Horror Camgirl - Ch. 87: Heart Demon
“Young lady, don’t tell me you’re challenging the trial just to catch Master Xu’s attention?”
Sigh, I thought to myself, they don’t get it. I’ve got Senior Huang Luzi with me.
“I’m determined to complete this challenge.” I lifted my head and declared firmly.
Lu Pangzi said, “Alright, but remember, this is your choice. Don’t blame anyone else if things go wrong. Sign here and leave your handprint. Life or death—no complaints.”
Without hesitation, I pressed my hand down to leave a mark. Tang Mingli grabbed my arm and said, “I’ll go with you.”
“That’s not allowed,” Lu Pangzi replied. “Rules state challengers go one at a time.”
I smiled at Tang Mingli and said, “Mingli, you have to trust me—I’m not going to die.”
Seeing the confidence in my eyes, Tang Mingli was swayed. He pulled a dark dagger from his boot, handed it to me, and said, “Take this. If you face danger, don’t force it. Just shout that you concede, and it’ll be over.”
“I understand.” I accepted the dagger. “Thank you.”
With that, I leaped into the pond.
I didn’t know any light-footwork techniques, so I almost plunged straight into the water. Strangely, the lotus leaves here were different from ordinary ones—they could actually support my weight.
I flailed a bit, struggling to balance myself, and the onlookers couldn’t help but laugh.
“This little lady is gutsy! But with skills like that, she’s trying to get through the Seven Kill Array?”
“Let’s make a bet. How many rounds can she last?”
“Ha! Better yet, let’s bet on how many minutes she’ll hold out.”
Just then, Huang Luzi’s voice came through my earpiece, “Be careful. If you fall in the water, it’s an instant failure.”
“Yes, sir.” Following his guidance, I concentrated my spiritual energy into my legs to stabilize myself.
Suddenly, a strong, chilling wind swept through, nearly blowing me off the leaf. Gritting my teeth, I said, “Senior, the wind’s too strong. I’m barely holding on!”
Huang Luzi scoffed, “This is just a simplified version of the Seven Kill Array. The original one was so brutal that even cultivators of the sixth or seventh rank struggled to pass.”
I gave a wry smile. “Senior, I’m only first-rank.”
“Follow my directions.” His voice rang out clearly. “Move three lotus leaves to the left.”
I followed his instructions exactly, and several times bolts of lightning nearly struck me, but I dodged each one. Finally, I reached the shore, still in disbelief.
Did I… actually make it through?
“She actually cleared the first stage? She got lucky.”
“Yeah, did you see her floundering on the lotus leaves? Her luck is unreal!”
“Luck’s no help here. She may have cleared the first, but what about the stages to come?”
Stage Two: The Peach Grove.
The moment I stepped into the grove, I heard the rustle of leaves. Turning around, I saw a massive wolf, two meters long, charging straight at me.
I quickly drew the dagger and slashed at it.
With a sickening sound, the blade sank into the wolf’s head, but its massive body still slammed me to the ground, leaving me bruised and aching.
I pushed it off with all my strength, only to see countless more wolves surrounding me, their green eyes staring at me with eerie malice.
A chill ran down my spine as I gripped the dagger tightly, steeling myself for a desperate fight.
Then Huang Luzi’s voice came again, “These wolves aren’t real. They’re all illusions created by the formation. Do as I say!”
Clenching my teeth, I stood up, took a clump of cinnabar, removed my hat, and drew a symbol on my forehead.
At that moment, the pack of wolves lunged at me, their jaws wide open, each filled with gleaming fangs.
Alright, I thought, I’m going all in!
With a burst of energy, I charged head-on toward the largest wolf.
“What is she doing? Is she trying to get herself killed?” The onlookers whispered in low voices.
“What a shame, such a young girl, to die like this to the wolves.”
“She chose this path. What can anyone do?”
The wolf loomed in front of me, so close I could smell the stench of decay on its breath. I let out a loud yell, closed my eyes, and thrust my hand forward, pressing it against its forehead.
The cinnabar talisman glowed with a golden light, striking directly between the eyes of the giant wolf. The entire scene was immediately engulfed in a flash of white light. Everyone felt a brief moment of blindness before their vision returned, only to realize that I had already reached the front of the third trial.
