Chapter 66: Birth Ritual
Xia Feng naturally recognized the woman in the glass coffin as the mysterious woman he met in his dreams. In the dream, she mentioned having a husband, which he assumed was the Earl. However, it was strange. If the woman in the glass coffin was the Princess Consort, then who was the person outside earlier?
Before Xia Feng could ponder further, creaking sounds echoed from the ceiling.
*Bang—*
A figure crashed through the wall, soaring through the air like a cannonball, leaving a trail of light, and hurtled directly towards the ice-blue glass coffin. *Thump—*
The surface of the glass coffin rippled with layers of waves. The figure was repelled by a immense force, crashing back into the wall and raising a cloud of smoke and dust.
“Cough, cough—”
Xia Feng recognized the pained coughing of Zhao Jie. He must have been seriously injured.
“Crack, crack, crack—” A series of camera clicks could be heard. Xia Feng turned and saw that Uncle Wei had appeared behind him at some point, holding a camera and continuously taking pictures of a glass chamber. It was a chamber filled with nutrient fluid, leaning in a corner. Inside the transparent glass, a girl’s head floated, her eyes vacant.
“Hey, Old Wei, we’re surrounded, and you’re still in the mood to take pictures?!” More and more pale-faced figures rushed in from the corridor. Xia Feng and the others were forced to retreat step by step.
“Kid, you need to learn to be calm and composed when facing anything. That’s how you look cool.” The man in the slicked-back suit pressed the shutter with his left hand while holding a shotgun to his side with his right. *Bang—*
Flames spat from the barrel, and the heads of the charging pale-faced figures burst open, their bodies slumping backward to the ground.
“Cool your sister! Cool my ass!” Xia Feng cursed. He flipped his saber, pushing the blade backward. The pale-faced figure charging from behind spat a mouthful of blood and collapsed softly.
*Swish—*
Xia Feng drew his saber and charged towards the mushroom, who was sitting on the ground. He scooped her up by the waist, rolled a few times on the ground, dodged the attacking crowd, and landed steadily beside Uncle Wei.
“You’re here.”
Uncle Wei put down his camera and directly thrust a large stack of photos and a USB drive into Xia Feng’s hand.
“Here, my ass! What in the world is going on?” Xia Feng instinctively took the photos and USB drive, then paused. “No, why are you giving me this?”
“Bang bang bang bang bang bang—” Dense gun muzzles appeared around Uncle Wei, rotating and firing. The perimeter of the gun formation was immediately surrounded by Uncle Wei, trapped in a hail of bullets, blood splashing everywhere.
“Hey! We have our own people out there!” Xia Feng was shocked.
“Then let them fend for themselves.”
Uncle Wei said casually, then turned with a serious expression. “Two things. First, give these photos to Big Face Cat. His location is written on the back of the photos. Remember to tell him that his granddaughter is confirmed dead! Second, keep this USB drive safe. If you absolutely cannot keep it, give it to someone you trust.”
“Alright, that’s it! You can go now.”
As he finished speaking, a gap opened in the gun formation. Outside, a small door leading to the outside world had appeared at some point.
“Swish—” Just then, the guns fell silent. A bloody saber pierced through the gun formation, its tip stopping inches from Uncle Wei’s forehead.
“Our people, our people!” Xia Feng shouted to the Black-dressed Woman outside.
The gun formation parted. Uncle Wei frowned and looked at Mu Qingtong. “Can she be trusted?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, you two go.” Uncle Wei stomped his foot, releasing a wave of energy that sent them both flying out the door.
“Wait, what about the mushroom, hey!”
“It’ll be more dangerous for her to follow you.” Uncle Wei’s shotgun folded and transformed into a hunting knife. Dressed in a suit, he blocked the doorway with the knife and said in a low, serious voice, “We will protect her. You go!”
Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong exchanged glances. Neither of them was one to delay. Since they chose to trust Uncle Wei, they would trust him completely.
“Go!”
The two turned and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.
