The Drum Tower Evil Corpse and the Altar Key
Du'e Lu: Seven People Explore the Ghost Town at Night
Chapter 38: The Drum Tower Evil Corpse and the Altar Key
The moment the vibrations reached the Drum Tower, the red light from the Red Sun Gu box in Su Xiao's hand suddenly dimmed, as if snuffed out by an invisible hand. She instinctively pressed the box against her chest, her fingertips feeling the coolness seeping from the walls—a reaction the Red Sun Gu would only experience when sensing a mortal threat. The wind in the ruins suddenly shifted, and the lingering smell of burning was replaced by a thick, putrid stench, like a rotting corpse mixed with damp earth. It pierced Meng Meng's nose with a stinging pain, causing her to cough violently, clutching her hand.
"Don't breathe!" Chen Mo suddenly shouted. He quickly took out a few yellow talismans from his backpack and distributed them to the people around him. "This is the talisman drawn by Master Azhu. Stick it on your collar and it can block the corpse gas for a while!" Everyone hurriedly took the talisman. As soon as their fingertips touched the talisman, they heard a loud "boom" from the direction of the Drum Tower. The half-collapsed top floor of the Drum Tower suddenly collapsed. Amidst the flying wood and dust, an arm covered with black armor stretched out from the ruins. The arm was as thick as an ordinary person's calf, and the armor was covered with cracks. Each line was oozing with black mucus. When the mucus dripped onto the ground, it actually corroded small pits on the charred stone slabs.
Xiaowan's hand that was grabbing the corner of Su Xiao's clothes suddenly tightened, and her voice was filled with tears: "It's... it's the 'Evil Corpse'! When the Miao village was massacred, the tribe leader sealed all the resisting tribesmen in the Drum Tower and let the Black Evil turn them into guards... I have secretly been here before and seen its eyes!" Before she finished her words, the ruins of the Drum Tower were suddenly completely uncovered, and a giant figure three meters tall stood up from underneath - it was a corpse completely corroded by the Black Evil. The original human outline had long been distorted, and the torso was covered with layers of black armor, as if it was cast with solidified black mist. There were no facial features on the head, only two bottomless black holes, and black mist continued to pour out of the black holes. The mist condensed into painful human faces in the air. They were none other than the tribesmen who were sealed in the Drum Tower that year.
"Roar—" the evil corpse let out a muffled roar, the sound shaking the broken walls of the ruins. It raised its black-armored foot and stomped towards Zhao Yu, who was closest to it. The ground cracked like a spiderweb beneath its feet, and Zhao Yu felt a huge pressure coming towards him, and he had no time to dodge. At this moment, Lin Xi suddenly shook the copper bell in her hand—the bell that Xiaowan had returned from playing earlier. Now the bell tongue vibrated, and it no longer rang crisply, but instead emitted a low humming sound. The humming sound seemed to have some strange frequency, which actually made the evil corpse pause.
"Get out of the way!" Lin Xi yelled, rushing forward and pushing Zhao Yu away. The corpse's foot stomped heavily on the spot where Zhao Yu had stood, instantly shattering the stone slab. Black slime gushed from the cracks, staining the surrounding broken wood black. Su Xiao seized the opportunity to open the Red Sun Gu box. This time, the Red Sun Gu didn't emit a red glow. Instead, a tiny tongue of fire flew out from the box, swirling in the air and flying towards the corpse's head. However, the moment the flame touched the corpse's black armor, it was instantly extinguished. More black mist poured out of the black hole in the corpse's head, condensing into a giant hand in the air, grabbing at Su Xiao.
"Be careful!" Chen Mo raised the bronze compass. The needle on the compass spun wildly, and golden light gushed from its center, forming a shield of light that blocked Su Xiao's path. The hand in the black mist slammed against the shield with a sizzling sound. The golden light and the black mist eroded each other, and they unexpectedly froze in mid-air. Cold sweat broke out on Chen Mo's forehead. He could feel the power in the compass rapidly draining away—the power of this evil corpse was stronger than any evil spirit they had encountered before, even far exceeding the remnant soul of the Bone Master.
