Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 717 - 647 The Living

The entire city wall was stained red with filthy blood, and numerous white sinews clung to its surface, fluttering and trembling in the wind.

Focused eyes could discern myriad blood vessels hidden beneath the sinews. These vessels, varying in diameter from a hair’s breadth to a human arm, undulated slowly, like vigorous ivy in peak summer.

Beneath the layers of blood vessels lay heaps of broken, unrecognizable human body parts: teeth, skulls, eyeballs, strands of hair, and fragments of cloth from the uniforms of the city gate soldiers.

The most terrifying aspect was that, woven amid this web of blood vessels, some "living" people were trapped.

Their state hovered between life and death. Some had all seven facial orifices sewn shut with hair and moaned incessantly. Others had their skulls flipped open, yet seemed utterly unconcerned, cheerfully flicking at their exposed, pale brain matter with their fingernails.

The scene within the walls was akin to Avici Hell itself. Even Li Ang, accustomed as he was to demons and Evil Spirits, felt his composure deeply shaken.

He flexed his hands to calm his emotions and covered his mouth and nose with Mo Si to avoid directly inhaling the bloody air.

He then sent out Mind Threads to hook onto the city wall’s crenellations and pulled himself down slowly along the inner wall. Just as he was about to land on the carpet of flesh below, he created a telekinetic barrier beneath his feet, suspending himself in mid-air.

The stench of blood grew thicker. Li Ang breathed shallowly, releasing his Spiritual Sense to scour the surroundings.

The once magnificent and solemn structures of the Imperial City, including those of the Ministry of Justice, were mostly razed to the ground. On the few ramparts and broken walls that still stood, membranes of sinew and blood vessels hung like spiderwebs.

More corpses were smeared across the ground. These included not only ordinary clerks who had stayed overnight at the Four Directions Inn, the Weiwei Temple, and other such institutions, but also Imperial City Guards, and even soldiers from the garrison who had come to provide reinforcements.

The bodies were interconnected by a labyrinth of blood vessels, all of which converged towards Chengtian Gate Street to the east.

The Ten Thousand Spirit Book in Li Ang’s embrace remained motionless, already affected and disrupted by the ubiquitous blood mist, rendering it unable to function. The Bitter Realm Lotus, which was still effective, was shedding its petals one by one—a clear premonition of the danger ahead.

Getting any closer could very well mean death.

Past experiences had consistently proven the Bitter Realm Lotus’s efficacy. Yet, the more perilous the path ahead, the stronger the indication that the source of this strange phenomenon lay in that direction.

Without hesitation, Li Ang drew the Dragon Fall Short Spear and advanced stealthily.

The Ministry of Justice, Weiwei Temple, Shangnian Bureau...

Passing through the ruins, he finally saw flickering lights ahead.

Li Ang immediately ducked into the shadows beneath a roof eave, his gaze fixed on the direction of the light.

On the carpet of flesh and remains, a group of people was busily engaged.

They wielded horsetail whisks, directing hundreds of stiff-jointed corpses. These corpses were placing bells, jade, tokens, ritual swords, lanterns, and other implements around the Ministry of Supervision.

Li Ang squinted. All the blood vessels pointed towards the rear courtyard of the Ministry of Supervision, which was also the most intact part of the building complex.

The only problem was the difficulty of approaching.

Numerous bizarrely-shaped demons stood silently around the perimeter of the Ministry of Supervision, immobile, each draped with blood vessels.

They didn’t resemble ferocious and violent Evil Spirits; rather, they looked like goods on an assembly line, awaiting processing.

"Be careful."

A deep voice suddenly came from behind. Li Ang’s body remained still as several Mind Needles shot out from his belt, stabbing towards his rear.

CLANG—

The Mind Needles were blocked. Li Ang turned his head and saw a tall figure standing in the shadow of the eaves, his left hand grasping the Mind Needles, his right hand pointing downward.

