The thick fog made it difficult to see, causing Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu to dare not step too far from each other, fearing they might get lost in the dense, foggy mist. The two men had walked for a while and found no sign of Ping'an or Xiong Grandma. As they thought they might be wandering endlessly, they noticed the fog mist thinning, and soon, a road emerged ahead of them.
Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu walked through the thinning fog. They were standing on a dirt road, and before them, the dirt was as black as ashes. The trees and vegetation were also dark gray. There were three roads ahead: one to the left, one in the middle, and one to the right.
Zhao Renshu looked around, a thoughtful expression on his face. "The people who set up this barrier are very talented, but weak. If my master came across this, the portal would have been sealed already."
"How is it?" Guo Baiyu asked, his voice low.
"You see over there," Zhao Renshu pointed out. "This is like a Yin Yang maze, separating darkness from lightness. Take a look at the dense dark wood, and then compare it with where we stand. Look at the difference in the soil." He bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt. "Normal color. The soil over there is dark." He pointed to two statues. "The two statues prevented the evil from passing."
Guo Baiyu looked at the two statues closely. The two statues stood on both sides, guarding the passage. Each statue had eight arms, each arm holding a different weapon.
"Which way do you think they went?" Guo Baiyu asked, his gaze shifting between the paths.
Zhao Renshu sighed, a grim worry clouding his face. "No matter which way they went, it would only lead to one destination: the spirit portal."
"Then we better find them fast," Guo Baiyu urged, his voice sharp with urgency.
"We better hope that no demons or spirits have passed through the portal," Zhao Renshu murmured, a new concern in his tone. "As part of the ceremony, Ping'an was given a pure silver bell. The pure silver would attract spirits." He reached into his inner robe and pulled out a red string. "Give me your hand."
Guo Baiyu stretched his left hand out. Zhao Renshu tied the red string onto his wrist.
"This will protect evil spirits from possessing your body," Zhao Renshu explained.
"How about you?" Guo Baiyu asked.
Zhao Renshu opened his left robe, revealing a small, intricate circle tattooed on his left chest. "Mine is right here," he stated. It was a circle the size of a man's fist, looking very similar to the fire magic binding circle Zhao Renshu had created in the past, but words were written within the circle on his left chest. "This is a protective spell. If we make it out alive, I can tattoo one for you." He teased Guo Baiyu by bumping his right shoulder against Guo Baiyu's left shoulder. "But your skin is too white; I don't know if you can bear the pain." He smiled, then added, "Hey... your next word will be 'ridiculous,' right?"
Guo Baiyu still remained calm, his expression unchanged. "We go straight."
Guo Baiyu followed closely, and Zhao Renshu led the way. The dead trees on both sides were dark charcoal. There was no sign of life, but many whispers from both men and women could be heard, disembodied and eerie. Black mist hung everywhere, swirling around them.
After a while, the two men reached a dark cave tunnel. They stopped, still wondering if they should enter the cave, but a loud scream from Ping'an made the two men rush headlong into the tunnel. The moment they burst out of the cave tunnel, an enormous worm tossed Xiong Grandma into the air. Xiong Grandma fell directly into the worm's open mouth.
The enormous worm was about twenty feet long and ten feet wide. Its mouth was about three feet wide and full of terrifying teeth, each tooth approximately ten inches long and two inches wide. On its face, there were no eyes or nose. There were only two big nostrils, about four inches each, located in the middle above the mouth.
"Grandmother!" Ping'an screamed, her voice raw with terror.
Zhao Renshu conjured a talisman and sent it directly at the worm, but it was too late. Xiong Grandma had already entered the worm's mouth. The talisman shocked the worm, causing it to let out a big, angry, eerie scream. The sound wave blew dead tree bark and small bone fragments flying at the three friends. The worm stretched forward, lunging at the trio.
"It's calling its friends!" Zhao Renshu shouted, his eyes wide.
A second worm jumped towards them from above the cave entrance. The two men grabbed Ping'an's arms and flew back to avoid the monstrous attack.
Zhao Renshu brought his hands together in seals and began to chant, his voice resonating with power. Two magic circles appeared, one on the ground and the other hovering in the air. The fire magic binding circle locked the worm inside, and the creature shrieked in pain.
"Stay back and protect Ping'an!" Zhao Renshu commanded, pushing Ping'an back towards Guo Baiyu.
As Guo Baiyu pulled Ping'an safely behind him, Zhao Renshu unsheathed his sword from the scabbard on his back and flew directly into the mouth of the first enormous worm.
"What are you doing?!" Guo Baiyu shouted, a horrified disbelief in his voice.
"Renshu!" Ping'an screamed, her eyes wide with terror.
Outside the forbidden forest, the townspeople were halfway up the hill when they heard the loud, piercing screams. They stopped, turning around to gaze at the ominous, mist-shrouded forbidden forest.
Both Guo Baiyu and Ping'an were utterly panicked, still unable to fully comprehend what had just happened.
Inside the body of the worm, Zhao Renshu pierced his sword into the inner wall of the grotesque creature. He then sent a powerful talisman down into the worm's stomach. In pain, the worm thrashed, stretching its body high into the air. As Zhao Renshu fell, his sword glided down the worm's inner throat all the way to its stomach. His action caused massive bleeding inside the worm.
