nashuaworldcup Chapter 525
Chapter 525
Suddenly, the candlelight around the coffin burst into eerie green flames. As Dongfang Wan'er gripped the Regent's sleeve and retreated hastily, her lower back pressed against the stone wall engraved with taotie patterns. Three green-faced, fanged zombies slowly crawled out from behind a stone pillar in the southeast corner, their knuckles scraping against the stone bricks with a sharp sound like fingernails scratching glass. Even more chilling was the sound of churning water coming from the underground river to the west—the scaly monster was flicking its tail fin, leaving a crescent-shaped shadow in the murky water.
"Watch out!" The Regent's iron sword cleaved through the shoulder blade of a living corpse, splattering bits of rotting flesh onto the hem of Dongfang Wan'er's skirt. She suddenly caught a glimpse of the bony ridge protruding from the monster's forehead—its shape was exactly the same as the wolf-head totem recorded in ancient books! Her fingertips instantly tightened around the jade bottle in her bosom. The pill inside was a Pure Yang Pill, which she had spent forty-nine days refining with twenty-seven pure Yang herbs, including Tian Shan Snow Ginseng and Kunlun Fire Fungus. At this moment, the bottle was slightly warm as the monster approached.
"Young master, protect your acupoints!" She tore off the sash from her waist and threw it into the air, taking advantage of the moment the zombie was attracted by the cloth to leap to the stone table. The instant the jade bottle was opened, the crimson-gold patterns flowing on the surface of the pill illuminated her bluish-green eyes—the ancient text's record that "extremely yang substances can dispel evil spirits" resounded in her mind. As the monster opened its massive, barbed mouth to pounce, she flicked the pill towards its brow with her finger, simultaneously sealing the mute acupoint of the nearest zombie with a golden needle from her sleeve.
The Pure Yang Pill exploded into golden-red flames on the monster's forehead, like the first rays of the rising sun at the beginning of creation. The monster let out a mournful cry like a whale falling into the deep sea, its entire body covered in green scales peeling off in patches. Each scale that fell to the ground emitted a hissing green smoke, and the green venom turned into purple mist under the high temperature, instantly filling the air with the smell of burnt animal hide. The staggering undead that were approaching were thrown to the ground by the shockwave, their previously stiff limbs began to twitch, and the ghostly flames flickering in their eye sockets gradually weakened.
"The seventh star of the Big Dipper!" The Regent kicked aside the rotting severed arm at his feet, and pointed his sword sheath at the star map relief on the east side of the coffin lid. Only then did Dongfang Wan'er notice the tiny slit in the pupil of the Xuanwu relief at the seventh star position. As the two rushed over, stepping on the peeling scales, she heard the roar of a monster coming from the bottom of the dark river. Clearly, the beast was gathering strength for its next attack.
The moment the mechanism activated, stone chips rained down on his shoulders. The instant the Regent's palm touched the Xuanwu Eye, the entire tomb chamber trembled like a dragon's roar. The Bagua diagram on the dome slowly rotated and cracked, and the midday sun pierced through the millennia-old shadows like a golden sword. The first to vanish were the living corpses, turning to dust in the beam of light, not even having time to groan. The scaled monsters, however, let out a piercing scream the instant the intense light touched the water's surface; the spray from their tail fins was tinged with blood, and in the blink of an eye, they sank into the depths of the underground river, leaving only a winding trail of blood.
When she crawled out of the ground, Dongfang Wan'er's fingertips were still covered in cinnabar powder. The Regent brushed the dust from her hair. The distant mountains and forests were tinged with new green in the spring sunshine, but as the two looked back at the dark entrance of the tomb, a deeper mystery welled up in their hearts—why was the wolf head totem on the monster's forehead? What kind of being slumbered in the coffin? And what unknown secrets did that secret passage, which only opened under certain celestial phenomena, hide?
Dongfang Wan'er touched the empty medicine bottle, suddenly remembering her master's dying words: "All evil spirits in the world have their nemesis, but the confusion of the human heart is beyond cure." Looking at the bronze compass swaying at the Regent's waist, she suddenly felt that this near-death experience was merely the lifting of a corner of the veil of mystery. As the mountain wind swept fallen petals past their shoulders, the distant evening drum sounded its deep melody, as if heralding a new adventure to unfold.
As the mountain breeze of late spring swept through the pine trees and brushed against the Regent's hair, Dongfang Wan'er was wiping the golden needles in her sleeve. Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound from the bamboo grove to her right, and looking up, she saw a snow-white shadow leap out like a firefly—it was a fox with not a single stray hair on its body, its bushy tail tip sweeping across the mossy stone path, creating tiny ripples. Its amber pupils, reflecting the setting sun, seemed to hold two flickering eerie flames.
"Look, young master!" Her fingertips gripped the Regent's sleeve tightly. The white fox squatted under the old plum tree about ten feet away, its neck fur moving without wind, and the jade pendant in its mouth gleamed with a warm blue light. The ancient carving revealed the two seal characters "longevity," but there was an irregular crack on the edge, as if it had been broken and pieced back together.
The Regent's iron sword was already three inches from its sheath: "Beware, it might be an evil spirit in disguise." Before he finished speaking, the white fox suddenly flicked its tail and turned towards the depths of the forest. Its jade-like eyes seemed to hold a mischievous smile. It leaped across the stream without touching the water, leaving only a fleeting trail of silver light on the surface. Dongfang Wan'er watched the direction it disappeared in, recalling the wolf-head totem in the ancient tomb. Her fingertips caressed the empty medicine bottle, and she suddenly made a decisive statement: "Chase it. If it truly is an evil spirit, we should ask it about the secrets of the tomb."
