coobybook Chapter 457 First Appearance at the Ruins: Dangers Abound
Chapter 457 First Appearance at the Ruins: Dangers Abound
Three days later, I squatted on the threshold of the bamboo hut and watched Wang Erniu stuff the last bundle of talisman paper into the bamboo basket.
Chu Qing was holding a porcelain jar containing the Qi-Nourishing Pills and was pouring them into Xiao Tao's cloth bag. Xiao Tao waved her hands anxiously, "Senior Sister said five pills for each person, I have enough!" Fairy Zhou squatted to the side, wrapping her wooden sword with a lightning-patterned handkerchief. It was carved from the lightning bamboo that she had recently planted in the outer sect's spiritual field, and she had treasured it so much that she wouldn't let anyone touch it the other day.
"All packed?" I patted my trouser leg and stood up.
Wang Erniu slung the bamboo basket over his shoulder, his breastplate swaying in the morning light. "Senior Sister Xiao, I've memorized the map Elder Li gave me. I walked through the wild forests of the Southern Wilderness with my hunter father when I was a child, so I'm good at finding my way." He spoke casually, but I could see the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end—this kid was terrified of snakes, and the Southern Wilderness forests were full of bamboo vipers.
Chu Qing tied the cloth bag tightly, her fingertips still dusted with the powder from the Qi-Nourishing Pill: "I brought ten Spirit-Gathering Talismans, in case we encounter any restrictions..." Her voice suddenly lowered, but her eyes shone brightly, "Senior Sister Xiao said that magic is an extension of the human heart; no matter how powerful a restriction is, it is still set up by a person."
Xiao Tao tugged at my sleeve and shook it: "Senior sister, what if we encounter danger..."
“I’m ahead.” I crouched down and tidied her bangs, which had been ruffled by the wind.
This girl only turned fourteen last month. She used to wash clothes in the servants' quarters, and she still has frostbite scars on the back of her hands.
Even the chief monk of Danfeng praised the fire-starting talisman she drew as "spiritually powerful".
Suddenly, Fairy Zhou stood up, and her lightning-patterned handkerchief unfurled with a "whoosh": "I have consulted ancient books, and the restrictions on the ruins of the immortal realm are mostly related to the movement of stars."
Yesterday I practiced the Thunder Technique half the night according to the directions of the Twenty-Eight Mansions. If I could summon heavenly thunder…” Her ears turned red, and she stuffed the thunder-patterned handkerchief into my hand. “The words ‘Master’s Grace’ are on the corner of the handkerchief. You can keep it; consider it as if I’m by your side.”
I clutched the handkerchief with its lace pattern; the words "Teacher's Kindness" on the corner of the handkerchief still carried her warmth.
Amidst the crisp clinking of the bamboo baskets, I heard myself say, "Let's go."
The mist of the southern wilderness carried the scent of pine needles as we stood before the entrance to the ruins at dawn on the seventh day.
It was a stone gate half-hidden in the mountain wall. The cloud patterns on the lintel had long been blurred by the passage of time, but it still exuded an indescribable majesty.
Just as Wang Erniu was about to reach for the door knocker, a bluish-gray light membrane suddenly rose from the ground, like a net covering the mountain wall, emitting a "humming" vibration.
"It's a restriction!" Chu Qing took two steps back and bumped into Xiao Tao.
Her spirit-gathering talisman slid out of the cloth bag, floated in front of the light membrane, and "sizzled" burned a hole in it—not by fire, but by the spiritual energy within the barrier.
I squinted.
The patterns on the light membrane moved like living things, and the interwoven patterns of gold, red, cyan, and blue were somewhat similar to the light dragon of the Spirit Fusion Technique in the martial arts arena the day before.
Elder Li said there was a "secret technique for communicating with spirits" within the ruins. Could it be that this restriction...?
"Step back." I held down Wang Erniu, who was trying to move forward, and made a spirit-summoning spell with my fingertips.
The spiritual energy surged through my meridians to my palm, condensing into a ball of white light. I tried pressing it against the light membrane—
A stinging pain shot from my fingertips to my elbow.
The light membrane suddenly surged into a vortex, and my spiritual energy felt like it was being swallowed up, causing half of my arm to go numb.
"Senior Sister Xiao!" Xiao Tao rushed over to help me, but Wang Erniu grabbed her.
Spiritual energy seeped from the cracks in his breastplate, condensing into a small sun in his palm: "I'll give it a try!"
"Don't--"
late.
Just as Wang Erniu's little sun touched the light membrane, the vortex suddenly surged, "booming" and throwing him three zhang away.
