Chapter 515: Quickly Turn Back

"What's going on?" Zu An was momentarily lost in thought, watching the giant Taotie circle hesitantly.

Pei Mianman glanced at the high platform not far away. "It must be wary of this platform, or perhaps there's something terrifying over there that it's afraid to approach."

"But there's nothing on that high platform," Zu An said, leaping into the air on his tiptoes. He couldn't see anything.

"Let's wait for a bit," Pei Mianman suggested. Whatever it was, something that even the giant Taotie feared was likely beyond their ability to handle.

"Okay!" Although Zu An usually acted carefree, he was fundamentally a very cautious person. With obvious danger near the high platform, he certainly wouldn't charge in recklessly.

"I wonder when this thing will leave." Standing at the base of the steps, Pei Mianman frowned as she watched the enormous beast.

"Instead of it leaving, I'm more worried it'll charge us," Zu An said, roughly estimating the distance between them. It was only about ten meters, a distance that could be covered in a single leap for both cultivators and the giant Taotie.

No sooner had he spoken than the giant Taotie, clearly impatient, pushed off with its hind legs and charged directly towards them.

Zu An: "..."

"Why do I always jinx things?"

"Has your mouth been blessed?" Pei Mianman was quite speechless too. It seemed similar incidents had happened more than once on this journey.

With no other option, they had no choice but to run up the steps.

But just as they took a few steps, an ancient melody suddenly emanated from the staircase.

Hearing the music, the giant Taotie, which had been charging menacingly, hesitated and instinctively took a few steps back.

"Where is that sound coming from?" Pei Mianman felt a chill. There were no musical instruments around, so how could music suddenly appear?

"It must be coming from the steps," Zu An said, tapping his foot on the staircase. Another musical note immediately rang out.

"How can steps make music?" Pei Mianman stepped on them, disbelievingly. Sure enough, another melody echoed.

"I've seen musical staircases in my dreams, where stepping on them produces different tunes..." Zu An no longer dared to mention his hometown. After all, it was well-known he was born and raised in Brightmoon City, and Pei Mianman knew the city well, so he couldn't fool her. He could only attribute it to an ethereal dream.

Pei Mianman already knew he dreamt of strange things, so she didn't doubt him. "The sounds from the steps are like wind chimes, and also resemble bianzhong (bronze bells), but unlike the pleasant melodies produced by those instruments, these sounds always carry a chill, sending shivers down one's spine."

"Something's off; let's not go any higher!" Zu An pulled Pei Mianman back. The eerie music and the giant Taotie's earlier hesitation all suggested something sinister.

However, the giant Taotie below wouldn't let them go. Though it dared not ascend, it opened its massive, blood-red mouth, and a long tongue shot directly towards them.

Earlier, even the iron-hard bones of the skeleton warriors had been shattered by its tongue in an instant. Neither of them dared to be careless, quickly dodging to the side.

But the giant Taotie's tongue was like a long spear, constantly jabbing at them. Due to the narrow terrain, their dodging space was limited, and several times they narrowly avoided being impaled.

Zu An knew this couldn't go on; they would eventually be wounded by its tongue. He pulled Pei Mianman and continued upwards. "At this point, we can only go up and see!"

Even if the giant Taotie stopped attacking, if it stayed there, they would eventually be trapped and perish.

Pei Mianman hummed in agreement. Given the situation, she would rather face the unknown risks than the disgusting Taotie.

They continued up the steps, producing various scales and melodies as if playing a piano. The sounds echoed through the empty space, making the atmosphere extremely bizarre.

"Do you feel like the air around us has gotten colder?" Pei Mianman asked, hugging her arms, a hint of confusion in her voice.

Zu An opened his arms. "Come here, let me give you a warm hug."

Pei Mianman scoffed. "You're always so unserious. I'm talking about something important."

Zu An stopped smiling. "You're right. There might be something sinister here. We need to be careful."

"There seems to be a stone tablet up there, with some writing on it," Pei Mianman said, pointing towards the top of the steps in the distance.

Zu An focused his gaze. "Too bad I can't make out what's written on it."

Logically, with their cultivation levels, that distance shouldn't have been an issue, but the air around the tablet seemed abnormal, blurring the characters on it.

As they drew closer, the blurriness lessened, and by the time they reached the last step, the characters became clear.

Unfortunately, they were oracle bone script, looking like strange runes, which Zu An didn't recognize at all. He tried calling out to Empress Sister a few times, but Mi Li didn't respond.

"Turn back, turn back, do not walk the forty-fourth step!" Pei Mianman looked at the words on the stone tablet and slowly read them aloud.

Zu An stared at her, astonished. "What?"

"You can read these characters?"

Pei Mianman shook her head, bewildered. "I don't think I do, but for some reason, I just instinctively read them out loud when I saw them."

"Forty-four steps... it seems we just climbed exactly 44 steps in total," Zu An said, his expression darkening. This tablet was a trap; they had seen it from below but couldn't make out the writing until they were right in front of it.

By the time they could read it clearly, it was already too late. It was clearly designed to trick people.

At that moment, the melody from the steps transformed into a series of chilling winds, as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing.

Suddenly, they felt something stir beneath their feet. Looking down, they saw that the steps were not steps at all, but countless skulls molded together!

On either side of the steps were rows of brazier stands. Pei Mianman had previously ignited them with dark flames, and now the normally burning flames flickered simultaneously, then changed color to an eerie greenish-blue.

"Holy moly, what is going on?!" Zu An swallowed hard.

No sooner had he spoken than many transparent specters emerged from the thick, swirling mist around them. They wailed like ghosts, looking utterly terrifying.

"Ghosts?" As a transmigrator who had received a scientific education, this scene completely defied his common sense.

Pei Mianman quickly explained, "Under certain special conditions, the souls of the deceased can persist and form these malevolent spirits. Some ancient texts refer to them collectively as the Nether race, but they are generally very rare..."

While she was explaining, the flickering specters, like sharks scenting blood, swarmed towards them. However, even more of them rushed towards the giant Taotie, whose large size clearly attracted more attention.

Seeing this, the Taotie turned to flee, but in its pursuit of Zu An and Pei Mianman, it had unknowingly climbed onto the steps. Although it hadn't gone as high as they had, it had still ascended a few steps.

The surrounding malevolent spirits swarmed it, quickly engulfing its massive body.

The Taotie roared continuously, its sharp claws flailing everywhere, its massive, blood-red mouth biting frantically, and even its sharp tail thrashing.

Unfortunately, these malevolent spirits were intangible. Its physical attacks passed directly through their bodies, having no effect.

It whimpered.

At first, the giant Taotie roared in anger, but now its sounds were more like pained shrieks and wails.

Before long, its massive body crashed to the ground. In some places, its flesh had vanished, revealing stark white bones.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before its entire body's flesh would be completely devoured by the malevolent spirits.

Zu An and Pei Mianman, however, had no time to be distracted, as a small number of malevolent spirits were now rushing towards them.