"You don't need to. Just put the medicine pouch I gave you on your chest and keep it close to your body. It's ten times more effective than that."
The people who were covering their faces: "..."
The girl blushed and stopped talking. But after a while, she turned her head and asked again.
"And what about you? Do you have any other medicine pouches?"
"I, I freely gather herbs and cultivate in the mountains. Having consumed all sorts of rare and precious herbs, I am naturally resistant to the poisonous miasma of the mountains. So I don't need it. However, if a crisis arises, the two of us can share a brocade pouch."
Hong Guniang rolled her eyes at him but didn't say anything more. However, Lu Xuan noticed that she secretly glanced at him. Lu Xuan pretended not to notice and followed the others down the deep valley with a rope. Before going down, Lu Xuan casually took the Angry-Eyed Chicken with him. Everyone knew that this chicken was no ordinary creature, so they didn't say anything.
In truth, with his Ape Strike Technique at this level, descending this cliff barehanded would be no problem at all. However, since he wasn't clear about the situation below, it was best to proceed with caution. After all, he had only just begun his cultivation journey; it wasn't time to be reckless.
Deep within the canyon, beneath the weapons, it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Even with their headlamps on, the group could barely see. Lu Xuan and Chen Yulou, however, didn't need them; one was a cultivator, and the other possessed natural night vision.
After descending forty or fifty meters, they finally saw the depths of the canyon. Thanks to Chen Yulou's ability to pinpoint locations by sound, they knew they had landed on the rooftop of the palace. The group of over thirty people landed directly on the roof.
Looking around, Lu Xuan immediately spotted the hole dozens of meters away. He lightly tapped the roof beneath his feet. This palace had withstood years of wind and rain, yet its main structure remained remarkably sturdy. That hole must have been caused by another force—that thing deep within the canyon.
Chen Yulou, relying on his night vision, also spotted the cave entrance. The group immediately moved forward. Lu Xuan, Partridge Whistle, and the others lagged behind. Hong Guniang also wanted to follow, but Lu Xuan reached out and pulled her back.
"Follow behind me." Without giving her a chance to object, he pulled her behind him. The girl in red was quite skilled, but she was no match for Lu Xuan. She could only follow him, feeling wronged and resentful.
Lu Xuan opened the cage and released the Angry-Eyed Chicken. This creature was also intelligent; although not as powerful as the fox spirit, it still instinctively felt more comfortable staying near Lu Xuan. This allowed Lu Xuan to easily control it.
As soon as the Angry-Eyed Rooster appeared, it immediately began to roam freely at Lu Xuan's signal. It quickly pecked to death a giant centipede—a centipede as thick as a finger and several centimeters long. Meanwhile, along the area where the Angry-Eyed Rooster roamed, one could also see extensive wear and tear on the entire roof of the palace.
The trail was winding and twisting, like some kind of giant, soft-bodied beast that had once crawled across the roof. Looking at the enormous mark, Lu Xuan's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Good heavens..."
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Chapter 190 The Black Torrent (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
The interior of the palace didn't resemble a tomb, at least not on the surface. The hall contained numerous ancient weapons and chariots, suggesting the place itself possessed some military defensive capabilities.
Everyone was searching for treasures, but Lu Xuan wasn't interested. He walked to the weapon rack and casually picked up a longsword covered in dust and cobwebs. It was a longsword in the style of a Miao sword, but shorter than a real Miao sword. He drew it with a backhand motion; it was already covered in rust. It looked like ordinary standard equipment.
Lu Xuan immediately lost interest and casually placed the knife on the shelf. He then turned to examine the chariots.
It was exquisitely crafted, its entire body encased in iron; on an ancient battlefield, it would undoubtedly have been a formidable weapon. However, given the productivity of the feudal era, this thing would certainly have been far too expensive, offering little practical value in combat. Lu Xuan lost interest after a while. Partridge Whistle and the other two also dispersed to search for any possible mechanisms or secret passages.
At that moment, Lu Xuan's ears twitched, and he transformed into a wisp of green smoke. Before anyone in the hall could react, Lu Xuan suddenly appeared behind a soldier. The soldier paused for a few seconds before realizing what was happening, then screamed in fright. This immediately drew everyone's attention.
