Chapter 117: The Blood Pool Beneath the Earth

Mu Chen had taken two sips of Zhou Yi's fresh blood, and his mind felt dazed. When he finally snapped out of it, he realized he was still biting down on Zhou Yi's shoulder and quickly let go, desperate to wake him.

However, no matter how hard Mu Chen shook him, Zhou Yi remained unresponsive. Recalling that it was Zhou Yi’s blood that had restored his own senses, Mu Chen drew the sword from his back and sliced his own wrist, letting the blood flow freely. He pried open Zhou Yi’s mouth and let his blood drip inside. A moment later, Zhou Yi shook his head violently, slapped away Mu Chen’s hand, and shouted, "What are you doing?"

Seeing that Zhou Yi had recovered, Mu Chen slumped to the ground. "Brother Yi, there is something strange going on here. When I woke up just now, I was biting your shoulder and drinking your blood."

Zhou Yi’s brows knitted deeply. The cave was indeed bizarre. They had been attacked by bats the moment they entered, and now, although the bat king was nowhere to be seen, they had been struck by hallucinations.

"We cannot stay here. We must leave at once!"

Zhou Yi reached out to pull the slumped Mu Chen to his feet. As he moved, he caught sight of the two rows of tooth marks on his shoulder, then glanced at the bleeding wound on Mu Chen’s wrist. He said apologetically, "If we don’t make it out of here, it will be my fault for dragging you into this. I am sorry."

Mu Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Brother Yi, don't say such things. Let’s just find a way out."

Just as they were about to search for an exit, the small bat flew over, hovering at a distance and watching them without attacking. This creature was the mate of the bat king; it was likely responsible for their mental state earlier. Seeing it, Zhou Yi gave a cold, grim smile. He had been looking for this creature, and now it had delivered itself to his doorstep. He would not let this opportunity slip. Drawing his sword, Lihuo, he swung it toward the male bat.

The bat did not engage; seeing Zhou Yi charge, it turned and flew deeper into the cave. Zhou Yi pursued with Lihuo in hand. Before long, the bat returned to its lair. Zhou Yi scanned the surroundings and saw the female bat king lying on a stone platform, tending to her wounds. Having wounded her auxiliary wing earlier, she was now unable to fly. Zhou Yi sneered and shouted, "You little beast, you dare to hurt me? Today, I’ll send you to see the King of Hell!"

As he spoke, he thrust Lihuo downward. But before the blade could touch the bat king, a swarm of bats appeared from the direction they had come—a dense, dark cloud of them, clearly there to save their leader. Seeing this, Zhou Yi dared not strike. If he killed the bat king now to vent his anger, he would certainly face the crazed retaliation of thousands of smaller bats.

He held the tip of Lihuo just below the bat king’s head. The swarm of bats did not dare to rush forward, and for a moment, a stalemate ensued. The male bat let out a series of chirps. Seeing that Zhou Yi did not understand, it flew back, circled in front of him, and headed deeper into the cave again. After flying a short distance, it looked back, seemingly acting as a guide.

Mu Chen, who had just caught up, twitched his mouth at the sight. "Brother Yi, what is that creature trying to do?"

Zhou Yi looked at the male bat and said, "Follow it. With the bat king in my hands, they won't dare to act recklessly."

Mu Chen nodded and followed the bat, returning shortly after with a look of disbelief. "Brother Yi, we’ve walked all the way back to beneath the mass grave!"

Zhou Yi stared at him, stunned. "What?"

"We are now right under the mass grave. This must be the hill adjacent to it."

"Nonsense. Phoenix Mountain is at least a hundred miles from the mass grave. How could we have walked that far?" Zhou Yi’s first instinct was disbelief, as the entrance to the cave was nowhere near the grave site.

"The blood spring is right ahead, and the flying corpse is there," Mu Chen insisted, offering his evidence.

Hearing that the flying corpse had been located, Zhou Yi felt a surge of joy. "You take charge of the bat king; I’m going to take a look."

"Let it go. The bats won't hurt us now—they need us!" Mu Chen chuckled, then stepped forward and pulled Zhou Yi deeper into the cave.

Sure enough, less than fifty meters ahead, they saw a pool of blood with the flying corpse soaking inside. Seeing the male bat return, the corpse let out a roar and leaped from the pool, reaching out to snatch the bat. Frightened, the bat took shelter behind the two men.

The flying corpse, sensing that Mu Chen and Zhou Yi were not to be trifled with, turned and sank back into the blood pool.

"What now? How do we get it out?" Zhou Yi asked, knowing Mu Chen was the expert in these matters.

"This blood pool is a source of extreme yin energy, which is highly nourishing for the flying corpse. If it continues to absorb this energy, it will become a drought demon within a month. At that point, not even all of Mount Mao would be a match for it!"

Zhou Yi frowned. "I didn't ask for a lecture. Tell me how to get it out!"

Mu Chen glanced back at the male bat and stroked his chin. "We can use these two bats as bait to lure it out of the pool."

"Bats?" Zhou Yi asked, puzzled.

"Bats are also creatures of extreme yin. The energy in the spring is good, but it cannot satisfy the corpse's hunger. To the corpse, these bats are both a potent supplement and a delicious meal!"

As Mu Chen spoke, the male bat instinctively retreated a few paces, its large eyes darting around as if wondering if Mu Chen would throw it into the pool to feed the corpse.

Zhou Yi understood now. The corpse had been buried above this spring, which was why it had transformed into a flying corpse within a mere century; it possessed an innate dependence and sense of belonging to the spring. It was common knowledge that many zombies considered their burial coffins to be their homes. Since this corpse had been buried directly over the spring without a coffin, it had simply found its way back here through the cave after Zhou Yi and Baozi had moved it to Phoenix Mountain. This had only benefited the creature, as it had now moved from the surface to an underground pool, making it even easier to absorb the yin energy.

Even the most powerful zombies are creatures of yin and despise the sun. It had likely created the cloud layer over the mass grave to block the sunlight, which suggested that the corpse had possessed magical abilities while it was still alive.

Zhou Yi nodded, indicating he understood. He turned to the bat and asked, "If I help you drive this flying corpse away, are you willing to cooperate?"