Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 77 - 75 Escape!

Chapter 77: Chapter 75 Escape!

Even when he was initially sacrificed to the Owl God Tomb as an "Elixir," he only felt anger, not the deep hatred he feels now.

Cousin, parents, grandfather, grandma, himself—all of their misfortunes essentially began with that "Weird Wedding."

Whether it was the societal norms of the time or his own heartfelt belief:

If he did not take revenge, he would fail as a son!

Looking down at the girl in the coffin, the skin all over Wang Yuan’s body contracted on its own, peeling off his face to reveal the mask that transforms him back into his original appearance.

It allowed him to return to his true self from the disguise of "Thief Cat" Cui Tong.

However, the tail and ears belonging to the White Tiger were still kept.

Now was not the time to play act with Lady Peach Fairy; he didn’t want to touch his cousin through the layer of "Cui Tong’s" skin.

Gently, he lifted the red veil covering Huang Wu’s head.

His fingers brushed the black strands of hair scattered on her pale cheeks, tenderly tucking them behind her ear, attempting to sweep away the lingering fear on the young girl’s forehead.

"Cousin, you don’t have to be afraid anymore.

You are the treasure that the whole family would risk their lives to protect, the continuation of our elders’ lives.

I’m going to take you home now. You won’t have to lie alone in this cold tomb anymore.

Without the corpse, the Owl God Tomb won’t be able to claim the ’Elixir’ easily, and your soul can leave the mirror. From now on, you can go wherever you wish."

He gently embraced the girl, who was dressed in a Luan Robe for marriage, in his arms.

For the first time in his heart, he felt that it might not be such a bad thing for his cousin to lose most of her memories of her past life, especially since it included the darkest and most despairing time in her life.

He also resolved never to tell her what she had endured in her previous life.

As he picked up Huang Wu, the upper half of her body tilted slightly back, and her pale lips parted a bit.

In an instant, a radiant green light shone from her mouth, completely overshadowing the luminescence of the Luminous Pearls in the tomb chamber.

Wang Yuan noticed the anomaly right away.

Through her parted lips, one could faintly see what seemed to be a radiant green Jade Pearl, with dark patterns inside forming a green Phoenix with outstretched wings.

"This seems to be a ’Jade Pendant’ buried with the deceased?"

In this era, during funerals, something was usually placed in the deceased’s mouth, commonly referred to as a "Tongue Suppressor," also known as "Jade Pendant," which was part of the burial rites.

Depending on social rank and wealth, the item placed could vary, from rice shells and copper coins to pearls and jade.

They are also carved into different shapes to symbolize different meanings.

For kings, vassals, royal relatives, and nobles, the item used as tongue suppressor was typically made of pearls and jade, carved into shapes like Jade Cicada, Jade Pearl, Jade Fish, Jade Tube, Jade Bull, Jade Pig, and so forth.

While those of lesser means might not have pearls or jade, rice shells and copper coins were indispensable.

It is traditionally believed that having gold or jade in the mouth enables the departed soul not to starve in the Underworld and preserves the corpse from decay.

Among the nobility, the most commonly used tongue suppressor is the "Jade Cicada," symbolizing the belief that like cicadas emerge from the ground, holding a jade cicada in their mouth suggests the idea of Cicada Shedding and Rebirth, and the immortality of the soul.

Of course, some of these are effective, and some are not, depending entirely on whether they are genuine Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures or if a hefty sum was spent for a magician to imbue them with Magic.

If specially arranged in a formation, the effect could be even better.

Such was the case with the original owner of the "Vermilion Bird Bureau," and the Yili King, who transformed into the Owl God Tomb.

Wang Yuan had thought that it was due to the special formation of the "Ghost Star" that his cousin’s corpse had not decayed over more than a decade.

Her skin was still elastic, as if she were merely asleep.

Now it seemed, the "Jade Pendant" used by his cousin back then might not be an ordinary item.

It was likely a relic of the former concubine.

Moreover, after spending over a decade in the "Ghost Star," which was intended for breeding ghosts, along with the essence blood of Huang Wu’s body, it probably had become a treasure of excellent quality.

Unfortunately, Wang Yuan was an unorthodox practitioner and not skilled in Ghost Dao Techniques, so he couldn’t discern more of its mysteries.

But he didn’t mind, as his cousin’s body was now the most precious treasure in his eyes.

He just slightly adjusted her position to prevent the object in her mouth from falling out.

Snap!

