Living Murals

"Why bother with all the finesse when dealing with this lump of iron?"

He walked over to the metal manhole cover, his chest heaving, the muscles in his arms swelling to an exaggerated extent once again, veins crisscrossing beneath his skin.

"Let me open a door for it."

He bent down, both hands gripping the barely existent gap at the edge of the cover, channeling all his strength into his arms.

"Lift... now!"

With a low growl, the blood vessels on his arms bulged as if they were about to burst.

A harsh screech of metal twisting rang out, followed by a loud cracking sound.

That massive alloy manhole cover, weighing several tons and fused seamlessly with the ground, was ripped away from the surface by brute force and sent flying, crashing against a wall far away with a deafening thunder, leaving behind a deep dent.

A pitch-black, bottomless passage appeared at everyone's feet.

A cold, rancid smell of decayed earth surged upward from the dark tunnel.

The four exchanged glances. An Changqing was the first to nod, then they descended one by one along the stone steps inside the passage.

The spiral stairs went on endlessly downward. No one knew how much time had passed before the space suddenly opened up before them.

The sight ahead stopped everyone in their tracks.

The underground area beneath the slaughterhouse had been hollowed out completely, and what lay before them was a magnificent, breath-taking subterranean temple.

Countless massive stone pillars, carved with strange and eerie reliefs, supported the towering dome. An ancient and malevolent aura permeated the entire space.

"What a grand undertaking."

Long Ao couldn't help but admire: "To think such a creepy place is hidden under North City."

"This doesn't look like it was dug out recently," Su Yuehe said, looking around with a furrowed brow. "Look at the level of weathering on these pillars and the architectural style. This feels more like an ancient ruin that was already here, just discovered and exploited by Yue Teng."

Chen Guan said nothing. His gaze was fixed on the enormous murals on the walls on both sides of the temple.

The moment he saw the style of those murals, that familiar chill in Chen Guan's heart rose again.

[Here we go, the exclusive art gallery of the Lord of Nothingness.]

[The style is all squiggly and creepy.]

[Brother Coffin is coming home again.]

Just then, An Changqing's attention was drawn to the largest mural right in front of them.

That mural depicted a curled-up, sleeping beast. Its body was also entwined with countless eerie black lines.

Under his gaze, the beast's closed eyelids on the mural twitched slightly.

An Changqing stopped in his tracks.

The sword in his hand trembled lightly in its sheath.

"Did you see that?"

An Changqing turned his head to ask his teammates.

Long Ao tilted his head and leaned closer to the mural.

"See what?"

"These paintings came alive again."

Su Yuehe shook her head. "No, it's just static stone carving."

An Changqing pulled his gaze back. "It opened its eyes just now."

His finger pointed to the pupil area of the beast.

The lines there were indeed unusual—what had been a closed eyelid seam now had a fine crack running through it.

Chen Guan stood at the very back, looking at the mural. The black lines were slowly contracting.

A living painting?

Chen Guan hadn't seen such a painting before for the first time. A few months ago, someone had given him a living painting.

Could it be related to her?

Chen Guan made a mental note. Unfortunately, he didn’t have contact information for Santai, and his only closer connection in the organization was that troublesome superior, White Tiger.

Oh, right, if we're being thorough, he'd have to count Vermilion Bird too, though she didn't know it herself.

Su Yuehe pointed toward the giant mural, and An Changqing walked up to it.

He kept his distance, not reaching out to touch it.

"Back in the corridor, it definitely moved," An Changqing confirmed. "But as I look at it now, it's returned to its original state."

Long Ao stared at the stone carving. "You guys must be seeing things."

He pointed at the rough stone surface. "This is just ordinary rock."

With that, Long Ao threw a punch at the mural. The wind whistled as his fist struck the stone wall.

But unexpectedly, there was no impact sound.

Not even a speck of dust fell.

The moment Long Ao's fist made contact with the stone wall, it was absorbed by some force.

The black carved lines trembled slightly. They had blocked the attack and absorbed its strength.

"What the hell?"

Long Ao withdrew his hand, looking stunned. He gathered his spirit energy again and threw another punch.

This time with even more force.

But the result didn’t change.

The painting hadn't changed at all.

Yue Teng's laughter echoed around them.

The sound was somewhat grating.

"Dear guests, don't waste your effort," Yue Teng's voice reverberated from above the building. "These works can't be destroyed with fists."

"They are gifts from the great Sovereign."

Long Ao shouted toward the source of the voice.

"You cowardly bastard hiding away, stop using a speaker and come out if you've got the guts!"

Yue Teng didn't respond to the provocation. The stone pillars began to creak, objects scraped against the floor, and tremors shook the entire underground space.

"The pillars are moving," An Changqing noticed. He observed the patterns on the ground. "They're building a maze."

He said to the people behind him, "Everyone, stay close."

The pillars moved with great speed, cutting through their midst. Colossal shadows loomed over them from above.

The group was separated by the pillars. Long Ao watched the pillar blocking his path; just as he tried to punch through the obstacle, the black lines on the murals detached from the walls. Black mist spread outward.

Three tall monsters stepped out from the painting. They radiated a putrid stench. The creatures raised their deformed arms and lunged at Long Ao.

Long Ao had no choice but to turn and fight. He smashed a monster's chest with a single punch; the black mist scattered but then gathered again in the air.

"Unkillable junk again," Long Ao cursed. Still, he had to keep attacking, because unlike Chen Guan, he couldn't sever the black mist controlling those monsters.

An Changqing was cut off in another open space, with Su Yuehe at his side.

Before them appeared several villagers. Their eyes were vacant. They shuffled toward An Changqing, brandishing rusty tools.

An Changqing gripped his sword hilt but didn't draw the blade.

These people were living beings, not like the black mist monsters Long Ao faced; they were essentially just innocent civilians.

"Don't hurt them," An Changqing said to Su Yuehe. "They're being controlled."

Su Yuehe nodded and extended her right hand. "I can slow their movements."

An Changqing dodged the villagers' attacks, using his sheath to deflect one person's arm.

"We need to find the source of the control," An Changqing said in a low voice. "Yue Teng's voice came from above us just now."

"This underground space is huge. We have to break through these defenses."

Su Yuehe used her power of order to create a deceleration zone. The controlled villagers slowed down, but they still kept pressing forward.