"We can't fight head-on!" Su Xiao suddenly remembered what Master Azhu said, "Under the drum tower of the Miao village is the evil-gathering formation set up by our ancestors. The evil corpse is the guard of the formation's eye. As long as we find the formation's eye, we can temporarily suppress it!" She looked towards the ruins of the drum tower, and saw that under the feet of the evil corpse, there was a stone slab engraved with Miao language, which was different from the other stone slabs - that stone slab was complete, and although the Miao language engraved on it was blurry, the three big characters "zhen", "sha" and "zhen" could be clearly seen. It was obviously the formation's eye of the evil-gathering formation.
But the evil corpse stood directly above the array's centerstone, making it impossible to get close. Xiaowan suddenly let go of Su Xiao's clothes, and in a flash, she flew directly towards the evil corpse. Her body became transparent in mid-air, as if blending into the air. The black mist pouring out of the black hole in the evil corpse's head had no effect on her at all. "I'll distract it!" Xiaowan's voice came from behind the evil corpse. She stretched out her small hand and slapped the evil corpse's black armor hard. Although it didn't cause any damage, it successfully angered the evil corpse.
The evil corpse suddenly turned around and roared in Xiaowan's direction. As its huge body moved, the keystone beneath its feet was half exposed. "Now!" Su Xiao winked at Chen Mo and Zhao Yu, and the three of them rushed towards the keystone. Chen Mo raised the compass, and the golden light shone again. This time, he did not use the light to form a light shield, but instead condensed it into a lightsaber and slashed at the evil corpse's legs. Zhao Yu drew the spare dagger from his waist. The dagger was wrapped with the anti-gu pattern cloth that Meng Meng had handed to him. The silver thread on the cloth emitted a faint blue light in the moonlight.
"Roar—" The lightsaber slashed at the black armor of the evil corpse. Although it did not cut through the armor, it made the evil corpse's movements pause again. Zhao Yu took the opportunity to jump to the feet of the evil corpse and thrust the dagger wrapped with the anti-gu pattern cloth into the crack of the stone slab at the center of the formation. As the dagger just pierced the stone slab, the Miao characters on the stone slab suddenly lit up red. The red light spread along the lines of the stone slab, instantly covering the entire evil gathering formation. The evil corpse let out a painful roar, and the black armor covering its body began to crack. Black mucus gushed out from the cracks. Its body seemed to have been drained of strength. It slowly knelt on the ground, and the black hole in its head gradually closed, and finally it was completely motionless.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Mo slumped to the ground. The golden glow on the compass had completely vanished, leaving it a simple bronze disk. Zhao Yu's arm was touched by the black slime splashed by the evil corpse. Although he quickly wiped it off with the Gu-repelling cloth, it still left a black mark, and a burning pain spread across the mark. Su Xiao walked to the stone slab at the center of the formation, squatted down, and brushed his fingertips over the Miao characters on the stone—the red light was still flickering, as if guiding something.
"Where's Xiaowan?" Meng Meng suddenly realized that Xiaowan, who had just lured away the evil corpse, had disappeared. Everyone looked around, but there was no sign of Xiaowan. Only the faint cry of a child could be heard from deep within the ruins of the Drum Tower. Su Xiao immediately ran towards the sound and found Xiaowan huddled in a broken wooden cabinet, her small body trembling. Her white dress was stained with black slime, clearly having been affected by the evil corpse's black mist.
"Xiao Wan, are you okay?" Su Xiao squatted down and gently stroked Xiao Wan's head. Xiao Wan raised her head, her eyes red and tears on her face. "I... I was so scared just now. In the black fog of the evil corpse, I heard the voices of many tribesmen, they were shouting 'It hurts'..." Su Xiao's heart suddenly sank. She remembered what Master Zhu said: those who were transformed into evil corpses by the black evil spirit will not completely lose their consciousness. Instead, they will be trapped in the corpse forever, enduring endless pain.
"We'll find a way to save them," Su Xiao said softly. She knew her words were hopeless, but she still wanted to give Xiaowan some hope. Xiaowan nodded, her little hand suddenly pointing deep into the ruins of the Drum Tower. "There...there's a staircase leading underground. I've secretly gone down there before and saw a stone box with the same pattern engraved on it as the Chiyang Gu box in your hand."
