Soul Devouring Array -3
Hidden Dust Temple.
The once tranquil and blessed place is now unrecognizable, with emaciated refugees crowding among the ruins.
Inside the dilapidated temple, the statues were crumbling, cobwebs covered everything, and a bonfire burned in a corner, casting two figures that seemed out of place in their surroundings.
Ling Gu stood with his back to the palace gate, his figure almost blending into the shadows. Every word he spoke was filled with barely suppressed rage: "Who gave you permission to touch those three brats?"
Every word seemed to have been painstakingly ground out from between his teeth.
A man standing a few steps behind him was playing with a small bone token.
Hearing Ling Gu's question, Yin Jun was not afraid at all. Instead, he let out a mocking laugh and rubbed the domino with his fingertips: "What? Feeling sorry for them? They are just three cubs who can't even take human form yet."
His voice carried an air of indifference: "What His Majesty desires is the fastest blade and the deepest wound. What could drive that Ghost King to madness and pursuit more than the blood of his own kind's cub? Isn't this the most effective lure to see Ji Wang?"
He spoke casually, as if he were only discussing the next steps, rather than the loss of three precious young lives.
“You—” Ling Gu turned around, and an invisible, chilling wind seemed to rise in the hall, causing the campfire to flicker violently. He stared intently at the dominoes in Yin Jun's hand, “You used my token… to trick them out?!”
Yin Jun seemed to enjoy provoking Ling Gu. He shook the dominoes, his eyes filled with even more malice: "Otherwise what? Do you think those wary little things would easily approach me? They recognize this, they sense the aura of their own kind on it... that's why they lower their guard."
"You—!" Ling Gu's body suddenly erupted with Yin Sha Qi, sweeping towards Yin Jun. He took a step forward, his fingers already gripping Yin Jun's throat.
However, Yin Jun neither dodged nor avoided, but simply raised the domino in his hand slightly to block in front of him, and even curled a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
Ling Gu's hand abruptly stopped less than three inches from him. He looked at the domino, then at the fearless eyes beneath the hood of the hawk, his chest heaving violently.
"What His Majesty desires is the result," Yin Jun said slowly. "The process, and the means used, are up to me. This token was also tacitly approved by His Majesty. What, Lord Ling Gu, do you have objections to His Majesty's decision?"
He gently pushed the dominoes forward, almost touching Ling Gu's fingers, which were frozen in mid-air: "Or is it that you still have some inappropriate thoughts about this kinship? Don't forget, you didn't get to where you are today by being soft-hearted."
Ling Gu withdrew his hand, placed it behind his back, clenched it into a fist, and his finger bones made a slight "crackling" sound.
“There will be no next time.” Ling Gu calmed down. “If you ever touch my token again, or attack my kin without permission… especially the cubs, even if His Majesty blames me, I will break your neck first.”
Yin Jun chuckled softly, seemingly unconcerned, and casually tossed the dominoes back to Ling Gu: "Don't worry, there won't be a next time. Lei Gu Qu is a place teeming with resentful refugees; it's perfect material for setting up a soul-devouring array. Wait until they catch up here..."
He kicked the numb refugees under his feet, as if they were firewood about to be thrown into a furnace.
As Ling Gu received the dominoes, he looked out the window at the dilapidated courtyard and the bewildered refugees, a complex mix of emotions flashing across his eyes.
Following the guidance, Ji Wang flew low in the air on his sword, while Bu Jiu silently darted through the treetops, his speed no slower than that of the flying sword.
The further they went, the clearer the residual scent of the young fox's blood and demonic power became, but it also increasingly seemed to be deliberately guided.
“This direction…” Ji Wang suddenly stopped, landing on a relatively open ridge, his brows furrowed as he gazed into the distance. The scenery there vaguely overlapped with a place deep in his memory.
Bu Jiu landed beside him almost simultaneously, his fox tail sweeping lightly behind him: "Hidden Dust Temple".
Hidden Dust Temple. That was the place where Ji Wang cultivated from his innocent childhood to adulthood when he was the Cloud Recesses Daoist. It was his true "home," the homeland that held the most memories of his cultivation and the warmth of his sect.
Even though the Taoist temple no longer exists, he would never mistake the foundation of that mountain and water spiritual vein, or its unique aura.
"They actually chose that place," Ji Wang said, dissatisfied.
Choosing Yinchen Temple as a base or the location of a trap is undoubtedly the most deliberate humiliation and provocation against his identity as Daoist Yun Shen.
“Returning to a familiar place isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Bu Jiu comforted him. “You’re familiar with every blade of grass, every tree, every brick and tile there. Any external alterations will be obvious to you.”
Ji Wang curled his lip: "That's too insidious. They're clearly trying to take advantage of my past relationship and confuse my judgment... Am I being looked down upon by them?"
Seeing that he had already realized this, Bu Jiu said no more, but reminded him: "Ji Wang, remember why we came here."
Why did they come? To help the three innocent cubs who died tragically, to thwart a vicious scheme, and to fight their way out together.
Ji Wang nodded: "I understand. An old place is an old place, and an enemy is an enemy."
He looked again in the direction of Yinchen Temple: "After the aura reaches there, does it gather and not disperse, or does it change direction?"
After sensing for a moment, Bu Jiu replied, "They are gathered at the core of the site, swirling around, as if bound by an array. But one strand points towards the direction of Bianyue Cliff."
“Bianyue Cliff…” Ji Wang repeated softly, the image of that precipitous cliff, located behind the Taoist temple and suspended above the sea of clouds, appearing before his eyes.
