Quickly, the large group of people blocking the way dispersed, leaving the scene eerily quiet, almost chillingly so.
The faint flickering of the oil lamps danced, casting shadows in every direction.
Only two people remained on the scene.
One was staring at the purple sparkling nebula above, while the other watched the first.
The one gazing at the nebula was Shi Chun, his eyes fixated solely on it.
The overseer, who had issued the orders, glanced at him a few times, feeling somewhat unfamiliar.
His gaze lingered on the wound on Shi Chun’s arm before asking again, "Which team are you from?"
Shi Chun completely ignored him, not even acknowledging his presence.
Instead, he swiftly leapt onto the ribcage of the giant skeleton, using the dragon bone to propel himself lightly onto the fanged serpent’s skull.
With a few light steps, he stood right in front of the purple sparkling nebula, curiously examining it up close.
The overseer was slightly taken aback, demanding, "What are you doing?"
Shi Chun asked his own question while ignoring the overseer, "What is this thing?"
The overseer replied, "How would I know? Probably only Mr. Shen knows."
Time was running short, and Shi Chun couldn’t hesitate any longer.
After quickly observing, he reached out to try and touch the purple sparkling nebula.
Seeing this, the overseer sternly asked, "What are you doing? Didn't you say you were waiting for Mr. Shen?"
"Isn't he not here yet?" Shi Chun turned to him, trying to convince him, "Do you think Mr. Shen will let us know what this is when he comes? Don’t you want to find out what it is?"
The overseer was momentarily stunned before he too leapt onto the dragon bone, staring at Shi Chun, and occasionally glancing at the purple nebula.
Seeing the overseer silent, Shi Chun no longer hesitated.
His outstretched hand slowly began to immerse into the purple sparkling nebula.
The overseer watched intently, frequently glancing back at the passageway, seeming more worried than Shi Chun about Shen Youkun’s sudden appearance.
After swirling his hand through the nebula a few times, Shi Chun couldn’t help but let out a "huh."
He finally understood why the previous overseer who touched it made the same sound.
It felt like nothing.
Despite appearing to touch the nebula, there was no sensation, and the nebula, like an illusion, remained unaffected by any disturbance.
He blew forcefully, but it was in vain.
The overseer, who was watching from the dragon bone, checked the passage behind them, ensuring that no one was coming.
He then hesitantly reached into the nebula from the other side, and together with Shi Chun, they stirred it from both sides.
The earlier suspicions he had about Shi Chun were temporarily forgotten as he joined in.
It seemed even he didn’t realize how quickly he went along with Shi Chun, with barely any persuasion.
The two now felt themselves being traitorous overseers.
After finding the touch lacking, Shi Chun looked up and down, using his other hand to feel around the nebula, attempting to discern the source of the power keeping the purple nebula afloat.
Suddenly, both of them simultaneously exclaimed "huh," having noticed the nebula ripple slightly, as if stirred by something.
The overseer was a bit bewildered.
Shi Chun quickly focused on his left arm, eyeing the wound there.
It felt cold and slightly painful.
As he moved his hands back and forth, his injured left arm had inadvertently found its way into the purple nebula, seemingly causing the disturbance.
He tried swinging his arm again, and sure enough, the nebula rippled once more, like clouds rolling.
The overseer, observing through the nebula, saw this and immediately asked, “What’s going on?”
“How would I know...” Shi Chun exclaimed in surprise, then suddenly inhaled sharply, feeling the pain searing as the wound started bleeding again.
The icy pain shot through him like a cold wave, coursing through his nerves, making him shiver uncontrollably.
In that instant, he felt a sense of his soul leaving his body, realizing the danger.
Without hesitating further, he retracted his hand and stepped back.
The overseer, startled by his reaction, quickly withdrew his hand, stepping back from the nebula.
Shi Chun, overwhelmed with fear, realized the purple nebula seemed to be drawn out as if attached to his wound.
Frantically, he waved his right hand to try and break the connection, feeling something attempting to infiltrate his body.
Yet, despite his efforts, the nebula remained unaffected.
He immediately attempted to use his cultivation techniques but found himself unable to sever the link, filling his heart with fear of the unknown.
Suddenly, the nebula seemed to be energized by the blood, bursting forth with new vitality.
Starting from the wound on Shi Chun's left arm, it rapidly engulfed the entire nebula, seemingly sweeping away the nebula's dust and dullness, becoming vividly clear and bright.
More terrifyingly, Shi Chun's body seemed to become a funnel, with the nebula streaming into his left arm wound like flowing water.
Shi Chun tilted his head upward, emitting a painful groan.
Even with a mask on, the overseer could sense his level of pain, intensely frightened and eager to avoid getting involved.
He jumped down from the serpent skull, retreating quickly with a look of confusion in his eyes.
The purple streaming cloud was soon entirely absorbed into Shi Chun's body.
