Undercurrents beneath the smoke
The wooden door of Qingwu Town creaked in the morning light. As the old patriarch, guarding the village entrance, approached, leaning on a peachwood cane, his cloudy eyes glistening. He reached out and stroked Zhao Yu's bloodstained sleeve, then touched Meng Meng's torn Gu-repelling fabric. His lips moved, but ultimately, they uttered, "I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back."
The villagers had already set out rice porridge on the threshing ground. The aroma of wild wheat wafted from the coarse porcelain bowl, but Su Xiao's fingers, gripping the bowl's rim, remained tense. The Chiyang Gu box rested against her waist, and the unusual chill seeped through the fabric into her skin. She looked up at the old locust tree at the west end of the village. When they'd set out last night, the tree had been draped with red silk, used by the villagers for prayers. Now, the silk had broken into several pieces, fluttering strangely in the wind.
"Miss Su, why aren't you eating?" Lin Xi handed over a piece of roasted potato. Seeing Su Xiao staring at the locust tree in a daze, he followed her gaze and said, "Are you worried about the remnants of the evil witch god? The old patriarch said that after the evil suppression formation was activated, all the evil spirits in the town dissipated."
Su Xiao shook her head and quietly opened the Gu box a crack. The Chiyang Gu inside should have been crimson, but now, a faint gray mist shone from its tail, as if its spiritual power was being shrouded by something. She quickly closed the box and was about to speak when a commotion erupted from the east side of the threshing ground. A young man in a coarse shirt stumbled over, clutching half a bloodstained jade pendant. "Chief! The people in the stone house in the back mountain... are gone!"
The old patriarch slammed the peach wood staff in his hand to the ground with a "bang", and his face suddenly changed: "It's the person guarding the evil core fragments!"
Su Xiao stood up abruptly, the Red Sun Gu box burning in his palm. The three of them exchanged glances, grabbed their weapons, and fled back to the mountain. The stone huts perched halfway up the mountain were where the villagers stored sacrificial objects. Before setting off last night, they had left two people behind to guard the fragments of the evil core they had taken from the altar of the evil witch god. Though the fragments were only the size of a fingernail, they still carried a lingering evil aura. If they fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be disastrous.
The wooden door of the stone house was split in two and scattered on the ground. A thin layer of dust accumulated on the stone table inside. The fragments of the evil core that should have been placed on the table had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a black scratch, as if made by the claws of some beast. Zhao Yu squatted down and rubbed the scratch with his finger. An immediate stinging pain came from his fingertips. "It's evil power, different from the molten spiritual power of the Fire Leech King. It's even colder."
Meng Meng unfolded the Gu-repelling fabric. The damaged silver thread suddenly trembled slightly, and the fabric drifted toward the secret passage behind the stone house. "There's a secret passage here." She reached out and parted the vines in the corner, revealing a hidden doorway barely wide enough for one person. Carved into the door was a strange pattern—a twisting, snake-like pattern that bore a striking resemblance to the totem on the evil witch god's altar, yet with a strange, hostile aura.
Su Xiao held the Red Sun Gu box in her palm. The chill of the box grew stronger, and the Red Sun Gu inside emitted a subtle hissing sound, as if giving a warning. She was the first to enter the secret passage. The passage was filled with the smell of rotting earth. Droplets of water occasionally dripped from the walls, making a pattering sound as they landed on the ground, a particularly harsh sound in the silent passage.
After walking for about half an incense stick of time, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead. Su Xiao signaled everyone to stop and peered out along the rock wall. At the end of the secret passage was a cave. On the stone platform in the center of the cave, a figure in a black robe was holding a fragment of the evil core. The fragment glowed gray in his hand, entwining with the black energy seeping from his fingertips, and transformed into a gray-black mist that surged towards the mural on the cave wall.
The mural depicted seven masked figures. Six of the masks had glowing red eyes, while the one on the far right remained dark gray. As the gray-black mist surged toward the mural, the dark gray mask suddenly lit up, facing the distant figure on the stone platform. Rocks from the cave ceiling began to fall, and an evil aura, even more intense than that of the evil sorcerer god, seeped from the mural, suffocating the viewer.
"It's the Seven Evils Formation!" Lin Xi's copper bell suddenly vibrated violently, and she hurriedly covered her mouth with her hands. "This mural is the formation diagram of the Seven Evils Formation! He is using the evil core fragments to awaken the formation's core!"
