Chapter 678 437: Return [2]

CREAK!

In the next instant, the pitch-black gate, cast from heavy, refined iron, began to swing slowly inward without any warning.

Every inch it moved was accompanied by the grinding of metal, a sound that was especially jarring in the silent atmosphere.

The vibrations from the turning hinges traveled through the ground, causing the small stones on the floor to tremble.

The moment the black gate opened, a torrent of Yin Energy surged forth like a bursting dam.

The Yin Energy was bone-chillingly cold, as if it had emerged from an endless abyss.

The extreme cold of the enveloping Yin Energy quickly coated the surrounding area in a thin layer of white frost.

As the Yin Energy gradually dissipated, an entrance slowly came into view.

San Hui took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Inside, the stone walls of the corridor were coated in a thick layer of ice, a result of the Yin Energy's extreme cold.

Her wooden clogs made CRUNCHING sounds as she walked on the ice.

She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped.

It wasn't because she didn't want to continue, but because the path had ended.

A short distance beyond the black iron gate lay a bottomless cliff.

The edge of the cliff was jagged, with stone jutting out as if it had been violently ripped apart by some immense force.

At that moment, perhaps dislodged by her arrival, a loose stone at the cliff's edge tumbled over.

As the stone fell, it repeatedly struck the cliff face, making clear THUDDING sounds.

The sound echoed through the vast chasm for over ten seconds before a muffled thud signaled it had finally landed.

Based on the physics of free fall, the cliff had to be at least a thousand meters deep.

The mere thought of such a depth was enough to make one's skin crawl.

The instant after the stone landed, sixteen blood-red beams of light suddenly pierced the pitch-black darkness below.

Like searchlights, the beams were exceptionally eerie and striking in the darkness.

Meanwhile, a sound like the scraping of scales against each other grew more distinct.

It was a sharp sound, like metal striking metal, over and over.

The frequency quickened, as if some horrifying creature was rapidly approaching.

In the next instant, eight long, ferocious snake heads covered in Black Scales slowly rose from below, entering San Hui's line of sight.

The heads reared back, revealing rows of ghastly white bone spurs extending down from behind their skulls.

At that moment, the blood-red, vertical pupils on the sides of the triangular heads fixed on San Hui as forked tongues flickered in and out.

The red beams were the light emanating from the monstrous serpent's eyes.

Upon seeing this, San Hui immediately dropped to one knee.

"Your subordinate, San Hui, pays her respects, Lord Yamatai!"

"Why have you come to me? And why is your aura so faint?"

At that moment, a voice suddenly resounded through the cavern.

The voice had a heavy, metallic resonance, as if many people were speaking at once.

The surrounding stone walls trembled slightly from its reverberations.

As the voice faded, one of the ferocious snake heads suddenly opened its gaping maw and spewed out a thick, inky-black mist.

The black mist coiled around San Hui's body like a living creature before sinking into her.

San Hui let out a muffled grunt, then realized with a start that her depleted Yin Energy was rapidly replenishing.

Her two tattered fox tails regenerated at a visible rate, and color slowly returned to her paper-white face.

"Thank you, Lord Yamatai!"

Realizing this, San Hui prostrated herself, pressing her forehead to the icy ground.

'It seems Lord Yamatai is in a good mood today,' she thought, secretly relieved.

But her heart trembled as she thought of what she had to report next.

"The reason for my condition... is because of some recent events..."

She then proceeded to explain all the recent events without holding anything back.

As she spoke, an indescribable pressure began to spread throughout the cavern.

The very air within the grotto seemed to congeal.

"Hmm? So something like that happened?"

Yamatai said.

Its voice was still low and steady.

But as a subordinate who had served him for a thousand years, San Hui knew his temperament all too well.

She knew that behind Yamatai's seemingly calm exterior, a monstrous rage was surely brewing.

Fearing she would be implicated, she was about to explain further.

Suddenly.

"AH!"

A searing pain exploded from within her body.

San Hui's eyes widened in horror, the image of Chiyu Sakura being devoured by golden flames flashing through her mind.

She turned her head, trembling, and watched in disbelief as the two fox tails she had just regenerated began to rapidly fade away.

"No... This is impossible! When did...?"

Before she could finish, the first fox tail dissolved into specks of light.

The second tail began to turn transparent, and her delicate skin dried and cracked at an alarming rate, like bark baking under a scorching sun.

"No, I don't want to die! Save... save me... Lord Yamatai..."

All eight snake heads turned toward her, and three of them suddenly spewed thick streams of Yin Energy.

But instead of joy, a chilling despair washed over San Hui. This was exactly what had happened to Chiyu Sakura right before she died!

"Don't!"

Her scream was drowned out by the surge of Yin Energy.

The moment the black mist touched her body, the faint golden flames on her erupted.

Blazing flames erupted from her eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth, consuming San Hui completely in an instant.

In a matter of moments, only a scorched crater remained where she had been.

San Hui, a High-Level Yin Beast, had died on the spot!

"ROAR—!"

Seeing this, Yamatai's eight heads tilted back and let out an earth-shattering roar, shaking the entire cavern to its foundations.