Chapter 387: Pattern And Pike (1/2)
“Miss Anna, there are too many odd techniques in the universe. Some can leave no external wounds since they actually target the internal organs. So it’s not that there are no injuries, but rather that we just can’t see them. It’s quite normal, and all it means is that there’s an expert ahead of us.”
She frowned; could it really be that simple? This wasn’t her first time roaming the universe, so it was unlikely that she would miss even an internal injury on a corpse. But since Northgate Lie did not care, she had no choice in the matter.
There was a rumbling off in the distance as a tower collapsed into dust.
The crowd was already accustomed to such things, as these buildings were just too ancient and they were no longer able to be preserved. It was to the extent that any trace of writing had disappeared from the buildings.
Northgate Lie casually scanned the area, but just when he was about to leave, his eyes suddenly focused onto a stone slab that had not been completely obliterated. It was impossible to tell which part of the tower the slab had fallen from, but there were obvious traces of carvings upon its surface.
His breathing became ragged as he suddenly charged forward. Lily Anne and the rest saw his abnormal behavior and rushed in after him.
Northgate Lie tore through the void and appeared next to the stone slab. He closely studied the pattern of the carving, trying to imprint it into his memory. As soon as Lily Anne and the others arrived, his eyes flashed, and he sent out some star energy through his feet, reducing the slab to dust.
His actions were all done surreptitiously, and Lily Anne’s group did not notice anything. By the time they arrived beside him, all they saw was a pile of dust.
“Brother Lie, what did you see?” someone enquired as everyone directed expectant faces to Northgate Lie.
Northgate Lie sighed. “I saw a pattern, but before I could get a good look, the stone turned to dust.”
“What pattern?” another person impatiently asked.
Northgate Lie thought for a moment and then used his star energy to draw a rough pattern before everyone. Rather than a proper drawing, it seemed more like a bunch of random squiggles with nine circular images that were surrounding an unknown object in the middle. The crowd was lost, and no one could discern any meaning from the drawing at all.
Northgate Lie grudgingly said, “It’s been too long, so the finer details and even the type of diagram had all faded away. These lines were all that I could see.”
Lily Anne stared intently at Northgate Lie, but then he soon focused on other places.
The crowd did not spend any further time dwelling on the matter, and everyone split up to explore different areas. They all wanted to find some preserved ancient records or carvings. Since a diagram had been left behind, it was proof that not everything had been destroyed.
Northgate Lie also put an act on and continued to search around, but his mind was preoccupied with that pattern. It had not been completely destroyed, and there was a certain shape and charm to it. Although he didn’t know exactly what it meant, he was positive that there had been nine circular objects surrounding a flower in the center of the diagram.
He had to share this pattern with his elders after he left this place, since they might be able to recognize it given their extensive knowledge and experience.
In another place, not far from Northgate Lie, a few people from the Tempest Flowzone were making their way through. The man with the facial scorpion tattoo was leading them. He seemed slightly different than before; his face contained a certain level of excitement, and he even seemed a bit unhinged. The man was called He Zhong, and he was a senior disciple from the Fire Scorpion Sect.
“Senior, could this place possibly be related to that place that our sect has always been searching for?” A female walked up and furtively whispered her question in a voice that was similarly excited.
He Zhong looked at her coldly. “Shut up! I’ve warned you not to speak of that so many times! In the entire younger generation, only you and I know of this. If anything is leaked, then we’ll die without a doubt.”
“Yes, senior, but someone really wants to know.” The girl then wrapped herself around He Zhong’s shoulders and exhaled, her body releasing an alluring fragrance.
He Zhong’s breathing quickened, and he glanced at the other disciples before quietly saying, “Just hold on and let me confirm some things.”
“Thank you, senior.” The girl smiled coyly before squeezing He Zhong’s shoulders even more tightly, completely burying him in her bosom.
Outside of the centipede's body, powerhouse after powerhouse appeared with the intention of entering the centipede's body to change their destiny, but all of them were stopped by Northgate Taisui. An old monster with a power level in the hundreds of thousands stood in their way, causing some Hunters who had previously felt self-important to reconsider their beliefs. They could only sullenly join the group who were holding the centipede up while dejectedly looking at the out of reach structures within the centipede’s leg.
One after another, spacecraft dashed into the centipede's body, as if it were a giant treasure trove.
No one knew if there was actually anything of value within the body, but at this moment, Lu Yin and the rest of the cultivators were in a bad mood. An Explorer had inexplicably fallen dead while in the sky from right above the gathering, his corpse crashing right into the crowd. His manner of death seemed to be exactly the same as the other strange corpses that Lu Yin had run into: frightened to death.
Everyone was stunned, and their blood turned cold. No one knew how the man had died, which made it even more horrifying.
Lu Yin retrieved the Giant Emperor’s third eye and unleashed his domain while also activating his Cosmic Art. He vigilantly looked around, suspecting that the man had been struck by an invisible attack, similar to the dangers that came with unlocking sourceboxes. It was possible that there were sourceboxes within the centipede’s body, or perhaps the entire corpse was a sourcebox and everyone had already stepped into its danger zone.
“Seventh Bro, things are getting spooky. It’s time to take off,” the monkey said nervously, now afraid as well.
Lu Yin squinted and looked around.
Bit by bit, the others started gathering in groups and walking with familiar faces as everyone looked around apprehensively. No one dared to speak, and it felt as if an unseen blade were hanging over everyone’s heads.
At this point, a wretched cry jolted the crowd, and everyone looked into the distance to see a white wave sweeping towards them. Lu Yin’s expression changed, and a chill ran down his spine. What was approaching them wasn’t actually a white wave, but rather a countless number of those white parasites. They were frantically wriggling their way towards the crowd of cultivators.
Everyone hurriedly retreated even as countless attacks landed on the flood of the parasites, but only a small percentage of the attacks were effective while the large majority were not.