Although this matter was temporarily set aside, but…
"I say, Tian Zhen!" Fatty sat on several crisscrossing branches until his buttocks were sore, so he could only stand up and rub them randomly, seeing that he had lost all patience.
"We've been resting here for almost ten minutes, and the water below has almost receded. When are we climbing up?!"
Wu Tian Zhen was suppressing the anxiety in his heart, using his peripheral vision to closely observe the situation in the pool. He tensed up when he suddenly heard Fatty speak, but he didn't look at Fatty. Instead, he subconsciously glanced at the black-clothed, hooded figure not far away.
He saw that (Zhang Qiling) also looked over with Fatty's question, and a hint of confusion appeared on his face.
Wu Tian Zhen: !!!!!
"I, I'm tired!!!" He felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck, but he forced a smile that looked the same as usual onto his face.
"Let's rest for three more minutes, and then we'll climb up!"
Fatty glanced at him, said, "Okay, Fatty dotes on you~" and sat down.
He didn't know what emotions were conveyed in that glance. Wu Tian Zhen was too nervous to look closely, but he vaguely felt that Fatty had seen something.
His performance was indeed a bit too obvious. In front of a brother like Fatty, with whom he had shared life and death, he was like a narcissus holding back from blooming—pure pretense.
Wu Tian Zhen: Wait, why am I starting to use idioms too?!
But it didn't matter what Fatty thought, or rather, it was more convenient if he could see through it. What he feared was that the materialized Xiao Ge would also discover something was wrong.
Although Wu Tian Zhen had ninety percent trust in this materialized Xiao Ge, there was still that ten percent of distrust!
He didn't point this out initially because he couldn't bear to, but after careful consideration, he began to worry about the safety of his and Fatty's lives.
…What if, the materialized Xiao Ge suddenly realized he was a fake, had a mental breakdown, and descended into madness—
This bronze tree might be able to withstand a few kicks from him, but he and Fatty would probably be dead with one blow, and would need the real Xiao Ge to collect their corpses!
Xiao Ge, oh Xiao Ge…
Wu Tian Zhen listened to the gurgling sound of the whirlpool in the pool below, thinking anxiously:
There are still three minutes, and this whirlpool should have stopped by then. Hurry back, I really can't handle it alone, ahhhhhh—!!!
The real Xiao Zhang couldn't hear Wu Tian Zhen's heartfelt plea. He was currently leading a group of magical creatures to observe the newly acquired human skin scroll.
〈Can the soul truly not be materialized…〉
Staring at this sentence, his brows furrowed slightly.
Did this civilization attempt to materialize souls using the bronze tree?!
He suddenly turned his head to look at the stone platforms.
After a barrage of hidden weapons, some of the closer corpses had been knocked off the platforms. They now lay quietly on the cold ground, their faces still wearing that smile.
That posture, as if they were living people asleep…
They were just like empty shells abandoned after losing their souls!!
As far as he knew, the materialization ability of the bronze tree was entirely derived from the subconscious of humans. But how could the subconscious of humans imagine the appearance of a soul?
…Or, as the pioneers who summoned and used the bronze tree, did that civilization already master deeper utilization methods?
Did their materialization of souls succeed or fail? If it succeeded, where were those materialized souls now?
With these thoughts, the hazy white mist before him became even more mysterious, and a sense of the unknown ahead filled his heart.
At this moment, Zhang Qiling had stopped the operation of his Qilin tattoo, and the coldness returned, making him unable to distinguish whether the bone-chilling cold came from his senses or from his vigilance against the subtly intertwined threads of fate.
Just then, seeing that Zhang Qiling remained motionless for a long time, the cat, bored, lay on its side on the ground, its bare back rubbing against his leg, scaring the water monkey that was hiding on that leg to immediately move to the other side.
A trace of warmth came, bringing back his wandering thoughts.
…Wu Tian Zhen and Fatty were still waiting for him to return. He couldn't stay here too long.
Putting away the human skin scroll and its interlayer, he looked around. The white mist here obscured his vision, making it difficult to find mechanisms.
But in fact, he didn't need to see the surrounding walls clearly. The most special place in this secret chamber was right beneath his feet.
Kneeling on one knee, Zhang Qiling gently patted the giant cat's back to drive it away, fully exposing the statue base underneath.
When the cat saw Zhang Qiling kneel, it thought this creature was finally getting with the program and coming to serve it. To its surprise, he was so indifferent. It instinctively got up and became more and more angry as it thought about it, its entire body bristling with sharp spines.
So, after a while, Zhang Qiling heard the "pat-pat" sounds of the giant cat knocking over corpses around him again.
Zhang Qiling: …Are all cats this strange.
He had no time to summon the cat. After clearing a large amount of crushed stone and lime from the base with the back of his knife, the familiar double-bodied snake carving gradually emerged.
The densely arranged scales contained the method to crack the mechanism. Zhang Qiling's fingers moved like lightning as he began to unlock it with his bare hands.
…In fact, as soon as he knew that these corpses were likely physical shells that had voluntarily undergone soul materialization experiments, he lost half his interest in them.
How to put it, it felt like without souls, they had lost the possibility of reanimation.
He didn't know if this could become a new topic, something like "The Necessary Connection Between the Existence of a Soul and Becoming a Zongzi," which he felt Wu Tian Zhen would be very interested in researching.
As for Fatty…
Zhang Qiling had just checked for him. These corpses were all impoverished, so poor that they jingled, and couldn't attract Fatty's interest at all.
His speed in solving mechanisms was unquestionable. Before the cat had finished batting all the corpses around like sandbags, with a "click," the base on the ground, following the scales, slowly bloomed open like petals, revealing a downward passage.
There were stones all over the ground. Zhang Qiling casually threw one down. A few seconds later, he heard a crisp collision echo.
Confirming the height, he stood up and adjusted his few pieces of equipment.
However, due to excessive blood loss and standing up too abruptly, his vision went black for a moment, and he staggered slightly before firmly steadying himself.
Taking a few deep breaths, he looked at the cat.
The giant cat had probably calmed down by now. It saw a hole appear in the distance. Its feline instinct to crawl into narrow spaces was instantly awakened. Before Zhang Qiling could react, it had already dived in excitedly!
Zhang Qiling, who was about to ask the cat if it wanted to go with him: …Fine.