Chapter Seventy-Nine: On the Brink of Life and Death (Vote Requested!)

The gravekeeper halted, his face ashen. Yet, upon seeing the spirit stone raised high, he restrained his urge to charge forward, as if desperately trying to discern what Zhou Yi was about to do.

Zhou Yi held the spirit stone aloft, feeling the waves of warmth coursing into his palm. He knew he was absorbing the spiritual energy within the stone—so pure, unlike the one he’d used back at the base, whose energy was chaotic and tore at the body with searing pain. This stone, however, caused almost no discomfort.

In mere moments, the stone’s glow grew even more dazzling than before. With a flick of his wrist, Zhou Yi tucked the spirit stone into the storage box.

All this took only seconds. As soon as the stone disappeared, the gravekeeper’s eyes widened in fury and he swung his staff down at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi reached toward the pool and bellowed at the gravekeeper, “Spray him! Drown him!”

Zhou Yi’s shout echoed through the stone chamber.

The Fatty and Cheng Zhi stood behind him. Fatty still gripped a baseball bat, looking wary. Cheng Zhi tugged at his wrist and whispered, “Fatty, let’s get out of here for now. We can’t help, and we’re just a distraction for the boss.”

Fatty shook off his hand, his neck rigid and eyes wide. “No way. We can’t just leave the boss alone. How would he manage?”

Cheng Zhi grew anxious, pinching the soft flesh on the inside of Fatty’s arm. Fatty grimaced in pain. “Let go! That hurts!”

“See? How are we any help like this? We’d do better to check if the alpha wolf’s come back. Didn’t you see the boss hasn’t lost?”

Fatty blinked. He knew Cheng Zhi was right but still needed to save face—after all, he always considered himself the senior disciple. “Fine, let’s clear the way outside. At least if we have to run, it won’t be too dangerous.”

Cheng Zhi nodded, and the two of them ran toward the narrow opening.

At that moment, the water in the pool began to boil. The gravekeeper’s staff hadn’t yet struck Zhou Yi when a jet of water shot from the pool straight at the gravekeeper’s face.

The gravekeeper faltered, hastily pulling back his staff to block the water jet. But water, when blocked, simply splits. The jet divided, one shooting for his face, the other for his groin.

Zhou Yi locked his gaze on the watery arrows, straining to control them with his mind. He knew if he didn’t persevere, they would all die here. Blood was already trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The gravekeeper retreated, whirling his staff to form a barrier in front of him. The water arrows shattered into droplets against it, but Zhou Yi shouted again at the pool, “More! Drown him! Drown him dead!”

Three water arrows shot forth, more skillfully and powerfully than before, each as thick as a child’s arm, spiraling toward the gravekeeper.

Though the first water arrow had been smashed, droplets like silver needles embedded themselves in the gravekeeper’s flesh. Before he could react, the second volley was upon him.

The gravekeeper raised one hand before his chest, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto his staff. With a flourish, he shattered the three water arrows with flashes of light from his staff, but still, some droplets pierced his body like needles.

Zhou Yi coughed, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, holding on by sheer will alone.

Seeing blood speckle the gravekeeper, Zhou Yi’s eyes brightened. Evidently, the water arrows weren’t without effect. He needed to press harder.

He reached again for the pool; by now, more than half the water was gone, and the large stones at the bottom were visible.

“Give me a rain of needles! Drown him!”

At his shout, the water scattered in a fine, drizzling spray toward the gravekeeper. Up close, each droplet resembled a tiny silver needle.

The gravekeeper staggered, pounding his chest with his fist. He spat a mouthful of blood, and his staff danced, whipping the blood mist and water needles into a maelstrom, filling the air with the sound of shattering water droplets.

At that instant, Zhou Yi raised both hands, twisting them as if wringing out a rag.

“Aaah!” The gravekeeper howled in agony as his armor began to buckle and warp, though he still spun his staff, pouring all his will into its movement.

“Aaah!” Zhou Yi roared as well, using the last of his strength to twist at the staff too.

With a thunderous boom, the gravekeeper’s armor shattered and his staff broke in two. Both the staff and the broken armor warped and bent. Blood gushed from the gravekeeper’s mouth and wounds; he collapsed backward.

His head lolled toward Zhou Yi, eyes full of shock and disbelief. But soon his gaze dimmed, and his breath stilled.

Zhou Yi fared little better. He slid down against the stone wall, his shoulder blades pressing painfully into the rock, but he had not a shred of strength left.

He glanced down at his hand. After twisting the staff, it felt as though his fingers had snapped as well. He tried to call for help, but his mouth was full of blood. When he opened it, a mouthful gushed out.

He could feel his consciousness slipping away. Zhou Yi felt a pang of regret—was he really going to die here today?

His vision went black. He knew nothing more.

After a while, Cheng Zhi peeked into the chamber. The silence inside was unsettling. If the gravekeeper had killed Zhou Yi, they’d be dead already, bound as soul-contract slaves. If Zhou Yi were only wounded, the gravekeeper would surely have come after them. After waiting a moment with no sign of pursuit or further noise, they mustered their courage and crept inside to check.

When he saw Zhou Yi slumped against the stone wall, Cheng Zhi jumped in fright. Fatty squeezed in behind him.

“Well, how is he? Say something!” Cheng Zhi pointed at Zhou Yi, at a loss for words.

“Sir... Sir...” Fatty rushed over, just about to reach out when Cheng Zhi called from behind, “He seems hurt—don’t touch him yet!”

Fatty nodded, worry etched deep on his face. Everything they had was on Zhou Yi, and though he wanted to check on him, Fatty hadn’t the faintest idea how.

Cheng Zhi picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor and hurried over to the gravekeeper. Reaching him, he gave the body a kick. The gravekeeper’s armor was shattered, his staff twisted into a strange shape and broken in two.

His clothing was torn and tattered, his exposed skin covered in countless tiny wounds, as though sliced by thousands of blades. His eyes were wide open, staring in Zhou Yi’s direction.

Cheng Zhi squatted down and checked the gravekeeper’s neck—no pulse.

At that moment, the gravekeeper’s body began to shrivel, collapsing in on itself like a deflating balloon, rapidly mummifying before their eyes.

Cheng Zhi recoiled in terror, stumbling backward.

But it wasn’t over. The gravekeeper’s body withered further, shrinking until it finally crumbled into nothing but ash. Had Cheng Zhi not seen it himself, he would never have believed such a thing could happen before his eyes.

Whether it was a passing breeze or simply the natural end of things, once all traces had vanished, beneath the ashes lay a tiny purple flower.

Cheng Zhi bent down to study it closely.

The little purple flower looked extremely delicate. When they’d entered earlier, there hadn’t been a thing growing here—not a flower, not even a single green leaf. It seemed this flower had only appeared after the gravekeeper’s death.

This world was far too strange; everything about it defied Cheng Zhi’s understanding.

He couldn’t tell what kind of flower this was, nor what it meant. After a moment’s thought, he dug up the little plant, roots and all, with his knife and hurried back to Zhou Yi.

Fatty was still crouched beside Zhou Yi, his worry plain to see. Earlier, they’d checked outside—the alpha wolf hadn’t returned, and though the wind and rain raged, this place was at least safe for now.

Fatty glanced at Cheng Zhi and the object in his hand. Even in the dim light from the shattered flashlight, he could see it was a flower. Fatty’s face was filled with confusion.

“Cheng, the boss is in such a state, and you bring back a flower? What good is that supposed to do?”