150: Undead believers and the spirit of "evil"

As the mummy's head rotated, a "crunching" sound echoed exceptionally clearly in the dead silent underground cavern, like someone breaking a hundred-year-old potato chip.

Qian hugged his arms, instinctively taking half a step back, muttering, "No, buddy, your cervical facet joint disorder is a bit severe. Do you want our medical Ninja to take a look? We offer a discount."

Zi Luo's mechanical gauntlet had already unfolded, its miniature red aiming reticle locking onto the target. He spoke with the tone of someone analyzing a hardware malfunction: "Life signs zero, Chakra reaction zero, malicious energy index... off the charts. Conclusion: It's a reanimated corpse, and a top-tier one at that."

Before his words faded, the mummy on the altar moved.

His two stick-like legs pushed off sharply, and the entire figure, in a manner defying Newton's laws, charged over with a Z-shaped lightning-fast step. The movements were jerky and bizarre, much like a player with nine hundred ninety-nine ping, one second teleporting, the next striking a comical surrender pose, then, with afterimages, brandishing the three-section scythe taller than himself, he brought it down directly!

"I'll handle it!"

Zi Luo yelled softly, advancing instead of retreating. His left arm guard buzzed, deploying a small shield, and his right mechanical iron hand met the rusty scythe head-on.

"Clang—!"

The harsh metallic screech almost tore everyone's eardrums.

Zi Luo's strength was enough to overturn a tank, yet the mummy remained motionless. Some of the bloodstains on the scythe were ground off during the collision with the energy shield, revealing the dull metallic sheen beneath.

"This skeleton has abnormal strength!" Qian saw it clearly from the side, quickly forming hand seals, "Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

Several wind blades, thin as cicada wings, precisely sliced through the mummy's limb joints. Theoretically, this was enough to dismember a giant bear. However, after the wind blades passed, only a few shallow white marks were left on the mummy's body, which were then instantly repaired by black mist rising from the ground beneath its feet.

"Physical attacks are ineffective, Ninjutsu attacks... are like a massage." Qian's mouth twitched, "Did this guy activate a blood-lock cheat?"

Gaara's small face was taut. Without hesitation, he slammed his hands onto the ground.

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

The sand on the ground seemed to come alive, transforming into two giant pythons that wrapped around the mummy's legs like lightning, rapidly spreading upward, engulfing him in a massive sand cocoon in the blink of an eye.

However, the next second.

"Boom!"

A powerful force erupted from within the sand cocoon, causing it to explode. The mummy leapt out unharmed, its crimson gaze sweeping over everyone, seemingly mocking their incompetence.

"It's useless," Zi Luo said in a deep voice, a damage analysis module on his gauntlet flashing red frantically. "I just inflicted three fatal structural injuries on him, but he was repaired within 0.1 seconds. The energy source... is not from himself."

Qian and Zi Luo stood back-to-back, adopting a defensive stance. Gaara's sand swirled around him, forming a flowing defense line. They were at a stalemate, facing an enemy that couldn't be killed, never tired, and had an extremely bizarre attack pattern. Any war of attrition seemed pointless.

Throughout the entire process, only Tang Yan remained still.

He stood in place, like a disconnected bystander, merely watching calmly. But in his spiritual world, the Myriad Forms Ingenuity Box had completed the modeling and data analysis of the entire battlefield, with countless information streams scrolling across the screen at light speed.

"Target Analysis: Guardian of the 'Evil' Soul (Terminal)."

"Life Form: Non-biological, defined as 'Curse Aggregate'."

"Ability Module: Infinite Regeneration (Passive)."

"Energy Source: Underground Evil God Sacrifice Array. Current Connection Status: Stable. Power Output: 120%."

"Breakthrough Plan Deduction in progress..."

"Plan One: Violently destroy the entire underground cavern. Success rate: 45%. Side effect: 99% probability of being buried alive."

"Plan Two: Mental attack. Success rate: 12.5%. Target has no independent soul, immune to mental attacks."

"Plan Three: Cut off energy supply. Success rate: 98.7%."

Tang Yan's lips curved slightly. Sure enough, even the most powerful BOSS had to obey the basic laws. Disconnecting the power was always the most effective way to solve the problem.

"Stop."

Tang Yan's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Don't keep giving him a massage and charging him. Your Chakra attacks will only be absorbed by the array and transformed into energy for him to repair himself."

