Big Gukuo exclaimed, "Damn it! So this corpse wasn't for burial after all, but was used to feed these monsters."

Just as Big Gukuo finished speaking, several Yinglong seemed to notice them. They stared fixedly for a moment, let out a cry, and charged over.

The beaks of the Yinglong were as sharp as knives; a single stab could cause severe injury at best, and death at worst. Seeing several Yinglong hurtling toward them, there was no hesitation left. Big Gukuo, Fan Debiao, and Young Master Liu raised their pistols and unleashed a volley of rapid shots. Although their marksmanship wasn't perfect, the Yinglong were large targets, so everyone managed to hit one. Three of the Yinglong shrieked after being shot and tumbled off the cliff.

Young Master Liu had lost most of his gear fighting the Jiao-ren, but he still had the Celestial Master Sword. As two Yinglong flanked him, Young Master Liu swung his sword left and right, cleanly severing the heads of both creatures.

Big Gukuo disdained using a pistol. He grabbed a Thompson submachine gun with one hand while gripping a protrusion on the cliff face with the other, spraying continuous fire at the Yinglong. When the shooting stopped, the remaining Yinglong tumbled over the edge.

The Yinglong that had attacked them were dealt with. Fan Debiao grumbled, "Why are these damned Yinglong picking on us!"

Young Master Liu replied, "Fan Debiao, don't you remember? Up above, we all worked together to kill one of their brethren. Now they're here for revenge!"

Fan Debiao spat, "Brother, how do we know the one we killed was male? What if it was female?"

Big Gukuo saw them talking nonsense and cut them off, "What time is it, and you two are still in the mood to chat about this?"

He then turned to Cai Qingchong, "Bug, look how these Yinglong suddenly appeared, and so many at once."

Cai Qingchong shook his head, clearly unable to make sense of it.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept toward them, nearly knocking Young Master Liu off the ledge. Fan Debiao cursed, "Damn it! Where is this place getting such strong winds? It feels like my bones are about to scatter!"

The group aimed their flashlights toward the wind and saw a massive Yinglong flapping its wings—this one was as large as the colossal Yinglong carved on the stone gate. Young Master Liu thought to himself, "Good heavens, so those carvings on the stone gate were drawn to actual scale!"

Big Gukuo exclaimed in awe, "This is an Yinglong. By my count, this one must be tens of thousands of years old."

Young Master Liu was shocked, "No way? Ten thousand years of life? If the Yinglong lived this long, how did they go extinct?"

Fan Debiao interjected, "Damn it, this isn't the time to discuss that. Look, that Yinglong seems ill-intentioned toward us. I say we take care of it first."

No sooner had Fan Debiao finished speaking than, before anyone could attack, the Yinglong charged toward them. Simultaneously, everyone opened fire. The bullets struck the beast, making metallic ding-dong sounds. It seemed their attacks had no effect.

The Yinglong drew closer and closer. Suddenly, it lunged forward, slamming its head into the cliff face, though it injured no one. However, the impact caused the entire cliff ledge to shudder violently. Young Master Liu’s hand went numb, and he plummeted into the void.

Young Master Liu thought, "It's over. I knew we shouldn't have come in. Now I'm going to lose my life."

Just as Young Master Liu was slowly waiting for death, a hand suddenly gripped his wrist tightly. Young Master Liu shone his flashlight over and saw it was Cai Qingchong. He was half-crouched on the ledge, holding fast to Young Master Liu, with Fan Debiao, Big Gukuo, and Su Yougui nearby. With a surge of strength, Cai Qingchong hauled Young Master Liu back up.

Once back on solid ground, Young Master Liu realized they were in a man-made tunnel carved into the cliff. It was deep. He swept his flashlight inside and saw the tunnel slanted diagonally to the left.

He murmured, "Thank goodness for this cave, or the five of us would all be gone."

Suddenly, the tunnel shook—the Yinglong was attacking them again, ramming its head relentlessly against the cave entrance.

The Yinglong managed to wedge its head into the tunnel opening, its eyes glaring fiercely down at the people below. It seemed to be stuck.

Seeing the Yinglong wedged fast, Young Master Liu leaped onto its head, raised the Celestial Master Sword, and plunged it in. The entire blade sank in, and immediately, a white fluid, strangely reminiscent of the ichor found in the bronze funerary figures, seeped out of the Yinglong's skull.

Struck by Young Master Liu's thrust, the Yinglong instantly closed its eyes, seemingly dead.

Young Master Liu pulled the Celestial Master Sword free, and a torrent of white fluid gushed out. He deftly leaped aside, jumping back to the others.

Seeing the Yinglong vanquished, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and sank to the ground. But just as they relaxed, a white worm solidified out of the white fluid flowing from the Yinglong's head. Big Gukuo frowned upon seeing the creature. "This isn't a centipede. This thing is called a Chu."

"Chu? Are you serious?" Fan Debiao shrieked.

Young Master Liu asked Fan Debiao, "Fan Debiao, how do you know the origin of this thing?"

Fan Debiao wiped the sweat from his forehead, "When I was smashing the 'Four Olds,' I saw an article about the Chu pasted on a toilet wall. It said the Chu was a messenger of demons, an ender of life—though that was just to describe how terrifying it was. The Chu has extremely potent offensive power. In ancient times, a mage could summon one, but after he died, the Chu never appeared in Chinese history again. So, where this worm came from, nobody knew. Now, it seems we have the answer."

Hearing Fan Debiao speak, Young Master Liu was skeptical. Fan Debiao was usually so clueless; how could he know so much about the Chu? Young Master Liu turned his gaze toward Big Gukuo, who nodded, confirming Fan Debiao's account.

Just then, the Chu seemed to notice them and lunged straight at Fan Debiao. Seeing it fly toward him, Fan Debiao swung his pistol, smashing the butt end against the creature. There was a sharp crack, and the Chu recoiled against the wall, its body convulsing once before it was instantly killed.

Fan Debiao poked the Chu with his gun butt and said with a grin, "Looks like the Chu is aggressive, but its vitality isn't great. It died in one hit."

As soon as Fan Debiao finished speaking, Cai Qingchong placed a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture. Seeing Cai Qingchong react so strongly, everyone fell silent.

Then, a strange noise suddenly echoed—it sounded like thousands of insects scrambling wildly. Listening closely, they realized the sound was coming from the Yinglong's carcass. Everyone instantly understood what it meant, grabbing their weapons and aiming them toward the source of the noise.

Suddenly, the Yinglong’s mouth split open, and a massive swarm of Chu erupted from within, surging toward them. Big Gukuo saw the sheer number of Chu approaching, squeezed the trigger, and after a few click-click sounds, the Chu on the ground were pulverized.

Big Gukuo’s few shots didn't frighten the Chu; instead, they seemed to incite their fighting spirit. Vast numbers of Chu poured out from every part of the Yinglong’s head, eventually squeezing the skull until it burst open. A torrent of Chu immediately flowed toward the group.

The others didn't dare hesitate, firing wildly with the guns in their hands. Because their combined firepower was concentrated, it was devastating. A great number of Chu were sent flying, white fluid splashing everywhere. Despite the intense barrage, the number of Chu was unbelievably vast.

The Chu moved incredibly fast, quickly reaching their feet. Big Gukuo yelled a warning, "Run!" The others fired two shots at the Chu beneath them and bolted backward, scattering like startled birds.

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