Bang!
With a crisp sound, the head shattered.
Yellow and white matter splattered, landing on the clothes of those nearby.
Li Miao looked at the headless corpse, pondering to himself.
This wasn’t a Gu Soldier with tough skin and flesh like those of the Ming Cult, but rather an instinctive reaction of the Gu worm after entering the host’s body, controlling it to seek food.
He had only used strength at a second-rate level, intending to test its limits.
Gu worms controlling corpses wasn’t something any corpse or any Gu worm could achieve.
Gu worms are divided into mother and child; child Gu worms are abundant if materials are sufficient, but mother Gu worms are extremely rare, with even a great shaman usually possessing only two or three.
Only mother Gu worms have the spiritual intelligence and ability to control the host to seek food.
What happened just now was that as Lao Qifeng pushed open the stone door, a Gu worm scurried out from the gap, clinging to the ground.
Its movement was masked by the sound of the opening stone door and the dim light, so it went unnoticed by the crowd.
It crawled along the ground, climbed onto the disciple’s ankle, and burrowed directly into his flesh.
The Sect Leader of Qingcheng, who was nearby, realized that Li Miao had just saved him, and quickly spoke up.
“Many thanks, Li Daxia, for saving me.”
Li Miao waved his hand, indicating there was no need for further words.
Lao Qifeng, however, spoke, “Li Daxia, the situation has clearly spiraled out of control.
I fear it’s the Witchcraft of the Miao people at work, and even with our high martial arts, our lives are in danger.”
“At this moment, I must apologize for my presumption.”
He looked at Li Miao and said in a deep voice, “When you opened the stone wall, I vaguely felt something was off.”
“This place was excavated by the grave robbers of the Mountain Moving Sect. I’m not surprised they could open that stone wall, but Li Daxia, an independent martial artist, where did you learn such mechanical arts?”
“Furthermore, Li Daxia’s martial arts among us are not particularly outstanding. Just now, the Sect Leader Hao of Qingcheng didn’t even react in time, so how were you able to foresee it and appear beside him in advance to save him?”
Lao Qifeng then turned to Yin Minjun: “Elder Yin, your Hengshan Sect is not involved in this matter, yet you brought these two friends in, which is already suspicious.”
“If the situation were more relaxed, I wouldn’t disregard the Hengshan Sect’s reputation and insist on a clear explanation.”
“But now, I must ask you to clarify.”
The flickering firelight cast deep shadows on everyone’s faces, subtly encircling Li Miao, Yongjie, and Yin Minjun.
The Sect Leader Hao of Qingcheng had intended to approach Li Miao to formally thank him, but now he stopped in his tracks, staring intently at Li Miao, silent.
With lives at stake and no foundation of trust between them, suspicion, once aroused, was difficult to suppress.
Just as this eerie silence spread, and Yin Minjun gripped her sword hilt while Yongjie secretly clenched his fists, Li Miao let out a sneer.
“Everyone says the Beggar Clan has a vast empire, with assets in all trades, but I didn’t expect Chief Lao to also dabble in storytelling.”
“You’re so unworldly, you think the whole world is full of conspiracies and tricks. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
“You!” Lao Qifeng was directly rebuffed so bluntly that he lost face.
“First, mechanical arts are rare, but they are not nonexistent, nor are they lost. The Mohist, Tang Sect, Mountain Moving, and Mountain Unloading factions all have their inheritances. It’s not uncommon to occasionally obtain a scattered secret manual, is it?”
“Second, I know most of you haven’t seen Witchcraft much, but I have. Is it difficult to guess that Gu worms are at work inside the Miao King's Tomb at this moment? Is it wrong to be more vigilant after seeing this friend injured and then saving Sect Leader Hao?”
“Third.” Li Miao scanned the surrounding crowd.
“I’m the one who came later; don’t make it seem like I tricked you all into coming here.”
“There’s no turning back now. We don’t know how many more traps and Gu worms lie ahead, and only I have a slight understanding of them. Are you all sure… you want to turn against me at this moment?”
At these words, the hidden hostility among the crowd greatly diminished.
That’s right, no matter how peculiar Li Miao was, they still needed him to deal with the mechanisms and guard against Gu worms. Turning against him now would only further reduce their chances of getting out alive.
Lao Qifeng remained silent for a long while, then also apologized to Li Miao in a low voice, before turning back and slowly pushing open the stone door.
Everyone stepped inside together, momentarily stunned and speechless.
Beyond this stone door was a vast hall, a hundred zhang square!
Inside the hall, there were carved corridors and painted pillars, with decayed silk draperies hanging on the four walls, and ancient, bizarre patterns carved into the walls.
In the center of the hall, there was a massive circular platform, with a colossal stone coffin placed in the middle, bound crisscross with iron chains as thick as arms.
Additionally, nine chains hung down from above, attached around the stone coffin, suspending it in mid-air.
And on the ground beneath the stone coffin, dozens of figures dressed in ancient, luxurious attire knelt.
The crowd remained silent for a long while before Lao Qifeng finally spoke loudly, “Is this a Miao people’s sacrifice?”
“We have stumbled into this place and disturbed your ancestors’ resting grounds. We are leaving now; could you perhaps show us the way out?”
His voice echoed for a long time in the empty hall, gradually fading away.
The dozens of figures showed no reaction whatsoever.
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Lao Qifeng and several of the most skilled martial artists secretly remained vigilant, cautiously walking forward, approaching one of the figures.
The person’s head was covered with a light veil, their face bowed low, completely motionless.
The Sect Leader of Qingcheng drew his sword, gently lifted the veil, and raised the person’s chin, wanting to see if they were alive.
Upon seeing her face, the few of them collectively gasped!
For she was a young woman, but the flesh around her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears had been cruelly scraped away, leaving only several gaping black holes, making her appear like a ghost!
Horrifying, crisscrossing scars covered her cheeks, sewn together with thick black cotton threads.
And from those wounds, several tentacles protruded, gently swaying.
Her jaw and fingers were subtly congealed with some corpse oil; this person had clearly been dead for an unknown period, yet her body showed no signs of decay, remaining eerily lifelike.
“Don’t touch these corpses; look at that coffin.”
Lao Qifeng gritted his teeth.
The situation was bizarre, but there was no turning back now; they could only steel themselves and investigate.
The few of them carefully bypassed the kneeling corpses around them, finally approaching the platform where the stone coffin was placed.
Seeing that the corpses showed no unusual signs, Lao Qifeng let out a long sigh of relief.
Judging by the tentacles protruding from the corpses’ wounds, there were most likely living Gu worms inside them.
There were dozens of such corpses around, and if these Gu worms were startled, it would likely be difficult to escape.
He only hoped that the clue to their exit lay on the stone coffin before them.
Just as Lao Qifeng was pondering to himself, the Sect Leader of Kongtong stepped onto the platform.
Clap.
His martial arts were profound, and he was currently using a lightness skill, making his footsteps almost inaudible.
But with that subtle footstep, a “creaking” sound suddenly echoed from all directions.
Lao Qifeng abruptly turned his head, his pupils contracting.
He saw that the dozens of kneeling corpses around them had all raised their heads, their gaping black holes of faces looking towards them.