"They're ready over there..."
At the bottom of the Dark Grotto, Linglong looked at the Triangular Mark on the stone disk in her hand, then raised her head and spoke to Mu You.
This was their agreed signal to begin.
"Then let's start." Mu You nodded.
He had already entered the Hemispherical Barrier connected to Ju Snake's consciousness. Perhaps because a large part of Ju Snake's consciousness was missing, it had shown no reaction to their arrival at the bottom of the Dark Grotto, as though it had long since fallen into dormancy.
But Mu You, whose mind was already linked to Ju Snake's, knew it was awake and secretly biding its time. It would never pass up any chance to escape.
"Original, are you sure you want to do this? If it fails... there's still time to back out." With the Qilin Arm equipped, Linglong stood before the Holy Spear and looked at Mu You hesitantly.
"Start."
Mu You offered no explanation, merely repeating his insistence.
Before Linglong could act, however, a thought suddenly struck him. He took out the Chameleon Mask and put it on.
"Ava, if I can't hold on later, back me up. While you're at it, see if you can record Ju Snake's data."
"All right. I'll try." Ava's voice rang out in Mu You's mind.
Only then did Mu You nod to Linglong.
Linglong said no more. She took a deep breath and activated the Qilin Arm.
An enormous beast claw materialized over Linglong's right arm, extended, and gripped the shaft of the Holy Spear ahead.
As Linglong slowly exerted force, the Holy Spear began rising at a sluggish pace amid a rumbling roar.
At first, nothing unusual happened. But after a dozen seconds, the Holy Spear's tip pulled free of Ju Snake's body