The instant the bamboo slip split open, a chill wind swept in from the sea, numbing Chen Wuya's arm. He did not let go. His knuckles turned white with strain, while the red mark in his palm heated up again, as though something were tugging it inward.
Bai Zhi stood beside him, her breathing shallow and rapid. Her hand still rested on the bamboo slip, her fingertips trembling faintly. The scene from before continued to echo in her mind—blood roiling in a pool, black mist blotting out the sky, countless people kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed.
"We can keep going," she said in a low voice. "The Twinborn Curse is still connected."
Chen Wuya glanced at her. Her face had gone slightly green, but her gaze did not waver. He knew she was forcing herself to hold on, but no one else could do this in their place.
He closed his eyes and stirred the Misaligned Force within him. This true qi had never followed the usual paths; it wound crookedly through his meridians like a snake crawling without direction. The system sounded in his mind:
[Encrypted rune residue detected. Recommendation: use Misaligned Force for reverse cleansing.]
He did not hesitate and did as instructed.
The Misaligned Force seeped through his palm and into the crack in the bamboo slip. The fissure suddenly glimmered with a faint blue light. Several lines of warped writing rose from the break and hovered in midair, rippling like water.
"This is... a foreign race's sacrificial script." Bai Zhi stared at the symbols, her brows knitting tight. "I've seen similar markings on stone pillars at the Demonic Cult's old site."
She reached out to touch one of the characters. The instant her fingertip grazed its edge, the symbol shuddered violently