txolops Chapter 49 The Black Chain Collapses
Chapter 49 The Black Chain Collapses
"Primordial Era: Starting with Slaughtering All Gods and Buddhas" - Stunning writing style and a thrilling plot!
Huang Chen pressed the old talisman into the ashes, but did not immediately lift his hand.
The dust beneath my palms was damp, carrying a musty smell and a faint stench of blood, like the lingering deathly aura that had accumulated in this abandoned channel for countless years. The bells from the direction of the Broken Vein Camp were still ringing, sometimes urgent, sometimes chaotic, drifting from afar like someone hammering bones into the mountainside with a blunt hammer.
He knelt down, head down, catching his breath.
The medicinal power of the Replenishing Pill dissolved down the throat, the heat was not strong, just enough to pull the cold limbs back a little.
The wound on his right rib was still oozing, and the skin, soaked in dirty water, stung like needles when the night wind blew. Huang Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, slowly sat up straight against the broken wooden frame, and first focused his consciousness into the system panel.
The black text flashed on and off.
He drowned in the river and is dead.
That karmic debt arrived very solidly, and together with the amount accumulated from all the previous battles, it finally reached the line in his heart.
That's enough.
'
Huang Chen uttered two words in a low voice, his voice hoarse.
Without hesitation, he directly communicated with the system and locked onto the [Gonggong Zhenmai Lock Diagram Fragment].
He had looked at this thing more than once after he got his hands on it. At first, he could only understand the surface, knowing that the black chains, lock vein patterns, and sacrificial canal nodes were interconnected, but he was always missing a crucial layer.
Right now, the entire Rift Mountain Sacrifice Canal is being forced to resonate by the Xuanjia Witch Supervisor, which has actually broken open the last bit of the threshold.
"Consume karma to replenish the usable portion."
'
The system's light screen suddenly trembled.
A flood of obscure patterns, sacrificial vein patterns, and reverse-flow techniques rushed into his mind.
Huang Chen groaned, and the veins on his forehead bulged immediately, as if someone were driving red-hot iron skewers into his temples one by one. He gritted his teeth, his fingers digging into the ashes, his fingernails filled with grit.
After a few breaths, the pain gradually subsided.
He opened his eyes, breathing heavily, but his pupils shone brightly.
It turned out to be the case.
The Black Chain is not simply about suppression.
It is in the "guide".
All the resentment of human souls, the evil power of cold water, and the yin fire of demonic bones accumulated in the belly of this mountain were directed to the main altar, then controlled by the mother pattern, and finally turned into what certain people of the Xuantian Sect and Gonggong Department wanted.
No wonder the Broken Vein Camp was built on the Rift Mountain Sacrifice Canal.
No wonder those laborers died so quickly.
Huang Chen felt a chill run down his spine, then flipped to the second exchange option.
[Reverse pulse pulse needle].
A one-time use item. It's specifically designed to break through the natural flow of energy locks, but the cost is high; it's a drain on your current karmic resources.
However, without this, he simply couldn't have overturned the entire sacrificial canal on his own.
"exchange.
'
A flash of light.
A three-inch-long black needle appeared in his palm.
The needle was neither metal nor bone, and it was icy to the touch. However, extremely fine dark red lines were slowly crawling on its surface, like living blood vessels. Huang Chen pinched it, and the needle's effect stimulated the wound on his hand, causing a few drops of blood to seep out, which were then absorbed cleanly by the needle.
Another muffled thunderous roar came from deep within the guide channel.
The entire mountainside trembled.
Huang Chen turned his head and stared at the abandoned drainage ditch half-buried in the rock strata below. He had sensed something was wrong when he climbed up; this was not just an abandoned channel, but a section of the old sacrificial canal.
Xuanjia Shaman thought the landslide had buried him, but he never expected that there were old channels and new canals interlocking inside the mountain.
This is fate.
Huang Chen supported himself on his knees to stand up, his body swaying slightly, then he gathered his energy and darted forward along the guide channel.
The night wind blew in from the trough, and it got colder and colder as you walked.
The rock walls on both sides were covered with cracked grooves, and in some places, half a wooden wheel and rusted copper buckles were embedded. The ash layer underfoot was extremely thick, and each step left a deep pit. The ash contained bone fragments, which were occasionally swept up by the wind and slapped against the boots, making a soft rustling sound.
A broken stone platform soon appeared ahead.
Below the stone platform is a node of the new sacrificial canal.