The Red Sun Gu in Su Xiao's palm suddenly burst into red light. She no longer hid and rushed out of the secret passage holding the Gu box: "Stop!"
The black-robed man turned, revealing a pale face beneath his hood. A scar ran under his left eye, extending from his cheekbone to his jaw. He spotted the Red Sun Gu in Su Xiao's hand and a sneer played across his lips. "The descendant of the Red Sun Gu? Perfect! Without your 'heart,' the Seven Evils Formation can't be fully activated."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black energy at his fingertips suddenly surged, transforming into several black snakes that pounced towards Su Xiao. Zhao Yu swung his sword forward, aiming for the snakes, but the blade was entangled by the black energy, instantly coating the blade with a layer of gray frost that numb his knuckles. Meng Meng unfolded the Gu-repelling fabric, and the blue light blocked another black snake, but the silver threads on the fabric darkened at a visible speed, as if corroded by evil energy.
Lin Xi seized the opportunity to shake the copper bell, sending a rapid, humming sound wave towards the black-robed figure. The black-robed figure didn't dodge, letting the sound wave fall on him. The fragment of the evil core in his hand suddenly exploded, and a gray-black mist instantly filled the cave. The seven masks on the murals lit up simultaneously, and cracks appeared in the cave floor. Countless black vines emerged from the cracks and entangled the four people.
Su Xiao fully opened the Red Sun Gu box, and the Red Sun Gu transformed into a crimson flame, flying towards the black-robed figure. But as the flame neared the gray fog, it was blocked by an invisible force. The edges of the flame gradually turned gray, as if it was about to be swallowed. Her heart sank—this black-robed figure was more powerful than the Evil Witch God and the Fire Leech King combined.
"Don't waste your energy." The black-robed man raised his hand and pressed down on the mural. The seven masks shone even brighter. "Once the Seven Evil Formation is activated, the entire Qingwu Town will become a vessel for the formation. You...are all sacrifices."
The vines on the ground suddenly accelerated, wrapping around Zhao Yu's ankles. He swung his sword to cut, but the vines only tightened. Black energy crawled up his calves along the vines, and his skin instantly turned cold. Meng Meng's Gu-repelling fabric had turned completely black, and the sound of silver threads snapping echoed. She stumbled back, but the vines entangled her wrists and pulled her towards the crack.
Lin Xi's copper bell suddenly made a crisp sound, and a crack appeared on the bell body. She spat out a mouthful of blood, but still held the bell rope tightly: "Su Xiao! Find the core of the formation! The core of the Seven Evils Formation is in the mask on the mural!"
Su Xiao looked up at the mural. Of the seven masks, the one on the far left shone the brightest, a dark aura emanating continuously from it. She gritted her teeth and channeled all of the Red Sun Gu's spiritual power. The crimson flames transformed into a flaming sword, slashing towards the leftmost mask. The moment the flaming sword pierced the gray mist, the black-robed figure suddenly turned, the dark aura at his fingertips transforming into sharp claws, clawing at Su Xiao's chest—where the Red Sun Gu box lay.
"Be careful!" Zhao Yu roared, breaking free from the vines and lunging at the black-robed man, slashing his shoulder with his machete. The black-robed man groaned, but his claws didn't stop. His fingertips brushed against Su Xiao's collar, leaving a crack in the Chiyang Gu box.
The moment the Gu box cracked, the Red Sun Gu's light dimmed, and the evil energy within the cave suddenly surged. The masks on the murals simultaneously shrieked, and the cracks in the ground widened. From the direction of Qingwu Town, villagers' screams could be heard, along with the faint sound of collapsing houses.
Su Xiao stared at the broken Gu box in her hand, her heart clenching. She suddenly remembered the dark shadow she had seen in the crater last night, and the gray mist at the tail of the Red Sun Gu. It turned out that the black-robed figure had been following them from the very beginning, waiting to snatch the Evil Core fragments and activate the Seven Evils Formation.
"It's too late to understand now." The black-robed man pushed Zhao Yu away and reached out to press the mask on the mural. "The Seven Evils Formation is complete. This land will soon become mine..."
He paused abruptly, a bloody hole appearing in his chest. Meng Meng stood behind him, clutching a half-broken silver thread. The torn Gu-repelling fabric fell to the ground, the end of the thread still stained with blood—she had used her final spiritual power to transform the silver thread into a sharp blade, piercing the black-robed man's heart.
