Chapter 53: Soul power
"Qiuwo..." Yuan Ming’s heart was filled with joy, but the sound he made was completely distorted.
There was another long silence, and the voice echoed in Yuan Ming’s mind again.
"You were poisoned before... and now the toxins have paralyzed your body. The two types of poison are conflicting, making it difficult for you to survive."
The voice still echoed in his mind, and it was not until now that Yuan Ming noticed that the voice belonged to a woman. Her voice was ethereal and pleasant to the ear.
Yuan Ming wanted to speak, but he couldn’t make a sound.
"I can... save you, but... afterwards, you help me with something." The voice sounded again, and it seemed more coherent than before.
It felt as if the other person was trying hard to learn how to speak and gradually becoming familiar with it.
"Uh... uh..." Yuan Ming mumbled in agreement while nodding.
"Now, do as I... say. Focus your thoughts... and sink them into your sea of consciousness... try to communicate with your own... soul power."
Listening to the voice, Yuan Ming felt a surge of magic power. He followed the instructions and sank his thoughts into his sea of consciousness, gradually calming down in the chaos.
"Soul power, communicate with the body... stimulate... mana, starting from the lower body... first the waist, then the thighs... calves, until it concentrates on the thumbs..."
Yuan Ming followed the instructions and surprisingly succeeded. As the toxins moved downward, his upper body quickly regained mobility, and the numbness in his lower body began to fade.
Accompanying this, his right foot began to swell rapidly, more than doubling in size. An indescribable pain surged, almost causing Yuan Ming’s thoughts to collapse.
"Be mindful of your thoughts... the toxins are counterattacking... your efforts may be in vain..." The pleasant voice timely reminded Yuan Ming, forcing him to regain his consciousness.
"And then?" Yuan Ming was able to speak again.
His forehead was covered in large beads of sweat, rolling incessantly. The intense pain almost made him faint.
"Sharp objects, pierce the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of your foot... force the poisonous blood out..."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately used the tip of his Qingyu Sword to pierce the Yongquan acupoint on his right foot. In the next moment, blood gushed out from the sole of his foot, and the foul smell almost overwhelmed the stench of the corpse pit.
But as a large amount of poisonous blood flowed out, the discomfort quickly diminished.
Until all the poisonous blood had drained, Yuan Ming’s foot returned to its original size, but the wound did not heal, and the pain was like being pricked by needles, constantly stimulating him.
Yuan Ming struggled to get out of the corpse pit and quickly thanked, "Thank you for saving my life."
"Come to the blood pool... this way." The voice sounded again.
Following the direction in his memory, Yuan Ming limped and groped his way towards the blood pool.
"Stop."
Suddenly, the voice reminded him.
Yuan Ming immediately stopped and bent down to feel the ground. He realized that he had reached the edge of the blood pool and would fall in if he took another step forward.
"There are things on the ground... pick them up."
Although Yuan Ming was puzzled, he still squatted down and reached out to feel around.
As he touched them, Yuan Ming felt a slight chill. After picking them up, he found that they were thin triangular metal pieces with intricate engravings.
"Take all eight... bury them around the edge of the blood pool... in the loose soil." The voice continued to command.
Yuan Ming stumbled, barely managing to dodge with the Shadowless Step. He narrowly avoided the arrow attack, but lost his balance and fell to the side.
Laughter came from the front.
"Brother Kun Tu, he’s just a beast slave, there’s no need to be so cautious," someone laughed.
"What are you talking about? We’re in such a dangerous place, it’s better to be cautious. Better to kill wrongly than to let go," Kun Tu’s voice followed.
Hearing this, Yuan Ming suppressed his anger and didn’t get up immediately, fearing another attack from the other party.
At this moment, the firelight and footsteps gradually approached. He saw two tall figures walking in front, holding torches, and many more people following behind.
The one in the lead held a torch to Yuan Ming’s face, illuminating his somewhat pale face.
"Yuan Ming?" A puzzled voice sounded.
Chen Wan squeezed out from behind the two.
Hearing this, Kun Tu also squeezed out from behind. The moment he saw Yuan Ming, his face darkened.
"How are you still alive?" Kun Tu asked rudely.
Yuan Ming didn’t respond. Given the current situation, Kun Tu couldn’t attack him, and he didn’t want to provoke the other party either.
"You... how did you end up here?" Chen Wan asked.
Yuan Ming hesitated slightly before saying, "I accidentally fell from above earlier and landed in the lair of the Human Demon King. I barely managed to escape and ran into you guys here."
"You escaped from the lair of the Human Demon King?" someone exclaimed.
"We’ve been wandering around in these intertwined caves for a long time and haven’t found it. You’re just lucky to have fallen in," someone laughed.
The rest of the crowd echoed, showing no fear at all.
"If you go looking for the Human Demon King, you’ll die," Yuan Ming said, turning his gaze to Chen Wan.
Chen Wan’s face showed hesitation upon hearing this.
"A mere beast slave dares to spread alarmist talk here and confuse people’s hearts?" Kun Tu scolded angrily.
"Look at him, he must have been scared out of his wits, right? With so many of us, are we still afraid of a Human Demon King?" A tall, thin man dressed in Beast Tamer Hall disciple’s clothes laughed.
"Heh, what can you expect from a mere beast slave? How much courage can he have?" another person mocked.
"Yuan Ming, do you remember how to find the lair of the Human Demon King?" Chen Wan asked.
Yuan Ming thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"This kid must have been scared out of his wits without even seeing it, haha..." The crowd laughed again.
"If he had seen the Human Demon King, how could he still be alive? What are you thinking!" another person said.
"Hey, kid, don’t be scared. We’ve already cleaned up those human demons. Once we strike at the heart and behead the Human Demon King, you’ll also benefit," a tall, burly young man said.
"Stop wasting your breath on him. He’s confusing the troops. Kill him," Kun Tu suggested at the right time.
"Yes, yes, yes, this guy is useless. Just kill him," Yang Chan followed.
Ba Da, who had been hiding behind the others, didn’t say anything, but his squinted eyes were fixed on Yuan Ming, a fierce light flashing in them.