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墨書 Inktalez
The Ghost-faced Man before me wielded a Curved Blade engraved with a Chilong Pattern. The red jade embedded in the hilt resonated with the Lan Wen around my wrist, and each step I took closer felt as if countless Venom Worms were gnawing at my bones.
"These are living corpses infused with Venom!" Pei Huai Jin roared as he broke free from his chains. In the instant the iron links shattered, black blood seeped from his Heart's Jin Tong. "Pierce the Shanzhong Acupoint with the Zhenhun Sword!"
I spun aside to evade the descending blade, and the tip of my sword flicked open the mask of the nearest man—swarming maggots crawled out from decaying flesh, revealing him to be the owner of Yongchang Grain House, confirmed dead in the explosion at Azure Dragon Square three days prior.
As my Zhenhun Sword pierced his Heart, the corpse suddenly exploded, a putrid mist of blood coalescing in the air to form words in Southern Liang Kingdom script: "With your bones and blood, I offer to the Venom God."
Pei Huai Jin suddenly grabbed the back of my collar and pulled me back just as the ground beneath us collapsed. The Blood Pool rose slowly, revealing a Bronze Altar beneath it. Nine stone pillars entwined with human hair bore golden inscriptions of the names of all emperors of the Chu dynasty. At the center stood a White Jade Skeleton, its skull pierced by a rusted Dragon-Slaying Sword—identical to the scene described in The Venom Codex contained within the Blacksteel Casket.
"Three Hundred Years Ago, Murong Chong extracted the heart of the Venom God right here." Pei Huai Jin's fingertips traced a crack on the skeleton's chest that resembled my own Heart's Lan Wen at that moment. "But he did not know that the curse of the Venom God had long since fused into the bloodline of the Chu."
The Ghost-faced Man's assault suddenly halted as they all knelt in unison before the White Jade Skeleton. The Lan Wen on my wrist slithered like a living serpent toward my Zhenhun Sword, coalescing into a Phoenix Totem at the hilt. The moment the sword tip touched the skeleton's Clavicle, an intense tremor shook through the Dungeons, and countless Bronze Boxes floated up from the Blood Pool—each lid inscribed with the Bazi of the Chu Royal Family.
"Open them!" Pei Huai Jin shouted hoarsely, blood frothing at his lips. "Your blood can unlock their seals!"
The blade sliced through my palm, and droplets fell onto the nearest Bronze Box. As its lid sprang open, I beheld an absurd truth—the box contained a heart preserved in glass, with golden threads entwined around its chambers resembling Puppet silk I had seen before my previous death. Curled beside it was a tiny corpse, its longevity lock inscribed with the character "Li."
"This is your true birth box." Pei Huai Jin's voice echoed distantly. "On the day you were born, Chu Hengdi personally planted fragments of the Venom God into your heart..."
Memories cleaved through chaos like a blade. I finally understood the truth behind my "serious illness" at three years old: My father on the Dragon Couch had sliced open my Heart with a Golden Blade and placed a beating Jin Chan into my flesh. The laughter of Consort Shu behind a screen overlapped with this moment's Ghost-faced Man's howls; that Jin Chan was now fluttering within my chest.
The Ghost-faced Man let out an inhuman wail as their flesh melted like wax, revealing stark white bones beneath. Yet what throbbed within those ribcages was not hearts but identical Golden Cicada Venom Insects. My Zhenhun Sword suddenly hummed uncontrollably, its tip pointing toward the Dragon-Slaying Sword embedded in the White Jade Skeleton.
"Draw your sword!" Pei Huai Jin's Jin Tong began to bleed. "That is the only thing that can sever this bloodline curse..."
The top of the Dungeons exploded suddenly as dozens of Dragon Scale Guards descended amidst flying debris. Their leader brandished a Golden Crossbow, aiming directly at my Throat: "By order of His Majesty, eliminate this demon!"
Instinctively raising my hand to block, I watched as their bolts inexplicably changed direction mid-air and struck directly into the eye sockets of the White Jade Skeleton. The skeleton began to tremble violently; rust flaked off from its Dragon-Slaying Sword to reveal a Sword Body etched with curses beneath it. As I grasped its hilt, images from Three Hundred Years Ago surged forth like an avalanche—
When Murong Chong's blade pierced through the heart of the Venom God, that eight-armed deity revealed a compassionate smile: "I shall be reborn through your bloodline." Surrounding the Altar were Ninety-Nine Pregnant Women giving birth simultaneously; those wailing infants bore Jin Chan marks on their Hearts.
"So we are all vessels for the Venom God." I chuckled softly as I cleaved through incoming bolts with my Dragon-Slaying Sword. Instead of gunpowder exploding from their shafts, toxic Venom bred by Chu Tiankuo erupted forth. The venomous insects disintegrated into powder before they could approach me; my Heart's Jin Chan finally awakened completely.
Pei Huai Jin suddenly lunged forward to grasp my sword blade; our blood mingled at its edge: "Look closely!" Following his gaze, I saw a tattoo on the neck of the Dragon Scale Guard leader—a two-headed serpent entwined around a Dripping Blood Curved Blade, identical to markings on charred corpses found at Azure Dragon Square.
"The Emperor already knew you were the Venom King..." The leader's words were cut short as my Dragon-Slaying Sword pierced through his chest; from his arms fell a Blacksteel Tiger Talisman—the very one I had seen in Zi Chen Hall. Blood seeped from its cracked surface, revealing fine strands of Golden Cicada Larva swimming within.
Suddenly, bells rang throughout the Dungeons as fingers of the White Jade Skeleton began to move. When it pointed towards twelve petals forming a Lotus Pattern, the stone slab beneath me collapsed thunderously. In that final moment before plunging into darkness, I saw Pei Huai Jin impaled by blades from Dragon Scale Guards; his lips still formed words: "Go to Bing Yuan..."
The cold Dark River below crashed against my consciousness as Lan Wen glowed faintly in the water. Countless Bronze Boxes floated along with me; each resonated with heartbeat-like vibrations. When I grasped one labeled Hour of the Rat, currents surged violently—
In an instant when its lid burst open, I beheld my previous life's corpse. Within that gaping wound in its chest, a Jin Chan gnawed at an already rotting heart.
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