Chapter 130: The Seeping Resentment

The viscous, dark crimson liquid, almost black, slowly bled across the rough, mended cracks of the cement floor. It formed a small, unsettling pool, a stain that sent shivers down one’s spine.

The air within the room instantly congealed, thick with unspoken dread.

The phantom spectacle of the three girls, eternally suspended, their souls silently weeping in torment and sorrow, continued to play out.

All ambient sounds seemed to have been forcibly silenced, as if a mute button had been pressed the very instant that ‘blood’ began to seep.

“What… what is this?!”

Lu Yang’s voice was laced with a sob, his flashlight beam locked onto the dark crimson liquid. His entire body trembled uncontrollably.

“Blood? How can there be blood here?”

He dared not utter another word.

Qin Xuan’s glasses reflected a cold gleam in the dim light. Far from retreating, he took a half-step forward.

He crouched down, meticulously illuminating the seeping liquid with his flashlight, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

“The color is wrong.”

“If this were human blood from thirty-four years ago, it would have long since oxidized to black or carbonized.”

“This color… it’s too ‘fresh,’ and its viscosity is abnormal. It doesn’t resemble mere blood.”

He analyzed calmly, even retrieving a small sampling vial and a slender glass rod from his toolkit. He carefully attempted to collect a sample.

However, just as the tip of the glass rod was about to touch the liquid—

“Sizzle…!”

A faint, yet piercing, corrosive sound erupted!

The tip of the glass rod, where it met the liquid, visibly blackened, softened, and dissolved at an alarming rate!

In just two or three seconds, it transformed into a small clump of gray-black residue, falling into the dark crimson pool and vanishing without a trace.

Qin Xuan’s pupils contracted sharply. He swiftly pulled back his hand, staring at the half-broken glass rod with its jagged end. For the first time, a clear expression of grim solemnity settled upon his face.

He muttered to himself, his gaze returning to the floor. ‘This substance appears extremely dangerous.’

As if provoked by Qin Xuan’s probing, or perhaps because a critical threshold had been breached, a low bubbling began.

“Gurgle… gurgle, gurgle…”

A faint, continuous bubbling sound emanated from the cracks in the floor.

Then, to everyone’s horror, more dark crimson liquid surged from the cracks, as if endowed with life!

The flow accelerated, its spread rapidly expanding, quickly forming a small, viscous, writhing ‘pool of blood’ across the mended area!

The nauseating stench of gore in the air instantly intensified tenfold!

“Holy hell—!”

Lu Yang, directly in its path, shrieked, clutching his head as he collapsed to his knees. His face was ashen, his forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat.

As a mere ordinary person whose spiritual perception had only just awakened, he was utterly incapable of enduring such a direct and overwhelming onslaught of negative spiritual energy.

Su Mian felt nothing. The barrier formed by the necklace Xiao Moyuan had given her protected her completely.

Under the special circumstances, Miyuki-maru had no choice but to reveal her identity. She stepped forward, her ice-blue hair stirring without a breeze, and a sudden burst of frigid energy erupted around her.

“Freeze!”

With a clear, low shout, a biting chill radiated from her. The ground instantly froze into a thick layer of white frost, rapidly spreading towards the expanding ‘pool of blood’!

Wherever the extreme cold passed, even the lingering resentment in the air seemed to be frozen solid.

However, when the frigid energy touched the edge of the dark crimson liquid—

“Hiss—!”

Large plumes of white steam violently billowed upwards!

The extreme cold and the corrosive liquid were locked in a fierce struggle!

Miyuki-maru’s brow furrowed tightly, and a flicker of surprise crossed her ice-blue eyes.

She could sense that the resentment contained within the liquid was far more potent than that of an ordinary bound spirit.

Hua Liang had been standing a little behind, his eyes calmly fixed on the ‘pool of blood’ and the looping phantom of the three girls still hanging.

It was a living illusion.

A familiar smile played on his lips, and he did not immediately intervene. His gaze was profound, as if observing something deeply.

“This is the materialization of resentment, mixed with Chen Wan’s blood, pain, and fear from her death, as well as… the fear and despair absorbed from others during thirty-four years of suppression, and a portion of the seal itself.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Now the seal is loosening, and what was suppressed is seeping out.”

As if to confirm Hua Liang’s words, the center of the ‘pool of blood’ suddenly began to churn violently!

The viscous liquid writhed upwards like living tentacles, gradually outlining an extremely blurred female silhouette!

The silhouette had no clear facial features, only a vague human form.

At the same time, the three phantom female spirits, who had been endlessly hanging, suddenly froze in their movements, as if summoned by some unseen force!

They all turned their heads—though their faces remained hollow and vacant—and with their unfocused ‘gaze,’ they looked towards the blurred silhouette forming from the liquid.

The next second, the three phantoms were violently pulled, as if by a powerful suction, and flew towards it!

Upon contact, their figures rapidly melted and disintegrated, transforming into three gray-white streams of light, filled with pain and terror, which were completely swallowed by the dark crimson liquid silhouette!

