45: Chapter 45 Black Nails

The moment the black markings touched the pool water, the edge of the Spiritual Vein pool seemed to be sliced open by ink.

Translucent text, visible only to Sect Master Di Kun, popped up in his field of vision, its edges trembling slightly: "The Origin of the Spiritual Vein pool has been polluted. After it spreads, the summoning stability for the second batch of Disciples will permanently decrease."

Sect Master Di Kun's jawline tightened.

The Speedrunner jumped down from the dark beam, and as soon as he landed, he saw the pool water had turned black in a circle, his curse stuck in his throat: "This thing can even pollute the respawn point?"

"Life-Skill Player, deal with the array nail."

Sect Master Di Kun did not rush toward Lin Liao. He took a qi gathering pill from the medicine pouch in his sleeve, the Medicinal Pill rolling between his fingers, its medicinal fragrance rendered astringent by the fishy chill of the pool water.

The Life-Skill Player had already rushed to the edge of the pool, carrying a medicine chest in his hand. The lid opened, and the bottles and jars inside clattered. He did not directly reach out to pull out the nail, first dabbing a drop of transparent medicinal liquid onto the edge of the black markings.

As soon as the medicinal liquid fell, gray smoke emerged, smelling like charred bone powder.

"It's not poison." The Life-Skill Player looked grim, picking up a bit of black residue and placing it on a porcelain shard, "Beast-taming bone nails, Abandoned Mine Warehouse yin-sha, and fragments of broken monuments... these are specifically designed to bite into the Origin of the Spiritual Vein."

The Sect Protection Elder drew his sword, the sword light skimming across the ground to block the black-clad Cultivator rushing toward the pool. The Cultivator crossed his dual blades, sparks flying onto the stone steps, carving deep marks into several old bricks.

Sect Master Di Kun swallowed the qi gathering pill.

As the Medicinal Pill went down his throat, heat burst open along his chest and abdomen. The wound on his shoulder was struck by the spiritual power, and deeper blood immediately seeped out from under the bandages. He raised his hand to press the wound for half a breath, then released it, his palm stained with dark red.

"Seal the outer section."

The Tower Defense Player pulled the mechanism winch with both hands, his teeth clenching loudly. The second layer of the gate outside the Underground Hall fell, the iron chains pulled taut, and the sound of wooden axles cracking came from within the walls. The mechanism had been rushed to be modified in the afternoon and could not withstand it for long; just as the iron bolt locked, white marks had already been hacked into the edge of the stone gate by the Cleanup Squad from the outside.

Lin Liao was blocked in the outer section, two black-clad Cultivators beside him taking turns swinging their blades; every time a blade fell, a layer of dust shook off the stone gate.

He was not in a hurry to break the door, instead leaning close to the crack, his voice drilling through: "You can guard a door, but can you guard the pool?"

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand, and the Sect Protection Elder immediately stepped to the left, giving him half a position of space.

A Cleanup Squad Cultivator took advantage of the shift in sword momentum to rush toward the pool, a second black array nail sliding from his sleeve. The moment the nail appeared, Sect Master Di Kun's gaze had already fallen on his wrist.

"He has a spare."

The Sect Protection Elder raised his sword tip, forcing back the opponent's dual blades. Sect Master Di Kun stepped onto the broken bricks, the spiritual power stimulated by the qi gathering pill surging into his palm. He did not use complicated spells, simply drawing a short blade from his waist and stabbing through the gap behind the Sect Protection Elder's sword light.

The black-clad Cultivator reacted extremely quickly, turning his wrist inward, the black array nail turning toward Sect Master Di Kun's face.

Sect Master Di Kun tilted his head, the tip of the nail brushing past his ear, bringing a cold breeze. His left hand gripped the opponent's wrist bone holding the nail, his knuckles exerting force, pressing that hand hard toward the ground.

Crack. The wrist bone dislocated.

The Sect Protection Elder's sword light fell, cutting open the black clothing on the opponent's chest. The short blade was immediately sent in from under the ribs, the blade tip hitting bone before being pulled out, warm blood splashing onto the bluestone by the pool.

That spare black array nail slipped from his hand and rolled away.

Sect Master Di Kun stepped on the nail, the sole of his boot pierced by tiny cracks from the bone patterns. He did not bend down to pick it up, just kicked the corpse to the side.

The corpse hit the stone steps, breaking off a corner of the step, and before it could roll into the pool water, it was forcibly poked back by the Speedrunner using a wooden pole.

"Don't let the dirty blood enter the pool!" The Life-Skill Player roared, his hands not stopping.

He poured three bottles of medicinal liquid in order around the outer circle of the black markings, then took out a handful of medicinal powder and sprinkled it. After the powder spread, the speed of the black markings' expansion finally slowed down, but it did not retreat, instead drilling downward along the stone cracks like a living creature.

"I can only suppress it; I lack Origin-type Materials." The Life-Skill Player's forehead was covered in sweat, his fingers scorched red by the gray smoke, "This nail has bitten into the dark vein; pulling it out by force will tear the crack wider."

Outside the door, hearing the words "dark vein," Lin Liao finally laughed.

The laughter was very low, passing through the stone gate, making one's eardrums tighten.

"It seems you have obtained the map corner."

Sect Master Di Kun stood by the pool, his boot sole still stepping on the spare black nail, blood seeping down the inside of his outer robe from his shoulder. He did not reply, his gaze falling on the crack in the stone gate.

Lin Liao's black bone earring swayed behind the crack, blood patterns crawling along the bone surface.

