Chapter 126: Manjushaka

Su Cheng and Master Yinian both paled. An eruption of baleful energy of this magnitude was no laughing matter. Could it be that a Corpse King was emerging from that desolate grave?

"What is this black smoke? What on earth is happening?" Saki Shiratori noticed the expressions on their faces and, sensing that things were taking a turn for the worse, asked with growing unease.

"It seems that something truly terrifying is buried beneath that desolate grave." Su Cheng’s gaze pierced through the dense fog, fixed on the grave hundreds of meters away, from which baleful energy surged into the sky.

Upon hearing this, Saki Shiratori shuddered, asking tremulously, "I heard that an epidemic broke out in this village over a decade ago, killing hundreds of people. Those bodies were all buried under that desolate grave. If those corpses were all to turn into zombies..."

An epidemic?

Su Cheng’s expression tightened; he smelled the scent of a conspiracy.

Generally, bodies of those who died from an epidemic would not be buried on the spot but would be cremated or disinfected to prevent the spread of disease. Yet, the way this village handled the remains was baffling—they had constructed one massive grave, burying all the bodies beneath it.

Could this have been done by design?

A series of questions emerged in Su Cheng’s mind. The events in this village were becoming increasingly convoluted and incomprehensible.

"It seems highly likely that this incident is related to the epidemic from ten years ago. Regardless, we must head to the grave to investigate and see if we can destroy the eye of the formation," Master Yinian said, his expression grave as if he had realized something.

"Do we really have to go? That grave looks absolutely terrifying." Saki Shiratori was genuinely frightened, finding this far more harrowing than any horror movie she had ever watched in a theater.

"If you are afraid, you can stay here and wait for our news."

At these words, Saki Shiratori glanced at the corpses on the ground and felt a chill run through her entire body. The thought of being left alone in a village crawling with zombies would likely give her a heart attack.

With no other choice, she braced herself and followed closely behind Su Cheng toward the desolate grave.

A dark blue moon hung high in the sky, casting eerie, demonic shadows across the village.

Su Cheng walked along a quiet path leading toward the grave. The surrounding fog grew thicker and the world fell into a deathly silence, so quiet it made one’s skin crawl. A sense of terror washed over him like a bucket of icy water; the path felt as if it were leading into the abyss of hell, with endless darkness threatening to swallow his consciousness.

Something was wrong!

In this season, the countryside should be teeming with snakes, insects, rats, and ants, yet Su Cheng could not hear a single insect chirp. He didn't even see a mosquito. This was highly abnormal.

The night wind blew, carrying a biting chill.

The temperature in the wilderness dropped rapidly in the dead of night, yet a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on Su Cheng’s forehead. In the darkness, it felt as though an invisible hand had gripped his heart, making it difficult to breathe.

Just then, Su Cheng caught a whiff of a strange, eerie fragrance.

At first, it smelled as crisp and fragrant as orchids, but somehow, he detected an underlying scent of deathly stillness.

Before long, Su Cheng’s consciousness suddenly blurred. When he came to his senses, he realized that Saki Shiratori and Master Yinian, who had been following him, had vanished.

"Is this another hallucination?"

His complexion changed instantly. The sense of foreboding in his heart intensified; even though he knew he was trapped in an illusion, breaking free was not so simple.

*Splash, splash.*

At that moment, the sound of flowing water reached his ears.

What baffled him was that there shouldn't be a river near this village. Why would he hear the sound of water?

"How can I leave this illusion?"

Unable to find a way out for the time being, Su Cheng steeled himself and pressed forward to see what would happen.

*Splash, splash.*

The sound of the water grew clearer, and a primordial terror from the depths of his soul permeated his entire being. It was an innate fear of death, impossible to resist.

What did this sound represent?

At this moment, the mist before Su Cheng’s eyes gradually dissipated, and a dark shadow appeared in his field of vision.

Was it a human or a ghost?

Su Cheng channeled his spiritual energy, one hand resting on the hilt of his "Gale Shadow" blade, as he guardedly approached the dark, eerie silhouette.

Moments later, the figure walking along the path became clearer.

It was an elderly, hunchbacked man dressed in black burial robes. He walked with a wooden, expressionless gait, moving forward as mindlessly as a marionette.

When Su Cheng saw the old man's face, his heart went cold.

This was the same hunchbacked old man he and Saki Shiratori had encountered in the large house earlier. Yet, the old man seemed not to see him, continuing to walk on his own.

Then, Su Cheng noticed more people appearing on the path.

