Who knew how much time had passed.
Cold, damp air rushed into his nostrils, and Lu Li suddenly opened his eyes, a searing pain radiating from every part of his body, as if all his bones had been shattered and reassembled.
He lay amidst a pile of broken bones, covered in blood. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a severed arm hanging on the rock wall, its fingers still trembling slightly.
He was stunned for a moment, his mind a blank.
“Bro… Brother?” Lu Li’s voice was hoarse, as if scraped from his throat. He struggled to his feet, stumbling among the dismembered corpses, searching for that familiar figure.
Suddenly, his steps halted.
Not far ahead, a massive, protruding bone-rock was impaled in a crevice, and on it—a person was pinned.
Lu Ya.
His second brother.
That familiar yet youthful face was now pale and rigid, his chest completely pierced by a sharp bone spike, his body hanging high, eyes wide open, as if still calling out to them before he died.
“…No…”
Lu Li stared blankly at the corpse, his lips moving, but no sound escaped. He suddenly lunged forward, embracing the already cold body, and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
“Second Brother… wake up… Didn’t we promise to go back together…? You said you’d help me catch loaches… You said it! Ahhh—!!”
His cries were Tear, his fingers clutching the corpse tightly, burying his face as if to bury himself.
After crying for an unknown amount of time, he suddenly remembered there was still one more person.
“Big Brother!”
Lu Li abruptly looked up, scanning the surroundings. Among a pile of overturned skeletons, he finally saw a person lying horizontally, covered in scratches, with a twisted arm and blood on his face, but his chest was still faintly rising and falling.
Lu Yuan.
Lu Li staggered over, knelt on the ground, and shook him desperately:
“Big Brother, wake up! Second Brother is dead… Second Brother was… was pierced through, he’s dead! Only the two of us are left… Brother—!”
Lu Yuan didn’t wake up.
Lu Li’s voice trembled as he cried out to his brother, again and again, draped over him.
The entire cave was now silent except for the two of them. The stench of rotting flesh, the foul smell of Spirit Monster corpses, and the Fishy smell of fresh blood mixed with Death Qi, became even more pungent in the silence.
Lu Li’s cries were as mournful as a wild beast’s, as if trying to awaken the entire cave.
But besides the corpses, no one responded to him.
Just then—
Not far away, a faint scraping sound echoed.
“Sha—sha…”
Lu Li froze for a moment, then lifted his head, looking in the direction of the sound.
A woman in white.
She had slowly crawled up from her original spot at some unknown time, kneeling on the ground, hands propped on the surface, moving inch by inch towards them.
Her body was still bleeding profusely, almost torn in half, her intestines dragging on the ground, her robes clinging to her skin like curtains soaked in blood.
Her mouth was open, trying to speak, but only broken, hoarse moans of “Woo woo… uh ah… uh uh…” escaped.
Her hands flailed incessantly, pointing at Lu Li, her movements urgent, carrying a plea that was almost frantic.
She looked exactly like a voiceless madwoman, trying to grasp at the last straw of hope at the brink of death.
Lu Li, however, remained motionless.
He did not respond to the woman’s call, only stared at her intently, his gaze cold, hesitant, even carrying a hint of natural resistance and fear.
“Don’t come over…”
He said in a low voice, shrinking back slightly.
He didn’t know who she was, nor did he understand why she was begging him. He only knew—he still had a family member who hadn’t woken up.
So he turned his head and bent down again.
At that very moment—
Lu Yuan’s eyelids twitched slightly, and a low, hoarse cough escaped his throat.
Lu Li was instantly overjoyed, grabbing him tightly with both hands: “Brother! You’ve finally woken up! Second Brother… Second Brother is gone!”
Lu Yuan’s consciousness gradually cleared. Hearing this, his body trembled violently. He struggled to sit up, and immediately saw the pierced corpse in the distance.
His mouth was open, but not a single word came out.
A few breaths later, Lu Yuan forcefully pulled Lu Li into his embrace, holding him tightly, his teeth clenched, tears streaming from his eyes.
“I didn’t protect you two… I didn’t protect him…”
The two brothers wept in each other’s arms amidst the bones, trembling all over, appearing exceptionally lonely and small in this Death Qi-filled cave.
Lu Li lay on Lu Yuan’s shoulder, crying his heart out.
But Lu Yuan only held his younger brother tighter, suppressing his grief, a strange calmness emerging in his eyes.
He was the eldest brother.
At this moment, only he could hold on.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered, “I’m here.”
Just then, a faint sound of blood dragging echoed again.
