Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

The moment the bone-chilling black demon struck, the snow and wind along the riverbank were crushed. This chilling cold penetrated straight to the soul, instantly freezing everyone's breath.

"Not good!" Ye Zhuo shielded Lin Jian behind him, holding his dagger horizontally in front of him. But it was useless against the overwhelming black energy; cold weapons were powerless against this invisible, chilling power.

Lin Jian staggered half a step, raised her camera, and pressed the shutter. The click was swallowed by the wind and snow, and she stared intently at the viewfinder. This was the second time she had faced this kind of evil, but its ferocity was several times greater than that of the primordial spirit that afternoon.

Almost simultaneously, Aoluya gripped the shamanic copper bell tightly and shook it vigorously. The rapid, crisp sound of the bell tore a faint opening in the impenetrable darkness. She pressed her hand against the beast bone effigy around her neck, chanting the tribal's exorcism incantation in an attempt to build a barrier. The white deer reared its head and roared, blocking the way for the group, its white spiritual light spreading out in full force.

The malevolent aura was steeped in centuries of sinister energy, and the moment Ao Luya's spiritual light collided with it, it was corroded and hissed. The white deer pawed at the ground, refusing to retreat an inch. Ao Luya's incantation suddenly stopped, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. She had injured her internal organs by using her spiritual power to resist this black malevolent energy.

Old Gu gripped his entrenching tool and strode forward, his deeply lined face filled with shock. The river wind whipped across his cheeks with a menacing aura, but he did not flinch. This thing was about to destroy the boundary gate that Xiulian had risked her life to protect; he would fight it to the bitter end, even if it cost him his old life.

"Shen Xun! Retreat!" Bai Wuchang's voice trembled with urgency as her small figure shielded Shen Xun. Her spiritual power hadn't fully recovered, and without Shen Xun's guidance, she couldn't unleash her true strength. She could only barely hold back the initial surge of malevolent energy with her meager remaining spiritual energy. The moment the black demon crashed in, Bai Wuchang flicked her ponytail into the air, her pale figure becoming even more transparent, almost disappearing into the snowstorm. Her voice was weak and urgent: "There's Su Jin's divine sense in there! He's coming for you! Shen Xun… I can't hold on any longer…"

But her obstruction only lasted a moment.

The evil-locking formation was not yet closed, and the runes on the snow were all weak points in the connection. The surging evil energy seemed to have calculated the timing, deliberately choosing the gaps to drill into, with a clear target.

Not only must we break the formation, but we must also directly target the core of the formation, Shen Xun, whose essence is already depleted.

Everyone was aware of the consequences. If the formation broke, not only would Shen Xun be severely injured, but the entire riverbank would be completely polluted by evil spirits, and the already fragile boundary gate at the bottom of the river would be torn open with a wound that could never be repaired.

At the critical moment, Shen Xun suddenly opened his eyes.

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward to meet the malevolent energy that was impacting his soul.

The fingertip, which had originally only intended to condense the last trace of golden blood to form the array talisman, suddenly exerted force, forcing out far more golden-red blood than expected.

"Merge!" Shen Xun shouted, his left hand pressing firmly on the peach wood staff at the array's core, unleashing the last remaining power of reincarnation within his body. The golden hourglass on his chest flickered, each beat accompanied by excruciating pain deep within his soul, yet the power of reincarnation continued to surge towards the runes. The scattered runes rapidly merged, the scattered golden light condensing into an impenetrable golden barrier, spreading along the array's patterns, and fiercely pressing down upon the black demon!

Golden light and black energy collided at the edge of the ice, emitting wisps of white smoke that mingled with the wind and snow. Yet the eerie aura at the bottom of the river continued to surge, with waves of malevolent energy crashing in like a raging tide. Each impact caused the runes to tremble, and Shen Xun's hand holding the staff trembled slightly.

His face drained of color at a visible speed, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

He originally planned to complete the formation with the least amount of gold blood to preserve the original essence as much as possible, but Su Jin calculated his weakness.

He could disregard his own depletion, but he couldn't bear to watch the evil energy break through the formation, nor could he allow the people behind him and the surrounding villages and towns to fall into this undeserved disaster.

He had no choice.

During the stalemate, Shen Xun's soul suddenly tightened.

Through the surging malevolent energy, he precisely touched the wisp of divine thought hidden deep within the black aura.

Su Jin.

That wisp of divine thought was wrapped in hundreds of years of resentment and scheming. The other party's goal was not only to destroy the barrier, but also to force him to use his golden blood and overdraw his source.

Su Jin was clear about the power of the Reincarnation Golden Blood, and even more clear that behind this power lay an irreparable depletion of his fundamental essence.

He intended to use this ambush and the barrier of the boundary gate to gradually wear down Shen Xun's last reliance.

"You're not qualified to use my formation to break through the barrier."

Shen Xun's eyes suddenly turned cold, and a faint golden halo appeared in his eyes. Even though his soul was in excruciating pain, his hands did not hesitate for a moment.

Three streams of golden-red blood gushed out, their crimson base enveloped in a shimmering golden light, transforming into three binding runes that fiercely nailed to the three weakest points of the magic array.

The golden light surged instantly, completely sealing off the gap that had been opened by the baleful energy.

Using the spiritual energy of the earth's veins and the power of golden blood, he pushed the golden barrier step by step, forcefully suppressing the surging black evil back under the ice layer.