As the two pursued the fox into the mountains, dusk deepened. The white fox maintained a distance of five zhang (approximately 10 meters) at all times, leaping onto gnarled ancient pines and disappearing into ferns, its bushy tail sweeping across a path that seemed to glow faintly like phosphorescence. After circling several cliffs, as the Regent parted the vines blocking their path, the dilapidated plaque of "Qingxu Temple" suddenly appeared in the moonlight—where the vermilion lacquer had peeled away, the upper right corner of the character "Xu" was missing half a stroke, perfectly matching the shape of the broken jade pendant in the white fox's mouth.
The stone lions at the Taoist temple gate had bloodshot eyes, and the weeds in front of the steps were already waist-high. As the white fox leaped over the threshold, it suddenly turned its head, its pupils shrinking to vertical slits, and with a flick of its long tail, it disappeared behind the cobweb-covered porch. Dongfang Wan'er stepped over the broken brick carving of the character "Tao," and the silver needle in her sleeve silently slid into her palm—the hall was filled with the mingled scents of aged incense and decaying leaves. A faded Taoist banner covered half of the stone table in the center, and she immediately saw the jade pendant pressed against the tattered scroll of the *Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing*. A faint glow seeped from the broken edge, pulsating slightly as if it were alive.
"Beware of the traps." The Regent's sword sheath pointed to the Big Dipper constellation on the western mural. Dongfang Wan'er held her breath and picked up the jade pendant. The moment the cool jade touched her palm, the stone table suddenly emitted a rumbling sound as gears turned. The entire hall began to tilt, and thick black mist seeped from the seams of the walls. In the mist, a disheveled, barefoot figure vaguely appeared, and the sound of fingernails scratching the stone walls surged from all directions, as if countless wronged souls were struggling to break free from the depths of hell.
The Regent's sword cleaved through the initial onslaught of black mist, only to see the shadowy figures transform into countless insects that scattered in all directions. Dongfang Wan'er opened an ancient book, and suddenly, vermilion annotations seeped from the yellowed pages: "Wolves and foxes share a pact, yin and yang are divided..." Before she finished speaking, a blue light suddenly shot out from the broken jade pendant in her hand, echoing the fragmented patterns of the star map on the stone table. The entire floor tiles of the Taoist temple began to reveal a complete celestial constellation. The white fox reappeared on the beam, this time carrying half a bronze mirror in its mouth. However, the mirror did not reflect the two figures, but rather the coffin in the ancient tomb engraved with a wolf head totem.
The black mist had reached her knees when Dongfang Wan'er suddenly remembered her master's words: "The most yang dispels evil, the most yin communicates with the netherworld." She pressed the jade pendant to the "Greedy Wolf" position on the star chart, and the ancient book automatically turned to the last page. Suddenly, eight characters written in cinnabar appeared in the blank space: "Opening and closing have their times; only faith can lead to entry." When the Regent placed the bronze mirror in the "Literary Star" position, the entire Taoist temple trembled violently. The moonlight leaking from the roof gathered into a pillar of light in the center of the star chart, and the white fox seized the opportunity to leap into the pillar of light, transforming into a ball of silver light and disappearing into Dongfang Wan'er's arms.
"Hold me!" She tore off the Pure Yang Talisman from her waist and threw it into the black mist. The moment the talisman burned, a soft fox fur suddenly appeared in her arms—there was no white fox at all, but clearly a cloak sewn from the fur of a thousand-year-old black fox, with half a green jade clasp hanging from the collar that matched the pattern of the jade pendant in her hand. The ancient book had now turned to dust, with only the words "Master Qingxu's Notes" on the first page flickering in the firelight, and the eight characters "Wolf head as vessel, fox soul as guide" faintly visible.
As the first rays of dawn pierced through the mist, the two stood before the ruins of the Taoist temple. Dongfang Wan'er gazed at the fox fur coat in her arms, her fingertips tracing the broken edge of the jade pendant, when suddenly she heard a faint fox's cry carried on the mountain breeze. The Regent picked up half of a bronze mirror; its reflection showed distant, mist-shrouded mountain peaks, and in a recess of a cliff face, a wolf's head relief, identical to those in the ancient tomb, was faintly visible.
“It seems this is just the beginning.” Dongfang Wan’er fastened the fox fur cloak over her shoulders, the jade buckle and pendant fitting perfectly together. Instantly, a warm feeling spread from her heart to her limbs. She looked at the compass in the Regent’s hand; the pointer no longer pointed north, but stubbornly trembled, pointing to the highest peak in the dense forest where the white fox had disappeared.
As the mountain mist dissipated, the crimson eaves of the peak were faintly visible. Dongfang Wan'er stroked the soft fur of her fox fur coat, suddenly recalling the unfinished line from an ancient scroll—"When the nine stars align, the place where wolves and foxes dance together is..." Before she could finish speaking, the fox fur coat in her arms suddenly moved without wind, as if urging them to embark on a new journey. In the distance, the sound of a morning bell rang from an unknown temple, startling a flock of mountain birds that traced a mysterious arc in the rising sun.
The compass needle vibrated subtly in her palm, sending shivers down her spine. Dongfang Wan'er gazed at the ink-black forest before her, her fingertips unconsciously tightening around the edge of her fox fur coat. The Regent had just cleaved through the wild roses blocking his path with his sword; dark red sap flowed down the blade, leaving incantation-like marks on the moss-covered stone path. Suddenly, a beetle the size of a fingernail darted past beneath her feet; its carapace gleamed with a malachite-like blue luster, and wherever it crawled, the fern leaves instantly curled into a withered yellow.