Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 460 – Approaching Omens (2)

Great Yan Temple[1] of the Esoteric Buddhism[2] [known for] true words[3], in Datong[4], northern Shanxi Province.

Behind the temple stood a large, towering peak, surrounded by over a hundred Vajra warriors of the Esoteric Buddhism chanting sutras while holding vajras.

The solemn chanting echoed throughout the mountainside, bringing peace to the minds and bodies of those who heard it. However, the Vajra warriors chanting looked unwell.

Their complexions were poor, with dark circles under their eyes, all looking extremely fatigued as if they hadn’t slept for a long time.

“Om somani somani hum harihanna harihanna hum harihanna banaya hum anaya hok baam bara hum batak.”

Nevertheless, they chanted the sutra without rest.

In the midst of this, one Vajra warrior broke out in a cold sweat, and then,

“Puh!”

Black blood spurted from his mouth like a fountain.

The blood gushed out in such quantities that it seemed he might die from excessive bleeding just from what came out of his mouth.

Alarmed, the nearby Vajra warriors were about to stop chanting, when,

“Kal!”

An old monk standing behind them, holding a rosary, let out a shout.

The Vajra warriors hesitated for a moment, then sat back down and resumed chanting the sutra.

“Om somani somani hum harihanna harihanna hum harihanna banaya hum anaya hok baam bara hum batak.”

Meanwhile, the old monk hurriedly ran to the monk who was spewing blood.

“Kek kek kek!”

The condition of the Vajra warrior who kept vomiting blood was truly at its worst.

As if all the fluids in his body were draining out, he was rapidly becoming emaciated, and black blood vessels were rising to the surface of his exposed skin, making him look hideous.

The old monk sat behind the Vajra warrior, placed a vajra against him, and summoned the power of the Buddha’s way.

“Kuuuuu.”

The Vajra warrior convulsed as if in agony.

Despite this, the old monk didn’t stop and continued to push in the power of the Buddha’s way.

At that moment,

Hwaaaa!

A black, ominous haze rose from the mouth of the Vajra warrior who had been spewing blood.

Then,

Dududuk!

The Vajra warrior grabbed his own neck and twisted it backwards.

Kung!

The old monk’s expression darkened at the sight of the Vajra warrior falling with his neck broken.

Even the power of the Buddha’s way, accumulated over many years, couldn’t overcome the evil energy that had penetrated the Vajra warrior.

But this wasn’t the end.

“Kek… Kek…”

Pusuk!

Once again, another Vajra warrior lifted his head and spewed black blood from his mouth.

The old monk was about to get up and run to the Vajra warrior, when,

Pusuk!

Pusuk!

Pusuk!

All around, Vajra warriors lifted their heads and spewed black blood.

The old monk’s expression hardened at the sight of them.

The bodies of the convulsing Vajra warriors were wasting away at an alarming rate.

When just one Vajra warrior had been spewing blood, everyone had endured at the old monk’s shout, but now with over ten of them spewing blood,

“Hiek!”

“R-Run away!”

“We’re all going to die!”

Some of the Vajra warriors who had gone into convulsions cried out, pale-faced, and frantically tried to escape.

“Stop!”

Even the old monk’s shout couldn’t stop them.

The grotesque deaths of the Vajra warriors had caused a rift, and nearly half of them, unable to contain their fear, threw away their vajras and fled.

“This can’t be! If we stop here, everything will have been for nothing.”

The old monk shouted, infusing his voice with true qi, then walked in front of the Vajra warriors surrounding the peak, clasped his hands together, and loudly chanted the Demon-Subduing True Words.

“Om somani somani hum harihanna harihanna hum harihanna banaya hum anaya hok baam bara hum batak.”

As the old monk chanted, a golden light of Buddhist power flowed from his body.

The profound Buddhist energy seemed to calm the other Vajra warriors who had been trying to flee in fear. They sat back down in their places and followed the old monk in chanting the Demon-Subduing True Words.

It seemed as though the chanting was stabilizing again.

Just then,

“Kek!”

The old monk who had been chanting grabbed his own throat.

Then, as if in agony, he fell to his knees and began to convulse violently, his face turning red.

“Master!”

Two Vajra warriors from the front row rushed to support him.

However, the old monk, writhing in pain, pushed them away.

As the Vajra warriors tried to grab him again,

“Kweeeek!”

The old monk vomited, but it wasn’t black blood – it was strangely shaped worms.

“W-What on earth?”

The Vajra warriors, shocked at the sight of the bizarre worms, stepped back, at a loss for what to do.

What kind of ominous sign was this?

Was this evil so potent that even an old monk who had accumulated decades of Buddhist practice couldn’t withstand it?

As soon as the Vajra warriors’ chanting stopped,

“Kek!”

Pusuk! Pusuk! Pusuk!

Once again, Vajra warriors all around began lifting their heads and spewing black blood like fountains.

The fear and terror that had momentarily subsided gripped the crowd again in an instant.

“I-I don’t want to die!”

“Uwaaaaaa!!!”

Screaming, Vajra warriors tried to flee from all directions.

However, unlike those who had escaped earlier, the Vajra warriors who stood up from their seats couldn’t lift their feet from the ground, as if their legs were held in place.

“W-What is this…”

“I can’t lift my feet.”

“Hiek!”

