Chapter 57 - Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part XI)

The mountain boar and the Inu Oni collided with a massive force, creating a thunderous roar. The resulting gust swept the burning mummies on either side into disarray. Chen Shaoxian, who had just picked himself up from the ground, was slammed back down by the blast. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran towards the back.

The mountain boar’s long tusks tore through the flesh of the Inu Oni, while the latter’s mouth full of sharp teeth clamped onto the boar’s head. The two monsters roared and tumbled on the ground in a fierce struggle.

Ignoring the tangled fight between the mountain boar and the Inu Oni, Chen Shaoxian ran to where Xiao Zhuang and the others were, urging them to sprint towards a cave.

The Earthbound Spirits, seemingly leaderless, stood frozen in place, not bothering to pursue Chen Shaoxian and his companions as they fled.

Suddenly struck by an idea, Xiao Zhuang ran up to the last few Earthbound Spirits, removed six grenades from his gear, pairing them up and hanging them on two spirits. He connected the pins of two grenades with a string, finished up, and then hurried after his friends who were ahead.

As they ran deeper, the number of mummies decreased and the light dimmed. Behind them, the growling of the mountain boar and Inu Oni turned into a low snarl, indicating they were both severely wounded. Suddenly, the Inu Oni let out a wolf-like howl followed by intense sounds of biting and clashing.

Then, darkness enveloped the area again. The group reignited their lights and ran a short distance further until they encountered an iron gate that had been left ajar.

Chen Shaoxian ran over to try it; although the gate was a bit rusty, it could still be moved. Xiao Zhuang then ran to the other side, and together with a concerted effort, they pulled the gate with a creaking sound that made everyone’s teeth on edge. After closing the gate, Xiao Zhuang secured several grenades to it in the same manner.

They rubbed their jaws and continued deeper inside.

After walking a short distance, they suddenly heard a Monk chanting in the depths of the cave. The sound brought a peaceful and comforting feeling, easing their worries. Then, a colossal stupa appeared before them. Its golden body shone brilliantly with a majestic aura, compelling them involuntarily towards kneeling in veneration. As if beckoning, the stupa seemed to gesture, and they walked towards it, mesmerized.

Chen Shaoxian felt something was off but couldn’t control his body, and his consciousness was growing blurrier. After struggling for a while, he bit his tongue tip hard. The pain restored his control, and the stupa before him vanished. However, as sounds began to reach him, his consciousness started to drift again.

Chen Shaoxian quickly clenched his fists, tightened his abdomen, took a deep breath, and held it in his chest. He then exhaled sharply through his nose, emitting a humming sound that boomed like thunder, echoing through the cave and drowning out the chanting.

Hearing this hum, Xiao Zhuang and the others snapped back to reality. Becoming alert, they saw Chen Shaoxian holding his nose with one hand and pulling a pair of earplugs from the pocket of his Tianma Armor with the other, which he promptly inserted into his ears. Before anyone could ask, he shouted, “That’s Life-Reaping Sanskrit, get your earplugs!”

Although they didn’t know what Life-Reaping Sanskrit was, the name alone sounded ominous. They quickly pulled earplugs from their Tianma Armor pockets and blocked their ears.

Seeing everyone with earplugs, Chen Shaoxian breathed a sigh of relief and then gestured to them, asking, “Do you understand sign language?” Surprised to see them nod, he appeared taken aback.

Xiao Zhuang gestured back, “This is also a training exercise,” and then mimed, “What was that sound?”

Chen Shaoxian pinched his nose and gestured, “That was Life-Reaping Sanskrit, somewhat similar to the three forbidden tunes, but far more sinister. The three forbidden tunes hardly affect someone with strong willpower, but Life-Reaping Sanskrit can hypnotize a person completely, their life or death at the whim of the controller.”

Understanding Chen Shaoxian’s gestures, the group nodded apprehensively.

Not daring to linger, they quickly moved deeper into the cave, where Chen Shaoxian noticed the walls were covered with runes.

Xiao Zhuang suddenly pulled on Chen Shaoxian excitedly, then pointed ahead.

Following the direction of Xiao Zhuang’s finger, Chen Shaoxian saw some people kneeling on the ground ahead, all dressed in camouflage. Judging by Xiao Zhuang’s excited demeanor, they were the ones they were here to rescue.

Chen Shaoxian hurried over and found the special forces kneeling on the ground with their eyes tightly shut, looking somewhat emaciated, but fortunately not disfigured.

Xiao Zhuang found his brother, Nie Wei, and gently shook him by the shoulders, apparently shouting Nie Wei’s name.

Chen Shaoxian suddenly noticed that in addition to the ten special forces they were supposed to rescue, there were three more people on the ground with blond hair who looked worse off than Nie Wei and his group, covered in dirt, with only scraps of cloth hanging on their bodies and many scrapes. Surprisingly, among these three blonds, there was a woman.

Feeling someone tapping him, Chen Shaoxian turned around to see Xiao Zhuang.

Xiao Zhuang gestured excitedly with his eyes: “I don’t know why, but I can’t wake them up.”

Chen Shaoxian and Xiao Zhuang approached Nie Wei, who was kneeling with his eyes tightly closed. Chen Shaoxian lifted Nie Wei’s eyelids and saw that his pupils were not dilated, which relieved him a bit, but the whites of Nie Wei’s eyes were blood red.

Suddenly, next to them, Song Yumu was choked by a special forces soldier. This soldier’s eyes were bloodshot and he held on to Song Yumu’s neck expressionlessly.

Song Yumu struggled to pry the soldier’s grip loose, but it was clamped tight like a vise. Song Yumu’s face turned pale, and his eyes bulged.

Chen Shaoxian and Xiao Zhuang quickly helped to pry the soldier’s hands off, and oddly, after they released Song Yumu’s neck, the soldier closed his eyes again and knelt upright as if nothing had happened.

Song Yumu coughed and gasped for a while before catching his breath. Once he recovered, he immediately gestured toward the soldier: “There’s something on the back of his head.”

Earlier, while checking the soldier, Song Yumu accidentally touched the back of his head, feeling something soft. Before he could take a closer look, the soldier suddenly opened his eyes and choked him.

Chen Shaoxian quickly moved to the back of the soldier’s head. The soldier was not wearing a helmet, and it was clear that the back of his head, covered by long hair, had a bulge. Chen Shaoxian was puzzled; since when were soldiers allowed to wear such a hairstyle with short hair in the front and long hair in the back, reaching down to the buttocks.

Chen Shaoxian asked Xiao Zhuang and Song Yumu to hold the soldier’s arms, then squatted down and lifted the long hair.

“Shit,” Chen Shaoxian cursed in shock when he saw what was behind it-a grotesque human face growing on the back of the special forces soldier’s head.