The first enormous worm shook violently, twisted, turned, and rolled on the ground for about ten minutes, its movements agonizing. Then, it finally stopped moving. In the middle of the lifeless corpse of the first dead worm, a shiny sword poked out, gleaming faintly.
"He is alive," Guo Baiyu murmured to Ping'an, a mix of awe and relief in his voice.
The sword had made a large, gaping cut. Xiong Grandma slowly slipped out of the wound, her body covered in a viscous fluid.
"Grandmother!" Ping'an cried, rushing forward.
The two friends ran towards the dead worm.
After Grandma Xiong emerged, Zhao Renshu followed. Both Zhao Renshu and Grandma Xiong were covered with the worm's repulsive gastric fluid. Zhao Renshu shook off some of the fluid. He helped Xiong Grandma sit up, but she was unresponsive, probably because she had been in the worm's stomach for too long. Zhao Renshu immediately began to transfer his spiritual energy to Xiong Grandma, his brow furrowed with concentration.
Guo Baiyu and Ping'an reached Zhao Renshu and Xiong Grandma. Xiong Grandma'an eyes fluttered open a little bit.
"Ping'an..." Xiong Grandma murmured, her voice so weak that she sounded like she was whispering, a ghost of her former self.
Ping'an went behind Xiong Grandma and held her tightly, tears streaming down her face.
Xiong Grandma reached both hands out. Guo Baiyu held her left hand while Zhao Renshu held her right hand.
"Ping'an... Don't worry about not having anyone to love you," Xiong Grandma whispered, her voice barely audible.
Ping'an burst into tears. "Grandmother, please don't say that," she sobbed, clinging to her. "I need you to love me. Please stay with me. I haven't given you enough."
Zhao Renshu looked at Guo Baiyu, a question in his eyes. "How is she?" Zhao Renshu was going to transfer Xiong Grandma more spiritual energy, but Guo Baiyu shook his head, a grim understanding passing between them.
Xiong Grandma held the two men's hands tightly and said weakly, "Thank you." Her weak hands squeezed the two men's hands one last time, a final, tender grip. Then, her hands dropped down, lifeless.
"Grandma! No! Please come back!" Ping'an burst out crying, her voice a raw, desperate wail.
Xiong Grandma died in Ping'an's arms. Ping'an held her grandmother tightly, a profound, shattering grief washing over her. She had never felt this much pain before. Her mind was blank as she drowned in sorrow. Everyone who loved her had died. She held her grandmother, and her heart shattered into a million pieces.
Zhao Renshu exhaled, a heavy, somber breath, then stood up. "I need a favor."
"What is it?" Guo Baiyu asked, looking at Zhao Renshu, his face pale. "I also need a favor too."
"What?" Zhao Renshu asked, confused by Guo Baiyu's tone.
"Next time, if you're going to do something like this again, please inform us first," Guo Baiyu stated, a hint of exasperation and concern in his voice.
"Fine. About my favor?" Zhao Renshu replied, nodding curtly.
"What?" Guo Baiyu asked again, standing up.
"I am going to seal the portal," Zhao Renshu explained. "The problem is, I don't know where the portal is. I must release this worm."
"How can I help you?" Guo Baiyu asked, ready to assist.
"Sealing a portal gateway requires a lot of spiritual energy and human blood," Zhao Renshu explained. "The blood will continue to drip into the portal until it is completely closed. Human blood will keep the spirits and souls fighting, preventing them from approaching the portal." He paused, then added, "You might have to carry me back." He untied the sword's leather belt from his chest, then handed his sword to Guo Baiyu.
"Okay," Guo Baiyu replied, taking Zhao Renshu's sword and carrying it on his back.
Zhao Renshu conjured a talisman and sent it directly to the second worm. The talisman transformed into thirty small icicles, breaking the fire magic binding circle that held it. Many of the icicles hit the worm. The defeated worm circled back to a small pond not far from its current location. The two men chased after the worm to the pond. Zhao Renshu brought his hands together in seals and began to cast a spell. A yellow, clear, bright magic circle covered the dark pond.
"Now," Zhao Renshu said to Guo Baiyu, his voice strained.
Guo Baiyu unsheathed the sword and cut open his left forearm. Blood streamed from his arm to his hand, then dripped into the black pond. The entire pond immediately turned red, and the water began to boil furiously. The smell of human blood made creatures, souls, and demons scream from the blood pond, fighting each other in a frenzy, but the magic circles kept them suppressed. The portal pond became smaller and smaller, gradually shrinking.
After the portal gateway was completely sealed, Zhao Renshu fell to both knees, utterly exhausted. Guo Baiyu sheathed Zhao Renshu's sword and quickly went to help his fallen friend. He helped Zhao Renshu up, then they walked to Ping'an, who was still holding her dead grandmother.
"Let's get out of here," Zhao Renshu said weakly, his voice barely a whisper.
Ping'an looked at the two men. One was bleeding profusely from his forearm; the other was very weak and about to faint.
"Ping'an," Guo Baiyu said gently, "help Renshu, and I will carry your grandmother out of here."
Guo Baiyu carefully picked up Xiong Grandma's lifeless body. Zhao Renshu put his arm on Ping'an's shoulder, leaning heavily on her. The three friends, one weak and injured, and the deceased Xiong Grandma, slowly walked out of the forbidden forest.