Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

"Pooh……"

Wu Song wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and rubbed the hot stick runes on the palm of his hand repeatedly with his fingertips. Every touch felt like being licked by a tongue of fire.

The sweet and fishy taste mixed with the smell of rust surging in his throat made him think of the chaotic power that poured into his meridians like a tide when he was attacked back just now.

"Is Sister A Zi holding up over there?"

He struggled to half-raise himself, the altar stone slab beneath his knees still trembling slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Mo Zi leaning against a broken stone pillar. She looked nonchalant with her eyes lowered, but the knuckles of her fingers, tightly gripping the ice fan, were bluish-white.

"..."

Towards the dungeon entrance, three faint rhythmic fluctuations were approaching like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.

The strange rhythm was completely different from the land protection spell of the proprietress, and it carried a sinister temptation.

“Other forces…”

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple rolling up and down causing a sharp pain in his chest.

"..."

The moment he looked into Mo Zi's eyes, he understood the same conclusion from the other's suddenly tensed jawline: this dispute over the land defense curse had long become a bloody feast coveted by all parties.

The foundation of Da Zong is like a piece of fat meat at this moment, attracting a pack of wolves to surround it.

“It’s so hot!”

Bai Tang pressed the Bell of Justice against his chest, the metal surface still retaining the heat of the chaotic air waves.

The golden rhythmic patterns on the bell body flickered slightly in the dimness, as if they would go out at any time.

"Uh……"

He shook his heavy head, the ghost image of being blown away still lingering in front of his eyes, and his ears were buzzing.

"call out……"

Just as he was about to rush towards the whirlpool, he saw an ice crystal flying past his ear and accurately shattering the hidden weapon ready to be launched in the shadows.

Sparks flew when the hidden weapon landed on the ground. It turned out to be a poisoned three-edged dart.

"Sister Mo Zi!"

He turned around in surprise, and met the other party's imperceptible nod as he retracted the ice fan. His eyes seemed to say: Don't be distracted, your battlefield is ahead.

"..."

Xiaoqing's sleeves rolled up the gravel, and her fingertips trembled slightly when they touched the bloodstains on her cheek.

The cold touch woke her up, and she was shocked to realize that her sleeves had been torn in many places, and the silk threads were fluttering in the wind.

"Sister is clearing the battlefield for us!"

She suddenly realized that during the time when Mo Zi seemed to be standing idly by, all the hidden stakes around the altar had been cleared out.

From the trap that was almost about to break out of the ground in the southeast corner, to the poisoned crossbow arrow hidden in the cracks in the northwest corner, every crisis was resolved in time.

“She’s always anticipating where everyone is.”

Aqua-blue rhyme flowed through her sleeves. She nodded in thanks to Mo Zi's back, secretly thinking: Perhaps I can use the fluidity of water rhyme to complement my sister's rhyme...

"Humph……"

As the dark purple ice fan flipped, an ice wall condensed from cold air suddenly stood up.

The ice crystals reflected the strange light from the altar, casting mottled shadows on her face.

"Guard the vortex breach, and leave those scum who are hiding their heads and showing their tails to me."

She stared at the three figures gradually becoming clearer at the dungeon entrance, her tone cold enough to quench frost.

"Wait until they've exhausted the boss lady's rhythmic energy, then maybe..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard the boss lady's crazy sneer from above his head.

"Hahaha……"

The laughter seemed to come from the underworld, causing pain in the cats' eardrums and even rustling in the gravel on the altar.

"sucker Punch!"

The proprietress, who was suspended in mid-air, formed seals with her hands as fast as an afterimage. The runes on the surface of the stone box emitted a strange red light, and each flicker was accompanied by a powerful suction force.

"Think you can turn the tables by stalling for time?" The dim light around her became increasingly intense, making her look like a demon from the abyss.

"Wong..."

The vortex in the center of the altar suddenly shrank rapidly, and in the chaotic storm carrying rubble, the roar of six war drums could be faintly heard.

"Bump bump..."

The drumbeats were dull and depressing, as if thousands of troops were galloping underground, making the cats' feet numb.

"What on earth does this feel like..."

The Bright Moon and Silver Moon Scimitar made a buzzing sound, and the runes on the blade suddenly jumped violently.

"Something's wrong!"

Her pupils suddenly shrank as she carefully observed the changes in the vortex.

"The direction of the rhythmic energy of the Earth Guarding Spell... is like it is forcibly compressed into a solid object!"