Without exception, they were original inhabitants of the village. The middle-aged woman from the late-night diner and the other patrons all appeared, but their expressions were as vacant and numb as the old man's; they simply trudged forward with their heads down.

What was truly horrifying was that Su Cheng realized these people were like phantoms; he could see right through them, and they could pass straight through his body.

"Specters?"

Su Cheng furrowed his brow, immediately realizing that the figures on the path were all spirits.

Fortunately, these spirits had not been corrupted by the baleful energy into vengeful ghosts, or he would have been in serious trouble.

But where were the spirits of the village going?

*Splash, splash.*

Suddenly, Su Cheng felt a chill penetrate his very bones and couldn't help but shiver.

He looked down and discovered that, at some point, a black stream had appeared beneath his feet. The water only reached his ankles, yet strangely, his shoes and pant legs remained dry. The black water seemed like an intangible force, utterly unfathomable.

What was going on?

Su Cheng’s face changed slightly, and he subconsciously tried to step away from the eerie stream.

However, the next moment, he was horrified to find that he had lost control of his own body. Like the specters, he was walking forward with a numb, mechanical gait.

This was no longer something that could be explained by a mere hallucination. The ominous feeling in Su Cheng’s heart grew increasingly dire.

Death was approaching silently.

Su Cheng felt as though a tombstone were pressing down on him, his body becoming heavier and heavier. Yet, his pace did not slow; he continued to tread through the water in a specific, rhythmic cadence.

"Use skill!"

"Use item!"

"Open game interface!"

"Damn it!"

To his despair, not only could he not control his body, but he was unable to use any skills or items, nor could he even open the game interface.

After attempting a series of commands, Su Cheng tentatively concluded that his consciousness had entered a specialized illusion.

If his consciousness were to die here, his physical body in the real world would likely perish as well.

If he couldn't find a way to escape, he was going to meet his end.

As expected of a four-star difficulty game instance—it was a total death trap. The first two horror scenarios had been manageable, without any major risks. But in this third world, the difficulty had spiked, and one careless step would trigger a lethal plot event.

Just like now.

He did not know how long he had been walking, but the water in the stream had already risen past his knees, reaching his waist, then his chest, and finally his neck.

At this point, only Su Cheng’s head remained above the surface. Breathing became increasingly difficult, and his consciousness grew hazy.

In the end, like a rootless duckweed, he sank silently into the black River of the Underworld.

Sinking into the river, Su Cheng did not feel suffocated. He felt as if he were suspended in a void, his senses stripped away one by one.

He could see nothing.

He could hear nothing.

He could feel nothing.

The sensation of having one’s five senses deprived was more terrifying than being killed outright. Even a person with the strongest will would eventually collapse under such conditions.

No matter how strong Su Cheng’s mental power was, he couldn't hold on for long.

But just as his consciousness was about to be extinguished, a strange power surged from within his body. A second later, his palms turned as black as ink, his fingers hardening like black steel, brimming with power. Su Cheng reached out and tore violently, ripping a gash right through the illusion.

*Rip!*

The illusion shattered, and a blue, spectral moon greeted his eyes.

In an instant, his five senses returned, and he found himself back on the country path leading to the desolate grave.

There was no sound of water, no River of the Underworld, no ghosts.

On both sides of the path, clusters of wild flowers as red as blood were in full bloom, swaying in the biting wind, brilliant and dazzling.

Seeing these strange, gorgeous flowers, Su Cheng immediately understood—they were the source of the trouble.

If not for the fact that the power of the ghosts and gods within his soul had awakened at the final moment to tear through the illusion, he would have died there.

"Manjusaka."

Master Yinian, who seemed unaffected by the flowers, stared at the brilliant blooms and uttered the name.

Su Cheng repeated the name "Manjusaka" to himself, a look of realization dawning in his eyes.

Manjusaka—the legendary flower that bloomed only on the banks of the Sanzu River in the Underworld, on the shores of the River of Forgetfulness. It symbolized endless love, the harbinger of death, and a summons from hell.

Su Cheng guessed that these Manjusaka had been transplanted here, surviving only by being nourished by the death energy surrounding the desolate grave.

The illusion he had just experienced was the result of the village’s formation working in tandem with the Manjusaka.

But for some reason, Master Yinian and Saki Shiratori had not been affected.

Master Yinian’s immunity could be attributed to his profound magical power, but it was baffling that Saki Shiratori, an ordinary person, had also remained unaffected. Did she harbor some secret?

Passing through the path lined with Manjusaka, a massive, desolate grave appeared before the three of them.

A terrifying surge of baleful energy, like a volcanic eruption, spewed forth from within the grave.