CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51 - INSIDE THE LOOP OF DEATH

As if summoned by my words, the landscape ahead opened into a vast crater carved from midnight-black stone.

At its center rose a structure that defied architectural logic—twisted spires that seemed to fold in on themselves, connected by bridges that shouldn’t have been able to support them.

And throughout the impossible construction, veins of pure crimson energy pulsed like a heartbeat, casting everything in hellish light.

"The Fragment Nexus," Feng breathed, her scholarly instincts overriding her exhaustion. "The research notes mentioned it, but seeing it..."

The fragments were there, alright. Dozens of them, ranging from fist-sized shards to massive crystalline structures that hummed with concentrated demonic power.

They floated in slow orbits around the central spire, each one radiating enough energy to power a small sect’s formations for decades.

But they weren’t unguarded.

The silence ruptured.

A low resonance, not carried by air but reverberating in bone, pressed against us.

The sound bled into words, whispering and roaring at once, as though the very stone around us was speaking.

"Feng Lianhua of the Immortal Sect. We meet again."

Feng froze, her pale eyes widening. Her voice was faint, almost childlike. "That’s... impossible. I’ve never been here before. The expeditions never encountered—"

The voice threaded tighter, wrapping around her thoughts like chains.

"Oh, but they did. Every moon cycle, your precious sect sends us tribute. Young disciples, full of hope and spiritual energy. They scream so beautifully as we consume their essence to maintain our prison."

The crater itself seemed to pulse in time with the words, each syllable twisting the air.

Shadows along the spires elongated unnaturally, forming half-shapes—faces, arms, distorted mouths that mouthed silent screams.

Feng staggered back, clutching her head, the strain etched into her features. "No. No, the sect... the sect would never..."

The echo deepened, laughter like glass shearing against glass.

"Righteous?" it mocked, and with that one word, the illusions surged.

Images burst around us like shards of memory—disciples in white robes, barely grown, their eyes wide as they were herded into the dark by hooded elders.

Their fear tangible. Their voices breaking as the void consumed them.

Feng’s composure shattered. She shook her head violently, tears threatening to spill. "Stop. Stop! This isn’t real. It can’t be real—"

Her words broke, strangled by the rising tide of whispers.

I saw it—her spirit being crushed under the weight of betrayal, her mind folding inward on itself.

The strongest among us, undone not by blade or beast, but by the sect she had given her entire life to.

A cold fury ignited in me.

"Enough!" My voice cut through the choking echoes as I thrust my energy outward.

Golden light rippled around us, forming a barrier that shoved the shadows back.

The psychic pressure wavered, screeching in resistance before pulling away slightly.

The effort tore at me—I could feel sweat running into my eyes, my lungs dragging for breath as if the air itself had turned thick.

But I stood my ground, keeping the barrier locked over Feng.

Slowly, painfully, the whispers ebbed.

The images flickered and died, leaving only a hollow silence.

Feng dropped to her knees, breathing ragged, her fingers digging into the stone as though anchoring herself to something tangible.

She rubbed her temple, dazed, whispering to herself, "I... I don’t... I would never react like that. I’ve faced worse. Why did it feel so real?"

"It’s nothing," I lied, forcing steel into my voice though I was still gasping.

"Just a parasite feeding on weakness. Tricks meant to break us from the inside. It can’t hurt you anymore."

Her gaze lifted toward me, shaken but searching, and I could see the cracks in her icy façade—fragile in a way I’d never thought possible.

And yet the voice wasn’t gone.

It returned, softer now, coiling just at the edges of our awareness.

"The largest fragment you seek," it murmured, and the spire above flared crimson, drawing our eyes to the crystal the size of a man, pulsing with sorrow.

"It was formed from the compressed agony of a thousand sacrifices. Your sect’s handiwork, crystallized suffering."

Feng’s body jolted as if struck.

Her denial faltered, her lips parting but no sound coming out.

Her entire life—righteousness, loyalty, faith in her elders—crumbling under the revelation.

I stepped closer to her, shielding her again as the echo pressed harder.

"No," she whispered at last, barely audible, her shoulders trembling.

"That’s not possible... it can’t be... the elders..."

Her words broke.

Silence filled the space where her certainty had once lived.

I clenched my fists, the Horny God’s Legacy surging within me like a wild tide responding to the challenge.

The voice chuckled, amused by my defiance.

"And you, little emperor. Do you still wish to claim our treasure? The price will be everything you are, everything you hope to become."

"Maybe," I hissed through clenched teeth, fire sparking in my chest.

"But I’ve paid worse prices for less important things."

The air warped violently.

Space itself twisted like wet parchment, folds of nothingness snapping open and closed across the crater.

It wasn’t a body lunging at us—it was the echo itself, the weight of an ancient will tearing through reality to erase us.

Stone cracked where I had stood a moment before, erased into a gaping hole of absolute void.

"Get to the fragment!" I shouted, summoning every drop of my inheritance as golden light flared outward again, burning the shadows that tried to cling.

"I’ll hold this off!"

The Horny God’s Legacy surged like a beacon, my body trembling under its raw force.

I could feel it—the entire realm turning toward us, every lurking shadow drawn to the light like predators scenting blood.

Mei Ling and Lin Yue exchanged a glance before sprinting toward the spire, determination etched across their exhausted faces.

Feng, still pale and trembling, slowly pushed herself back to her feet.

Her hands clenched into fists.

In her pale eyes, vengeance was beginning to kindle where despair had broken her.

As I had activated the plasma amplification, it appeared I was draining too fast, like a pond trying to give its water to several rivers.

The echoes swelled again, laughter booming across the fractured sky.

Then an hour slowly slipped away, which seemed like several days given the exhaustion and toll it took on our bodies.

The whispers grew louder, slithering through the cracked stone walls like living smoke, wrapping around my mind with insidious fingers.

"Surrender... become one with the endless..."

They weren’t just sounds; they carried weight, pulling at my qi like invisible hooks, trying to drag something vital from deep inside.

The ruins we’d ducked into for shelter suddenly felt like a trap—a crumbling mausoleum of jagged black rock, etched with faded demonic runes that pulsed with faint, malevolent light.

The air tasted like rust and regret, thick with corruption that made every breath feel like swallowing ash.

Mei Ling pressed closer to me, her nature affinity flickering erratically—green vines sprouting from her fingers only to wither black and crumble.

"Husband... these voices... they’re inside my head. Make them stop..."

Her voice trembled, her rose-glow skin paling as the demonic qi nibbled at her edges, her perky tits heaving with panicked breaths under her torn robes.

Lin Yue nocked an arrow, her sharp green eyes scanning the shadows, but her hands shook slightly—the corruption was getting to her too, making her warrior’s stance less steady.

"Whatever’s coming, it’s not playing fair. Feels like it’s eating my focus."