Inside the cave, the dead silence was filled with heavy panting and suppressed coughing. Xingshuang's massive body lay limp on the ground, its huge tongue hanging out onto the scorching jade floor. Every inhalation sounded like a broken bellows, and its doggy eyes were filled with the blankness of someone whose body had been hollowed out, mixed with the shock of having narrowly escaped death. Although the dark gold scar on its belly no longer emitted a blinding pure white light, a faint scorching heat still radiated from it, serving as a reminder of the harrowing ordeal that had nearly blown it apart from the inside out like a firework show.
Chen Mo was in no better shape. Leaning against a warm, cool slab of jade, his chest heaved violently, every breath pulling at a tearing agony throughout his entire body. The Nirvana Core in his Sea of Consciousness was like a candle in the wind, so faint it was barely perceptible, and he was only clinging to life thanks to the trace of icy coldness transmitted by the bead he clutched tightly in his left hand. He looked at the distant broken stone tablet—which seemed "well-fed," its carved patterns glowing with a slightly brighter dim light—and then looked back at Xingshuang, who had collapsed into a huge lump, a bitter smile twisting his mouth that was uglier than crying.
"Lord Dog... how are you... feeling?" Chen Mo's voice was as raspy as sandpaper grinding.
Chapter 157