Tomb Raiding: All Things Merge, Starting with 400x Strength

As soon as Zhang Hao finished speaking, a soft rustling sound came from the cave. A swarm of corpse beetles crawled down from the nine-headed cypress and surrounded the group.

Uncle Wu frowned upon seeing the scene before him: "These corpse beetles wouldn't come out of their nests for no reason; they must have been driven down by someone."

Upon hearing that the corpse beetles were intentionally driven downwards, the fat man guessed, "As far as I know, only the Gu Masters of Miao territory and the Guanshan Taibao know how to control insects. Uncle Wu thinks it's one of them?"

"Hahaha, as expected of someone who managed to overcome so many obstacles to appear here, you have some knowledge, but that's all. Gu Masters and Guanshan Taibao are nothing!"

Accompanied by the sound, three middle-aged men who looked to be in their forties descended from the sky like immortals.

"They're up to no good, everyone be careful!"

Uncle Wu gave a reminder and then drew his pistol, aiming it at the person in the middle.

The others also drew their weapons and stood ready for battle.

Even Zhang Qilin, who had been resting on the sidelines, looked solemn. He flashed forward, drew his black gold ancient sword, and stood in front of him.

And then there's A-Ning, who was severely injured by the blood-covered man and has been resting nearby.

Now, seeing these people descend from the sky, their expressions became extremely solemn.

She got up from the corner and walked quickly to Zhang Hao and the others, looking up at the three people descending from the sky.

As the three people who suddenly appeared landed, a stench of corpses assaulted the nostrils.

"It's really strange. They are clearly alive, but they smell like corpses."

"Third Uncle, could they have also grown up eating the flesh of the dead?"

Wu Tianzhen remembered the boatman she met on the way here. He had grown up eating human flesh and had a stench of corpses on his body, which helped him avoid attacks from corpse beetles.

"No, the stench from the boatman's body is far less intense than that from these people; their bodies should already be dead."

Uncle Wu's words were contradictory; the body was dead, yet the person was alive—a sight he had never seen before.

"They are the people behind it all. It was their map of the Sanbru Palace that lured people here. They also replaced the eyes of the Blue-Eyed Fox Corpse. The picture on the bronze coffin that says there is an elixir inside should also have been put there by them."

Based on the information in his mind, Zhang Hao was certain that these three people were the masterminds behind the scenes; they were the ones who possessed other people's bodies and gained immortality.

Their purpose in doing this is easy to understand: their current bodies are no longer usable, and they need to occupy new bodies, otherwise they will truly die.

The three people who suddenly appeared landed lightly on the ground. Their eyes swept over everyone present, and finally all three eyes fell on Zhang Hao.

"Young, handsome, and possessing a special bloodline, this body has unlimited potential!"

"None of you are allowed to take it from me!"

Their gaze then fell upon Zhang Qilin.

"This body is also good. Although its potential is not that great, it is still quite rare. We have really struck gold this time, with two such good bodies appearing."

"Brothers, you've both made your choices, what about me?"

"Isn't there still him?"

The three of them finally looked at Wu Tianzhen and burst into laughter.

"Who are you people? What are your goals? If you want to hurt someone, you'll have to get over my dead body."

Pan Zi gripped his machete and stepped forward, shielding the crowd behind him.

The three men didn't even glance at Pan Zi. One of them flipped his hand, and a tremendous force slammed into Pan Zi from the void.

"Wow!"

Pan Zi was sent flying four or five meters away and crashed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

This scene shocked everyone.

Without even making contact, he sent the person flying with a single palm strike in mid-air; it was practically the work of a celestial being.

If it weren't for the stench of corpses and the sinister aura that couldn't be hidden on their faces, it would be easy to mistake them for legendary immortals.

"Panzi, how are you?"

Wu Tianzhen rushed over to help Pan Zi up, and seeing his pale face, she couldn't help but worry.

“They are very strong. I’ll hold them off for a bit. You, Xiao Hao, and Third Master, run away quickly.”