She recalled the records in ancient books. If the earth-guarding spell got out of control, all the rhythmic energy would be transformed into destructive power.

Before he finished speaking, Wu Song had already gripped the burning stick tightly, veins popping out on his arms:

"Xingluo Squad, listen up! This is your chance to break through our defense, but we have to strike once and for all! If we delay any further, the entire Dazong will be buried with us!"

"But our rhythmic power has just been devoured..."

Bai Tang's hands, which were tightly gripping the bell, were covered in cold sweat. Looking at his slightly trembling fingertips, he felt uneasy.

"If Maruko gives up so easily, it wouldn't be you!"

"Didn't you tell us? As long as we have faith, we will succeed!"

Xiaoqing swung her sleeves violently, and thousands of ice crystals condensed into arrows in the air. She gritted her teeth and said:

"Let's take another gamble! The boss lady is forcibly compressing her magical power, and there will inevitably be a brief gap in her defense! We just need to seize that moment..."

Her eyes were determined, but her heart was beating fast. After all, this was a gamble with no way out.

"call out……"

Just as the five cats were about to launch an attack, the sound of chains breaking through the air was heard at the dungeon entrance.

The dark purple ice fan flew out like an arrow and exploded into a net of ice blades in mid-air.

"Oh, I'm so tired. We have been hiding for so long..."

Three masked figures appeared on the broken ice, their clothes covered with strange patterns, and the weapons in their hands glowed with a faint blue light.

The leader's chains wrapped around the ice wall, his hoarse laughter filled with greed:

"It's time to redistribute the power of the Earth Guarding Spell. I heard that if you obtain the Earth Guarding Spell, you can control the life and death of the clan leader. Such a great benefit cannot be taken by you all."

"roll!"

Mo Zi formed seals with his bare hands, and a forest of ice thorns sprang up from the ground, forcing the three cats back.

"boom……"

The ice spikes collided with their weapons, splashing countless sparks.

She glanced at the Xingluo Squad's gathering offensive and suddenly shouted:

"Don't worry about the outside! The boss lady's cursed energy core is trembling! Seize this opportunity and attack with all your strength!"

She knew in her heart that if the Xingluo team was distracted, all their previous efforts would be in vain, and they would no longer have the chance to stop the Earth Defense Spell from running rampant.

"Hahaha……"

Seeing this, the proprietress laughed wildly and raised the stone box high above her head:

"You guys think you can break the deadlock? How naive!"

The blood-colored lines on the broken monument of the Six Halls rushed into the vortex like a living thing, and the chaotic storm suddenly expanded three times, swallowing up all of the Five Cats' "Flame Tiger Heavy Artillery Waterspout" and pushing back a dark purple power wave with a corrosive aura.

Wherever the air wave passed, deep pits were instantly corroded on the stone slabs, and a pungent smell filled the air.

"hateful……"

Wu Song used his stick to resist the air wave, and the rune light flickered under the impact.

“This is not just a counterattack…”

He retreated coughing up blood foam, his back smashing against the stone pillar, causing it to collapse with a loud bang, raising a cloud of dust.

"She's transforming our rhythmic energy into chaos! At this rate, our attacks will only make her stronger!"

Bai Tang's Justice Bell, which was blown away, suddenly made a sharp sound, and the golden light twisted into a strange vortex shape in mid-air, and the rosary on his chest also flashed a strange light, as if foreshadowing that something terrible was about to happen.

“Ouch, that hurts…”

"Oh my god..."

When the five cats fell awkwardly on the edge of the altar, Mingyue suddenly pointed behind the proprietress:

“Those shadows!”

The figures of the six dead disciples of the Hall were crawling out of the light column. A faint blue energy seeped out from under their tattered armor. Their empty eye sockets stared at the stone box and murmured in unison:

“Defend the land…Defend the land…”

This voice full of obsession sent chills down everyone's spine - are they the loyal souls protecting the Da Zong, or are they the first victims of the land defense curse that got out of control?

With every chant of these phantoms, the vibration of the altar intensified, as if the earth were mourning their fate.

"Hahaha, here it comes, here it comes..."

"My brothers and fellow apprentices, you are finally back..."

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha……"

However, in this strange atmosphere, the proprietress laughed more and more crazily. Her laughter was intertwined with the whispers of the phantom, forming a melody of death.

"Let's fight side by side again this time..."