55: Demon cultivators attack

Pressing her lips close, Tang Tang lightly brushed against the other's fingertips and nodded as if nothing had happened.

Shang Wan Ning withdrew her hand and sent a voice transmission: "Little Daoist, behave yourself!"

Tang Tang's eyelashes fluttered, her gaze flickering uncertainly.

Shang Wan Ning pursed her lips slightly, her profile appearing somewhat stiff. "Help! How are younger sisters nowadays so good at flirting?"

..."Swoosh, swoosh..." A gust of demonic wind blew in, instantly enveloping the entire tunnel. Even the ground ahead became distorted to a certain extent, abruptly splitting into three different forks.

"Little Daoist, keep an eye on our surroundings. I'm going ahead to take a look." Shang Wan Ning exhaled and stepped forward.

Tang Tang grabbed Shang Wan Ning's arm and shook her head. "Sister, it's dangerous!"

"How about we go out together first and wait for the Buddhist Nuns to arrive before investigating the source of the corpse poison?"

Shang Wan Ning let out a cold laugh. "If even I can't solve it, then no matter how many people come, it'll just be like sheep entering a tiger's den."

"Then Sister, please be careful. This younger sister really wants to cling to your thigh."

Shang Wan Ning patted Tang Tang's head and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry, I am very powerful."

After speaking, Shang Wan Ning approached the fork, and Tang Tang had no choice but to follow closely behind.

The further they went, the darker the light became, accompanied by bursts of eerie wind.

Tang Tang looked around nervously, always feeling as though a pair of eyes was watching them from behind.

After advancing about two hundred meters, each fork split into three more paths.

Shang Wan Ning followed her intuition and chose the leftmost path of the middle fork, continuing forward.

Twisting and turning along the way, although she hadn't continued counting her steps, she estimated they had already walked five or six thousand meters.

Yet, the end of the tunnel was nowhere in sight, as if the forks beneath their feet were endless.

Tang Tang hunched her back, her footsteps as light as a cat's as she followed closely behind Shang Wan Ning's figure.

Her gaze remained locked on the beautiful silhouette ahead, her expression revealing a hint of unease.

"Sister, it seems the total number of steps we've taken has already exceeded the full length of this tunnel," Tang Tang said softly, her voice trembling slightly.

"Maybe... we should head out first! This place is so eerie, it's giving me the creeps," Tang Tang couldn't help but suggest again, a layer of fine sweat already breaking out on her forehead.

Shang Wan Ning suddenly stopped in her tracks, spun around abruptly, and reached out to grab Tang Tang's ear.

Staring straight at Tang Tang, she said coldly, "What? Are you reluctant to use This Old Lady as a shield now?"

Tang Tang was in pain from the pinch, but she didn't dare break away. She could only lower her eyes with an innocent look. "Sister Lay Buddhist, what do you mean by that? I really don't understand."

Shang Wan Ning sneered mockingly, "Hmph! Ever since you met me, your steps along this path have been well-paced and followed a pattern."

"Every time you sense danger approaching, you hide behind me."

"Doesn't that count as using me as a shield?"

Tang Tang's face instantly turned pale as she stammered an explanation, "Sister, you've misunderstood me!"

"Sister is so powerful; you can easily deal with those Walking Corpses in one move. I hide behind you... purely because I'm worried I'll become a burden to you... and cause you trouble."

As she spoke, Tang Tang slowly took out the peach wood sword she had been hiding behind her back, quietly gripping it in her hand, her fingers tightening slightly.

Seeing this, Shang Wan Ning turned her head away, a trace of contempt appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Little black-belly!"

"Has Sister never heard a certain saying?" Tang Tang blinked her large eyes and looked at Shang Wan Ning with a sly expression.

Shang Wan Ning frowned slightly, seemingly curious about what Tang Tang was going to say next.

Tang Tang casually played with her fingertips, a half-smile hanging on her lips. "The prettier a woman is, the more she says things she doesn't mean~"

Shang Wan Ning was stunned for a moment, then she turned around, took a step back, and stared down at Tang Tang with a complex expression.

After a moment, Shang Wan Ning spoke up, "Pretty? I don't see it. However... being 'moe' and 'black-bellied' is definitely something you have." After saying that, she shook her head slightly, showing her disagreement with Tang Tang's statement.

Tang Tang's face darkened instantly, and she secretly comforted herself: "Hmph! I don't even have to guess to know that Sister is definitely saying that on purpose just to annoy me!"

But she didn't lash out on the spot; she only gave a light snort.

Then she leaped forward, passing Shang Wan Ning and running ahead without looking back. She wanted to prove to Shang Wan Ning that she had a bit more of a conscience now—at least she wouldn't use Shang Wan Ning as a shield anymore.

Tang Tang ran about dozens of steps in one breath when suddenly, she felt the ground vanish beneath her feet, and her entire body instantly lost its balance. "Holy crap! How could a huge pit suddenly appear in the tunnel?"

Shang Wan Ning, who had been following closely behind, reacted quickly. She spun around and reached out with her right hand to firmly grab the edge of the ground.

Then, relying on her astonishing arm strength, she yanked Tang Tang back up and placed her steadily on the ground.

A sharp killing intent emerged quietly behind Shang Wan Ning like a ghost, accompanied by a dazzling white light crashing down from the tunnel ceiling!

“Screech!!!”

Just as the cold light was about to touch her body, Shang Wan Ning relied on her sharp intuition to perform a backward roll, avoiding the sneak attack from above.

The killing intent did not stop there, following closely behind.

Along with a dark figure, it crashed heavily onto the ground.

The original downward slashing momentum instantly transformed into a direct thrust. After a slight tremor in the air, it lunged straight toward Shang Wan Ning's heart!

"Sister, watch out!"

Tang Tang used one arm to push off the ground, her entire body performing a mid-air side flip. After landing, her feet bounced several times as she retreated dozens of meters to the left.

She hurriedly threw out several Strength Talismans, hoping to block the dark figure's assault for Shang Wan Ning.

The talismans streaked through the air, summoning a row of armored, weapon-wielding magical soldiers.

But who could have expected that the dark figure's movements would be so agile? With a backhand swing of its katana, it instantly slaughtered all the newly summoned soldiers, leaving them no room to fight back.

"A third-rank demon cultivator!!!"

Tang Tang's veins bulged at her temples as she spoke unwillingly.

"Sister, run quickly!"

Shang Wan Ning ignored the Little Daoist and gave a playful smile. "No rush, let's take it slow."

Facing the demonically charged dark figure, Shang Wan Ning didn't retreat but advanced instead. After dodging the attack with a sidestep, she raised her sneaker and kicked the dark figure in the stomach.

"Tsk! Luckily I wore safety shorts today."

The dark figure let out a muffled groan and was kicked back several steps.

Seeing this, Tang Tang took the opportunity to rush forward, her hands forming a seal. A wall of fire appeared out of thin air, blocking the dark figure's path of retreat.

But the dark figure simply leaped lightly, jumping over the wall of fire.