Unbeknownst to him, more than a dozen eyes on the ground had already opened. They were now gazing, dazed and uncomprehending, towards Li Ang’s position.

"Follow me," the figure said in a low voice. He then gently pushed open a door and slipped inside the house.

Li Ang remained silent for a moment, then followed, whispering, "Brother Song?"

"Don’t light it up."

Song Shaoyuan raised his hand to stop Li Ang from activating the Micro Light Talisman. His entire figure was completely submerged in darkness, his face indiscernible. "How did you get here?" he asked.

"The anomaly has already spread throughout the city; Academic Palace Disciples cannot remain uninvolved. Besides, Cui Qiao is still inside the Great Ming Palace."

Li Ang paused for a moment. "I thought you were still at home."

"Ran into some trouble," Song Shaoyuan said in a low voice. "Long story short, those people set a trap beforehand. They fed the Haotian believers demon flesh and blood, then broke them into smaller groups. These groups were smuggled into the Ministry of Justice Prison, bypassing the Imperial City’s Prohibition to trigger an explosion. The Imperial Guards and garrison soldiers who rushed over have all become nourishment, helping them hatch something. This blood mist must also be a product of that thing."

Li Ang mentally calculated. "I’ve brought over fifty Blast Talismans and hundreds of other talismans. Perhaps we can get close enough to blow it up."

"I’m afraid that won’t work," Song Shaoyuan said somberly. "The Evil Spirits around the Ministry of Supervision are merely feigning sleep. Earlier, Cultivators from the garrison and the Imperial Palace Tributors also attempted a surprise attack. However, before they could even get close, they were swarmed and entangled by the demons. Swiftly eroded by the blood mist, they too turned into monsters, becoming part of their ranks."

Corrosion and assimilation?

Li Ang’s heart stirred. He, too, had waded through the dense blood mist on his way here, yet he’d felt nothing unusual. That in itself was somewhat abnormal.

Could it be that I’ve already been corroded once by the Mo Si, and that’s why I have some resistance to this blood mist?

"All the eyes around are their spies; any noise will attract the demons. You can’t get through. Someone needs to act as bait to draw them away," Song Shaoyuan said. "Give me those Blast Talismans."

"No! Your wife and Aunt Song are waiting for you at home."

"Give them to me." Song Shaoyuan merely extended his hand. "This is the only thing I can do now."

The light from distant lanterns penetrated through cracks in the wall, illuminating the room’s interior. It also illuminated Song Shaoyuan’s arm, which was covered in writhing, fleshy tendrils and continuously deforming.

Li Ang was silent for a long while before finally taking out all the talismans and placing them in Song Shaoyuan’s palm. "Take care," he said.

Song Shaoyuan took the talismans. He instinctively wanted to ruffle Li Ang’s hair, as he used to when they were children, but his hand paused in mid-air. In the end, he gave a hearty laugh. "You too," he said.

He turned, pushed open the door, and stepped straight into the thick blood mist.

SQUISH. SQUELCH.

The viscous, damp carpet of flesh sensed footsteps. Eyes within it opened to look around, but upon seeing Song Shaoyuan’s similar, corrupted form, they slowly closed again.

This distance... should be about right.

Song Shaoyuan stopped. He took a Dagger from his breast pocket and, as if performing a daily shave, drew it across his face. Fleshy tendrils fell away with a rustling sound as the blade then carved across his arms and legs. He meticulously removed all the excess, mutated growths from his body, exposing stark white bone beneath.

He sheathed the Dagger. His trembling fingers pinched a Blast Talisman, and he flung it towards a nearby house.

BOOM!

Flames soared into the sky. The Daoists busy in the distance halted their activities. They waved their horsetail whisks and shouted commands, directing the demons to rush towards the source of the explosion.

Song Shaoyuan just smiled. He took out a Wind Talisman, slammed it onto the ground, and used the ensuing gust of howling wind to launch himself high into the air, scattering more talismans as he flew.