"This...!" Zhou Xiaoya hurried to stop him, but Qu Long Scholar beside her held her back. His expression was grave as he said, "Have you ever heard Black-Hand thank anyone?"
"..." Zhou Xiaoya froze at his words and could only fall silent. She watched Black-Hand Demon Child walk forward, worry written across her face.
"Everyone, be ready to support Fellow Daoist Black-Hand!" Li Xiaoya told the others. Then, without betraying anything, he sent Dong Santong a voice transmission: "Watch our backs!" Dong Santong immediately spread his divine sense to its fullest extent and shifted slightly to one side, positioning himself to cover both front and rear.
"Rise!" After taking three or four steps, Black-Hand Demon Child erupted in flashes of black and gray light. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! His shriveled body suddenly swelled, growing into a giant nearly ten feet tall. The bandage-like strips covering him shone with red light, as though he had donned a suit of armor. Only then did he continue forward. Despite his enormous size, his footsteps made no sound.
Since the Main Hall was only a few hundred feet across, Black-Hand Demon Child soon reached the pillar at its center. His face remained expressionless, though his heart was bobbing up and down with anxiety. Finding nothing unusual, he signaled to the others behind him that there was no danger, then stepped onto the stairs leading to the Primordial Chaos Golden Cauldron. Its dazzling golden radiance and the increasingly rich medicinal fragrance stirred his excitement. But he suddenly recalled Li Xiaoya's and Zhou Xiaoya's warnings. His heart tightened, his mind regained its clarity, and he continued forward, reaching the High Platform in a few quick steps. The platform's surface was actually a slab of strange red metal, covered in profound runes and formations.
"Whew!" Black-Hand Demon