James Grant's voice came clearly through the wall. Joseph Qiao shook his head, and after a moment the shouting stopped. Joseph Qiao let out a sigh.
"It may be a bit unfair to James, but this is the only way. We don't plan to have much contact with him."
I looked at Joseph Qiao in confusion. His brows were tightly furrowed, looking heavily burdened. At that moment, Joseph Qiao pointed to the endless corridor ahead and spoke.
"Xing, you take them ahead. Paul, come with me. There's some trouble up front. Let's consider it helping James out this once."
I looked at Joseph Qiao in confusion. Lucille Xing came over and put her arm around my neck, leaning in close. I felt a chill run down my spine. Could she possibly be...
"What are you thinking, Rachel Lan? Let's go."
With that, Lucille Xing dragged me along. Luo Yu's eyes were filled with doubt. Joseph Qiao and Paul Zhao had already stepped into the wall and disappeared. I stared in surprise at their vanishing forms. No revenant could possibly pass through the underground walls here, as they are the foundation stones of the Shadow Realm.
In just one day underground, through the coexistence within my body, I could sense everything about this world. Here, the world is built from the ashes of dead ghosts, accumulated over countless ages. It gave me an overwhelming sense of heaviness.
Luo Yu and I followed Lucille Xing, moving steadily along the corridor. Suddenly, Lucille Xing stopped, turned around, and gave me a warm smile. I forced a nervous smile in return, feeling a little uneasy as I looked at her.
"We're here."
As Lucille Xing spoke, she passed through the faintly shimmering white airflow ahead and vanished. Luo Yu and I followed her in, and as soon as we entered, I was stunned. Scattered dome-shaped cottages climbed up the mountainside, arranged neatly along a winding stream. In front of us stood a small pavilion, flanked by dense woods.
"This is where we live now."
Lucille Xing spoke, looking somewhat helplessly at the largest house at the mountain's peak, bathed in sunlight. Everything around it was surrounded by green, but the light was dim except for that glowing spot at the summit.
"Just now, Joseph Qiao said the Hell Imprint counts as a boundary ritual. But I only remember how the ritual looks—drawing it doesn't actually do anything."
Lucille Xing smiled mysteriously.
"Of course. Without the power of Hell, how could you possibly activate the Hell Imprint?"
I grew even more confused. Lucille Xing patted my shoulder, then suddenly hugged me. I was startled and quickly pushed her away. She didn't seem to have any particular intention—more like she had known me for ages.
"Isn't there already an unknown flame inside you?"
I was even more surprised and asked:
"Is that the power of Hell?"
Lucille Xing nodded. I raised a finger, and after feeling a strange sensation at the tip, a small jet of black flame burst forth. Lucille Xing nodded again and said:
"This is one form of Cursefire, a power of Hell. It can't exist in the mortal world, but it does appear in those from the Yellow Springs. Why do you think that is?"
I didn't answer, but I felt a vague sense of unease. This mysterious power had appeared out of nowhere, completely outside my understanding. I couldn't feel anything from it, as if it had always been inside me, yet was utterly unfamiliar.
"How do you know all this, Miss Xing?"
I asked. Lucille Xing gently hugged me, patted my back, then smiled and said:
"That's a secret. Just trust us. When the eight of them return, we'll help you enter the central enclosure. After that, you just need to find the end, draw the Hell Imprint, and use the Cursefire within you to activate it. Then, everything will be over."
There was a hint of sorrow in Lucille Xing's voice. I couldn't tell what was wrong with her. Then she playfully pushed me away and led us to a small house by the stream. After we sat down, Lucille Xing began to boil water for tea. Luo Yu had remained silent since our arrival, seemingly deep in thought.
"We've known each other for a long time, Rachel Lan. That's all I can tell you. Don't ask anything more."
I responded with a quiet "mm" and didn't ask any further. After a while, we drank tea and waited. Joseph Qiao and the others had disappeared somewhere.
Time passed by the second. I was starting to get hungry. Lucille Xing seemed to notice and ran into one of the houses. Soon, she returned with some food. I thanked her and began to eat, but couldn't help wondering—how did she know what I liked to eat? And how could she tell I was hungry just by looking at me? I couldn't figure it out.
