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墨書 Inktalez
I felt a chill run through me, my eyes closed in despair as countless regrets flashed through my mind. It was as if my nose and mouth were blocked, leaving me gasping for air, an indescribable sense of suffocation enveloping me.
"To hell with you! How dare you hurt my Xia!" Big Mouth Lee suddenly jumped up, using his body to block the attack from the undead. "You can't die! If you die, I won't know how to explain it!" Hearing that furious shout, I hurriedly opened my eyes. I was truly moved by the sight before me. A surge of strength welled up from somewhere within me, and I stood up... Suddenly, a story about breaking formations came to mind.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms records, "Back then, Cao Army led by Li Dian took the rear guard while Cao Ren commanded the vanguard. They beat the drums and advanced, forming a formation. Xu Shu from Liu Bei's army said: 'This is the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation! The eight gates are: Rest, Life, Injury, Du, Scene, Death, Shock, and Open. Entering through Life Gate, Scene Gate, or Open Gate brings great fortune; entering through Injury Gate, Shock Gate, or Rest Gate brings harm; entering through Du Gate or Death Gate leads to death. Although the eight gates are arranged neatly, there is a lack of a main general in the center. If we charge in from the southeast corner through Life Gate and exit through Scene Gate to the west, this formation will surely be broken.'"
The Absolute Gate of the Nine Fiends Soul-Seizing Formation lay at the very center of the array. It all depended on how we would break in; if we charged in from the southeast corner, there was still a chance for survival. But if we entered from the northwest corner, it would be a dead end.
"Charge in from the southeast corner! Dong Tong is lying in ambush outside the formation. Big Mouth Lee and I will lead the charge while Bald Qiang covers us." I had no time for detailed instructions; they had experienced many strange occurrences and understood the gravity of the situation. So they followed my orders and gradually pressed forward.
The Life Gate was guarded by two foreign undead who looked like they had just died not long ago. The undead hung their heads low with their arms drooping and swaying in the air. I swung my Azure Dark Sword and rushed forward to strike at one of them while Big Mouth Lee brandished his dagger. We divided our tasks, each aiming to take down one.
As we struck at the undead, it felt as though we were hitting solid diamond; sparks flew as our weapons dulled against them—there was simply no way to inflict any damage. "Xia, it seems that brute force won't work! I'll set up a Life and Death Soul Transfer Array using your blood and talismans to enchant these stones and use them to fight back!"
That was all we could try. I desperately held off the two undead while Big Mouth Lee quickly gathered dozens of small stones around us and arranged them according to a Pentagram formation. He stepped forward confidently and formed a Great Sun Tathagata Gesture with his hands. A gust of wind arose, stirring up dust and stones as they began to orbit around the center of the formation. It seemed that setting up the Life and Death Soul Transfer Array was going smoothly.
"Xia, I need to borrow your soul consciousness to control these stones!"
"What do you want me to do?"
Big Mouth Lee immediately pointed with his finger and launched one stone into the air; it spun three or four times before soaring gracefully in a circle above us, forming an intricate pattern that was deep in meaning and difficult for outsiders to decipher. At that moment, Big Mouth Lee shouted loudly as he formed hand seals with his fingers and channeled his power into that circle.
In an instant, that Demon Blood Circle radiated brilliant light. The dazzling glow illuminated this cavernous space, causing some ice formations to melt away instantly. Bald Qiang and Dong Tong were completely exposed under that crimson light. As I was bathed in its glow, I felt dizzy; suddenly a white mist erupted before my eyes.
In a flash of time, Big Mouth Lee sent each stone from the Life and Death Soul Transfer Array flying towards me; they rebounded off my body and leaped out of the glowing circle. With a series of thuds, those stones shot towards nearby boulders like bullets fired from a gun, embedding themselves deeply within.
With a hum accompanying the incantation's entrance, those previously motionless stones began to react dramatically. They gradually transformed into humanoid figures resembling me. Their eyes opened wide with brilliance as life surged into them. Soon after, an overwhelming aura rolled forth—oppressive enough to suffocate anyone nearby—driving people mad with its intensity. "Wow! The stones are actually moving! This is incredible!"
From all around us sprang up sixteen stone warriors that looked just like me. They leaped out from beneath the stone walls wielding their own Azure Dark Swords without hesitation as they charged into the Nine Fiends Formation.
The two undead at the Life Gate were caught off guard by this sudden assault from the stone warriors. The undead raised their guns and unleashed a barrage at them; bullets ricocheted off with sparks flying everywhere. Four stone warriors seized hold of one undead each and flipped them over like ragdolls before slamming them down onto the ground. The stone swords came crashing down upon them—limbs shattered without any movement left! The stone warriors charged forward like wolves without regard for what lay ahead at Life Gate; they only cared about slaughtering their foes. The entire formation erupted in dazzling red light as several stone warriors broke free from it.
"Xia, can you control these stone men?"
"How do I do that?"
"Your hands are like two armies; point right to strike right, point left to strike left!"
