Chapter 9: Blood Lure and Sonic Escape

Cui Wangshu had not yet understood Jiang Chenbi’s intention when she heard the sounds of terracotta warriors stirring from all directions, mixed with muffled roars.

Suddenly, a gust of fierce wind assaulted her from behind. In the next second, Cui Wangshu’s body reacted first, pulling Jiang Chenbi into a sideways dodge that evaded the sharp claws.

Cui Wangshu’s face turned ice-cold as she gritted her teeth. “Jiang Chenbi, you madwoman.”

Jiang Chenbi let out a cold laugh and fiercely kicked the terracotta warrior beside her, yanking Cui Wangshu back a step.

A massive bronze sword swiftly descended, cleaving the Living Corpse Terracotta Warrior in half. The living corpse let out a eerie cry and lost its ability to move.

Cui Wangshu raised an eyebrow. “Not bad reaction speed.”

She couldn’t tell whether the pain from her organs hit first or the whistling arrows reached her ears first.

The moment Cui Wangshu yanked Jiang Chenbi into a crouch, she felt as if her entire body had sunk into an illusion. Her instincts dodged the attacks from the living corpses and mechanisms, but her brain was muddled, trapped in the agony brought by the sound waves.

“Clang—” The crisp sound of iron chains sliced through the air as Jiang Chenbi forcefully hurled the Nine Dragons Profound Iron Chain, wrapping it around a terracotta horse to their right front. With an arm around Cui Wangshu’s waist, the two borrowed the momentum to leap into the air, avoiding the corpse horde’s pounce in the next second.

A crisp cracking sound like exploding bamboo joints rang out, sending chills down the spine.

In that airborne second, the oppressive pain in their bodies eased slightly. It seemed Jiang Chenbi’s route was indeed a blind spot in the sound waves.

The two stood on the terracotta horse’s back. Cui Wangshu tilted her head to listen to the movements around them.

Her ears twitched, and she flipped backward into the air, spinning rapidly once to borrow force.

With one kick, she sent the general figurine’s long halberd flying. The bronze shaft embedded deeply into a ground crevice, forming a temporary sonic barrier.

But before Cui Wangshu could land back on the horse, an extremely swift force yanked her to the ground.

She rolled with the momentum to dodge the massive, boulder-like smash, then immediately sprang to her feet.

Smelling the foul stench emanating from the thing, she roughly gauged its position, her body tense and ready for battle at any moment.

The thing had gained intelligence. It pulled out the nearby bronze shaft, shattering the sonic barrier. As the sound waves assaulted and triggered resonance, Cui Wangshu spat out a mouthful of blood, blood streaming from all seven orifices. Her body uncontrollably knelt to the ground.

The sound of chains rang out again. The intelligent living corpse twisted its body to evade, but it couldn’t match the chain’s agility. Its head was brutally torn off.

A silver hairpin shot out. Not far away, a mechanism figurine spat a sharp sword from its mouth, piercing the living corpse’s heart.

“Cough cough—” Cui Wangshu spat out the blood in her mouth. Her hair had come loose, but she still held the pose of having flung the silver hairpin.

Jiang Chenbi leaped down and unceremoniously grabbed her by the collar, yanking her back in a violent retreat. The spot where Cui Wangshu had been was now blasted into a half-foot-deep pit by the sound waves.

The living corpse’s body exploded into minced meat from the sonic boom, its corrosive fluids splashing onto Cui Wangshu’s skirt hem, where it sizzled menacingly.

Jiang Chenbi helped Cui Wangshu stand shakily. She didn’t know from where she produced a pill and stuffed it into Cui Wangshu’s mouth, whispering, “Soul Preserving Pill. Pay me back one when we get out.”

Cui Wangshu weakly tugged at the corner of her mouth. She couldn’t utter a word. As she opened her mouth, another gush of blood sprayed out.

