Exorcist Master - Chapter 81 - Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part XXXV)

Once everything was ready, Song Yumu handed all seven grenades to Wang Quanpeng, saying, “It’s up to you now.”

Wang Quanpeng stood straight, shouting back, “Yes!” He then hung six grenades on himself, holding onto one. He moved to the front of the team, extended a thumb to gauge the distance, then turned to give a nod.

Song Yumu instructed everyone to step back.

Wang Quanpeng pulled the pin and threw the grenade, quickly running back to the main group.

The grenade hit the ground with a booming explosion, flames and shockwaves obliterating the surrounding bone claws. The Cinnabar within adhered to the bone claws not yet shattered, sizzling with a blue smoke until they burned to char, wobbling a bit before falling to the ground and breaking into pieces – this sight inspired a glimmer of hope for everyone.

The grenade landed precisely as planned. Chen Shaoxian gave Wang Quanpeng a thumbs up in admiration, and Song Yumu nodded in agreement, the encouragement from his comrades boosting Wang Quanpeng’s spirits.

The main group then moved forward, with Wang Quanpeng clearing the path using grenades. Occasionally, new bone claws would emerge from the ground, which the team would promptly shred with evil-slaying blades.

Before long, they reached the bottom of the earthen slope. Song Yumu prodded it with his evil-slaying blade, finding it quite firm. He then thrust the blade deep into the earth, holding it tightly with both hands, and let his body drop until he was hanging by the blade. Feeling it was secure, he turned to Chen Shaoxian and said, “We can go up.”

Chen Shaoxian nodded, “Song-Ge, you take the lead.”

Song Yumu considered for a moment, “Here’s what I think: We’ll send a few people up first to secure points, then use ropes to pull the others up. This way, it’s safer, with support both up and down, and it’s more agile. What do you think?”

Everyone felt the plan was feasible and collectively agreed.

Choosing the right people was a bit challenging for Song Yumu, as everyone expressed a desire to be the first to go up.

It wasn’t out of a desire to escape first, but because no one knew what dangers might lie above, and those willing to go up wanted to be trailblazers for their comrades.

Chen Shaoxian spoke up, “How about this: Wang Quanpeng, Nie Wei, and I go up first, and the rest stay below.”

“Shaoxian, you should stay and rest a bit more,” Song Yumu countered his suggestion.

“No worries, Song-Ge, I’ve got my strength back,” Chen Shaoxian replied.

He wasn’t lying. Chen Shaoxian had always been exceptionally strong and recovered quickly, thanks to the old man who had steeped him in medicinal baths since childhood, which significantly enriched his acquired energy. Moreover, his family’s heritage was unique, relying on external forces like the energy of heaven and earth, unlike others who used their internal energy to harness external forces.

Additionally, the old man taught Chen Shaoxian many energy-balancing techniques that allowed him to adjust in different environments and quickly regain strength. During the recent downtime, he used these techniques and had already restored about sixty to seventy percent of his energy, as long as he avoided using exorcism techniques like the landmine exorcism spell. Thus, he suggested to Song Yumu that he could lead the way up.

Seeing this, Song Yumu agreed to Chen Shaoxian’s request and asked him to lead with Wang Quanpeng and Nie Wei as their pathfinders.

The group first secured their climbing ropes together tightly, and the three checked their equipment. Chen Shaoxian then tied the magic rope around their waists, ensuring everything was secure, gripping the evil-slaying blade in one hand and a dagger in the other.

Initially, Chen Shaoxian wanted to lead, but the other two insisted on keeping him protected in the middle. Unable to argue further, he agreed.

With Nie Wei in the lead, Chen Shaoxian in the middle, and Wang Quanpeng at the rear, the three of them plunged their weapons into the soil layers, climbing up like geckos.

Meanwhile, those below removed their jackets and linked them to form a makeshift catch net, their eyes fixed on the trio, ready to assist at any moment. Before long, the three were already about ten meters off the ground.

Just then, a rustling sound emanated from within the soil, causing everyone’s hearts to pound. Immediately, the first bone claw extended from the earth, followed by others, all reaching out to grasp at the climbing trio.

