69novels Chapter 7: Drawing Swords and Riding Azure Dragons, Subduing Demons Across Heaven and Earth
Chapter 7: Drawing Swords and Riding Azure Dragons, Subduing Demons Across Heaven and Earth
The ancient tomb is hidden deep underground, with winding and secluded passageways, mottled and cracked stone walls, and dust accumulated over countless years.
The tomb guardian beasts on both sides are entrenched in the darkness, their fangs bared and their eyes wide open in anger, as if silently intimidating any who come.
The lights flickered, casting swaying shadows all around. The eeriness lay not only in the tomb's interior, but also in the human heart.
The members of the Global Retreat Society surrounded Ying Caihong, their cold gun barrels all pointed at Hu Bayi and his three companions.
Faced with Hu Bayi and his group who refused to back down, Ying Caihong finally tore off her mask of hypocrisy, revealing her cold fangs.
She absolutely had to get the red spider lily.
at all costs.
Even if it means losing everyone here, I wouldn't hesitate.
"Five hundred thousand US dollars, plus the lives of your three friends." Ying Caihong stared at Hu Bayi, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Mr. Hu, do you think this deal is worthwhile?"
"Despicable, shameless." Hu Bayi gritted his teeth, enunciating each word clearly, "What if I don't agree?"
"Yoko," Ying Caihong said softly.
The adopted daughter beside him expressionlessly pulled out a pistol and fired a shot.
boom!
The bullet pierced Big Gold Tooth's calf instantly.
"Aaaaaah!"
Big Gold Tooth screamed, clutching his leg and kneeling on the ground, covered in cold sweat and pale-faced, looking at Hu Bayi and the others for help.
"You old hag! How dare you!" Fatty Wang's eyes turned red as he grabbed an entrenching tool and stood in front of the crowd, his chest heaving violently.
At that moment, he felt both shocked and regretful.
He shouldn't have come.
It's even more inappropriate to drag Lao Hu and his group into this mess.
Everyone was clearly ready to retire from the life of crime, but they still ended up stepping into this horrible place.
"Little Fatty!" Hu Bayi hissed, turning to Ying Caihong. "I promise you. You can lead the way, but you'd better keep your word."
He knew very well that these people were truly capable of killing.
Ancient tombs are lawless places. If you kill them all and bury them in a random pit, no one will be able to find a trace.
"Those who understand the times are wise." Ying Caihong smiled with satisfaction and gestured for Yangzi to put away her gun. "Expert Hu, please proceed."
Hu Bayi turned his head to look at Huang Bai beside him, his eyes full of apology: "Brother Huang, you shouldn't have come. I dragged you into this too."
Grave robbing is never a dinner party, much less a poetry recitation or painting session.
It is a craft that walks a fine line between life and death.
One wrong step and you're doomed.
Hu Bayi was still incredibly grateful that Huang Bai had come to their aid at this crucial moment. However, to protect the people behind him, he had no choice but to temporarily yield.
"It's nothing," Huang Bai replied with just two words.
He spoke calmly, almost abnormally so.
Ying Caihong overheard their conversation, and her gaze immediately fell on Huang Bai.
Huang Bai wore a blue Taoist robe, his long hair was tied behind his back, and he had a tall and straight figure.
What is most striking are his eyes, which gleam with a ghostly blue light, like two points of will-o'-the-wisp hidden within them. They are cold, mysterious, and send chills down one's spine at first glance.
This outfit inexplicably exudes a mysterious and unpredictable aura.
"I really like your eyes," Ying Caihong suddenly spoke, her voice softening. "Why don't you join the spiritual retreat and become my disciple? I can teach you the great supernatural power to communicate with the yin and yang and see through the realms of life and death."
"You have an extraordinary appearance; you're a promising talent. Don't waste this gift."
Regardless of the success or failure of this tomb raiding expedition, Ying Caihong has already made up her mind to gradually retreat to the background.
She needs a new disciple who can stand in the public eye and preside over her spiritual meetings.
The sight of Huang Bai before her did indeed stir a sense of admiration for his talent.
People born with unusual appearances are suited to pretending to be supernatural or mysterious; this act can convince people.
Upon hearing this, the other believers nearby were filled with both envy and jealousy.
"Young man, this spiritual retreat has tens of thousands of followers and hundreds of thousands of believers. This is an incredible opportunity!"