I stretched out my arms as if pressing down a heavy weight, struggling to bring my hands together and direct the stone men towards the Life Gate. Exhausted, my whole body felt weak, but I gritted my teeth and persevered.
The purpose of the stone men was simply to obey their controller, who granted them a single moment of life. Anything that dared to obstruct their master was considered an enemy, regardless of what it was! The two stone men surged into the tomb chamber, successfully breaching the defenses of the Life Gate and advancing further into the magic circle.
The Charm Technique had no effect on these stone beings. The Murmur darted around in the circle, its shadow flickering up and down, seemingly helpless. We could sense its anxiety and restlessness, which only boosted my confidence.
I directed the stone men through the Life Gate, where ten ancient Swordsmen guarded each side. The Swordsmen's clothing had been reduced to dust, yet their blades gleamed brightly as they turned their gaze towards the stone men. The stone men were disarmed. I spat out a mouthful of blood as Big Mouth Lee affixed Yellow Talismans to those stone men; this talisman, known as Gang Zheng, could enhance rigidity. Indeed, the twenty Swordsmen could only see countless sparks flying.
Clearly, this group of Swordsmen were formidable figures from ancient times. To deal with them, we had to use numbers to our advantage, breaking them down one by one. I didn’t care about any code of honor; I quickly maneuvered eight stone men to swing their Azure Dark Swords at one Swordsman. The clash of blades sent sparks flying, and in an instant, the Swordsman was reduced to a pile of flesh. Following this method, I relentlessly attacked the remaining Swordsmen and eliminated them all in just over ten minutes.
"Dang!" The sound of metal clashing echoed through the tomb passage. Deeper inside the Life Gate stood six Lifters guarding the way. I commanded eight stone men to strike at one of them with tremendous force, like a hammer driving down.
That Lifter seemed incredibly strong, delivering six or seven rapid punches that struck the stone man’s core, forcing it back several steps. Then came the eighth, ninth, and tenth punches... all sixteen stone men staggered back, some even losing their arms. "It seems this challenge can only be overcome with strategy rather than brute strength!" I carefully observed the six Lifters' techniques; they were all similar to Muay Thai moves designed for lethal impact. However fierce their strikes were, they followed a predictable pattern.
"What the hell! This is actually Shaolin Diamond Copper Man Fist!" This was beyond comprehension; we knew martial arts were often exaggerated in tales. To counter such a technique, my street fighting experience would clearly be useless. Bald Qiang shouted, "Do you know about Antaeus?"
"Now I understand!" Bald Qiang had studied modern martial arts and understood the principles behind force application well. According to Greek mythology, Antaeus was the son of Gaia, the Earth Goddess, and Poseidon, the Sea God; he lived in Libya. His wife was named Tinggis. Antaeus possessed immense strength and was invincible as long as he remained in contact with the ground; once his heels left the earth, he lost his power.
"As they say, 'Every creature has its nemesis.' It seems that saying holds true!"
I commanded sixteen stone men to crouch on the ground. As one Lifter swung a bear hug punch, I seized its heel and yanked hard. The Lifter was lifted off its feet and immediately became limp without any strength to resist. I quickly maneuvered the Azure Dark Sword to turn it into mush. After six successive strikes of power, I finally took down all six Lifters.
Advancing deeper brought us closer to the Life Gate where we needed to break through Rest Gate. To my surprise, Rest Gate was completely empty; not a single living dead soul was in sight—was this truly a missing location?
"It doesn't look like it at all! I clearly counted earlier that there were guards here!"
"Where the hell did that guy go?" We looked around, feeling the chilling wind. We took a few more steps forward when suddenly, we heard several gunshots. Flashes of light erupted, and then we were plunged into endless darkness.
"Damn! Is this what they call a Shadow Warrior? What the hell, how did we end up in a martial arts movie?" Bald Qiang was stunned, but he had the most authority on this matter. "They're all cloaked in black, so we can't see them at all. If it weren't for Dong Tong's gunfire earlier, I wouldn't have noticed anything!"
With the enemy hidden and us exposed, there was no way to fight back! We were definitely at a disadvantage...
These Shadow Warriors were rumored to be Eastern wanderers. They excelled at using various fabrics to blend into their surroundings like chameleons. This group was particularly skilled at hiding; they weren't easily detectable. Once they launched their attack, we would have no way out. For now, we could only rely on the stone figures for protection.
Big Mouth Lee, Bald Qiang, and I each took cover behind a stone figure. We could hear the wind whistling as several stone figures had their heads chopped off; we didn't even notice when their heads rolled to the ground.
What could possibly break this situation?
In my hesitation, I felt a blade slice across my face, and blood began to flow.
"Damn it! We can't fight back; there's no place to use our strength!" Bald Qiang complained.
Dong Tong reminded us through the walkie-talkie, "If you want to break the formation, it's best to counter with a formation of your own. The Xuan Kong Jing has methods to counter this shadowy formation, but you'll need to form a Triad Formation and attack head-on. With life against death, the strange formation will surely break!"
There was no time for me to think carefully; it felt like countless blades were slicing toward me...
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