"What? She passed the second trial already?"
"How did she get through? I couldn't quite catch it."
Even Lu Pangzi, watching from the pavilion, widened his eyes in disbelief. His face was full of shock.
"A mere mid-level first-rank cultivator who can barely fight, yet she managed to break through the second trial? That doesn’t make any sense!"
Tang Mingli was equally astonished. Could it be... she was guided by another expert?
Xu Yang remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
Meanwhile, in a distant pavilion, Yin Shengyao's eyes were deep and contemplative. Old Li remarked, “Young Master, it appears Madam Yuan found the array's core for the second trial. But whether it was pure luck or intentional, we cannot say.”
Yin Shengyao coldly responded, "Let’s keep watching."
Upon reaching the third trial, I found myself in a simple house styled after the Ming and Qing dynasties. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to realize it was like a funeral hall, with white curtains fluttering around.
I lifted one of the curtains and was shocked to see a portrait hanging before a coffin. The person in the portrait... was me!
Startled, I quickly backed away, only to see the coffin lid creak open. A multitude of hands extended out, stretching endlessly towards me.
I immediately drew my blade, hacking at the hands. Each slash severed several ghostly limbs, but the more I cut, the more hands appeared, until they wrapped around my limbs and lifted me high into the air, dragging me toward the coffin.
Huang Luzi's voice rang out, “These are just illusions—use your spiritual sense!”
I closed my eyes, clearing my mind. In that instant, I saw a glowing orb ahead—it was the array’s core for the third trial!
Letting out a fierce shout, I severed the ghostly hands binding me and thrust my sword forcefully towards the glowing orb.
With a sharp crack, the light extinguished, and the funeral hall vanished. I fell to the ground, realizing the glowing orb was actually a white lantern that I had just shattered. A black talisman was stuck to its surface.
Steadying myself, I continued forward.
For the fourth trial, I followed Huang Luzi’s guidance and chopped down a wooden post, clearing the challenge with ease.
The fifth trial required me to bite my fingertip, drawing blood to mix with cinnabar. I painted a talisman on the wall and chanted incantations, successfully disrupting the formation's core.
In the sixth trial, I simply returned a lamp to its rightful position, causing all illusions to dissipate, allowing me to pass smoothly.
Finally, I reached the seventh trial. By now, the crowd outside was buzzing with excitement. More and more spectators gathered, forming a sea of people eager to watch me clear the trials.
“She actually passed the sixth trial! How incredible is that? Could it be that Medicine King Valley leaked the solutions to her?”
“Careful with your words! Medicine King Valley has upheld its reputation for thousands of years—they wouldn’t stoop to such things.”
“I suspect she has an elder in her family who’s a Formation Master. She seems to understand formations.”
“Formation Masters are rare these days. This young lady is truly blessed!”
Xu Yang's eyes sparkled with intrigue, while Tang Mingli was brimming with excitement and joy.
In the distant pavilion, Old Li couldn’t help but steal a few glances at his Young Master. He secretly wondered, Did the Young Master reveal the formation secrets to Madam Yuan? But that can’t be right... Each formation is different, and even the Young Master wouldn’t know all their cores.
I had no time to pay attention to the gossip and speculation outside as I slowly stepped into the seventh trial.
To my surprise, the seventh trial was completely empty—just a barren area with a single stone tablet standing in the middle. Inscribed on the tablet was a massive character, but no one could discern what it actually was. It looked neither like a talisman nor a conventional character.
"Senior Huang, what is this?" I asked.
“This is your Heart Demon,” Huang Luzi replied.
As I stared at the stone tablet, my vision suddenly blurred, and I found myself plunged into a terrifying nightmare.
Scenes flashed rapidly before my eyes. I saw my face covered in hideous boils, my useless father, Yuan Wen, smashing things around the house, raging and hitting my mother. I saw myself as a child, bullied at the village school—classmates throwing stones, rotten eggs, and shoving rats and filth into my desk.
Then came the memories from middle school, high school—all my humiliation, agony, and countless painful experiences resurfaced like a relentless nightmare, entangling me.
Comments
Post a Comment