The Soul Erosion Formation was broken and allies were killed
Less than a hundred meters toward the town center, the insect buzzing in the fog suddenly grew shrill, as if countless insects were crawling around her ears. The copper box at Su Nian's waist vibrated more violently, the crimson flames within flickering, even the glow from the mahogany dagger dimming slightly. She turned to look at the six people behind her, her heart suddenly tightening—the two clan brothers who were walking at the end had vanished without a trace, leaving only two pairs of shoes, stained with black mud, lying alone on the ground.
"Alin! Ajie!" the young man holding the compass (named Chen Yan) shouted hoarsely, his voice dissipating in the fog, only to be echoed eerily. He squatted down and touched his shoes on the ground, and a piercing chill instantly spread through his fingertips. "The shoes are cold, but the person... I'm afraid he's gone."
"How could it happen so quickly?" The tribe's old Gu Master (surname Chen) looked grave. He pulled a handful of sticky rice from his backpack and scattered it around his shoes. As soon as the rice hit the ground, it turned black and rotted at a visible speed, emitting a foul odor. "It's the 'Earth Devouring Ghost'! The black-robed man buried the corpse of a century-old Gu mother in the earth. The insect and corpse merged, transforming into a human-devouring Earth Devouring Ghost!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the sister walking on the far left suddenly let out a short scream and was instantly sucked into the ground, leaving only a hand sticking out of the mud, with a strand of white insect silk caught between her fingernails. Su Nian reacted the fastest, rushing forward to grab the hand, but she only felt cold skin. A violent tug beneath the soil and a sudden stinging pain in her palm was caused by several hair-thin insect silk threads emerging from the sister's fingertips and crawling up her wrist.
"Let go!" Old Gu Master Chen hurriedly pulled out a handful of realgar powder and sprinkled it on Su Nian's wrist. The silkworm silk ignited with a sizzling sound as it turned into black ash. Su Nian watched the hand slowly sink into the mud, eventually being completely covered by it. His eyes instantly turned red. "What the hell is this thing? It doesn't even give me a chance to struggle!"
"They're new ghosts bred by the resentment of the Corpse Gu mother insect." Chen Yan's compass needle spun frantically, pointing in all directions. "They hide in the soil, sensing the breath of living people with their silk threads. Once they entangle themselves, they drag them back into the soil and use their Corpse Gu to devour the soul... We're walking on their 'plate' now!"
The remaining four didn't dare to stop and quickened their pace, running towards the town center. But after a few steps, a sudden "creaking" sound, like the rubbing of wood, emanated from the fog ahead. Su Nian raised her mahogany dagger. In the firelight, she saw a dozen or so "wooden corpses" dressed in traditional Meixi Town clothing approaching them. Their limbs were entangled in black vines, which burrowed into their bones, controlling their movements. With every step, a "creaking" sound echoed from their joints, and their eye sockets were crawling with white corpse parasites.
"It's a 'Vine Corpse Ghost'!" Old Gu Master Chen exclaimed in surprise. He pulled out several specially made Gu needles from his backpack and threw them at the Vine Corpse Ghost. "The Gu needles can temporarily immobilize them. Hurry and charge!"
The Gu needle landed on the vine corpse ghost, and the vines froze instantly, and the corpse also stopped in place. The four took the opportunity to rush through the encirclement of the vine corpse ghosts, but just after running a few steps, the screams of Chen Lao Gu Master came from behind. Su Nian looked back and saw that a vine corpse ghost broke free from the Gu needle. The vines wrapped around Chen Lao Gu Master's ankles and dragged him back. Chen Lao Gu Master's hands scratched in the air, trying to grab something, but he only touched a handful of black mud: "Su Nian! Don't look back! Go to the locust wood stake! Find the evil core fragment!"
As soon as he finished speaking, more vine corpse ghosts gathered around him, entwining their vines around Old Gu Master Chen's body and lifting him into the air. Corpse Gu emerged from the vine corpse ghosts' eye sockets and landed on Old Gu Master Chen's face. His screams gradually faded, eventually fading. Su Nian watched as Old Gu Master Chen's body was dragged into the fog by the vines. Tears finally fell, but she could only grit her teeth and continue running after Chen Yan.
At this moment, the remaining three were already at the end of their strength. The flame of Su Nian's mahogany dagger was fading, and Chen Yan's compass needle had almost stopped turning. The brother walking in the middle (named Su Mo) was pale and his lips were blue, obviously having inhaled too much of the evil energy in the fog.
"The town center is just ahead!" Chen Yan suddenly shouted, pointing to a dark figure in the fog. Su Nian looked up and saw the old locust tree stump not far away. The blood-red incantation on the stump glowed red, and black liquid seeping from the soil was converging in one direction—there, a blurry figure slowly coalesced, the scar under its left eye particularly clear in the red light.
The man in black robe is finally going to be completely reborn.
But at that moment, Su Mo suddenly stumbled to a stop, clutching his chest with both hands. His face instantly turned pale. He stared at his palms, which were oozing black liquid. Inside the liquid, a tiny corpse insect crawled. "I... I was just scratched by the vine corpse ghost's silk... The corpse insect burrowed into me..."
Su Nian and Shen Yan stopped and watched the corpse insect wriggling inside Su Mo's body, their hearts filled with despair. They knew that once a corpse insect entered their body, there was only one way out: either the corpse insect would devour their soul and kill them, or they would turn into a monster like the vine corpse ghost.
"You guys... leave me alone." Su Mo's voice trembled, but his eyes were firm. He pulled out a short knife from his waist, "I'll go and entangle the black-robed man. You guys take this opportunity to find the evil core fragments and break the spell... We can't let this debt of our ancestors be passed down any further."
Without waiting for Su Nian and Shen Yan to stop him, Su Mo rushed towards the locust wood stake. His body began to change as he ran, his skin cracking, revealing the corpse Gu inside, but he seemed to feel no pain and roared as he pounced towards the black-robed figure.
The black-robed figure, clearly unprepared for the onslaught, paused briefly. Su Mo seized the opportunity to leap over to him, stabbing the figure with his dagger, only to be pierced by a stream of black energy. The black-robed figure spun around, the black energy transforming into a hand that grabbed Su Mo's neck and lifted him into the air. "You're so insolent! Perfect! I'll use your soul to replenish the last of my Soul Curse!"
Black energy penetrated Su Mo's seven orifices, and his body instantly shrivelled, as if all the moisture had been drained away. Su Nian watched as Su Mo's body fell to the ground. The corpse parasites in his body crawled out, burrowed into the soil, and gathered towards the locust tree stake. The despair in her heart almost overwhelmed her.
Chen Yan supported Su Nian and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm still here. We still have a chance... Under the locust wood stake, there must be a fragment of the evil core left by Zhao Yu a hundred years ago. If we find it, we can use the Red Sun Fire to completely burn the black robe man's soul curse!"
Su Nian took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and clutched the copper box at her waist. The crimson flame within suddenly lit up, as if echoing her resolve. She and Shen Yan exchanged a glance, then walked toward the locust tree stake. Ahead, the figure of the black-robed figure grew increasingly clear, the scar beneath his left eye glowing an eerie red.
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