Chapter Thirty: The Mysterious Rune

The man in black stared in terror at the blood-red mass, about the size of a fist, rolling and tumbling as it slowly flew toward him. From within it, he sensed a dangerous, chaotic energy.

“Damn it, what's going on? How could he unleash such an attack? If this hits, I'll be seriously wounded!”

Frightened, his eyes fixated on the steadily approaching blood mass. He struggled desperately to move his body, but found he was utterly immobilized, forced to watch helplessly as the blood sphere neared.

Boom—

The writhing mass of blood suddenly halted the moment it touched the man's body, then, like a bomb being ignited, erupted with a thunderous explosion.

Crash—

The surrounding trees shuddered violently, scattering leaves as if they cost nothing, while clods of earth, blown loose by the blast, fell heavily to the ground.

Swish—

Sensing danger, the black panther had already retreated, and now stood beside a crater over a dozen meters wide and five or six meters deep. After glancing at the man in black lying at the bottom—his fate uncertain—the panther turned its gaze to the distant boy who was struggling to his feet, teeth clenched.

“Cough, cough. You two sure ran fast when you sensed trouble!”

Leaning against a tree and rubbing his aching head, Wang Luo spoke to the battered lion and wolf, both of whom were baring their teeth at him. He was feeling quite frustrated.

He had recognized the man in black's formidable strength and, keeping his cool, refrained from advancing. Then, seeing the blood wolf conjure that blade of light, inspiration struck: he began to draw blood energy from within himself and managed, with difficulty, to condense it into a blood sphere—a sphere he could barely control.

When the sphere collided with the man in black, Wang Luo was utterly drained. As the sphere exploded, he too was blasted back, his head spinning so violently he nearly lost consciousness.

“Come on, let’s go see how that man in black is doing.”

Ignoring his own wounds, Wang Luo supported the blood wolf, casting a glance at the wolf’s many gaping wounds before speaking.

Splash—

In his stupor, Baiji suddenly felt a familiar chill on his face. He didn’t need to think to know that someone had just thrown cold water over him. But why? Had he been captured by the Church of Light…?

At that thought, Baiji’s groggy mind snapped awake. Scenes from earlier flickered through his mind like a film, and in an instant, he understood his predicament and hastily opened his eyes.

Crash—

Torrential rain pelted his face, but Baiji felt no pain—only a rush of exhilaration at having survived. For a moment he was dazed, then a smile he could not hide broke across his face.

Just now, he realized, he had inexplicably broken through the bottleneck that had held him back for years. Once his wounds healed, his cultivation would certainly progress to the eighth level—how could he not rejoice?

Crack—

Suddenly, a black iron chain lashed hard across Baiji’s body. His smile froze instantly. He looked toward the cave, where a boy stood holding the chain, his gaze cold and unfeeling.

“Cough, cough…”

Struck hard, Baiji could not suppress his coughing; his injuries flared up, and he began to cough violently.

Crack—

The black chain struck him again amid the pouring rain. Baiji sucked in a cold breath, eyeing the expressionless boy in the cave, his mind racing.

“Speak. What do you want?”

After glancing at the three-headed magical beast cultivating in the cave, Baiji directed his question at the boy. If the boy hadn’t killed him yet, there must be something he wanted to ask.

“I’ll give you two choices. The first is death.”

Wang Luo’s gaze was icy as he looked at the pale old man in the rain. If not for his wish to learn more about this world and perhaps find a guide—and because the three beasts weren’t in real danger—he would have killed the old man long ago.

“And the second?”

Baiji forced himself not to cough. Seeing the boy fall silent, he asked, his body trembling slightly. He badly needed to cough, but knew that if he did, the boy would not hesitate to lash him again with the black chain.

“The second is to willingly accept this.”

With a flick of his wrist, Wang Luo produced a complex, blood-red rune. With a gesture, the rune drifted before the old man, hovering in mid-air, pulsing bloodily in the downpour, like a venomous snake poised to strike.

Baiji’s pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the rune, shock and disbelief etched across his face. He couldn’t understand it at all, but his instincts screamed that it was dangerous.

“What is this?”

After a moment’s thought, Baiji suppressed his cough and asked. If accepting this blood-red rune would make life worse than death, he might as well die outright.

“Hmph. You’ve lived for centuries and still don’t understand your situation? Do you think you have room to bargain?”

Wang Luo snorted coldly, lashing the old man again with the iron chain, his tone impatient and utterly devoid of mercy.

Hiss—

Baiji inhaled sharply. Hearing Wang Luo’s words, he looked incredulous. He couldn’t fathom how a nine-year-old child could be so ruthless.

Crash—

Seeing Wang Luo’s impatient shake of the chain, Baiji’s face tightened, his pain intensifying. Gritting his teeth and following the principle that a wise man does not court disaster, he summoned his spiritual power and pulled the strange blood-red rune into himself.

His mind spun and he entered his spiritual space, but the eerie rune was nowhere to be found.

“Now will you tell me what that was?”

After searching himself thoroughly and finding nothing, Baiji opened his eyes and looked at Wang Luo, who was sitting cross-legged with a book in hand, and asked.

“Take a guess.”

Wang Luo winked mischievously at the perplexed Baiji, a faint smile on his lips, and then returned to his reading, making it clear he had no intention either of answering or of inviting Baiji into the cave.

Baiji, pained and exhausted, edged his way to the mouth of the cave.

Crash—

He glanced at the rainstorm outside, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate and heal. For now, the most urgent task was to recover his strength. As long as he could do that, everything could be reversed. But would it really?

Otherworld Azure Dragon 30 — Chapter Thirty: The Eerie Rune, complete!