Chapter 19: The Abyss of the Underground Palace

The damp air carried a rotting stench, and droplets of water seeped from the stone walls, sliding down moss-covered surfaces with a rhythmic drip, drip—like the ticking of a countdown clock.

"Walau eh…" Lin Han muttered under his breath, his throat tightening.

Noor gripped her short sword tightly, shifting slightly to shield Su Xueqing behind her.

The masked figure in black robes stood motionless, his face hidden behind eerie symbols that seemed to twist unnaturally in the dim light. At his feet lay a corpse, its body curled in a grotesque position, bluish skin stretched taut over lifeless muscles. Dried blood stained its lips, leaving behind an unsettling sight.

"You shouldn't have come here." The robed figure's voice was hoarse, heavy with an indescribable pressure.

Su Xueqing gently shook the silver bell at her waist. A crisp ding— echoed through the underground chamber, but at that very moment, the corpse twitched.

"Is… is he still alive?"

"No." Su Xueqing's expression darkened. "The yin energy hasn't dispersed."

Before she could finish speaking, the corpse's fingers jerked. Its nails scraped against the stone floor with an eerie screech, like metal dragging across glass.

The robed figure smirked, raising his hand. A wisp of black smoke coiled from his fingertips, swirling like a living entity infused with malice.

"I've been waiting for you."

Lin Han felt his heartbeat quicken. His right eye flared with karmic threads twisting violently, as though something unseen was tugging at his vision.

The corpse's head stiffly turned toward him. Hollow eye sockets oozed a thick, black fluid.

"Sticky... that's not blood..." He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay calm.

Su Xueqing took a deep breath, pressing her palm against the silver bell. She murmured an ancient incantation:

"Heaven is clear, earth is pure, divine light repels evil—"

The symbols on the bell glowed instantly. A powerful, invisible wave pulsed outward. The corpse convulsed violently, as if an invisible force had grabbed hold of it. A moment later, it let out a guttural, inhuman screech!

"Jahanam kau—!" The robed man snarled, swinging his hand. Black mist surged forward, hurtling straight toward Su Xueqing!

Noor reacted instinctively, stepping in front of her. With a swift movement, she slashed through the mist with her short sword. However, the smoke was alive—it coiled around Noor's arm in an instant.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as dark-purple streaks rapidly spread across her skin!

"Kau okay tak?!" Lin Han rushed forward, but before he could reach her, the robed figure struck him with a powerful force.

His back slammed into the cold stone wall. A chilling sensation crawled up his spine, nearly draining all strength from his body.

"Merit…" Su Xueqing's voice cut through the tension, urgent and commanding. "Use the power of merit to resist it!"

Lin Han's mind reeled.

Merit…

He suddenly remembered—the trace of incense power he had absorbed after the Batu Caves battle was still lingering within him.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to focus. His right eye flickered with a faint golden glow. His fingers trembled slightly as he tentatively channeled that warm energy. Light surged from his palm.

The black mist recoiled violently, hissing as if it were being burned by scorching sunlight. Slowly, it began to retreat!

The robed figure's expression changed for the first time. His gaze locked onto Lin Han.

"So that's it… you're the Conduit."

Lin Han's breath hitched. "What do you mean?"

The robed man didn't answer. Instead, he raised his hand and pressed his fingertips against the stone wall.

An ancient symbol lit up.

From deep within the underground palace, a deep rumbling echoed.

Something was awakening.

A deafening rumble echoed through the darkness, like a thousand-pound boulder being dragged and crushed. The entire underground palace trembled slightly, and the air was filled with the pungent mix of decay and sulfur.

Lin Han steadied himself against the wall, a fleeting golden shimmer flashing in his eyes. He looked ahead and saw the black-robed man pressing his fingers against the stone wall. Dark red runes spread from his palm, slithering across the surface like blood vessels creeping along ancient bones.

"Kau… buat apa?!" Noor gritted her teeth, enduring the searing pain in her arm as she shouted.

The black-robed man turned his head slowly, his gaze deep as an abyss. "I'm merely opening a door that should have been unsealed long ago."

The moment he spoke, a deep, labored breathing sound came from the depths of the underground palace—like something that had been sealed away for centuries, now taking its first gasp of air.

Lin Han's instincts screamed at him. He grabbed Su Xueqing's arm. "Something's wrong. We need to go!"

But Su Xueqing didn't move. She was staring intently at the stone door, her hands trembling.

"This… this is impossible…" she whispered, her eyes flashing with disbelief. "How can this place be—"

BOOM!

The massive stone shifted, revealing a pitch-black crack—a void-like slit, slowly widening like an awakening eye.

——Deep within the underground palace, the true presence had awakened.

Lin Han's fingers trembled slightly. His right eye's karmic threads surged wildly, intertwining like thousands of tangled fates, reflecting countless chaotic destinies.

Beyond the crack was not a passage, but pure darkness—no, it was something far worse than darkness. It was an existence so deep, so terrifying, that even the void seemed shallow in comparison.

A low, guttural voice rumbled from the abyss.

"Hu…mans…"

Lin Han felt every hair on his body stand on end. His heartbeat seized as if an invisible force had clenched his soul in its grasp.

In the next moment, a pale hand slowly emerged from the fissure—long, slender fingers glowing with an eerie blue light. Its nails were grotesquely elongated, resembling the claws of an ancient entity, carving spectral ripples into the air itself.

The black-robed man fell to his knees, his voice filled with reverence. "My Lord… You have finally returned…"

"My Lord?"

Lin Han's pupils constricted as realization struck him.

This was not just some ancient ruin—it was a seal.

They hadn't stumbled upon a mere underground chamber; they had trespassed into a forbidden prison, one that held something that should have never been freed.

"Run!" Lin Han yanked Su Xueqing's wrist and pulled Noor backward.

But it was too late.

The pale hand twitched slightly, and then—deep within the darkness—an enormous, ink-black eye slowly opened.

Su Xueqing's face had turned deathly pale. She muttered under her breath, "No… it shouldn't be alive… it can't be alive…"

The black-robed man laughed maniacally, his expression twisted with fervor. "Centuries of sealing… have only allowed Him to slumber. And now—your arrival makes the perfect sacrifice."

Lin Han's right eye pulsed violently. He didn't even need to look—he could feel it. A terrifying karmic thread had wrapped itself around him, an unbreakable shackle of fate forcing him into an irreversible decision.

—Run, or fight.

—But could they even escape?

From the depths of the fissure, the pale hand curled slightly, and then, in a voice as ancient as the abyss itself, it spoke:

"What… do you seek?"

Su Xueqing's fingers clenched tightly, her voice trembling. "No… we must not answer… we must not—"

The black-robed man's laughter sharpened. "You have no choice."

Lin Han's breath hitched. He could feel it—his soul being pulled, forced toward a response.

—"What… do you seek?"

The Dark God was demanding an answer.

But once that answer was spoken, there might be no turning back.