Chapter 163: Tender Killing (1/2)

Chapter 163: Tender Killing

A roaring sound filled the world within the cauldron. The lightning in the region danced about, and the meat jelly seemed to have been frightened. Its attention now appeared to be fixed upon Meng Hao and the others.

Han Bei’s voice rang out. “I shall now employ my bloodline magic. Brother Meng and Xie, dear, please assist me with all your power.” She bit her tongue, spitting more blood out onto the strands that wound into the crack on the statue. It began to emit a red glow.

A droning roar sounded out, and the entire statue began to tremble. Vast quantities of dust poured off of it. Meng Hao suddenly felt as if the strand in his hand was pulling at his Cultivation base, as well as his Spiritual Sense.

His eyes flickered, but his face remained still. Next to him, Xie Jie’s eyes glittered brightly as he poured power from his Cultivation base, as well as Spiritual Sense, into the strand he held. He looked at Meng Hao, killing intent flickering within his eyes. Then his gaze shifted to Han Bei, and his gaze grew warm. It could be said that the two of them were a ‘green plum and a bamboo horse,’ childhood sweethearts. When they were young, there had been some conflict between them, but as of now, it seemed that Han Bei really had worked her way into his heart.

Suddenly, the roaring grew in intensity. Han Bei’s face grew pale. She was in control of the three threads; Xie Jie and Meng Hao were simply providing the assisting power with their Cultivation bases and Spiritual Sense. They had no way to do anything to cause the statue to do anything. They poured their power in, while Han Bei employed the power of her bloodline.

Using her bloodline to touch the spirit of the ancestor statue was magic that only she could perform. If anyone else tried to touch the statue’s spirit, their Cultivation base would wither up. It was something that neither Meng Hao nor Xie Jie could do.

About ten breaths worth of time passed. Booming sounds filled the sky. Suddenly the kneeling statue emitted a roar as… its eyes suddenly began to shine, as if it were alive. Its body… slowly began quiver, as if it were preparing to stand.

Han Bei’s face grew paler, her eyes brighter. She spat out more blood, causing her Blood Qi to enter into the statue. The whole statue trembled violently, as if an earthquake were shaking it. Then, the massive statue… stood up!

Its eyes emitted a dull glow, and a mysterious pressure filled the entire area. It slowly lowered its hands. As Meng Hao watched, the images were burned indelibly into his memory.

He took a deep breath, continuing to provide Cultivation base power and Spiritual Sense. Han Bei’s body shook. This was real trembling, not an act; her face was as pale as a corpse’s. But determination radiated out of her eyes, and she spat out more blood.

Boom!

The statue slowly outstretched its right hand, pointing with its index finger. The finger seemed to be filled with an indescribable power; it descended toward the circular cauldron situated in the middle of the nine statues.

Meng Hao’s eyes narrowed and gleamed mysteriously.

“I need more power!” said Han Bei, her voice urgent. Without hesitation, Xie Jie poured more power into the strand he held.

Meng Hao’s eyes shined as he did the same. Some of the color returned to Han Bei’s face, but moments later she spat out more blood, filling the statue with more power. Its finger continued to approach the cauldron; it seemed the cauldron would open at any moment.

At this exact time, however, the descending finger suddenly changed directions. It no longer headed toward the circular cauldron, but toward Xie Jie. It moved with incredible speed, causing a look of complete shock to cover his face.

“Han Bei, what are you doing?!” cried Xie Jie, throwing the strand away from himself. His eyes filled with intense terror, and he shot backward. Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. He opened his mouth, and the lightning mist flew out, preventing Xie Jie from moving backward. His body stopped moving. His words were still echoing out by the time the massive finger reached him.

The finger barely touched him, and his entire body exploded with a bang, even his Dao Pillar. In an instant, everything disintegrated; his life was completely gone.

He didn’t let out a blood-curling scream, only a furious roar that lingered on after his death. An orange strand curled up where his body used to be, which then entered the statue’s finger.

His bag of holding rose up and flew over to Han Bei. She grabbed it and immediately produced a small black vial. She crushed it, and a phantom figure floated up that looked in every way exactly like Han Bei. She absorbed it in through her ears, mouth and nose.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in space of only a few breaths. Meng Hao watched everything with the same expression as always, as if he had been expecting it to happen. He was completely expressionless, although his eyes flickered.

“Many thanks for your assistance, Fellow Daoist Meng,” said Han Bei with a sweet smile. She bowed slightly toward him.