Pei Ye jerked out the long rod, causing Wu Zaigu to slump on the ground.
He again made the handprint and fell back from Quail Head into the real world. Immediately the intense fatigue originating from deep within surges up, causing his brain to ache in sharp spasms.
Suppressing the pain, he took out the black talisman, dripped blood onto it, and swallowed it. In just an instant, his abdomen felt as if it was being torn apart, and the agonizing pain knocked him to the ground.
A strong dragging sensation came from his abdomen, as if a hand was grasping his stomach, along with other organs like the liver, lungs, kidneys, and spleen, wanting to pull them entirely out through his throat. Pei Ye retched violently, spat out the black talisman, pressing his abdomen, expelling a breath heavily.
The deadline of four hours for the Serpent Heart was intended for those above the four meridians. For a body devoid of True Qi protection, it was like juicy meat within reach of a wolf's mouth.
If fetched forcefully, it would result in instant death. If not fetched, it would be a slow death. Pei Ye had made mental preparation when he swallowed it.
Desperately pulling himself up, he yanked the black cloth covering the fire, and the eerie glow once again filled the basement.
Pei Ye picked up the fallen sword, turned around, and saw Wu Zaigu was still breathing.
Pei Ye slowly approached him, one step light, the other heavy. Wu Zaigu stared with bulging eyes, mouth gaping open without making a sound, and his limbs twitched faintly.
Pei Ye stared at Wu Zaigu's face, which was spewing blood constantly. Suddenly, he raised his foot, stomping down heavily on Wu Zaigu's face.
Without words, without tactics, he stomped silently, passionately, and forcefully on Wu Zaigu's face, again and again, as if beating a dull ancient drum in the quiet basement. Not until his face was bloodied and no longer recognizable did Pei Ye stop to catch his breath. Then he stepped on the neck, raising the sword and sawing off the head.
After regaining his breath, he turned around to face the rustling sound in the room. On the other side of the room, the monster leaning against the wall had already stood up.
The process of its body's restoration once again demonstrated its Spirit-like instincts - even though its body still bore searing wounds, its limbs could already move. Bones and sinews connected at the broken arm, with no new growth of flesh, asserted its maximum effort to restore its combat ability quickly.
But when it genuinely is seen as a formidable opponent, it exhibits an instinct-like Spirit - even though its steps were still unsteady, it was already attempting to attack.
Pei Ye just stared fixedly at this monster, which appeared like a lizard or a water monster. He had already understood how everything had happened, which left him speechless.
"Dragon Tongue…" Pei Ye lowered his head to look at the sharp rod in his hand.
Then he raised his head emotionlessly and looked at the monster: "So, is this the fine dish you cooked, Immortal Lord Twin Dragons?"
The monster lunged at Pei Ye, crossing the confined space in a leap. Pei Ye twisted his body to dodge and swung his sword.
The sharp bronze rod plunged into the vicious body. The monster stiffened suddenly, like a snowman melting in high temperature. Its hard scale armor, sharp bone spurs, everything began to soften, transforming into a dark blue viscous paste, which quickly climbed up the bronze rod and was sucked into the "dragon tongue" and stored in the gourd-shaped container at the tail end.
Finally, the basement was entirely silent.
But an unexpected change occurred once again.
Pei Ye did not have time to react. The arm that was holding the rod was already covered by the dark blue light. The blood vessels in his entire forearm seemed to have been replaced by this sort of energy, glowing with a dark blue light as if covered with blue cracks.
A feeling of coldness and power both appeared inside the forearm, as if, through this connection, he felt the "Dragon Tongue's" thirst intuitively.
To it, perhaps after inhaling the first not-so-delicious sacrifice, the ritual had officially begun, and it could not wait to seek the second fine dish.
If it could not be provided, perhaps Pei Ye would suffer the same kind of "rebound" as the man in black did last night.
Pei Ye chuckled lightly. As a dying person, what else should he fear?
He was about to throw away the rod, but as soon as he lifted his arm, it was suddenly out of his control. The rod, like a gluttonous snake, bit fiercely into his abdomen.
Pei Ye dared not imagine what his abdomen looked like now.
First, it was the flare-up of the old wounds exacerbated by True Qi. Then it was the spread of the Serpent Heart in a network of webs. And now, a bronze rod, less than two fingers thick, is plunged in, sucking away mercilessly.
Pei Ye bit his teeth and forced a smile. Anyway, he was going to die, he might as well suffer a bit more.
But he quickly realized something was wrong. Although the pain was so vivid and real, there was a constant feeling of "loss" in his abdomen. But this "loss" made him feel more relaxed, as if a shadow pressing on his life was gradually fading away.
He suddenly understood - the Serpent Heart, the Dragon Tongue was devouring the Serpent Heart!
This Magic Artifact sent by the state yamen also turned into a dark blue viscous paste, only it is much thicker, so much so as to be slightly purplish. The paste climbed up along the dense engraving on the bronze rod and quickly filled the gourd at the top.
A sensation of satisfaction passed through.
Pei Ye had a bad feeling because he felt that the "Dragon Tongue" in his hand had produced a vague impulse - it was ready to carry out the final step of the ritual.
Before he could think further, twelve dark blue tentacles popped out and bound his body.
With a "clang", the bronze rod fell to the ground, lost all its glow. The gourd at the top detached itself from it. Like a spider or octopus with twelve long legs, in Pei Ye's horrified gaze, it crawled into the bloodstain in Pei Ye's abdomen.
An intense heat like boiling water immediately came from his abdomen, and he had no idea what was going to happen.
Pei Ye bent down to pick up the mangled head, gritted his teeth and struggled up, and pushed open the door to the next cellar. The six people he left behind earlier all fainted on the ground, their dark blue foreheads slowly returning to normal.
Pei Ye walked across the cellar to the ground, the rain was still falling, the wind with rain brushed his body, Pei Ye breathed deeply the damp and cool air, but the intense heat in his stomach did not diminish.
Pei Ye stood there, deciphering the directions, then stumbled off into the distance.
His chest and abdomen felt like they were on fire, all sorts of injuries caused pain he could no longer feel, as if the hundred freezing iron needles had been melted by this heat.
But the exhaustion of his body and the spasms in his brain did not decrease. In the dark rainy night, Pei Ye, who was navigating with difficulty carrying a faint light, looked like a ghostly shadow.
After exiting the forest and crossing the fields, he finally drew closer, the vague silhouette of a building being revealed under the faint moonlight.
Pei Ye arrived at this familiar door. The beast-head door knocker was quietly inlaid there. It was as if the scene from last night was reoccurring, but Pei Ye knew there would be no one to welcome him this time.
Using his remaining strength, he climbed over the courtyard wall. The courtyard was completely empty; there were two coffins placed in the open hall.
Pei Ye walked towards them, slumping with each step.
The wind howled, the rain came in torrent, the white flags billowed. The wind passed through the hall, and the everburning lantern flickered wildly. The mournful sound seemed like a dirge between heaven and earth.
A ghostly figure stood before the two deceased, slowly raising the severed head in his hands, smashing it heavily onto the coffin lid.