On the path to immortality, I can see destiny.

The corpse puppet emerged from the ghostly mist and walked towards the crowd step by step, its appearance extremely terrifying.

The thing was covered in thick, black hairs.

The black hairs were short, but each one stood upright, glistening with an oily sheen in the moonlight, and looked as hard as needles.

Its hands hung at its sides, its ten fingers disproportionately long and thin, with sharp black nails extending from the tips, each about three inches long, slightly curved, like ten sharp hooks.

It was wrapped in a tattered, dark robe, covered in mud and black stains, making it unrecognizable.

What's most unsettling is its face.

His face was as withered as a dried fruit pit, his skin a sickly bluish-black, clinging tightly to his skull, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes.

Its eyes were murky and cloudy, with grayish-white pupils, like two boiled fish eyes, devoid of any spirit, yet staring straight at Zhao Fan and the others.

Its mouth was slightly open, revealing yellowed teeth, and a putrid stench emanated from it, making one want to vomit.

Su Zixin was the first to react.

"let me!"

She gave a low shout, and the Frost Sword was suddenly drawn. The sword light was like a bolt of lightning, carrying a bone-chilling cold as it slashed straight at the head of the corpse puppet! Wherever the sword passed, fine ice crystals condensed in the air, and the cold air was biting.

"clang!"

A dull clang of metal clashing.

The sword blade struck the corpse puppet's neck squarely, but only severed a few black hairs.

Those bristles were much tougher than I had imagined. When the sword blade sliced ​​through them, it only left a small white mark on the corpse puppet's bluish-black skin, without even breaking the skin.

Su Zixin was taken aback. She increased the pressure in her hand and pressed the blade down, finally cutting a shallow gash.

The wound was not deep, only about half an inch long, and what oozed out was not fresh blood, but a viscous black liquid that emitted a strong stench of decay.

The corpse puppet seemed to be enraged by this sword strike.

It slowly turned its head, its cloudy eyes meeting Su Zixin's.

Then, it raised its withered arm, spread its five fingers, and swung a claw at Su Zixin.

The movements were slow, even somewhat sluggish, but the power of that claw strike was astonishing.

Su Zixin raised her sword to parry, the blade colliding with the black fingernails, producing a piercing metallic scraping sound.

Immediately afterwards, an overwhelming force came from the sword, and Su Zixin was sent flying backward as if she had been hit by a mountain!

She flew several meters away and crashed heavily into a large tree, causing the trunk to shake violently and withered leaves to fall.

Su Zixin groaned, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and the Frost Sword nearly slipped from her hand.

She gritted her teeth and held on, not falling, but her hand holding the sword was trembling slightly.

Su Ziyan became anxious.

He had used up all his magical artifacts, leaving only a few low-level talismans.

He didn't care about anything else, and waved his hands repeatedly, sending out one fireball after another from his palms, smashing the corpse puppet like a barrage of bullets!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The fireball exploded on the corpse puppet, scattering sparks everywhere. Several holes were burned in the puppet's dark robe, revealing its bluish-black skin and black, stiff hair.

But after the fireball dissipated, the black fur wasn't even charred, and the corpse puppet didn't even pause its steps.

It continued to approach the cave entrance step by step.

Su Ziyan's face turned pale.

"What is this thing...? The magic is completely useless..."

Zhao Fan's heart sank to the bottom.

The corpse puppets blocked the cave entrance, preventing them from escaping.

Su Zixin was injured, Su Ziyan lost his magic weapon, Su San was unconscious, and he himself was exhausted of spiritual power. As for that thing, it could not be cut by swords or magic, and it had immense strength.

He was almost in despair.

Just then, a muffled explosion came from behind.

Zhao Fan turned around abruptly and saw a burst of intense crimson light emanating from Xiao Er's body!

The light was so tangible that it shook off the soil and broken tree roots pressing down on it, sending them flying in all directions.

The little guy was covered in blood, his fur stood on end, and the blood in his eyes was more intense than ever before.

It raised its head and let out a low roar, then slammed its four paws into the ground!

"boom!"

The ground was cracked, and a crack extended from Xiao Er's feet, leading straight into the depths of the cave.

The crack grew larger and larger, and soil and gravel fell down, revealing a dark, gaping hole underneath.

Zhao Fan's divine sense subconsciously probed inside.

There's emptiness behind the gap! There's still space there!

His divine sense continued to probe deeper; although it wasn't large, it was enough to accommodate several people.

Moreover, in his eyes, the originally chaotic air currents were now surging into the crevice, as if being drawn by something, converging into an exceptionally clear path.

Zhao Fan's heart skipped a beat.

"Waiter, pry open the gap!"

Upon hearing his voice, Xiao Er immediately pounced on the crack and frantically dug at the soil with his two front paws.

Its claws are incredibly sharp; mud and gravel are like tofu under its claws, and in the blink of an eye, a large hole is torn open.

Zhao Fan turned around and shouted to Su Zixin and Su Ziyan, who were still fighting the corpse puppet at the cave entrance.

"Over here! Come here quickly!"

Su Ziyan turned around and saw the cave entrance. Overjoyed, he scrambled and crawled towards it.

Zhao Fan bent down and carried the unconscious Su San on his back.

Su San's body was ice-cold, and his breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, but Zhao Fan didn't care about that and just tied him tightly to his back.

He turned around and took one last look in the direction of the cave entrance.

The corpse puppet was walking towards them step by step, not fast, but each step carried an unstoppable force.

Its silhouette was backlit, so Zhao Fan couldn't see its face clearly; he could only make out a blurry shape.

He felt like he had seen that figure somewhere before.

At this moment, Su Zixin was isolated outside the cave, guarded by corpse puppets, and she couldn't rush over for a while.

Seeing this, Zhao Fan took out a handful of spirit stones from his storage bag, absorbing their spiritual energy while controlling the Golden Marrow Thorn to fly back and pierce the corpse puppet's eyes.

The corpse puppet moved slowly, and the golden marrow thorn easily pierced its eye socket.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Su Zixin swept past the corpse puppet and went straight into the cave.

Just then, the corpse puppet stretched out its sharp claws and grabbed at Su Zixin's chest.

Seeing this, Su Zixin made hand seals, instantly increasing her speed by three points, thus dodging the attack that could have ripped her intestines out.

However, she ultimately couldn't completely dodge it. From her thigh, the corpse puppet's sharp nails slashed a wound more than a foot long, tearing off a piece of flesh along with it.

Su Zixin stumbled to the ground and was caught by Zhao Fan.

"Walk!"

Su Zixin, disregarding her leg injury, urged Zhao Fan to escape quickly.

Zhao Fan let out a low roar, carried Su San on his back, and leaped into the crevice.

Darkness engulfed him instantly, followed by Su Zixin's footsteps and Xiao Er's final, low roar.