Chapter 85: Call for Help
After silently reciting the incantation, Luxianbei’s mind suddenly flashed with many thoughts.
In the end, I still used this power!
I wonder if this will cause some strange changes in reality?
Will there be Spirit Energy Fluctuation spreading out?
Li Xuan might still be downstairs. If he senses my Spirit Energy Fluctuation and comes up, wouldn’t that be the end?
……
She was feeling restless, but soon she realized that these questions were no longer issues.
Her body was getting closer to the neatly broken edge of the sinkhole. The unease brought to her by the things hidden in the sinkhole was growing stronger, and it seemed as if that thing sensed her arrival.
She could smell the stench that accompanied the bone-chilling wind rising from the sinkhole.
She could hear the low, rumbling sound of the wind weaving through the maze-like caves in the sinkhole, as if issuing warnings and threats.
She could see the distorted silhouettes of deformed figures appearing behind the bl**d-red lanterns surrounding the edge of the sinkhole, and in front of her, Luxu was walking at the end of the “parade.”
They all turned to face her, staring intently with predatory eyes, emitting a series of hissing sounds as if they were insects.
“k*ll her, k*ll her, k*ll the one who desecrates the divine…”
They spoke ominously, interspersed with many unintelligible mutterings.
They were getting closer.
The hot bl**d rushed wildly within her, her heart pounded furiously, the whispering in her ears grew increasingly intense, and immense power surged out from within her.
Where Luxianbei’s body made contact with the stone cobblestones, a light hissing sound emerged, as if something was being scorched, accompanied by the smell of charred flesh.
The distorted silhouettes surrounding the edge of the sinkhole began to scream, as if complaining or venting their negative emotions, waving their warped, bloody limbs, charging towards Luxianbei.
Ten meters… five meters… three meters…
When she was about three meters away from the edge of the sinkhole and those figures, she suddenly felt her body become lighter.
Followed by a wave of weightlessness, she lifted off the ground, propelled forward by the momentum of descending, and kicked out at Luxu and two other figures that lunged towards her first.
Then, she soared over the broken edge of the stone cobblestones like a high-speed b*llet, trailing a crimson tail flame, and finally hovered right above the sinkhole.
It was then she saw the full shape of the sinkhole; it was irregular and, upon closer examination, resembled a wide, gaping mouth adorned with sharp fangs.
“k*ll her, k*ll her…”
The murmurs from the kicked-off Luxu and the other two figures came from below, plummeting rapidly, their bodies aflame, yet they seemed utterly unafraid of d*ath.
In the moment she took off, their bodies ignited, burning from the inside out in scarlet flames, making them look like humanoid lanterns disintegrating from within.
They traced a parabolic arc through the sky, then rapidly fell like shooting stars, dwindling into mere points of glowing embers, yet they continued to descend, as if the cave beneath the sinkhole had no end.
Finally, when those glowing embers had shrunk to an almost imperceptible size, a thunderous crack rang out from the sky.
The sudden loud noise made Luxianbei shiver slightly; she looked up at the sky and saw dazzling electric snakes weaving through the clouds as if they were within reach.
The thunder gradually faded, but the sky grew eerily dark, everything became surprisingly silent, and the heavy, leaden clouds piling up overhead looked like a massive egg.
But the quieter it became, the more uneasy Luxianbei felt, a vast, lifeless pressure swept in from all directions.
She stared at the gloomy sky and then glanced with her peripheral vision at the unfathomable sinkhole below.
Something was about to emerge. Would it be from the sky or from below? Luxianbei wondered.
At that moment, the “egg” in the sky cracked open, the thunder erupted astonishingly, and the dazzling silver light dyed the sprawling black mountains below, while a torrential downpour cascaded down from the sky like a flood breaking through its dam, pouring into the sinkhole.
As if to contend with the massive flow of water, Luxianbei felt her body temperature surge to a terrifying height in an instant; her crimson hair began to flutter behind her without the wind, glowing faintly with flame.
Raindrops fell beside her, instantly vaporizing into a swirling white mist, floating around her body like silken scarves flowing behind a heavenly maiden.
“Roar—!”
Suddenly, a low growl emanated from the sinkhole below, sounding like a whale song from distant, unknown seas mixed with hissing serpents, or a passionate shout of thousands.
Luxianbei froze for a moment, then looked down to peer below.
In the gaping mouth of that giant beast, a massive shadow surfaced, roiling like boiling liquid, and it seemed like a mass of unclean living beings entangled together, clawing and trampling over each other in a frenzy to climb upwards.
It looked as though it had been dead for a long time; Luxianbei could feel the void and d*ath radiating from it, yet it still lived on, that enormous body clinging to its instinct and maintaining its desperate life.
They briefly morphed into various shapes and structures, countless slit-like openings opened and closed; numerous bl**d-red objects, resembling eyes, flashed across its surface.
