A Sorrowful Chant

The sound of flapping wings whistled toward him, making the quiet tribal ruins seem as if wind and clouds were churning within. Su Ming's gaze flickered, but his body remained motionless.

Although the sound of flapping wings and sharp shrieks echoed in his ears, Su Ming knew the length of this passage. Even though the sound arrived first, there should still be a brief moment before those Moon Wings returned to this place.

This time might be short, but it was his final moment here.

Without a second thought, Su Ming focused his attention on the line of text carved into the rock wall where the strange skeleton leaned.

"Oh, vast Heaven, why do you weep alone!"

This sentence opened the inscription. The calligraphy was bold and unrestrained, exuding a sense of arrogance and dominance that made Su Ming's pupils contract the moment he saw it.

Su Ming was somewhat confused by the meaning of the phrase, and for a moment, it remained vague; yet, the profound sorrow and aloofness emanating from the text left a deep impression on him.

"Oh, vast Heaven, why do you weep alone..." Su Ming muttered, his gaze shifting to the remaining Barbarian script.

"The Barbarian path of desire, exhausting the edges of the eight directions. Remnant fire melts the blood; a thought burns the heavens, a thought exhausts the firmament... If the fire-moon emerges from the clouds, amidst the vast world... Meditate in that moment, blood and fire layer and ignite. Nine is the limit, one is the law. Ignite the Barbarian fire nine times to complete the Fire Worship Technique!

Oh, vast Heaven, only you stand above in solitude!" The text below was clearly carved by the same person, but it was not a lament; rather, it was a complex set of instructions.

"Nine bows of Barbarian fire... to complete the Fire Worship Technique..." Su Ming frowned. The content of this passage was complex and difficult to understand. He read it again, but it remained obscure.

As he pondered, the shrieks and the sound of flapping wings coming from the entrance passage nearby grew increasingly intense. Su Ming's eyes flashed. Not lingering, he leaped up with agility and dashed rapidly toward the entrance passage.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the passage and stood there. The sharp shrieks in his ears grew clearer. Su Ming looked back once more at the desolate tribe, then turned and ran quickly into the tunnel.

As he ran, he kept track of the intensity of the shrieks. After running for about a hundred feet, Su Ming paused and suddenly squeezed into a crack in the rock wall to his side.

The crevice was not large, but Su Ming's frame was lean. Once he squeezed inside, he immediately crouched down, even slowing his breathing to a whisper. Hidden by the stone wall, his heart hammered against his ribs as he peered through the gap, waiting in silence.

Time ticked by, second by second. After ten breaths, the hair on Su Ming's body stood on end. He clearly saw a thick, red mist roar through the passage like an eruption. Within the mist, ear-piercing shrieks boomed, and streaks of red shadows darted past.

Those red shadows were none other than the Moon Wings!

Observing the Moon Wings at such close range made Su Ming's heart race, yet he did not move a muscle. Within his narrowed eyes, not even a glimmer of light escaped.

The number of Moon Wings was overwhelming. As they continued to roar through the passage, one of them even collided with the edge of the crevice, less than half a foot away from where Su Ming crouched.

Su Ming gripped the Bone Horn tightly, his palm turning white from the force. In that instant, he could no longer feel his own heartbeat; amidst this extreme tension, his entire being seemed to grow completely calm.

He stared at the Moon Wing that had accidentally bumped into the crevice, watching its hideous face and the way it flapped its wings before flashing out of the gap. Yet, Su Ming's vigilance did not diminish; it only intensified.

Just then, a series of desperate cries suddenly reached him. Through the crevice, Su Ming clearly saw several figures in the mist outside being clutched by a multitude of Moon Wings, heading straight for the tribe at the end of the passage.

There were nine people in total...

Su Ming could not see the faces of all nine, but the moment his gaze swept over them, he caught sight of a figure in white—a beautiful face filled with despair and emptiness.

"It's her!" Su Ming's pupils shrank. He recognized her instantly: that figure in white was Bai Ling of the Black Dragon Tribe, whom he and Lei Chen had encountered at the Tribal Market!

Su Ming fell silent.

Time slowly passed. Before long, the shrieking in the passage outside faded, and even the mist dissipated for the most part. It seemed as if all the Moon Wings had returned to their nests, and as the Blood Moon outside the sky faded, they seemed to begin their slumber once more.

A scorching heat rapidly permeated the air, replacing the chill. Even the walls of the crevice grew hot, and at that moment, a series of cracking sounds echoed. Su Ming watched with his own eyes as several fine fissures appeared in the surrounding rock.

"So that is how the cracks here are formed..." Su Ming's gaze sharpened. He stood up quickly and stepped out of the crevice. Standing in the passage, the surrounding mist had thinned, and waves of heat surged from the tribe at the end of the passage, blowing against Su Ming and making him break into a sweat instantly.

The rock on the ground also grew rapidly hot, to the point where it felt like it was burning his feet. Su Ming knew clearly that it would not be long before the high temperature here would make it impossible for him to survive!

Leave, or stay!

