I quickly considered my options and returned to my original position.

As Zhao Yuezhu flashed past me, I heard a slap behind me.

After slapping the Nine-tailed Fox, Zhao Yuezhu said coldly, "Dare to talk nonsense again, and I'll kill you first!"

Zhao Yuezhu was too fast, like a flash of light and shadow before my eyes. She returned to her original position, but now held a foot-long snake with a metallic sheen.

The thing that flew over my head just now wasn't a crossbow bolt, but the snake in Zhao Yuezhu's hand?

Zhao Yuezhu grabbed the snake with both hands and straightened it out. The little snake looked like a straightened iron bar, landing perfectly straight in her hands.

Ye Yang whispered, "That snake is the key to opening the door."

"The locks of this world are truly unbelievable."

As Ye Yang spoke, Zhao Yuezhu inserted the little snake into the space. Soon, I heard the sound of a lock being opened. When I looked again, a crack had opened in the space before us.

Zhao Yuezhu carefully moved sideways into the crack. Once fully inside, she reached out and made a shushing gesture before beckoning us slowly.

Just as I was about to move forward, the Nine-tailed Fox spoke again, "Li Po, be careful. Zhao Yuezhu hasn't fully opened the door. She might be up to something."

The Nine-tailed Fox knew she couldn't break our alliance before finding the aura of life, but she was truly timid and afraid of death. Zhao Yuezhu's invitation was enough to make her suspicious.

I didn't have time for gentle explanations and just said, "You don't want to go in? Fine, don't." Then I squeezed sideways through the door.

A half-opened door is a common tactic of thieves.

Tomb robbers would choose to open the gate completely, both to ventilate the tomb and to make escape easier.

But thieves are different. They rarely open the door fully, half-open being the limit. Most often, they leave the door slightly ajar.

Tomb robbers steal from the dead, while thieves steal from the living.

No one passes by the dead, so opening a door underground isn't a problem.

But living people might discover them, so thieves don't dare to be so blatant.

Zhao Yuezhu chose to leave the door half-open to prevent the door-opening demon snake outside from suddenly entering.

After I squeezed into the tomb, the first thing I saw was a circular altar. On it sat a woman in a long dress, sitting in a green stone chair.

Her face showed no sign of life, yet she gave the illusion of being alive, especially with the cold glint in her open eyes.

"Medicine!" Zhao Yuezhu whispered. I applied the Snake King Secret Medicine to the three of us.

The Snake King's secret medicines were all related to snakes, but he hadn't given any of them names. According to him, you only needed to remember the medicine's use. Why bother with a name? Did you plan to sell the medicine?

I couldn't argue with him and didn't bother naming them, so I just accepted his secret medicines.

This medicine was specifically for approaching demon snakes. It not only masked the scent of the living but also made the wearer seem like a stone to the demon snake.

With a wave of Zhao Yuezhu's hand, Ye Yang and I cautiously walked towards the woman.

When we were about five feet from the altar, I signaled to Ye Yang, "Watch your step!"

A few more steps would bring us to the steps beneath the throne.

This time, the gray steps didn't fool me. The nearly meter-wide steps were clearly covered in fine scales. Stepping on them would mean standing on the demon snake's back.

As Ye Yang and I carefully retreated, Zhao Yuezhu said, "This snake hasn't reached the end of its lifespan and is probably just sleeping. The entrance to the demon tomb should be under its body. Can you kill this demon snake in one strike?"

I looked up at the woman on the stone seat and said, "That's not a demon snake that has transformed into a human. It's hiding its vitals under its body. Unless it turns around, we can't reach its weak point."

When demon snakes cultivate to a certain level, they can transform into human form.

Before fully transforming, they often exist in a half-human, half-snake state.

In this state, the demon snake's appearance is terrifying, but not difficult to deal with because their vitals are concentrated in the human half of their body. Conversely, the snake tail becomes impervious to weapons and is even used as a weapon.

The water python in this tomb was exploiting the術士's (Shu Shi - sorcerer) understanding of demon snakes and deliberately placed a human-shaped disguise outside. If we attacked, we would only awaken it completely.

After a moment's thought, I said, "To kill it, we have to wait for Jiang Chen to come in. Otherwise, we'll have to pay a heavy price."

"Nine-tailed Fox, go see where Jiang Chen is."

"Me?" The Nine-tailed Fox was immediately startled.