The man appeared skeletal and emaciated, with unusually long limbs. As he straightened his body, he turned around.
Yet the very instant he turned, he somehow appeared right in front of the four of them in a flash, his pale face bearing an eerie smile seemingly pressing right up to them.
Bang! The figure vanished abruptly—sent flying by a strike from Yuan Qiuyuan's staff.
Yuan Qiuyuan leveled his staff forward and said, "Gentlemen, there's something bizarre about this guy. We'll keep him pinned down—you two focus on what you need to do."
Meanwhile, Qin Qingque quickly lit several flare sticks and tossed them in various directions. One landed squarely beside where the man had fallen, illuminating his twisted form sprawled on the ground.
That strike had been delivered with immense power, shattering the man's ribs and spine entirely, folding his entire body backward. By all rights, his internal organs should have been pulverized as well. Yet eerily, popping and grinding sounds clattered from within his flesh, and those broken areas wrenched themselves violently back into place. Not only that, but the reshaped bones propped him upright once again.
Finally, he raised his head and said with a smile, "That kind of hurt."
Qin Qingque noticed that in the light of the flares, the shadow at his feet was not shaped like a human being, but rather a contorted, swelling, constantly writhing monstrosity of a silhouette.
She did not know what it was, but she knew clearly that this man could no longer be regarded as human. He was very likely something that had crossed over from the other side.
Standing behind them, Lan Shengu saw lines and patterns surface and flicker across the man's cheeks and body. In that instant, they seemed to link with the esoteric ritual patterns on the ground. Realizing something, he immediately shouted:
"You two, this man's body is likely just a vessel! He's being infused with the power of some foul entity. He can't be beaten to death, and his strength will only grow! Find a way to restrain him first, and we'll figure out how to sever his connection to the ritual!"
Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque exchanged a glance and nodded. From his movements earlier, they could tell the man possessed virtually no combat technique. Even if he couldn't be killed outright, it didn't matter—they just needed to keep him under control for now.
Prompted by Lan Shengu's shout, the man looked his way, his figure flickering as he charged straight at him. Qin Qingque thrust her spear across, instantly impaling the charging figure. The spear tip drove directly through his throat, punching cleanly out the back of his neck.
Yet an indifferent smile spread across the man's face. He reached out and grabbed the spear shaft, seemingly intent on pulling himself off it.
Yuan Qiuyuan lunged forward in a flash. Pivoting his body, he spun his staff around twice and whipped it out with a fierce rush of wind, striking the man square in the torso. With a dull thud, he sent him flying far into the distance once more.
Bureau Director Lei and Lan Shengu moved swiftly to the other side. Undistracted by the fight ahead, they left specialized tasks to the specialists while focusing entirely on their own objective.
After examining the area for a moment, Lan Shengu said with absolute certainty, "Double Overlaid Mountain Pattern!"
Bureau Director Lei replied, "Listen for the chime."
Both nodded. Lan Shengu was referring to the drafting structure of this ritual.
Not only were these esoteric cult patterns intricate and convoluted, but the critical nodes channeling the field energy were constantly shifting. To make matters worse, a new layer of patterns had been superimposed over the original, creating two constantly mobile nodes skillfully woven into a unified whole. In the old cults, this was known as the "Double Overlaid Mountain Pattern."
Bureau Director Lei, on the other hand, was referring to the countermeasure. Typically, this relied on sound and visual color distinctions. Once field energy accumulated at a node, its color would diverge from the surrounding ritual markings—something an experienced practitioner could spot at a glance.
Given the poor lighting conditions, however, they couldn't rely on sight. Instead, they could locate it through sound using specialized tools.
Lan Shengu appeared confident. Saying "I'll do it," he promptly drew a small metal wafer from his pocket.
Holding it by its attached cord to let it dangle freely in the air, he lightly rapped its surface with a knuckle. The metal piece immediately vibrated, emitting a humming chime that echoed far through the misty tunnel.
Both listened intently. As the sound resonated, the esoteric ritual's layout visualized itself within their minds, undisturbed even by the clashes echoing ahead.
After a short while, they looked toward the same spot almost simultaneously and exchanged a glance.
Their assessments matched. It was virtually certain that the field node currently rested right there.
By this time, under the relentless pounding of Yuan and Qin, the man had been driven deeper into the tunnel. Seizing this window, the two experts quickly made their way over to the target location.
They had to act fast, for if the field power shifted again, they would have to search all over again.
Bureau Director Lei said, "I'll handle the lower layer."
Lan Shengu nodded. "I'll take the upper layer."
Because of the Double Overlaid Mountain Pattern, the node was split into upper and lower tiers. Though currently concentrated in one location, their outer manifestations were offset from each other. Truly breaking it required both to be destroyed simultaneously.
