Just as Riels thought he was done for, a pillar of fire dropped from the sky, striking the Wolf Bandit chief squarely on the head.
"You wretch! You dare run wild!"
On the other side, while all three Soul Douluos were focused on Elder Chen, Jiang Lin flew straight to the cave outside the Wolf Bandits' lair.
He stared at the pitch-black, unknown cave. Once he had made his preparations, he stepped inside.
Dark. Cold. Reeking.
That was the only way Jiang Lin could describe it.
Deeper in the cave, the air grew even more oppressive and frigid.
Hu Liena, who had entered ahead of Jiang Lin, held up a tinderbox and carefully made her way down the slick stone steps.
Twisted, grotesque runes were carved into the stone walls on either side.
As she ventured farther in, the runes began to glow with a faint, dark-purple light, as though something long dormant were slowly awakening.
She frowned, forcing down the inexplicable unease in her heart as she continued onward.
The passage opened up abruptly at its end.
A vast, naturally formed cavern stretched before her, its vaulted ceiling soaring more than ten zhang high. Stalactites hung like fangs. At the center of the cavern lay a small pond, only a few zhang across, its water black as ink and utterly still.
At the center of the pond, a Black Lotus bloomed in silence.
The entire flower was pitch-black, its petals layered one over another, each so dark it seemed to drink in all the light around it.
It was no lifeless thing. Its petals opened and closed in a steady rhythm, like a breathing creature.
Wisps of faint black mist seeped from its center and blended into the surrounding air.
Hu Liena's gaze fell on the pond's edge. The stone walls and the ground were densely covered in runes she had never seen before.
They belonged to no known writing system on the continent. Their strokes were twisted and sinister, and merely staring at them made her dizzy, as though countless tiny voices were whispering in her ears.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Was this... some kind of ritual?
The runes formed a massive formation, with the Black Lotus at the center of it.
A sickeningly sweet stench filled the air. The concentrated power of corruption was almost tangible.
"An ancient gathering place for Fallen Soul Masters..."
Hu Liena murmured, recalling the vague accounts in Spirit Hall's records.
Her gaze settled on the Black Lotus, and a chill rose up her spine.
The Wolf Bandits had likely grown so savage and powerful after absorbing the aura given off by the Black Lotus.
Those beasts had settled here and, without realizing it, become beneficiaries of this ancient formation—or, more accurately, its victims.
The Black Lotus continued to breathe.
Once, then again.
As though it were alive.
And somehow... its rhythm seemed to match the flickering of the Wolf Bandits' eyes outside...
Suddenly, Hu Liena's Martial Soul shuddered violently. She realized at once that this vile thing was affecting her!
Hu Liena drew the short blade at her waist. Its edge gleamed coldly in the runes' eerie light.
The Black Lotus had to be destroyed.
Even if it had not turned the Wolf Bandits into monsters, the corrupting force now trying to invade her mind was enough to make her decide—
If this thing remained, it would poison countless more lives.
She held her breath, summoned Soul Power to protect herself, and stepped carefully over the slick rocks by the pond, drawing closer one step at a time.
Her first three Soul Skills were all mental charm skills. They were completely useless against something without intelligence.
So she had no choice but to take the most dangerous approach—cut the Black Lotus's roots herself.
Too bad. If her brother or Yan had come, they could have just thrown a Soul Skill at it.
As Hu Liena drew closer, the pond's surface remained perfectly still, black as a slab of solidified inkstone.
The Black Lotus continued to open and close at its center, seemingly unaware of her approach.
Ten steps.
Five steps.
Three steps.
Hu Liena tightened her grip on the hilt, her gaze fixed on the flower's center.
Just as she took the final step toward the pond, the water beneath her feet suddenly grew a little clearer.
The tinderbox's light shone into the depths. She instinctively looked down—and her pupils contracted sharply.
At the bottom of the pond, packed tightly together in layer upon layer—
Human skeletons.
They had not been tossed in at random. Instead, they were arranged in orderly, eerie rings, spreading outward from the Black Lotus at the center.
Every skull faced the flower, its empty eye sockets as if still fixed in an endless act of worship.
Some of the skeletons had turned black and brittle, with no telling how many years they had been submerged. Others still had scraps of rotted flesh clinging to them.
Hu Liena's stomach lurched. She tightened her grip on the short blade and, without hesitation, stepped forward, driving its edge toward the Black Lotus's center.
At that moment—
The water exploded.
A black vine burst from beneath the surface, so fast it let out a piercing whistle as it cut through the air.
The shadow rapidly swelled in Hu Liena's eyes. She had no time to retreat and could only twist aside as best she could.
"Pfft—"
The vine lashed across her chest.
The sound of tearing cloth mingled with the sound of flesh splitting. A horrifying gash ran diagonally from her left shoulder to her right ribs.
The tremendous force sent her flying into the stone wall several zhang away. Rocks shattered and flew everywhere.
Hu Liena groaned and slid down the wall, landing on one knee.
She looked down at the wound on her chest. Blood poured out, but it was not red—it was a strange, inky black.
A piercing pain spread from the wound through every limb, as though something were burning in her veins.
Within moments, her lips had taken on an ashen hue.
She had been poisoned.
She clenched her teeth, forcing her Soul Power to suppress the poison, and staggered to her feet.
Holding the short blade across her body, she fixed her gaze on the Black Lotus.
The black vine slowly withdrew from the water and hovered above the flower, like a venomous snake poised to strike.
Then a second vine burst from the water.
A third followed, then a fourth.
Seven vines rose from different points around the pond. Each was covered in dense black markings, its tip sharp as a spear.
The Black Lotus's petals suddenly flared outward. A visible wave of black energy spread in every direction, and every rune in the cavern lit up. Purple light and black mist intertwined, shrouding the entire space like an inferno.
Hu Liena's hand began to tremble around the blade.
The poison was spreading faster than she had imagined. Her Soul Power had already begun to stagnate as it circulated through her meridians.
She bit the tip of her tongue, using the sharp pain to keep herself conscious, then flashed toward the nearest vine and swung her short blade in a shining arc.
"Clang—"
Sparks burst from the metallic impact.
Only a faint white mark remained on the vine.
Hu Liena's pupils contracted.
The vine struck back in the next instant. All seven vines stabbed toward her from different directions, their angles vicious and leaving no openings.
Hu Liena darted from side to side, pushing her footwork to its limit, but she could barely keep her vital points out of reach.
One vine pierced her left shoulder. Another gouged a wound down to the bone in her right leg. The blood spilling from both was black.
Her vision began to blur.
The poison had already invaded her organs. Every breath felt like a blade scraping down her throat.
Her Soul Power was draining rapidly. Her movements grew slower, and the gaps in her evasions widened.
With another dull thud, a vine swept across her waist and sent her tumbling across the ground several times.
The short blade flew from her hand and clattered to the ground.
Another vine seized its chance and bound her in an instant.
Then a second, a third...
Before long, they had wrapped her tightly from head to toe, outlining the curves of her still-developing figure.
"Damn it..."
Hu Liena cursed under her breath, her eyes full of unwillingness and despair.
No... No!
She had not yet taken her teacher's place. She had not yet fulfilled her teacher's hopes... How could she die here?
Before you continue