The black-robed man looked down in disbelief at the bloody hole in his chest. Black energy poured out of the wound and gradually dissipated. He fell to the ground, his body turning into a pool of black ash. The wind blew it away, and it disappeared without a trace.
But the seven masks on the mural continued to glow, and the cracks in the ground continued to widen. Su Xiao hurried to the stone platform and pressed the Red Sun Gu box against the center of the mural. A red light shone through the cracks in the box, colliding with the light from the mural. The Red Sun Gu suddenly flew out of the box, transforming into a crimson flame that circled around the seven masks. Wherever the flame passed, the masks' glow gradually dimmed, and the cracks in the ground began to heal.
When the last mask's light faded, the evil aura within the cave finally dissipated. Su Xiao collapsed on the ground, the Red Sun Gu flying back into its box. The cracks in the box remained, but the chill no longer seeped out. Zhao Yu supported Lin Xi as they walked over. Meng Meng picked up the Gu-repelling fabric from the ground. Few silver threads remained, but it still shone with a faint blue light.
"Qingwu Town..." Lin Xi looked at the cave entrance with a hoarse voice.
The four of them rushed out of the cave and ran towards Qingwu Town. From a distance, they saw that most of the houses in the village had collapsed. The villagers were holding the injured and waiting anxiously in the threshing ground. The old patriarch saw them and hurried over to say, "The earthquake just now..."
"It's okay." Su Xiao shook her head, looking at the devastated village before her, but she felt no relief. She touched the Red Sun Gu box in her arms, and the red light in the cracks flickered, as if reminding her that although the black-robed man was dead, the activation of the Seven Evils Formation might only be the beginning of a larger conspiracy.
As the sun set, the villagers began rebuilding their houses. Smoke rose again, though less warm than in the early morning. Su Xiao sat beneath the old locust tree, looking at the fragment of the evil core in his hand—it was found where the black-robed man had disappeared. The evil aura on the fragment had dissipated, but it still carried a hint of unfamiliarity.
"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Yu handed her a bowl of hot porridge and sat next to her.
"The man in black robes said that without my 'heart', the Seven Evils Formation can't be fully activated." Su Xiao pinched the fragments, his fingertips feeling cold. "The 'heart' he was talking about should be the Red Sun Gu. But how did he know that the Red Sun Gu was in my body?"
Zhao Yu was silent for a moment, looking towards the volcano in the distance: "Perhaps, there are more than one following us."
Su Xiao looked up. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the crater. Although the black smoke had dissipated, a faint, sinister aura still lingered. She gripped the Chiyang Gu box tightly, her doubts growing stronger. This adventure might not be over.
As the night deepened, the lights of Qingwu Town gradually dimmed, leaving only the old locust tree at the village entrance swaying in the wind. Su Xiao lay in bed, the Chiyang Gu box beside her pillow. The Chiyang Gu inside emitted a subtle hissing sound, as if responding to something. She closed her eyes, but could not fall asleep. She felt as if a pair of eyes, staring at Qingwu Town in the darkness, at the Chiyang Gu box in her hands.
Suddenly, there was a soft noise outside the window. Su Xiao's eyes snapped open, she grabbed the dagger from the bedside, and silently walked to the window. She lifted a corner of the curtain and saw a dark figure flash past the west end of the village, running towards the back mountain. The figure moved extremely fast, and the corner of his clothes shone with a gray light in the moonlight, exactly the same dark aura as the black-robed man.
"Sure enough, there are still some remnants." Su Xiao gripped the dagger tightly and was about to chase after them when the Red Sun Gu box suddenly emitted a red light and the Red Sun Gu's rapid hissing could be heard from inside the box, as if trying to stop her.
She paused, looking at the Gu box in her hand, an answer gradually forming in her mind. This dark figure had deliberately led her to the back hills, perhaps setting an ambush. She turned back to the bed, placed the Chiyang Gu box close to her body, and placed the dagger under her pillow—tonight was destined to be restless.
The wind outside the window grew stronger, the branches of the old locust tree rustling against the window. Su Xiao leaned against the headboard, staring at the dark ceiling with open eyes, sweat forming on the dagger in her palm. She knew that no matter what lay ahead, she couldn't retreat—the peace of Qingwu Town, Chiyang Gu's mission, and those who had passed away all awaited her resolution.
As the sky began to turn pale, Su Xiao finally closed his eyes, only to be awakened a moment later by a rapid knock on the door. Lin Xi's voice came from outside, a hint of panic: "Su Xiao! This is bad! The old patriarch is missing!"
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