Chapter 147: Gate of Memory

But there are too many of these things; they retreat in a wave, then another wave comes, endless.

At that moment, Lin Xue moved.

Her eyes were icy; she swiftly formed several hand seals with both hands, and the Profound Yin Internal Force within her burst forth, turning into icy‑blue chains that precisely wrapped around the resentful spirits trying to bypass Zhang Jun's Yang energy range.

The resentful spirits entangled by the icy‑blue chains instantly became sluggish and stiff, as if frozen; although they still struggled, they could temporarily not attack.

One dispels, the other suppresses.

The two of them forcibly carved a path to the altar's center through the endless pile of resentful spirits.

"Stop them!" Zhou Qian had been distractedly paying attention here; seeing the two draw ever closer to the altar's core, his old face instantly twisted into something inhuman.

He abruptly stopped caring about Qin Yueyao, his hands flying to form an extremely complex seal before his chest, while he muttered a dry, tongue‑twisting incantation.

As he chanted, the Yin energy throughout the underground space surged, wildly gathering toward him.

In the dried blood channels on the altar, a dark red light seemed to flash by.

A surge of witchcraft power several times stronger than before suddenly exploded!

The scattered stones and dust on the ground silently writhed, quickly forming over a dozen monsters shaped like dogs, made of rotting mud and resentful energy.

These monsters had green ghost fire burning in their eye sockets, emitting low growls as they madly lunged at Zhang Jun and Lin Xue!

At the same time, Zhou Qian's gaunt palm reached out from afar and fiercely grabbed at the two!

"Soul‑Binding Curse!"

Zhang Jun and Lin Xue felt an invisible yet terrifyingly heavy force suddenly wrap around their bodies, as if bound by countless icy chains, making even breathing difficult and slowing their movements to a snail's pace!

Just as the rotting‑mud dogs were about to pounce!

Lin Xue's body suddenly began to tremble violently.

Zhou Qian's sinister witchcraft, together with the foul aura rushing at her, was like a key that violently slammed open the deepest door of her memory!

In her mind came a booming!

No longer vague fragments, but clear images and sounds!

On the icy altar, a person likewise clad in a gray robe chanted a spell in a language she had never heard yet knew to the bone, fingers pointing in the air to draw upon the altar's power!

She saw the sequence in which those runes were activated!

She heard the ancient syllables that undid a certain seal!

"Blood as guide……soul as offering……reverse……yin and yang……"

The fragmented words, like a red‑hot branding iron, seared fiercely into her mind!

"Now!" Lin Xue snapped her head up, her eyes blazing with astonishing light!

Those monsters made of rotting mud and resentful energy had eye sockets burning with eerie green fire, their low growls accompanied by a stench of decay as they lunged like mad dogs! Almost simultaneously, an invisible yet mountain‑heavy pressure suddenly wrapped around the body, as if countless icy iron chains locked every limb, making even the joints groan. Zhang Jun felt his whole body tense, his movements instantly slowing as if sinking into glue, watching helplessly as the leading rotting‑mud dog's foul maw opened wider and drew ever closer.

Lin Xue's body shuddered violently, trembling so hard she could barely stand! Zhou Qian's sinister witchcraft, together with the foul aura reeking of heavy rot and despair rushing at her, was like a brutal key that violently flung open the rust‑stained, long‑sealed door of her deepest memory!

In her mind there was no longer a prickling pain or chaotic fragments! A hum sounded, as if something had fully awakened!

Clear! Utterly clear! Even the direction of each groove on the stone altar and the concentration of the bloody smell in the air were revealed in minute detail!

Upon the icy, massive black altar stood a similarly gray‑robed, gaunt figure like a wind‑dried skeleton, chanting an ancient language she had never heard yet felt as familiar as her mother tongue, uttering obscure, hard‑to‑understand incantations! Its withered fingers pointed in the air, drawing upon the nearly solidified dark‑red light flowing through the blood‑colored channels on the altar!

She saw it! She clearly saw the order in which those twisted runes were activated!

She heard it! She truly heard the ancient syllables that undid a powerful seal and drew forth the altar's core power—each syllable striking her soul like a blow!

"Blood as guide……soul as offering……yin and yang……reverse……"

No longer fragmented, but a continuous, complete sentence! Like a red‑hot branding iron, it seared deep into her mind! This was not new knowledge, but a forgotten memory, an instinct, a power that could be understood and mastered!

"Zhang Jun!" Lin Xue snapped her head up; the pair of eyes that had been somewhat vacant and confused instantly blazed with astonishing light, bright as a cold star in the night! Straining against the terrifying binding force, she forced out a hoarse yet unusually clear voice, carrying an undeniable authority: "Listen to me! Left three, down seven, right one! Use your Yang energy to strike these three points! Quick!"

Almost as Lin Xue's shout rang out, Zhang Jun hesitated not even a tenth of a second! This was a trust beyond reason. The Pure Yang energy in his dantian was instantly compressed to the extreme, and the tremendous pressure from the "Soul‑Binding Curse" seemed to become a whetstone, refining his power further! He twisted his waist violently, his right fist shooting out with a scorching wind that tore the air!

His target was not those rotting‑mud dogs already within reach, but the first position Lin Xue had called out—the third black stone from the left on the altar's edge, an utterly inconspicuous rune node!

"Boom!"

Even before his fist fully touched the stone surface, the extremely condensed Pure Yang energy surged forth like a red‑hot steel needle, viciously piercing in!

At the same moment, Lin Xue slammed her hands onto the icy stone of the altar, rapidly chanting the ancient syllables that had just surged up from the depths of her memory! Her voice was ethereal and distant, each byte seeming to carry strange power! Her Profound Yin Internal Force, having found its sole outlet, turned into icy‑blue currents that nearly solidified, racing down her arms to flood the altar! Her aim was flawless: exactly the two other spots she had just shouted—the turning point of the seventh blood‑colored channel below, and the first slightly protruding rune stone on the right.

Yin and Yang!

Blazing heat and icy cold!

Two utterly opposing forces, yet at this moment they produced a strange resonance; under Lin Xue's precise guidance, they almost simultaneously slipped into the lock of this black stone altar that had lain dormant for who knows how many years, like two keys thrust home!

"Hum——!"

A low rumble, as if coming from deep within the earth, suddenly reverberated through the entire underground space! Though not loud, it carried a soul‑penetrating tremor!