vrcanaries Chapter 737: Zi Cheng Tian Curse
Chapter 737: Zi Cheng Tian Curse
Tadpole characters suddenly appeared on the bronze bell, and the sound of the bell turned into golden ripples visible to the naked eye.
The water of the River Styx evaporated in the sound waves, and the infant spirits cried sharply.
Chen Yile took the opportunity to rush to the main tomb chamber, stepping on rotten bones with every step.
When he pushed open the vermilion lacquered coffin, a chill hit him in the face. Inside the coffin lay a female corpse that looked exactly like her mother, with her hands folded on her bulging belly.
Doctor Zhang followed, panting. "So reincarnation is real. The high priest who presided over the sacrifice three thousand years ago was your mother in every life."
Chen Yile touched the woman's abdomen with trembling hands, and her skin suddenly cracked like pottery.
Countless flies and insects swarmed out of the cracks, forming the oracle bone script in the air: "With your body, I bear the curse of heaven."
The female corpse suddenly opened her eyes, and from within her abdomen came a voice like hundreds of overlapping whispers: "It's your turn to inherit the altar."
The soul-calming bell suddenly flew out of his hand and toward the coffin. Chen Yile broke the red rope at the critical moment. The sound of the bell and the spell collided in the air, generating a shock wave.
The entire underground palace began to collapse, and he dragged Dr. Zhang into the undercurrent of the Styx. When he looked back for the last time, he saw a tear falling from the corner of his mother's eye.
It was dawn when he surfaced. Chen Yile lay on the bank of the moat coughing violently.
When he looked at the other side, a funeral procession appeared vaguely in the morning mist, with paper money flying all over the sky. The filial son leading the procession holding the portrait had a face exactly like his own.
"They will continue to reincarnate to find you. The eighteen bronze coffins correspond to the eighteen levels of hell. Your mother, or the high priest, has already prepared sacrifices for your reincarnation."
Doctor Zhang said.
Chen Yile looked at the Soul-Calming Bell. The eighteen star marks on the inner wall of the bell coincided with the location of the insect eggs on his back that caused a dull pain.
The Yellow River turned a rusty color in the twilight, and the waves beat against the bronze coffin on the shore.
Chen Yile stood on the river bank, the insect eggs on his back vibrating with the heartbeat of the corpse in the coffin.
He counted the coffins floating on the river, exactly three hundred, and the three words "Chen Yile" were engraved on the lid of each coffin.
"Zi time is almost here."
Doctor Zhang took out twelve sacrificial vessels from his bag and arranged them into a constellation formation on the riverbank.
In the moonlight, the Taotie patterns on the surface of the bronze ware seemed to come alive, opening its bloody mouth to devour the shadows.
Chen Yile squatted down and stroked a bronze artifact with his fingertips.
The cold touch awakened some fragments of memory.
When he was three years old, his mother always used this vessel to feed him medicine. On his fifth birthday, he saw his mother bury it under the locust tree in the yard. Now thinking about it, the medicine that night might have contained bronze rust powder.
Suddenly, the river surface became rough despite no wind, and three hundred coffins shook at the same time, with sticky black blood seeping out from the cracks in the coffin lids.
Chen Yile felt the insect eggs on his back wriggling, as if countless tiny mouthparts were gnawing at his soul.
He bit his tongue and dripped his blood into the bronze vessel. Immediately, a micro-carved map appeared on the inner wall of the vessel - it was the markings of the eighteen constellations.
"Let's start." Doctor Zhang lit the rhino horn incense, and his mother's figure appeared in the smoke.
She stood on the altar, the bronze sword in her hand dripping with human oil, but her eyes were full of compassion: "Child, this is your last chance."
Chen Yile raised the soul-calming bell, and the sound of the bell resonated magically with the sound of the waves.
He immersed the twelve sacrificial vessels into the Yellow River one by one according to the ritual he remembered.
Every time an item was immersed, a spell would float up on the surface of the river, recording the truth from three thousand years ago - in order to save the people, the high priest voluntarily accepted the punishment from heaven and sealed the curse in his blood, passing it down from generation to generation.
When the last sacrificial vessel was put into the water, three hundred coffins were opened at the same time.
Chen Yile saw insect holes on each of his backs, barbed mouthparts extended out. They chanted spells in unison, and the sound waves made the river boil.
"With your body, I bear the curse of heaven."
Severe pain exploded from his spine, leaving several wounds on Chen Yile's back.
Chen Yile's back was covered with several wounds, and the severe pain felt like countless sharp blades tearing his flesh.
He could feel his soul being torn apart bit by bit by the spirits pouring out of the coffin, and those barbed mouthparts were devouring his vitality.
"Quick! Soul-calming bell!"
Doctor Zhang's voice came from a distance, but Chen Yile could no longer hear it clearly.
His consciousness began to blur, and all he could see were countless reflections of himself swaying in the water. Behind each reflection was a coffin cracking.
The soul-calming bell suddenly slipped from his hand and fell into the river.
Chen Yile wanted to catch it, but his body was out of control. He could only watch the Soul-Calming Bell sink into the muddy river water and disappear.
At this moment, a golden light suddenly rose from the bottom of the river, illuminating the entire river surface.
Chen Yile saw the Soul-Calming Bell floating in the air, emitting a dazzling light.
The infant spirits that emerged from the coffins screamed miserably under the golden light and dissipated into the air.
"This is……"
Doctor Zhang muttered to himself, with a look of shock in his eyes.
Chen Yile tried to stand up, but the wound on his back made it almost impossible for him to stand.
He saw that the eighteen star marks on the Soul-Calming Bell were emitting dazzling light, as if guiding something.
Suddenly, the river began to churn violently, and a powerful suction force came from the riverbed. Chen Yile felt his body being pulled by something, and he moved involuntarily towards the center of the river.
"Be careful!" Doctor Zhang yelled, but it was too late. Chen Yile's body had been completely sucked to the bottom of the river, disappearing into the murky water.
The river gradually returned to calm, with only the soul-calming bell still floating on the surface.
Chen Yile walked to the river and reached out to pick up the Soul-Calming Bell, but the moment he touched the bell, a powerful force suddenly erupted.
The Soul-Calming Bell rang out with a deafening sound, radiating golden light. Chen Yile felt his head spin, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the hospital.
He checked his watch and saw it was seven o'clock the next morning. The hospital corridor was deserted, with only the morning light streaming in through the windows.
Chen Yile touched his forehead and found it was covered with cold sweat. He didn't know what he had experienced, but his intuition told him that everything was over.
The room was dark, with only a faint ray of morning light coming through the window. He tried to raise his arm, but found that his whole body was in excruciating pain, as if it had been run over.
"Where is this place?" he asked in a low voice.
"Hospital."
A familiar voice came from the door. Doctor Zhang pushed open the door and walked in, holding a bowl of medicine in his hand. "You have been in a coma for three whole days."
Chen Yile was stunned. Three days? He clearly remembered being sucked to the bottom of the river and then losing consciousness. Was this all an illusion?
"You really don't know what happened?" Dr. Zhang put down the medicine bowl, walked to the bedside and sat down.
Chen Yile shook his head. He couldn't recall any memory of the underground palace, the bronze coffin, or the soul-calming bell.