The sound of raindrops washed the charred remains of the snake vine, and the stench and burnt smell lingered in the humid air. Li Hua leaned on the root of a moss-covered giant tree, his right arm drooping limply. The dark blue mark on the palm was dim like a flame, but it was still beating, like a second heart embedded in the flesh. The ink color wrapped around it became more intense, and it climbed up along the pale golden lines like a snake. The edge of the wound on the outside of the wrist that was so deep that the bone could be seen, the ink poison had eroded to the forearm, bringing a dull pain like an ice blade cutting the bone and tearing the soul. Every breath was like swallowing broken ice.
Not far away, Mei half-knelt in the mud, and the rain slid down her pale cheeks. She stared at Li Hua's arm infected by the ink poison, her eyes were as complicated as a mess - panic, fear, and the desire to explore that was forcibly suppressed. In her heart, the destructive blow that combined the star power fragments and the ink poison just now was like a brand, lingering. It was not something that could be controlled by human power, but the disaster itself.
"We must leave here." Li Hua broke the silence, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing, "The smell of blood... and the breath of that monster... will cause more trouble."
He was not only talking about the stench of the snake vine remains, but also the strange fluctuations emitted by the two conflicting forces on his body, like an ominous beacon in the darkness.
Mei was silent for a long time, and finally nodded. She supported her knees and struggled to get up, stumbling and almost falling to the ground. The cost of forcibly activating the Nuo witch blood talisman was far beyond imagination. Her chest surged with pain. She clenched her teeth, avoided Li Hua's outstretched hand - the blue mark on the palm made her instinctively reject it - stubbornly held the slippery tree trunk, and supported her body inch by inch.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier between the two of them. Silently, he limped forward in the opposite direction of the snake vine remains. The rain forest was like a maze-like green monster, with vines and roots intertwined. Every step was stepped on wet, rotten leaves and deep mud, making it difficult to move forward. Li Hua endured the severe pain of his broken arm and the torture of ink poison, relying on his will to survive and force himself to move forward. Mei was even more shaky, and every time she inhaled, her internal organs were injured, as if she might faint at any time.
After walking for an unknown period of time, the rain gradually stopped, but the light in the forest became darker. The dense canopy blocked the sky, and only sporadic gray light seeped through the gaps between the branches and leaves, illuminating the swirling mist. The air was sticky like glue, filled with a stale smell that was deeper than the decay of plants and trees, like the dust of time itself.
"Wait..." Mei suddenly stopped, her voice weak but alert. She listened carefully, and raindrops dripped from the tips of her hair. "Did you... hear it?"
Li Hua stopped, resisted the dizziness, and concentrated his mind. As the raindrops hit the leaves, there seemed to be a very faint and deep buzzing sound in the forest, as if countless tiny insects were whispering, or some huge and ancient metal structure was slowly turning, rubbing the rust of the years.
This sound was vague, but it strangely hit the depths of the soul. What was even more terrifying was that the blue light of the fragment in Li Hua's palm suddenly brightened in the buzzing, and then dimmed, but the feeling of being called and pulled was lingering. At the same time, there was a needle-like pricking pain at the ink poison on his wrist, as if this sound was rejected and disgusted by it instinctively.
"Over there..." Mei raised her muddy finger to the source of the sound, and her tone was as solemn as fate, "It is calling the fragments... and also rejecting the pollution in your body."
Li Hua's heart was shocked. Calling fragments? Rejecting ink poison? What is hidden in the depths of this rainforest?
The two looked at each other for a moment, both of them were in doubt. Leaving meant continuing to struggle in the rainforest full of unknowns; moving forward might lead to facing the deeper truth between the fragment and Mo Li. In the end, it was the restlessness of the fragment and the resistance of Mo Du that pushed Li Hua to make a decision.
"Go and have a look." He whispered, with a suppressed determination in his voice.
They followed the humming sound, pushed aside the layers of slippery fern leaves and vines, and their feet became more and more muddy, as if walking in the swamp of time. The stale chill became stronger, like fog condensing, pressing people to breathe.
