Chapter 3321: Five Transcendent Corpses

Lin Mu stayed perfectly still as he stared at the five suspended corpses.

The cavern was silent, save for the faint hum of cursed energy circulating through the chains that held them. But the moment the youngsters above began the deeper part of their ritual, everything changed.

HUMMM

The cursed energy around the corpses suddenly twisted, as if awakened by an unseen signal.

RACKACK

A sharp vibration rippled through the air.

Then the corpses convulsed.

From their mouths, eyes, and the wounds carved into their bodies, streams of black mist surged out, forming thick tendrils of cursed energy that whipped toward Lin Mu like living snakes.

Lin Mu reacted instantly.

SHING SHING

Afternoon Pine appeared in his right hand, Ocean Raker in his left, both shimmering in the dim light of the cavern. His feet shifted only slightly, his posture relaxed as the first tendril lashed toward his face.

SLICK

He sliced in a smooth arc.

A clean cut.

The tendril split and evaporated into motes of dark dust.

Another tendril shot at him.

Then three more.

Then a dozen.

SHING SHING SHING SHING

He cut through them all, his blades moving with the calm precision of flowing water. The cavern rang with the soft whistling of sword wind.

But no matter how many he cut, more kept coming. They were endless, rising out of the corpses like steam rising from boiling water. The corpses themselves now glowed faintly with a malevolent light as if they were waking up.

GURGLE GURGLE

Soon, tendrils began rising from the cavern floor itself. Black mist seeped from cracks in the stone, swirling like smoke gathering before a storm. The entire cavern grew darker as if the cursed energy was trying to swallow all the available space.

Lin Mu took several steps back, frowning.

’This rate is too fast.’

If it spread further, it would seep upward through the island. If it reached the ancestral shrine above, the youngsters would be in danger. Worse, the ritual might be disrupted. If that happened, who knew what would happen to the Ninth Sea.

Leaving was not an option.

“I need to cut this before it becomes a big problem.” Lin Mu muttered.

He straightened his posture, sheathed his swords, and placed his palms together.

A calm breath escaped his lips.

Then he began to chant.

His voice resonated with the solemn cadence of the Buddhist Path.

“Let thy heart be as the moonlit pond, unmoving, clear, and deep. Release all suffering, and awaken to the boundless stillness beyond form.”

The cavern brightened at once.

OMMMMMMM

Pure golden light erupted from Lin Mu’s body, flooding outward in rippling waves.

For years he had learned to restrain the Buddhist Aura so that he would not startle or disturb others. But now he released it without reservation. The aura rang like temple bells, and for a moment the cavern felt more like a sacred buddhist hall atop a mountain.

The cursed energy recoiled.

HISS HISS HISS

Tendrils disintegrated when the golden light touched them, vanishing instantly as though they had never existed. The black mist that blanketed the cavern floor evaporated. The oppressive atmosphere lifted as though a great weight had been removed.

Lin Mu kept chanting, voice steady and filled with tranquil authority. His aura pushed outward farther and farther, purifying every corner of the cavern.

When the last lingering traces of free cursed energy faded away, only the chains wrapped around the corpses remained. They still glowed with the original cursed power, but unlike before, they neither attacked nor reacted.

Lin Mu lowered his hands and let out a slow breath.

HUUUU

But then something subtle caught his eye.

A faint shimmer surrounded the corpses, like a thin curtain of light.

Lin Mu stepped closer and extended his hand. The golden Buddhist aura brushed the shimmering curtain and instantly sparked off it as if hitting an invisible wall.

The corpses were protected.

“An array.”

One he had not sensed earlier.

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes. “This protective layer only appeared after the curse was pushed back. It was hidden beneath the cursed flow.”

He reached toward the curtain again, but this time did not touch it. He scanned it with his immortal sense and frowned.

“It is woven into the chains themselves. Removing it or breaking the corpses free without dismantling the array will probably trigger something.”

He stepped back and considered destroying the corpses directly. If they were truly dead, destroying them might collapse the curse.

His muscles tensed. Afternoon Pine was halfway unsheathed when Xukong’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Stop. That would be a grave mistake.”

Lin Mu froze. “Why?”

“This curse is more complicated than I expected,” Xukong said. “The corpses are not only generating the cursed energy but are also containing it. They are acting like a filter. The curse escapes only in controlled amounts.”

Lin Mu’s eyes widened. “Even with such containment, the Ninth Sea is like this?”

“That is why I am telling you to be cautious,” Xukong replied. “If the corpses are removed or destroyed, the filtered restriction will collapse. The full force of the curse will flood out. It would not stay here. It could easily spread beyond the Ninth Sea and perhaps taint the entire Eight Sea. Maybe even farther.”

Lin Mu’s grip tightened around his sword.

A calamity on a global scale.

He re-sheathed Afternoon Pine and approached the protective curtain again, this time aiming to understand the structure of the array.

He activated his Spatial Perception, his Immortal Sense, and even the subtle insight from the Calming Heart Sutra. Layers of runic lines and subtle fluctuations began to unravel in his senses like flower petals opening.

Hours passed.

Every passing moment taught him more about how ancient, intricate, and terrifyingly complex the formation was. The arrays were not simply numerous. They were interconnected and overlaid in ways that would drive an ordinary Formation Master insane.

There were at least three hundred distinct arrays.

Channeling arrays.

Containment arrays.

Barrier arrays.

Cursed energy converters.

Bloodline anchors.

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