Leo was prepared and dodged to the side.
The black shadow missed its strike and landed in the tomb passage behind Leo.
Controlling a fireball for illumination, Leo finally saw what was hiding in the main burial chamber.
It was an animal, resembling a monkey but more grotesque and terrifying.
Its arms and tail were long, it had four ears, sharp fangs protruding from its mouth, and a fierce gaze.
Leo recognized this ferocious beast – the Water Monkey!
In “The Classic of Mountains and Seas,” it was recorded: “Four hundred and fifty miles to the southeast lies the Water Monkey Mountain, devoid of vegetation but abundant in water. There resides a creature resembling a monkey with four ears, known as the Water Monkey. Its cries resemble a hum, and whenever it appears, floods occur in the counties.”
This meant that four hundred and fifty miles to the southeast of Mount Gui was the Water Monkey Mountain, where no plants grew but water was plentiful.
In the mountain, there was a wild beast resembling a monkey with four ears, known as the Water Monkey.
Its cries sounded like human moans, and whenever a Water Monkey appeared, floods would occur in the counties.
Water Monkey was both the name of the mountain and the name of the monster within.
“I never expected it to be the Water Monkey causing trouble!”
Leo was surprised because Water Monkeys did not usually reside in ancient tombs or caves. They were amphibious creatures that preferred to live underwater.
It seemed that this particular Water Monkey had become a spirit by chance and discovered the Dragon Vein within the Front Car Mountain’s tomb. That’s why it had taken over this place.
But why did the Water Monkey absorb the life force of the villagers, and how did it accomplish that?
Leo didn’t have time to dwell on it as the Water Monkey let out a moan-like sound and pounced at him again.
Based on the feedback from his Divine Awareness, Leo knew that this Water Monkey wasn’t particularly powerful. It would be easy for him to kill it.
Dodging another attack from the Water Monkey, Leo had a hunch that the deaths in Riverside Village were not caused by the Water Monkey itself.
It was impossible for this Water Monkey to absorb the life force of villagers from a distance through the Earth’s veins.
Just as the Water Monkey pounced at him again, Leo stood his ground and unleashed a blade of Qi.
A strange scream echoed as the Qi blade struck the Water Monkey, causing it to fall to the ground.
Leo slowly approached the fallen Water Monkey. He wanted to see what had controlled this ferocious beast.
As he got closer, the Water Monkey’s body remained motionless. Its fierce gaze disappeared, and its eyelids slowly closed. Soon, its chest stopped rising and falling – it had died just like that!
The legendary ferocious beast, the Water Monkey, turned out to be so fragile!?
While Leo was still in shock, a powerful energy fluctuation occurred.
The fluctuation originated behind Leo and attacked his back.
In an instant, Leo’s attention was focused on the Water Monkey he had just killed. By the time he sensed danger, it was too late.
The powerful force struck Leo’s back solidly.
The next second, Leo was sent flying.
After landing, Leo rolled on the ground and then stood up. He felt a burning pain on his back.
If it weren’t for his Spiritual Power protecting him, he would have been in serious trouble against such formidable strength.
Leo’s face turned serious. His speculation was correct – the Water Monkey was just a controlled pawn. The real boss had made its move.
Through his Divine Awareness, Leo felt an abnormal fluctuation coming from the blood pool in the main burial chamber.
This fluctuation was similar to that of the blood-colored jade stone.
Below the blood pool lay the Dragon Vein’s acupoint. Whatever was occupying it seemed intent on destroying the Dragon Vein and absorbing its aura, along with stealing the villagers’ life force.
It was truly hard to imagine what kind of entity possessed such abilities.
After that attack, whatever it was didn’t reveal itself, and Leo’s Divine Awareness couldn’t sense it either.
It was like knowing there was a terrifying presence in a room but being unable to see it.
A cold smile appeared on Leo’s face as he controlled a fireball to illuminate his path and stepped into the main burial chamber once again.
Step by step, he approached the blood pool in the center of the chamber. Leo noticed that there was no longer a floating coffin in the blood pool.
Whatever it was didn’t attack him again. It remained unresponsive until he approached the blood pool.
Controlling the fireball to hover directly above the blood pool, everything became clear under its light.
The blood in the pool had disappeared, revealing a large pit with a gray aura inside.
As Leo slowly descended with the fireball, the gray aura started to fluctuate but didn’t make any aggressive moves.
Leo even had a feeling that whatever was within that gray aura seemed somewhat afraid of him.
This gray aura blocked his Divine Awareness. Leo wanted to see what lay beneath it, so he used his Spiritual Power to press down on it while simultaneously using a hurricane talisman to disperse the gray aura in the blood pool.
Soon enough, Leo could see what had been hidden within the blood pool.
He had expected it to be some kind of monster but never imagined it would be a fist-sized orb.
With no protection from the gray aura, the orb became restless and moved around in all directions before suddenly rushing towards Leo.
Instinctively, Leo took a step back as the orb emitted a mesmerizing light that enveloped him in an instant before retracting just as quickly.
Before Leo could react to what had just happened, he felt movement in his pocket. The blood-colored jade stone he had placed there flew out on its own accord.
Leo tried to reach out and grab it, but in an instant, the blood-colored jade stone shot a red light and flew into the orb without giving Leo any time to react.
After entering the orb, the mesmerizing light disappeared, replaced by a blood-red glow.
The glow rapidly expanded, and a terrifying roar echoed through the burial chamber right before Leo’s eyes – a monstrous creature with a huge body and a ferocious face appeared.
“This…”
Seeing the face of this creature, Leo couldn’t help but express his astonishment.
The monster that appeared before him existed in “The Classic of Mountains and Seas” – it was a mythical beast called the man-eating tiger.
Leo couldn’t help but be amazed that he encountered an ancient monster like the man-eating tiger in this ancient tomb. However, he quickly regained his composure. Without the protection of the gray aura, his Divine Awareness could see through this illusionary form of the man-eating tiger.
It was just an intimidating scare tactic; what appeared before Leo was merely an illusory projection of the man-eating tiger.