Shi Chun felt as though countless insects were gnawing at his spine, his head splitting into thousands of pieces with sheer pain.
The excruciating pain made him lose his footing, slipping off the uneven serpent skull and crashing onto the dragon bone below, then onto the ground.
The pain from the fall could easily be ignored by Shi Chun at this point, as the unbearable pain was internal, making him sweat cold bullets, curling on the ground, groaning with beast-like sounds, his eyes felt blinded by agony.
The overseer was indeed frightened, wishing to help yet too afraid to approach, fearing contamination.
Just when Shi Chun thought all was lost, he suddenly realized he seemed to be regaining his senses.
Yes, it didn't seem as painful anymore.
He immediately felt the unbearable pain receding like a tide, fading as quickly as it came, but the aftermath on his body wouldn’t vanish quickly, feeling nearly torn apart.
The overseer, observing with curiosity, realized that Shi Chun seemed less pained, yet the right eye beneath the mask seemed faintly glowing purple, although it was slowly fading.
After regaining consciousness, Shi Chun noticed his vision was impaired, unable to make out his surroundings clearly.
He checked and realized it wasn't truly impaired.
With his right eye shut, his left eye saw everything in the mine clearly, just as before.
With his right eye closed, his left eye’s sight was normal, clearly seeing the mines as they were.
However, closing his left eye, his right eye perceived a strange, hazy scene, filled with various colors blending near and far in a translucent manner.
Occasionally, spiritual gleams passed before his eyes, with flashes and pulsations, the background a deep blue-green, giving a profound atmospheric sense.
This illusionary scene seemed unaffected by the cave's lighting, where it should be bright, it was bright; where it should be dim, it was dim.
At this moment, in his right eye, aside from the silhouette of the dragon bone, the cave walls seemed to have vanished, offering a transparent distant view through the haze.
He understood these effects were due to the purple nebula, having no time to ponder further.
After confirming control over his limbs, he immediately extended his hand to the anxious-looking overseer, weakly panting, "I feel terrible, please, take me to Mr. Shen; he should be able to save me, quickly..."
The overseer observed Shi Chun’s right eye glowing with purple light had disappeared completely.
After some hesitation, he cautiously poked him with his toe, then slowly crouched down and touched him.
Finding no apparent danger, he checked his pulse, noting the chaotic and irregular pulse indicative of turmoil in his blood and Qi, "Who told you to mess around? You brought this upon yourself."
Though that’s what he said, he still helped Shi Chun up and supported him towards the exit.
It wasn't out of much goodwill but rather the necessity to hand Shi Chun over to Shen Youkun.
Without Shi Chun to testify what had happened to the purple nebula, there would be no way to explain it to Shen Youkun.
With Shen Youkun's powerful background, he wasn’t someone you would want to cross.
He estimated that handing Shi Chun over, Shen Youkun would be furious upon learning his body absorbed the nebula, and whether he’d save or harm Shi Chun was uncertain.
Just a few steps forward, while he was thinking about how Shi Chun could help himself, suddenly, with a "ugh" sound, they stumbled apart, and blood splattered between them.
The overseer’s hands flew to his throat as he staggered backward against the cave wall, glaring at Shi Chun with wide eyes, blood streaming from the grievous wound across his neck.
Trembling violently, he gurgled as he slowly slid down the wall.
Shi Chun, who had wielded the knife, had also miscalculated, staggering uncontrollably before striking a rib bone of the dragon skeleton.
Struggling to stay upright, he collapsed with a clang.
Despite his body's agony, and his vision still distorted by strange scenes, he struggled to his feet, shaking as he quickly made his way to the exit without daring to pause.
There wasn’t a moment to lose.
If Shen Youkun caught up to him, it would be unbearable.
In the past, he wanted Shen Youkun to live a fate worse than death but failed.
If Shen Youkun caught him now, he would certainly repay him in kind.
After stowing away his knife, he dusted off his clothing to avoid appearing too disheveled.
He smeared some dirt on his bleeding whip marks to make them look suspiciously bloody again.
He knew his complexion would look suspiciously bad, but fortunately, his mask concealed it.
Approaching the "T" intersection of the mine, he steadied his wobbly steps, trying to appear nonchalant.
Turning the corner, he immediately saw a group of waiting people and a sight that puzzled him.
With his right eye closed, they appeared as normal people; with his left eye closed, they seemed like human-shaped white mist forms.
The group looked at him, notably Wu Jinliang.
Before anyone could speak, Shi Chun spoke first, "Make way, I have something urgent for Mr. Shen."
This time, no one made it difficult for him, despite some disliking him, they quickly opened a path.
People on either side of the passage sat on the ground, appearing without much ambition.
After all, good things wouldn’t fall their way, so loafing about wasn’t so bad.
(Chapter End)