The stone elevator descended with agonizing slowness. The rhythmic gnashing of iron chains and gears echoed through the vertical shaft, amplified a thousandfold.
Cang Yaochen held Jiang Li close, feeling her fingernails digging deep into his shoulder. Through their Pain-Sharing Link, that slight sting radiated through his nerves, yet it served only to sharpen his focus. He looked down at her; as they neared the primal demonic aura below, the Red Sand Imprint on her forehead was pulsing violently, like a second heart.
"Something... is down there," Jiang Li gasped, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
"It seems to be looking for its master," Cang Yaochen murmured, his hand grazing the back of her neck.
In the corner of the platform, A-Mu cringed, his mechanical left hand gripping the edge so hard the metal joints groaned. His remaining eye was fixed on the void below, and sweat dripped from his nose onto the stone floor.
"Listen to me, both of you," A-Mu whispered, his voice dry and raspy. "Nothing down there is truly 'alive.' For ten thousand years, the Holy Lands of the Central Plains have sent death row prisoners here to suppress the 'Demonic Root' below. They nail them to Ziwu Stakes and use charms to suspend their lives, forcing them to act as living filters for the rising Turbid Qi."
BOOM!
The platform slammed into the bottom of the shaft, the impact jolting all three of them.
The sight that greeted Cang Yaochen made his eyes twitch.
They stood in a massive hemispherical cavern spanning several miles. The ground was not earth, but a floor of translucent crystals. Across this crystalline expanse stood thousands of stone pillars in dense, suffocating rows.
Nailed to each pillar with bone-piercing spikes—each as thick as a man's arm—was a human being.
These captives were naked, their skin turned a translucent, bruised purple from centuries without sunlight. Their veins writhed like tiny black snakes beneath the surface. Most sickening of all, their eyes had been gouged out and replaced with glowing spirit stones.
"Those are Soul-Leaden Stones," A-Mu said numbly as he hopped off the platform, gesturing to the nearest pillar. "The stones' spiritual power bores into their brains, forcibly scavenging their souls to feed the formation's eye. Look at their mouths—their tongues were cut out so they couldn't utter a dying curse that might ruin the Holy Lands' fortune."
Cang Yaochen carried Jiang Li forward. As the "living dead" sensed the presence of the living, they began to convulse violently in unison. The clattering of chains against stone merged into a horrifying metallic roar.
"Stop... don't go any further..." Jiang Li covered her ears in agony, the imprint on her brow burning with white-hot intensity.
"It's alright. I'll go. Wait for me here."
Cang Yaochen quickened his pace. A violet light erupted from his pupils—the Soul-Cleansing Array of the "God of Love" persona. He saw countless invisible black threads snaking out of the captives' crowns, all converging toward the center of the cavern.
At the center stood a headless stone statue.
Though it lacked a head, it radiated a defiant arrogance that looked down upon all creation. Five pitch-black God-Sealing Spikes pierced its shoulders, feet, and heart.
[System Notification] Abyssal Mirror Fragment detected:"Core of Despair."
Location: Heart seal of the headless statue.
"Who... dares disturb the formation?"
An ancient voice creaked from behind the statue.
An old man, whose lower body had already petrified into rock, crawled out unsteadily. He wore tattered white robes—the uniform of the Yaoguang Holy Land from ten thousand years ago. In his hand, he gripped a long whip fashioned from dozens of human vertebrae. He glared at Cang Yaochen with predatory eyes.
"A gravekeeper of Yaoguang?" Cang Yaochen sneered.
"So, a bald brat practicing heretical arts." The old man stared at the divine sigils on Cang Yaochen's back, greed flickering in his clouded eyes. "That divinity in you... perfect. The blood-sacrifices in this array are nearly exhausted. Nailing you up there should keep it running for at least another five hundred years!"
Before his voice even faded, the old man lashed out with the bone whip. It lengthened instantly in mid-air, every segment of bone sprouting a miniature, grotesque mouth that emitted a piercing shriek.
Cang Yaochen pivoted slightly, casting a protective barrier around Jiang Li, and caught the jagged bone whip with his bare left hand.
Sizzle—
Corrosive fluid from the whip seared his palm, sending up wisps of white smoke. Through the pain-link, Jiang Li let out a muffled groan.
Cang Yaochen's expression shifted instantly.
If he had merely intended to retrieve an item before, he now harbored a cold intent to kill.
"Disgusting."
His voice was calm, but the air around him froze. With a violent jerk, he ripped the old man off the ground and slammed him into the floor.
THUD!
A deep crater shattered the dark red crystals.
Cang Yaochen stepped over the man, crushing his chest under his right boot. The sound of snapping ribs was unmistakable as the old man spat out black blood mixed with organ fragments.
"Shadow Spirits... come forth! Kill them all!" the old man shrieked. The bone whip in his hand shattered into countless splinters, burrowing into the bodies of the surrounding captives.
In an instant, thousands of "living dead" on the pillars snapped their eyes open—eyes filled with nothing but bloodshot hatred. Their souls were forcibly ripped out, merging in the air into a hundred-fathom-tall shadow monster with a thousand grasping hands, lunging down at Cang Yaochen.
"A-Mu, protect her!"
Cang Yaochen shoved A-Mu toward Jiang Li and leaped into the air, funneling his entire strength into his fist.
"I suppressed the Demon Seed ages ago; I can tear down this filthy hell today!"
Dark golden Buddha-light collided with the violet power of the Love God at his knuckles. Due to the repulsion between the two forces, blood began to seep from his entire right arm.
BOOM!
His punch buried into the chest of the shadow monster. The entity, capable of tearing a Return-to-Abyss Realm cultivator apart, began to disintegrate from the center out.
Cang Yaochen tore through the shadow horde like a madman. A chunk of flesh was ripped from his shoulder, and five deep gashes were carved into his chest, yet the grin on his face only grew wider.
"Kill! Faster!" he laughed maniacally, stomping the old man's head into the crystalline floor once more.
From a distance, Jiang Li watched his silhouette fighting in a sea of blood. The Red Sand Imprint on her forehead finally began to settle.
"Monk... catch it!" Jiang Li suddenly stood up, reaching out toward the headless statue. With a sharp crack, she telekinetically wrenched the God-Sealing Spike from its heart.
The pitch-black fragment turned into a streak of light, cutting through the darkness. Cang Yaochen vaulted into the air, catching the fragment in his palm.
At that moment, the first heavy toll of a bell echoed from deep underground.
It was the self-destruct sequence set by the Holy Lands—once the fragment was removed, the entire ancient town and its depths would be reduced to rubble.
"Move!" Cang Yaochen landed firmly, scooped up Jiang Li, grabbed A-Mu, and began racing upward against the tide of collapsing stone.