Chapter 154
Chapter 154
When Liu Junyan mentioned the ranks of yin corpses, I had also realized that they must have come from the death-row inmates in the prison. The Blood Mist above the prison couldn’t have appeared out of thin air.
But what Hui Moqiong said next caught all of us off guard.
I asked, “What do you mean, they’ve all attained Buddhahood?”
Anyone sentenced to death must have committed some unforgivable crime. Yet these people could still attain Buddhahood after they died?
Hui Moqiong tugged irritably at his tousled hair. “Gah, I can’t put that bizarre scene into words. Go up and see for yourselves. I’ll keep things under control at the foot of the mountain.”
“Xiao Jiu, you stay down here too,” Liu Junyan said. “I only intend to take a quick look. I said from the very beginning that our only goal was to get what we came for. We should leave the Formation untouched unless absolutely necessary.”
I shook my head. “I’m coming with you.”
Liu Junyan was a man who kept his promises. He had promised Guo Zaimin that he would keep Guo Zhen alive.
No matter how bizarre things were up there, he would save her.
Liu Junyan was about to refuse when I added, “Every kind of demon and monster has converged on this town tonight. Do you really think I’ll be safe if I stay at the foot of the mountain?”
With that, I gave him no chance to argue and headed straight up the mountain.
Behind me, Hui Moqiong said, “I’m with Xiao Jiu’er this time. We have enough people down here for now. There’s no reason for everyone to stay.”
Liu Junyan quickly caught up. Taking my hand, he warned as we walked, “Xiao Jiu, I told you before — the Qiongqi Evil Formation is by no means the only Formation of its kind. Touch one part, and the whole thing reacts. We can’t swallow it all in one bite, so if things turn critical, retreat the moment you get the chance. Understand?”
“I understand,” I said. “You know how much I value my own skin. If there’s real danger, I’ll definitely be the first one running.”
Liu Junyan gave me a resigned look, then concealed us both in the darkness as we silently closed in on the Temple.
The roars-somewhere between an ox’s bellow and a tiger’s growl-continued unabated, while the tremors beneath our feet grew increasingly violent. In the pitch-black sky, the Blood Mist grew denser and more tangible, and even the air carried a faint tang of blood.
When we were still a full hundred meters from the Temple, we saw those unnatural figures.
Under normal circumstances, we shouldn’t have been able to see the yin corpses from that far away in the darkness, especially with a thin mist hanging in the air.
But every yin corpse was shrouded in a layer of faint golden light. It gilded their figures, making them stand out starkly in the night.
Chains shackled their wrists and ankles. Their heads were bowed, and each held one palm upright before their chest like monks immersed in devout prayer.
Just as Hui Moqiong had said, each and every one of these death-row inmates radiated an aura of Buddhist sanctity.
No, that wasn’t Buddhist sanctity. It was all an illusion!
The golden light surrounding them was clearly identical to the radiance that had blanketed Niuhu Mountain after the Bronze Bell rang earlier.
It was the Light of Merit emanating from the Golden Scale.
And that Golden Scale had been tainted by Dragon Aura!
“It’s a Formation,” Liu Junyan suddenly whispered. “A frontal assault would likely trigger both Grand Formation arrays and make them quake at the same time. We have to find its Formation Eye and break this Yin Corpse Formation without alerting anyone.”
I glanced toward the Yin Corpse Formation again and speculated, “If the Formation Eye isn’t on a Bronze Bell inside the Temple, then it must be connected to the Golden Scale.”
Liu Junyan nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Xiao Jiu…”
Before he could continue, a group suddenly appeared not far ahead and charged headlong at the Yin Corpse Formation.
This was bad.
The next moment, as the group of a dozen or so people approached the Yin Corpse Formation, golden light erupted around the entire Formation and blasted every last one of them away.
Their abilities clearly didn’t match their courage. After crashing to the ground, they all coughed up blood and lay there wailing, unable to get back to their feet.
They hadn’t even managed to touch a single Yin corpse!
If anything, this made Hui Moqiong look all the more bold yet cautious. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he had withdrawn instead of forcing his way in and alerting the enemy.
No sooner had one wave fallen than another appeared.
Three waves attacked in succession, only to be defeated. None of them could break through.
But every minute of delay could prove fatal for Guo Zhen.
For the Fake Ascetic Monk inside the Temple, however, it was a blessing.
Once he recovered, he could strike the Bronze Bell and cast a spell to manipulate the Dragon-Locking Formation. The current crisis would immediately be brought under control.
We couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
“Xiao Jiu, stay hidden,” Liu Junyan said. “I’ll break the Formation.”
I instinctively grabbed his arm. “Be careful!”
Liu Junyan gave me a reassuring look, then walked toward the Yin Corpse Formation.
As he advanced, his fingers began forming seals.
I guessed he would start with the Golden Scale. It had originally belonged to him, after all, and it was very likely the Formation Eye.
I kept my eyes fixed on Liu Junyan’s back. The instant the Formation showed even the slightest sign of weakening, I would charge in and lend him a hand.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from not far behind me. “Well, look who it is. Linu, hiding here like a coward with your head tucked into your shell?”
My fists clenched at once.
I had known I would run into Feng Lishu soon, but I hadn’t expected it to happen under these circumstances.
She wasn’t far from me. The moment she called me “Linu,” the ‘Slave’ mark on my right cheek began to throb with pain.
I had to silence her the instant I turned around, or I would lose the initiative.
Once she cast a spell on me, she would suppress me so thoroughly that I wouldn’t even be able to raise my head.
At this distance, with a hidden predator attacking my most vulnerable point from behind, there was no way I could rush over and smash her mouth with my fist. I had no choice but to fight her head-on.
With that thought, I spun around and summoned Fengwu in the same instant. I aimed at Feng Lishu’s mouth and drew the bowstring taut.
Sure enough, Feng Lishu was already forming hand seals.
Thankfully, my reaction had been fast enough. If I released this arrow, I should at least be able to interrupt her spellcasting.
I thought victory was already mine, but at that critical moment, another familiar voice suddenly cried out, “Ah Shu, watch out!”
As Hu Yulin’s voice reached me, the fan in his hand was already hurtling toward the hand drawing my bow.
The fan snapped open, revealing the blades concealed within its ribs. They sliced through the night with an icy gleam.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. A razor-sharp blade plunged straight into the back of my hand.
I hissed. The bone-deep pain instantly drained the strength from my fingers, and the fan flew back into Hu Yulin’s hand.
Hu Yulin was already beside Feng Lishu. He asked anxiously, “Ah Shu, are you all right?”
Then he turned toward me and opened his mouth as if to say something, only for his gaze to become glued to Fengwu in my hand.
I could feel his entire body shudder. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
I had no time to decipher Hu Yulin’s rapidly shifting expression. Enduring the pain, I gritted my teeth and once again drew the bowstring taut, still aiming directly at Feng Lishu’s mouth…