Chapter Thirty-Three: Breaking the Barrier

Seeing that Suwanda had unhesitatingly begun the ritual, the others exchanged glances and finally picked up their own demon fingers, slicing open their palms. One after another, the five braziers swelled, and as the final brazier’s flames expanded, all five shattered in an instant. Black-red fire burst forth, igniting the statue of the demon god at the center.

Much like the melting of a chocolate shell, under the scorching black-red flames, the demon god statue began to shed its layer of darkness. The glow of the fire enveloped the pitch-black chamber.

At that moment, the gazes of the five pierced the border between reality and hell, beholding the hellish dimension filled with resentment and slaughter. Rivers of molten lava surged over the barren, black earth, and from the roaring flames, a hideous, bloated, terrifying demon emerged before them.

As the Five Fingers of the Hand Society, they naturally recognized the being they had worshipped for years—this was the demon, the Beast.

“Lowly mortals, you offer your souls in sacrifice, seeking something from the great demon god.”

“O deathless and eternal one, our power has been obstructed by forces from the mystical side; we require your aid,” Alexandra responded humbly.

Through the soul-sacrificing ritual, the Beast instantly grasped Alexandra’s plea. The power of the Muggle Banishing Spell was feeble before the demons of hell. Through it, the Beast could also see Gu Zhongyan, hidden underground.

That familiar magical power blazed in the Beast’s vision like a sun rising in the dead of night—nothing could be more conspicuous.

“It’s you, you wretched insect!”

A surge of wrathful power, carried by the souls of the five, pierced the boundaries of hell and landed upon Gu Zhongyan. In the midst of crafting his wand, Gu Zhongyan suddenly felt a chill, as a terrifying will pressed down upon him like Mount Tai.

“This power—is it the Beast?!”

Gu Zhongyan was startled. How could this be? The Beast should have been blocked at the edge of hell; unless Su Yan died, severing its connection to the Black Void, it should not be able to descend into this world.

In truth, Gu Zhongyan wasn’t mistaken. The Beast’s power was indeed locked away by the Black Void, preventing its descent. Yet it wasn’t entirely impossible—the Beast could attempt to force its way across the boundary between hell and reality, descending upon the earth.

But, that would be an entirely different matter.

The former was exploiting loopholes in the rules, a clandestine crossing; the latter would require facing head-on the blockade of the Ancient One and the sorcerers of the Sanctum who guard Earth. Even if the Beast had the courage of ten thousand, it would not dare such a thing.

Now, although Gu Zhongyan perceived the Beast’s will, what descended was not its power, but merely its gaze, transmitted through the souls of the five. Essentially, aside from being sensed by Gu Zhongyan, it had no effect at all. For an ordinary person, this look would not even be perceptible.

However, though its power was locked by the Black Void and could not be transmitted, as a higher-level being, the Beast was not influenced by the Muggle Banishing Spell. Likewise, the Five Fingers, connected to it through the sacrifice of their souls, could break free from the spell’s effects.

Knowing it could do nothing to Gu Zhongyan from across hell, the Beast could only issue orders to its followers.

“My faithful servants, I command you—kill that repulsive insect. If you succeed, I shall relinquish this pact and free your souls.”

“Truly?!”

The five were overjoyed at these words. They had struggled endlessly in pursuit of survival; if they could keep their souls, nothing could be better. Even more, Gu Zhongyan was meddling with the dragon bones—they had every reason not to let him go, making this a perfect opportunity.

The five hastily agreed, charging toward the elevator they should have approached long ago.

Underground, Gu Zhongyan, startled by the Beast’s will, quickly collected himself. The demon’s hateful gaze was nothing but a paper tiger, unable to harm him in the least. Still, the Beast’s appearance made him realize the Muggle Banishing Spell was likely failing.

Indeed, just as the thought crossed his mind, the sound of heavy iron chains turning echoed from the elevator shaft.

He glanced at the mound of stones piled high, then turned quickly back to the dragon bones before him. He could only hope these obstacles would delay them as long as possible—just a little while, just enough.

Ignoring the sounds from the elevator shaft, he focused all his attention on carving a vertebra, his magic slowly shaping the bone—infusing, weaving, transforming. Faint glimmers of light flickered on the dragon bone.

Bang!

A dull crash shook the entire underground space. Gu Zhongyan’s hand paused for a moment, then resumed its work. He knew—the five had arrived. He had to finish before they broke through the barrier.

“What the f—! What the hell is this?!”

As the elevator opened, Suwanda cursed loudly at the sight of the entrance blocked entirely by massive stones.

The others’ faces darkened as well. Lady Gao snorted, “It seems our unknown mage went to considerable trouble to stop us. Does he really think this can hold us back?”

With that, she shouted, bent her left leg, drew her right palm in a semicircle, and, in a motion reminiscent of the “dragon’s regret,” struck the stone heap with a powerful blow.

Rumble—the pile trembled, and a huge stone at the top rolled off. Yet the mass of rocks did not collapse from a single strike.

The others joined in, unleashing the energy accumulated over centuries without reservation upon the stones.

Rumble! Like an earthquake, boulders tumbled under the onslaught, and the tightly-packed barrier shrank visibly.

At last, after a dozen blows, Lady Gao blasted apart the largest stone at the top of the elevator doors. Though the pile wasn’t yet fully cleared, a hole large enough for one person had opened.

Through this gap, they could see that what had once been solid stone now revealed a vast underground cavern. And within, the enormous dragon bones they had dreamed of for four hundred years.

“Dragon bones—it’s really the dragon bones! The seal is broken, it’s the dragon bones!”

Lady Gao gazed in excitement at the massive remains; the others instinctively held their breath, scarcely believing what lay before them.

Then Alexandra, her expression calm, pointed to a corner of the cavern. “Everyone, don’t get ahead of yourselves. Look over there first.”