Chapter 9: Pink Skulls and White Bones
"There really is a ruin up ahead!"
Qin Mu raced along with the stampeding beasts, and suddenly saw the terrain drop ahead, revealing a canyon. Within the canyon, many ancient structures were still preserved—palaces stood scattered about, along with a broad plaza and towering buildings.
In front of this ruin stood a lofty gate, connecting both sides of the canyon, with thick ornamental pillars coiled by dragons carved into them.
The herd was charging straight toward this gate, rushing into the ruins.
"The darkness is coming!"
Qin Mu looked up, his scalp tingling. He saw the darkness flowing down the cliffs like ink, pouring into the canyon!
This darkness would soon reach the ruin's gate and swallow it whole!
The beasts grew even more frenzied, madly charging toward the gate. The herd became extremely dangerous, with beasts colliding and trampling each other. One misstep and you'd be crushed to pieces.
But there was no time to worry about that now. If they didn't make it into the ruins before the darkness arrived, they'd die even more horribly!
Qin Mu charged forward desperately, and suddenly grabbed the tail of a massive beast. That beast was incredibly imposing, like a swiftly moving black mountain. Wherever it passed, it sent other beasts flying or crushed them underfoot.
The beasts falling behind this giant creature also leaped up, grabbing its tail, letting it drag them into the ruins.
Qin Mu looked down and saw that beneath him, ferocious beasts that would normally be terrifying were now trembling in fear, clinging tightly to the giant beast's tail, not daring to move. He turned his head and saw Senior Brother Qu, Senior Sister Qing, and the other three still madly rushing toward the ruins, not far behind him.
Finally, just before the darkness swallowed the ruin's gate, the giant beast charged through the massive portal. At the same time, the darkness engulfed the gate like ink.
Senior Brother Qu, Senior Sister Qing, and the others came roaring in, but only Senior Brother Qu, Senior Sister Qing, and one other youth made it through before the darkness covered the gate. Of the other two youths, one was a step too late—only one arm made it through the gate. The other youth's face, chest, legs, half his abdomen, and one arm entered the gate, while the remaining half was swept by the darkness.
Senior Brother Qu landed inside the gate and immediately reached out to grab his two junior brothers. He caught one by the hand and pulled hard, dragging out a stark white skeleton from the darkness.
But before his other hand could grab the other youth, he saw that youth collapse to the ground.
Senior Brother Qu and Senior Sister Qing's hair stood on end. They saw that the front of this youth's body still had flesh and blood, but the back was completely stripped of flesh. Something in the darkness had devoured all the flesh from his back!
"What is in the darkness? How can such a thing exist?" Senior Sister Qing shrieked.
Senior Brother Qu steadied himself, exhaled a breath of foul air, and said in a deep voice, "When a man dies, it's like a lamp going out. Our two junior brothers died in the cause of eliminating demons and upholding the path. They died a worthy death, a heroic death. That little demon brat deliberately arrived at this ruin just before the darkness came, surely trying to use the darkness to kill us!"
The other youth was filled with righteous indignation and said hatefully, "He's also in these ruins, surrounded by darkness—there's nowhere for him to run! Let's find him, tear him limb from limb, and avenge our junior brothers!"
"There he is!"
Senior Sister Qing saw Qin Mu jump down from the giant beast's tail and immediately shrieked, "Little demon brat, you killed my two junior brothers, and you still think you can escape?"
Qin Mu was exasperated. "You people chased me for no reason, relentlessly, until nightfall, and ended up killing yourselves. What does that have to do with me? I've never provoked any of you, yet you come to kill me. How am I innocent?"
Senior Sister Qing gritted her teeth. "The little demon brat still dares to argue—"
"Demon your grandmother!"
Qin Mu shouted angrily, "Grandma and I just killed one deer to make clothes, and you call us demons. But you killed a whole herd of deer, and you still dare to call us demons?"
Senior Brother Qu's face darkened as he stepped forward. "This little demon brat is good at deceiving people. No need to waste words with him—just kill him!"