He smiled slightly: "You must know it well. Back then, you were obsessed with studying every node of the mountain-protecting formation, saying that Bianyue Cliff was the hub where spiritual eyes converged and the key to hiding and concealing secrets. You often dragged me there in the middle of the night to accompany you to draw those obscure and difficult formation diagrams in front of the stars and the mountain terrain."
He could still remember the biting wind on the cliff top, and how he often lost focus because he couldn't understand the complex deductions, which eventually led to his master finding out and punishing him with a ruler on his palm.
Bu Jiu glanced at him, seemingly helpless that he could still recall the past at this moment.
Ji Wang met his gaze and quickly composed himself: "The aura is gathering at the core, which is probably where the main formation is located. Ling Gu should be here. If it is true, as we analyzed on the way, that they are refining their souls, then Moon Cliff over there is more likely to be the real furnace or the key path for controlling the nodes."
He made a decision: "You are most familiar with the array formation of Bianyue Cliff, so it will be difficult for you to sneak in and investigate without being detected. You go over there. I will take the opportunity to sneak into the core area and take a look. If we can destroy part of the array's foundation first, it will also relieve the pressure on your side."
Taking separate actions and targeting the key points is currently the most efficient method, but the risks are also obvious.
Bu Jiu did not immediately agree. Bian Yue Cliff was treacherous and potentially fraught with danger, but its core area was undoubtedly heavily fortified by the enemy. Ji Wang ventured there alone…
"Don't worry." Ji Wang seemed to see through his concerns and smiled casually. "I grew up here. I know exactly where there are dog holes... no, I mean, where there are shortcuts and secret passages, where the view is good and hidden. If I can't beat them, can't I just run away?"
As he spoke, he reached into the package Huaiqing had given him and rummaged around for a while. His eyes lit up, and he pulled out two bells that were only the size of a thumb.
"Hey! Perfect timing!" Ji Wang handed one of them to Bu Jiu. "It's a communication bell given by You Hang. Within a hundred miles, if you inject spiritual energy and shake it, the other bell will vibrate in sync, no matter how far away it is or what kind of barrier interferes with it. It's more concealed than divine sense transmission and is not easily intercepted."
He infused a wisp of spiritual energy into the demonstration. The bell in his own hand was silent, but the one that Bu Jiu took from him vibrated subtly yet clearly in his palm, as if it were a heartbeat.
"Let's make an agreement," Ji Wang said seriously. "Three short tremors indicate safety; two short tremors followed by a long tremor indicate vigilance; and a series of rapid tremors indicate danger. In a quarter of an hour, regardless of whether we've found anything, let's return here to meet up and exchange information, shall we?"
Bu Jiu took the bell, nodded, and put it into the hidden pocket close to his heart: "Okay." He didn't say anything more, all his worries and concerns seemed superfluous at this moment.
He simply stepped forward and kissed Ji Wang's cheek. All the "be careful," "wait for me," and "don't be reckless" were contained in this silent gesture.
Ji Wang felt his skin burning uncontrollably. He wanted to chase after him and return the unspoken words, "You be careful too," to him.
Bu Jiu quickly retreated, glanced at Ji Wang again, and then disappeared into the dense forest night leading to Bianyue Cliff, leaving no trace.
With his intimate knowledge of every inch of his homeland, Ji Wang avoided all roads with open views. He passed through the abandoned forest of steles, bypassed the dried-up lotus pond, and quietly climbed over a gap in the collapsed courtyard wall, landing behind the pavilion where the books were stored.
The shady spot allowed the remaining scrolls to rustle in the wind, conveniently masking any sounds he might make as he moved.
The closer you get to the center of the square, the more pronounced the unpleasant, foul smell in the air becomes.
The smell of blood mixed with the stench unique to lowly demons was completely contrary to the tranquility and peace he remembered this place should have.
He hid behind the shadow of a half-scorched ancient cypress tree, and, using a stone tablet as cover, looked towards the square.
One glance was enough to make his heart sink.
The once bluestone-paved ground is now covered with a complex array of dark red and almost black bloodstains, the patterns twisted like coiled vines, with the ancient stone cauldron at the center symbolizing "the way of nature".
The stone cauldron was covered with dark red talismans, and looking further out, at several key nodes of the array, a dozen or so mortals were huddled together, bound by rough ropes.
Their faces were ashen, like lambs to the slaughter, carelessly abandoned on the edge of a ceremony.
Inside the arena, several emaciated, vicious dogs with dark red skin covered in fine scales, corpse-sniffing demons were pacing around. If anyone tried to climb away from the center of the formation, these lowly demons would immediately growl and approach, using their drooling teeth and foul-smelling bodies to force them back to their original positions.
On the old tree outside the formation, several more mutilated corpses, clearly long dead, hung prominently, swaying slightly in the wind, like the cruelest warning—those who stray from the formation will die.
"The Hundred Ghosts Devouring Souls Formation".
The name of this evil formation flashed through Ji Wang's mind instantly. It used blood and vengeful spirits as fuel to forcibly extract the yin energy from the earth's veins and strip away the life force of living beings within its range. These refugees were probably just the initial sacrifices used to ignite the formation.
Once the formation is fully activated, the entire area it covers—the former site of Yinchen Temple, and possibly even all living things near Bianyue Cliff—may have their souls forcibly pulled out, turning them into vengeful spirits that will never be reincarnated, becoming a terrifying force in the hands of the formation master.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com