"Vice Sect Leader Han has long known that there is an old cracked vein under the Taichu Sect. A hundred years ago, this mountain gate didn't collapse completely; what remained was more than just a few broken monuments."

The sword in the Sect Protection Elder's hand trembled slightly, the sword tip carving a half-inch white mark on the ground.

Lin Liao continued: "Back then, no one dared to touch the residual core; moving it would kill a batch of people. Vice Sect Leader Han originally planned to wait until your rating was abolished, then slowly dig after taking over the mountain gate. You dug up the accounts and burned the Abandoned Mine Warehouse, so he had no choice but to destroy the pool first."

The Speedrunner leaned against a broken pillar, the color on his face turned cyan-white by the pool's light: "Sect Master, this old dog has been coveting our foundation for more than a day or two."

Sect Master Di Kun still did not speak.

He lifted his foot, kicking the spare black nail he had been stepping on toward the Tower Defense Player's feet.

The Tower Defense Player immediately clamped it with iron tongs and placed it into a seal-pattern wooden box. As soon as the wooden box closed, the lid bulged from the black qi. He pressed down with his entire arm, gritting his teeth: "This thing can still be studied, but don't let me hold it for too long; I'm afraid it will study me."

A muffled sound came from the side corridor.

The Dark Souls Player dragged a Cleanup Squad Cultivator through half a rotten door, the two rolling into the outer hall of the Spiritual Vein pool together. The Dark Souls Player's face was pale, the cloth strip on his left arm already soaked through, yet he used his knee to press firmly against the opponent's back, a short sword held horizontally between the opponent's fingers.

The Cultivator's fingers were still clutching an ignition talisman, just a fraction away from being able to ignite it.

The Dark Souls Player grinned, his teeth stained with blood: "Sect Master, caught one that's still breathing. It's just that this guy isn't very cooperative; I suggest taking his fingers apart into components first."

Sect Master Di Kun walked over, blood beads seeping from his shoulder wound as he crouched down. He reached out to grip the Cultivator's jaw, forcing him to look at the black markings by the pool.

"The solution."

The Cultivator's mouth was stained with blood, his eyes turning toward the stone gate.

Sect Master Di Kun increased the force in his fingertips, and the jawbone made a soft sound.

"The solution."

The Cultivator squeezed two words out of his throat: "Origin..."

Swish. A black needle shot in from outside the door crack.

The Sect Protection Elder swept his sword, but was still half an inch too slow. The black needle passed under the sword light and pierced the Cultivator's nape. The Cultivator's body stiffened violently, the remaining words in his mouth turning into a mouthful of black blood that sprayed onto the ground.

The Dark Souls Player's arm stiffened, then he released the corpse. He looked down at the black blood, his mouth twitching: "This teammate's silencing speed is faster than me logging off."

Sect Master Di Kun looked up at the stone gate.

The hacking and slashing sounds outside the door stopped.

Lin Liao did not continue the assault. Two short whistles came from the outer section, and the remnants of the Cleanup Squad began to retreat. They withdrew cleanly, even the broken blades on the ground were hooked away by their companions, leaving only the dust shaken off by the stone gate and a few deep knife marks.

The Tower Defense Player rushed to the winch, wanting to continue locking the outer gate.

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand: "Don't chase."

The Sect Protection Elder stopped his forward step.

"Sect Master, let him go?"

Sect Master Di Kun glanced at the edge of the Spiritual Vein pool. The black markings were still writhing gently under the suppression of the medicinal powder, and every time they probed half an inch outward, they were pressed back by a drop of medicinal liquid from the Life-Skill Player. The spiritual mist above the pool water had thinned significantly, and the originally clear water surface was cut into fragmented patterns by the black lines.

"The pool is not stable."

Outside the door, Lin Liao's voice came from afar, having already retreated to the end of the old corridor.

"Sect Master Di Kun, Vice Sect Leader Han will arrive in person within three days. By then, neither this pool nor your accounts will be safe."

The Speedrunner gripped his short blade, about to curse, but was pressed down by Sect Master Di Kun's raised hand.

Sect Master Di Kun walked to the edge of the Spiritual Vein pool, looking down at the black array nail stuck in the crack of the bluestone. The Life-Skill Player clamped the end of the nail with medical tongs, the black qi climbing up the tongs, only to be suppressed layer by layer by his talisman paper.

The pool water reflected Sect Master Di Kun's face, the black markings sliding across the shoulder of his reflection like an expanding crack.

"He wants to destroy the pool." Sect Master Di Kun's voice was not loud, "There is something under the pool that he wants more."

The Sect Protection Elder looked at him, the fingers gripping the sword slowly tightening.

The Life-Skill Player poured the last layer of medicinal liquid, and the black markings were pressed back to within three feet of the nail. The spiritual mist did not recover, but a circle of indelible black marks remained on the bluestone by the pool, as if it had been burned through by fire and then doused with cold water.

Sect Master Di Kun bent down, took the seal-pattern wooden box from the Tower Defense Player, and took out the animal skin map corner from his sleeve, pressing it onto the box lid. The edges of the map corner were curled by the dampness by the pool, the four characters "Residual Core of the Cracked Vein" appearing and disappearing in the flickering lamplight.

Outside the Underground Hall, the knife marks left by the Cleanup Squad's retreat lay across the stone gate, dust still falling. Sect Master Di Kun's fingertips pressed on the dark vein line on the east side of the map corner, the blackened pool water lapping gently against the stone steps, a circle of cold mist washing over his boot tops.