They both looked up, only to see the woman in white still struggling to crawl closer to them.
Her knees and palms were already raw, her body, dragging her intestines, Creep inch by inch through the pile of corpses. Each movement left a trail of blood.
Her face was deathly pale, and she made hoarse sounds of “Woo woo… Ah ah…” Her eyes were fixed on Lu Li, burning like fire, frantic and persistent.
“What do you want to do?” Lu Yuan’s voice changed, becoming deep and hard, as if facing an enemy.
He shielded Lu Li behind him, one hand pressing his brother’s head down to prevent him from looking, the other hand trembling as he fumbled for a bone knife on the ground.
It was a broken Spirit Monster blade, stained with dark red, putrid blood, its edge already dulled, yet still exuding a chilling sharpness.
Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, holding the knife horizontally in front of him, pointing it at the woman.
“Don’t come any closer!” he snarled, “What exactly do you want?”
The woman in white did not respond.
She continued to crawl, her gaze never leaving Lu Yuan. Her mouth opened and closed, as if trying to speak, but blood continuously gushed from her throat, leaving only “Woo woo” as a response.
Her eyes seemed to be both pleading and demanding a life.
“I’m warning you one last time…” The knife in Lu Yuan’s hand began to tremble, whether from fear or anger, “One more step, and I’ll act!”
The woman still didn’t stop.
Her fingers, covered in blood, with prominent knuckles, slowly but steadily reached out to them.
The bone knife trembled slightly in Lu Yuan’s hand, and Lu Li also clutched his brother’s clothes tightly, his entire body tense.
Death, strangeness, and the unknown transformed into an oppressive, suffocating pressure, filling this bloody cavern.
At this moment, the air itself seemed to die.
The woman in white was getting closer and closer.
Her face, vaguely visible beneath the blood and hair, revealed extreme beauty—
As exquisite as a painting, with snow-white skin and icy eyes, as if she were born for an immortal sect’s jade palace.
But her movements were like a wild beast crawling, her knuckles protruding, her intestines dragging on the ground. Each crawl brought a sickening sound of flesh and blood scraping against the stone, like a spider with a broken spine.
This extreme contrast between ugliness and beauty was chilling.
Lu Yuan’s eyes became bloodshot, and he finally gritted his teeth, letting out a furious roar!
“Get lost—!!”
He violently swung the knife, the bone blade carrying a trembling chill, fiercely stabbing into the woman’s shoulder!
“Pfft!”
Blood gushed out. The woman’s body suddenly trembled, but she didn’t retreat. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, a strange arc forming at the corner of her mouth.
She was… smiling?
Lu Yuan was enraged, his eyes bloodshot, and he swung the knife again!
The second strike, cutting across her chest!
The third strike, tearing open her side!
One strike after another, as if to cut out all the fear, guilt, and sorrow. He was like a madman, his hand rising and falling, almost wanting to chop the thing in front of him into pulp.
But the woman did not struggle, nor did she resist.
Instead, with each descent of the blade, she let out a low, eerie moan: “Ah… Ah ah… Uh ah…”
The sound was not of pain, but rather of enjoyment.
Lu Yuan finally stopped, panting heavily, his hands covered in blood, looking like a demon crawled out of a pool of blood.
The woman lowered her head, her body gradually ceasing to tremble.
Suddenly—
“Chh—”
A wisp of white mist slowly ascended from between her eyebrows.
The white mist contained traces of blood, writhing like a swimming snake. Suddenly—“Swish”—it shot through the air, rushing straight towards Lu Yuan’s forehead!
“Ah!!”
Before Lu Yuan could react, the white mist had already rushed into his brow!
His entire body suddenly trembled violently, the bone knife in his hand fell to the ground, his eyeballs rolled upwards, his body stiffened, and the next moment he crashed to the ground, his limbs convulsing violently!
“Brother!!” Lu Li screamed, scrambling forward.
But he saw Lu Yuan’s face twisted in agony, his lips trembling, sometimes groaning in pain, sometimes looking dazed.
He suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Lu Li, and his voice trembled:
“Lu Li… don’t be afraid… Brother is here… Brother is…”
Before he finished speaking, his gaze suddenly changed, his entire face abruptly becoming sinister and fierce, a strange, cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“Earth Fiend King… you dare to Possess me? I refined you for ten years, and you actually…”
“Ah ah ah ah!!”
Lu Yuan began to roll frantically, clutching his head and roaring, as if two Souls were tearing and fighting within his body.
Lu Li stood frozen, his face pale, his eyes trembling, at a loss.
His brother, the person who had just protected him, now seemed to have become… another person.