“Damn it!” Chen Shaoxian cursed.

Seeing the situation wasn’t good, Song Yumu quickly raised his gun and shot, shattering a bone claw. Immediately, everyone below lifted their guns, spitting fire to cover the trio climbing up.

Chen Shaoxian and the others had no choice but to continue upward, teeth gritted, picking up their pace. At this moment, they could only trust their comrades’ shooting skills below, ignoring the danger of ricocheting bullets.

Suddenly, the soil at Chen Shaoxian’s right shoulder loosened, and a chunk fell away, revealing a bone claw that gripped his shoulder. He quickly drew his evil-slaying blade and struck hard, severing the claw. However, this left Chen Shaoxian dangling in mid-air.

It was a critical situation. Above him, Nie Wei slipped, nearly losing his dagger, but he steadied himself and pressed tightly against the earthen slope. Below, Wang Quanpeng managed to grab Chen Shaoxian’s foot, stabilizing him. All three broke out in cold sweat.

At the same time, many bone claws were extending around Song Yumu and his team. Song Yumu didn’t have time to curse; he quickly assigned some men to handle the problem below with their evil-slaying blades, trying to conserve bullets to support Chen Shaoxian and the others.

The people below had already made up their minds: if even one of them could make it out, they should; better to have someone survive than none at all. Everyone was red-eyed and fighting desperately.

Just then, a thunderous roar was heard not far away, and soon a gigantic figure, Mahoraga, came into view.

Seeing this creature, despair swept over Song Yumu.

Mahoraga moved quickly, crushing bone claws as it charged toward them. It reached them so swiftly that no one had time to react. In fact, they’d already given up attacking Mahoraga, knowing their efforts were futile.

However, what Song Yumu didn’t expect was that Mahoraga didn’t attack anyone. Instead, it circled the group, grinding the bone claws around them into dust.

Then, it pressed its head against the earthen slope with a crash, smashing more bone claws. The slope’s steep arc, a daunting obstacle for Chen Shaoxian and the others, was flat ground for Mahoraga. It charged up the slope, swiftly reaching Chen Shaoxian’s side, casting a glance at him with its eyes.

Chen Shaoxian noticed that Mahoraga appeared to be shedding its skin. A thick layer of skin was peeling from the back of its head, and its previously dark body was showing hints of yellow where the skin was coming off. This revelation was startling to Chen Shaoxian, but it was not the time for contemplation.

Mahoraga seemed to be in a hurry and didn’t linger by Chen Shaoxian’s side. With a rattling sound, it charged upward. Chen Shaoxian shouted, “Climb where Mahoraga passed!” He then shifted sideways and continued climbing rapidly.

The other two immediately adjusted their positions upon hearing Chen Shaoxian’s call.

The path Mahoraga took was sticky; although their climbing speed decreased, their bodies stuck to the earthen slope. More importantly, no bone claws appeared along the path Mahoraga traversed, making it much safer for Chen Shaoxian and his companions.

Mahoraga soon returned, pausing its head near Chen Shaoxian for a long moment. Then, it seemed ready to head down, but Chen Shaoxian, heedless of whether Mahoraga understood human speech, shouted, “Wait!” He steadied himself and pulled out a small bottle of medicine from his bag.

Mahoraga stopped, its eyes fixed on Chen Shaoxian.

Using his mouth, Chen Shaoxian uncapped the bottle and dumped all the pills toward Mahoraga.

With a wide-open mouth, Mahoraga swallowed all the pills whole.

Chen Shaoxian shouted loudly to Mahoraga, “The way of heaven is not perfect; take care of yourself.” He then continued climbing upward without waiting for a response.

Mahoraga growled twice at Chen Shaoxian before turning away.

Song Yumu, witnessing the event, was stunned. He could hardly believe it was real. He pinched himself hard and muttered, “This actually works?”

Meanwhile, Chen Shaoxian and his companions had already reached the top of the earthen slope. They searched around and, fortunately, found a protruding rock untouched by the Japanese army’s digging. They securely tied the rope to it.

Chen Shaoxian shouted down below and tossed the rope down.