The tiger’s tail at his rear lashed out, cracking like a whip, as he called out,

"Mr. One-Eyed, open the Yin Road; we’re going to jump out of the tomb."

"As you command!"

Although they dared not jump too far in one go inside the Underground Palace, too close to the Underworld, if the direction was straight up, they could afford to be a bit bolder.

However, just at that moment.

Rustle rustle...

The wall on the side of the "Outer Kitchen" tomb chamber seemed to weather away like the wind, rapidly crumbling to reveal a large hole tall enough for a person to pass through.

A familiar, yet overly sharp voice came from within the hole.

"I smelled it, I just knew there would be treasures here!"

Following that, there was the sound of extremely light footsteps, as if someone were tiptoeing closer and closer.

At the same time, Wang Yuan’s wrist ached, and the four-fingered imprint that had not faded was also showing up without the blood-colored moonlight.

Whispers echoed in his ears, sounding as if they came right out of the "Heavenly Book" with supreme Daoist Skill:

"Heaven clear and earth serene, forever maintain longevity, Ghost Gods annihilate themselves, shapeshifting demons hide their forms, those who dare defy, sent straight to the ninth Netherworld..."

"Yin and Yang out of order, become a resonant grievance, you who are the stimulated, upon you the sin shall toll..."

This indicated that knowledge of the same origin was approaching, and it was powerful!

However, before the owner of the voice revealed himself.

Woo—!

A cold wind howled in the tomb chamber, and the ethereal shadows of five small ghosts, shoulder to shoulder, flitted around Wang Yuan before disappearing in an instant, as Mr. One-Eyed hoisted the Mountain Lord and took to his heels.

Despite the familiar sound of the voice, with his own goal of entering the tomb achieved, he had no intention of involving himself in another’s demise.

Be it a human, a ghost speaking, even if the well-known Lady Peach Fairy were in immediate peril, Wang Yuan could run without hesitation.

At the worst, he would find another way to get close to Master Ge to inquire about the secrets of the Heavenly Book.

In the blink of an eye.

Thud!

Breaking through the yin wind, Wang Yuan could once again see the daylight of the outside world.

The mountain mist mixed with rolling vapor hit his face, finally diluting the persistent heavy scent of corpse decay at the tip of his nose.

"Is this below the hillside where those five bandits almost suffocated themselves to death because they did not respect the ’do not talk while eating or speak while sleeping’?"

"That Underground Palace actually extended all the way here."

At this moment.

The dark clouds in the sky were even lower than before he entered the tomb, and finally, lightning snakes began to scamper about within the clouds, as if a hearty and soaking rain was imminent.

Just as he was about to urge Mr. One-Eyed to keep moving.

A sudden "boom" thundered beside his ear.

Wang Yuan initially thought it was the thunder from above.

It was only after feeling the ground violently shake beneath him that he realized it was indeed the hillside behind him, collapsing like an enraged dragon, bringing with it an endless barrage of sand, stone, and broken wood flying toward him.

A bolt of lightning struck through Wang Yuan’s mind.

"This is the Mountain Coffin Evil Technique!"

Was that person earlier Pangolin Fan Zhang?!

The yin wind rose again, and although it was somewhat hurried, the Five Ghosts still managed to carry Wang Yuan a good hundred meters away in a flash, narrowly escaping the massive collapsing mountainside.

Just as Wang Yuan had steadied himself, he saw a weird figure already waiting in front of him.

The figure was still dressed in a mud-stained robe, with a bag of animal skin on his back revealing an iron handle.

But his mouth jutted forward, his ears became pointed, his eyes shrank to the size of mung beans, his toes raised high, and his head hung low, looking very much like an upright walking rat.

If he were to grow scales, it would perfectly match his nickname "Pangolin."

Moreover, he seemed to have just finished gnawing on something; his mouth was full of fresh blood.

In Wang Yuan’s eyes.

There was also a small old man dressed in a Construction Director’s official robe, yet wearing a Taoist hair bun, quietly lying on Fan Zhang’s back, extending his dried claws tightly around his neck.

He tilted his head, displaying an eerie smile that sent a chill down one’s spine.

It was clear that Fan Zhang had no awareness of the problem on his back.

His gaze was fixed solely on Huang Wu and the "Green Phoenix Jade Pearl" she mentioned, extending a limb that had also undergone mutation, uncertain whether it should be called a hand or a claw, he coldly said:

"Hand it over! Give me the treasures from the tomb!"

It seemed he had not considered why Wang Yuan, with tiger ears and a tiger tail, would appear in the Construction Director’s accompaniment burial at all.