116: Chapter 116 Anomaly

Lu Bingyun's cold face was tightly furrowed, her pearly teeth lightly biting her lower lip.

The sword qi surrounding her body surged instinctively, yet it could only flicker futilely within an inch of her skin, unable to break through that invisible confinement.

Ye Xishui tried to perform hand seals, but her fingers were as stiff as frozen branches, unable to complete even the simplest movement.

The four of them were like puppets under a binding spell, standing stiffly in place, forced to watch as the ancient well underwent an even more terrifying transformation.

The black gas at the well's mouth was no longer just drifting out; it surged forth like thick smoke from an erupting volcano, mixed with a nauseating stench and a pressure as heavy as a mountain.

This pressure was not merely a crushing physical force, but carried a deep-seated resentment and despair that reached into the soul.

It made Chen Zilong and the other three feel as if breathing was difficult, their hearts tightly gripped by a cold, giant hand.

Every heartbeat was incredibly arduous.

Veins bulged on their foreheads, and cold sweat poured down, soaking their clothes.

Then, within the black gas so thick it wouldn't dissipate, four blurry white figures slowly emerged, finally floating clearly above the well's mouth.

They were four Female Corpses.

They wore identical white hemp robes, but the white clothes had long been mottled and stained by splatters of dark red blood, like eerie red plum blossoms blooming on snow.

Their complexions were a deathly, lifeless, ghastly white.

Their skin appeared bloated and wrinkled from long immersion, and water droplets continuously fell from their soaked long hair and the corners of their clothes.

In the silent woods, the "drip, drip" sounds struck against everyone's tense heartstrings.

Most heart-stopping of all were their eyes.

Within the sockets, there was no distinction between sclera and pupil—only a pure, hair-raising blood-red!

Thick, dark red bloody tears were constantly sliding down from the corners of their eyes.

They left winding trails on those ghastly white cheeks, like blood-colored tear stains.

The appearances of these four women were actually as if carved from the same mold, extremely beautiful.

Even in this eerie state, one could still see their peerless elegance from when they were alive.

Only that beauty carried a deathly stillness and wickedness that made people afraid to look directly at them.

The woman standing at the very front looked slightly older, her eyes and brows carrying a hint of maturity that the other three lacked, and...

Perhaps a deeper, more profound resentment.

They were soaked through, as if they had just struggled out from the deepest depths of the water.

But looking closely, one would find that on their exposed face, neck, and arm skin, they were covered in dense, coin-sized dark red spots.

The edges of those spots were clear, and the centers were even somewhat ulcerated, emitting a faint stench similar to a mixture of rotting flowers and diseased tissue.

That was clearly the symptoms of severe Syphilis!

This discovery added another layer of unspeakable filth and disgust to the horror before them.

The leading older Female Corpse, her crimson eyes streaming bloody tears, locked firmly onto Chen Zilong, who was closest to the well.

She had no expression, only floating slowly toward Chen Zilong as if pulled by invisible threads.

Her movements were stiff and sluggish, but carried an indisputable, inevitable sense of oppression.

The other three Female Corpses floated toward Tu Shan Xiaoxiao, Lu Bingyun, and Ye Xishui respectively.

Chen Zilong looked at that approaching horrific face, and could even smell the intense stench of water, blood, and disease coming from her.

Forcing down his churning stomach acid, he concentrated his remaining spiritual power and suddenly spat!

"Chila—!"

A bolt of condensed green thunder, like an arrow from a bow, shot straight at the Female Corpse's face!

This was precisely the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder that specialized in countering yin and evil!

However, the Female Corpse seemed to have anticipated it.

The soaking wet, seaweed-like black hair on her head actually grew and intertwined wildly at this moment as if it had a life of its own.

In an instant, it formed a thick, pitch-black shield in front of her, woven from countless strands of hair.

The green divine thunder crashed into the hair shield, erupting in dazzling green light and blazing flames, burning the shield until it crackled with a pungent, scorched smell.

But the Female Corpse didn't care at all, directly reaching out and violently tearing off the burning part of the hair along with the shield, discarding it!

The burning hair fell to the ground and quickly turned to ash.

The Female Corpse only paused slightly before continuing her approach.

There seemed to be some connection between her and the destroyed hair; losing part of it didn't have much impact on her main body.

Chen Zilong's heart sank, and he urged his spiritual power again, spitting out two more bolts of Evil-Warding Divine Thunder in succession.

But the Female Corpse repeated her old trick, using newly grown hair to form a shield for defense.

Although a portion was burned each time, the distance between her and Chen Zilong was closing unswervingly.

On the other side, although Lu Bingyun and Ye Xishui couldn't move, their protective sword qi was still activating autonomously.

Sharp sword qi slashed toward the approaching Female Corpses like a storm.

However, those sword qi blasts, which were enough to split stone, hit the Female Corpses' cold, wet bodies like clay oxen entering the sea.

They only made their white clothes sway slightly, leaving a few faint white marks, and then had no further effect.

The Female Corpses ignored the sword qi and continued to close in.

Those crimson eyes streaming bloody tears gazed hollowly at their respective targets.

The shadow of despair, like the coldest frost, rapidly shrouded the hearts of Chen Zilong, Lu Bingyun, and Ye Xishui.

Thoughts whirled in Chen Zilong's mind, filled with shock and uncertainty:

How is this possible?

I am already at the Nascent Soul stage, and the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder is the nemesis of ghosts and spirits!

What on earth are these Female Corpses?

If they are ghosts, why is the divine thunder so ineffective?

If they are zombies, why can they manipulate hair, and why is their form so bizarre?

The resentment on them...

It's so intense it has almost formed a tangible domain!

What should I do now?

My spiritual power flow is becoming more and more sluggish. If this continues...

Just at this critical moment.

The one that was floating toward Tu Shan Xiaoxiao was now within arm's reach.

She even reached out a bloated, pale hand covered in red spots.

The Female Corpse, who was about to touch Tu Shan Xiaoxiao's neck, suddenly froze.

The resentful, twisted expression on her face began to crack and melt like ice.

The blood color in those crimson eyes, which were constantly streaming bloody tears, actually slowly faded, revealing human-like, clear black-and-white pupils.

Only those pupils were filled with endless sadness and...

A hint of confusion.

No longer making meaningless gurgling sounds, she trembled and muttered intermittently:

"Bro... Brother...?"

The voice was hoarse and dry, as if it hadn't been used for a long time.

But it carried a genuine emotional fluctuation, completely different from the previous cries of pure resentment.

This sudden change was like hitting the pause button.