Su Xiao's eyes lit up - could it be that the key item for exorcising evil spirits that Master Azhu had mentioned, which Senior Lin Shen had buried under the altar, was actually underground? She immediately gathered everyone and followed Xiaowan into the depths of the Drum Tower ruins. Sure enough, in a corner of the ruins, there was a staircase hidden behind a broken log. The staircase was paved with bluestone slabs and covered with thick dust. It was obvious that no one had walked on it for a long time. Chen Mo used a flashlight to illuminate the staircase, and saw that the walls of the staircase were engraved with dense Miao characters. Every word seemed to be written in blood, recording the process of the Miao village ancestors sealing the black evil spirit.
"These Miao words say that when our ancestors sealed the Bone Master, they left behind two items to dispel evil spirits: the Red Sun Gu, and the Secret Key to Suppressing Evil. Only by combining these two items can the source of the Black Evil be completely eliminated." Chen Mo said as he translated the Miao words, "And the Secret Key to Suppressing Evil is hidden in the underground altar."
As they descended the stairs, the air grew more humid, and the stench faded, replaced by a faint scent of sandalwood—the incense commonly used during Miao village sacrifices. Clearly, this was the underground altar of yesteryear. At the end of the stairs was a spacious stone chamber. In the center stood a stone altar, and on top of it sat a black stone box. The pattern engraved on the box was identical to the Chiyang Gu box in Su Xiao's hand.
Su Xiao walked to the altar, took a deep breath, and placed the Red Sun Gu box next to the stone box. The moment the two boxes touched, the Red Sun Gu box suddenly emitted a dazzling red light, and the stone box opened, revealing a dark black key. The key was shaped like a coiled snake, its eyes made of red crystals. Under the red light, the crystals began to slowly rotate.
"This is the secret key to suppress evil!" Su Xiao excitedly picked up the key. It felt cold to the touch, yet it held a strange power, as if it could purify all evil. But at that moment, the walls of the stone chamber suddenly shook violently, cracks appeared in the walls, and black mist poured out from the cracks. A cold voice came from the mist: "You... finally found the secret key..."
Everyone turned around and saw a figure slowly emerging from the mist—a man dressed in the attire of a Miao village chief. Half his face was normal, while the other half was covered in black scales. His eyes were a dark blue, identical to the chief who had been controlled by Yu Sha. "Who are you?" Su Xiao gripped the secret key to suppress the evil spirit. The red light of the Chiyang Gu Box shone again, blocking everyone's view.
The man sneered, his voice filled with disdain. "I am the remnant spirit of the Bone Master. After being dispersed by Lin Shen, I attached myself to the corpse of the clan leader and have been hiding in this underground altar, waiting for the day when the secret key to suppress the evil spirits will appear. As long as I get the secret key, I can unlock the seal of my ancestors and make the entire Qingwu Town my evil domain!"
Before he could finish his words, the man suddenly lunged at Su Xiao. His speed was incredible, his hands brimming with black energy, and he aimed for the key to suppress the evil spirit. Su Xiao scrambled to dodge, but the man's energy still grazed her arm, leaving a deep wound. The wound instantly turned black, and a sharp burning pain spread through her. Chen Mo immediately raised his compass. Although the power in it was almost gone, he managed to form a shield of light to block Su Xiao.
"Do you think a few of you can stop me?" The Bone Master's spirit sneered. His body suddenly split into countless black mists, which spread to every corner of the stone chamber, instantly enveloping everyone. "I want you to see with your own eyes how I use the Secret Key to Suppress Evil!" The Bone Master's spirit's voice echoed through the mist, accompanied by a mad smile.
Xiao Wan suddenly stood in front of Su Xiao, her small body trembling constantly, but she still mustered up the courage to say, "You are not allowed to hurt them! Sister Meng Yao turned into an evil spirit just to stop you. I won't let you succeed!" After she finished speaking, her body suddenly emitted a faint blue light. The blue light echoed with the red light of the Chiyang Gu Box in Su Xiao's hand, and actually formed a light shield around everyone, blocking the black mist out.
