Eldritch Horror Theatre

Li Min had always kept a low profile. For her to suddenly shout like that undoubtedly meant the situation was dire.

A moment later, the hazy mist shifted again.

In the span of a single breath, the space before them turned into a vast, blinding white expanse.

The mist condensed into white frost almost instantly. The temperature in the space plummeted, leaving everything stark white and dropping visibility to near zero.

"This..."

As one of the people involved, Shang Shiming instinctively sensed that something was wrong, but he was far less decisive than Li Min.

In that brief hesitation, he quickly felt the bone-chilling cold and saw the white frost surging like a tide.

As reluctant as he was to abandon the ritual now, he recognized the gravity of the situation.

"Let's get out first!"

However, the moment he spoke, a sharp pain pierced his chest, as if countless fine needles had multiplied inside him.

The freezing mist he had inhaled seemed to have crystallized inside his lungs, gathering into sharp spikes.

It was like having a thousand arrows pierce his heart. It felt as though the slightest movement would skewer his internal organs.

How could this happen...

No matter how slow he was to react, Shang Shiming realized by now that something was deeply wrong.

Now it wasn't just a matter of whether the ritual could be completed; he felt he was in genuine danger of losing his life.

Boom!

Amidst her shock and fury, a searing ring of fire erupted from Li Min, sending shockwaves through the entire space.

The white frost was instantly forced back, but it surged forward again in a mere breath.

However, in the brief moment it was pushed away, their surroundings were momentarily revealed.

The group was astonished to see that the floor and walls had sprouted thick clusters of crystalline spikes. The exit was almost entirely sealed off.

"This—"

Witnessing this, Shang Shiming's heart sank.

"Get out of the way!"

Li Min's voice rang out again, unusually hoarse, sounding as if her throat were stuffed with steel needles.

Rachel clearly shared a strong unspoken understanding with her and moved aside almost immediately.

Shang Shiming was slower to catch on. By the time he reacted and took a half-step back, an indescribably blazing heat had already taken shape in Li Min's hands.

The next moment, two parallel purplish-red beams blasted from her fingertips.

Carrying intense heat, the beams pierced through the white mist and smashed into the thickets of spikes blocking the exit.

In an instant, the seemingly indestructible crystals melted away like snow.

"Keep up!"

Gritting her teeth to maintain the attack for a few seconds, Li Min cleared a path with the beams, shouted the command, and cut off her output.

It was evident that this move placed an enormous toll on her mind. Even while standing in the freezing mist, heavy beads of sweat rolled down her face.

By now, Shang Shiming had completely recovered his wits. Without needing to be told twice, he was the first to charge out.

Rachel grabbed Li Min's arm, pulling her close behind him as they passed through the opened passageway.

...

Outside the Stone Tower, the thunderstorm still raged.

As the group leaped out one after another, they looked back and saw that the heavy white frost was centered entirely on the Stone Tower, blanketing its immediate surroundings.

Standing outside, they couldn't feel the slightest chill.

"This doesn't seem like the Tower's own power."

Li Min wiped the rainwater from her face and slowly shook her head as she surveyed the scene.

"How could that be..."

Shang Shiming instantly understood what she meant. He instinctively looked around, falling into a momentary daze.

"But I checked repeatedly just now. There are no Night Watchers or other transcendents around. Besides the four of us, no one else knows the details of the plan."

"Four of us... Wait a minute, that guy hasn't come out yet!"

Shang Shiming's words made Rachel realize something. She blurted out a shout, pointing toward the Stone Tower.

Li Min and Shang Shiming were abruptly jolted awake, realizing they were indeed missing someone!

Their attention had been completely absorbed by the bizarre crisis. That newly advanced transcendent, Mister Cha, hadn't actually followed them out.

"Should we go back in and save him?"

Shang Shiming subconsciously looked at Li Min. Her performance just now was enough to prove that she was highly reliable in both strength and mindset.

The white frost was simply too dangerous. If it hadn't been for her, it would have been virtually impossible for the three of them to be standing here in one piece.

"That guy's reactions were too slow. He might even be dead by now."

Rachel clearly didn't want to risk going back in, and she didn't have a very good impression of Fu Qian anyway.

"We can try, but in my current condition, I can only help from the outside at best."

Li Min actually agreed to it, though she frankly admitted that her energy was severely depleted and she wasn't confident she could make it back out if she went in.

"Then let's give it a try."

Shang Shiming pondered for a moment, then took two steps forward, just about to make a move.

However, in the next moment, a different kind of noise rang out amidst the roaring thunder.

Crash!

Rubble flew in all directions as one corner of the Stone Tower before them suddenly collapsed.

The Stone Tower, which had initially been only slightly tilted, let out an agonized groan before slowly but firmly toppling down toward them.

As the massive, ten-thousand-ton structure collapsed, rubble rained down in a truly terrifying display of force.

The three of them stared wide-eyed, forced to cast the rescue mission aside as they scrambled to dodge to either side.

Boom!

Amidst violent tremors, the Stone Tower finally smashed into the ground, kicking up rolling shockwaves.

"Strike along with the sound of the thunder. That's how it goes, right?"

The dust was quickly washed down by the rain, and the white frost lingering at the base of the Tower dissipated with it. Just then, a familiar voice drifted over.

"Mister Cha?"

Shang Shiming, who had already been silently mourning Fu Qian, stared dumbfounded at the figure walking out from the ruins of the Stone Tower.

At this moment, Fu Qian looked even more horrifying than he had during the gathering.

Not only had his physical size swelled up another notch, but sharp bone spikes had even grown out from amidst the long black fur covering his entire body.

"Did you... shatter that thing?"

Shang Shiming couldn't help but mutter to himself, finding the scene before him profoundly surreal.

Yet before Fu Qian could answer, Shang Shiming felt a sudden sensation and looked down at his right hand.

A sharp pain struck him. On his right wrist, a wound tore open from the inside out.

A dark-red strip of flesh wriggled out from within, as if it were alive.

Like a slender snake, the strip of flesh coiled around his wrist once before slithering up toward his palm.

This bizarre sight quickly drew everyone's gaze, making them forget their earlier confusion over Fu Qian's actions.

Shang Shiming was completely frozen, his limbs stiff.

The strip of flesh swiftly wound its way around his five fingers before slowly converging in the center of his palm. Finally, it twisted upon itself and rapidly shriveled up.

An unknown amount of time passed before Shang Shiming took a deep breath and raised his right hand.

Lying conspicuously in his palm was a red-and-black spike, shaped like a long nail.

Is this the gift obtained from completing the ritual?

Fu Qian watched this unfold with keen interest.

This is...

The next moment, acting on some instinct, Shang Shiming picked up the long nail with his other hand.

Enduring the intense pain, he pressed the nail directly into the back of his hand.

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