Chapter 646: Shrouded Rituals

Proceeding no further?

What’s going on?

……

They heard the priest in charge of the ceremony speak, while the other two priests wore faces of disbelief.

They were performing the curse-killing rite recorded in the Black Box Codex. According to the codex, if the ceremony is executed perfectly, failure is impossible. Moreover, once begun, the ritual cannot be halted until its conclusion.

In theory, no one should survive under their curse.

And no one could possibly defy the ceremony…

Yet that was exactly why they chose to lie in wait, even without a full grasp of their opponent’s abilities.

Now, though the preparations – even the early stages – had gone relatively well, the ceremony inexplicably stalled at a critical juncture.

Proceeding no further?

In their uncertain eyes, they saw Lu Xin completely ensnared by chains on the ruined platform.

The chains wound around him in loops, nearly reaching his neck.

However, these chains—manifestations of hell’s law—only gripped him as high as his chest.

Then, as if blocked by some unseen force, they stubbornly refused to climb any further…

Meanwhile, Lu Xin, eyes half-closed, had his pupils whirling incessantly.

The calm on his face had been shattered, replaced by a fierce struggle.

Beside him, violent and bizarre waves of mental power surged forward, relentlessly assaulting his opponent.

It was utterly incomprehensible.

Even as their adversary was already affected by the ceremony, his mental power continued to launch active attacks.

……

……

“I can hardly hold on…”

Amid mounting uncertainty, the lead priest suddenly cried out in agony.

He tore his black robe apart with both hands, unleashing an endless cascade of pale mental entities. These entities swirled around them, forming a circular barrier that blocked the enemy’s fierce mental assault.

But now, with the foe’s mental power growing ever more violent, the entities he released could barely keep pace.

Their confrontation with Lu Xin was a contest of will, resisting the enemy’s pressure while trying to undermine him at every turn.

Originally, they held the advantage – the ceremony was nearly complete.

But with the ritual disrupted, only the battle of mental power remained…

And in that, they were at a disadvantage.

“Quick—skip this phase and pronounce his end…”

One priest sensed trouble and shouted in a deep, foreboding tone.

“But the Black Box Codex mandates every step. No one dares casually skip any part…”

The priest presiding over the death rite hesitated, desperately explaining.

“If that guy wakes up again, we’re all doomed…”

Another priest, his anger overflowing, retorted.

“Fine then…”

The first priest steeled himself, forcing calm as his mental power softened. In a trembling chant, he intoned, “Legacy… no more about legacy. Your final mark in this world is the memory of your loved ones; you…”

Around them, the chaotic mental turbulence shifted into countless shapes with every word.

Even the overwhelming clamor momentarily subsided.

Just as they were about to impose the imperfect ritual upon Lu Xin, a sudden shout rang out.

“Are you done being annoying…?”

It was Xia Chong!

She had long sensed that something was off with Lu Xin.

But amidst the dense mental turbulence filling the underground deep pit – turbulence so intense it even prevented summoning of abyssal beings through contracts – she couldn’t form a coherent thought.

This bizarre, concentrated mental chaos was enough to disturb anyone’s mind.

It turned a person’s brain into a signal-less television.

Still, her unique ability to venture into the abyss afforded her a greater resistance to such chaos.

After enduring for a while, she gradually regained her clarity. She noticed that Lu Xin appeared to have slipped into a near-sleep state – no, rather, into a state bordering on death – and she could hear the drawn-out chant of the black-robed priest amid the chaotic mental turbulence…

Sensing danger, she finally resolved to move from behind Lu Xin.

“Swish” “swish” “swish” “swish”

Without Lu Xin’s protection, countless bloodstains immediately marred her body.

The dense mental turbulence sliced through her flesh like razor-sharp blades.

This torturous penalty, akin to slow execution, could drive anyone insane, yet Xia Chong gritted her teeth and endured.

Amid such maddening pain, her small face remained expressionless; even her tender features tensed slightly, while a hint of wild laughter flickered in her eyes. Braving the raging mental assault, she stepped forward suddenly, retrieved the multi-barrel rotary gun from her back, and aimed it squarely into midair.

“Rat-a-tat-tat…”

The gun’s barrel spun, and blue flames burst from the muzzle as an endless hail of bullets pummeled the three airborne priests.

Here, her innate abilities were rendered useless.

