Chapter 74
Although Lu Xiao was unaware of the situation, the words "Xuan Yin Sect" and the sudden burst of chilling aura emanating from Zhuo Hua made him instantly realize the gravity of the situation. "Is there danger?" he asked in a deep voice, his body instinctively shielding Zhuo Hua by half a body length.
Zhuohua glanced at him, the icy coldness in her eyes fading slightly, replaced by a faint warmth.
“A few rats are causing trouble.” Her tone returned to calm, yet carried a chilling sense of control. “Stay put.” Before she finished speaking, she had already darted to the window like a wisp of smoke.
Right at that moment!
"BOOM—!!!"
A deep, muffled roar, like a thunderclap from the depths of the earth, suddenly shook the entire seaside courtyard! This was followed by a violent, trembling tremor!
"ah--!!!"
"Earthquake! It's an earthquake!"
"Run!"
Suddenly, the next room erupted in terrified screams from the guests, along with the chaotic sounds of tables and chairs overturning and objects falling to the ground! The entire production crew's accommodation was instantly thrown into complete chaos!
The production team was even more wailing and howling:
"Stabilize the camera! Quick! Quick! Protect the equipment!"
"It's not an earthquake! It's the sea! Look at the sea!!" A cameraman near the beach screamed desperately, his voice distorted with extreme fear.
Through the violently shaking camera and windows, everyone witnessed a scene that terrified them:
The once calm sea surface was suddenly stirred up as if by an invisible giant hand! A huge whirlpool appeared out of nowhere, spinning wildly and emitting a deafening roar!
Even more terrifying, at the center of the whirlpool, accompanied by a tooth-grinding sound of bones grinding and a nauseating stench of decay, distorted skeletons, entangled in dark seaweed and exuding a strong sense of gloom, were struggling to crawl out of the seabed silt!
Eerie green flames flickered in their empty eye sockets, and their mangled jaws opened and closed, emitting silent roars. In the sea, countless grotesque, half-rotten sea monster corpses, as if pulled by invisible threads, swam out stiffly, their decaying fish eyes fixed on the brightly lit shore!
"A ghost...a ghost!!!"
"A sea monster! It's a sea monster!"
"Help! Help me—!"
Actress Chen Yue scrambled out of the room, her exquisite makeup ruined by tears. Upon seeing the hellish scene outside the window, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground.
Top star Lin Chen and rising male god Su Yan were in no better shape. Their faces were ashen, and they were trembling against the wall, showing no trace of their usual glamorousness.
Meng Yuqing was so terrified that she wet herself and collapsed to the ground, wailing uncontrollably. The entire courtyard was filled with desperate cries and screams of despair.
The director and crew were also terrified. Some tried to run, but found their legs were like lead and they couldn't move an inch! Others tried to call the police, but found their cell phone signal had mysteriously gone blank!
"Hehehe..." A chilling, metallic laugh, like the scraping of metal, seemed to come from all directions, or perhaps it resounded directly in everyone's mind. "Fresh...life...delicious..."
This sound was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, driving the already broken crowd into complete madness!
"We're doomed! We're all dead!"
"Mom! Help me!"
"Waaaaah..."
Amidst this utter chaos and despair, a clear, calm, even slightly impatient female voice pierced through all the wailing and eerie laughter, resounding in everyone's ears:
"It's so noisy."
It's Zhuohua!
She found herself standing in the center of the courtyard, facing the terrifying sea surging with bones and rotting corpses. The night breeze ruffled the hem of her linen dress and her long, flowing hair, outlining her slender yet upright figure. There was no fear on her face, only a faint displeasure at having her tranquility disturbed.
She didn't even glance back at the wailing crowd behind her; instead, she stretched out a slender, white finger towards the churning, filthy sea.
At the fingertip, a single, exquisitely refined golden light suddenly shone forth! Like the first ray of dawn piercing despair in the darkest night!
"Frostfeather," she said softly.
"Chirp—!!!"
A clear, resonant phoenix cry, carrying an icy, divine power, suddenly tore through the gloomy night sky! It was no longer the soft, cute "chirp" of a doll, but the cry of the ancient divine beast Frostfeather Ice Phoenix, a cry powerful enough to shake the very depths of the netherworld!
The chubby little bird doll that was crouching at Zhuo Hua's feet vanished instantly! In its place stood a magnificent ice phoenix with a wingspan of over three meters, its entire body covered in translucent, ice-crystal-like feathers, and surrounded by a chilling aura!
The tuft of ice-blue down on its head transformed into a cluster of dancing, ghostly blue flames, and its beady green eyes became dazzling, star-like, vertical, ice-blue pupils. Its majestic and sacred aura swept out like a tidal wave!
Frostfeather's true form has appeared in the world!
All the crying and screaming in the courtyard stopped abruptly!
Everyone stared in disbelief at the enormous, breathtakingly beautiful, yet terrifyingly powerful, ice-blue bird that had appeared out of nowhere! Actress Chen Yue, who had just woken up, saw this scene, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted again.