Finally, after pulling aside a giant vine hanging like a curtain, the scene in front of them suddenly changed-
A huge open space hidden in the dense forest suddenly appeared, or more accurately-an ancient ruins.
In the middle of the open space, stood a circular altar made of thick gray-white stones. It was covered with moss and ink vines, and was in a dilapidated state. At the edge of the altar, several tilted and broken stone pillars were looming, with vague Nuo dance totems engraved on the pillars. Those twisted human figures and ferocious animal faces looked particularly eerie in the rain and dim light.
And that buzzing sound - it was coming from the center of the altar! It was as if the entire altar was a sleeping giant beast, uttering low mumbling in its sleep.
What really chilled people to the bone was the ground around the altar -
Countless pale bones, buried in mud and rotten leaves! Most of them were human bones, with different postures, curled up or stretched, as if they were eternally frozen in the last moment of death. Torn clothes, mud and bones had long been integrated. And these bones were not piled up randomly, but were arranged radially with the altar as the center, like countless pilgrims who died before the "last step".
The breath of death that had been deposited for countless years came like a tide, as if to freeze the soul.
Li Hua's heart was beating wildly, not because of fear, but because of the violent reaction of the fragments! The blue light in the palm of his hand penetrated his skin and pulsated violently. The "sense of belonging" became stronger and stronger - like a wanderer returning home, he couldn't wait to get close to the altar.
At the same time, the ink poison on his wrist violently rioted, surging like a poisonous snake thrown into boiling water! The wound was in unbearable pain, and the cold and dead thoughts impacted his consciousness, madly rejecting the source of the "call"!
"Um--!" Li Hua groaned, his body shook violently, and cold sweat dripped. He clenched his right wrist tightly, trying to suppress the crazy ink poison.
Mei was also shocked by the scene in front of her and speechless. She recognized the stone pillar totems - not ordinary Nuo dance, but an extremely ancient blood sacrifice dance! She looked at the blazing blue in Li Hua's palm and the surging ink on her arm, and a terrifying idea suddenly took shape.
This altar... is related to the fragments! Maybe... it also seals the opposing power of Mo Li!
At this moment——
Buzz——!
The buzzing sound suddenly rose, as sharp as metal tearing! A desolate, sad, invisible thought surged out like a tide!
The skeletons on the ground actually made a crisp "crackling" sound!
Two clusters of ghostly green fire suddenly ignited in the empty eye sockets of the nearest complete skeleton!
The second, the third... More and more skulls slowly turned, the ghostly green fire lit up, and hundreds of cold and dead "eyes" looked at——
Li Hua and Mei!
The wave of death awakened in the rainforest.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Mei shouted in fear, but hesitated when she touched the ink poison on Li Hua's arm.
Li Hua also sensed the fatal threat——those eyes, that murderous intent, seemed to be pointing directly at the soul!
Just as he was about to retreat, his eyes swept across the central stone wall of the altar——
The stone wall was covered with thick moss, and a hideous huge Nuo mask was revealed in the peeling place! Three eyes wide open, green face and fangs, exactly the same as the statues in the Nuo Temple! And in the center of its forehead, there was a dark blue diamond mark engraved——and the mark on Li Hua's palm...almost exactly the same!
But the difference is——the mark was tightly entangled by a thick, hideous blood-red chain, running through it, releasing an ancient and heavy aura of repression!
Li Hua's mind roared!
The fragment... is the key? Or the disaster itself? !
Before he could think carefully, a skeleton ghost fire burst into flames and roared towards him!
"Mei!" Li Hua roared, his eyes locked on the stone wall, "Blood chain! Can you...feel it?!"
Mei's whole body trembled, and a throbbing of awakening dormant blood rose from his heart!
Those blood chains... are from the same source as her!
"I... I can!" She formed a seal with her fingertips, and blood power burst out wildly!
"Using Nuo blood as a guide, and the spirits of ancestors as a guarantee, we can bind evil and suppress evil spirits, and last forever - open!"