Chapter 128: Breaking Through the Barrier
Marcus hung the protection mirror above the stone steps, its surface facing the deep cave.
At the same time, he used a knife to carve a hole in the ground at the top of the steps and inserted the ceremonial staff inside to secure it.
These two items served two purposes: one prevented the deity's ability to create illusions, and the other prevented the cave entrance from shifting, thus disorienting him and leaving him with no way out when retreating.
Both items were helpful for his escape in unfavorable circumstances.
On the stone walls inside the arched cave, mineral-tinged water seeped and dripped continuously. Marcus chose several relatively dry spots and pasted blessed papers on them.
Only then did he continue looking ahead.
The protective barrier, woven from blessed cloths and blocking the passage, had been violently torn off.
Suddenly, it was as if a seal had been broken within the cave;
a sinister and malevolent aura rapidly spread from its depths, directly confronting Marcus.
It was as if the deity, who had been conserving and concealing her power, had finally unleashed it completely.
The cries of countless children echoed through the passageway, mingling with the heart-wrenching sobs of women, creating a series of tragic scenes of separation from loved ones.
Besides these sounds, a low, mournful chanting emanated from the depths of the passage.
Sacred chants, prayers, and hymns filled the air.
However, this sound lacked any of the radiant, holy quality one would expect from
worship. Instead, it was like a demonic cacophony, instantly chilling the listener to the bone, as if the chanting were about to claim
their life. An ordinary person, upon hearing this sound, would have instantly collapsed and prostrated themselves on the ground, dying instantly.
But Marcus, clad in the blessed tactical armor, and having performed protective rituals, along with the sacred altar in his arms, easily withstood the onslaught of this demonic sound.
He sneered and continued forward.
Behind the barrier was an altar, upon which lay a row of dark offerings—sacrifices to the Mother Buddha Deity.
Marcus scattered them aside, hoping to prevent the deity from finding the offerings and thus hindering her control.
As Marcus disturbed the offerings, the sounds of distorted music and chanting arose nearby.
Eight figures, their bodies completely covered from head to toe in white cloth, slowly emerged from a passageway.
The two at the front, one carrying a white banner, the other with hands clasped, continuously chanted the deity's mantra.
The four in the middle carried a wooden frame upon which rested a 1.2-meter-tall clay vessel; judging by its height, the child inside was probably around ten years old.
The two at the back, one playing distorted music, the other waving his hands incessantly, making a flapping sound.
The procession slowly headed towards the dead end opposite.
As they passed Marcus, the procession strangely stopped, though the sounds continued.
The sounds seemed to possess an attraction, luring Marcus to join them and follow them into the passageway.
Marcus transferred his spiritual energy to the blessed sword and slashed forward.
After being enhanced in the previous world, his spiritual energy had surged, allowing him to attach it to personal weapons.
The bodies of these figures were slashed, but only pieces of white cloth fluttered to the ground, as if there had never been human bodies inside.
"Hehe...hehe!"
The stretcher fell to the ground, and the clay vessel on it trembled twice from the impact. In the dark cave, its mouth split open, emitting a child's laughter.
"You're happy?"
It was just a clay vessel; Marcus had already caught seven. These vessels could be used in rituals, so they did have some value.
The vessel's body began to change, seemingly wanting to transform into a little girl's form. However, due to the influence of the protection mirror at the cave entrance, only its face transformed into a little girl's appearance, making it look even more eerie.
"Uncle, save me!"
Like a clay cocoon wearing a little girl's human skin mask, it turned to look at Marcus, but this appearance evoked no sympathy from normal people, only fear.
"I'll save you now."
Marcus drew his sword, using the blade to create cracks in the vessel before sheathing his blessed sword. He then took out a blessed paper, stuck it on the cocoon, and put it into his storage.
He then walked along the passage to the next altar. In front of the altar stood a figure in casual clothes, head bowed, back to Marcus.
"What's my name? What's my name?"
the figure asked urgently, head bowed.
Marcus drew his blessed sword, gathered his strength, and thrust the sword through the air.
The moment the sword pierced the figure, the figure turned to pounce on Marcus, but was pierced through the chest and embedded in the stone wall.
Marcus saw the figure's appearance clearly; its features had melted away, leaving only a face riddled with bloody sores.
A commotion arose behind him, and a figure dressed in similar clothes but with different features lunged at him.
Marcus produced a blessed paper, turned, and swung it back. The armor plates clanged together with a metallic sound, and the lunging figure was struck as if by a heavy impact, its upper body instantly blasted apart.
The remains of the two figures vanished on the spot a moment later.
Marcus stepped forward, drew his blessed sword, and threw all the offerings from the altar onto the ground, replacing them with a mirror.
These two figures must be the two young men from the original story: Li Ronan's companions.
The two altars containing the offerings had been destroyed.
All that remained was the final offering in front of the deity.
Marcus continued forward along the passage, with clay vessels constantly emerging around him, crying and laughing, trying to hinder his progress.
He had caught eight more vessels by now.
The cave ahead had changed again; the passage was no longer curved but had become a regular rectangle, clearly having been altered.
As Marcus caught more and more vessels, the crying subsided, while the chanting grew louder.
As soon as Marcus stepped into the square cave passage, countless arms stretched out from the surrounding walls, and an eerie wind swept through the tunnel.
These arms varied in length and thickness, and were covered with numerous dark holes and festering spots.
The densely packed arms relentlessly swept through the passage, completely blocking Marcus's path.
Marcus tried taking out his flamethrower and burning the arms, but it had no effect; the burning arms continued to flail.
He then simply took his blessed sword and began hacking away at the arms like cutting branches.
With each swing of the sword, segments of arms were severed from the cave walls, falling to the ground motionless.
With every step Marcus took, a dozen or more arms were cut off.
He had to be constantly wary of these arms; if he missed one, and it suddenly ripped off the red cloth covering the sacred altar in his arms, causing the divine power to dissipate, it would be disastrous.
The deity's harassment was aimed at prematurely removing the red cloth covering the altar.
With each step forward, Marcus could vaguely see at the end of the passage a bronze, approximately five-foot-tall multi-armed statue standing on an altar.
On the altar table covered with a red cloth were three white plates containing some items, but the cave was too dark to see clearly from a distance.
With each step Marcus took, he followed ritualistic movements, the eerie aura emanating from the deity beneath his feet shrinking with each step, yet also growing stronger.
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note
Chapter Goals:
500 Power Stones unlock a chapter
10 Reviews unlock a chapter
20+ advanced chapters on P*treon – DarkFoxx