"Clear the area." Zhuohua said to Shuangling, uttering only two words.
"唳——!"
Frostfeather let out an even higher-pitched cry, and its huge ice wings flapped violently!
"boom--!!!"
A terrifyingly cold current, visible to the naked eye and filled with countless tiny ice crystals, surged forth from its center like a polar storm, rushing towards the raging, roaring sea! Wherever it passed, the air froze, crackling and sputtering!
The cold current collided violently with the churning, filthy seawater!
“Sizzle——!!!”
A piercing white vapor billowed wildly! The skeletons and rotting sea beasts that had just crawled out of the vortex, baring their fangs and claws, were instantly frozen into ice sculptures of various shapes before they could even let out a wail!
Even the churning seawater beneath them froze in the blink of an eye! A massive, mirror-like ice surface, over a hundred meters in radius, shimmered with a chilling light under the moonlight, permanently sealing those terrifying ice sculptures within!
The sea, which was just moments ago like a hellish abyss, has instantly transformed into a desolate, frozen graveyard!
The courtyard was deathly silent.
Everyone remained frozen in terror, their mouths agape, their eyes bulging as if about to pop out of their sockets, staring intently at the icy plain radiating a chilling aura, and the giant bird hovering above it like a god of ice.
At this moment, my worldview was utterly shattered and then forcibly reshaped.
"Gulp." Someone swallowed hard, the sound unusually clear in the deathly silence.
Zhuohua seemed to have done something insignificant. She withdrew her finger, and the golden light quietly disappeared. She even raised her hand to elegantly tidy her hair, which had been ruffled by the cold wind, before slowly turning around, her cold gaze sweeping over the group of "mortals" behind her who seemed to be collectively petrified.
Her gaze fell on Meng Yuqing, who was sitting slumped on the ground closest to her, her clothes still wet. She frowned slightly and said with a hint of disgust, "Next time you go out, remember to wear adult diapers."
Meng Yuqing: "..." Her mouth was agape, her mind blank, and she even forgot about feeling ashamed.
Zhuohua's gaze shifted to the face of actress Chen Yue, who had just woken up and was still in a daze for the second time, and she calmly added, "And you, you fainted pretty quickly, so you're easy to deal with."
Chen Yue: "..." She rolled her eyes, this time she really didn't want to wake up.
Finally, her gaze fell on the director, whose face was pale and who was trembling all over: "Director, let's change the location for the treasure hunt tomorrow to this frozen surface. It'll save us from having to go into the water."
She pointed to the icy area sealed with countless terrifying ice sculptures, her tone as calm as if she were suggesting a different picnic spot.
Director: "..." His legs went weak, and he almost knelt down on the spot before this living ancestor.
"Thump!"
The first one to kneel down was the VJ, who was closest to Zhuohua!
He had just witnessed the miracle of the pot lid hovering and the green smoke dissipating, and now he was experiencing the shock of the divine bird freezing the demonic sea up close! The enormous impact made his knees buckle, and he fell flat on his face, his forehead hitting the sand hard, his voice filled with sobs and fervor.
"Master Zhuohua! No! Immortal Zhuohua! Please accept my bow! I was blind to your greatness! I deserve to die for filming you cooking before! Please accept me as your disciple! I am willing to carry your camera for the rest of my life! No! I will be your slave!"
This seems to be a signal!
“Plop!” “Plop!” “Plop!”
One after another, the sound of kneeling rang out!
The assistant director, who had just been terrified, scrambled over and grabbed Zhuohua's leg (but was gently pushed away by an invisible force before they could touch each other): "Fairy Sister! Please grant me a protective talisman! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a three-year-old child to raise!"
"Master Zhuohua! I was so scared I peed my pants! Please don't be offended! I'm willing to do your laundry, cook for you, warm your bed, and make your blankets!"
"Immortal Zhuohua! Do you need a mount? How about me? I'm really fast!"
"Master! I'm willing to offer my entire fortune! Just please enlighten me! When will I become famous?"
"Immortal! Could you teach me that 'Flick of the Finger to Annihilate Ghosts' move you just used? I'll become your last disciple!"
The scene was completely out of control! From the production team to the staff, and even the male guests who were just trembling like leaves (except for Chen Yue who fainted again and Meng Yuqing who was terrified), they all turned into fanatical believers, crying and shouting around Zhuo Hua, kowtowing and bowing, their eyes filled with extreme awe, worship and... a desire to cling to his leg after the fear had faded!
Top idol Lin Chen and rising male god Su Yan, these two usually privileged individuals, completely disregarded their idol image at this moment.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same shock and... an indescribable heat in each other's eyes. Su Yan took a deep breath, straightened his wrinkled shirt (though it was of little use), walked up to Zhuo Hua, and bowed deeply, his tone more respectful than ever before.
"Teacher Zhuohua... no, Senior Zhuohua! We were blind before! Today, witnessing your divine power, we realize that there are heavens beyond heavens! This junior, Su Yan, humbly requests your guidance!" He lowered his posture to the extreme, his eyes filled with a sincere thirst for knowledge.
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