Tomb raider: You're going to extract my alien bloodline?

Chapter 15 Escape from the Lu Palace

The deathly silence brought about by Qin Yuan's reverse poisoning of the Corpse Beetle King lasted for less than three seconds.

The next moment, as if to avenge their king, or as if the last restraint had been lost, a rustling sound like a mountain roaring and a tsunami suddenly came from the depths of the cracked tree coffin and from the countless cracks around the cave! The sound was so dense that it made one's scalp tingle, as if a billion claws were scraping the rock at the same time!

Immediately afterwards, like a black tide bursting its banks, countless corpse beetles of all sizes surged out from all directions as if they had gone mad!

Their eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty red light, their mouths opened and closed, emitting a piercing hiss, converging into a torrent of death that surged wildly toward the central area where the breath of life still lingered!

The sheer number of them far exceeded any previous occurrence! It was as if all the corpse beetles that had accumulated in the Seven Star Lu Palace for thousands of years had been unleashed!

"Holy crap! We've stumbled upon a nest of corpse beetles!" Fatty Wang had just escaped with his life when he saw this scene, which was several times more terrifying than before, and he was so scared that he almost sat back down.

Without hesitation, Zhang Qiling slashed his palm, and a bright red line of blood shot out, landing at the forefront of the swarm of corpse beetles.

However, this time, the drop of Qilin blood, which contained a powerful deterrent force, only made the corpse beetles in the front row pause in panic for a moment, forcing them back to a small empty area.

But the corpse beetles behind them seemed to have completely lost their reason and fear, shoving and trampling on their companions without regard for death, instantly engulfing that small empty space! The deterrent effect of the Qilin blood was largely negated by this terrifying number!

Qin Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he also tried to force out a drop of blood to eject.

"laugh--!"

A corrosive sound rang out, and a small piece of the corpse beetle turned into black ash.

But the effect was still limited! Although his alien bloodline was domineering and could poison the Corpse Beetle King, against this ordinary Corpse Beetle horde that was like a black ocean, the deterrence and killing power of a few drops of blood was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean, and could only slightly slow down their advance.

"No! There are too many, we can't stop them! Quickly apply Tianxin Rock Powder to the trees!" Wu Sansheng made a decisive decision and shouted sternly.

In this life-or-death situation, no one dared to be careless. They frantically grabbed the prepared Tianxin Rock powder and smeared it haphazardly on their bodies, faces, and all exposed skin. The gray stone powder covered them, making them look utterly disheveled, but at that moment, no one cared about their appearance.

Between coats of stone powder, Qin Yuan's gaze swept quickly over the iron-faced corpse dressed in black jade burial suit within the coffin. This thing was a treasure. Although he had absorbed some of its energy, its original form was priceless, and it might even be useful for his later research on bloodlines! It would be such a waste to leave it here to be devoured by corpse beetles or ultimately buried!

Amidst the chaos, Zhang Qiling remained vigilant against the corpse beetles, Wu Sansheng and Pan Zi tended to the weakened Wu Xie, the fat man frantically dusted his bulky body with powder, and Qin Yuan silently approached the coffin, his hand seemingly casually brushing against the jade terracotta warrior corpse—

With a thought!

The iron-faced corpse connected to the black jade figurine vanished from the coffin in an instant and was stored in his system space! The whole process was as fast as lightning, and no one noticed it under the cover of chaos and dust.

"Quick! Climb the tree! Get out through the crack at the top!" Wu Sansheng shouted, pointing at the huge nine-headed cypress tree, his face covered in dust.

At this moment, the vanguard of the corpse beetles had already surged to the edge of the jade platform, the closest of which was only a few meters away! The suffocating rustling sound and the stench were almost overwhelming!

No longer caring about anything else, everyone rushed towards the Nine-Headed Hydra Cypress, grabbing the vines and branches that were temporarily unable to directly entwine them due to the Heavenly Heart Rock Powder, and desperately climbed upwards.

Zhang Qiling took the lead, his movements as nimble as a monkey, and in a few leaps he climbed to the top, cautiously observing the movements above and below. Although Pan Zi had an abdominal wound, his will to survive sustained him, and he gritted his teeth and followed closely behind. Wu Sansheng and Fatty also used all their strength to climb upwards.

Wu Xie landed a little later. He was already exhausted, and the previous frights had made his limbs weak, making it quite difficult for him to climb.

Just as he grabbed a horizontal branch and struggled to pull himself upwards, suddenly—

A low, inhuman roar came from below!

The giant Kui, its entire body completely red and transformed into a zombie, had somehow managed to stand up unsteadily. Its murky eyes were fixed on the living person above it, as if it still retained some remnants of consciousness.

It leaped upwards suddenly, and a swollen, red hand with blackened, sharp nails grabbed Wu Xie's ankle like an iron clamp: "Third Master... save... save me..."

"Ah!" Wu Xie felt a tremendous pulling force on his ankle, and he was almost pulled off the tree! He was terrified and kicked his legs desperately, but he couldn't break free at all!

"Little Naïve!" The fat man crawling in front turned around and shouted anxiously.

