Bai Ye moved forward rapidly, using the frost to slow down the nine small dragons. He weaved through them, his serrated blade whistling as he brought it down repeatedly.
Upon being struck by Bai Ye's blade, the nine small dragons emitted wisps of golden smoke before quickly dissipating.
Having struck successfully, Bai Ye did not pause. He immediately headed towards the colored lantern.
This was because cutting down the illusory nine small dragons was futile. As long as the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle remained unextinguished, the nine small dragons projected onto the colored lantern would continuously reappear and launch attacks at Bai Ye. Therefore, Bai Ye needed a window of opportunity.
He aimed to use the brief interval between the dragons being struck and their subsequent reappearance to extinguish the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle.
This was Bai Ye's thought process and his course of action. He swiftly reached the base of the colored lantern, leaped up, and with a forceful sweep of his serrated blade, sliced off a section from the top of the lantern, revealing the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle within.
However, the moment Bai Ye attempted to extinguish the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle...
A dragon's roar erupted!
A materialized small dragon emerged once more from the colored lantern, its gaping maw lunging towards Bai Ye. Immediately, a golden radiance spewed from the dragon's mouth, striking Bai Ye squarely in the chest.
In that instant, Bai Ye felt as if he had been hit by an enormous hammer. He was sent flying backward, crashing against the wall with a thud.
Bai Ye slid down the wall, but before he even touched the ground, the dragon attacked again. Its two whiskers twitched, its mouth opened, and a golden beam shot towards Bai Ye once more.
Bai Ye quickly pushed himself off the ground, leaping to the side.
*Boom!*
The golden beam struck the wall, blasting a hole straight through it.
And this was just the beginning, as the second small dragon had also materialized.
The moment the dragon appeared, its body twisted sharply. Its tail swept forward, sending a golden ring flying out. It was incredibly sharp, narrowly missing Bai Ye's cheek before striking the wall behind him, leaving a deep gouge.
Concurrently...
The third small dragon also began to reappear.
At this rate, extinguishing the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle would prove difficult. The same move might not be effective a second time, and the nine small dragons might not grant Bai Ye another chance to freeze them.
Fortunately, Bai Ye had a contingency plan!
"Ning Shuang, Ice Wall!"
The Ning Shuang Sword flew towards Bai Ye, and a wave of intense cold swept through the tomb, turning it into a vast expanse of white.
A wall of ice erupted from the ground. However, this time, the ice wall did not appear in front of Bai Ye.
This was because the ice wall was not meant for defense!
The ice wall had formed beneath Bai Ye's feet!
Bai Ye's body was instantly propelled upwards by the ice wall. While evading the attack, as the ice wall reached its apex, Bai Ye suddenly leaped forward, soaring over the two small dragons. He then grabbed the porcelain bottle containing the Yin Yang Qian Yuan Water and flung it forward.
*CRASH!*
The porcelain bottle struck the wall above the colored lantern and shattered into pieces. The Yin Yang Qian Yuan Water within naturally spilled out, landing directly onto the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle!
The Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle emitted a "hissing" sound, its flame flickering and weakening until it finally extinguished.
As the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle died out, the surrounding illusory small dragons vanished without a trace.
"You have successfully extinguished the Nine Dragon Yin Yang Candle in the tomb. Reward: Golden Thread Robe x1."
Beneath the colored lantern, a hidden compartment slid open, revealing a neatly placed Golden Thread Robe.
Simultaneously...
Bai Ye landed back on the ground, rolling to absorb the impact.
Throwing the porcelain bottle had been a risky move. If it had missed its target, things would have gotten complicated. However, given the situation, it was the simplest and most direct approach. And considering the possibility of missing, Bai Ye had made some preparations beforehand.
Therefore, Bai Ye...
"Ugh!"
Bai Ye gagged, leaning against the wall and retching.
As there was no other container to hold the Yin Yang Qian Yuan Water, Bai Ye had preemptively taken a mouthful of the substance to retain some of it in his mouth.
However, the liquid was far more potent than he had anticipated. It tasted like a concoction of Ban Lan Gen mixed with Snake Grass Water, an utterly overwhelming sensation. For a fleeting moment, Bai Ye even thought he saw his long-deceased grandfather beckoning to him from the clouds.
After squatting by the wall and retching for a while, Bai Ye finally felt somewhat better. He took out some water to rinse his mouth and then approached the Golden Thread Robe.
The Golden Thread Robe was a blue and white ancient martial robe. The so-called "golden threads" referred to gold embroidery along the edges of the robe, adding a touch of luxury to the otherwise heroic appearance of the garment.
Golden Thread Robe (Upper Garment) (Blue): "Do not cherish the golden thread robe, cherish your youthful days instead. Effects: Physique (Strength, Constitution, Speed +10) Martial Prowess (When using martial arts, their power increases by 10%) Immortal Cultivation (When using Taoist magic, its casting speed increases by 10%)"
Bai Ye examined the effects of the Golden Thread Robe with evident satisfaction. Leaving aside other benefits, the fact that wearing the robe would increase his Strength, Constitution, and Speed by 10 points alone proved its immense value. Furthermore, it offered a 10% increase in power when using martial arts and Taoist magic.
However, Bai Ye lifted the hem of the Golden Thread Robe and saw a pair of dirt-stained, hole-ridden denim jeans. The combination felt rather incongruous.
It reminded him of those street performers under the overpass, holding broken bowls emblazoned with "Serve the People" and performing avant-garde art.
"This Prince of Huai Nan is quite something. He gives me the clothes but not a pair of pants," Bai Ye mused.
After a brief lament, Bai Ye let down the hem of the robe and turned to leave the tomb.
Forbidden Zone Missions One and Two were now complete. The next, most crucial objective was Mission Three...
To obtain the Five Spirit Plate!
Exiting the tomb, Bai Ye quickly returned to the main passageway.
After walking about ten meters, he saw several slain child zombies and, further ahead, some human-sized paper figures that had been torn to shreds.
These were the guardian spirits of the Prince of Huai Nan's tomb. Clearly, as others had advanced, they had dealt with these guardian spirits along the way.
This was also one of the reasons Bai Ye had deliberately allowed others to proceed first. Bai Ye had already completed his mission of defeating fifteen guardian spirits. Since that was the case, he welcomed having others clear the path for him.
...