Chapter 16: The Hydra Cypress

The fat man crawling ahead suddenly shouted, “There’s light up ahead.” Then, excitedly, he picked up speed, quickly crawling out of the tunnel.

“What the hell! What kind of place is this?” Wu Xiaoxie’s voice sounded off, and he grew anxious. As the young man climbed out, Wu Xiaoxie hurriedly followed, then exclaimed, “Damn!” as well.

Panzi and Zhang Wuxun also scrambled out quickly.

Outside, a short ledge that extended just a little was already crowded with people standing shoulder to shoulder. Panzi struggled to squeeze himself in at the front, but Zhang Wuxun had no room left.

However, he had no time to dwell on this; the breathtaking sight before him sent shivers down his spine.

They were in a vast natural cavern. Moonlight streamed through cracks in the ceiling, illuminating the cave in a magnificent, surreal glow. Strange rocks stood tall and bizarre.

The surrounding cave walls were densely dotted with thousands upon thousands of small holes.

From each hole, arm-thick vines stretched out. Following the twisting and entwining vines with his gaze, Zhang Wuxun saw a towering ancient tree covered in vines. Hanging from it were countless oval-shaped cocoons gently swaying in the breeze.

Listening to the occasional gasps from the fat man and others, Zhang Wuxun felt just as shaken.

[System, is this the Nine-headed Hydra Cypress described in that tomb-robbing novel you mentioned? This is insanely impressive!]

[Yes.]

[The host only needs to follow the storyline to ensure Wu Xiaoxie successfully takes the Kirin Jue and assist him in escaping from here; then the mission is complete.]

[So that means there might be danger ahead?] Otherwise, the system wouldn’t have warned him.

[Correct. Inside that blood corpse’s head lies a Corpse Mite King.]

Zhang Wuxun’s eyes widened. [Damn it, why didn’t you say that earlier? I even brought that thing with me!]

[In the original story, the Corpse Mite King kills Da Kui. The host can choose whether to save him or not.]

[Damn your xxxxx!]

Zhang Wuxun seethed with anger. “You told me, how could I not save him? Damn it!”

At the bottom of the cavern was a small altar-like structure, surrounded by a circular corridor. On the jade bed in the center lay two figures side by side. They were too far to see clearly—only their outlines were visible.

Zhang Wuxun took a telescope from his backpack and finally saw that it was a man and a woman. The woman, despite the years, remained young and beautiful, perhaps preserved by some rare artifact. The man... well, “sharp-faced and monkey-jawed” would be flattering. He wore a strange green fox mask and was clad in tight armor. His hands were clasped over his chest, holding a small purple-golden box.

The moment Zhang Wuxun’s gaze fell upon the little box, the system’s voice suddenly echoed urgently in his mind.

[Host! You must take the black gold box from inside the green-eyed fox corpse’s belly!]

[What? Inside the belly?]

This was the first time the usually calm system displayed such emotional intensity.

[It’s very important to the host!]

After this, no matter how much Zhang Wuxun questioned, the system remained silent.

Zhang Wuxun frowned, suppressing his doubts.

At this moment, Wu Xiaoxie had struck up a conversation with the suddenly appearing Wu Sanye.

Wu Sanye was an old fox. Earlier, he had abruptly left without a word, probably up to no good. Now he appeared out of nowhere, feigning concern.

Zhang Wuxun sneered, pondering how to find a suitable excuse to dissect the green-eyed fox corpse without arousing suspicion from the young men.

Suddenly, chaos erupted.

The vines at the cave entrance struck out, wrapping around Wu Xiaoxie’s ankles and pulling him backward. Zhang Wuxun instinctively reached out but forgot others were blocking him; he couldn’t reach.

Immediately, the fat man was also dragged out. After several agonized screams, the two were hung upside down beneath the tree, swaying like the cocoons.

What the hell!

Those cocoons were actually people!

Zhang Wuxun was stunned. How many people did this place hold?

Panzi snapped back to reality, shouted “Young Third Master!” and was about to jump down after them, only to be grabbed by the young man.

The young man frowned deeply, one hand pressing his temple, his face contorted in pain.

“Young Master, what’s wrong?” Zhang Wuxun hurried over to hold Panzi, who was still struggling and shouting to jump, and knocked him out with a swift chop.

The young man clutched his head; cold sweat beaded on his temple.

Zhang Wuxun was at a loss, hesitant to touch him. [Damn, what’s going on?]

Why was the young master suddenly suffering a headache?

[Plot correction.]

Zhang Wuxun was stunned. [What?]

The system immediately transmitted a series of images into his mind.

His expression grew grimmer.

[So it’s because my interference altered the original storyline. The world consciousness, to prevent the young master from saving Wu Xiaoxie, caused him to suffer a headache and lose combat effectiveness temporarily.]

Indeed, with the young master’s strength, stopping the vines from capturing Wu Xiaoxie would have been easy.

The system remained silent.

[Then why the hell did you send me here?]

[The original plot is so amazing. You should have just let him go on; why must I interfere?]

[Is this fun for you?!]

The system feigned silence.

Fueled by rage, Zhang Wuxun’s chest heaved violently, suppressing the murderous intent welling up inside. [When will this end?]

[Soon.]

“Damn!” Zhang Wuxun pressed his lips tightly, staring down into the cavern below.

Wu Xiaoxie, clever as ever, had managed to use the fox-masked man’s sword to free himself and the fat man.

Then the fat man fell and knocked the mask off the fox-masked man’s face. Both were now hallucinating, viciously attacking each other as if they were enemies. The fat man strangled Wu Xiaoxie’s neck, while Wu Xiaoxie used a belt torn from the green-eyed fox corpse to choke the fat man. Both looked ready to kill each other.

Suddenly, the belt in Wu Xiaoxie’s hand snapped. Pieces of armor fell onto his face. Unluckily, one piece marked “Yin Xi Bao Di” slipped into his mouth.

[Success.]

Zhang Wuxun quickly glanced at the young master, who, though confused, had clear eyes.

[Any aftereffects?]

Still uneasy, Zhang Wuxun asked.

[No.]

Good.

Zhang Wuxun exhaled in relief, took another wrist buckle from his spatial storage, and fastened it onto the young master’s left wrist.

The young man looked puzzled.

Zhang Wuxun pointed to the mechanism on the buckle and explained, “Press here later, follow my lead, and we’ll go down from here.”

The young man nodded.

They were positioned at a height equivalent to five or six stories. Finding another route down would take too much time.

Zhang Wuxun held the bloody corpse’s head in his left hand, swung his right hand toward the Nine-headed Hydra Cypress, and instantly a silver dart shot out from the wrist buckle, flying straight into the tree trunk. The dart’s silver tail was fully embedded.

Clenching his right fist, Zhang Wuxun poured all his strength into it, pushed off the ground with one foot, and leapt down.