A rustling sound echoed all around.
Listening carefully, one could discern countless whispers, but the content was entirely indecipherable.
Or rather—
It wasn’t a human language at all.
Xiao Mengyu’s expression shifted as she swung her sword at the nearby wall.
The wall was sliced apart like tofu, revealing a room packed full of corpses.
Each corpse had its eyes closed, faces twisted in pain, and mouths rapidly muttering some kind of indistinct incantation.
As their chanting continued, crimson shadows emerged from the ground, slowly converging beneath the man’s feet.
“Now, it’s time to get serious.”
The man waved his hand lightly.
Dense, blood-red threads appeared in the corridor, surging forward, all slashing toward Xiao Mengyu.
She struck back continuously with her longsword, deflecting the crimson threads.
However, as the chanting grew louder, the force behind the threads intensified, their speed reaching the level of afterimages.
Xiao Mengyu let out a cold snort. Sword shadows erupted from her blade, severing the crimson threads and slashing toward the man at the end of the corridor.
The man remained still.
Endless threads of blood intertwined into a massive wall, blocking every sword shadow.
“It’s useless. With the blood curse strengthening me, my power is only climbing higher. I could kill you effortlessly, for example—”
“Bind.”
The man uttered the word.
In an instant.
An infinite number of blood-red threads emerged from the walls, all rushing toward Xiao Mengyu.
—She was surrounded!
In this critical moment, Xiao Mengyu held her sword close and spun it, forming seven brilliant sword flowers.
The sword came to a halt.
All the blood-red threads had wrapped around her sword, but she remained completely unscathed.
“Impressive swordsmanship. But—your sword is useless now.”
The man suddenly appeared behind her, using his hand as a blade to stab toward her pale neck.
Based on past experience, this strike would be fatal.
The man could already smell the fragrance of the girl’s blood, feel the immense vitality about to wither beneath his hand.
In a flash—
Xiao Mengyu gripped her sword hilt with both hands and swiftly pulled downward.
A short sword emerged from within her longsword, which she reversed and stabbed backward.
Mother-and-child swords!
The man’s expression changed.
This stab was perfectly calculated—if his strike pierced her throat, her blade would also pierce his heart with pinpoint accuracy!
He had no choice but to leap back.
“Stop struggling. Within this endless Blood Demon Curse, I am invincible.” He shook his head.
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Xiao Mengyu connected the short sword’s hilt with the longsword, giving it a gentle shake.
All the blood-red threads wrapped around the blade instantly severed.
She took a stance, sword at the ready, poised to charge forward.
Gradually, a phantom sun appeared behind her. Within that sun, a crescent moon faintly shone.
The man, who had been preparing to attack, froze upon seeing this strange phenomenon. His expression grew serious as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“A blade split into two, one long, one short, wielded with refined energy—this is the Luofu Sun-Moon Veil.”
“I never expected someone as young as you to master this legendary sword technique. If that divine sword were in your hands, I’d have no choice but to turn and flee.”
The man clasped his hands together and let out a deep growl:
“Blood Demon Myriad Life Curse.”
The chanting of countless corpses surged in volume.
Thin strands of blood-red light flowed into the man’s body, causing his aura to rise even further.
Beneath him, shadows slowly took form.
These shadows were so massive that they couldn’t be contained within the floor alone. The walls of the corridor became completely engulfed in darkness.
“I will summon them, and your fate will be sealed.”
The man spoke leisurely.
Xiao Mengyu’s gaze sharpened. She knew his power stemmed entirely from the incantations.
She wanted to destroy all the corpses, but the man was now focused solely on her, waiting for even the slightest opening.
From this point on, no one else could interfere—
This battle would decide victory and death!
She took a deep breath and shouted:
“Come, let me see just how powerful your Blood Demon Art truly is!”
Elsewhere.
Shen Ye, clad in the armor sponsored by the Big Skeleton, wielding a door as a shield, had already sprinted to the hotel’s first floor.
“We need to escape to safety, right?” the Big Skeleton asked.
“Are you joking?” Shen Ye replied mid-stride. “We’re only one step away from the truth!”
“But you can’t participate in that level of battle.” The Big Skeleton sounded worried.
—This kid couldn’t die. If he died, it would be the end for himself too.
Thud!
Shen Ye kicked open an office door.
Inside, bodies were scattered everywhere. He shook his head and moved on to the next door.
“You’re right—I’d be instantly killed in a fight like that. But we can help in other ways!”
Shen Ye kicked open the second door.