A flicker of hesitation crossed Su Ming's face. Waves of wailing reached him, filled with such misery that anyone who heard it could not help but feel their heart tremble.

"Forget it. I deceived her alongside Lei Chen at the Tribal Market, and now that I've met her again, my heart cannot bear to just leave..." Su Ming was, after all, still a child with a simple heart. Taking a deep breath of the hot air, he dashed toward the end of the passage.

"If I can save her, I will! If it is impossible, I will have no regrets." Su Ming's eyes grew resolute. Clutching the Bone Horn, he felt the heat of the place climbing crazily the closer he got to the end of the passage.

Fortunately, it was not far. Before long, Su Ming reached the end of the passage. Ignoring the heat of the rock walls, he pressed his body against them and leaned his head out to look inside.

At this sight, a faint light flickered in his eyes.

In the tribe at the bottom of the massive basin, where Su Ming had previously seen a multitude of sharp spikes piercing upward, there were now seven struggling people who had not yet died.

The bodies of these seven were pierced through the back and abdomen by seven sharp spikes. Blood flowed down the spikes, and they were still alive, emitting miserable wails as they felt their lives slowly ebbing away.

These seven people were, without exception, all male. Su Ming focused his gaze and felt a slight sense of relief; he did not recognize them, so they were clearly not members of the Wu Mountain Tribe.

Furthermore, all around them, the remaining spikes were melting at a speed visible to the naked eye. As they melted, a large amount of dark red magma permeated the ground of the tribe, covering it like a river...

Seeing this, Su Ming took a deep breath, finally understanding what those spikes truly were!

"This place is extremely strange. Perhaps the awakening and departure of the Moon Wings are related to these spikes!" Su Ming vaguely deduced that these spikes would, for some unknown reason, transform from magma every so often. This transformation would not last long; after one night, when the Moon Wings returned, they would melt and revert into magma.

"Judging by the number of these spikes, I fear that once they all melt, they will fill this basin, causing the tribe to be hidden once again in the depths of the magma..." Su Ming looked up abruptly and saw a red tree trunk in the center of the tribe, exposed like a large tree.

Under the scorching heat of the basin, this trunk also seemed to show signs of melting, writhing in a bizarre fashion. If one looked closely, one could clearly see lines winding within it, and occasionally, a corner would be revealed—it was a Moon Wing!!

However, the Moon Wings that had entered the trunk no longer had hideous expressions when their heads occasionally appeared; instead, they wore expressions of pain, desolation, and sorrow.

They no longer shrieked, but their expressions were like silent, weeping moans. Many Moon Wings even performed a bizarre action: amidst their painful sorrow, they repeatedly raised their claws, bit them open, and smeared their eyes, yet not a single drop of blood appeared on their bitten fingers.

"Those Moon Wings have actually burrowed into this tree trunk! What... are they doing..." Su Ming stared at the trunk, silent, feeling the heat of the place becoming increasingly intense. He felt he could no longer stay.

"I can't find her... forget it..." Su Ming shook his head. He had done his best. He was about to leave quickly, but the moment he moved, he suddenly froze.

His gaze fell upon the red tree trunk in the center of the basin. Two faces had emerged from within the tree; he did not recognize one, but the other was none other than Bai Ling.

Bai Ling's eyes were open, yet they were hollow and devoid of any vitality, as if she had already despaired of survival, exuding a sense of tragic beauty.

Su Ming gazed at that face, then looked down at the magma slowly coalescing below. As a large number of sharp spikes melted, the magma had already formed a thick layer, rising to about halfway up those tribal huts.

Looking down now, one could only see the rooftops of the stone houses emerging within the basin, though even those roofs were gradually turning red.

Moon Wing's departure is related to the Blood Moon, but looking at it now, it should also be related to the intense heat of this place. They seem to fear the heat... so they only fly out to forage once this place turns cold.

Furthermore, after returning, they all burrow into that tree trunk, with not a single one remaining outside. This aligns with my judgment. Su Ming did not act rashly, but stood there, his eyes gleaming.

It should be possible to save her... but I must wait a little longer... Su Ming stared at the tree trunk, occasionally glancing at the height of the magma in the basin below.

A moment later, the heat in this place climbed once more, causing sweat to pour from Su Ming's entire body and his skin to show faint signs of cracking. His eyes flashed, the blood energy within him surged, and the power of eleven blood lines instantly flooded his body as he stepped forward and darted out.

His speed was so great that in the blink of an eye, he landed on the roof of a tribal hut within the basin. The moment his feet touched down, a hissing sound erupted, and white steam immediately rose from his feet. Su Ming did not pause in the slightest; his body leaped up once more, landing on the roof of another dwelling. After a few leaps, he was already approaching that eerie red tree trunk.

Just as he drew near, Su Ming suddenly saw another woman he did not recognize beside Bai Ling's face let out a shrill, miserable scream. He watched as her features withered rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, she turned into a terrifying skeleton!

It seemed that her body, which had been fused into the tree trunk, had been drained of all its flesh, blood, and life by some strange power.