122: Chapter 122: The Beast

Lin Ye raised the high-intensity searchlight, and the beam swept across the karst cave.

This underground space was comparable to the size of several football fields.

Right in the center of the karst cave lay an underground river about twenty meters wide.

The current in the underground river was not turbulent.

The water quality was a viscous scarlet red.

Large clumps of yellowish-white foam floated on the water's surface, exuding a strong, pungent odor mixed with rust and rotting corpses.

"Blood river."

Lin Ye's gaze was cold and sharp as he pierced through the essence of this river; this was by no means a water source dyed red by underground minerals.

This was a long river of poisonous blood condensed from the blood of tens of thousands of corpses mixed with the dead Qi of the earth's veins over two thousand years.

The searchlight's beam lifted upward.

Countless thick bronze chains hung upside down from the dome of the karst cave.

At the end of each chain was tightly bound a bronze hanging coffin covered in green copper rust.

These hanging coffins were densely suspended directly above the blood river.

The chilling wind from the base of the mountain blew past, causing the bronze chains to collide with each other, producing a dull, ethereal clattering sound of metal friction.

"Seven-Star Weeping Blood Hanging Coffin Formation!"

Second Master Lei gasped a breath of cold air, his voice trembling violently.

"Boss Lin, this is an extremely vicious ancient Gu-raising formation! What those bronze coffins hold are all boys and girls soaked in Miao border secret medicine."

"Their corpse blood drips through the holes at the bottom of the coffins, gathering into this blood river. This river is feeding some peerless fierce entity at the bottom!"

Hearing this, Haozi's legs went weak from fright, and he collapsed to sit on the ground.

With this sit, his back heavily slammed against a protruding stalactite.

"Bang!"

The impact sound was infinitely amplified within the empty karst cave.

A sudden change occurred.

The originally calm and viscous surface of the blood river suddenly churned violently.

A huge whirlpool swelled up in the center of the bloody water.

Countless yellowish-white bubbles were shredded.

"Splash! Boom!"

A behemoth violently broke through the surface of the blood river, kicking up a skyful of foul-smelling bloody rain.

That was a giant aquatic centipede with a body length exceeding ten meters!

The centipede's carapace exhibited a ghastly green phosphorescence, and hundreds of pairs of knife-sharp limbs grew on both sides of its body.

On its back carapace, the patterns naturally formed a twisted, painful, ghastly pale ghost face.

Its huge black venomous jaws opened and closed frantically, and viscous venom dripped from the corners of its mouth, corroding bursts of white smoke on the rocks.

Ghost-Faced Water Centipede!

This ancient venomous creature that had survived for two thousand years by sucking corpse blood was finally awakened by the commotion Haozi made.

The compound eyes of the Ghost-Faced Water Centipede instantly locked onto Haozi, who was sitting collapsed on the ground.

For a monster like this, the deteriorating muddy disease death Qi on Haozi's body was precisely its favorite appetizer.

"Hiss!"

The Ghost-Faced Water Centipede let out a sharp hiss.

Its massive body transformed into a ghastly green afterimage, leaping straight out of the water surface and opening its bloody maw toward Haozi's direction.

Second Master Lei changed color in shock, and Dazhuang clumsily pulled out his native firelock wanting to shoot, but the speed was simply too late.

"Ding! Detected that the ancient mutated venomous creature [Ghost-Faced Water Centipede] is making trouble, and the Great Xia Ecological Protection Law does not temporarily jurisdiction underground creatures."

"Please Host finalize the enemy-greeting strategy within three minutes, and display the hardcore operation of the First Charlatan of Great Xia!"

The light screen unfolded, and three options leaped onto it:

[Option A: Iron-blooded sword cultivator, head-on hard confrontation — — Pull out the soul-suppressing copper coin sword, shout out loudly "Monster, meet your death", and rush up to engage in close-quarters combat with this ten-meter-long big bug.]

[Reward: Martial artist physique + 5. Consequence: The centipede's blood carries extremely strong corrosive acid liquid. The moment you sever it, you will be splashed all over with poisonous blood, your handsome face will be disfigured on the spot, and Leng Yue will lose interest in you.]

[Option B: May fellow Daoist die, but not poor Taoist — — Decisively retreat, throw Haozi as bait to the centipede, and take advantage of the time it feeds to quickly bypass the blood river with the wives.]

[Reward: King of Cowering King Medal. Consequence: The grave robber team completely drifts apart in heart and morality, you lose the cannon fodder for pathfinding, and you have to step on all subsequent landmines yourself.]

[Option C: Capitalist's beast-taming technique — — Take out your newly obtained [Ancient Miao Military Strategy Talisman]!]

Cooperate with the Pure Yang True Blood, forcibly hack into this big bug's nervous system, and stamp it with the steel seal of Great Xia labor dispatch! Turn enemies into friends, and collect a free, eye-catching mount!]

[Reward: Husband points + 500, unlock [Beast Taming Grandmaster] title, the awe of all grave robbers present breaks through the heavens.]

With these few options, anyone would know how to choose.

Not using such readily available free labor as an ox or a horse would simply be wasting natural resources.

Lin Ye's gaze instantly turned cold and fanatical.

The Ghost-Faced Water Centipede was less than three meters away from Haozi, and those sharp venomous jaws were about to bite off Haozi's head in one gulp.

"Get down!"

Lin Ye gave a fierce shout, his figure darting out like a cheetah.

His left hand reached into the storage space, pulling out the yellow [Ancient Miao Military Strategy Talisman] covered in eerie totems.

His right index finger brushed across the blade like lightning, and a drop of scalding Pure Yang True Blood oozed out.

