Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3322: Memories From The Corpses

Among the many arrays, Lin Mu also discovered two more arrays whose structure was completely alien, with runes that did not match any known system in the current Immortal Realm.

Lin Mu could only decipher their purpose, not their origin.

”These two seem to link to the Shanhu bloodline. And they absorb a portion of that bloodline’s unique energy during certain rituals.”

Xukong hummed in thought as he observed through their link.

Another hour passed.

Then the ancient spider spoke.

”It appears the curse was created using these five transcendent corpses. Three are clearly ancestors of the Shanhu Clan. The Merkin and Fishkin were likely allies. They sacrificed themselves willingly. Whatever happened back then must have been a desperate battle.”

Lin Mu’s jaw tightened. ”And the curse formed from their sacrifice continues to poison the sea even now.”

”Yes,” Xukong said quietly, ”but more importantly, it is being held back by their corpses. If the array is disturbed too early, everything will be unleashed.”

”So we cannot destroy them,” Lin Mu murmured.

”For now, no.”

Lin Mu looked up at the corpses with newfound heaviness.

”Then what do we do?”

Xukong responded slowly.

”We wait for the conclusion of the ritual above. And then we see what changes occur. Only then will we know how to proceed.”

Lin Mu stood in the cavern and stared at the five suspended corpses.

Their hollowed faces and frozen expressions revealed nothing more than the suffering they had endured at death. The faint light from the cursed chains flickered across their skin, giving them a ghostly and unsettling presence.

His mind spun with possibilities.

He could not destroy the corpses.He could not break the arrays.He could not simply walk away either.

The ritual above required stability, and the Shanhu Clan entrusted their hopes to him. Leaving the source of the curse unchecked would be irresponsible, yet tampering with it was clearly dangerous.

He folded his arms and exhaled deeply.

”What exactly were you trying to do,” he muttered as he looked up at the ancestors, ”and why did it have to be something like this?”

Just as he was about to resume inspecting the lower layers of the cavern, a familiar voice echoed inside his mind.

”Are you forgetting something, Lin Mu?”

Lin Mu paused.

It was Lin Mo.

”What now?” Lin Mu asked in an irritated tone.

Lin Mo clicked his tongue. ”You keep staring at arrays and corpses as if they will whisper their secrets. There is another way of knowing what this curse was for.”

Lin Mu raised an eyebrow. ”And what way is that?”

Lin Mo sneered with amusement. ”Souls.”

Lin Mu frowned. ”Souls? There is no way any soul would remain after all this time. These corpses have existed here for who knows how many years. And with this cursed energy around them, even if a fragment remained it would have been corrupted beyond recognition.”

Lin Mo shook his head. ”Not souls exactly, but fragments. Memories. Emotions. Resentment. Cursed environments like this sometimes preserve the worst pieces of a person. Their hatred, their fear, their unresolved thoughts. Not a full soul, but enough to pull something from.”

Lin Mu felt a cold sensation creep down his spine.

Extracting memories from cursed remnants was extremely risky. It could corrupt the soul, destabilize the mind, or worse.

He hesitated.

”Is that really a good idea?” Lin Mu asked. ”There is no way to know what effect it might have.”

Surprisingly, it was not Lin Mo who responded.

It was Xukong.

”You can proceed,” the ancient spider said with calm finality.

Lin Mu blinked. ”You are agreeing with Lin Mo?”

”This is likely the least harmful use of the Murdering Heart Sutra you will encounter,” Xukong replied. ”You will not be seizing full souls. Only fragments. Since they are already tainted and held together by resentment, purifying them is impossible. Extracting them is better than letting them fester. And you have already consumed the soul of the Withering Spirit Daoist. Compared to a Celestial soul, a few transcendent fragments are nothing.”

Lin Mo laughed lightly. ”Look at that. We actually agree for once.”

Xukong did not acknowledge him. The silence was enough to make Lin Mo chuckle again.

Lin Mu let out a slow breath. If both entities within him agreed, then perhaps this truly was the best path.

He placed his fingers together in a handseal.

He began chanting the Murdering Heart Sutra.

HONGLONG

His body darkened as violet Devil Qi surged out of him. The cave trembled under the weight of the devilish aura. His eyes shifted into a deep, sharp shade of purple like a pair of amethyst stars with a dangerous gleam in their depths.

He extended his hand toward the corpses.

A faint tugging sensation reverberated through the air, as if the cursed chains had grabbed hold of his pull. For a moment nothing happened.

Then the corpses screamed.

EEEEYIAAAAAAAAAA

It was not a sound made by their dead bodies. It came from within them. A cry of resentment, hatred, fear, desperation, and emotions twisted into something monstrous.

Fragments of black energy peeled from their torsos and heads like wisps being torn from cloth. The shrieks echoed around the cavern as Lin Mu pulled harder, drawing out every lingering piece of memory that remained. The cursed fragments flew into his palm like streams of dark smoke.

He absorbed them, and the cavern finally grew silent.

Lin Mu’s consciousness sank inward.

SHUA

He found himself in his mindscape.

The ground was a vast blank expanse. At the center sat Lin Mo, his devilish aura swirling around him. He already had the fragments floating in front of him, dozens of them, like shards of black glass mixed with threads of mist.

He did not waste a moment.

Lin Mo reached out and his Devil Qi ignited like violet flames. The emotions and cursed remnants burned away instantly. The hatred evaporated. The resentment dissolved. All that was left were small crystalline beads of memory.