Chapter 46: The Mysterious Artifact Emerges, Astonishing Everyone!
On the bonfire square, the slaughter continued unabated.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I can give you money, I have so much at home… ahhh!”
Thwip!
A sharp blade sliced through the boy’s neck, blood trailing along the edge, painting a long crimson line beneath the night sky.
The boy clutched his neck in terror, but it was futile; blood seeped through his fingers, and the color in his eyes gradually faded until all was calm.
In two minutes, seventy-six lives turned into cold numbers, bringing the sealed container one step closer to unlocking.
“Phew~” A young man flicked blood from his fingertips, gazing regretfully at the girl lying dead in his arms.
“Come on, hurry up. Why are you still holding a corpse?” someone impatiently urged.
The young man stood, greedily eyeing the girl. “She’s so tender-looking. It’d be great if I could date her.”
Just then, a gentle breeze swept past, and a detached voice sounded behind the young man: “It’s not too late for you to go and talk to her now.”
Bang!
Li Chenqiu crushed the man’s skull with his bare fingers, then kicked up, catching the broad sword that was stabbed into the ground with a steady grip.
The sudden scene stunned all the awakened ones present.
“Wait… you are—”
“Li Chenqiu… Run!!!” a man shouted as he came back to his senses. But just as he turned to flee, a cold gleam flashed in his peripheral vision.
Swoosh!
The instant his foot landed, a slender line of blood extended from his forehead down his neck.
Thwip!
With a spray of blood, his body split cleanly in two, collapsing on either side, the cut as straight as the horizon.
Li Chenqiu wiped the blood off his eyelashes, then in a flash, lunged at the other awakened ones.
For a moment, the night air was filled with the sound of blood spraying and anguished cries, composing a sinister symphony beneath the moonlight.
After the last awakened one fell, Li Chenqiu lifted the broad sword and stood upright, turning his head toward the sealed container. His crimson eyes gleamed with chilling intensity under the moon.
On the container, the digits “9999” were etched, writhing eerily like worms.
---
“Just one short?” Li Chenqiu furrowed his brow, about to seize another passerby when a faint plea for help came from a pile of corpses in the distance.
“Don’t leave… please help me…”
He halted mid-step and turned toward the source of the voice.
From between the towering heap of bodies, a bloodied head squeezed out, begging him with desperate eyes.
Li Chenqiu smiled faintly, moving like the wind to the girl’s side.
“Save me,” she trembled, clutching his pant leg.
He nodded slowly. “Thank you. I’ll give you a quick release.”
No sooner had the words fallen than his broad sword pierced her forehead with lightning speed, ending her fragile life.
The moment she died, the writhing “9999” on the container finally changed to “10000,” and the gray-black grime on its surface flaked off in patches.
Thump, thump…
Like the beating of a heart, a pulse echoed from within the container, vibrating the entire box in rhythm.
Li Chenqiu gripped his sword tightly and cautiously approached, his mind swirling with questions.
Wasn’t there supposed to be a mystic artifact inside? How could it be beating like a heart?
Sensing his approach, the heartbeats suddenly exploded into a deafening roar, like thunder crashing through the heavens. The terrifying soundwaves spread like a tsunami, cracking the surrounding corpses.
But to Li Chenqiu, it was nothing more than a mere tickle.
Calmly, he reached the container and after a moment’s thought, raised his sword overhead and struck down mercilessly.
Crack!
The container shattered like tofu, wood chips flying everywhere.
Before he could see what mystic artifact lay within, a dreadful surge of energy burst forth, blasting him hundreds of meters away.
At once, a dazzling blood-red pillar shot into the sky, breaking through the prison mirror’s barrier with a thunderous boom, piercing the thick clouds and bathing the entire northern Yellow Mountain’s sky in deep crimson.
“Hahahahahaha!”
A sharp, piercing laugh echoed across the horizon, scattering the clouds and stirring wild winds.
Rumble, rumble~
---
The blood-red pillar roared, then compressed into a thin veil, spreading slowly until it reached a hundred meters wide before halting.
“Come, come in. Didn’t you want me?” The voice was laced with madness and anticipation, sounding like the ramblings of a lunatic.
Supporting himself on a nearby corpse, Li Chenqiu rose, a flicker of excitement gleaming in his eyes. With a sudden stomp, he shot forward like an arrow into the thick blood-red mist, vanishing from this world.
…
With the prison mirror’s barrier shattered, the skulking Ma Mian and Shen Yuanguo were exposed, unable to hide any longer.
Yet neither fled, and the three from the An Tong Division refrained from attacking. All stood in stunned silence, staring at the bloodied portal standing between heaven and earth.
Ma Mian’s eyes widened. “Is that… a sentient mystic artifact?!!”
Next to him, Ye You’s heart jolted. As a member of the An Tong Division, she understood exactly what Ma Mian meant.
Mystic artifacts vary in strength but lack formal ranking, as their abilities are too diverse to classify. Except for one kind—spiritual mystic artifacts!
Spiritual mystic artifacts possess independent consciousness, cannot be destroyed, wield powers beyond mortal comprehension, and stand above all other mystic artifacts.
Moreover, they uniquely recognize their masters. Only those acknowledged can wield them; these individuals are called spiritualists. The stronger the spiritualist, the stronger the artifact becomes, each reinforcing the other.
The last time the Federation saw a spiritual mystic artifact was nineteen years ago—a spear known as the Crimson Tassel Spear.
It was ultimately claimed by a young man named Huangfu Qing, now the commander of the Federation’s Second Army Group.
Thinking of this, Ye You’s breath quickened, and she instinctively stepped toward the blood-red portal.
Click.
The sound of footsteps shattered the silence among them.
Ma Mian reacted first, grabbing Shen Yuanguo and pulling him back. Then, like a cannonball, he charged toward the blood-red portal, shouting, “Hahaha, this spiritual mystic artifact is mine! Mine!!!”
“You bastard, someone like you deserves no spiritual artifact!” Shen Yuanguo cursed, vanishing and reappearing hundreds of meters away.