At this critical moment, a figure darted out from the side and below like a cheetah—it was Qin Yuan! He aimed precisely and kicked the zombie-transformed Da Kui hard in the chest!

A muffled "bang!"

With a kick imbued with enhanced power, the zombie-transformed Da Kui was sent flying backward, releasing its grip on Wu Xie. But as it fell, its dark fingernails still managed to carve a shallow cut into Wu Xie's ankle!

Wu Xie felt a numbing, stinging pain from his wound, but he couldn't care less. He was pulled up by Wu Sansheng and Fatty who caught up with him.

No one dared to linger and continued to climb desperately upwards. Finally, they reached a point near the crack at the top of the cave, where vines hung down, connecting them to the outside world.

After being temporarily safe, Wu Xie realized that the numbness in his ankle had not disappeared but was spreading rapidly. His entire foot began to lose sensation, and the skin around the wound began to turn an ominous bluish-black!

"Third Uncle...I...I think I've been poisoned..." Wu Xie's voice was filled with sobs and fear as he recalled Da Kui's tragic death.

Wu Sansheng and Pan Zi examined the wound, their expressions immediately turning extremely grim. This was clearly corpse poison, and a very potent one at that!

"Damn it!" Wu Sansheng was sweating profusely as he searched for the antidote he carried with him, but he knew that its effect would be limited.

Qin Yuan frowned as he looked at Wu Xie's rapidly deteriorating injuries, then at the swarm of corpse beetles below, gathering like a black tide at the base of the tree, layer upon layer surrounding the giant tree and trying to climb upwards. He touched the Qilin Blood he had just received, still warm from his body, in his pocket.

He originally intended to study this himself, or use it to save his life in a critical moment, but now...

"Sigh, what a huge loss!" Qin Yuan sighed, his face full of pain. Without further hesitation, he took out the Qilin Blood Coin, walked up to Wu Xie, and said irritably, "Open your mouth!"

Wu Xie was stunned and before he could react, Qin Yuan pried open his mouth and forced the pigeon-egg-sized piece of Qilin Essence into his mouth.

"Swallow it!" Qin Yuan commanded.

Wu Xie swallowed unconsciously, and the Qilin Blood had a strange warmth in his mouth as it slid down his throat.

Almost immediately, the bluish-black discoloration spreading on his ankle wound began to fade at a visible speed, and the numbness gradually lessened.

Wu Sansheng and Pan Zi were both surprised and delighted.

"Young Qin, what... what kind of miraculous medicine is this? I am deeply grateful!" Wu Sansheng exclaimed excitedly.

Qin Yuan waved his hand with a pained expression, "Don't thank me! Thanking me makes it worthless! This is my most treasured possession, a thousand-year-old Qilin's blood, priceless! Third Master, this debt needs to be settled. Transfer it to my account when we get back. I'll be furious if it's a penny short!"

Wu Sansheng, at this moment, didn't care about the money and hurriedly agreed, "Don't worry! I'll definitely give you double!"

Having cured Wu Xie of the poison, the group dared not delay and climbed out of the crack in the cave ceiling one after another along the vines, seeing the light of day once more. It was already dawn outside, the sky was faintly bright, the air was fresh, and it felt like stepping into another world.

Looking back into the depths of the crack, the swarm of dark corpse beetles still gathered under the tree, seemingly unwilling to give up.

"We can't let them grow and harm people!" Wu Sansheng's eyes hardened. "Burn this tree! Cut off their roots!"

They took out spare gasoline from their equipment, poured it down the crack, lit a torch, and threw it in!

Flames instantly erupted, spreading wildly along the dry branches and vines of the Hydra Cypress, quickly turning the entire giant tree into a massive torch! Amidst the crackling of the flames, the faint sounds of corpse beetles exploding and hissing as they burned could be heard.

In the firelight, Qin Yuan noticed that Zhang Qiling's figure had vanished into the shadows of the nearby woods, just as mysteriously as he had appeared. Qin Yuan's gaze flickered, but he remained silent.

Watching the fire grow ever stronger, Qin Yuan stroked his chin and murmured, "Um...shouldn't we build a firebreak? Starting a fire like this is a death sentence, folks."

The group of people, who were about to flee down the mountain, froze upon hearing this.

Wu Sansheng's lips twitched slightly, and he waved his hand helplessly: "Quick! Clear away the weeds and dead leaves around here!"

After a flurry of activity, they managed to create a makeshift firebreak to prevent the fire from spreading indefinitely. Only then, exhausted, did the group, supporting each other, begin their descent down the mountain.

Behind them, flames soared into the sky, and the Seven Star Lu Palace, a place that buried countless secrets and dangers.

Wu Sansheng, panting heavily, solemnly said to Qin Yuan, "Qin boy, we owe you a lot this time. As for the money, I'll arrange for someone to transfer it to you as soon as we get back."

Qin Yuan nodded, feeling a trace of bloodline power condense within his body. He then looked at the cold, golden jade robe in the system space, and the heartache in his heart finally lessened a little.

"Let's go, all I want right now is to find a place to have a hot pot meal and get rid of this bad luck!" the fat man said weakly, waving his hand.