"break!"
I bit my index finger, and the blood drew the Big Dipper pattern on the sword.
The lightning sword suddenly burst forth with a blue light, and wherever the runes passed, the air crackled and popped.
A cub that lunged at my face was struck by the sword energy, letting out a scream like a baby crying, and its body turned into black water emitting black smoke.
It corroded blackened holes in the ground.
But the smell of blood acted as a signal, and more tufts of fur emerged from the cave ceiling and rock wall cracks, the dense scratching sounds of sharp claws sending chills down one's spine.
Xiaolian suddenly grabbed the back of my collar and dragged me toward the left fork in the road.
The rock wall collapsed behind us with a roar, and rubble fell like raindrops.
The fox-shaped birthmark on her wrist was strikingly bright, drawing eerie guiding light trails in the darkness.
"At the stroke of midnight, the soul-suppressing bell on the kiln roof will ring! All the trapped souls will be refined into blood!"
We stumbled and ran away, the inhuman laughter of the cubs echoing behind us.
My back suddenly slammed against the cold stone wall.
"This is……"
Before I could finish speaking, I was drowned out by the sudden sound of bells.
Nine bronze chains hang from the cave wall in the distance, with a huge soul-suppressing bell attached to the end.
The bell was covered with dark red rust, which upon closer inspection turned out to be congealed blood scabs.
Xiao Lian suddenly fell to the ground, dodging a sharp claw that slashed down from above her head.
This time, instead of cubs, three adult fox demons appeared, their bodies bound in iron chains.
Bells hung from their tails, and the ground trembled slightly with each step they took.
The fox demons opened their huge mouths covered with barbs and pounced, their foul-smelling saliva sizzling as it fell to the ground.
The lightning sword vibrated in my hand, but was entangled by chains the moment it touched the fox demon.
One of the fox demons swung its tail, and the sound of its bells made my eardrums ache.
Hallucinations began to appear before my eyes.
Xiao Lian's face transformed into a monstrous, blue-faced monster with fangs, and she was raising a silver hairpin to stab at my heart.
Don't believe their illusions!
Xiao Lian's voice came from the depths of the illusion.
I bit my tongue, and the sweet, metallic taste of blood brought me back to my senses.
Taking advantage of the moment when the fox demons were distracted, Xiaolian plunged the silver hairpin into her palm.
With a whoosh, a blinding blue light flashed by.
"Hurry! Head east!"
Xiaolian pushed me towards the crevice in the rock wall.
A fox demon's sharp claws grazed my back, instantly tearing my skin and flesh beneath my clothes.
I turned and swung my sword to sever its tail. The black blood that spurted from the cut splashed onto the Soul-Suppressing Bell, causing an even stronger resonance.
We ran wildly through the rubble and howling of ghosts, and Xiaolian's silver hairpin always emitted a faint light, illuminating our way.
As the last boulder fell behind us, we finally burst through a crack.
However, I was stunned as soon as I rushed out.
Thousands of blue and white porcelain vases are neatly arranged.
Instead of fragrance, wisps of translucent, human-shaped smoke wafted from the bottle.
Each "face" is screaming silently, and in the smoke, one can vaguely see mutilated limbs and twisted bones.
"These are..."
Xiao Lian knelt on the ground, trembling as she stroked a porcelain bottle: "Their spirits are trapped here, fed daily by the fox demon with the blood of living souls, until the night of the full moon..."
Her words were interrupted by the distant sound of bells, the third watchman's drum at midnight.
Suddenly, thousands of red rays of light descended from the top of the kiln, and countless bronze bells rang simultaneously.
The porcelain vases began to shake violently, and the smoke from their mouths transformed into grotesque human faces.
I saw Dazhu's face contorted and struggling inside a bottle.
His eyes were filled with black lines, and he was reaching out his hand to me with his last remaining consciousness.
I swung my sword at the nearest bell, but was repelled by an invisible barrier.
Xiao Lian stumbled and lunged forward, the blue light on the silver hairpin almost extinguished.
"It's no use! The Soul-Suppressing Bell is restrained by nine Soul-Locking Chains, unless you use the heart blood of a pure-blooded fox clan..."
Before she could finish speaking, the bronze chains on the kiln roof suddenly trembled violently, and rust rained down like blood.
"Follow me! To the dog hole in the southwest corner!"
Xiaolian dragged me toward a crack in the rock wall.
A hole, about half a person's height, was exposed beneath the decaying leaves, emitting a nauseating stench of corpses.
I grabbed her wrist with my hand behind my back: "What are you going to do?!"
A smile forced across her pale face, and the birthmark on her wrist suddenly bulged out strangely: "Don't worry about me! They want a living, breathing person... Besides, even though I'm a banished fox spirit, I'm still the clan leader's daughter. They won't do anything to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a muffled rumble came from underground, as if thousands of wronged souls were wailing.
Xiaolian suddenly shoved me through the dog hole, then backed away, disappearing into the shadows.
As soon as I crouched down into the cave entrance, I saw countless foxfires drifting from the depths of the tunnel, illuminating the altar in the center of the Thousand Soul Cave.
There stood three rows of figures, dancing slowly to the sound of bells.
At the very front row stood a beautiful young woman dressed in a light blue gauze dress, her hair swirling with a faint golden fragrance, and with each step she took, tiny sparks of phosphorescence emanated from her sleeves.
It was exactly the "transformed fox" that Xiaolian had mentioned.
They are skilled at using illusory fragrances to lure people into dreams, and then steal their bones and organs while the host is asleep.
They had bronze medicine bottles hanging from their waists, and the white smoke emanating from the bottle mouths condensed in mid-air to form the faces of beautiful women. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be fragrant powder made from the brow bones of living people.
The second group consisted of monsters draped in scarlet cloaks.
It was less a human form and more a walking skeleton wearing human skin.
Their fingernails were as black as poisoned hooks, and they wore hairpins made of complete human humerus bones.
With each step he took, several drops of black blood dripped from under his cloak.
This is the "Soul-Stealing Fox," which feeds exclusively on the souls and spirits of living beings. The bloody gash on its chest can directly devour a person's three souls and seven spirits.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
