BXBX NOVEL Chapter 120: Mummified Corpse
Chapter 120: Mummified Corpse
It was merely a subconscious reaction, not driven by any particular curiosity about what lay beyond the stone gate. Yet, this instinctive glance brought about a change in his expression.
There were more than just this one stone gate in this place, but the others had already been opened, revealing a dark expanse beyond. Despite the distance making it unclear even with the aid of ghost eyes, the current stone gate was different.
Behind this stone gate lay a stone chamber, not very spacious. Aside from matching the height and width of the stone gate, it had only a slight depth, giving it a cramped feel.
It was hard to imagine that behind such a massive stone gate, there would be only this much space. Judging solely by the size of the stone gate, one would expect a sizable area behind it. However, reality proved otherwise.
An eerie green light cast a sickly pallor over the stone chamber, emitting a constant, unsettling aura. This eerie glow emanated from the walls and floor within the stone chamber.
"Interesting. If you don\'t come over to broaden your horizons, you might not have this chance again in the future," Xu Meijing\'s voice reached Yang Haoran\'s ears. There were only the two of them left in this place now, and it was evident she was addressing him.
Glancing ahead, Yang Haoran saw that only a small portion of the gray liquid remained in front of him, with the rest having seeped into the ground. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed lightly with a touch of melancholy and then walked towards Xu Meijing\'s position.
Sensing Yang Haoran approaching, Xu Meijing couldn\'t help but sigh inwardly. She thought, "If I don\'t call this guy over, he might just stand there in a daze all day. Sigh, I wasn\'t any better off than him when my parents left."
With these thoughts in mind, Xu Meijing\'s expression became somewhat complicated. It wasn\'t until she felt Yang Haoran stop beside her that she composed her expression and looked back into the stone chamber.
Standing beside Xu Meijing, Yang Haoran also directed his gaze into the stone chamber. Up close, he finally understood why the walls and floor of the stone chamber emitted such an eerie green light.
Ordinary stone walls and floors wouldn\'t emit such strange green light, but these were different.
Firstly, the material was different. Both the walls and floor were not made of ordinary rock but of some unknown substance.
Furthermore, they were covered in densely carved runes.
These runes were small, about the size of tadpoles, twisted and contorted, covering the entire walls and floor. Each rune emitted a faint eerie green light.
Individually, the faint green light from a single rune wouldn\'t be particularly striking. However, with thousands of runes emitting the same faint green light simultaneously, the effect was entirely different, illuminating the entire stone chamber conspicuously.
Yet, what drew the most attention in the stone chamber was not these runes emitting eerie light but a mummified corpse.
Located at the center of the stone chamber, the mummified corpse wasn\'t seated in a serene posture like those in movies. Instead, its body was twisted into a grotesque position, its expression grimacing, seemingly in pain, unwillingness, and resentment.
It was a complex expression, and it was hard to imagine what the figure had experienced before death to elicit such a complicated expression.
The eerie green light cast upon the mummified corpse made it appear particularly sinister and terrifying. Fortunately, both Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing were not ordinary people, so they didn\'t feel much about the scene before them. If it were an ordinary person suddenly witnessing such a scene, they would not only be scared out of their wits but also likely jump in fright.
"Do you know what these runes are?" Xu Meijing glanced at Yang Haoran beside her and asked.
Yang Haoran shook his head. He had no idea what these eerie green runes were. Even the few books Master Jiang had lent him didn\'t contain anything similar.
Unlike the talismans on paper or certain spells, these runes were not written in their familiar script, and he couldn\'t decipher them at all.
"These are Monster Clan\'s demonic runes," Xu Meijing spoke up.
Yang Haoran was taken aback. He had heard of the Monster Clan, or group, from the books Master Jiang had lent him, but what exactly demonic runes were, he had never seen or read about them in those books.
"Demonic runes are special texts with unique powers among the Monster Clan. The runes you saw on the stone gate earlier were also demonic runes, but they were not pure demonic runes since they integrated several forces that do not belong to the Monster Clan."
Xu Meijing was not entirely sure if the runes on the stone gate were demonic runes before, but the scene before her confirmed her suspicions.
Listening to Xu Meijing, Yang Haoran suddenly realized the striking similarity between these runes emitting eerie green light and the ones on the stone gate. The only difference was their scale.
"How could there be demonic runes here? Could there be a Monster Clan presence in this mountain?" Yang Haoran asked, puzzled.
"I don\'t know if there\'s a Monster Clan presence in this mountain, but I have some guesses as to why there are demonic runes here," Xu Meijing said, preempting Yang Haoran\'s inquiry. "I sense a considerable sealing power and destructive power in these demonic runes. If I\'m right, these runes are meant to deal with him."