When the Earl arrived at the laboratory, the ice-blue glass coffin in the center was intact, but the surroundings were in ruins, with flames raging. A group of pale-faced figures were haphazardly cleaning up the battlefield. The Earl’s face was grim as he looked at everything around him, suppressing his anger. He spoke in a deep voice, “Where are they?”
“Uncle Wei stayed behind to cover our retreat and has been captured and is in a coma,” Zhao Jie said, sweating profusely and lowering his head. “But Li Hongdou was snatched away by the Cat-faced Person.”
“Snatched away?!” The Earl’s head snapped around, his majestic gaze fixed on Zhao Jie as if he could devour him. Zhao Jie quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak.
“There are only two days left until the Princess Consort’s birth ritual.” A Black-robed Person emerged from the shadows. He wore a white mask with a blood-red number ‘8’ etched on it. His voice was hoarse, “Lord Earl, I told you long ago that after years of repeated trials and complications, the causal lines of the Princess Consort are difficult to discern, and problems would arise sooner or later. Now, Li Hongdou is the only remaining option. If Li Hongdou does not acknowledge the Princess Consort’s existence, it will be difficult for the Princess Consort’s Spirit Body to complete the birth ritual and merge with the Divine Body.”
As he spoke, the Eight-faced Man looked up at the woman in the ancient phoenix dress within the glass coffin.
At the same time, a Woman in Red Dress entered from outside the door. Everyone immediately retreated three meters away.
!
The red veil of the Woman in Red Dress had disappeared, revealing a fox-like pointed chin, identical to the one in the glass coffin. She moved around the glass coffin like a ghost, finally stopping in front of it. Silently, she looked up, but her eyes were still covered by a black veil, rendering her vision completely obscured. However, it was visible to the naked eye that wisps of spiritual light emanated from the surface of the Woman in Red Dress’s body and floated towards the glass coffin. This was clearly a stable soul that could exist in the world for a long time.
The Earl frowned, staring at the soul. “Are you sure she will recognize this King as her master when she opens her eyes?”
“Rest assured, Lord Earl.” The Eight-faced Man smiled lightly. “Our information from the God’s Calamity Society is never wrong. According to the records, when she awakens and opens her eyes, her pupils will be filled with golden light. Once the golden light recedes, the first human she notices will be recognized as her master and be used by her.”
He then shook his head. “But this is all predicated on the Princess Consort’s Spirit Body being able to complete the birth ritual and merge with the Divine Body before the day after. Otherwise, all this will be in vain.”
“Lord Earl, Li Hongdou is the key to the Princess Consort’s birth. I suggest we capture her quickly.” The Earl naturally understood the criticality of the situation. He cast a glance at Zhao Jie. “What are you still waiting for! Go capture her!”
“Yes!” Zhao Jie quickly clasped his hands and retreated.
“Mr. Eight, my subordinates are severely injured and I have no one available. I wonder if Mr. Eight could help me with something?”
“Lord Earl, please speak freely.” The Eight-faced Man smiled lightly. “Although the God’s Calamity Society’s invasion of District 51 failed this time, we have seen Lord Earl’s sincerity. Therefore, helping you with a small matter is within our obligation.”
The Earl nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. “There are two youngsters among those who escaped. One is named Xia Feng, and the other is Mu Qingtong. The photos and USB drive they have are very detrimental to me. I request Mr. Eight to go to the Evil Dragon Forest.”
“Oh?” The Eight-faced Man mused. “Xia Feng, I’ve heard of him. It’s said that this kid caused a stir in Weiyang with his ability to copy Spirit artifacts. He’s a rare talent.”
“He’s talented, but unfortunately, he chose the wrong side.” The Earl smiled faintly and reminded in a deep voice, “However, Mr. Eight, your Spirit artifact is a rare B-grade Spirit artifact. Be very careful not to use it in front of that kid, otherwise, it will be very troublesome if he copies it.”
“Haha~ Then Lord Earl can rest assured.” The Eight-faced Man shook his head and chuckled. “I am a highly Calamity-corrupted individual. My Spirit artifact has long been severely polluted by Calamity Force. If he dares to copy my Spirit artifact, he can try. I fear he won’t have the chance to use it even if he gets the opportunity to copy it.”
