novelaction Chapter 547
Chapter 547
Zhang Hao turned his gaze away from the mural and said calmly:
"Walk."
The group passed through a hidden door deep inside the palace, and the scene before them changed abruptly.
The once magnificent palace suddenly disappeared, replaced by a dark and damp underground cave.
The cave walls were covered with dark red mycelium, resembling the blood vessels of some kind of creature, undulating slightly.
The air was filled with a rotten, sweet, and fishy smell that made one dizzy after smelling it for a while.
"This place...it's like a person's intestines!"
The fat man covered his nose, looking disgusted.
Zhang Qilin's black gold ancient sword trembled slightly, clearly sensing danger.
Wu Tianzhen squatted down and gently touched the ground with her fingertips, discovering a dark red liquid seeping into the soil, as thick as blood.
"Be careful, something's not right here."
Wu Tianzhen said in a low voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, the ground suddenly trembled slightly. Then, the mycelium on the cave wall suddenly burst forth and coiled around the group as if it were alive!
"retreat!"
Zhang Qilin's blade flashed, unleashing a burst of murderous aura that froze a large area of mycelium.
However, the severed mycelia regenerated rapidly after hitting the ground, and even split into more fine filaments, surging in like a tide!
The fat man grabbed his entrenching tool and started slapping the wound, but the mycelium burrowed into his flesh as soon as it touched his skin, causing him to howl in pain.
"Holy crap! This thing can parasitize!"
Zhang Hao snorted coldly, raised his hand and waved it, and the Molten Gold True Flame transformed into a golden wave of fire that swept out, instantly burning the mycelium to ashes.
However, a strange "clucking" sound came from deep within the cave, like countless people whispering.
"Where did the sound come from?"
Huo Xiuxiu turned pale and covered her ears.
Zhang Hao's gaze sharpened:
"It's not a sound, it's an illusion."
Sure enough, the scene before them began to distort, and the mycelium on the cave walls seemed to transform into countless human faces, grinning at them.
The fat man suddenly stared blankly and muttered:
"Immortality... Ascension..."
Unconsciously, they walked deeper into the cave.
"Fatty!"
Xie Xiaohua grabbed him, but the fat man was surprisingly strong and threw her off.
Zhang Hao raised his hand and pointed a finger at the fat man's brow. A ray of golden light entered, and the fat man trembled, as if waking from a dream.
"Holy crap! I just saw myself flying in the sky, and fairies were even offering me drinks..."
"It's Shi Gongzhi's hallucination."
Zhang Hao said calmly:
"It's tempting people to the past."
The group became even more vigilant and continued on their way.
At the end of the cave, a huge underground cavern suddenly appeared.
The scene before them sent chills down everyone's spines—
In the center of the cave was a dark red swamp, around which dozens of corpses knelt, their heads buried deep in the mud, as if they had desperately dug themselves in.
Their bodies were already shriveled, but a fist-sized, dark red fleshy growth had bulged on the back of their necks, resembling some kind of parasite.
"These... these people are all here to see Shi Gongzhi?"
Wu Tianzhen's voice trembled.
Zhang Qilin approached a corpse and gently pried open the tumor on the back of its neck with the tip of his knife.
With a "poof", the tumor ruptured, spewing out a dark red mist. A blurry human face appeared in the mist, emitting a shrill scream!
"It's a parasite."
Zhang Qilin said coldly:
"Shi Gongzhi is not a stone, it is a living thing."
Zhang Hao's gaze swept over the swamp, and suddenly he raised his hand and grabbed it. The swamp exploded from the depths, and a dark red tumor the size of a human head was pulled out by an invisible force and floated in mid-air.
The surface of the sarcoma is covered with vein-like patterns, and fluid can be vaguely seen flowing inside, like a beating heart.
"Is this the Stone Hemorrhoid?"
The fat man looked disgusted.
"Eating this stuff will make you an immortal? More likely, you'll just turn into a zombie!"
Wu Tianzhen carefully examined the corpses and suddenly noticed that the marks left by their fingers digging into the soil were extremely forceful, as if they had experienced extreme pain and struggle before death.
He said in a deep voice:
"These people weren't killed... they buried themselves."
"Hallucination."
Zhang Hao said calmly:
"The stone hemorrhoid will show the host the most desired sight, luring them to willingly become parasitized."
Huo Xiuxiu's face turned pale:
"So the 'swallowing' mentioned in the mural actually refers to allowing the stone god's hemorrhoids to become parasitic?"
Everyone was silent.
According to the mural, one cannot enter the Second Mausoleum of the World without eating Shi Gongzhi, but eating it will turn one into one of those corpses with their head buried in the ground!
"Uncle, what do we do now?"
Wu Tianzhen looked at Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao stared at the suspended stone statue and suddenly sneered:
"A mere illusion technique, daring to call itself a 'key'?"
Before he finished speaking, the Golden Flame erupted from his palm, instantly enveloping Shi Gongzhi in golden flames.
The tumor twisted wildly, emitting a piercing scream, struggling as if it were a living thing!
However, in the flames, the outer shell of the stone hemorrhoid gradually carbonized and fell off, eventually revealing a crystal-clear, crimson core inside.
"This is the real 'key'."
Zhang Haoyi grasped the crystal core:
"The tumor on the outside is just a trap."
Everyone suddenly realized.
It turns out that the hemorrhoid itself is a hallucinogenic parasite, and the real "key" is hidden in the deepest part!
Those treasure hunters were all deluded by illusions and became nourishment for the parasites.
"So now... do we qualify to enter the Second Greatest Mausoleum in the World?"
The fat man rubbed his hands together, looking expectant.
Zhang Hao put away the crystal core and looked into the depths of the cave:
"Let's go, it's time to see the true face of this 'Second Greatest Mausoleum Under Heaven'."