The roar at the bottom of the river gradually subsided. The malevolent energy struggled wildly, but ultimately could not withstand the suppression of the golden blood of reincarnation, and retreated back into the depths of the riverbed through the cracks in the rock bed.

The trembling ice settled, and the biting chill in the wind faded. The wind and snow gradually stopped, leaving only the faint golden light of the Locking Array on the snow-covered riverbank.

The final array talisman fell from Shen Xun's fingertip and was completely embedded into the core of the array.

The formation was completely closed, the pale gold runes connected as one, and firmly locked in with the earth's spiritual energy.

The peachwood staff trembled slightly at the center of the formation, and any slight disturbance of malevolent energy at the bottom of the river would be transmitted to it immediately through the changes in the brightness of the runes.

It became.

The tension, which had been stretched to its limit, suddenly eased. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they saw Shen Xun's fingertips tremble almost imperceptibly, and his body sway slightly.

He reached out and held onto his peach wood cane to suppress the sudden dizziness, not showing any sign of weakness in front of everyone.

"Shen Xun!"

Ye Zhuo immediately rushed over and supported his arm. He could see that the man was soaked in cold sweat, his arm was trembling, and his face was even paler than in the afternoon. Anyone could see that the damage this time was far greater than the battle at the bottom of the river that afternoon.

"It's nothing." Shen Xun waved his hand, his voice hoarse, and he forced down the metallic taste in his throat.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind to confirm that the magic array was working properly before letting go of the effort he had been putting on. "The magic array is complete. If there is any abnormality at the bottom of the river, this place will be able to give an early warning immediately, and the evil energy will not be able to rise up."

Old Gu strode over, his grip on the entrenching tool tightening and loosening, his cloudy eyes filled with guilt and unease, his voice hoarse: "We can't help you, and you have to risk your life, and in the end you have to deplete such a huge amount of your energy... Don't stand in the wind, go to a warm place to rest, don't push yourself."

The team members guarding the equipment nearby shouted, "Team Leader Lu! The data is stable! The radar crack has stopped expanding, and the RTK subsidence has stopped!" Lu Ye quickly stepped forward, his face full of worry, "Brother Shen, I've arranged for two-hour shifts, with someone specifically monitoring the array and radar. I'll call you immediately if there's any movement. Go to the car and rest first, don't try to tough it out."

Ao Luya led the white deer over, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and handed over a packet of calming herbs: "These are herbs from the tribe to stabilize the spirit. It's useful to keep them close to your body. When your vital energy is depleted, you're most vulnerable to wind and cold. Go and rest. I'll guard this place. The Ganga grass is still burning, nothing will happen."

Lin Jian also ran over carrying a Polaroid camera, holding the Polaroid film in one hand and handing over a hand warmer in the other: "Shen Xun, hold this and warm yourself up."

The photographic paper was fully developed, and everyone who glanced at it gasped in surprise.

The overwhelming, dark aura in the scene almost devoured everything, except for a faint but firm golden light in the very center, where Shen Xun was standing, which perfectly captured the life-or-death situation just now.

Looking at the people surrounding him, Shen Xun felt a warmth in his heart and stopped trying to hold on.

He had indeed reached his limit; the stagnation in his meridians was becoming increasingly severe, and the exhaustion of his soul was surging like a tide.

He pulled out the peach wood staff from the array's core. The golden light of the array didn't diminish; it remained firmly locked onto the riverbank. "The array is now connected to the earth's veins. Just check it every hour," Shen Xun instructed. "If the golden light suddenly dims, or the radar detects a large-scale expansion of the cracks, call me immediately, no matter what I'm doing. Su Jin appears to have suffered a loss, but he's actually trying to force me to deplete my source energy. He won't stop, so everyone be careful."

"Don't worry, Brother Shen, leave this to us." Lu Ye immediately agreed. "The assassins' belongings are all sealed up and will be handed over immediately after the operation. Security has also been arranged around the area; there won't be any problems."

Ye Zhuo helped Shen Xun walk towards 2045. Bai Wuchang turned back into a small ball and floated beside him, tugging at his sleeve. His little face was tightly scrunched up, and his eyes were full of heartache, but he didn't say much to distract him.

Shen Xun sat in the back seat with the heater on, shutting out the cold wind and snow outside, and his tense nerves finally relaxed. He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing. The numbness in his fingertips was still spreading, and the golden hourglass on his chest was still flickering. His source energy was depleted more severely than expected.

Outside the car window, the pale golden light of the Locking Array shone quietly in the wind and snow, like an indestructible barrier guarding this frozen riverbank.

But Shen Xun's brows remained furrowed.

Even with his eyes closed, his soul could still clearly perceive the sinister origin deep within the riverbed, which had never subsided.

Su Jin had already figured out his bottom line, knew about his current state of depletion of his essence, and knew that he would endure hardship time and time again in order to protect this land.

What made him even more uneasy was that, the moment the malevolent aura receded, he clearly sensed a sinister aura of the same origin in the direction of Xishan'ao, echoing the malevolent aura at the bottom of the river.

The mountain forest that held the truth from thirty years ago had long been the target of Su Jin's elaborate trap.

The crisis at the bottom of the river was just the prelude; the real trap awaited them deep in the remote forest.

This battle, spanning hundreds of years, has only just begun.