It was lanterns, those bl**d-red lanterns! Luxianbei’s gaze sharpened slightly as she looked more carefully and found that the “thing” hidden beneath the sinkhole was covered in bl**d-red lanterns.
After staring at that “thing” for a few heartbeats, vibrant and exaggerated images began to surface in her mind, flowing as if melting, accompanied by a buzzing in her ears.
Her consciousness seemed to be gradually drawn into an amorphous whirlpool of dreams, a sense of dizziness overcame her.
I cannot stay here any longer! I should have flown away already! Luxianbei gritted her teeth, steadying her mind, and suddenly realized she was merely watching the spectacle and had spotted a major problem.
Just then, accompanied by a screech, a thick, dark, shiny mass shot up from the sinkhole, soaring towards Luxianbei like a whale leaping from the sea.
Realizing this, Luxianbei tried to dodge, but found herself pinned in place by some mysterious force, unable to escape.
In a moment of desperation, she furrowed her brow, bit her lip, raised her hands, and quietly recited the incantation she learned from Du Sixian in the dream.
“Desolate wasteland, withered grass, remains of the past, fan the winds of kindling, red flames flash!”
As the incantation was chanted, flames coalesced at her fingertips, growing in strength, and in an instant transformed into a fireball the size of a basin. With a gentle sweep of her arm, that unusually large red flame fell from the sky.
Below, that dark mass drew nearer, its shape continuously shifting in the sky, twisting into various forms, colliding with the falling firelight, and instantaneously engulfing it in nothingness.
Then it continued to fly, transforming.
At first, it looked like a gigantic whale; in the blink of an eye, it morphed into a sinuous serpent, flicking its forked tongue, and finally, beneath a swell, behind the serpent’s skin, appeared gruesome human faces, distorted limbs, or certain organs that did not belong to humans.
“What the hell! What is this? Are there such things in urban legends? I’ll beat the cr*p out of you!” Luxianbei felt a chill in her heart, unable to hold back a low curse, just as that mass rushed right before her.
A nauseating stench overwhelmed her, its massive presence suffocating, and gaps opened in its skin, revealing a plethora of bl**d-red lantern-like eyes.
Rushing waves of intense negative emotions drilled into Luxianbei’s mind without any medium—fury, greed, depravity… Strangely, beneath those negative emotions, she also heard a splintering of words, a noise that was impossible to decipher.
Amidst that noise, she felt a strong emotion—the desire to survive.
What is it that is calling for help? Just as this thought flashed through Luxianbei’s mind, her attention focused, trying to listen clearly to that voice.
Then she heard a low whisper.
“Respected inheritor of the powers of the female demon, great existence bringing drought and calamity, please bestow some mercy and save me…”
What is it? How does it know me…
Luxianbei felt a slight jolt in her heart, parted her lips, and was about to say something when a chilling sensation suddenly enveloped her body.
It felt like the cold of an autumn morning when frost forms, walking to school, suddenly splashed with a basin of overnight foot-washing water by an old lady living on the street.
Poorly behaved!
……
Huacheng University, Special Text Content Research Laboratory.
Professor Ma looked anxiously at Luxianbei and the bamboo slips in his hand.
Moments ago, only thin wisps of smoke were rising from Luxianbei, while now not only did smoke billow from him, but even from the crevices of the bamboo slips.
The entire laboratory felt terrifyingly hot, as if one were inside a dry sauna.
In a daze, Professor Ma felt that Luxianbei’s body seemed to be gradually shrinking; after noticing this, he felt an inexplicable chill run through him despite the oppressive heat around.
He can’t be melting, can he? Professor Ma thought with fear; he had seen in several ancient texts that some people had self-ignited or melted after coming into contact with mysterious entities.
What should I do now?
It’s no big deal if Luxianbei gets hurt, but what if she suffers serious injury or even dies because of this?
I’m powerless in this situation!
Professor Ma anxiously thought, once more pulling out the copper coin from his pocket, he tossed it into the sky without hesitation.
The front side is for saving him, and the reverse side is for running away.
Professor Ma silently repeated in his mind, just then he heard a light sound of the copper coin landing on the table.
“Ding——!”
Is it the front side or the reverse side?
“Ding——ding——ding——!”
Watching the copper coin spin and dance on the table, Professor Ma’s expression darkened, and his mouth twitched as, for the first time in over thirty years, he let out a curse.
“d*mn! What good are you to me?!”
Professor Ma was so angry he almost jumped up, frowning at Luxianbei; at that moment, he had only one thought in mind.
He is my student; I called him here; I cannot just run away, even if he’s just a stranger, I must save him!
With this thought, Professor Ma scanned the room and narrowed his focus on a bucket left behind by the student workers, which was used for washing mops.
Without thinking further, he quickly ran forward, grabbed the bucket, and splashed it towards Luxianbei.
“Splash——!”
“Hiss——!”
Thus, amid the splashes of water and the gentle sound of the polluted water evaporating, the dry steam transformed into wet steam…