Black water flowed swiftly, chains stretched across the canal, and dozens of chain vein patterns snaked along the canal wall, flickering in and out of focus. With each flash, a resonance echoed from the direction of the distant camp, as if the entire Broken Vein Camp were breathing together.
"This is it."
Huang Chen squatted down and first took out the Black Chain Core from his storage.
As soon as the object was taken out, the surrounding chains trembled slightly, like insects attracted by the smell of blood. The core of the black chain had been taken from the Broken Vein Camp and shared the same origin as the sacrificial canal's energy. Its edges were broken, but its interior was still slowly rotating, and a low wailing could be faintly heard.
Huang Chen's eyes darkened, and he raised his hand to press the black chain core into the groove in the center of the stone platform.
Click.
Perfectly fitted.
The next instant, the entire node suddenly lit up.
Dark red light simultaneously emanated from the surrounding vein patterns, rapidly spreading along the canal wall. Countless blurry human faces flashed by beneath the black water, mouths agape, as if being dragged up by something, unable to climb out.
Huang Chen did not stop.
Following the diagram he had just completed in his mind, he reversed the Reverse Pulse Needle, with the needle tail facing inward, and forcefully stabbed it into the position of the main lock pattern reverse scale.
puff!
The needle pierced the stone vein, like stabbing into living flesh.
The entire Lieshan Sacrifice Canal suddenly fell silent.
Immediately afterwards, it crashed back!
That wasn't just ordinary water backlash; the entire "momentum" within the canal was suddenly reversed. The resentment of human souls that had been flowing towards the main altar was suddenly pushed back; the icy, malevolent energy accumulated deep within was like a glacier bursting its banks, flowing backward along the chains; the demonic bones and yin fire buried at the bottom of the canal, in the sacrificial pits, and in the prison pits were also drawn out, turning into wisps of bluish-black flames that surged wildly along the patterns.
The entire mountainside suddenly looked as if it had been violently torn open from the inside.
click!
Click! Click!
The chains stretched taut, then burst open.
The dense vein patterns on the canal wall burst open, spraying black water mixed with gravel everywhere.
Huang Chen was knocked back several steps by the blast of air, his back slamming heavily against the stone wall. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out another mouthful of blood.
At the same time, a system notification suddenly exploded in my mind.
[Ding! The main quest "Investigate the source of the Gonggong tribe's anomalies" has been completed!]
】
[Reward: 30000 Karma Points, 10000 Merit Points!]
Huang Chen's eyes welled up with tears.
Before he could catch his breath, a second notification followed.
【Ding!
The second part of the main quest has been released: Seize the severed vein and cut off the sacrificial canal at Broken Mountain!
【Mission Requirements: 1. Obtain the Mother Rune controlled by the Xuanjia Witchcraft Bureau; 2. Destroy the main altar of the Broken Vein Camp.
】
[Mission Reward: Unknown.]
Huang Chen grinned, his smile a little ruthless.
"OK."
The deeper parts of the mountain were in complete chaos.
Screams mingled with the clanking of chains, echoing from the direction of the camp. The laborers who had been imprisoned in the sacrificial pit were the first to sense something was wrong.
The chains that were used to suppress them loosened, and the iron buckles hanging from their necks and wrists began to buckle back. Some of them broke open on the spot, and some even made the guards bleed from their mouths and noses.
"The lock pattern is messed up!"
'
"The sacrificial canal has backfired!"
"Stop it!"
Hold it down!
From below came the shouts of the soldiers who had locked the canal, filled with shock and anger.
Huang Chen looked down from the broken platform and saw that several layers of stone chambers and the semi-open sacrificial trough had all fallen into chaos. Black water poured out along the old cracks, and flames leaped up one after another.
Just as the soldiers rushed to the edge of the prison bars, the lock patterns under their feet suddenly exploded, and dark blue flames seeped in through the gaps in the armor plates, burning them so badly they rolled on the ground.
Those laborers, at first stunned, then rushed out like madmen.
Someone was running while dragging a broken chain.
Someone carried a wooden fence and smashed the door.
Some were caught in the backlash of resentment, their faces covered in black marks, screaming as they lunged at the nearest guards and bit them.
Huang Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning blood and qi, and slid down the cracked canal wall.
He didn't come here to be a savior.
If the person is right in front of him and he can easily grab them, he won't pretend he doesn't see them.
A stone prison cell stood in the way, crammed with a dozen or so humans, men and women, dressed in tattered hemp clothing, their faces pale, their ankles strapped to the ground. Outside, two canal-locking soldiers were frantically pulling on a lever, trying to sink the entire cell directly into the bottom trench.
"Damn it! It's all sinking!"