The three were about to make their move when suddenly a series of low beastly roars sounded. The three were startled and looked around. They saw that the ruins were packed with seven or eight hundred beasts, including no small number of lord-level beasts, all staring at them with unfriendly expressions and fierce glints in their eyes.
Senior Brother Qu thought to himself, "This is bad," and quietly took a step back. Seeing that they hadn't made a move, the beasts also calmed down and made no further aggressive moves.
Qin Mu found it remarkable. Normally, these beasts would fight fiercely over territory and prey, but now they were coexisting peacefully. Very strange.
"Could it be that these beasts have set a rule—no fighting or killing within the ruins?"
Qin Mu blinked. Many of the beasts were natural enemies that would normally fight to the death, yet they were at peace. This suggested his guess might be true. The villagers often said that beasts had spirits. The demon ape Qin Mu had encountered could even talk, calling him "little one" all the time. These beasts might really have established rules here.
Senior Brother Qu also realized this and breathed a sigh of relief. He said in a low voice, "Don't make a move tonight. Wait until dawn, then kill him immediately!"
Senior Sister Qing and the other youth nodded.
Qin Mu looked around. The ruins were vast, occupying the canyon like a city. Beasts were everywhere, but the plaza was completely empty of them.
On that plaza were only skeletons—human bones, about two or three hundred of them. They had died here for some unknown reason, still wearing splendid clothes.
"These are all women."
Strangely, these female skeletons were all sitting cross-legged in neat rows. There were fifteen rows, with fifteen skeletons in each row. It seemed that while they were meditating, a catastrophe suddenly struck, leaving them no time to escape. They died in an instant, turning into dry bones.
He approached the plaza and examined them closely. These female skeletons also had a leader, sitting cross-legged at the front of the formation.
All these skeletons, including the leader's, faced the same direction—toward the massive gate.
"Senior Brother, look!"
Senior Sister Qing's eyes lit up. She nodded toward the skeletons in the plaza and said in a low voice, "These skeletons are holding treasures! Every single one of them has a treasure in their hands!"
Senior Brother Qing swept his gaze over them, and his heart began to pound wildly. The skeletons held various items in their hands—some held precious swords, some grasped fly-whisks, some wore jade pendants, some cradled treasure bottles, and all kinds of weapons.
These treasures still gleamed brightly, as if freshly forged. They were clearly extraordinary treasures!
The most eye-catching was the luminous pearl held in the hands of the skeleton leader. The pearl floated in the skeleton's palm, and within it, mist and clouds seemed to flow.
This place was a massive treasure trove!
"If we could get our hands on these treasures..." Senior Sister Qing said in a low voice, her breathing quickening.
Even the treasure vault of the Five Elders of the Li River couldn't compare to a fraction of this!
With these treasures, they could probably establish their own sect and start their own school!
Senior Brother Qing's eyes flickered. He smiled and said, "Heaven has not been unkind to us! Fifth Junior Brother, go and fetch these treasures."
That Fifth Junior Brother stepped forward. The moment he entered the plaza, suddenly the whisk in one of the female skeletons' hands stirred. Its strands gently floated, each one like a living thing, slowly growing. One of the strands came before Fifth Junior Brother.
That whisk strand was like a tiny, slender spirit snake, raising its head to examine Fifth Junior Brother.
"Senior Brother Qu..." Fifth Junior Brother's voice trembled. He didn't dare turn his head.
Senior Brother Qu said in a deep voice, "These treasures are all dead, ownerless objects. Rest assured—"
Before he finished speaking, the whisk strand shot out like lightning, drilling into Fifth Junior Brother's eye. The other whisk strands came whistling in, boring into his other eye.
Fifth Junior Brother opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Qin Mu, not far away, watched as the youth visibly shriveled up. In an instant, he turned into a mummy!
The whisk was still wrapped around him. Soon, the mummy's skin dissolved, then the bones dissolved, leaving only a few pieces of clothing and a pair of shoes on the ground.
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