Jiang Chenbi frowned. Smelling the thick scent of blood in the air, cold sweat dripped down her back. Without time to think, she dragged Cui Wangshu’s still-recovering body and swiftly wove through the terracotta warriors.

The “thud thud” sounds around them grew denser. Jiang Chenbi clicked her tongue, and the Nine Dragons Profound Iron Chain pulverized the blocking terracotta warriors ahead, their internal gears bursting apart.

Cui Wangshu’s senses were exceptionally sharp. She pulled Jiang Chenbi to dodge the flying debris.

Cui Wangshu wrapped her arm around Jiang Chenbi’s waist in return, steadied her breathing, and chuckled lowly. “Let me handle the fighting. Just tell me the route, Miss Jiang.”

Jiang Chenbi pursed her lips. If she weren’t so weak right now, would it be Cui Wangshu’s turn to show off like this?

The thought crossed her mind, but Jiang Chenbi still carefully attuned herself to the subtle differences in pain within her body. Unlike the pain in the secret chamber, which came organ by organ in gradual progression, now all her organs ached ferociously, though with minute variations between them.

Jiang Chenbi immersed her will in the sonar map constructed from those subtle pain differences, like a tiny mayfly seeking a perch in the vast sea.

Though the mayfly was small, it bore its own mission.

The route Jiang Chenbi provided carried both their lives. She had to process the dense, massive information in an extremely short time to derive a flawless answer. One misstep meant plunging into an endless abyss.

The Nine Dragons Profound Iron Chain in Cui Wangshu’s hands was like an extension of her will, wielded with divine skill.

The chain whipped down amid a foul wind, clashing with a bronze sword and sparking blue flames. The piercing crack of the shattering sword mixed with the buzzing tremor of the chain links, headache-inducing.

If Jiang Chenbi could see, she would behold the woman shuttling through the living corpses with a posture blending power and grace, like an immortal crane, utterly composed.

Her backbend to evade attacks was clean and direct, followed by a decisive, ruthless chain counterattack—heroic and dashing.

The entire Accompanying Burial Pit defied description with mere chaos. In the area centered on Jiang Chenbi and Cui Wangshu, the living corpses stirred at the scent of blood. Their initial movements were slow, but as the temperature rose, they grew increasingly agile.

Cui Wangshu struck ruthlessly, slaying gods and Buddhas alike in her path.

Jiang Chenbi plotted safe sonic blind spots according to the sonar map in her mind, triggering mechanism figurines into the fray when necessary.

Triggering them aptly not only shot down living corpses but also damaged the internal bianzhong figurines, altering the entire sonar flow and blind zones.

The sound waves from the resonating bianzhong swept like an invisible giant palm. Living corpses exploded one after another, fragments flying through the air.

Hanging in the air within a blind zone, the two sighed in relief like survivors of disaster. They had fought at this intensity for an hour.

If they hadn’t reached the exit yet, they would be exhausted to death here in half an hour.

Swinging the chains, they swung to another area. Jiang Chenbi suddenly grew excited, her lowered voice unable to hide her thrill. “Almost there. Less than a hundred meters to the exit.”

Cui Wangshu bit her lip and replied, “Got it.”

In the next second, she whipped the chain at the living corpses’ lower bodies. It wrapped around a waist and yanked, her toes glancing off spear tips in the figurine formation. Holding Jiang Chenbi, Cui Wangshu flipped backward.

She tilted her head slightly; her hair tips brushed past an arrowhead. The arrow embedded into the brain of a living corpse behind her, the bone-cracking sound laced with chill creeping up her spine.

Seizing the moment while nearby living corpses were cleared and those farther away hadn’t fully mobilized, Cui Wangshu carried Jiang Chenbi toward the exit.

The final few meters were within reach. The two mustered their last strength for lightness skill, heedless of sonic blind spots, desperate to end this torment.

