It instantly turned into a sticky liquid.
Although the corpse reacted quickly, re-materializing it into a jade platform within seconds of the goose's appearance, the goose was too energetic. The jade platform, along with the corpse, was now hanging precariously at the edge of the branches.
"Fatty..." Wu Tianzhen rubbed his chin, a mischievous smile on his face.
"Don't you think, with that hanging there, it's the perfect spot for a firework?"