As they struggled to lift their feet, something even more terrifying happened.

Kwaduk!

Those trying to lift their feet had their legs torn off.

“Kyaaaa!”

“M-My legs!”

The Vajra warriors whose legs had been torn off fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

But then, their bodies began to stick to the ground, as if being absorbed.

“Urk!”

“M-My body…”

As they were absorbed, their skin tore and they began to be sucked into the ground.

The sight was truly horrific.

Skin and muscles twisted, bones broke – it was almost unbearable to watch.

The Vajra warriors near the old monk who had vomited the bizarre worms dropped their vajras and trembled in fear at this horrific scene.

Seumul seumul!

Before their eyes, they saw the enormous amount of blood shed by the Vajra warriors moving on its own, flowing up towards the peak.

The large quantity of blood that had flowed up was absorbed into the peak.

Kurururu!

The peak began to shake violently as if hit by an earthquake, and cracks started to form.

The eyes of the old monk, who had been suffering while vomiting worms, widened as if they would tear.

This was because his eyes met the chilling gaze visible through the widening cracks.

“Keuggggg.”

Paaang!

With that, the old monk’s body suddenly swelled up and then burst.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The same happened to the two Vajra warriors trembling in fear nearby.

Their bodies also swelled up and then burst.

Seureureureuk!

The blood that flowed from their bodies also mixed with the flowing blood and was absorbed into the peak.

Jeobeok jeobeok!

Amidst this tragic scene, a figure walked through the blood.

This figure wearing a bamboo hat was forming a hand seal with one hand, and in the other, held a gruesome ritual tool made of interwoven skulls.

The bamboo-hatted figure, appearing with this ritual tool, spoke while looking at the enormous being inside the crumbling peak.

“The time has come to spread those white wings again. White Phoenix Demon King[5].”

***

In a cave beneath a deep cliff in Pan’an, Zhejiang Province.

Entering the cave, one would find a large cavern studded with countless luminous pearls, like stars in the night sky.

And beneath this cavern, numerous formations were densely engraved.

In the center of the formations, there existed something enormous.

This massive being, occupying nearly half of the huge cavern that was almost a hundred jang in size, had a golden mane, a tiger-like head, and a tail that seemed to be woven from hundreds of blades.

Krurururu.

Its appearance was exactly like that of a lion.

Horrifyingly, the entire body of this enormous lion was pierced by hundreds of hooks, and the chains connecting these hooks were densely embedded in the cavern walls.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that red letters, appearing to be spells, were engraved on the chains as well.

These were,

Kurururu!

If the giant lion tried to move even a little,

Uuuung!

The hooks and chains engraved with red letters would simultaneously pull, threatening to tear apart the lion’s limbs, no, its entire body.

The pain was so intense that this enormous lion couldn’t move an inch.

One peculiar thing about this lion was that it had no eyes.

Rather than being naturally eyeless, it seemed they had been forcibly removed, leaving sunken holes.

Kung kung?

At some point, this giant lion began to sniff and flare its nostrils, then tried to raise its crouched body, enduring even the hooks constricting it, with intense hostility.

As the lion tried to raise its body,

Kurururururu!

The entire cavern began to shake and tremble.

It felt as if it might collapse at any moment, but as soon as the formations densely engraved on the floor activated, the vibrations were absorbed and disappeared.

At this moment, someone wearing a bamboo hat walked towards the lion, hands behind their back.

The lion’s face twitched, and then,

Kwoooooo!

It let out a tremendous roar that seemed like it could burst eardrums.

The roar caused a storm-like gale to sweep through the cavern, but the bamboo-hatted figure, seemingly unconcerned, approached right up to the lion’s nose.

Then, stopping in front of it, the bamboo-hatted figure spoke.

“Will you follow me if I give you new eyes? Or will you follow me if I give you another chance for revenge? Lion-Grasping King[6].”

***

The Imperial Palace in Kaifeng, Henan Province.

In one of the most splendid quarters of a noble consort in the inner palace.

Jjeojeok!

The delicate white hand holding a teacup cracked and shattered.

“Your Highness!”

As the shattered teacup pieces fell, the pretty court lady beside her exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly helped the noble consort shake off the remaining pieces in her hand.

Then, looking outside, she called out loudly.

“Is anyone there? Quickly…”

Seuk!

However, the court lady had to stop at a raised hand gesture.

The court lady spoke in a troubled voice.

“Noble Consort, we must call for a physician immediately. Your hand must have been cut by the sharp…”

Her eyes widened.

This was because the noble consort’s hand, which she had assumed would surely be cut, was perfectly fine.

Even she had been slightly cut while brushing off the pieces from the consort’s hand just moments ago. What could this mean?

As she wondered, she saw the corners of the noble consort’s mouth turn up.

The court lady couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the sight of the smile from Noble Consort Ho, the most beautiful woman in the imperial palace, worthy of being called a beauty that could topple a nation.

“Ah!”

Regardless, Noble Consort Ho stood up.

Deolkeong deolkeong!

She then approached the shaking window and opened it.

The night sky, without a single cloud, was perfectly clear, but the cold wind blowing strongly like a whirlwind was strangely ominous.

As she stretched out her hand to feel this wind with her fingertips, Noble Consort Ho muttered.

“The stench of blood will soon fill the world.”