He crashed into a pine tree, his breastplate cracked even wider with a "crack," and blood foam spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"Erniu!" Chu Qing cried and rushed over, scattering spirit-gathering talismans all over the ground.
Xiao Tao bit her lip as she wiped the blood from Wang Erniu's wounds, but her hands trembled violently.
Zhou Xianzi's lightning-patterned handkerchief flew up with a "whoosh," circled the light membrane twice, and the "Master's Grace" on the corner of the handkerchief suddenly dimmed.
I crouched down and picked up a piece of the shredded spirit-gathering talisman.
The patterns on the talisman weren't just ordinary charred black; they looked like something had gnawed on them—was it a spirit?
"Interesting." A sinister laugh suddenly cleaved through the fog.
I looked up abruptly.
A mountain breeze swept away a patch of mist, revealing an old man with blood-red white hair.
He wore a black robe with twisted skulls embroidered on the cuffs, and with each step he took, black blood-like stains seeped into the ground.
"I, the Blood Fiend Elder, have searched for this ruin for three hundred years." He licked his purplish lips, a bead of blood clinging to his fingertip. "This little brat dares to try and steal it?"
"Senior, you've misunderstood." I pulled Zhou Xianzi behind me. "We just wanted to..."
"Want to hunt for treasure?" The Blood Fiend Elder suddenly laughed, a laugh like fingernails scraping against a copper basin. "Fine, I'll show you what happens when you try to steal from me, the Blood Fiend Elder!"
He raised his hand and flicked it, and the blood droplets shot out with a "whoosh".
I quickly cast a protective spell, and as soon as the light shield was erected, the blood bead "poof" pierced through it.
A burning pain spread from my left shoulder. I staggered two steps and saw that the clothes on my shoulder had been burned through, and the skin was peeling off, oozing black blood.
"Senior Sister!" Chu Qing's scream mingled with Xiao Tao's sobs.
Zhou Xianzi's lightning-patterned handkerchief "whooshed" over my wound, and the lightning patterns on the handkerchief lit up, forcing out a little black blood.
Wang Erniu clutched his chest and got up. The spiritual energy of the Heart-Protecting Mirror condensed into a small sun, which he shakily threw at the Blood Fiend Elder—but the elder casually brushed it away, and the small sun exploded into points of light with a "bang".
"Overestimating yourself." The Blood Fiend Elder raised his hand again, this time with five blood beads.
I gritted my teeth and erected three shields of light, but when the second blood bead pierced through the second shield, I heard my ribs crack.
"Run!" I yelled, pushing the nearest girl, Xiao Tao, into the woods.
Zhou Xianzi dragged Chu Qing to the left, and Wang Erniu gritted his teeth and rushed over, using his body to block the third blood bead for me—spiritual energy was gushing out from the cracks in his protective mirror like beads from a broken string.
"Xiao Yao," the Blood Fiend Elder approached step by step, the skull on his black robe seeming to laugh, "hand over the bronze fragments, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse."
I was suddenly startled.
How did he know about the bronze fragments?
Elder Li said he discovered it by chance while organizing ancient books... Could it be...?
The pain in my left shoulder suddenly intensified, and my vision went black.
The fifth blood bead of the Blood Fiend Elder was right in front of me, and I could even see the surging black energy inside.
Suddenly, Zhou Xianzi's thunder-patterned handkerchief emitted a dazzling golden light, and the words "Master's Grace" shone so brightly that they seemed to be burning, blocking the blood bead for me—but the handkerchief also "ripped" in two.
"Senior Sister!" Zhou Xianzi cried as she rushed over and caught the falling handkerchief.
Looking at her reddened eyes, I suddenly remembered that the day before yesterday at the martial arts arena, she held up the Thunder Pattern Handkerchief and said, "This is the first talisman you taught me to draw."
Wang Erniu's little sun shone again, much dimmer than before, yet stubbornly hanging above my head.
Chu Qing squatted down beside him and pressed the last spirit-gathering talisman against his chest: "Brother Erniu, hang in there..."
Xiao Tao huddled behind a tree, clutching half a Peiyuan Pill, her fingernails digging into her flesh.
When she saw me looking at her, she suddenly stuffed the pill into her mouth, chewed it up, and stood up unsteadily: "Senior sister, I... I can draw a fire-starting talisman..."
My throat feels tight.
These kids, who used to be the most neglected good-for-nothings in the outer sect, are now standing at the front, risking their lives for me.
The sixth blood bead of the Blood Fiend Elder has solidified.