Bureau Director Lei retrieved a specialized ritual implement resembling a broken, blunt knife. Crouching down, he aimed the broken blade at a pattern on the ground.
Lan Shengu brought out a small hammer and chisel. Placing the chisel against a specific pattern high on the wall, he raised the hammer over the chisel head. Both drew a breath and struck almost simultaneously!
Boom! Though they had targeted only minute points, something seemed to detonate in the air at that very moment. A ferocious gust of wind swept through the tunnel, forcing both men back several paces.
At the other end of the tunnel, the man had just endured relentless beatings and impalements. Yet no matter how severe his injuries—even when his flesh and bones were battered into pulp—he would stand back up completely intact a moment later.
This left Yuan and Qin feeling both astonished and helpless. Fortunately, while killing him seemed impossible, keeping him contained was feasible. After all, the man possessed no martial arts technique; though his speed appeared fast, it was nothing extraordinary in the eyes of two third limit fighters.
Setting aside his bizarre regenerative state, the man was essentially nothing more than a punching bag. Still, a persistent sense of unease hung over them both, warning them that if this went on, unpredictable complications were bound to arise.
The instant the ritual's linking node was destroyed, the man, who was just rising from the ground once more, suddenly froze. Then, as if all supporting power had been drained from him, his knees hit the floor and his head drooped limp.
Yuan and Qin finally breathed a sigh of relief. But before they could celebrate, low chuckles began to rumble from the man.
"Why did you have to do something so unnecessary? This game isn't fun anymore..."
As he spoke, murky yellowish light began to pulse and flicker across his body. At the same time, a heavy, violent panting echoed through the tunnel, as if something monstrous was about to emerge.
Not knowing what this was, Yuan and Qin felt an intense, crawling discomfort across their skin and quickly fell back several steps.
Yuan Qiuyuan held his staff horizontally in front of him, asking in shock and bewilderment, "What's going on here?"
Bureau Director Lei cast a glance over, his expression grim. "Things have taken a bad turn, you two. That thing is already inside his body."
Yuan Qiuyuan asked, "Thing? What thing? Didn't you say the ritual connection was broken?"
Lan Shengu explained calmly, "Destroying the ritual connection only stopped the ritual's influence from expanding further. He can no longer absorb more flesh, blood, and rancor, but what he intended to do has already been done."
Yuan Qiuyuan didn't understand. Leveling his staff forward, he said, "I don't get all this jargon. Can we just smash this guy to pieces?"
Lan Shengu shook his head. "It's not that simple."
"What do you mean?" Yuan Qiuyuan said, nursing a headache. "Can't you two just give it to us straight all at once?"
Bureau Director Lei spoke calmly and swiftly: "This entity is tricky to deal with, but fortunately, the situation isn't completely out of hand. You two, let's pull back to the surface first and report this up the chain."
Hearing this, Yuan and Qin wasted no words. They immediately darted to their sides, each grabbing an arm as before. With a surge of jin, they whisked the two men along and rushed outward.
Just then, the shadow beneath the man suddenly expanded outward. Darkness surged across the tunnel floor and walls, sweeping right over them in an instant.
Bureau Director Lei and Lan Shengu felt an oppressive heaviness settle over them, and the esoteric ritual patterns inscribed upon their bodies rapidly faded. As for Yuan and Qin, an overwhelming impulse surged in their hearts at that moment, urging them to turn back and fight the creature.
Yet right then, a subtle power was drawn out within their bodies, clearing their minds in an instant. Daring not linger for a second longer, they quickened their pace and bolted outward.
In less than two minutes, they broke out to the surface in a single breath. The squad guarding the perimeter was still stationed there. Bureau Director Lei immediately said, "I need to contact Section Chief Chen right away."
The squad members promptly escorted him toward an armored vehicle equipped with a field organism.
Only then did Bureau Director Lei notice that in just this short time, a wide swath of ground nearby had been cleared, and the yellowish-green mist had thinned considerably. He tapped his boundary credential, and after a brief wait, the line connected. He spoke, "Section Chief Chen? It's Lei Guangcheng."
Receiving the communication signal, Chen Chuan asked immediately, "Director Lei, what's the situation down there?"
Bureau Director Lei said in a heavy voice, "Not good. The ritual below appears to be dedicated to feeding an evil god. But according to my observations, I'm afraid this evil god is still just an offering itself."
He paused briefly before continuing, "It's a double ritual. The first layer gathers flesh, blood, and rancor to nourish an evil god. Once this evil god grows strong enough, the second layer will activate immediately, luring something in to devour the evil god.
"We just broke the ritual's original accumulation process, so the evil god's power remains limited for now, and we can still keep it under control. But doing so might also draw out the entity that intended to prey on the evil god."
Chen Chuan said slowly, "It doesn't matter, Director Lei. I'm not afraid of it coming out—I'm afraid of it staying hidden."
Chapter 928