"What are you yelling about?" Lieutenant Yang, feeling embarrassed, shouted angrily. Only then did the soldier realize that Lu Xuan was holding a centipede as thick as a little finger. He then realized that this man must have saved him.
"Thank you... Where did this come from?"
Chen Yulou and the others also came over and saw the centipede in Lu Xuan's hand.
"Brother Lu, this centipede looks strange; its venom must be quite potent."
Unlike the original plot, they didn't see the live monkey in the main hall, the clothes jumping on the ground, or the thick liquid that had turned into liquid. Lu Xuan guessed that the two unlucky guys had probably encountered that ancestor and were completely destroyed.
"Indeed, they are not weak. The closer you get to this palace, the stronger the medicinal properties of those pills become. The poisonous insects around us have all mutated completely. Both their toxicity and aggression far exceed those outside. If one of these things bites a person, it could be fatal."
"Luckily, Brother Lu, you were quick-witted and nimble. Otherwise, this brother might have been in trouble." Chen Yulou quickly chimed in, trying to smooth things over. But Lu Xuan didn't respond. Instead, he looked around and said...
"Everyone, be quiet and hold your breath."
Just as Deputy Yang was about to retort, Chen Yulou gently tugged at him.
"Everyone, do as instructed."
Once everyone had held their breath, Lu Xuan spoke softly to Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle.
"Both of you are exceptionally gifted individuals. Try and see if you can sense anything."
Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle were startled and immediately held their breath, sensing their surroundings. They instantly realized something was wrong. It was a subtle, yet incredibly dense, wriggling sound. A soft, rustling sound, like something stirring deep within the heart, sending chills down their spines.
The two glanced at the centipede in Lu Xuan's hand, and their expressions changed drastically at the same time.
"Everyone, move closer to the center and don't get too close to the pillars."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a soldier suddenly screamed and collapsed. Surrounded by dozens of onlookers, his body melted away rapidly, like a wax figure. In no time, he was reduced to a puddle of pus, leaving only his clothes on the ground.
There was a few wriggling under the clothes, and several centipedes crawled out.
At this moment, everyone could see it. From the surrounding rock crevices, walls, and stone pillars, a dense torrent of black energy began to gush forth. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be countless black centipedes, each as thick as a finger, densely packed together, forming the torrent. Several soldiers who couldn't escape the walls in time were instantly engulfed by the flood. Only a few faint screams were heard before all was silenced.
"Torch, lime, sulfur..." Chen Yulou shouted. Lu Xuan had reminded them beforehand to bring extra of these things. Several members of the Unloading Ridge gang immediately took out lime and sulfur and sprinkled them on the centipedes. At the same time, they lit several torches that had been soaked in special kerosene.
To everyone's horror, these magical artifacts, designed to deal with poisonous insects and wild beasts outside, were completely ineffective inside the underground palace. The centipedes only retreated briefly before quickly crossing over the lime and sulfur. Only a few fiercely burning torches could deter them from approaching.
"Chief, this can't go on. The oil will only last for fifteen minutes." This kind of potent oil naturally comes at a cost. Its burning time is far shorter than that of a regular torch.
Time ticked by, and the torches were about to burn out. Chen Yulou finally couldn't bear it any longer.
"Brother Lu, what other tricks do you have up your sleeve? The brothers can't hold on any longer."
“No problem.” Lu Xuan’s inner energy surged, and the Angry-Eyed Chicken, which was frolicking in the canyon, immediately sensed Lu Xuan’s summons. Everyone heard a loud cry. A fiery red figure descended from the sky.
The once dense and fearless swarm of centipedes instantly broke apart upon hearing the cry, their formation visibly crumbling as they scattered in all directions. The Angry-Eyed Chicken let out an excited cry and then landed directly among the centipedes.
The principle of one thing subduing another is demonstrated to its fullest extent here. Hundreds of thousands of centipedes, swarming like a swarm of angry-eyed chickens, didn't even have the courage to resist. Their formation completely collapsed, and countless centipedes desperately scrambled into the cracks in the wall. The angry-eyed chicken darted left and right, eating and trampling with abandon.
These centipedes were highly potent medicinal. The Angry Sun Chicken's talent lay in its ability to absorb and transform various medicinal properties to strengthen itself. These highly poisonous substances were a great tonic for it. Just a dozen breaths later, everyone suddenly realized that the centipedes that had just cornered them had vanished without a trace.