Don't let them get away—
He hadn't finished speaking.
A blade of light sliced across the room.
The Asura Blood Blade swept past with a stench, sending two heads flying. The blood spurting from their necks was forced into disintegration by the chilling air in mid-air.
Huang Chen landed, kicked the winch to pieces, and then punched the entire prison cell door, denting it.
"Get out here!"
The people inside shrank back, none of them daring to move.
A young boy, his face covered in soot, was the first to react. He stumbled to the door, his voice trembling, "It's...it's open?"
"nonsense.
Huang Chen swiftly severed the iron shackles on his feet. "Run if you can. Head east along the collapsed path, but don't head towards the main altar."
Everyone then seemed to wake up from a dream and scrambled to get out.
An older convict, halfway through his run, turned back to pull up the unconscious old man behind him. Huang Chen glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to rush towards the second prison cell.
He broke through three railings along the way.
Broken wood, iron filings, black water, and blood were mixed together.
Further away, a burst of crimson flames suddenly erupted.
Huang Chen's pupils contracted.
In the center of the sacrificial trough, a group of humans closest to the recoil point were caught between three turbulent currents: above them were demonic bones and yin fire, below them was icy water and malevolent energy, and to the left and right were scattered tides of resentful human souls. Once swept in, they would instantly become nourishment for the sacrificial trough.
Without even thinking, he raised his hand and summoned a replica of the Twelfth Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
The palm-sized lotus platform rose into the air, and crimson-gold flames suddenly spread out, forming a ring of fire in mid-air, which just covered the dozen or so laborers.
The dark blue flames that rushed towards the Red Lotus Karmic Fire sizzled and scattered as soon as they touched it; the black water icy energy that crashed into the fire curtain was also vaporized into a large cloud of white mist.
The firelight made the faces of the group of people turn red, and they were all stunned.
"Are you just standing there waiting to die?" Huang Chen roared. "Run outside!"
'
As soon as the sound fell, the people inside the fire curtain tumbled and scrambled out.
Just then, the entire underground area suddenly trembled violently.
It was heavier than any of the previous times.
It was as if something had smashed through several layers of rock slabs from the upper altar and forced its way down.
The moment Huang Chen turned around, he first heard a deep rustling sound of armor plates rubbing together.
Then came the human voices.
"Huang Chen—!"
These two words weren't shouted out; they were ground out from between the teeth.
In the dust and smoke, a tall figure shattered half a beam and landed directly on the edge of the sacrificial canal. The heavy armor of the Xuanjia Shaman was cracked in several places, with black and red blood seeping from the seams, and half of his shoulder armor still had the broken chain rings shaken out by the recoil.
He was carrying a tortoise-shell-shaped heavy hammer, the runes on its surface flickering, clearly indicating that he had also suffered a great loss.
But the fire in his eyes was more frightening than the wounds on his body.
"You dare defy the sacrificial altar!"
Huang Chen licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, gripped the Asura Blood Blade tightly, and did not retreat.
"I'm not just going to betray the sacrificial altar," he gasped, staring at the Xuanjia shaman, "I also want to twist your head off and hang it at the camp gate."
'
Xuanjia Wujian's face twitched.
The soldiers guarding the canal were already in disarray, but when they saw him personally taking charge, they immediately felt like they had found their leader and all gathered around him.
"Master Witch Prisoner!"
"The mother emblem is still on the main altar; it can be used to worship the canal—"
"Shut up!
'
With a roar, the Xuanjia Shaman raised his hammer and smashed it down.
This hammer wasn't aimed at Huang Chen's chest at all; it slammed directly into the ground.
Where the hammer struck, the remaining lock veins lit up simultaneously, forcefully drawing a net of interwoven black chains from the ground, attempting to trap Huang Chen and the fleeing people around him.
Huang Chen pushed off with his feet and sprinted diagonally forward.
boom!
The ground exploded.
Gravel and iron filings flew past his face, instantly slashing a long gash in Huang Chen's left arm. He used the momentum to roll over and flung out a Nine Nether Soul-Slaying Talisman.
A flash of black light skimmed the ground, heading straight for the face of the Xuanjia Witch Supervisor.
The Xuanjia Shaman blocked with his hammer, and the talismanic power exploded, causing the two soldiers behind him to bleed from their seven orifices and fall to their knees with a thud.
Huang Chen didn't chase after the talisman's effect. Taking advantage of that momentary gap, he grabbed a broken black chain from the side, poured in his blood and qi, and slammed it against the right-side pillar.
Snapped!
The stone pillar, already loosened by the recoil, snapped in two.
