Wait

Shao Hongzhang's voice sounded as though it had been repeatedly scraped with coarse sandpaper, hoarse and trembling, steeped in shock and bone-deep chill. "I underestimated him!!" The words seemed squeezed through clenched teeth, laced with the searing pain of self-doubt.

Shao Hongzhang's eyes were bloodshot, stretched so wide the corners seemed about to tear, and fixed on the terrifying, pulsating mountain of flesh before him.

The thing looked like a rotten heart forcibly shoved deep into the earth. Each dull thump seemed to reverberate through one's very bones, while viscous, dark-red veins twisted across its swollen flesh, oozing filthy pus.

"That monster Huang Chao..."

After watching for a while, Shao Hongzhang had figured out where this thing came from. His body shook violently, and his left arm, covered in vicious Bone Spurs, spasmed uncontrollably. The tips quivered and hummed, making a faint scraping sound that set one's teeth on edge.

"He actually... actually managed to see through the Literary Vein Dragon Pillar lying dormant beneath the Imperial Examination Hall!" He sucked in a lungful of foul, bloody air, his voice tinged with despairing disbelief. "He used a blood sacrifice! He forged this filthy abomination with living people and suppressed the Civil Pillar with it! He means to destroy the very foundation of our Literary Vein!"

Staring at the horrifying scene, which was enough to corrupt the mind, Shao Hongzhang's thoughts reeled. He felt utterly helpless, as though the mountain of flesh's pulsing were dragging him down with it.

"Smack!"

Only when Xiao Ran's steady hand landed on his shoulder with an unquestionable firmness and gave it a gentle pat did Shao Hongzhang, like a drowning man clutching a floating log, jolt back to his senses.

"How is it? Is there anything we can do?" Xiao Ran's voice wasn't loud, but