152: The Gate of the Ancient Ruins and the Blood Rune
The moment he was swallowed by the red light, Liu Shan thought he would fall into boundless crimson, just like when he was struck by the blood pillar before.
But that did not happen.
The red light around him quickly faded, revealing a gray, hazy space.
Beneath his feet was hard black ground; stepping on it felt like walking on cooled magma, carrying a faint, lingering heat.
In the distance, gray mist permeated the area, obscuring any boundaries; he could only hear a low, rumbling sound, as if countless people were breathing simultaneously.
"Is this... inside the Ancient Ruin?"
Liu Shan tried to move his body and found that his New Power was still there, but it felt sluggish when circulating, as if suppressed by the surrounding gray mist.
The Three-colored Imprint on his forehead grew slightly warm, creating a strange resonance with the surrounding space, allowing him to vaguely perceive the dangers hidden within the mist.
He raised his hand and condensed a cyan-gold light blade; its glow appeared somewhat dim in the gray mist but remained stable.
"I must first find a way out."
Liu Shan steadied himself and walked toward the direction where the mist was relatively thinner.
He could feel that the direction of Chenyuan Lake was behind him, but when he looked back, there was only a dense gray mist, with no trace of the lake water; clearly, the Gate of the Ancient Ruin had closed, or rather, he had been completely brought into the depths of the Ancient Ruin.
After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the mist ahead gradually dispersed, revealing a massive stone platform.
The stone platform was built from black stone and was somewhat similar in shape to the Xuan Jin Snake altar, only much older and larger, and it was covered with the same dark red runes as the stone tablet at Chenyuan Lake.
These runes seemed alive, flowing slowly across the stone platform and emitting a heart-palpitating aura.
In the center of the stone platform stood a pillar also made of black stone; at the top of the pillar floated a fist-sized red bead, which contained a wisp of black mist that was constantly rolling and struggling, as if something wanted to break free from inside.
"That is..."
Liu Shan's pupils constricted sharply.
He could feel that the black mist inside the red bead emitted an aura similar to the Shadow Eater King, yet purer and even more evil!
Just then, the dark red runes on the stone platform suddenly accelerated their flow, converging into a blood-colored beam of light that shot straight into the sky, tearing a huge rift in the gray mist.
In the rift, one could vaguely see some blurred shadows swaying, as if countless eyes were watching this place.
Liu Shan's heart sank abruptly.
He could feel that the power of the light beam was attracting something in the mist, and those hidden dangers were gathering toward the stone platform!
He subconsciously took a step back, wanting to get away from the stone platform, but found his feet were as if nailed to the ground, unable to move.
The runes on the stone platform extended countless tiny blood-colored threads, which wrapped around his ankles and spread upward along his body!
"Not good!"
Liu Shan hurriedly condensed a light blade and slashed at the blood-colored threads.
The light blade collided with the threads, emitting a sizzling sound; many threads were severed, but they quickly reformed and continued to spread upward, even faster!
He could feel that these threads were absorbing his New Power, nourishing the runes on the stone platform and that red bead.
The black mist inside the bead rolled more violently, even emitting a low roar, as if it were about to break out of the bead!
"This stone platform is a trap!"
Liu Shan finally realized.
The opening of the Gate of the Ancient Ruin was not because he, the "Ruin Master," had returned, but because someone was using his Void Imprint Power to activate this stone platform and release the evil entity inside the bead!
Who was it? The Blood Master? Or some other unknown force?
There was no time to think.
The blood-colored threads had already spread to his chest; the loss of his New Power was accelerating, and the Three-colored Imprint on his forehead was beginning to dim, clearly on the verge of being completely suppressed by the threads.
The black mist inside the bead had condensed into a blurred humanoid shape; although its features were unclear, it emitted an aura of pressure even greater than the Blood Master and the Shadow Eater King combined, making it difficult for Liu Shan to breathe.
"Roar—!"
The humanoid mist let out a deafening roar, and countless cracks appeared on the surface of the red bead, clearly about to shatter completely!
At this critical moment, a familiar warm current suddenly erupted from within Liu Shan's body—it was the black light orb of the Shadow Eater King that he had previously absorbed into his body!
The black light orb broke through his skin and hovered in front of him, emitting an aura similar to the black mist inside the bead but even more fearful.
It seemed to recognize the entity inside the bead, trembling constantly as if in worship.
The blood-colored threads on the stone platform seemed affected by the black light orb, their flow speed noticeably slowing down, and their binding on Liu Shan weakened significantly.
"Now is the time!"
Liu Shan seized this opportunity and injected all the remaining New Power in his body into the mark on his forehead; the Three-colored Imprint erupted with intense light, forming a huge barrier that blocked both the blood-colored threads and the black light orb outside!
The barrier collided with the blood-colored threads, emitting a violent sound; the runes on the stone platform flickered unsteadily, clearly having sustained a significant impact.
The cracks on the red bead grew larger and larger, the roar of the humanoid mist grew louder and louder, and a pitch-black palm had already reached out from the cracks, carrying an aura of destruction, reaching toward Liu Shan!
Liu Shan knew he could no longer prevent its emergence.
All he could do now was to take advantage of the fact that the barrier had not yet shattered, shake off the binding of the stone platform, and escape from here!
He tried his best to resist the pull of the blood-colored threads, his body inching backward little by little.
Every inch he moved required a huge price; the loss of New Power made his vision go dark, and he was almost on the verge of fainting.
The black palm grew closer and closer; he could already see the black scales covering it, identical to the scales of the Shadow Eater King, only harder and more ferocious.
He was only one step away from the edge of the stone platform.
The black palm had already broken through the binding of the red bead and was slamming fiercely toward the barrier!
"Bang—!"
The barrier trembled violently, its surface covered in spiderweb-like cracks, clearly having reached its limit.
Liu Shan's body was jolted forward, staggering him and pushing him a few steps further from the edge of the stone platform.
But he did not give up.
He gritted his teeth, used his last ounce of strength, and leaped backward violently!
His feet finally left the black ground, breaking free from the binding of the blood-colored threads!
Almost at the same time, the barrier shattered completely, and the black palm, accompanied by a whistling wind, slammed into the spot where he had just been standing!
The black stones on the stone platform were smashed into powder, and the blood-colored runes instantly dispersed, only to quickly re-condense, emitting an even stronger stench of blood.
The red bead shattered completely, and the humanoid mist broke free from the bead; although still blurred, it emitted a suffocating pressure, its crimson eyes locked tightly onto Liu Shan in mid-air, letting out an angry roar.
Liu Shan tumbled a few times in the air, landed heavily on the ground, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He ignored the pain, struggled to get up, and ran frantically in the direction away from the stone platform.
Behind him, the humanoid mist slowly walked down from the stone platform; every step caused the ground to tremble violently, and the gray mist rolled around it, like submissive subjects.
Its speed was not fast, but it carried an inescapable sense of oppression, getting closer and closer to Liu Shan.
Liu Shan could feel that the shadow of death was once again looming over him.
He could even smell the scent of decay and blood belonging to the humanoid mist coming from behind him.
In the gray mist, some diverging paths vaguely appeared.
Where should he run?
Liu Shan's mind went blank, and he could only rely on his instinct, rushing toward one of the diverging paths that looked relatively safe.
The roar of the humanoid mist sounded not far behind him.
At the end of the diverging path, there seemed to be a faint glimmer of light.
Was that light hope, or another trap?
Liu Shan did not know.
He only knew that he had to keep running.
The footsteps behind him were getting closer and closer.