The Legendary Journey in My Heart

Although our ultimate destination was the King's Tomb, our pursuit of the Blood-Red Skeleton had unexpectedly led us straight here.

"Be careful!"

Just as I was about to take a step forward, Qingming suddenly stopped me. He raised his torch, and under its flickering light, I finally noticed what lay ahead—a bottomless chasm. A chilling wind howled up from below, sending shivers down my spine. Spanning the abyss was a narrow stone bridge, barely wide enough for a single person to cross. On the other side, the bridge vanished into the consuming darkness, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.

"Did that Blood-Red Skeleton run into the King's Tomb?" Chenxi's voice carried a trace of unease. For her, defeating the Blood-Red Skeleton wasn't the priority—entering the tomb to complete her mission was.

"It seems so." Qingming frowned, his tone heavy. "I'll go first. You follow in order. Once we cross the bridge, there's an open space ahead, and past that is the entrance to the tomb." Since he had been here before, he was somewhat familiar with the terrain.

One by one, we stepped onto the stone bridge, with Qingming and Chenxi leading the way while Lu Xi and I followed behind. The bridge wasn't particularly long, but every step felt nerve-wracking. Initially, I worried that skeleton monsters might be lying in ambush either on the bridge or at the far end, but apart from the icy wind rushing up from below, everything remained eerily quiet.

Qingming reached the other side first and swiftly made his way toward the tomb entrance. We followed closely behind, arriving at a massive black stone gate that stood slightly ajar. The darkness beyond it was absolute, like a gaping maw waiting to swallow any who dared to enter. Instead of stepping inside immediately, Qingming stopped at the entrance, his brows furrowed.

"This stone gate is incredibly heavy. When we left last time, it was closed. Now that it's open, it's clear that the Blood-Red Skeleton has already gone inside." His voice was low, tinged with unease. His words made us realize that the battle ahead wasn't just dangerous—the Blood-Red Skeleton might be far stronger than we had imagined.

"What's it like inside?" I couldn't help but ask, my curiosity about the tomb's interior growing.

"It's a sealed stone chamber, not too large, with seven or eight stone coffins inside. These belong to the past rulers of the Orc Clan. The largest and most central coffin belongs to the first king of the Orc Clan." Qingming gave a brief explanation before suddenly turning to me and Lu Xi. "Zheng, Lu Xi, perhaps you two should wait outside with Chenxi."

"What are you planning to do?" Chenxi asked sharply, her eyes filled with concern.

"This place wasn't dangerous before, which is why I invited you all to come." Qingming's tone was sincere, but there was a hint of guilt in his voice. "But now that the Blood-Red Skeleton has entered, we know nothing about it. To be honest, I'm not confident that I can defeat it. If I don't make it back out, you three need to leave immediately. Take this map with you." He pulled a parchment map from his pocket and handed it to me.

"No way!" Chenxi shouted in protest, grabbing onto Qingming's sleeve. "This mission is mine—I have to go in! I'll go with you!"

"Chenxi, if I come back, we'll complete the mission together. But if I don't, you must return and report what's happened here to our master." Qingming's tone was resolute—he had no intention of letting Chenxi take the risk with him.

"Then let's forget about the mission and go back now…" Chenxi pleaded, her voice tinged with desperation.

"Ahem, well, actually…" Unable to stand the heavy atmosphere any longer, I decided to chime in. "Maybe that Blood-Red Skeleton isn't as terrifying as we think. We've handled plenty of skeleton monsters on our way here, haven't we? With the four of us together, surely we can take down just one?" I wasn't entirely confident in my words, but having all of us go in still seemed better than letting Qingming face it alone.

"But—" Qingming started, but I cut him off.

"No 'buts'—" I waved a hand dismissively. "I just think four people are better than one. And besides, you should keep the map. I'm not great at reading maps, so it's safer if you lead the way out." With that, I stuffed the map back into his hands.

"He's right. Let's go in together." Lu Xi, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke in agreement.

Qingming looked at Chenxi, then at us, and after a long moment of hesitation, he finally gritted his teeth and nodded. "Fine. We'll go in together. But wait a moment."

I was just about to ask what he was doing when I saw him pull out two talismans from his pocket—different from the Fire Talisman Technique he had used before. He began chanting in a low voice, and the talismans slowly became enveloped in a soft white glow. As the incantation continued, the glow intensified. Suddenly, he tossed the talismans into the air, where the light exploded outward before gradually coalescing into a shape.

Lu Xi and I stared in shock, unable to believe what we were witnessing. Even Chenxi, though not as surprised, had a glint of envy in her eyes.

The light condensed into the form of a skeletal creature—unlike any of the skeletons we had encountered so far. It was thinner and emanated a faint white glow. In its hands, it wielded a small axe, which it swung gently while pacing back and forth.

