"Don’t go in, there’s something amiss!" the Black Feathered Chicken warned cautiously.
Chen Nan and Zhao Han stopped in their tracks with serious expressions on their faces.
Wang Xia hurriedly said, "Don’t worry, those are the injuries we sustained when we were chased and attacked by the Soul Devouring Worms."
Upon hearing this, the Black Feathered Chicken immediately puffed up its eyes and retorted, "You’re lying! The moment Soul Devouring Worms touch you, they’ll immediately devour your soul. With your mental cultivation, if you were hurt by a Soul Devouring Worm, there’s no way you could have escaped."
Once Wang Xia heard this, he suddenly burst into unrestrained laughter, "Now you realize, but it’s all too late. Once you’ve entered the door of this ancient house, don’t even think about getting out!"
Chen Nan grabbed him by the throat in an instant, "Are you seeking death?"
"What if I am seeking death? I never planned to live anyway." Wang Xia’s face twisted into a fierce grin, coldly laughing, "Even if I die, I’ll have you all to cushion my fall, and I’ll be avenging my younger brother too. It’s worth it!"
Zhao Han hurriedly turned around, rushing back to pull on the ancient house’s main door.
But, the door seemed as if it had been welded shut, no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t budge an inch.
Chen Nan’s face changed, and he held Wang Xia’s throat tightly, his voice cold as he demanded, "How can we open the door? How did you escape before?"
"There’s a man-eating monster in this ancient house, none of you can even dream of getting out. Just die together!" Wang Xia laughed maniacally. His laughter disturbed the monster in the great hall of the ancient house, and with a loud roar, hundreds of Soul Devouring Worms surged out from the hall.
Chen Nan quickly stepped back, "Dead Chicken, it’s up to you."
"Damn it, I’m already full, I can’t eat any more," muttered the Black Feathered Chicken, cursing as it went. Then, with a crow that echoed throughout the ancient house, all the Soul Devouring Worms lay trembling on the ground, not daring to advance any further.
The Black Feathered Chicken shook its head, proudly announcing, "Sorted."
"It’s not that easy, wait until that monster comes out, then you all can wait for death!" Wang Xia said venomously, willing to place himself in jeopardy to take revenge for his two younger brothers.
Chen Nan slapped him, knocking out two or three of Wang Xia’s teeth, making him spit out blood.
However, just then, a roar came from inside the great hall of the ancient house, and the stone coffins arrayed in the front courtyard began to shake, their lids trembling as if they were about to open at any moment.
"Let the dead spirits rest!"
Zhao Han shouted loudly, continuously casting spells with his hands, and talismans formed by condensed Inner Strength stuck onto those trembling stone coffins.
Unexpectedly, the talismans which were normally used for suppression of spirits didn’t affect these stone coffins at all. All the coffins kept shaking, with the intensity growing stronger and stronger.
The lid of a stone coffin fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
Chen Nan gripped the Demon Sword tightly. Then came another "clang", and the lid of another stone coffin on the other side opened.
Following that, continuous clanging sounds could be heard; all twelve stone coffins in the front courtyard opened up, their lids falling to the ground while no evil creatures emerged from within.
"Quick, find the exit!"
No sooner had Chen Nan spoken when suddenly there was a great gust of wind, and skeletons sprung out of the stone coffins.
Twelve skeletons in total.
These were all human skeletons which had existed in the coffins for who knows how long, yet each one was incredibly smooth, looking just like white jade.
But beneath that jade-like exterior, there was an intense aura of ferocity.
"Creak, creak, creak..."
The skeletons approached step by step, each step producing the friction sound of bones rubbing together.
It was such an eerie sight – nothing but skeletons remained, yet they could still walk.
Chen Nan felt a cold sweat breaking out on his body. When he was at the Underground Lake earlier, he could understand that a dried-up corpse could move since it still had skin and flesh. But now, these skeletons, with all their organs long decayed, reduced to mere bones, why could they still move?
Chen Nan smeared his own blood on the Demon Sword and Zhao Han’s Magic Treasure and said, "Be careful. My Blood Power may break the War Corpse, but I don’t know if it can break these white skeletons."
Zhao Han nodded, his hands already forming the spell.
Twelve white skeletons closed in from all sides, surrounding the trio and the Black Feathered Chicken in the center.
Despite his fear, Wang Xia still laughed excitedly, having led Chen Nan and the others into this inescapable deadly house. His plot for revenge was now complete.
A white light flashed, and all the skeletons accelerated instantly, converging towards the center to attack.
So fast that they dazzled the eyes.
Chen Nan raised his sword to strike as the front-most skeleton charged at him.
When the Demon Sword collided with the skeleton, there was an ear-splitting crash. Chen Nan felt his tiger’s mouth go numb, as if his entire arm had been shattered, and he instantly lost all sensation in it.
The strength of these skeletons was completely beyond his own!
And his blood had no killing effect on these skeletons.
At that moment, Zhao Han activated his Pagoda for suppression, but with a "clang," the Pagoda was struck flying, leaving the skeleton frame completely undamaged.
"This seems even more terrifying than those Ghost Soldiers!"
Chen Nan and Zhao Han had nowhere to hide. As the skeletons closed in on them, and they were preparing to fight to the death, a series of "creaking" noises suddenly emerged, and all the skeletons kneeled down, bowing and worshiping them.
Chen Nan was stunned and turned to Zhao Han to ask, "Did you do this?"
"No, they must be bowing to you, right?" said Zhao Han.
After bowing and worshiping, the skeletons kneeled motionless on the ground, as if soldiers awaiting orders from their commanding general.
"How can this be; hurry up and kill him, kill him!" Wang Xia roared unwillingly.
All the skeletons remained motionless.
Unsure whether the skeletons were worshiping him, Zhao Han, or the Black Feathered Chicken, Chen Nan tentatively ordered, "Back off."
All twelve skeletons rose and retreated.
"You really can command them!" said Zhao Han excitedly.
Chen Nan was also somewhat puzzled and didn’t understand why this was happening. Just then, the mansion’s hall once again erupted with angry roars.
The old monster inside seemed very dissatisfied with the skeletons’ actions. Darkness flashed before it burst out from inside.
To be precise, a human body because it, like the skeletons, showed no signs of life, its complexion was deathly pale, the very image of a lifeless corpse.
"This isn’t the shadowy monster that eats people outside; it’s a different one," said the Black Feathered Chicken.
Chen Nan nodded, but before he could speak, the corpse suddenly charged towards him with incredible speed.
Blood sprayed out. Wang Xia, whose neck was caught by Chen Nan, had a bloody hole in his chest.
The corpse opened its mouth to inhale, and blood surged out of Wang Xia’s wound, rushing through the air and into the corpse’s mouth with great speed. In a short while, Wang Xia turned into a dry corpse.
Not only was all his blood drained, but even the water in his body was completely gone, leaving him to die a hideous death.
(Happy Lantern Festival, everyone. I have something tonight, so the will be updated tomorrow at noon.)