The liquid silhouette abruptly expanded in size!

The resentment and malice it exuded surged dramatically!

Even Miyuki-maru’s frigid energy was forced back several paces!

Lu Yang was utterly bewildered by Miyuki-maru’s displayed abilities and Hua Liang’s analysis.

“Miyuki-maru, how do you possess such abilities?”

After a flicker of surprise, Qin Xuan did not delve deeper. He simply took out paper and a pen, silently recording all relevant information in his small notebook.

Hua Liang continued, “They are being ‘reclaimed.’ These three imprisoned souls are components of Chen Wan’s resentment. Now that the seal is loose, the main entity is actively retrieving its scattered power!”

Hua Liang quickly made his assessment.

“The current leakage and materialization of resentment indicate that the seal’s power has begun to wane.”

“We now need to locate the eye of the evil spirit seal, which is where Chen Wan’s remains are buried, to resolve the problem at its root.”

A violent spiritual shockwave swept through the room once more!

It was several times more intense than before!

Lu Yang’s eyes rolled back, and he promptly fainted.

Miyuki-maru grunted. She gritted her teeth, and more frigid energy solidified into a thick ice wall, erecting a barrier between everyone and the liquid silhouette.

“Young Master! This thing is absorbing the yin energy from the earth veins and residual fear, growing stronger by the moment! I can barely suppress it!” Miyuki-maru’s voice carried a hint of urgency.

Hua Liang finally moved.

He did not look at the roaring liquid silhouette, but instead cast his gaze towards the ceiling of the room—more precisely, towards the direction of the ‘non-existent sixth step’ above the ceiling.

“Simply suppressing these ‘seepages’ here is useless. The foundation of the seal has already been shaken, and the array’s eye is polluted. Blocking is not as effective as channeling; suppressing is not as good as guiding.”

Hua Liang raised his hand. Within his palm, dense demonic energy began to condense, emitting an awe-inspiring aura of ‘fear’ that commanded a hundred ghosts.

“Miyuki-maru, maintain the ice wall and protect them.”

Hua Liang’s voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness. “I’ll go up and investigate.”

“From there, I might be able to directly access the core of the seal, and even the source of Chen Wan’s resentment.”

“Young Master!”

A flicker of worry crossed Miyuki-maru’s ice-blue eyes. “The situation upstairs is unknown. You alone…”

“Someone has to go and see.”

Hua Liang smiled, a grin that held the confidence and untamed spirit of the Lord of a Hundred Ghosts. “Besides, do you still not trust my strength?”

He paused, then looked at Su Mian. “Little fox, did your man tell you what to do if you encountered a situation like this, or if… the ‘sixth floor’ appeared?”

Su Mian instinctively accepted the address. She froze for a moment, and Xiao Moyuan’s words flashed through her mind—[Your mission is to help me confirm the exact location and current state of the evil spirit seal’s eye.]

However, the current situation had clearly surpassed the scope of merely ‘confirming the state.’

She looked into Hua Liang’s profound eyes, and a sudden inspiration struck her. She blurted out, “He said… if conditions allowed, to try and approach the ‘sixth floor’ to confirm the location of the evil spirit seal’s eye…”

Hua Liang’s smile deepened. “As expected. Perfect, then. I’ll go help him confirm it.”

Before his words even faded, Hua Liang’s figure blurred, as if merging with the surrounding shadows.

The next moment, he appeared at the tightly shut door of the chemistry preparation room.

“I’ll be back shortly. Miyuki-maru, I’m leaving this to you.”

With that, he pulled open the door, his figure flashing, and vanished into the dim corridor outside.

“Hua Liang!”

Su Mian couldn’t help but call out, but her only reply was the soft ‘click’ of the door hinge closing and the rapidly receding footsteps from outside.

Inside the room, the pressure did indeed lessen with Hua Liang’s departure.

However, the liquid silhouette, having devoured the souls of the three girls, became even more solid, relentlessly slamming against the ice wall Miyuki-maru had conjured, emitting a resounding ‘thump, thump’ like a heartbeat.

Fine cracks had already begun to appear on the ice wall. Miyuki-maru’s face grew increasingly pale, but she continued to grit her teeth and hold on.

Qin Xuan quickly checked the unconscious Lu Yang, confirming that he only suffered spiritual trauma and was not in immediate danger.

Su Mian watched Miyuki-maru struggling to hold on, then looked at the unconscious Lu Yang and the focused Qin Xuan, her heart filled with anxiety.

If she were to help, her identity as a fox demon would undoubtedly be exposed to Qin Xuan. Yet, she found herself unable to remain indifferent.

She gazed at the liquid silhouette, which relentlessly assaulted the ice wall. Last night, Sang Wan’s clear eyes, which had ultimately been drowned in despair, resurfaced in her mind. A bold idea suddenly flashed across her thoughts.

What if… what if this liquid silhouette truly contained Chen Wan’s lingering consciousness and resentment…?

Then, could she communicate with it? Could she try to… understand that pain, to respond to that despair?