Inside were only corpses and some firefighting equipment.
“What do you mean by ‘other ways’?” The Big Skeleton didn’t understand.
Shen Ye raised his foot to kick the third office door while explaining:
“That guy’s power keeps growing because of the endless Blood Demon Curses, right?”
“That’s right—the curses keep amplifying his strength, pushing his aura even higher,” the Big Skeleton confirmed.
The third office contained only more bodies.
Shen Ye took a glance, then turned away, muttering, “A luxurious hotel like this must host banquets or events. There must be something a master of ceremonies would use, so I’m searching for—”
He kicked open the fourth office door.
There it was!
He rushed inside, slung the equipment over his neck, switched it on, and tested the sound.
“What the hell are you up to?” The Big Skeleton couldn’t help but ask.
Honestly, it was frustrating just watching him.
Even with all his battle experience, he still couldn’t figure out what this kid was trying to do.
Shen Ye said, “Now’s the time to test your world’s strength, brother.”
The giant skeleton asked, “What do you mean?”
“Of course, I’m talking about that undead talent. We’re going to use it to crush the ‘Skinner’s’ ability and see which one is stronger!” Shen Ye declared.
“Nonsense! That talent isn’t something simple—you have no idea how big of a bargain you got!” the giant skeleton immediately replied.
“Oh?” Shen Ye sounded skeptical.
“If I’m lying, I’ll chop off my own head!” the giant skeleton swore.
“You’re already just a head—fine, since you’re so determined, I’ll trust you this once.”
Shen Ye strode out, standing in the hotel’s first-floor lobby. Taking a deep breath, he raised the microphone in his hand.
The volume was cranked up to the max.
He roared at the top of his lungs:
“Friends from hell, how are you?”
A deafening wave of sound swept through the entire hotel.
The moment he spoke, “Whispers of the Abyss” activated.
Because Shen Ye’s words were a question, any undead who heard it would be forced to respond.
So—
Would the Blood Magic be stronger, allowing it to control corpses to keep chanting spells?
Or—
Would “Whispers of the Dark” break it, forcing the undead to answer instead?
Silence.
The eerie, endless chanting that had filled the hotel abruptly stopped.
Every corpse was forced to cease.
In the next moment—
“Good.”
“Not good.”
“Pain.”
“Despair.”
“I can’t believe I’m dead.”
“Help me!”
The corpses spoke in a cacophony of voices.
—The ‘Skinner’s’ Blood Magic had been disrupted!
Upstairs.
Xiao Mengyu leaned forward and shot toward the ‘Skinner’ like a thunderbolt.
The man known as the ‘Skinner’ remained composed, chanting in a refined yet powerful voice:
“Mighty Bloodthirsty Twin-Headed Serpent Demon, you who have destroyed countless lives, grant me the right to summon you—”
“Fight my enemy before me!”
Intricate crimson runes surfaced beneath his feet, bursting forth with a torrent of blood-red light that flooded the entire corridor.
The timing was perfect.
The moment Xiao Mengyu reached him, the Bloodthirsty Twin-Headed Serpent Demon would emerge!
He would attack in sync with the serpent demon.
They had used this strategy countless times—never once had it failed.
And this time would be no exception!
The man held his breath, preparing to strike.
But then—
A voice rang out from the hotel lobby:
“Friends from hell, how are you?”
In an instant.
All the undead ceased their chanting and blessings.
The man’s face changed drastically.
Not good!
The timing was too precise.
Just as he was about to settle things with the swordsman, his opponent had suddenly stripped him of all the protective spells on him.
The summoning would be greatly weakened.
Such a ruthless move, such a devious calculation!
“Die—!”
Xiao Mengyu roared, her sword enveloped in a storm of overlapping shadows.
No time!
The man gritted his teeth and shouted, “Come forth, Twin-Headed Serpent Demon! I will compensate you later!”
He pressed his hand into the air.
Boom!
Bloodlight erupted, and a figure materialized in front of him.
Both the man and Xiao Mengyu lowered their gaze to the floor, staring at a blood-colored puppy, no more than thirty centimeters tall.
This was—
A Chihuahua?
The blood-colored Chihuahua glanced back at the man, then at Xiao Mengyu’s blade-wielding figure before it.
“Woof—whimper—”
Poof!
It vanished with its tail tucked between its legs.
The man’s heart sank to the depths.
Because his ritual had been interrupted, the summoning of the Twin-Headed Serpent Demon had failed—he had only managed to summon a blood-colored Chihuahua.
—This was bad!
