Chapter Twenty-Three: The Roar of the Formation
Woooo—!!!
That deep, resonant hum was like the horn of an ancient beast, piercing through the dense fog, through low-roofed shelters, crashing mercilessly into the eardrums of every living creature! It was not a deafening noise, but carried a soul-crushing, primeval weight! The dormitory hall of the laborers shook violently, like a battered ship in a storm, convulsing under the invisible impact! Dust, cobwebs, and dried grass tumbled from the roof, raining down upon the cowering men below!
Then—
Boom!!!
High above, the mountain-protecting formation, which had previously shimmered with a pale blue glow like an enormous glass dome, erupted suddenly with a blinding, searing blue radiance! Countless arcane and intricate runes flickered madly across the light screen, writhing, colliding, like living things! The entire barrier ceased to be a tranquil lake, transforming in an instant into a raging sea battered by millions of thunderbolts! Twisted! Shaken! Emitting a nerve-shattering screech, as if millions of metal sheets were being torn and scraped apart!
The formation wailed!
Like a dying beast unleashing its final, world-ending roar!
An indescribably vast and terrifying pressure descended, tangible and heavy as a leaden mountain, smashing down upon every heart!
Thud! Thud!
In a corner, several cowering laborers seemed struck by an invisible hammer, unable even to cry out. Their faces turned abruptly from pale with terror to ashen with death, eyes bulging, dark red froth seeping from mouth and nose, bodies collapsing like rotten mud, lifeless. They were killed outright by the overwhelming pressure and screech of the formation!
Lin Mo felt as if his heart were gripped by a cold, armored hand, each beat tearing at him with agony! His breath halted instantly, icy suffocation flooding his lungs like freezing water! Golden spots danced before his eyes, and darkness quickly swallowed the edges of his vision!
Just as his consciousness was about to be crushed by this world-shattering oppression—
Buzz!!!
Within his chest, the cold "stone"—a fragment of the Void Sutra—erupted like a furious primordial beast, unleashing an unprecedented, icy and savage torrent of resistance! The heavy stagnation transformed into millions of icy needles, stabbing wildly through his organs!
At the same time!
The strange, verdant glow—the "Reverse Seed"—attached to that cold "stone" also flared with a piercing emerald light! A faint but pure, vibrant stream of warmth surged forth, like spring water breaking through ice, desperately shielding Lin Mo's nearly exhausted heart! Two forces, one cold and one warm, collided and intertwined within him, forming a fragile yet astonishingly resilient barrier that held firm against the mountain-like pressure!
"Ugh—!" Lin Mo's throat burst forth with a deathly howl, his body convulsing and jerking on the straw mat like a shrimp thrown into boiling oil! The fresh bandages on his back, hastily wrapped by Zhou Xiaoxiao, were torn completely open, warm blood mingling with blackish powder soaking the mat beneath him. Yet he was alive! The strange symbiosis within him formed a thin shield, sustaining his last breath!
The shrill blast of the formation and its annihilating pressure did not last long—like a monstrous beast's single furious gasp. A few breaths later, the runes flickering across the barrier abruptly subsided! The blinding blue light faded swiftly like a receding tide, returning to its gentle glow. The terrifying oppression receded as well, leaving only a lingering resonance trembling in the air, and the deep, distant hum, like thunder rumbling from the earth's depths, continued on.
The silence of survivors after disaster.
The dormitory hall was thick with the stench of blood and the rank odor of urine and excrement. The dead laborers lay slumped in the corner, their bodies pitiful. The few who survived were limp on their straw mats, eyes vacant, bodies trembling uncontrollably, their trousers cold and wet—clearly terror had broken their spirits.
Lin Mo lay in the blood and filth, each painful breath laced with agony deep in his chest and the taste of blood. Cold sweat streamed like icy rivers down his paper-white cheeks. He struggled to turn his eyes toward the doorway.
The door, at some point, had been shaken open a crack. Outside, the swirling fog seemed even more turbulent and viscous, disturbed by the formation's wail, tinged with an ominous rusty hue.
At that moment—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
Several piercing shrieks, like tearing cloth, came rushing from the direction of Greenwood Sect's inner gate, from the mist-shrouded mountain peaks! The sound grew closer with astonishing speed!
Lin Mo's pupils contracted! He saw several streaks of dazzling light, each radiating powerful spiritual energy, like falling meteors tearing through the heavy gray sky, whistling sharply as they shot furiously toward the forbidden rear mountain—the Burial Immortal Abyss!
Within the streaks, he could glimpse figures! Robes billowing, spiritual energy surging! Elders of Greenwood Sect! Perhaps even... the Sect Master?!
