Beneath the grotto lay an incredibly vast space. Illuminated by a Luminous Pearl, one could see broken skeletal remains scattered everywhere.
Some of the bones were yellowed and desiccated, covered in cracks.
Upon closer inspection, one would find that not a single set of remains was a complete corpse.
These remains had their limbs and skulls separated; some were nothing but torsos, piled haphazardly.
And surrounding these skeletal remains was a circle of people in black robes.
These people were sitting cross-legged on the ground, forming a circle.
At the center of the circle was an enormous coffin.
The coffin was bound by layer upon layer of chains, the ends of which were embedded in the walls, suspending it in mid-air.
The coffin, over three meters long, had a grotesque shape that was chilling to behold.
The black-robed figures were bowing their heads, chanting.
Shen Bai couldn't understand the chants, but that didn't stop him from taking in the scene.
Skeletons littering the floor, eerie chanters, a massive coffin hanging from the ceiling, and chains that quivered and shook.
Shen Bai suddenly felt that this was different from the Mystical World he had imagined.
'This is a world filled with all sorts of bizarre things.'
As Shen Bai and Cheng Shuang entered the grotto, the black-robed figures seemed oblivious, their heads still bowed as they chanted their unintelligible litany.
High above, the massive coffin trembled faintly.
Accompanied by the CREAK CREAK of the chains, the coffin swung wildly, as if some horrifying creature within was trying to break free.
Shen Bai drew the Rusted Longsword from his waist and looked at Cheng Shuang.
Cheng Shuang felt Shen Bai's gaze and met it.
Confusion filled both their gazes.
'Logically, we've stormed their very lair. They should have reacted somehow.'
After the resistance in the hidden passage, it was strange that not a single one of the black-robed figures had so much as glanced their way.
'This is a bit strange.'
As Shen Bai mulled this over, the circle of seated, black-robed figures continued their chanting.
"Putting on a show."
Shen Bai said coolly. The Rusted Longsword in his hand, blazing with righteous power, shot forward in a direct thrust, sweeping toward the nearest black-robed figure.
The Longsword struck, and the black robe fell to the ground.
Beneath the black robe, however, was a truly horrifying sight.
Piles of heads were stacked atop one another, forming a humanoid shape.
It had been impossible to tell under the cover of the black robe.
When this black robe was stripped away by Shen Bai, this pile of heads finally stirred.
"Five Hearts Facing Heaven! Free and unbound!"
Each head shrieked horribly as it lunged at Shen Bai.
"Watch out!"
Cheng Shuang shouted from behind, raising her twin stilettos and preparing to help.
But then she realized there was no need for her help at all.
Shen Bai's Rusted Longsword became an impenetrable blur.
As his Qi and blood surged, he executed the Blood Sword Dance to perfection.
Each strike of his sword claimed a head.
When all the heads had vanished, Shen Bai turned again to look at another black-robed figure.
This black-robed figure was nearby, still bowing its head and chanting the unknown litany.
But under Shen Bai's gaze, he discovered something was wrong.
A hand stretched out from where the head should be, waving continuously in the air.
Shen Bai's brows furrowed deeper, and with a single sword strike, he flicked the black robe right off.
When the black robe was flicked away, beneath it was a humanoid figure composed entirely of arms—a truly grotesque sight.
Flicking off the black robe seemed to have triggered a curse.
Shen Bai immediately retreated.
But as he fell back, all of the arms attacked him.
'First heads, now hands. This is getting stranger and stranger.'
Shen Bai remained expressionless as a verdant green light rose from his body.
The arms were far more agile than the heads, able to attack from all angles and bend in unnatural ways.
Even Shen Bai couldn't dodge them all.
But possessing the Bright Jade Body Divine Power, he was completely fearless.
The arms struck his body, but the verdant light repelled every attack.
It consumed a fair amount of his Qi, but Shen Bai paid it no mind, his Rusted Longsword lashing out again and again.
Each strike severed an arm, and within a dozen breaths, Shen Bai had cut them all down.
Nearby, Cheng Shuang stood frozen in place, as if petrified.
She suddenly realized that what Shen Bai had said earlier wasn't wrong in the slightest.
'I really am just a tag-along. There's been no opportunity for me to even get involved in this fight.'
'Is this his full strength?' Cheng Shuang thought to herself.
'Back when he fought Yaya's father, he definitely held back.'
Shen Bai, of course, couldn't hear her thoughts. If he had, he would have wanted to tell her that he *had* been going all out back then.
He had simply improved a great deal in a very short time.
Of course, he didn't say this. If he did, Cheng Shuang would probably collapse on the spot.
Because improving that much in such a short time was something even a genius couldn't do.
After Shen Bai dealt with the second black-robed figure, the other chanting figures finally stirred.
The figures chanting the strange litany vanished. In their place, sets of black robes collapsed to the ground.
Heads, limbs, torsos—all manner of body parts were revealed, creating a scene of grotesque, perverse horror.
The scene was made all the more bizarre under the light of the grotto's Luminous Pearl.
The heads fused together into an enormous, spherical mass, while the remaining parts sorted themselves by type and assembled before Shen Bai.
In just an instant, a towering figure appeared, its head touching the ceiling of the massive grotto.
Compared to this towering figure, Shen Bai was like a blade of grass.
Seeing this, Cheng Shuang immediately shouted, "This is beyond anything we can comprehend! We have to go, now!"
The giant, stitched-together creature before her exuded a crushing pressure.
Just a glance from afar was enough to make her feel the looming presence of death.
Each head emitted a cacophonous sound. As the noises converged, Shen Bai felt his head spin.
At this moment, the coffin bound by chains finally moved.
With a cracking sound, a hole appeared on the coffin's lid.
A hand reached out from the hole, followed by another cracking sound.
A second hand reached out from inside the coffin.
KRAK!
The coffin lid was torn to shreds by the two hands.
An emaciated figure sat on the edge of the coffin.
He was a middle-aged man, emaciated, his head and limbs covered in a dense network of stitches that held him together.
His eyes held a bloodthirsty gleam.
"I wondered who would dare cause trouble for my Five-Heart Sect. So it's just two whelps, not even fully grown. It seems you're eager to become my heads."