The End of the Altar and the Silence of the Night Soul
The morning mist in Qingwu Town had not yet completely dissipated. A pale blue fog lingered on the stone pavement, smearing the path to the altar like a dreamscape. Lin Shen walked in front, his boots treading over the dew-soaked weeds, each step extraordinarily firm. After emerging from the underground stone chamber, the group had not paused, following the compass's lead as they hurried towards the altar. Now, they could finally see the outline of the altar's dilapidated stone tower, looming in the morning mist like a giant beast dormant for a century.
Chen Ba tightly grasped the intact bronze compass. The needle at its center was spinning violently, a thin streak of blue light extending from the needle, pointing directly to the top of the stone tower. She paused and pulled out several pre-prepared "evil-breaking talismans" from her backpack, distributing them to the group. "Under the altar lies the core of the blood formation. Centuries of accumulated resentment are gathered there. When the core is opened, the resentment will erupt instantly. These talismans will help you resist for a while. Lin Shen, your dagger, having been stained by the ashes of the Xiuxiu peach wood sword, is full of yang energy. We'll have to rely on you to destroy the core later."
Lin Shen took the talisman and placed it against the inside of his lapel. His fingertips touched the cinnabar on the edge of the talisman, and he recalled Xiuxiu's last smile in the dilapidated temple. He gripped the dagger at his waist tightly. The blade gleamed coldly in the morning mist, and the scabbard was still stained with a little underground mud—from the previous battle with the resentful shadow in the stone chamber. It seemed to remind him that this battle could not be lost.
Li Ye, carrying a fire axe, walked to the entrance of the stone tower and kicked the rotten wooden door hard. The wooden door collapsed with a creaking sound, and the dust raised was mixed with a faint smell of blood. Before anyone could react, several black resentful spirits suddenly rushed out of the stone tower and pounced on Meng Yao. Meng Yao screamed in fear, and Lin Munan immediately protected her behind him, took out a peach wood nail and threw it at the resentful spirits. The peach wood nail, carrying the yang energy, pierced through the resentful spirits, but only caused the resentment to stagnate for a moment, and soon re-condensed and pounced on the two.
"Be careful!" Lin Shen leaped up, his dagger slicing through the air, a faint golden light emanating as he fiercely struck the resentment. With a sizzling sound, the resentment, as if consumed by a raging fire, instantly dissipated in a wisp of black smoke. He landed on the ground and turned back to look at everyone: "The resentment in the stone tower is thicker than we imagined. Everyone, follow me closely and don't fall behind."
Everyone nodded and followed Lin Shen into the stone tower. The interior of the stone tower was pitch black, with only a little morning light coming through the hole on the top floor, illuminating the spiral stone steps. The stone steps were covered with moss, making them slippery and difficult to walk on. With every step, a "hollow" sound could be heard from below the stone steps, as if they would collapse at any time. Meng Yao tightly grasped the corner of Lin Munan's clothes, staring at Lin Shen's back in front of her, not daring to look to the sides - the walls on both sides of the stone steps were covered with scratches of varying depths, some of which still had dark red marks, as if someone had struggled desperately here.
As I reached the top of the stone tower, morning mist poured in through the cracks, enveloping the blood-red stone platform in the center. Larger than the one below, its surface was covered in intricate runes. A dark red liquid slowly seeped from the cracks in the runes, dripping down the edge and forming a small pool of blood on the ground, emitting a pungent, fishy odor. In the center of the platform, a black stone pillar stood, its top entwined with a thick, wriggling aura of resentment, like a ball of black cotton.
"That's the core pillar of the blood formation!" Chen Ba pointed at the black stone pillar, his voice tinged with excitement. "As long as this stone pillar is destroyed, the blood formation will be completely ineffective, and the resentment in Qingwu Town will slowly dissipate!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the resentful energy at the top of the stone pillar suddenly began to writhe violently, transforming into a gigantic ghostly face that roared at the crowd. From its mouth, a black wave of air, mingled with countless tiny fragments of resentful spirits, hurled itself towards the group. Chen Ba immediately raised the bronze compass above his head. The compass's blue light instantly surged, forming a blue shield in front of the crowd. The resentful spirit fragments collided with the shield, making a sizzling sound before quickly dissipating into the air.
"Lin Shen, hurry! I can't hold on for much longer!" Cold sweat broke out on Chen Ba's forehead, and the blue light of the compass began to flicker slightly. It was obvious that maintaining the light shield consumed a lot of her yang energy.
Lin Shen immediately rushed toward the stone platform. As soon as he stepped onto it, he felt a powerful suction coming from within, as if it was sucking away his yang energy. He gritted his teeth, gripped his dagger, and stabbed at the black stone pillar. As the dagger touched the pillar, it was deflected by an invisible force. He stumbled back a few steps, his knuckles numb from the shock—the surface of the stone pillar was coated in a thick layer of resentment, like a solid armor, impenetrable.
"Use peach wood nails!" Lin Munan suddenly shouted, throwing the few remaining peach wood nails he had to Lin Shen. "The runes on the underground stone platform can be suppressed by peach wood nails, maybe this stone pillar can also!"