"What… is this?" I asked in astonishment.

"This is the Summoned Mutant Skeleton, a technique Chenxi will learn once she completes her mission." Qingming explained nonchalantly, though his voice carried a hint of concern.

"What can it do?" Lu Xi asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It can assist in battle, but my summoning skill is still at a low level, so its combat abilities are limited," Qingming admitted somewhat awkwardly.

"You just think it's ugly, so you refuse to use it and insist on relying on your swordsmanship instead," Chenxi teased with a mischievous grin.

I couldn't help but laugh. It made sense—practicing swordsmanship built physical strength, but summoning a skeleton? What was the point? For companionship? And how did one even go about training such a thing?

"There are different levels to this summoning technique? How do you train it?" Lu Xi, far more interested in Taoist techniques than I was, asked eagerly.

"Look closely at the heart of this skeleton. There's a faint blue glow. The stronger the glow, the higher its level and the greater its combat strength."

As Qingming spoke, he pointed at the skeleton and chanted a brief incantation. The summoned skeleton immediately froze in place, its white glow gradually dissipating. Only then did we notice the faint blue light shimmering in its chest—so weak that it was barely visible.

"My summoning skill is only at the first level, which is why the glow is so faint. As for how to strengthen it, there are two methods. The first is to repeatedly summon it, but that requires it to be destroyed each time before it can be re-summoned. The second method involves using higher-level talisman paper, but that's a bit more complicated. I'll explain the details later when we have time," Qingming patiently elaborated.

"I see," Lu Xi nodded thoughtfully.

"With its help, we now have a better chance of winning," Chenxi declared proudly, completely forgetting the tension from earlier.

"Let's go in," Qingming said as he once again chanted a spell. The Summoned Mutant Skeleton instantly sprang to life, following closely behind us as we stepped into the King's Tomb.

As I passed through the entrance, I paused and pushed against the massive stone gate, testing its weight. It didn't budge an inch. My heart sank—I finally understood Qingming's concerns. The Blood-Red Skeleton had managed to open this door with ease, meaning its strength far surpassed ours.

I had expected the tomb to be pitch dark, but to my surprise, torches were mounted on the walls at regular intervals, casting a dim, flickering light. Though not particularly bright, it was enough for us to see our surroundings. Just as Qingming had described, several stone coffins were arranged inside the chamber. One of them had its lid pushed aside, leaning against the edge of the coffin.

I was about to step closer to check whether the remains of the Orc Clan's king were still inside when a faint "squeak… squeak…" sound came from ahead.

"Be careful. It might be right in front of us. Move in slowly and surround it," Qingming whispered.

Lu Xi and I pressed against the walls, advancing cautiously from the sides, while Qingming and Chenxi approached from the front. The four of us formed a semi-circle as we moved deeper into the tomb. According to Qingming's description, the first king of the Orc Clan was entombed ahead.

The tomb wasn't large, so we didn't have to walk far before we spotted the Blood-Red Skeleton. It stood motionless before a massive stone coffin, its appearance now slightly different from before.

A grayish-white helmet sat atop its head, and its shoulders were draped with aged bronze pauldrons. In its skeletal hands, it still gripped two short steel tridents. Its entire frame radiated an eerie blood-red glow, pulsating like a living entity.

"Chenxi, use poison!" Qingming shouted, hurling a Fire Talisman directly at the Blood-Red Skeleton's head.

Without hesitation, Lu Xi and I launched our own attacks—Lu Xi charged in from the left while I vaulted over a stone coffin, bringing my sword down in a powerful slash.

But the Blood-Red Skeleton was incredibly fast. It tilted its head slightly, dodging Qingming's Fire Talisman, which instead exploded against the stone wall behind it. As for my strike and Lu Xi's attack, the skeleton effortlessly deflected them with its steel tridents, sending both of us reeling backward. A tremendous force surged through my body, throwing me off balance. Lu Xi was also repelled and sent crashing into the ground.

Just as I hit the floor, Chenxi swiftly pulled a pouch from her belt and flung a cloud of grayish poison powder toward the Blood-Red Skeleton. The fine dust settled on its bones, dyeing them an eerie shade of green.

Among all our attacks, only Chenxi's Poison Art seemed to have any effect. The Blood-Red Skeleton was far stronger than we had imagined.

I landed heavily, pain surging through my chest. A hot, metallic taste rose in my throat. But before I could fully register the impact, a soft silver light enveloped me. The pain instantly eased, and my strength began to recover. Qingming and Chenxi had cast their Healing Techniques, allowing both Lu Xi and me to regain our footing quickly.

We regrouped, standing side by side with Qingming's Summoned Mutant Skeleton, once again facing off against the Blood-Red Skeleton.

Strangely, it did not press its advantage to attack. Instead, it stood perfectly still, as though waiting for something…