Monsters Die When Killed-Chapter 56 - 32: Ritual

When Su Zhou delivered the Centipede Egg Soup to the Shao Family, both Wen Yuefeng and Aunt Hex were happy, but they weren’t particularly expectant.

"Oh, Azhou actually thought to bring me something!"

Aunt Wen sat in her wheelchair, cradling the thermos and smiling happily. Of course, she had no intention of opening it for a taste. Instead, she looked as if she wanted to keep it as a treasured memento.

This wasn’t surprising. After all, Su Zhou had learned a good portion of his cooking from Aunt Hex. His skill was... so-so. It was above average for someone his age, but he fell far short when compared to a professional like Aunt Hex. Furthermore, Wen Yuefeng’s health problems meant she never had much of an appetite. Since she had already eaten, she naturally didn’t feel like having soup.

"Aunt Wen, don’t just hug it. Make sure you two have a taste. I’m taking Qiming with me, by the way."

Su Zhou didn’t bother explaining. They’d understand once they took a sip anyway. "We’re heading over to Hongcheng County for a walk."

"Be safe, then. If you get into a fight with anyone, be careful not to go too far and hurt them."

’Tch, "a walk"? What a lame excuse!’

Hearing their voices, Shao Shuangyue, who had been about to go downstairs to see what was happening, paused on the stairs and puffed out her cheeks. She scoffed inwardly, ’They’re probably off to see some "legendary time-traveling well" or "ancient forest where man-eating Demon Fiends supposedly appeared" again, right?’

’Those two don’t even play video games. All they ever do is go out messing around. So weird.’

Just as she thought this and was about to head back to tackle the difficult action game she was playing, Shao Shuangyue heard her mother call out to her.

"Shuangyue, come have a taste of the soup your Brother Zou made!"

"Huh? He made soup?"

Like Wen Yuefeng, the beautiful girl with long, straight black hair wasn’t very confident in Su Zhou’s cooking skills. ’The cola chicken wings he made last time were great, sure, but anyone can make those!’

’Sigh, it probably won’t taste that bad, anyway... I’ll just humor him.’

That’s what she thought, anyway. But when Shao Shuangyue actually poured a bowl of fluorescent green liquid from the thermos, she was completely stunned. ’Whoa, whoa, whoa, this color is all wrong! This looks like they chopped up a greenskin and boiled it in fel energy! Is this my destiny...? Wait, are those goji berries?!’

’I, Shao Shuangyue, would rather starve to death, die outside, or jump from this very spot than ever drink a single drop of this soup!’

"..."

"This is delicious!"

Su Zhou, having successfully made another person eat their words, was already in a private car with Shao Qiming on their way to Hongzhou County.

Their destination this time was a remote, old house belonging to Shao Qiming’s family in Hongzhou County.

The old house had been built back when Hongcheng County was not yet fully modernized. It was a typical small, high-walled building. Shao Qiming’s grandfather’s generation had originally used it to escape the summer heat in a quiet place. But with the advent of air conditioning, no one was bored enough to go all the way to the outskirts of the city just to cool off.

Normally, no one lived there, and there were even local rumors about it being haunted. A few years ago, after Su Zhou had brought Shao Qiming to explore the place, the old house had become their secret base for stashing all sorts of strange items related to folklore, Anomalies, and the like.

Shao Qiming opened the gate and they walked through the overgrown courtyard. As the two stepped into the old house, Su Zhou saw several large boxes sitting in the living room with a note on top.

"I had them deliver the materials directly here, to save us the trouble of moving them ourselves."

Shao Qiming explained as he turned on the lights. He had Su Zhou grab the boxes while he opened the door to the basement.

Shao Qiming’s expression was even more eager than Su Zhou’s. "So? Azhou, are you going to start now, or wait for the right moment?"

"What do you think?" Opening a box and seeing the silver ingots and gold sheets inside, Su Zhou broke into an excited grin. "Of course we’re starting now!"

Walking down the stairs, they saw that the four walls of the basement were plastered with all kinds of news clippings about Anomalies. They were from newspapers and magazines that Su Zhou and Shao Qiming had been collecting and cutting out for the past decade.

In boxes in the corner were numerous strange objects they had collected, such as "a doll rumored to move by itself at midnight," "an oil painting whose eyes were said to open and close on their own," "a music box that supposedly let out mournful cries in the dead of night," or even "an ancient sword rumored to be stained with Demon Blood"...

In any case, Su Zhou had messed around with these items for the better part of a summer vacation back then and had never found anything strange about them. He’d gotten so frustrated he almost burned the whole lot to a crisp and scattered the ashes.

’But now...’ Su Zhou thought, and then activated his Spiritual Vision.

And then he saw the shadows of at least seven or eight Spirits hastily fleeing.

"...So they were real after all?!" he exclaimed, dumbfounded. "Then why wasn’t there a single trace of paranormal activity when I was here before?!"

"As if they’d dare," Yara said, equally exasperated. "You possessed Yinglong’s Blood back then. Ordinary Spirits would give you a wide berth. For these mischievous, resident Spirits, being collected by you was the worst luck of their lives. They probably didn’t even dare to move and could only cower in fear."

Shao Qiming, overhearing the conversation between Su Zhou and Yara, was also shocked. "We actually collected real haunted items? Then what about the ’pencil rumored to automatically do your homework for you’..."

"No, that one’s fake."

"Oh."

