Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 38: Ghost Dodder

Chapter 38: Ghost Dodder

I told Luo Shen about the time I encountered He Lao Wu and the gloomy man in black in the corridor. She lowered her eyes and fell silent in contemplation. She did not say a word.

Yu Linxing heard and interjected, 

“Isn’t that the guy who pretends to be a phoenix but is really just a mountain chicken? Could he have come too?”

I nodded. 

“Highly likely. That man was pressuring He Lao Wu quite urgently. And Lao Wu cursed, saying, ‘That place isn’t going to grow legs and run.’ I figure he was referring to Dragon Ravine.”

Yu Linxing gave a cold snort. 

“Judging by the hoofprints, they’ve brought quite a few people too—eight or nine out of ten are likely also looking for clues about old man Liu. If we end up clashing with them, things will get very troublesome.”

Just as she finished speaking, a sudden scream came from behind us. It threw the whole group into chaos. I looked up and saw a disciple from Mo Yin Valley being yanked into the air by something. It seemed his neck was being strangled—his throat only emitted muffled sounds as his limbs twitched violently. It was a terrifying sight.

The suddenness of it stunned us. At the same time, Luo Shen decisively hurled her Giant Que Sword at the disciple suspended in midair. With a “chi!” sound, a thick vine next to the disciple was instantly severed. Several vines fell to the ground like long snakes dropping from above.

I thought that with the vine cut, the disciple would naturally fall. But he remained suspended in place—only struggling even harder. He reached desperately for his neck. But it was futile. With no vines covering him now, it was as if some invisible force was suspending him in midair. It looked disturbingly eerie.

Yu Linxing panicked and shouted, 

“It’s not the vine! What the hell is it!?”

Luo Shen quickly galloped over, bent down to retrieve her sword, and didn’t dare linger. She and the rest of the group rapidly retreated. Feeling something was off, I hurriedly activated the “Radiant Eyes” technique. My vision sharpened immediately. It allowed me to see everything above clearly. What I saw chilled me to the bone.

It wasn’t some invisible ghost creature binding the disciple—it was just that the thing was too fine to be seen from a distance. With Radiant Eyes, my perception was heightened severalfold. And I clearly saw many extremely thin black threads wrapped around the disciple’s body. Even more were choking his neck. Some were even extending into his mouth. He dangled in the air, swaying, his eyes rolled back. And bl00d stained his lips—he was already dead.

“Run!” 

I shouted in a cold sweat. 

“It’s Ghost Dodder!”

At my shout, everyone’s face turned pale. They immediately pulled on their reins and fled deeper into the ancient forest.

According to strange records, the Ghost Dodder is as thin as human hair. It parasitizes tall trees and is invisible to the naked eye. It feeds on the flesh and bl00d of living creatures. Everyone knew how terrifying it was—no one dared stay behind. A moment’s delay and you’d end up like those swinging corpses—Ghost Dodder’s next meal.

But the forest was thick with entangling vines. It made escape difficult. Worse, no one but me could see exactly where the Ghost Dodder was. I had no choice but to keep watching its movements while shouting directions to the others. But doing that while riding meant I quickly fell to the rear of the group.

I heard cold wind whistling past and glanced back—many black strands, fine as hair, were bunching up into bundles. They were closing in from both sides of the trees. They moved extremely fast. They were seemingly conscious. They were like black serpents relentlessly chasing after us.

I shouted, 

“Split up and run!”

Everyone heard me and quickly scattered into smaller groups. But unexpectedly, Luo Shen turned her horse around and galloped back toward me.

Just as I was about to speak, I felt a cold, itchy sensation on my neck. My skin crawled. The reins slipped from my hand. My chest felt crushed, and I could barely breathe.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several strands of incredibly fine black thread creeping close to my cheek. I was so near I could even see the barbs on them clearly. My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively fell forward. Immediately, a force yanked me upward. I feared I was about to be the next dried corpse. Just imagining the hanging corpses above made my stomach churn.

Suddenly, the force supporting me disappeared. A hand hooked my left arm. It was pulling me sideways. When I looked clearly, I found myself sitting securely behind Luo Shen. My poor horse, however, had been entangled and hoisted into the air. It was writhing and shrieking pitifully.