"Is this... the power of Meng Yao's residual soul?" The voice of the Bone Master's residual soul was filled with surprise, "I didn't expect that a little ghost like you actually had such power!" The fog suddenly became thicker and hit the light shield frantically. The light on the light shield began to flicker, and it was obvious that it could not last long.
Su Xiao knew she couldn't wait any longer. She recalled the Miao language Chen Mo had translated, which stated that the Evil-Suppressing Key required the power of the Red Sun Gu to activate. By injecting the Red Sun Gu's power into the key, a purifying light would emerge, completely eradicating the source of the Black Evil. She immediately opened the Red Sun Gu box and placed the Evil-Suppressing Key inside. The Red Sun Gu, sensing the key's presence, suddenly flew out of the box and landed on the key. A red light spread along the key's veins, instantly illuminating the entire key.
"Now!" Su Xiao raised the activated Evil-Suppressing Key and threw it toward the altar in the center of the stone chamber. The key landed on the altar, instantly emitting a blinding red light. This red light formed a pillar that shot straight to the top of the stone chamber, enveloping the entire chamber in a red glow. Under the red light, a black mist sizzled and quickly dissipated. The screams of the Bone Master's remaining soul emanated from the mist before gradually fading away.
The red light gradually faded, and the stone chamber returned to calm. Su Xiao walked to the altar and picked up the secret key to suppress the evil spirits and the Red Sun Gu box. The Red Sun Gu had returned to the box, emitting a faint red glow, as if celebrating its victory. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Meng Meng looked at the wound on Su Xiao's arm and hurriedly took out the herbs she had brought with her and applied them to the wound. They were Master Azhu's special healing medicine that could alleviate the damage caused by the evil spirits.
Xiaowan walked to the altar, looked at the empty stone chamber, and said softly, "Sister Meng Yao's voice... has disappeared." Her face was not sad, but instead showed a hint of relief. "She is finally free."
Su Xiao patted Xiao Wan's shoulder and whispered, "Not only Sister Meng Yao, but all the tribesmen trapped by the Black Evil have been freed." She looked at everyone, her eyes full of determination, "But this is not the end. Although the Secret Key to Suppress the Evil has temporarily eliminated the remaining soul of the Bone Master, it has not completely unlocked the secret of the source of Guixu. We need to continue searching to completely rid Qingwu Town of the threat of the Black Evil."
Chen Mo nodded and picked up the bronze compass. Although the compass's power had been exhausted, he could still sense a faint guidance—the direction it pointed to was the depths of the Guixu Source. "Next stop, the Guixu Source," Chen Mo said. "Master Ah Zhu said that deep within the Guixu Source lies the root of the Black Evil. Only by finding the source can we completely eliminate the evil."
Everyone gathered their belongings and walked down the stairs from the underground altar. By this time, daybreak had already begun, and the morning light shone through the cracks in the ruins, illuminating the ground covered in broken wood and charred stones. Su Xiao looked at the Secret Key to Suppress the Evil and the Red Sun Gu Box in his hands, his heart filled with confidence. Although the road ahead was still fraught with danger, as long as the seven of them worked together, they would surely complete the mission that Senior Lin Shen and his team had left unfinished, restoring peace to Qingwu Town.
Xiaowan stood at the highest point of the ruins, gazing at Qingwu Town in the distance. Her small figure seemed particularly frail in the morning light. She whispered, "I'll wait here for you to return. When you've completely exorcised the evil spirit, I want to go with you and see what the real Qingwu Town looks like."
Lidya Su waved towards Xiaowan and said loudly: "We will definitely come back! When the time comes, we will take you to every place in Qingwu Town and take you to eat the sweetest glutinous rice cakes!"
They walked towards the source of Guixu. The morning light stretched their figures, as if guiding them in their direction. They knew that this expedition would be the most difficult, but also the most crucial. If successful, Qingwu Town would be completely free of the shadow of the Black Evil, and those who sacrificed that year would finally rest in peace.
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