"It's a blessing you've accumulated over many lifetimes that Chairman Ying is willing to take you as his disciple. Don't be ungrateful!"
"Brother Huang, don't listen to this woman's nonsense," Hu Bayi warned in a low voice, afraid that Huang Bai would be fooled by her.
Huang Bai glanced at Ying Caihong, his expression somewhat strange.
"You'll take me as your apprentice?"
He paused, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said, "Let's talk about it after we get out of the tomb."
The group continued to move forward.
While observing his surroundings, Hu Bayi rapidly deduced the location of the Gate of Life in his mind.
"To find the dragon and divide the gold, look at the winding mountains; each winding mountain is a barrier."
"If closing the door presents eight layers of danger, it will not deviate from the form of the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams."
A series of terrain images rapidly formed, disassembled, and reassembled in his mind.
The others watched him intently, afraid of disturbing the tomb raider's deduction of the tomb passage.
Fatty Wang and Shirley Yang flanked Hu Bayi, keeping watch out for any traps that might appear in the darkness.
Huang Bai, supporting Da Jin Ya, walked at a leisurely pace.
The next moment, he suddenly let go.
Big Gold Tooth was stunned. Before he could react, Huang Bai had already drawn his magic sword from behind his back.
The sword was ancient, with a greenish patina on its bronze surface. At first glance, it was unremarkable, but once it was drawn, the air in the tomb passage seemed to grow colder.
He muttered incantations to himself, his fingertips lightly tracing the blade of the sword.
Immediately afterwards, he flipped his right hand out of his sleeve, revealing five talismans between his fingers, and tossed them into the air.
laugh!
The magic self-igniting paper spontaneously combusted without a flame, turning into white smoke that spread outwards.
The smoke contained powdered Wuzhi Dan, its scent faint yet quickly dissipating into everyone's nostrils.
Ying Caihong's people didn't react for a moment, thinking it was just some kind of ritual that the tomb raiders performed before entering the tomb.
Until the green light in Huang Bai's eyes suddenly intensified, revealing his murderous intent.
"Imperial Edict!"
With a low shout, Huang Bai suddenly drew his sword!
The sword flashed, and almost no one could see his movement.
The gunman standing next to him only saw a blur of green before his eyes, and the next instant, he and his rifle were cut in two at the waist!
puff!
Fresh blood and entrails were suddenly splashed onto the stone walls of the tomb passage, and the steaming, pungent smell of blood instantly exploded.
Everyone was stunned.
It's like cutting butter with a hot knife, so easy it's almost unbelievable.
"not good!"
Ying Caihong's face changed drastically, and she screamed, "Kill him! Kill him now!"
She never dreamed that this seemingly old and rusty bronze sword would be so sharp!
But it was too late.
Huang Bai's movements were frighteningly fast.
Under his divine sense lock, the gunmen had barely raised their guns when he swung his sword twice in quick succession.
Swish!Swish!
Two more bodies were severed on the spot.
The severed corpse crashed heavily to the ground, its intestines spilling out, and the stench of blood was so strong it was almost nauseating.
"what!"
Only then did someone belatedly scream in agony.
Hu Bayi's pupils contracted sharply.
Fatty Wang stared with his mouth agape, his entrenching tool frozen in mid-air.
Shirley Yang was also shocked, almost unable to believe her eyes.
They had seen the dead, and also the strange and inexplicable things in the tombs.
But the sight of someone being cleaved in two by a sword still sends chills down one's spine.
hum!
At the same time, the powder that had been spreading around the area took full effect.
Huang Bai held his sword horizontally in front of his chest, his right hand forming a hand seal, his eyes gleaming with a ghostly green light, and his voice was so cold it seemed inhuman:
"Imperial Edict!"
In an instant, the scene before everyone's eyes suddenly distorted.
call!
The north wind howled, bringing a biting chill.
The tomb passage, stone walls, and firelight all vanished; in an instant, the scene changed, the north wind howled, and the world was all one color. As far as the eye could see, it was all ice and snow, a world covered in silver.
The group found themselves on a frigid, silent, and desolate ice field.
Thick frost quickly formed on the bodies of the members of the spiritual retreat, their teeth chattering and their limbs stiffening, as if they had been sealed in an eternally cold prison.
Hu Bayi and the others were also shivering from the cold, their blood seemingly frozen.