As a retired special forces soldier, Pan Zi was already among the most capable ordinary people.

Such formidable strength was actually swatted away by a single palm strike from thin air, demonstrating the terrifying power of the three who suddenly appeared, far beyond his capabilities.

Even though Zhang Hao is very strong, Pan Zi believes he is no match for these people.

This shows just how powerful the shock of a palm strike in mid-air can be.

"River-Turning Hands, you are people of the Three-Surname Water Demons!"

Aning seemed to recognize the origins of the three people.

"Ah Ning, what is the Three-Surname Water Demon?"

Wu Tianzhen asked curiously.

"They are a group of people with special abilities who live along the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River. They can move freely in the water and are also skilled in geomancy, searching for dragons and treasures."

His most famous skill is the "River-Turning Hand," which is especially powerful in water; it's said to be able to shatter a dragon with a single blow!

"hiss……"

Pan Zi gasped upon hearing this; no wonder someone so powerful could send him flying with a single palm strike.

"It's all just bragging. If he could really kill a dragon with one palm, how come Pan Zi is still alive?"

The fat man dismissed what Ah Ning said with disdain.

Aning was about to refute, but then she thought about it and realized that if he were really that powerful, how come Pan Zi was unharmed?

It's obvious that the legend is exaggerated.

“She’s right, but the dragons here are crocodiles.”

Uncle Wu interjected.

"The crocodiles in the water are not to be underestimated either. Ordinary people find it difficult to exert their strength in the water due to the resistance, but these people can kill a crocodile with a single blow. It's clear they are extremely powerful!"

"Hahaha……"

The three who suddenly appeared listened to the crowd's discussion as if they were watching a play, and then burst into laughter.

"Are you finished?"

"Let me put it this way, the so-called Three-Surname Water Demons are nothing more than containers we keep in captivity. They are just too useless, and it's difficult for the Three-Surname families to find a suitable body for them."

"If you know what's good for you, hand over your bodies obediently, otherwise I'll keep your consciousness and torture you slowly."

……

"Dream on! With Fatty here, you can forget about it!"

The fat man pulled a bundle of explosives from his backpack and pretended to light it.

"Even if I die, I'll drag the three of you down with me!"

Zhang Hao frowned as he watched. The fat man was too ruthless. If he lit the explosives in the cave, the entire cave would collapse, and they would all die. But the monsters that suddenly appeared, covered in the stench of corpses, might be a different story.

Wouldn't it be a pointless sacrifice by then?

But the three men didn't even give the fat man a chance to ignite the explosives. They slapped him so hard that he flew far away, crashed to the ground, and spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to move for a long time.

"You've finally shown up."

Zhang Qilin said something inexplicable, then charged forward with his knife.

As the top fighter in the tomb raiding world, Zhang Hao wanted to see his strength and didn't make a move immediately.

The three men remained calm and composed despite Zhang Qilin's sudden attack.

The three men continued to use their "Overturning River Hand" attacks, but Zhang Qilin dodged them all by dodging left and right.

He quickly closed in on one of them and swung his knife toward the man's head.

"Shh!"

Suddenly, a blur flashed by, and the person vanished from the spot.

Zhang Qilin's first strike missed, so he quickly adjusted his posture and swung his sword back at the man on his left.

He easily dodged Zhang Qilin's attack with a flash of afterimage.

No wonder Zhang Qilin looked so serious; even with his incredible skills, he couldn't touch these people.

"Uncle, please save my brother!"

When Zhang Qilin attacked them, the three of them easily dodged.

The three of them surrounded Zhang Qilin and simultaneously unleashed the "Overturning River Hand," causing a sudden and intense fluctuation in the surrounding air, far more violent than the fluctuations from the previous few palm strikes.

Zhang Hao realized that they hadn't used their full strength when they attacked Pan Zi and Fatty.

Even if Zhang Qilin were incredibly powerful, being struck by all three palms at the same time would at least result in serious injury, if not death.

He burst into the encirclement with lightning speed, using his body to block the three palm strikes.