The basement was spacious, especially a slightly sunken area in the center that looked like a spot where a large object once stood. It was a convenient place to draw an Array. Su Zhou and Shao Qiming had attempted many a ritual here in the past, and naturally, every single one had failed.

But now, things were different.

First, he drew a three-meter-diameter circle on the floor, representing the spiritual foundation of the Ouroboros. Then, moving clockwise, he inscribed thirty-six Runes, each representing one of the thirty-six great arcane cycles.

Next, he took the Silver Ingots from their box and placed them in the center of the circle. Chanting the names of Order and moonlight with Divine Words, he infused Spiritual Power into them. Within the Array Disc, the ingots automatically melted into a liquid before solidifying into a thin sheet the same size as the circle. The previously inscribed Runes were now reflected on the silver sheet’s surface.

A purplish-cyan spiritual light flared in the basement. Shao Qiming sat to one side, holding his breath, watching the scene unfold before him—a scene that represented the very essence of Spiritual Energy and the Extraordinary.

He watched Su Zhou close his eyes in meditation, communing with the Spiritual Energy of everything around him. He stared as Su Zhou inscribed the Runes and applied Spiritual Power, causing blocks of gold to melt and stretch into golden threads, which then followed his will to trace the foundation and Runes of the Array.

Although they had done similar things in the past, nothing could compare to this. It was as if a distant, mythic past had crossed an impassable gulf to manifest in reality... The ’mystical’ had never felt so ’real’!

Lost in awe, Shao Qiming saw that in just ten short minutes, a three-meter-diameter Array Disc made of silver and gold and covered in mysterious Runes had appeared before him. Then, his friend picked up a large jar full of Mercury. He loudly recited Holy Words as he scattered artificial diamonds around the perimeter. Before any of the diamonds could touch the ground, they spontaneously ignited, becoming the purest Spiritual Fire, which blazed in a ring around the Array.

Finally, Su Zhou poured the jar of Essence Metal—which had somehow become sanctified—into the Array, where it formed a shimmering, rippling Otherworld Mirror.

Shao Qiming could even see, in the reflection of the Mercury Mirror, the dark shadow on his own chest and a shining Holy Light.

"Qiming, hand me the Gemstones."

Snapping back to his senses, Shao Qiming heard Su Zhou’s voice. He was now standing in the center of the Array. The Mercury, which should have been liquid, now firmly supported his weight, sending concentric ripples across the silver mirror’s surface.

Golden and silver Spiritual Light blended with the purplish-cyan light, creating overlapping, circular ripples that reflected onto the black-haired youth. It gave Su Zhou’s figure a strange, cyclical quality, a sense of tranquility and sanctity.

Shao Qiming was mesmerized for a moment. It took him a second to snap out of it and toss the Gemstones he had been clutching to his friend.

The first was a Starlight Sapphire.

The Sapphire corresponds to the powers of steadfastness, compassion, and sincerity. The Starlight Sapphire, with its internal white, cross-shaped pattern, is also known as the "Stone of Destiny." It possesses the power to grant its wearer a degree of safety and bring them good fortune. When activated through a ritual, the Sapphire’s internal power can transform into a formidable Guardian Power, warding off darkness, evil, and madness.

To put it in simpler terms, it can ward off most debuffs and malicious attacks. It’s an essential item for increasing the success rate of various Secret Ceremonies.

"Most of your advancement materials come from the corpses of your enemies," Yara’s voice stated calmly. "While they certainly contain Spiritual Qi and various Extraordinary traits, they also hold resentment. You need this to protect your Spiritual Energy."

Just as Yara’s faint voice faded, Su Zhou picked up the second Gemstone.

It was a nearly perfect White Crystal.

"White Crystal corresponds to a person’s mind. It can be used to enhance Spiritual Energy, clear the head, and refresh the spirit... In my ritual, it represents Balance and Perfection. Assuming the ritual succeeds, it will greatly improve the quality of the outcome."

The clear, holy voice spoke as Yara guided Su Zhou to place the Gemstone in its proper position within the Array.

The four cyan Jade Pearls from the Leaders of the Continuous Prayer Meeting were placed at the four cardinal points of the Array, representing ’completeness of the four directions’.

The White Crystal was placed behind him, representing ’Spiritual Energy’.

The Sapphire was placed before him, representing ’Guardian’.

The Evil Demon Crystal, which contained a ’great aura’, was pressed to his glabella, representing ’the power of the self’.

And finally, Su Zhou raised his left thumb and bit down hard. A single drop of blood, as heavy as Mercury and glowing with a purplish-cyan Spiritual Light, fell and sank into the Mercury mirror.

In that instant, Shao Qiming felt a jolt of static electricity sweep over his body. He thought he saw something and his eyes widened as he whispered,

"Dragon..."

It was a being of Chaos, a Great Serpent that seemed formed from the Gathering of all stars, its tail held in its mouth. It coiled and writhed, neither snake nor Dragon, revolving like a great ring behind his best friend.

—Blood of man, blood of serpent, Dragon’s Blood, blood of secrets, blood of cycles and Balance—

—Everything was in place.

A Gale sprang from nowhere, howling through the basement. Faint cyan Thunder Light and purple Dark Shadows flickered. A spiritual hymn rose up, like the distant sound of a flute and a chorus of shouts.

Having completed all this, Su Zhou closed his eyes and pressed the Evil Demon Crystal to his forehead.

And then, the Array flared to life.