Jiang Chenbi pulled out gunpowder and hurled it into the Accompanying Burial Pit. The instant it ignited, the blast wave hurled them into the passage, the massive impact knocking them unconscious.

Outside the passage, the vast Accompanying Burial Pit blazed like demons devouring the heavens and earth. The living corpses inside emitted shrill, piercing shrieks.

The massive Corpse Fragrance Devil Taro swayed in the inferno. From afar, ghostly shadows loomed, eerie and terrifying.

Unbeknownst how much time passed, the unconscious Jiang Chenbi finally stirred awake. Three hours had elapsed, and her vision had recovered.

She pinched the bridge of her nose to ease the headache before turning to the still-unconscious Cui Wangshu.

In the Accompanying Burial Pit earlier, Cui Wangshu had expended more energy and taken more injuries than she had. Without intervention, who knew how long she would sleep.

But this was no place for treatment. Jiang Chenbi hoisted Cui Wangshu onto her back and glanced at the Accompanying Burial Pit beyond the passage—a sight Jiang Chenbi would never forget.

She saw an Accompanying Burial Pit.

A pitch-black one resembling a human hell.

One where even bones had burned away after the blaze.

No shred of life remained. The Corpse Fragrance Devil Taros, the Blind Grass, and the transformed living corpses seemed never to have existed.

Only the lingering scents in the air reminded her of what had transpired. There was indeed a hole in the ceiling, moonlight streaming in to nourish those yin-corrupt things.

Jiang Chenbi looked no more. Limping with Cui Wangshu on her back, she pressed onward.

As expected, Mo Jiuhuan had poured immense manpower and resources into such a massive Accompanying Burial Pit to guard the main tomb chamber ahead—or rather, the altar.

In truth, Jiang Chenbi couldn’t clearly see the scene before her from her position. A colossal stone pillar stood ahead, surrounded by cliffs, and the ground before her dropped into another chasm.

Connecting her position to the pillar’s summit was an ice-formed “Heavenly Ladder.” Distorted faces faintly visible within each step were living humans used as foundation stakes, paving the “broad road” to the altar.

Beneath the steps lay the altar’s second batch of sacrifices; the soldiers and horses in the outer Accompanying Burial Pit were the first.

Jiang Chenbi slowly raised her head. The moon hung clearly in the sky, its light nourishing. At the altar’s center awaited the Imperial Mausoleum’s master—the Xuan Shang Emperor.

Jiang Chenbi was in no rush now. She set Cui Wangshu down against the stone wall and rested beside her. Faint water sounds echoed from the cliff below.

It was likely the main stream of the Yellow Springs. The moon above was large and round—probably the fifteenth. They had been underground for nearly ten days.

Jiang Chenbi smiled silently, then stared intently at that moon. Had Liu Xuan, in life, foreseen this day? Even the timing was perfect. They were the final sacrifices for the Xuan Shang Emperor’s ascension to immortality and eternal life.

Jiang Chenbi emptied her pouch, stuffing all the healing and qi-restoring items into Cui Wangshu’s mouth, occasionally taking a bit herself.

It wasn’t reluctance to use them; Jiang Chenbi knew the vast gap in their martial prowess. Preserving Cui Wangshu might give them a slim chance.

For some reason, Jiang Chenbi laughed again, her expression a poignant mix of sorrow and self-mockery.

She brushed back the hair from her forehead and looked at Cui Wangshu. She had almost forgotten—they had an irrefutable trump card!

Jiang Chenbi stared at Cui Wangshu, her eyes gleaming with eerie excitement.

In the quiet wait for Cui Wangshu to wake, Jiang Chenbi heard the wailing winds like ghosts from hell.

She heard the massive creature surfacing in the calm waters to observe.

She heard the tomb master’s enticement from the pillar’s top: “Become my sacrifices, and I shall grant you immortality.”

In long solitude, finally, she heard that voice—

“Jiang Chenbi.”

Cui Wangshu’s hoarse yet clear, cold voice called her name.