Just then, I sensed a presence—it was Joseph Qiao. He had returned, smiling as he walked over quickly.
"It's all taken care of."
Joseph Qiao said, while Lucille Xing muttered under her breath.
"You guys are really slow. Those officers may be strong, but they shouldn't have taken you this long to deal with."
Joseph Qiao shook his head.
"The others have temporarily returned to Scarlet Moon's base. Now, let's test the Hell Imprint. We can only try for now—if anything goes wrong, it'll be trouble since we're doing this on short notice."
I nodded, my stomach now full. Joseph Qiao led us toward the forest on the left. When we reached the edge, he waved his hand, and the dense woods transformed into a vast sandy field—it looked like a training ground.
"Let's try here."
I nodded, and we moved to the center. Using my finger, I began to draw the Hell Imprint from memory. Soon, the first central square maze was finished, and I started drawing the other four extending maze squares around it.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
In just over ten minutes, I finished. This incredibly complex pattern—I could actually remember it. Then I realized it was all thanks to Serena Chen. After researching the designs on the four sachets with her, I had memorized them without even noticing.
"Your memory is as good as ever, Rachel. I could never remember something so complicated."
I glanced sideways at Lucille Xing. At that moment, Joseph Qiao signaled that I could begin. I felt a bit nervous. With a thought, a small flame ignited at my fingertip—a quiet, black flame. I swallowed, crouched down, feeling just like I did as a child lighting firecrackers, tense and anxious.
Carefully, I pressed my finger to the center of the array. I noticed the flame on my fingertip flowed like water, streaming into the center square of the Hell Imprint before I even touched it.
I quickly stepped aside. We all watched as the black flame turned to flowing liquid, moving along the Hell Imprint. Gradually, I saw streaks of red appear at the center of the maze. Then, the four outer square mazes started to extend outward, each stretching into two more squares. The eight outer squares then kept extending. Still, we felt nothing. We all moved to the edge of the sandy field, watching as the black maze squares multiplied, spreading out from the center.
Just as I was marveling, a hideous ghostly face suddenly appeared at the center of the Hell Imprint, standing in the middle of the squares. The extensions finally stopped. I swallowed hard.
The ghostly face seemed to be staring at us. Its mouth slowly opened, as if grinning menacingly, yet the movements looked like it was trying to speak. Then, the face began to fade, vanishing in the blink of an eye. The Hell Imprint quickly contracted, returning to its original form.
"Looks like the power wasn't enough. Just a little isn't enough to activate the Hell Imprint."
Joseph Qiao said. I walked over, this time standing right next to the Hell Imprint. Placing my hand on its center, the black flame began to flow from my body, driven by my will, into the Hell Imprint.
In the blink of an eye, the Hell Imprint covered everything around us—including the ground beneath Joseph Qiao and the others, and the entire space, even the sky.
I stared in shock at everything around me. The ghostly face from before was gone, but I felt something inside me—as if I sensed something, though I couldn't quite say what.
Try to see if you can control the Hell Imprint.
Joseph Qiao shouted from afar. I nodded, closed my eyes, and began to use the power of coexistence.
I will obey your every command.
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed in my mind. The moment I opened my eyes, the world around me blurred, as if I were in a haze of flames and ashes. I stared in disbelief at the hideous ghostly face before me.
Who are you?
I am no one, or I can be anyone. I only obey Hell.
I swallowed, unsure of what to say.
I need power.
I spoke casually, and the ghostly face before me replied in a deep voice.
As you wish.
I stared in shock, eyes wide. Suddenly, everything returned to normal. Black dust swirled on the sandy ground, flowing like water or mud. Black humanoid figures appeared, holding weapons. The same thing happened in the sky and around Joseph Qiao and the others. I felt an unprecedented power surge within me, as if something was about to burst out of my body.
More and more humanoid figures appeared, each holding different weapons. They had no eyes, mouths, or noses—faceless beings. The power within each of them shocked me, like powerful bombs constantly being created around me.
Stop, Rachel Lan! This space can't handle it!
Joseph Qiao shouted as rumbling noises echoed. I immediately let go, and in an instant, all the humanoid figures around us turned into black dust and disappeared.