Lin Shen caught the peach wood nail and immediately understood. He circled to the side of the stone pillar, avoiding the blast of air from the ghost face, and hammered the nail into the gap between the runes on the stone pillar. As soon as the nail penetrated the stone pillar, it made a crackling sound, and the resentment on the stone pillar's surface began to fluctuate violently, retreating as if burned. He took the opportunity to pull out more peach wood nails and hammered them in one by one along the path of the runes. Soon, the resentment on the stone pillar's surface was suppressed by the peach wood nails, revealing the gray stone underneath.
"Now!" Li Ye roared, raising his fire axe and slashing at the stone pillar. The axe blade fell with a whistling sound, slamming into the stone pillar with a resounding "bang." The stone pillar shook violently, a tiny crack appearing on its surface, and the resentment bubbling from the crack instantly diminished.
Meng Yao gazed at the cracks in the stone pillar and suddenly remembered the "Yang-Inducing Technique" Xiuxiu had taught her—a small spell she often used with her peach wood sword. Though not powerful, it could temporarily concentrate the surrounding yang energy. She immediately closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and, following Xiuxiu's instructions, softly chanted the incantation. Soon, the surrounding morning light began to converge on her palm, forming a small golden ball of light. She threw the ball toward the stone pillar, and it landed on the crack and instantly merged into the stone.
The cracks in the stone pillar suddenly widened, the resentment within unable to be contained any longer, spreading outward. Chen Ba seized this opportunity, placing the bronze compass against the stone pillar and chanting, "The heavens and the earth are boundless; the universe borrows its magic. Using the compass as a guide, I will break the root of the blood formation!" The compass's blue light streamed through the cracks into the stone pillar, causing it to vibrate violently. The runes on its surface lit up red, colliding with the blue light.
"Everyone, retreat!" Lin Shen shouted, pulling everyone back to the edge of the stone tower. The moment they retreated, the stone pillar gave a loud bang and collapsed completely. A large amount of resentment surged from the collapsed stone pillar, condensing into countless tiny resentful spirits in the air. These spirits did not attack the crowd anymore, but instead flew towards the hole in the stone tower, as if searching for something.
Chen Ba looked at the resentful souls and sighed softly: "These are the souls of the townspeople who were trapped by resentment a hundred years ago. Once the blood formation is broken, they can finally be freed."
Everyone stood at the edge of the stone tower, watching the vengeful spirits fly away in the morning mist, gradually dissipating into the sky. A rumbling sound came from the bottom of the stone tower. Apparently, the blood formation had failed, and the stone tower began to collapse. Lin Shen glanced back at the stone platform and found a small piece of peach wood fragment still remaining on it—a fragment of the Xiuxiu peach wood sword, previously nailed to the stone pillar, which now fell onto the stone platform as the stone pillar collapsed.
He walked forward, carefully picking up the shard of peach wood and placing it in his palm. The shard had turned cold, yet it seemed to still retain the warmth of his sleeve. He looked up at the sky. The morning mist had dissipated, revealing a few white clouds floating in the azure sky. Sunlight shone on the rooftops of Qingwu Town, bathing the entire town in warm morning light.
"We won." Meng Yao said softly, tears rolling down her cheeks, but with a smile, "Sister Xiuxiu, we finally won."
Lin Munan patted Meng Yao's shoulder, tears welling in his eyes. Li Ye leaned against the broken wall of the stone tower, gazing at the distant sky, a long-lost smile on his lips. Chen Ba put away the bronze compass, looked at the crowd, and said in a gentle voice, "The blood formation has been completely destroyed. The resentment in Qingwu Town will gradually dissipate, and no more evil spirits will appear in the future."
Lin Shen clenched the peach wood fragments in his palm and turned to walk out of the stone tower: "We should go pick up Xiu Xiu."
Everyone followed Lin Shen, slowly descending the stone tower along the stone steps. The tower continued to collapse, rubble falling behind them, but no one looked back - they knew that the suffering of the past was over, and the road ahead was still long, but they would continue to walk forward with the faith of Xiuxiu.
As they reached the stone pagoda, the sun shone down upon them, warm and bright. The streets of Qingwu Town were no longer gloomy, now filled with the occasional chirping of birds in the distance, a vibrant scene. Lin Shen walked toward the dry well, his steps firm but gentle—he was going to pick up the girl who always smiled and take her home.
On the mound beside the dry well, the branch tied with a red cloth still swayed gently in the wind, as if awaiting their arrival. Lin Shen squatted before the mound, gently placed the peach wood fragments on it, and whispered, "Xiu Xiu, we won. The blood formation is destroyed, and Qingwu Town is safe. Now, I will take you home."
With that, he carefully began to dig at the mound. Li Ye, Lin Munan, and Meng Yao also squatted down to help clear the dirt. The sunlight fell on them, stretching their shadows long, casting them on the grass beside the dry well, like a warm and solemn painting.
In the distance, Qingwu Town gradually awakens in the morning light, like a giant that has finally opened its eyes after a century of slumber. This century-long feud, this seven-person nighttime adventure into a ghost town, finally comes to a successful conclusion. Lin Shen and his companions, carrying this memory with them, will continue their journey into the future, facing new challenges.
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