But seeing Miyuki-maru’s increasingly pale face, and the spreading cracks on the ice wall… she seemed to have no better option.

Moreover, Xiao Moyuan had said that fox demons inherently possessed an affinity for ‘spirits’ and ‘thoughts’…

Su Mian took a deep breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart and restless demonic energy.

She took a few steps forward, coming to stand behind Miyuki-maru’s ice wall, gazing through the barrier at the roaring liquid silhouette outside.

“Su Mian? What are you doing?”

Miyuki-maru noticed her approach and asked, her voice tinged with weakness, as her focus wavered.

“I… I want to try.”

Su Mian’s voice trembled slightly, but her eyes held an unusual resolve. “Try to… talk to her.”

“Are you insane?!”

Miyuki-maru’s ice-blue eyes were filled with astonishment and disapproval. “That is a special-grade resentment accumulated over thirty-four years!”

“In your current state, actively engaging with it is far too dangerous!”

Su Mian bit her lower lip. “But Miyuki-maru, you can’t hold on much longer, and Hua Liang went upstairs, we don’t know when he’ll return… We have to do something; we can’t just wait.”

She closed her eyes, no longer looking at the terrifying silhouette, and slowly quieted her consciousness.

With utmost care, she extended a wisp of extremely subtle and gentle demonic energy to perceive, tentatively reaching out beyond the ice wall, towards the heart of that overwhelming resentment.

However, the moment Su Mian’s demonic energy perception touched the edge of the resentment emanating from the liquid silhouette—

The anomaly recurred!

The liquid silhouette’s violent movement abruptly paused for an instant!

Immediately after, Su Mian felt her consciousness being violently seized and pulled by a massive, chaotic torrent!

Innumerable fragmented images flooded her mind in a frenzy!

A simple but tidy girls’ dormitory, a slender figure in faded, old clothes intently reading a tattered, thread-bound book under a lamp… (Peace, thirst for knowledge)

Several fashionably dressed girls surrounded her, pointing at the old manuscript in her hand, their faces showing mockery and a faint hint of fear… (Confusion, unease)

The dim chemistry preparation room, being shoved, a sharp pain and burning sensation in the back of her head, blurred vision, hearing terrified screams and malicious curses… (Excruciating pain accompanied by bewilderment, fear)

Her neck constricted by coarse fabric, unable to breathe, vision darkening, the last thing she saw were several familiar faces, distorted by fear, yet even more sinister… (Despair, hatred, unwillingness)

One blurred figure after another ascending a phantom staircase, dissipating in extreme terror, their fear transforming into sweet nourishment… (Hunger, pleasure)

Su Mian clutched her head, letting out a pained groan, her body swaying precariously. The influx of these conscious fragments was too vast, too negative, too intense, threatening to overwhelm her own consciousness!

“Su Mian!”

Miyuki-maru cried out in alarm, wanting to divert her attention to help, but the pressure on the ice wall suddenly increased, and the cracks spread faster. She had no choice but to concentrate all her strength on maintaining the defense.

Qin Xuan also noticed Su Mian’s abnormality. He stopped recording and quickly stepped forward to support Su Mian.

“Su Mian! Stop! Cut the connection immediately!”

Su Mian’s face was ashen, cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her eyes were unfocused, as if she had fallen into some terrible nightmare. Her lips and teeth moved, unconsciously uttering a few broken syllables: “Cold… so dark… why… me…”

Just as Qin Xuan was about to forcibly pull Su Mian away from the ice wall’s range—

The pendant of the necklace on Su Mian’s chest, which had been emitting a soft white glow—no, it wasn’t just soft, but all its protective power, as if receiving a command, suddenly transformed into an extremely concentrated beam of light.

Following the wisp of demonic energy Su Mian had extended, it reversed course and invaded the core of the liquid silhouette!

At the same time, the frantic negative fragments surging into Su Mian’s mind were forcefully dispelled by a warm light!

She went limp, gasping for air, her eyes gradually regaining clarity, though filled with lingering fear and bewilderment.

“That was… the necklace?”

She looked down at the pendant on her chest, its glow now soft again, but still radiating warmth. The liquid silhouette had visibly shrunk in size. Though it still exuded resentment, its aggressiveness had greatly diminished.

Miyuki-maru’s pressure instantly dropped. She seized the opportunity to reinforce the ice wall, finally stabilizing the defensive line. She too looked at Su Mian’s necklace with astonishment.

“What a powerful spiritual artifact. Not only can it defend, but it can also severely wound a special-grade evil spirit…”

At this moment, after the intense emotional shock, Su Mian’s two snow-white fox ears and fox tail emerged. As luck would have it, Lu Yang had just woken up.

The moment he saw Su Mian clearly, he was completely stunned. He had seen Su Mian in women’s clothing before. But now, Su Mian was even more breathtakingly beautiful than she had been then.

Her every movement effortlessly stirred the primal desires of the opposite s*x. He gasped, “Damn it, Mianzi… why did you turn into a fox spirit?”

***

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