A Second Cage Within the Circle

The man was all skin and bones, with unusually long limbs. As he straightened up, he turned toward them.

The instant he turned, he appeared right in front of the four of them. His pale face, wearing an eerie smile, seemed almost to press against theirs.

Bang! The man vanished—Yuan Qiuyuan had sent him flying with a swing of his staff.

Yuan Qiuyuan pointed the staff ahead. "You two, there's something strange about this guy. We'll keep him occupied. You do what you need to do."

Qin Qingque quickly lit several flares and threw them in different directions. One landed exactly where the man had fallen, illuminating his twisted figure on the ground.

That blow had carried tremendous force. It had shattered the man's ribs and spine, folding his body in on itself. His organs should have been crushed too. Yet, with a grotesque series of cracks and creaks, the broken parts twisted back into place. His re-formed bones even propped him upright again.

At last, he raised his head and smiled. "That hurt a little."

In the flarelight, Qin Qingque noticed that the shadow at his feet did not look human. It was a swollen, twisted mass that writhed without cease.

She did not know what he was, but she knew she could no longer think of him as human. He was likely something from the other side.

Standing behind them, Lan Shengu saw patterns emerge and flicker across the man's face and body. For an instant, they seemed to connect with the Esoteric Ritual pattern on the ground. Realizing what that meant, he shouted, "You two, his body is just a vessel! It's being filled with the power of some unclean entity. You can't kill him, and he'll only grow stronger. Find a way to restrain him while