They had been alarmed! The terrifying wail and the disturbance from the depths of Burial Immortal Abyss had roused them completely!
As the streaks vanished into the foggy rear mountain—
Buzz—!
A larger, more condensed blue light, ancient and weighty as old wood, yet carrying boundless oppression, shot up from the main peak of the inner gate! Its glow was not blinding, but carried a soul-freezing solemnity! Within the light, a vague figure stood with hands behind his back, face unclear, but his presence was immense as a thousand mountains and vast as an endless forest, spreading terror all around!
At that moment, every living creature in Greenwood Sect, whether inner disciples, outer stewards, or mere laborers, felt a shudder deep in their blood—and submission!
The Greenwood Patriarch!
The one said to have "ascended" long ago! He was here, too?!
The blue light did not linger, but moved as if teleporting, carrying its crushing aura, following the previous streaks into the rolling fog of the rear mountain! Its target: the source of the disturbance—the Burial Immortal Abyss!
The inner gate erupted in chaos! Countless spiritual energies flared, cries of alarm, frantic bells, the crackling of spiritual power—distant and muffled through thick fog, like thunder rumbling far away. The whole Greenwood Sect became a hornet's nest, plunged into confusion and terror!
In the laborers' dormitory, the few survivors were utterly shattered by the relentless pressure and chaos; some whimpered like wounded beasts, others buried their heads deep in filthy mats, bodies shaking like leaves in the wind.
Lin Mo lay in the blood, his body cold, each breath laced with mortal pain. He stared at the fog outside, at the direction where the Greenwood Patriarch's blue light vanished, terror winding around his heart like a venomous serpent, tightening ever more.
The Burial Immortal Abyss… the Void Sutra… the Reverse Seed… Zhou Xiaoxiao's warning… Su Li's spiritual sense… Wang Skins' death… and that world-destroying formation wail…
Everything pointed to that death-shrouded forbidden zone! And the cold stone and strange green light within his chest were at the heart of the storm!
Just then—
Creak.
The battered wooden door, cracked open by the shock, was slowly pushed wider by a rough, mud-splattered hand, the knuckles marked with deep blue frost.
Zhou Xiaoxiao stood in the doorway, carrying the empty chamber pot. It still dripped murky liquid, exuding a foul, sour stench. Half his body was soaked by the outside fog, trousers smeared with slippery mud, as if he had just crawled from a swamp.
The usual slyness had vanished from his face, leaving only a nearly frozen, bottomless gloom. His eyes were like two icy pools, cold and dead, without a hint of emotion. Mist condensed on his tangled brows and temples, forming tiny droplets that slid down.
He did not glance at the dead laborers in the corner, nor at the whimpering survivors. His gaze pierced through the blood and stench, locking onto Lin Mo, sprawled on the straw mat, filthy, barely breathing!
That gaze held no more doubt, no more gravity, not even fear. What remained was pure, cold scrutiny—like regarding a dangerously volatile object about to explode.
Lin Mo's heart plunged into an endless abyss of ice! Zhou Xiaoxiao's expression told him everything had changed! That brief, complex "protection" was over!
Zhou Xiaoxiao, carrying the chamber pot, stepped inside. His wet shoes squelched on the muddy floor, the sticky sound harsh in the silent dormitory. He stopped before Lin Mo's mat, looking down from above.
His dead, cold gaze swept over Lin Mo's twisted, pale face, over his chest, soaked with blood and medicine, still tightly wrapped in cloth, finally settling on the spot above his heart.
There, the fragment of the Void Sutra and the Reverse Seed's bizarre symbiosis had fallen into a strange silence after resisting the formation's wail. Yet Zhou Xiaoxiao's icy stare seemed to pierce Lin Mo's flesh, seeing directly the cold, throbbing "stone" and the eerie green speck within!
Fear made Lin Mo's body tremble uncontrollably. He wanted to curl up, to shield himself, but lacked even the strength to move a finger. He lay exposed, like meat on a chopping block, beneath that chilling scrutiny.
Zhou Xiaoxiao watched for a long time. Long enough that Lin Mo feared the cold in those eyes would kill him.
At last, Zhou Xiaoxiao moved. Not to bend down or bandage, but to slowly place the filthy, cold, dripping chamber pot on the floor beside Lin Mo's mat.
Its rim nearly touched Lin Mo's dirty, blood-stained hand dangling at the mat's edge.
The stench became ten times more intense!
Zhou Xiaoxiao straightened, eyes still fixed coldly and lifelessly on Lin Mo's face. His lips moved, voice hoarse and dry, like rusty metal scraping—each word squeezed from a crack in the ice:
"Stay."