Luo Shen said calmly, 

“Hold on to me.” 

She spurred her horse forward, and we sped away like the wind.

The forest air was thick with dampness. And the mist hit us in the face. I clung to Luo Shen’s slender waist. A warm feeling was rising in my chest. I didn’t know when it began. But I had this thought: as long as she was here, nothing was too difficult or dangerous.

Following her gave me an inexplicable sense of safety.

This beautiful, pure woman felt like a goddess of war from legend.

I held her tightly with my left arm, gripped my Qin Se with my right, and looked back. The Ghost Dodder was now wrapping itself around my horse. It was clearly feasting. It was no longer chasing us. I sighed in relief and finally relaxed.

But then, Luo Shen suddenly groaned. Her left hand, holding her sword, flailed. I saw black threads had wound around her white sleeve.

She urgently pulled on her reins. She then grabbed the black strands with her right hand to tear them off.

The Ghost Dodder was covered in barbs. As she tore at it, bl00d dyed her jade-like hands crimson. Her brows knit in pain. And her beautiful face flushed slightly.

I quickly grabbed her hand and whispered, 

“Don’t touch it.” 

Though Ghost Dodder strands are as fine as hair, once entangled, their strength is terrifying—enough to break a horse’s neck.

Her body trembled—she must have been in serious pain. Seeing her like that, I felt like needles were stabbing my heart.

The threads were too fine for me to cut with my Qin Se—I might injure her. But if I delayed too long, the dodder would burrow into her flesh. Thinking fast, I pulled out a fire striker, lit it, and brought the flame near her sleeve. The heat made the strands recoil instantly and retreat. I was overjoyed—these things feared fire!

The Ghost Dodder retreated to the trees. I quickly threw the fire striker after it. And the remaining threads fled like curling smoke.

I leaned in and whispered, 

“Let me ride.” 

I grabbed our swords, held her by the waist, and rode forward. She let out a soft breath. She was leaning back into me. Her light body pressed against my chest, and I felt my face flush—I almost forgot the danger behind us.

Not far off, we heard horses neighing again. Yu Linxing and Ah Que had turned back. Ah Que held a bulging bundle.

I shouted, 

“Why’d you come back? Run!”

Yu Linxing shouted back, 

“Move aside—I’m throwing it!”

She yanked the bundle from Ah Que and pulled out a few black spheres. I galloped toward her. And halfway there, they threw the black balls past us. I saw sparks hissing on them.

Then—*BOOM!* A deafening explosion nearly burst my eardrums. A wave of heat chased us. It was like being roasted in a steamer.

Soon, we heard Yu Linxing’s laughter behind us.

“Haha! All dead and gone!”

I jumped off the horse with Luo Shen and helped her rest. Yu Linxing dismounted and clapped her hands as she walked over with a grin. I looked around—the area that had been swarmed by Ghost Dodder was now a scorched pit. White steam was rising from it. It dawned on me—they threw fireballs.

The balls had gunpowder inside. Once ignited, they exploded with massive force—hence the pit.

Still catching my breath, I asked, 

“Where’d you get those fireballs?”

Yu Linxing said, 

“I packed them beforehand for emergencies.” 

Then she scratched her head sheepishly. 

“But I forgot… only remembered when we were running.”

Forgot? My face darkened—I almost wanted to strangle her. But she pouted and huffed, 

“So what if I remembered late? Didn’t we still solve the problem?”

“Yeah, we did.” 

I sighed. I then took out medicine and bandages to treat Luo Shen’s wounds.

She frowned slightly. Her pale forehead was beaded with sweat. It made the cinnabar mark between her brows even more vivid.

I asked her to open her hand. Strangely, her palm—like mutton fat jade—only had a few faint scars. The bl00d had long clotted. It looked almost like healed wounds.

I froze. I then suddenly remembered—the night before, I had secretly slipped her the Bloom of Dreams. At midnight, the flower dissolved into her body. Just as the records described, it had a miraculous healing effect.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Luo Shen noticed and looked at me suspiciously. I quickly straightened my face and said seriously, 

“Amazing, look—your wound is almost healed.”

But she was no fool. That intelligent woman must have sensed something had changed in her body. Her calm eyes stared at me quietly. They were making me feel completely exposed.