Lin Ye pressed the Pure Yang True Blood fiercely onto the exact center of the talisman.

"Hum!"

The Ancient Miao Military Strategy Talisman erupted with blinding dark red blood light the moment it contacted the Pure Yang True Blood.

The twisted poisonous insect totems on the talisman paper seemed to come alive, letting out a silent roar.

Lin Ye exerted force with his feet and leaped high, his posture stretching to the limit in mid-air.

He did not use a sword to hack; pinching the talisman shining brightly with blood light in his left hand, he accurately and flawlessly slapped it onto the exact center of the ghastly pale ghost face on the back of the Ghost-Faced Water Centipede!

"Supreme Imperial Edict, ancient Miao border method. Kneel down for me!"

Along with Lin Ye shouting out the Daoist incantation formula.

The talisman transformed into a dark red streak of light, instantly drilling into the water centipede's body.

"Hiss! Roar!"

The massive body of the Ghost-Faced Water Centipede stiffened in mid-air, letting out a miserable scream.

It heavily smashed onto the rocks on the bank, smashing gravel to fly everywhere.

Hundreds of pairs of limbs frantically dug on the ground, rolling and struggling in pain.

The Ghost-Faced Water Centipede attempted to shake off the power controlling it on its back.

Lin Ye landed steadily, coldly watching this struggling behemoth.

His fingers flew, continuously pinching out control magic seals.

"Surrender, or die."

Lin Ye channeled the Pure Yang True Qi along the talisman's Qi connection, fiercely stabbing into the centipede's brain marrow.

A mere ten seconds.

The Ghost-Faced Water Centipede stopped rolling.

That pair of vicious compound eyes lost their violent radiance, and the massive body coiled near Lin Ye's feet.

Its huge head lowered docilely, pressing against the ground like a tamed watchdog.

The entire scene fell into dead silence.

Second Master Lei, Dazhuang, and Haozi sat paralyzed on the ground, watching this scene with dumbfounded eyes.

An ancient venomous creature that had lived for two thousand years was forcibly incorporated just like that by a piece of talisman paper?

What the hell kind of celestial means was this!

This young man's trump card was simply unfathomable to the extreme.

Ayugu took off her gas mask and rushed over with glowing eyes.

"Manager Lin! What kind of spell did you use? This is a top-grade water centipede!"

"You actually managed to capture it alive! In the Eighteen Miao Tribes, this is an ability only the High Priest possesses!"

Lin Ye patted the dust off his hands and gave her an exasperated glare.

"Save the flattery, put your mask back on, the poisonous miasma in the air hasn't completely dissipated yet."

He turned his head to look at Leng Yue and Frost Star behind him.

Leng Yue still had an indifferent and otherworldly appearance.

In her eyes, a venomous creature of this level didn't even qualify to be a pet.

Frost Star, on the other hand, went up to the centipede and curiously kicked its hard carapace with her toe.

"This bug is too hard, it chips teeth."

The little girl gave an objective culinary review.

"Ding! Option mission completed, Husband points + 500, current points: 6300."

"Obtained the time-limited title [Beast Taming Grandmaster], this big bug is now your legal labor-dispatched employee."

Lin Ye revealed a satisfied smile.

He walked to the front of the wide and flat back of the Ghost-Faced Water Centipede, pointing at the open space covered in scales.

"Second Lei, take your people and move the equipment up."

Lin Ye's tone exuded the ruthless exploitation of a capitalist.

"With this ready-made eco-friendly biological bus, we don't need to wade through the blood river on foot anymore. All of you sit on it and let it pull us across the river."

Second Master Lei and the other three swallowed their saliva, trembling as they climbed onto the centipede's back.

The touch of the ghastly green carapace was cold and hard, and sitting on it made one's back hair stand on end.

Lin Ye helped Leng Yue onto the centipede's back, and Frost Star and Ayugu also sat down close beside them.

"Let's go."

Lin Ye stood at the very front, his mind stirring.

The Ghost-Faced Water Centipede received the command, and its hundreds of feet moved in unison.

Its massive body slid into that scarlet blood river.

With this blood river overlord clearing the way, those lurking tiny venomous creatures in the underground river retreated respectfully.

The water centipede swam steadily in the viscous bloody water at an extremely fast speed.

The blood river was broad, and the bronze coffins hanging upside down along the way slowly receded above their heads.

Five minutes later, the water centipede carried everyone to the end of the blood river.

Ahead was an expansive underground plaza.

Right in the center of the plaza stood two giant bronze doors reaching up to ten zhang high.

The surface of the doors was carved with complex and eerie ancient totems, exuding a vicissitude and dead silence of ages eternal.

Everyone jumped down from the centipede's back and walked up to the giant bronze doors.

Lin Ye raised his head, his gaze locked onto the exact center of the junction of the two doors.

There, there was no traditional keyhole.

There was only a groove shaped like a human finger bone.

Inside the tactical backpack, that lead-sealed iron box suddenly vibrated violently.

"Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!"

Inside the small bronze box within, that withered severed finger felt the homologous summons from behind the door, frantically scratching against the inner metal wall, urgently wanting to rush out.

"We have reached the destination."

Lin Ye unslung his backpack.

He opened the iron box and took out the Western Zhou bronze box.

The box lid was lifted open.

That severed finger wrapped in gold foil instantly emitted a piercing chill.

The blackened, curved nail at the front pointed rigidly at the finger bone groove in the center of the bronze door.

This was the key to opening this gate of hell sealed for two thousand years.

Lin Ye took a deep breath.

He pinched that severed finger and, without a moment's hesitation, pressed it fiercely into the groove of the bronze door.