"This...this is magic?" Fatty Wang's voice changed.
Hu Bayi stared intently ahead, his breathing heavy.
Shirley Yang, who was always calm, showed a look of near-disbelief and shock on her face for the first time.
There really is magic in this world!
Huang Bai, who was usually obsessed with Taoist classics and didn't talk much, was not pretending to be a shaman.
He really does know magic.
Moreover, it's a spell that can kill!
Even though they had raided countless tombs and witnessed countless strange things that defied common sense over the years, compared to the scene before them, all those bizarre experiences seemed insignificant.
What happened next was something they would never forget.
Huang Bai carried his magic sword, walking through the snow step by step towards Ying Caihong and the others.
The wind and snow swirled, and the Taoist robes fluttered in the wind.
That face, which was originally quite handsome, appeared somewhat sinister and eerie under the light of his dark blue eyes.
With each step he took, he drew his sword.
puff!
puff!
puff!
Wherever the sword's edge passes, it cleaves everything in half.
Those cultists who usually swaggered around were now like rows of clay puppets, unable to even dodge, and could only watch helplessly as they were cut in half at the waist by that rusty ancient sword.
Some people looked down and saw that their upper body was still there, but their waist and abdomen were empty. Before the horror on their faces could fully show, they collapsed.
Someone wanted to fire, but their fingers were too frozen to obey them, and they could only be cleaved in two by a sword in despair.
Someone cried out and begged for mercy, but the sound stopped abruptly as soon as it came out.
Blood flowed like a river within the ancient tomb.
Hu Bayi and the others were completely stunned.
Fatty Wang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard, his palms sweating profusely. "Old Hu... Brother Huang, this is too much..."
He couldn't utter the second half of the sentence.
Shirley Yang stared at the yellow and white figure, her eyes filled with an extremely complex expression.
This young Taoist priest, who seemed the quietest and most refined among our companions, turned out to be incredibly fierce and decisive when he took action.
Huang Bai himself also looked somewhat strange at this moment.
This was the first time he had actually killed someone.
I thought I would feel nauseous, my hands would shake, and I wouldn't dare to do it.
But the moment the first sword cleaved through flesh, that hesitation was instantly shattered.
Deep inside, it felt like a fire suddenly ignited.
The fire burned ever brighter, making his chest feel hot and his eyes red. He wished he could shatter everything in front of him.
kill!
kill!
kill!
I draw my sword and ride the azure dragon, to vanquish demons across heaven and earth.
After cutting down all the way, only Yoko and Ying Caihong, who was protected behind her, remained.
"Ahhh! Mother!"
Yoko suddenly threw her head back and roared, her eyes bloodshot.
The ice crystals covering his body shattered inch by inch.
Splash!
The next instant, the icy hell shattered.
The snowstorm subsided, and the illusion vanished.
The ancient tomb before everyone's eyes returned to its dark state.
Corpses lay scattered all around.
There's no snow or ice here.
All that happened just now was merely an illusion seen by everyone after they inhaled the powder.
Driven by her unwavering determination to protect Ying Caihong, Yoko managed to break free from the illusion's constraints.
She suddenly drew her dagger, leaped forward like a cheetah, and pounced on Huang Bai!
"Well done!"
Instead of retreating, Huang Bai advanced, wielding his sword with both hands, his eyes blazing with an even brighter green light.
The light on the magic sword had begun to flicker, clearly indicating that the spell's effect was nearing its end.
clang!
The dagger clashed with the magic sword, but only held for a moment before being severed on the spot.
Immediately afterwards, the sword light descended.
puff!
Yoko's head flew into the air, and blood spurted more than two feet high.
The headless corpse staggered forward two steps and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Yoko!"
Ying Caihong finally broke down completely, rushed over and hugged the corpse, letting out a heart-wrenching wail.
The entire tomb passage was deathly silent.
Hu Bayi, Wang Pangzi, Shirley Yang, and Da Jinya all stood frozen in place.
Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, at Ying Caihong weeping over the body in the pool of blood, and then at the green-robed Taoist priest slowly approaching with a blood-dripping magic sword, they felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
Huang Bai walked up to Ying Caihong, his sword dripping blood, but his expression was terrifyingly calm, even with a faint smile.
"I've heard you can communicate with the spirit world. What do you think of my magic? Can I become your apprentice?"
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