Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian hurried through the ruins without a moment’s pause.

Having walked this route twice already, he knew it well, right down to the exact spots where monsters might ambush him.

He encountered almost no resistance along the way and soon reached the blood pool at the center.

From a distance, he could already see Feng Yunhong striking a pose over there.

Working his facial muscles into the right expression, Fu Qian hurried forward, his pupils suddenly dilating.

”Feng... Dean Feng Yunhong?”

After a full ten seconds of waiting, the wax-statue-like Feng Yunhong finally stirred.

Taking a long breath, as if he had just woken from a dream, Feng Yunhong slowly opened his eyes and looked at Fu Qian.

”Who are you? It’s very dangerous here.”

”You’re Dean Feng, right?”Fu Qian didn’t answer his question, maintaining a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

”I knew you were fine! I finally found you!”

”You know me?”

Feng Yunhong furrowed his brow.

”Of course!”

Fu Qian nodded vigorously.

”I saw your photo at the Academy. You haven’t changed a bit in all these years, so I recognized you immediately.”

”The Academy...”

As if hearing about something from the distant past, Feng Yunhong froze for a moment before snapping back to reality and shaking his head.

”That was many years ago.”

”Yes, I often hear the Academy’s teachers mention the mysterious disappearance of the fourth dean. It’s been at least a few decades now. They say Dean Li has been searching for your whereabouts ever since.”

”Dean Li, Li He? So he became the dean.”

Feng Yunhong let out a long sigh, his weather-beaten face showing a trace of relief.

’Good acting,’ Fu Qian praised inwardly.

”Yes, though Dean Li retired years ago and travels around now. He always highly respected your strength.”

Feng Yunhong waved his hand and gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, striking the pose of a man who had seen through the ways of the world.

”All worldly fame is but fleeting clouds passing before one’s eyes.”

”Speaking of which, truly heroes emerge from youths.”

He looked Fu Qian up and down with admiration.

”You’re already at Tier 6 at such a young age, aren’t you? Back in my era, you’d absolutely be considered a young genius.”

”You flatter me, Dean Feng. I’m merely standing on the shoulders of giants. Without the years of exploration by our predecessors, the path of cultivation wouldn’t be this smooth.”

Fu Qian remained humble while furrowing his brow, staring at the tragic state of Feng Yunhong’s lower body.

”This... Who did this to you?”

”It’s hard to explain right now. I can only blame myself for being too careless back then. This place is incredibly evil and bizarre, so you must be careful.”

Feng Yunhong warned Fu Qian with the demeanor of a wise elder.

”I understand!”

Fu Qian nodded seriously, continuing to stare at Feng Yunhong’s lower body with righteous indignation.

”I’ll go call the others right away. We’ll definitely find a way to save you.”

’There are others?’

Hearing Fu Qian say this, Feng Yunhong’s eyes lit up before he gave a magnanimous smile and shook his head.

”I appreciate the sentiment, but at my age, I’ve long since looked past life and death. I’ve only survived this long by forcing myself to hold onto my last breath.”

”Every step in here is treacherous. There’s no need for you all to risk your lives for me.”

”You absolutely cannot say that.”

Fu Qian shook his head vigorously.

”I’ll go get them right now. Vice Dean Li Weixuan, who came with me, is already at Peak Tier 4. His Transparent Sword Heart is the perfect counter to all things evil and impure. He’ll definitely have a way to save you. Just wait for me...”

While comforting Feng Yunhong, Fu Qian made a move to leave, but stopped abruptly a moment later, his brow tightly furrowed.

”What’s wrong?”

Feng Yunhong narrowed his eyes, studying Fu Qian.

”Did you...”

Fu Qian glanced around repeatedly, as if searching for something.

”Hear someone talking?”

”Someone talking? How could that be? There’s no one else here but the two of us!”

Feng Yunhong wore a look of confusion.

”Are you sure you didn’t mishear?”

”But I really did hear it!”

Fu Qian looked deeply puzzled.

”It was a woman’s voice. She kept saying to let her out, and her name sounded like Shui Jing... Wait, there’s another man’s voice too... Chi Hesheng. How could this be?”

Fu Qian casually tossed out two names, noting the sudden change in Feng Yunhong’s expression.

”This blood pool is crawling with curses, which can sometimes cause hallucinations. You might have been affected.”

”It’s best if you leave here quickly to avoid taking further harm.”

Feng Yunhong urged Fu Qian to leave.

”Understood, I’ll go right now!”

Fu Qian nodded and bowed respectfully to Feng Yunhong.

”Take care. I’ll be right back.”

”No need to rush. I’ve been here for so many years; a little longer won’t hurt.”

Feng Yunhong laughed heartily, watching Fu Qian walk away until he completely disappeared into the thin mist.

After walking a distance away, Fu Qian turned around, using a Stone Tower to block his line of sight before quietly doubling back.

Of course he wasn’t really going to go grab Li Weixuan and the others.

The reason he said that was, firstly, to let Feng Yunhong know more prey was being delivered to his doorstep, so he wouldn’t just self-destruct right then and there.

And secondly, to put enough pressure on the old man.

He specifically emphasized that Li Weixuan was at Peak Tier 4 with incredibly sharp perception, and then told him that he had heard cries for help.

If even he could hear something abnormal, Feng Yunhong would definitely worry about being exposed in front of Li Weixuan. If the dean truly had a way to suppress these devoured transcendents, he would undoubtedly make a move.

Sprinting back to the edge of the blood pool, Fu Qian found that Feng Yunhong was already gone.

And in the spot where he had just been standing, there was now a hole leading further down.

This place... Fu Qian recalled the curved dome that had been revealed when Li Weixuan and Feng Yunhong fought.

There really was something underneath!

Fu Qian leaped over the blood pool again and landed at the edge of the hole, finding a crisscrossing network of stone beams below.

Without a shred of hesitation, Fu Qian jumped straight down.

Since swiftness is precious in warfare, Feng Yunhong wouldn’t act slowly either.

Landing lightly on a massive arched stone beam, Fu Qian carefully observed the interior of the structure.

The space wasn’t very large, but the ceiling was quite high, and he was currently standing on its rafters.

It was hard to imagine how such a building had sunk underground.

Judging by its general appearance, this place must have originally been a Church or something similar, but it was already completely unrecognizable.

The entire interior of the building presented a bizarre sight, with most of the area completely empty.

Tables, chairs, tiles, lampstands, and colored glass—all the interior decorations were piled up in the very center of the building.

Not only that, but these objects seemed to have been pulled by some force, forming a massive four-pronged spiral shape in a twisted arrangement.

It was the same symbol that was on the Blood Face’s head.

Fu Qian’s heart stirred, confirming that he had indeed found the right place.

In the very center of the counter-clockwise spiral sat a crude stone chair.

At this moment, the missing Feng Yunhong was sitting on it, with waves of wailing echoing from all over his body.

’He sure moved fast!’

’Then again, has this guy just been standing up there the whole time, immediately running down here to digest after swallowing people?’

’He really plays it safe!’