Ch 369: The Potter Wasp
Liu Ke gripped his Long Sword, his gaze like burning coals as he swept his surroundings. The humid air was a mixture of Blood Smell and the decaying scent of plants, making each Breath heavy with Oppressive Feeling.
“Yueqing Temple is gone, Pipo are rampant, and there’s this flayed Corpse…”
He muttered to himself, the Red Eyes on his Arm suddenly throbbing violently.
“This is certainly no coincidence.”
Xu Liang’s hand holding his sword trembled slightly. Rainwater dripped from his hair, splashing onto the Blade in tiny droplets: “Then…then what do we do now? We can’t just stand here waiting to be ambushed, can we?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Bell Sound suddenly became urgent, as if something was closing in from all directions.
Liu Ke spun around sharply, his Long Sword held across his chest. By the hazy Moonlight, he saw countless Dark Shadows emerging from the bushes—these shadows were about the size of a fist, completely black, with translucent Wings on their backs. The Wings produced a “ding ding” Bell Sound as they vibrated. Upon closer inspection, their heads were miniature Skulls, each holding a thin chain in its mouth.
“These are Pipo?” Liu Ke’s Pupils constricted.
The Mantis flew to his shoulder, its Voice extremely low: “Don’t cut them, try to bat them away with the Back of the Blade!”
Before Liu Ke could respond, the first few Pipo lunged at him, their chains wrapping around his wrist like venomous snakes.
He flipped his wrist, his Long Sword describing an arc as he slammed the Back of the Blade into a Pipo, sending it flying.
But the struck Pipo landed unharmed, flipped over, and took to the Wings again.
“Their shells are very hard!” Liu Ke shouted.
Catching Xu Liang using his Sword Tip to flick away a Pipo from the corner of his eye, “Xu Liang, don’t stab with your sword!”
Xu Liang immediately changed his tactics, sweeping with the Blade, but a Pipo evaded his defense, its chain wrapping around his ankle.
At that moment, the Mantis suddenly swooped down, clamping its sharp forelimbs onto the Pipo’s Wings and flinging it towards the nearby Rocks.
There was a “crack,” and the Pipo’s Wings snapped, the creature struggling on the ground.
“The Wings are the weakness!” the Mantis shouted.
Liu Ke immediately adjusted his strategy, changing from chopping to slicing, precisely targeting the Pipo’s Wings.
Sure enough, with several crisp sounds, several Pipo lost their ability to fly and scrambled around on the ground.
But at that moment, a Pipo with severed Wings suddenly exploded with a “bang,” a cloud of black mist instantly spreading.
“No good!” the Mantis exclaimed, “It’s setting a Deadlock!”
Liu Ke felt the Scene before him change abruptly. The Mountains and Forests vanished, replaced by a pitch-black Space. Only the flayed Corpse remained nailed to a tree in the distance, the sound of Blood Drops falling amplified infinitely, “thud, thud” beating against his eardrums.
“Xu Liang? Mantis?” he shouted, but heard no response.
In the darkness, the Bell Sound rang out again, this time with an eerie rhythm, as if someone were whispering in his ear. Liu Ke gripped his Long Sword, the Red Eyes on his Arm spinning Frantically, trying to pierce the darkness.
Suddenly, he saw the Corpse’s Finger twitch. Then, the Corpse slowly raised its head. In its skinless face, two bloody holes stared intently at him.
“Someone finally came…”
The Corpse spoke, its Voice like countless needles scraping across glass.
A chill ran down Liu Ke’s spine, and he suddenly remembered something: “Were you from Yueqing Temple?”
The Corpse didn’t answer, only slowly raised its hand, pointing towards the mountaintop. However, it was pitch black, so he wasn’t certain if it was indeed a mountain.
Liu Ke looked in the direction it indicated, and saw that the Bagua Pattern made of Skulls had somehow lit up with a faint Green Light. In the center of the pattern, something seemed to be wriggling.
At that moment, a sharp pain shot through the Red Eyes, and the Illusion shattered instantly.
Liu Ke found himself back where he started. Xu Liang was anxiously shaking his shoulder, and the Pipo were gone, leaving only scattered broken Wings.
“What happened to you just now? You suddenly froze!” Xu Liang urged anxiously.
Liu Ke shook his head, looking towards the mountaintop: “No time to explain, go to the Bagua Pattern! Yueqing Temple’s Secret might be there!”
Liu Ke and Xu Liang struggled up the steep mountain peak, inching closer and closer to the summit. Finally, they reached the top, and a horrifying Scene unfolded before them—a gigantic Bagua Pattern composed of countless Skulls.
Xu Liang’s eyes widened as he stared at the eerie sight, turning to Liu Ke and asking: “Liu, can you figure out what this is?”
Liu Ke furrowed his brow, staring at the Skull Bagua, and shook his head. “I don’t understand either.”
Liu Ke’s gaze then fell on a Mantis nearby. He pointed at the Mantis and asked: “This Thing, do you know what’s going on?”
The Mantis seemed uninterested in Liu Ke’s question, standing motionless.
Seeing this, Liu Ke sighed helplessly, then suddenly thought of a Method. He quickly made a Mysterious Mark. The Mark glowed faintly in the air before slowly dissolving into the surrounding Atmosphere.
Before long, something astonishing happened—numerous Caves appeared on the surrounding mountainside, as if summoned by the Mark.
Xu Liang looked at the suddenly appearing Caves in astonishment, questioning Liu Ke: “Liu, what kind of Mark did you just make?”
Liu Ke scratched the back of his head, explaining somewhat embarrassedly: “Uh, well, that was just an exploratory Mark I tried out on a whim. I just wanted to explore this mountain, and I didn’t expect to find these Caves.”
Liu Ke and Xu Liang exchanged a glance and decided to enter one of the Caves to investigate. They cautiously entered the Cave, finding the walls unusually damp, with the occasional “drip, drip” of water echoing in the quiet Environment.
As they walked, they suddenly heard a low, melodious chanting Voice, resonating through the Cave, creating a sense of inexplicable solemnity and gravity.
Following the sound, they saw a faint Light, particularly eye-catching in the dark Cave. However, Liu Ke and Xu Liang didn’t act rashly; they stopped and quietly observed their surroundings.
At that moment, a strong Herbal Scent mixed with a foul odor filled the air, causing some nausea. Liu Ke tried to use the special Eyes on his arm to check the source of the smell, but the result was disappointing—he could see nothing.