Qian and Zi Luo were both stunned, then reacted. So, all their fighting was not only useless but also recharging the opponent's power bank?

"Then what should we do?" Qian asked urgently.

"You two are responsible for distracting him; buy me thirty seconds."

After Tang Yan finished speaking, his figure flickered. Stepping with profound footwork, he transformed into an elusive Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, bypassing the frontal battle. His target was not the lively mummy, but the silent obsidian altar standing in the center, seemingly the source of everything.

The High Priest seemed to sense his intention, abandoning Zi Luo and Qian, turning to pursue Tang Yan at an even faster speed. The three-section scythe whirled with a fierce wind, raising gusts of 陰風 that almost sealed all of Tang Yan's forward paths.

But Tang Yan's movement technique was too bizarre. At times, he was like willow catkins in the wind, lightly avoiding fatal slashes; at other times, he was like a snake gliding close to the ground, flashing through the blind spots beneath the scythe. He seemed about to be struck, yet always managed to twist away at the last moment from an inconceivable angle.

It was the Tang Clan's movement technique—Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

In an instant, Tang Yan had reached the edge of the altar. Without any pause, he flicked his wrist, and dozens of silver-glowing, specially made long needles appeared between his fingers. On these silver needles, Tang Clan's evil-dispelling runes, too intricate to be seen with the naked eye, were densely inscribed.

He did not attack the hard body of the altar but focused his gaze on the seemingly irregular energy patterns at the base of the altar.

"Meridian Severing Needle Technique: Modified!"

Whoosh!

The first silver needle shot out, precisely piercing one of the energy nodes. There was no loud bang or light, only a faint "hum." The entire altar seemed to tremble slightly, and the High Priest, who was chasing Tang Yan, experienced a 0.1-second pause in his movements.

It's working!

Tang Yan's eyes narrowed, his hands becoming blurs. One by one, the silver needles, like living birds, continuously pierced into various energy nodes at the base of the altar in a specific rhythm and sequence.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Each insertion was like playing a silent piece of music, severing the meridians of this evil machine. The High Priest's movements became slower and stiffer, and the black mist swirling around him began to thin.

When the last silver needle firmly pierced the energy core of the altar.

The entire underground cavern trembled violently!

The huge underground array, composed of countless skeletons, flickered a few times, like an old light bulb with a bad connection, and then completely dimmed.

Deprived of energy, the High Priest, who was entangled with Zi Luo and others, instantly froze in place. The black mist on his body dissipated rapidly, like air being sucked away. His withered body began to weather and crack at a visible speed, finally turning into a pile of black powder with a "whoosh," scattering with the wind.

Only a scythe remained, falling to the ground with a "clank."

"Is... is it done?" Qian looked at the pile of powder, somewhat incredulous.

However, before they could even breathe a sigh of relief.

A sudden change occurred!

The moment the array stopped functioning, a surge of malice, a hundred times more massive and purer than before, erupted from the center of the obsidian altar!

It no longer maintained any form; it was an invisible, pure torrent of consciousness composed of greed, destruction, and despair. It had no fixed target, yet instinctively sought the most suitable breeding ground for itself, a vessel whose mind was most easily invaded!

This torrent of consciousness hovered in the air for a moment, then locked onto the youngest figure in the team, the one with the weakest mental defenses.

Gaara!

"Oh no!" Tang Yan's expression changed.

That pure 'evil' soul transformed into an invisible shriek, like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely piercing into Gaara's mind!

"Ah—!!"

Gaara clutched his head, letting out a painful scream, his small body curling up on the ground. He had just learned how to peacefully coexist with Shukaku's will, how to "see" his inner self. But now, a will infinitely more powerful than Shukaku's tyranny was attempting to violently tear apart his soul, to usurp it!

The mechanical gourd behind him trembled violently, its opening uncontrollably widening, golden and black sand pouring out frantically, swirling wildly around him, sometimes condensing into a protective barrier, sometimes transforming into offensive spikes, appearing chaotic and contradictory.

"Kid! Hold on!" Qian shouted, but dared not approach easily.

Just then, Gaara's scream abruptly ceased.

He slowly raised his head, his emerald green pupils now replaced by a pure, emotionless black.

He looked at Tang Yan, a strange curve, unbefitting his age, spreading across his lips.

"New... body..."