The upper half of the stone shed collapsed with a crash, burying three soldiers of the canal-locking army and a small sacrificial trough.
The few laborers who were still alive in the pit crawled out through the gap and fled, crying and screaming.
"Stop him!"
"The Xuanjia Shaman shouted angrily, "Stop him at all costs!"
"yes!
'
More than ten soldiers rushed over with red eyes.
Huang Chen didn't bother with them at all.
He rushed to the edge of the crumbling canal, using the staggered stone beams to take three quick steps. His dark yellow armor briefly materialized as he braced himself against a flying iron hook. Then, with a backhand slash, he cut open the throat of the nearest soldier. The moment blood spurted out, chains lashed out from behind, wrapping around his ankles.
Huang Chen flicked his ankle, and his Mountain and River Boots slammed into the ground.
boom!
The chain-slinging soldier's sternum collapsed, and he was thrown into the black water before he could even struggle.
The Xuanjia Witchcraft Guard is already approaching.
Heavy armor dragged on the ground, sparks flew everywhere.
He wasn't particularly fast, but every step he took made the ground feel heavy, like an armored old beast.
Out of the corner of his eye, Huang Chen noticed a special black pattern wrapped around the old man's right wrist, with a half-hidden, half-revealed dark silver mark deep within the pattern.
Mother's aura!
Huang Chen's heart skipped a beat.
It wasn't on the altar stone plate, but was carried close by the Xuanjia Witch Supervisor.
"You're quite good at hiding things," Huang Chen sneered.
Upon hearing this, the Xuanjia shaman's gaze turned icy, clearly understanding that Huang Chen had seen through him. Without further ado, he swung his hammer with both hands, leaping into the air and smashing it down towards Huang Chen's head.
If that hammer blow lands squarely, not only will his head be shattered, but half his body will be crushed too.
Huang Chen suddenly stepped back, but his heel slipped on a slippery stone, slowing his pace by half a beat.
In the nick of time, he raised his hand and simultaneously held up the shards of the Rock-Shattering Hammer and the Asura Blood Blade.
clang--!
A deafening roar exploded from underground.
Huang Chen's arms went numb, his tiger's mouth split open, and he was slammed half a foot into the ground, his knees jolting.
The surface of the black and yellow armor was cracked with large lines, and it almost collapsed on the spot.
"die!
'
The Xuanjia witch supervisor's menacing voice was suppressed once more.
Huang Chen felt a surge of blood rushing to his throat, but his eyes suddenly hardened.
Instead of confronting it head-on, he used the momentum to deflect the force, rolled to the side, and at the same time, raised his left hand, throwing the still-connected black chain core directly into the rift between the two.
As soon as the black chain core entered the water, it immediately responded to the reverse node.
hum!
The remaining chains around them trembled violently at the same time.
The already violent backflow intensified even further. The platform beneath the Xuanjia Shaman's feet bore the brunt of the impact; its lock patterns shattered, and the entire ground collapsed.
His body sank, and his hammer strike immediately went astray.
Just this once.
Huang Chen suddenly attacked.
He pushed his intermediate-level witch warrior body to its limit, his blood and qi surging like fire, his shoulder and back muscles tensing, and he crashed into the side of the Xuanjia witch supervisor.
It wasn't cutting, it wasn't stabbing, it was purely using one's own body to withstand the attack.
boom!
The Xuanjia Wizard was knocked back by the impact, and the black markings on his right wrist were completely exposed.
Huang Chen raised his hand and grabbed.
The Xuanjia Witch Supervisor reacted with terrifying speed, his left elbow slamming into Huang Chen's temple. Huang Chen tilted his head to avoid most of it, but it still grazed him, causing a ringing in his ears and his vision to go black for a moment.
The two men were locked in close combat, wrestling like two mad beasts in the mud and blood.
"You bastard!"
"The Xuanjia sorcerer, panting heavily, slammed his knee into Huang Chen's ribs. "You really think you can turn the world upside down just by overturning the ditch?"
Huang Chen's face turned pale from the impact, but he still managed to squeeze out some words.
Whether it will cause a major upheaval is hard to say.
He gripped the mother's mark so tightly with his five fingers that his knuckles turned blue.
"Let's peel this hand off first!"
The Xuanjia witch supervisor's expression suddenly changed.
The next instant, Huang Chen flipped the blood-red blade in his hand and slashed it fiercely along the gap in the opponent's wrist guard!
puff!
The nail plate split open, and blood gushed out immediately.
The mother-shaped mark also flickered, its brightness uncertain.