I erected the last shield of light, but the spiritual energy was like a bowl with a leaky bottom, impossible to fill.
Black blood dripped from his left shoulder down his fingers, landing on the bronze fragments hidden in his sleeve—
A soft "ding" sounded.
I suddenly opened my eyes wide.
The bronze fragments suddenly became hot, searing my skin through my sleeve.
The blurry patterns lit up, and golden-red, cyan, and blue light surged from the fragments, coursing upwards through my veins.
The Blood Fiend Elder's blood beads were already right in front of them.
I gritted my teeth and poured the last bit of spiritual energy into the light shield—
The light shield exploded into a cloud of light mist with a "boom".
The droplet of blood pierced through the light mist, grazed my right ear, and burned a charred hole in the mountain wall behind me.
I collapsed to the ground, staring at the Blood Demon Old Man's distorted face.
Just as his next bead of blood was about to congeal, he suddenly frowned warily: "What is that?"
A clear, melodious bell rang out from the mist.
The Blood Demon Elder suddenly turned his head, his black robe stirring up a gust of foul wind: "Consider yourselves lucky!" He glared at me fiercely, then turned into a cloud of black mist and disappeared into the fog.
"Senior sister!" The children rushed over.
Wang Erniu's little sun went out, and his breastplate shattered into several pieces, but he still clutched half a fragment to block in front of me.
Chu Qing had used up all her spirit-gathering talismans, and the back of her hand was covered in talisman ash.
Zhou Xianzi's thunder-patterned handkerchief was torn in two, but the words "Teacher's Kindness" were still shining.
Xiao Tao hadn't finished drawing the talisman; half of the talisman paper had burned, but she was still clutching it in her hand.
I touched the wound on my left shoulder; the black blood had stopped flowing.
The bronze fragments were still hot, and I could feel something creeping along my veins towards my heart—
"Senior Sister Xiao!" Chu Qing suddenly pointed to the entrance of the ruins.
I looked up.
The bluish-gray light membrane had faded at some point, and the cloud patterns on the stone door became clear again. A ray of golden light shone through the crack in the door, as if beckoning.
Wang Erniu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Senior Sister Xiao, should we... still go in?"
I looked at their blood-stained clothes, at Zhou Xianzi's lightning-patterned handkerchief torn in two, and at the unfinished fire-starting talisman in Xiao Tao's hand.
In the morning mist, their eyes shone like stars.
“Come in.” I stood up, supporting myself with Zhou Xianzi’s hand; the bronze fragments were burning hot in my sleeve. “But first… treat the wound.”
Xiao Tao immediately rummaged through the cloth bag to find the wound medicine, Chu Qing helped Wang Erniu pick up the fragments of the heart-protecting mirror, and Zhou Xianzi carefully put the torn thunder-patterned handkerchief into her bosom.
I touched the wound on my left shoulder and could feel the heat from the bronze fragment spreading throughout my body, as if something was awakening.
The golden light behind the stone gate shone even brighter.
I took a deep breath, took Xiaotao's hand, and walked forward.
The children followed behind me, their footsteps mingling with the soft rustling of pine needles falling to the ground, breaking through the morning mist.
Although the black mist surrounding the Blood Fiend Elder had dissipated, the question "What is that?" still echoed in my ears.
The chimes of the bells grew clearer through the mist, as if reminding someone of something.
I clutched the bronze fragment in my sleeve, and suddenly heard my heart pounding like a drum.
What is hidden behind the door?
When I stood up with Zhou Xianzi's help, the wound on my left shoulder was still throbbing, but it was much less painful than before.
The bronze fragments were pressed against my wrist, and the heat climbed up my veins, like a small snake crawling under my skin.
The black mist left behind by the Blood Demon Elder had completely dissipated, but the mountain wind still carried the smell of rotting flesh, reminding me of the skull-embroidered eyes in his sleeve—he could have clearly delivered another blow, but he suddenly retreated.
"Senior sister, look." Wang Erniu clutched his chest, his knuckles white as he picked at the shards of the breastplate. "That old man's hand was shaking when he threw the blood droplets." His Adam's apple bobbed. "It was like something was pulling on his meridians."
Chu Qing squatted down to pick up the spirit-gathering talisman, his fingertips stained with talisman ash: "I counted, he can only condense three blood beads at most at the same time."
Last time at the mass grave, I saw a demonic cultivator use a similar technique; he could condense at least seven. She stuffed the crumpled talisman into her cloth bag, her voice suddenly softening, "Could it be... that the restrictions of this ruin can even injure him?"