But strapped to her back was her multi-barrel rotary gun – a heavy firepower weapon against enemies.

Clink, clank.

Countless spent casings clattered to the ground, sizzling as white smoke curled upward.

Under the tremendous impact, Xia Chong fired continuously while being jolted backward, soon retreating to the base of the wall.

Clusters of flickering blue electric arc bullets whistled toward the three priests in midair.

Astonishingly, every single one was a Special Bullet.

……

……

“Huh?”

Admittedly, even the three priests of the Black Box Codex were startled by Xia Chong’s terrifying firepower.

Especially the priest leading the death rite, whose concentration faltered for a moment. He nearly succumbed to the instinct to flee, but managed to hold back at the last second – though the ceremony was severely affected.

“Sigh…”

At this critical moment, facing such an assault, the ambush-specialist priest turned toward Xia Chong in helpless despair. His bloodshot eyes suddenly spun like wheels as he unleashed the mental energy around him.

The blue flames surrounding Xia Chong vanished into his billowing black robe,

only to reemerge from another direction, raining down relentlessly on Lu Xin.

“Swish!”

In that instant, Lu Xin abruptly opened his eyes.

Amid the chaos, it was impossible to tell how he suddenly regained consciousness.

Perhaps the opponent’s decision to skip a segment nullified the ceremony, or maybe Xia Chong’s overwhelming assault jolted him awake.

Or perhaps he was too entangled in pondering his legacy to choose death in the end.

But that last possibility was hardly likely.

In the moment when a barrage of bullets hurtled toward him, he suddenly opened his eyes.

In that first instant, his pupils were completely black.

The black shadow around his body roiled violently, even making the surrounding mental turbulence shudder. Then he stared ahead, expressionless, at the dense, crackling hail of bullets.

Buzz…

The air trembled so fiercely it nearly nullified all momentum.

The sweeping bullet rain suddenly froze midair, as if someone had pressed pause.

Then, all the bullets began to fall in a torrential downpour, like an impromptu storm.

At the same time, the black particles in Lu Xin’s eyes faded, and his clarity instantly returned.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the black-handed chains coiling around his neck.

This time, he didn’t forcefully tear them apart; instead, he focused on sensing his body.

Sure enough, at the point he concentrated on, the black-handed chains silently shattered, as if by magic.

After that, a surprised Lu Xin glanced toward the three priests.

“Are these people holding a funeral for me?”

“They’re conducting a funeral for a living man, awakening a deep-seated sentiment in his heart…”

“……”

He finally understood what his opponent was up to.

They had just performed a ritual that completely erased a person from this world.

A man’s death.

From life leaving his body to his funeral, from the stirring in his heart to having his legacy stripped away, and eventually fading from memory—

When nothing is left to cling to, he finally finds peace – or rather, he disappears.

Such an effect is nearly impossible to resist.

Because that feeling and the accompanying shift in thoughts are slowly nurtured within one’s heart.

It’s much like that funeral…

In some ways, could it be that these visions were born from his own secret yearning?

For a man to truly die…

……The only discrepancy is that I always thought I’d be incinerated!

……

“Insidious!”

Realizing this, Lu Xin also sensed the imminent danger.

Taking a deep breath, the black particles in his eyes began to tremble violently.

The black shadow by his side surged like a dark tide, crashing against the ceiling of the underground deep pit.

Then, as if transformed into a towering, trembling giant, it loomed over the three terrified black-robed priests, from which huge black hands emerged, reaching out tens of meters to grab them.

At the same moment that Lu Xin regained consciousness, Xia Chong felt the mental turbulence around him subside considerably.

Catching her breath, she picked up her multi-barrel rotary gun again and, standing shoulder to shoulder with Lu Xin, fired furiously into the air.

The whistling, trembling bullets and Lu Xin’s black shadow converged on the three priests opposite them.

The two of them stood at the edge of the ruined platform – on one side, the surging black shadow; on the other, rows of blue electric arc bullets. The combined onslaught was enough to send shivers down one’s spine, completely overwhelming the three priests.

……

……

“Truly, as expected of a mid-level investigator from Central City…”

The rapid-fire burst made Lu Xin glance at Xia Chong in admiration, deeply impressed.

Those were all Special Bullets…

If Lu Xin remembered correctly, each Special Bullet was worth two hundred dollars…

Xia Chong actually used them to provide covering fire?