With that, Xu Meijing pointed towards the mummified corpse in the middle of the stone chamber.
"This poor guy seems to have been trapped alive in this stone chamber, but he must have been quite formidable," Xu Meijing remarked.
Yang Haoran furrowed his brows slightly, somewhat puzzled. "How do you know?" he asked.
With a proud smile, Xu Meijing replied, "Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, these demonic runes possess considerable sealing and destructive power. If his strength wasn\'t formidable, it wouldn\'t have been necessary to go through all this trouble to kill him."
"Secondly, you\'ve seen the demonic runes on the stone gate. Although they\'re not purely demonic runes, they integrate several forces from different individuals, combining their sealing powers into the runes. The purpose is simple—to suppress the one inside this stone chamber. Think about it, if the opponent wasn\'t formidable, would it be necessary to create such special demonic runes above the stone gate?"
"Thirdly, while I don\'t know what\'s behind the other stone gates, I know that the existence of these stone gates forms a sealing array, still targeting the one in front of us. Imagine the disturbance caused by both sealing and suppressing; if it wasn\'t someone significant, would all this trouble be necessary?"
Finishing her explanation, Xu Meijing looked at Yang Haoran. Seeing his slightly strange expression, she thought he might be questioning her speculation, and her expression immediately soured.
"Heh, don\'t believe me?" Xu Meijing asked coldly.
Yang Haoran shook his head and calmly replied, "It\'s not that I don\'t believe you, it\'s just surprising how much you know."
Upon hearing this, Xu Meijing\'s expression softened slightly. She responded with a hint of arrogance, "I know more than you think. It\'s not just about living longer; it\'s about gaining experience to broaden one\'s knowledge."
There was an underlying message in Xu Meijing\'s words, and Yang Haoran could sense it. In the past, he would have retorted immediately, but now, he simply didn\'t have the mood for it.
Seeing Yang Haoran\'s lack of response, Xu Meijing looked disinterested, but she didn\'t dwell on it. Instead, she focused her gaze once again on the mummified corpse in the center of the stone chamber.
Without lingering, she stepped into the stone chamber.
However, Yang Haoran remained in place, not following Xu Meijing into the stone chamber.
The dense array of demonic runes in the stone chamber gave him a strange feeling. Coupled with Xu Meijing\'s earlier words, he became even more wary of the demonic runes inside. Rushing in recklessly might lead to serious consequences.
As for why he didn\'t stop Xu Meijing, the reason was simple: Xu Meijing\'s strength was terrifying. Since she had some understanding of the demonic runes and could provide a detailed analysis of the situation, her decision to enter the stone chamber must have been made with utmost confidence.
However, despite his trust, Yang Haoran remained vigilant. If Xu Meijing encountered any danger, he would rush to her aid regardless of the circumstances.
He would do so not for any other reason but because Xu Meijing had saved his life today, even though she hadn\'t mentioned it explicitly, Yang Haoran knew it in his heart.
Xu Meijing, at this moment, was unaware of Yang Haoran\'s thoughts. She focused all her attention on the demonic runes in the stone chamber. The moment she stepped into the stone chamber, the demonic runes sensed an intruder, awakening like a sleeping beast suddenly roused from its slumber!
All the demonic runes trembled, emitting a buzzing sound. The eerie green light intensified, and the powerful sealing and destructive forces surged towards Xu Meijing like two primordial beasts pouncing on her.
As expected, Xu Meijing was prepared. Faced with this situation, she didn\'t hesitate at all. With a single hand, she wielded her weapon.
This time, her strikes were not as casual as before. Her speed was astonishing, leaving afterimages with each swing.
The sound of air being cut rang out continuously. Under Yang Haoran\'s astonished gaze, deep scars appeared on the walls of the stone chamber with each strike. Nearby demonic runes shattered with each scar, dissipating into specks of spiritual light.
After a few breaths, Xu Meijing stopped her strikes. In just those few breaths, Yang Haoran couldn\'t count how many strikes Xu Meijing had made!
However, the entire walls and floor of the stone chamber were covered in deep scars, and more terrifyingly, all the demonic runes inside the stone chamber had disappeared, not a single one remaining.
"Thank goodness I controlled the force properly. Otherwise, I would have been worried about the stone chamber collapsing," Xu Meijing said casually, looking at her handiwork inside the stone chamber. Yang Haoran heard her words, but he didn\'t say anything. He just twitched his mouth a few times, and when he looked at Xu Meijing\'s back, his eyes resembled those of someone looking at a monster.
[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! BokuBoku]