Chapter 1396: Residual Effects Wu Liang nearly pissed his pants when he heard the voice. He asked while shuddering, “Uh… did we run into some zongzi, particularly thousand-year-old ones? No, ten-thousand-year-old ones…”[1] As someone who frequently went into tombs, he had often run into reanimated dead. After all, how could any tomb he found worth raiding belong to an ordinary person? Whenever one encountered a reanimated corpse, they would often be much more formidable than living cultivators. Such monsters were something in between the living and the dead. Death and corpse energy coexisted within them, and the world’s ki was part of the mix as well. That often resulted in certain special creatures. Whenever Wu Liang encountered creatures like that in tombs, it was always extremely dangerous, and he barely made it out of those circumstances alive. Now, even the crown prince was getting a bit scared. He said, “Father emperor, in my opinion, perhaps what Wu Liang said makes some sense. A noble does not run into danger for no reason. I think it might be better for us to leave now and take our time making a decision…” The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, “It’s fine. I actually want to see just what kind of creature is playing god inside.” He hadn’t had many days of life left before, so he had acted extremely cautiously. But now that the spiritual spring had granted him three more years, he had much more confidence. If a dying person’s life were suddenly prolonged, they would definitely have more things they wanted to pursue. Even for the Fiend Emperor, finding an Unknown Region was already an incredible fortune. He couldn't squander such an opportunity and had to find the secret to immortality inside. As such, he ventured into the mist decisively. The indistinct voice spoke again. “Very good, as expected of the Golden Crow bloodline. You have some guts after all.” Wu Liang and the Golden Crow Crown Prince were both shocked. This Unknown Region actually had a Golden Crow bloodline in it too? The Fiend Emperor frowned slightly, asking, “Who exactly are you?” “You’ll know once you come here…” the voice said, seeming to be full of evil temptation. The Fiend Emperor snorted. “Hmph, you’re just dressing up as a god!” With a wave of his sleeves, a powerful pressure swept outward, scattering the mist ahead. He saw that directly ahead was a great mountain, which didn’t seem to be any smaller than Feather Mountain in the slightest. The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly arrived at his side, saying, “Father emperor, that voice is just way too strange…” The Fiend Emperor said indifferently, “Do not worry. That Feather Mountain gave off a frightening feeling, but there is no such thing coming from this mountain. Rather, it carries a faint sense of intimacy for me. There might even be an opportunity here.” Immortality was potentially on the line, so the risk was still worth it. Wu Liang whined inwardly, You two might feel close to it, but I only feel danger. Can I please stay behind? However, the Fiend Emperor was ruthless, so he didn’t dare to say it in the end. He could only follow along with a sullen expression. … Meanwhile, Zu An’s group was even more nervous than Wu Liang, because the giant tentacles were slowly moving around them. Now that they were so close, they could see the suction pads that covered the tentacles. Every single one of them seemed to have a small hole that continuously secreted mucus, making them extremely slippery. No wonder Zu An hadn’t been able to cut into it earlier. Furthermore, they could clearly smell the nauseating fishy scent emerging from the tentacle. The women dry heaved and wanted to vomit. They all turned around and buried their heads in Zu An’s chest. Zu An was about to cry. This smell was disgusting for him too… but where was he supposed to hide? Can I bury my head in your chests? Of course, he could only think that quietly. There were so many of them present, so he wasn’t brave enough to actually try it. Instead, he decided to focus on the tentacles. As they moved around, he also secretly changed his location. Otherwise, if they were touched by the tentacles, even if the sea monster couldn't ‘see’ them, it would still sense that something was off. Fortunately, Hidden in the Dark was quite reliable. The giant octopus wasn’t able to detect them. After wandering for a long time, the monster left angrily, as quickly as it had arrived. In a few moments, they could no longer see it. However, because it was so powerful, they worried that it was just doing so to fool them. As such, they weren’t in a rush to leave and stayed in place without moving. Now that the octopus was gone, the situation was no longer as tense as before. As soon as they relaxed, they realized how awkward their positions were. Because they had been so nervous, even though they were surrounded by ice-cold seawater, they had broken out into a cold sweat. As they had then huddled up close to each other and grown warm, they quickly began to feel strange. Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen began to struggle, and were about to leave when Zu An stopped them and said, “If you move away, I won’t be able to conceal your auras anymore. We’re finished if that octopus monster finds us.” The two women knew that what he was saying was true, so they didn’t persist. However, the situation was still embarrassing. Yun Jianyue couldn't help but ask, “Little An, does it feel good to take advantage of us?” Even Yu Yanluo looked at him with a strange expression. Zu An quickly retorted, “Am I the kind who takes advantage of others? I’m worried about that octopus monster.” Mi Li sneered in his mind, “So you want to put up an act? Then keep acting! I’m going to sleep, since you’re fine. Yawn~” Mi Li stretched lazily in Zu An’s mind, fully displaying her wonderful curves. She didn’t wait for Zu An to reply, instead opening the door and disappearing. Zu An thought to himself, Did this woman open up a space in my mind? He felt kind of weird when he thought about how his mind was being entered and exited. Fortunately, it was big sis empress, so it was something he could accept. When they saw that his expression was clear, however, the women finally let him off. Yan Xuehen bit her lip and said, “This place is very strange. That spring was actually connected to such a vast ocean.” “You’re right. As expected of an Unknown Region. I’ve never encountered such a miraculous sight in any other secret dungeon,” Yun Jianyue added, feeling greatly moved. She had an expectant expression. After all, danger and opportunity always rested side by side. “Isn’t this a bit much, though? We’ve just entered this dungeon, and yet we’ve already encountered so many terrifying creatures,” Yu Yanluo said, her face turning pale. They might have been eaten up by the disgusting octopus monster if they made a single mistake.𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞 Zu An’s expression was strange as he remembered what Mi Li had said. He thought, Do I really have a calamity magnet constitution? Detective Conan has the constitution of a grim reaper, because the ones who die are always other people. But I’m the one who’s always in danger… The women eventually moved away from him, and began to talk about the danger they had been in. “Stone cold woman, wasn’t I pretty cool earlier? I wasn’t hurt at all even while facing an ascension soul monster’s attacks.” “Hmph, those are just reckless skills. In my opinion, it is not as pretty as little sister Yu’s substitution technique. She was actually able to break free from those tentacles’ encirclement.” “Little sis Yu’s skill was indeed pretty. Hm? Stone cold woman, did you do something shameful? Why are you always praising little sis Yu?” “Witch, what kind of nonsense are you saying?!” “Big sisters, please don’t fight anymore. Don't you think that the tentacles earlier smelled really bad?” “You’re right. Even just thinking about it grosses me out.” … As Zu An watched the women chat spiritedly, he noticed that perhaps because they were getting too worked up, their faces had all turned slightly red, which made them look even more alluring. Furthermore, their voices were all sweet and lovable. It was as if they were cute girls acting spoiled. Zu An suddenly shivered. Wait, with Yun Jianyue’s domineering nature, how can I describe her like that? Also, Yan Xuehen is usually cold like ice. She’d be even less likely to act that way. The two women also noticed that something was off. Yun Jianyue widened her eyes, exclaiming, “Something’s not right!” She and Yan Xuehen exchanged a look. They quickly exclaimed, “It’s that pink mucus!” Both of the women instantly left Zu An’s arms, their cheeks burning up. Yu Yanluo was scared, asking, “What are you two doing?” Yun Jianyue quickly said, “It has nothing to do with you.” Yu Yanluo was already in love with Zu An. Even if she had been poisoned, it didn’t matter. However, it was different for Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen. Thus, Yun Jianyue quickly sat down on the seafloor to adjust her energies and remove the poison’s effects. Yan Xuehen sat down at almost the same time. The water around her even began to freeze at a visible rate. 1. ’Zongzi’ means sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. He’s implying that the dead have been wrapped up for a thousand years waiting for them. ☜