The Xuanjia Witch Supervisor let out an uncontrollable roar, his aura exploding wildly, and swung his hammer backhand, striking Huang Chen on the shoulder and back. Huang Chen groaned as he flew backward, crashing through two wooden frames, his back burning, his throat filled with the taste of blood.
puff!
The nail plate split open, and blood gushed out immediately.
The mother-shaped mark also flickered, its brightness uncertain.
The Xuanjia Witch Supervisor let out an uncontrollable roar, his aura exploding wildly, and swung his hammer backhand, striking Huang Chen on the shoulder and back. Huang Chen groaned as he flew backward, crashing through two wooden frames, his back burning, his throat filled with the taste of blood.
Not far away, the underground main canal suddenly arched up completely.
It was as if an unseen giant beast was writhing underground.
Huang Chen looked up and his heart skipped a beat.
The sacrificial canal is about to collapse.
No, it has already begun to collapse.
Large rock strata shattered along the main trench, black water mixed with eerie fire shot into the sky, and a huge gash was forcibly torn open between the underground and the surface.
The darkness, the wind and snow, and the firelight above all rushed in at once.
The laborers and soldiers all around were thrown into chaos.
Someone was climbing towards the exit.
Someone was swallowed by the crack.
Some people even knelt on the ground and cried out, but their voices were instantly drowned out by the roar.
Huang Chen disregarded everything else and rushed towards the cracked opening.
At the same moment, the Xuanjia Witch Supervisor also got up and gave chase, his armored figure resembling a ferocious demon amidst the firelight and black water.
Huang Chen!
Leave it here!
Huang Chen didn't even turn his head, taking advantage of the surging momentum of the sacrificial canal to leap up.
next moment.
The ground beneath their feet exploded completely.
He was propelled through the air by the raging water vapor, the swirling currents, and the falling rocks, bursting out of the ground. The wind suddenly intensified in his ears, and his vision was suddenly filled with the night sky, campfires, broken walls, and fleeing figures.
He crashed heavily onto a rocky slope at the edge of the camp, rolling seven or eight times before stopping. His chest felt tight, and he almost coughed up his internal organs.
The ground is still shaking.
Screams and the ringing of bells filled the Broken Vein Camp.
Many convicts had already taken advantage of the ground fissures and the uncontrolled locks to escape, forming a dark mass, like an ant colony after a dam has burst.
Some people had chains on their hands, some were holding children, and some didn't even have shoes. They stepped on the shoes until their feet were covered in blood, but they didn't dare to stop.
Huang Chen propped himself up and wiped the mud and blood from his face.
A dozen or so feet ahead, a gaunt man was dragging an unconscious boy, staggering down the slope. On the other side, a familiar voice suddenly came from the chaotic crowd.
"My lord! My lord!
'
Huang Chen suddenly turned his head.
Ah Shi, his face covered in soot, crawled out from behind an overturned prison van. His left arm was still wrapped with half a broken chain, and his eyes turned red when he saw Huang Chen.
Behind him were several humans, their faces pale with fright, who had clearly also rushed out in the chaos.
"My lord, it really is you!"
"Ah Shi was panting heavily. "When I went to move the corpses from the trough, I heard an explosion down below. I thought—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
The ground shook again.
From the rift behind, the Xuanjia Witch Supervisor, clad in cracked armor, stepped out step by step, his tortoise-shell hammer dragging on the ground, scraping out a string of ear-piercing sparks.
He raised his head, his gaze passing over the swirling dust, and fixed intently on Huang Chen.
Ah Shi's face changed instantly, and his voice trembled: "Sir, this old dog—"
"Take the men and run away." Huang Chen interrupted him, his gaze fixed on them. "Don't look back."
'
Ah Shi gritted his teeth, but immediately nodded, "Yes, sir!"
He turned around and grabbed the humans, shouting as he ran, "Come with me!"
Quick! Don't crowd together!
'
The wind was full of ash, and the fire was full of blood.
Huang Chen slowly straightened up, holding the knife in his right hand and wiping the remaining blood from his sleeve with his left.
The Xuanjia Witch Doctor also stopped.
Between the two was a sacrificial ground that was still cracking.
Black water surged within the crack, and eerie flames occasionally leaped half a foot high, casting their shadows of varying lengths.
The Xuanjia Witch Supervisor stared at the blood on Huang Chen's wrist, his voice as low as a millstone.
"Hand over the mother pattern."
Huang Chen moved his shoulder, which had been numb from the shock, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
"Come and get it."
The night wind carried ashes through the two of them.