"A soldier? Chiang Kai-shek's former army!"
I almost recognized the origin of the dried-up corpse at a glance. Even though his clothes were in no shape, I could still tell that it was the Nationalist army's uniform, which I often saw in Anti-Japanese TV dramas, so it wasn't unfamiliar to me.
And there was the "Chung Hsiao style" in his hand. Given that Brother Anding had previously said that the Nationalist army had indeed been stationed here! All the clues strung together, it was easy to determine that the dried-up corpse was indeed a soldier of Chiang Kai-shek's former army who had been stationed here.
But how did they become dried-up corpses?
Before I could think more about it, the dried-up corpse had once again raised the rifle in his hand and rushed at me.
"Get back!"
Without any hesitation, I quickly swung the torch in my hand, dodging the incoming rifle and knocking him on the head with force!
True to its name, the Nine-Turn Thunderstrike Wood, with a muffled "bang", the dried-up corpse fell to the ground. It was only at this point that I noticed that there was a charm seal stuck to its back!
"Damn it!" I cursed instinctively and took a step forward. I quickly peeled off the charm seal, and at this point, the dried-up corpse lay motionless on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
It was indeed Sima Yin!
Seeing the charm seal, my face had already turned pale. It seemed that my earlier guess was indeed correct, Sima Yin had indeed arrived ahead of us, had infiltrated the cave in advance, and had captured Brother Anding!
After scanning the surroundings and confirming that there were no other dried-up corpses, I turned my gaze back to the entrance of the passage.
After struggling inwardly for a while, I still ventured into the passage, since I chose to stay, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing, could I? Even though I knew that the road ahead would be difficult and dangerous, and an accidental misstep would be fatal, I didn't have time to think about it anymore.
Damn it! These good deeds were all done by the religious bureau. Just went out to buy something, and it takes so long!
Using hands and feet, I crawled forward for almost ten meters, then turned a corner, and finally the passage ahead became clear. Standing up, I continued forward for a while, when suddenly I noticed a faint light ahead.
Seeing the light, I immediately felt joy in my heart, but at the same time, I held my breath and became cautious.
Being able to see the light meant that Sima Yin should be nearby. If he was alone, relying on the dragon energy in his body and the nine-fold lightning wood in his hand, I may not necessarily fear him! But if he wasn't alone and had other helpers, then things would be different.
So, I decided not to startle the snake, and instead, would follow and observe first! I wanted to see what this guy was up to!
Slowly, after walking another seven or eight meters, I finally reached the end of the passage. Annoyingly, the passage opened at a height of about four to five meters above the ground.
Looking down, I was suddenly shocked! There were four large pits below, filled with bones. There were animals' bones, but mostly human bones! The skeletons were almost everywhere. Due to the passage of time, some of these bones had turned into bone meal, and the white powder filled the four large pits like snowflakes!
Looking further ahead, my eyes narrowed slightly in surprise!
Sima Yin! I finally found him!
At this moment, he was standing solemnly in the middle of the four large pits, staring fixedly at the compass in his hand, occasionally gesturing with his fingers, as if looking for something. And lying motionless not far away was indeed An Ding.
At the sight of An Ding, I almost instinctively prepared to jump down, but I held back! It was too high. Even if I didn't get hurt jumping down, it was bound to startle Sima Yin. By then, I wouldn't be able to ensure the safety of anyone, not even myself.
I held my breath and concentrated, lying still, looking for an opportunity to save him.
After about five minutes, a smug smile finally appeared on Sima Yin's face, then he put away the compass, picked up An Ding from the ground, and came to a nearby rock wall.
With a swift motion, Sima Yin drew a dagger from his waist and was about to stab An Ding in his hand!
"Stop!"
At this point, I couldn't hold back any longer and shouted ahead. At the same time, I jumped directly from a height of four to five meters!
Despite my foundation building cultivation, which greatly enhanced my body, I still had no idea how it would feel to jump from such a height.
However, when my feet actually touched the ground, I found that the ground was surprisingly soft, like a beach.
It turned out that the bone meal on the ground was thicker than I imagined. I originally thought it was just a thin layer, but I didn't expect it to be so thick. When I stepped on it, the bone meal almost completely absorbed the impact of my high jump.
"Hehe…"
Watching me jump down, Sima Yin's mouth slightly curled up, and he smirked, but his movements did not stop. With a swift motion, he stabbed An Ding's hand, and blood gushed out.
"Damn it!"
Seeing this scene, I was immediately furious, without any hesitation, I aggressively swung the torch in my hand directly towards Sima Yin!
"Overestimating yourself!"
Sima Yin sneered, raised An Ding with one hand, and vigorously swung his knife towards me with the other!
Clang!
The torch clashed with the knife, bursting into a series of sparks, and Sima Yin was pushed back several meters, heavily hitting the wall behind him!
"Huh?"
Only then did Sima Yin's face change drastically. He threw An Ding onto a recess in the rock wall, then looked at me with a solemn expression, and asked in surprise, "Nine-turn thunder wood?"
"Good observation!"
I felt relieved that a blow had pushed Sima Yin back, and thought to myself that he wasn't as formidable as I had imagined!
With a sneer, I aggressively moved forward, and fiercely swung the torch towards Sima Yin's face.
This time, Sima Yin finally didn't dare to underestimate me. He quickly made a hand seal, and a black gas burst out from his fingertips, instantly forming a ghostly face with a bloodthirsty mouth, rushing towards me.
For a moment, the chilling wind stirred the bone meal around, filling the entire area, and the surroundings suddenly blurred.
Seeing this situation, I didn't dare to be careless. I bit on my middle finger, and with a touch of my finger, I said, "By a decree, compel the heavenly forces!"
With the Yang energy from the "child's maid" awakening, the torch in my hand instantly became scorching hot. As I vigorously swung it forward, a red light burst out, hitting the ghost face with a loud rumble!
"Ahh…"
The ghost face screamed in agony, instantly retreating back into Sima Yin's body.
"What!"
Seeing that I had easily broken his ghost face, Sima Yin's face showed an expression of disbelief. But as I rushed towards him, he quickly threw the knife at me.
I struck the knife down with the torch, and was about to pursue my advantage, but then suddenly, a change occurred! With a loud bang, the ground under my feet suddenly trembled, my body staggered, and I fell into a nearby pit of bones!
At the same time, the wall behind Sima Yin flickered with light, the surface of the wall collapsed, revealing a dragon-shaped stone carving!
Seeing the stone carving, Sima Yin's face lit up, and without hesitation, he took out the phoenix feather, dipped it in An Ding's blood, and directly touched the stone dragon's eye!
Bringing a dragon to life?
Boom!
Another loud noise! Just as the blood from the phoenix feather touched the dragon's eye, the entire space trembled violently. The stone dragon emitted a dazzling light, and a series of runes appeared, as if it was coming back to life, constantly squirming!
Crack!
In just an instant, the wall behind Sima Yin cracked open, revealing a meter-wide opening!
"Heh heh...Sorry, not joining you!" With a sneer, Sima Yin swiftly darted into the crack in the wall. By the time I reacted and climbed out of the pit of bones, the crack on the wall had already closed...