Volume Three – The Fox Spirit’s Tomb Chapter Thirty-Two – Li Kun’s Opportunity?

I held my Soul-Severing Blade in my hand, momentarily unsure of where to strike. Just then, a low growl emanated from Li Kun, who was curled up on the floor, and he slowly sat up, bracing himself with his hands.

Seeing this, I assumed Li Kun was recovering. However, his eyes, which had been tightly shut, suddenly snapped open, and waves of black death aura erupted violently from them.

As this black aura poured forth, Xu Tian and I were immediately struck by an icy, bone-chilling cold that permeated the room, causing Xu Tian to tremble slightly.

Xu Tian turned to me and asked, "Old Liu, what is happening to Old Li? What is wrong with him?"

I gritted my teeth and replied, "I don't know what's wrong with him either. I am out of options now; we can only hope he pulls through on his own."

As I spoke, the black death aura swirling around Li Kun’s eyes began to condense. In the blink of an eye, the aura solidified into something tangible.

I was horrified. What on earth was happening to Li Kun? How did he suddenly change like this?

I stared intently at Li Kun’s seated figure, but the surrounding black aura was so thick that I could only discern his blurred silhouette.

Suddenly, the death aura from his eyes formed two solid black beams, each about two centimeters in diameter. Li Kun let out a piercing roar, threw his head back, and fired the two black beams straight up toward the ceiling.

A violent explosion followed, and the ceiling was pierced through by his beams.

Seeing such power, Xu Tian and I both gasped. If that force had struck a person, it would surely have cut them in half.

The temperature in the room had plummeted to freezing. Unable to remain inside, I grabbed Xu Tian’s arm, and we retreated to the outer room.

After closing the door, we peered through the small, dusty window. Because it was night and the room was dim, coupled with the dense black aura, we could only vaguely make out the two beams striking the roof.

Once the roof was breached, moonlight streamed through the basin-sized hole and onto Li Kun. Startled by the light, he sensed our presence at the door.

The room was pitch black, as the only lightbulb had been shattered during the chaos. Unaware of the strange state of his eyes, Li Kun turned his head toward the door.

We were still peeking through the window when we saw the two black beams drop straight toward us.

Wherever the beams passed, the roof was torn open. Before we could react, the beams struck our position.

We had been standing at the door, and as the beams descended, we each took a step back—a single step that saved our lives.

The moment the beams hit the door, it split into three pieces, falling to the floor with a loud clatter.

Terrified, I didn't hesitate. I pushed off my legs, vaulted over the beams, grabbed Xu Tian, and rushed outside, shouting, "Old Li, you son of a bitch!"

Before Li Kun could react to my shout, a wooden board from the ceiling collapsed and struck him square on the head. He slumped over and fell unconscious.

Once we were outside, drenched in cold sweat, Xu Tian panted, "My god! What kind of madness has taken hold of Old Li? He nearly killed us both."

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and said, "Damn it, thank goodness I reacted quickly, or we would have been done for."

After listening for a moment and hearing no further sound from the room, we returned to the window to look inside.

The room was quiet. Li Kun’s condition was uncertain, but judging by his previous state, he didn't seem to be in immediate danger.

Xu Tian tapped on the window and called out, "Old Li? Old Li, are you alright?"

We listened intently, but there was no response.

"Shall we go back in and check?" Xu Tian suggested.

I nodded. "It’s so quiet; he probably passed out from the pressure of the death aura. Let’s go."

We stepped back into the room to find a scene of total wreckage. Debris and wooden shards were scattered everywhere, and Li Kun lay on the floor with a piece of wood beside his head.

"Be careful," I warned, and we approached him.

I shone my phone light on his face. The frost was gone from his eyes, and his complexion had returned to a healthy flush.

I patted his body and called his name a few times until he finally moved. He rubbed his head, let out a soft groan, and opened his eyes.

He sat up and looked around, asking, "Old Liu, what happened just now?"

Seeing that he hadn't forgotten the incident and that the black aura was gone, Xu Tian and I breathed a sigh of relief. But before I could speak, Li Kun began to tremble, and his eyes closed again.

I cursed under my breath, and just as we were about to run, I felt the black aura in the room churn.

I looked at Li Kun. His eyes had opened again, but this time, instead of emitting the beams, they were actively absorbing the black aura from the room.

I was stunned. To see him not only emit the death aura but absorb it was truly shocking.

His eyes worked with incredible speed; in no time, the entire room was cleared of the aura. Yet, it didn't stop there. More black aura began pouring down from the hole in the roof, all funneling directly into his eyes.

After about a minute, the absorption ceased.

I watched in disbelief as Li Kun opened his eyes.

"Old Liu, what’s wrong with my eyes?" he asked.

I looked into his eyes and saw they were a deep blood-red, with only a sliver of white left, which was also heavily bloodshot. As he blinked, his eyes suddenly returned to their normal appearance.

"Old Li," Xu Tian exclaimed, "what’s happening? Your eyes can change color? You nearly scared us to death!"

I asked, "How do you feel? Is there anything else?"

Li Kun touched his eyes. "It feels a bit cold, but that's all."

I smacked him on the shoulder. "Stop messing around."

Li Kun chuckled. "Old Liu, I feel like I can see everything so clearly, even at night. I can even see all these black gases outside."

"You can see clearly at night?" I frowned.

He nodded. "Yes. Is this what it means to have the 'Heavenly Eye' opened?"

I shook my head. "No, this isn't the Heavenly Eye. It must be related to your unique constitution. Li Kun, can you still fire those beams?"

"I think so," he replied.

I pointed to the wall. "Try it."

He nodded and closed his eyes. Immediately, the air grew cold, and a biting chill radiated from his eyes.

I suspected he had stumbled upon a great opportunity.

Li Kun’s eyes snapped open. We saw the blood-red color return, and black death aura swirled around the corners of his eyes, looking quite formidable.

With a slight movement of his eyes, two beams of black death aura shot out and pierced the stone wall in front of us with a thunderous boom.

We were shocked. The wall, made of stone and half a meter thick, had been completely penetrated. If that were to hit a person, the consequences would be dire.

Li Kun closed his eyes, and the beams vanished, leaving two gaping holes in the wall.

He stared at the holes in disbelief. "Damn it, what is wrong with my eyes? Old Liu, am I possessed?"

"Not possessed," I said. "When I tried to open your Heavenly Eye, your unique constitution must have caused this massive accumulation of death aura. I’m still puzzled as to why a living person would harbor such immense death energy."

I looked at him seriously. "But since you’ve gained this, it’s a stroke of fate. It will be a huge asset for our mission. When we return, I’ll take you to the Ghost Market to ask the Thousand-Poison Daoist and the Ghost-Lamp Daoist. They might know what’s going on."

Li Kun nodded. "We should. If there’s something wrong with these eyes, I’m in trouble. A living person with death aura... I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse."

Xu Tian stepped forward. "Listen to me, guys. Maybe this isn't a bad thing. Think about it—what are we facing? Not living people, but ghosts and demons."

"What Old Li is using isn't a human technique, but death aura—the perfect weapon against these supernatural entities. Our chances of success in the Fox Immortal Tomb have just increased significantly. Even a headless ghost or a fox spirit won't be able to withstand a hit from Old Li."