“It’s vengeful infants!” Bai Yu gasped, blurting out in shock. She had actually summoned vengeful infants as well. If the Cave of Resentful Women held hundreds or even thousands of wronged, murdered women, then the number of newborn baby girls who died unjustly was beyond counting.
But vengeful infants weren’t ordinary baby spirits. They had no souls, no consciousness, no true form. They were born purely from the very first and last wisp of hatred of babies who died the moment they were born. Their only instinct was to devour living beings. Bai Yu had never imagined Su Niang could even summon them.
With their appearance, cracks split open across the ground, the entire pond began to collapse, and the water drained away. Even the previously quieted ghosts stirred at the infants’ wails — their ghostly miasma flared back to life.
Bai Yu’s legs went weak. He turned to Yun Jiao, trembling.
“W-what… do we do?”
Yun Jiao’s eyes darkened. She took a deep breath, then shouted —
“Run!”
She slapped a talisman onto the pillar beside her and bolted toward the exit at lightning speed.
“…”
Holy crap!“Wait for meeeeeeee!!!!”
We’re dead, dead, dead… this time we’re really going to die!
(Д≡Д)
The Thunder-Summoning Talisman couldn’t stop the vengeful infants. Just like before, an electric net spread across the lake, but it was too weak — only a low-grade talisman’s power. It couldn’t harm the infants, especially not such a massive swarm.
The blood-red tide of infants swept right over the pond, surging toward the fleeing pair, followed by countless other ghosts.
Neither Bai Yu nor Yun Jiao dared slow down. With perfect unspoken agreement, they sprinted straight for the pagoda — to fetch help!
“Patriarch! Save usssss!”
Bai Yu pounded wildly on the tower door. But no matter how hard he struck, it didn’t budge. Instead, a faint electric current shot through, knocking him backward. If Yun Jiao hadn’t grabbed him, the old man would’ve been flung straight back into the ghost horde.
Shaken but desperate, Bai Yu scrambled up again. Fear took over reason. He ran back to the door, but this time didn’t dare hit it — he simply shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Patriarch! There are ghosts! And vengeful infants… they’ve broken in!”
“Patriarch! If you don’t show yourself, Qingyang Sect is finished!!”
“Patriarch, please come out and save your disciple!”
“Patriarch, I’m about to be eaten!!”
“Patriarch…”
He howled louder and louder, but the tower door stayed still. Only two golden seals on it glowed faintly, blocking their entry.
Yun Jiao’s heart was pounding wildly too. She’d examined the door top to bottom but couldn’t find any way to break the seals. None of her talisman textbooks had ever mentioned this — way beyond the syllabus! She might know all kinds of science, but this world clearly didn’t care about science.
What to do? What to do?!
“Don’t tell me the Patriarch really returned to the Immortal Realm…” Bai Yu sobbed, then dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing three times. While bowing, he yanked Yun Jiao urgently.
“Girl, hurry! Kneel with me, or the Patriarch won’t hear us.”
“He can’t hear?” Yun Jiao blinked — wasn’t it that he just didn’t want to come out?
“Don’t think so much! Just kneel!” Bai Yu’s face was frantic. “The Patriarch long ago ascended — it’s normal if he went back to the Immortal Realm. As long as we’re sincere, he can hear and descend again to help us!” Hurry, or we’re done for!
Yun Jiao’s eyes flickered — wait. So the Patriarch might be in some other space, able to hear only certain words? Like a password or trigger phrase?
But what was the password?!
“Patriarch, please show yourself…” Bai Yu kept wailing, desperate for the sect’s founder to appear. But time was out — the ghost and the infants had caught up.
Su Niang floated in front, her face filled with savage delight. She cast them a cold, sinister smile.
“Let’s see where you can run now.”
She turned and stroked the blood-red cloud of infants behind her. Her face softened with a grotesque motherly tenderness.
“I wanted to give you a quick death, but since you insist on fighting… fine. Our children are hungry. You’ll make the perfect meal.”
She withdrew her hand. Instantly, the infant blood cloud erupted violently, rushing at them.
Both Yun Jiao and Bai Yu felt their hearts seize. They tried to step back but hit the tower wall — nowhere left to retreat.
“Patriarch, save us!!!” Bai Yu screamed one last time.
“Patriarch…” Yun Jiao too pressed herself against the door.
Still, the door remained unmoved, not even a crack.
The blood-red cloud spread wide above, hundreds of twisted infant faces glaring down, each shrieking sharp, needle-like cries that stabbed their ears. If this went on, they wouldn’t just die — they’d go deaf first!
Yun Jiao’s heart went ice-cold. What kind of unscientific nightmare was this?! Too damn terrifying! They were done for! The cloud was almost upon them, ready to swallow them whole.
She clenched her teeth — screw it!
Taking a deep breath, she turned toward the tower and shouted with all her strength:
“Dinner’s ready!”
Suddenly—
The entire tower flared like a lit bulb. Blinding white light burst forth in every direction. The blood-infant cloud, just about to engulf them, recoiled like it had met a natural enemy. But it was too late — half the cloud was already consumed by the light.
A shrill, ear-splitting scream ripped through the air, but strangely, standing within the white glow, Yun Jiao and Bai Yu felt no pain in their ears. The blood cloud disintegrated, breaking apart into countless crimson infant shades that tried to scatter — but the sweeping white light erased them all.
At last, the tower door creaked open. A figure descended in an instant, landing before Yun Jiao and Bai Yu. Robes white as untouched snow, voice cool and clear as heavenly music:
“For what reason have you called me forth?”
Yun Jiao: “……”
Bai Yu: “……”
Holy crap!!
Σ(°△°|||)︴
(End of this chapter)