Zhang Chengling was nearly clinging to Zhou Zishu with his whole body as he stammered, “Shishishishi...shifu, is...is this a haunting?”

Zhou Zishu raised a finger, signalling him to shut his mouth. Turning to Zhang Chengling, he said, “Close that door, in case we accidentally enter it again. Quickly do so, then hide by the door, and don’t make a sound.”

Zhang Chengling instantly did as he instructed. Those footsteps were getting quicker and quicker, more and more tightly clustered, eventually morphing from a sedate walk into a mad sprint. All of a sudden, there was no sound at all. The light of the luminescent pearl could only illuminate a small patch of ground in front of him, so Zhou Zishu had no other choice but to concentrate and prick up his ears. However, in this cramped stone corridor, other than Zhang Chengling, he could not hear a second person breathing.

A flash of light sliced through the darkness. Reflexively, Zhou Zishu raised his Baiyi sword to parry. His opponent’s heavy sword slammed down, the force of it jarring the juncture of his thumb and forefinger numb. In the split-second, Zhou Zishu caught a clear glimpse of who the other person was, and cold sweat poured down his back--that person who was swinging the heavy sword in his hand at him was none other than the male puppet in that small stone chamber earlier.

Zhou Zishu’s mind whirred at high speed. Instantly, he realised that the person who had designed this place had a devious mind: if they had triggered a mechanism in the small stone chamber just now, the designer feared that he would immediately retreat with Zhang Chengling in tow. That area was vast and empty, and there was no doubt that the puppets could not perform qinggong. Even though it would have been tough, to an expert who could handle the artificial python, it would not have been a hopeless situation.

It was as though the designer had predicted it exactly. All he had to do was to lead them into this hopeless situation where they could not advance even one step. In this cramped corridor, even if one had godly, world-shaking martial prowess, it was difficult to fully utilise it; his aim was to block off all the avenues available to a person.

Zhou Zishu inwardly bemoaned the situation, withdrew his strength and then slashed forward. Baiyi’s blade collided with the puppet’s arm, but it could not make a dent--whether it was made of the same material as that great snake had been or not, the puppet was undoubtedly just as tough. Without waiting for Zhou Zishu to react, that puppet mechanically swung its sword at him again.