CHAPTER 10: LIVING SKELETON
Haochen strode into the wasteland, brimming with confidence, determined to stand out among his peers.
The instant his body brushed against those poisonous dead imprints, his aura dimmed right away, and his breathing slowed like some invisible collar was tightening around his throat. He quickly let loose a few imprints and runes, weaving them into a shield that wrapped around him and kept him alive for the moment.
"Truly deserving of Villains Valley. Even just stepping into the edge of the main battlefield, I'm already feeling choked. How much longer can I hold out?" He pushed further into the wasteland, where the fog grew thicker, blurring everything in sight.
Before long, a fierce wave of demonic imprints rushed at him. He hadn't even spotted the source when a massive palm strike slammed into him, cracking his shield apart. He staggered backward. As he tried to steady himself, a razor-sharp claw came slashing his way.
He pulled out his bone-piercing sword, channeling imprints into it, and swung to counter the blow. The sickle clashed against the claw, unleashing a burst of imprints that scattered the fog for miles around.
Only then did the scene clear up a bit. A huge shadowy figure loomed in front of him. Up close, it turned out to be an ancient skeleton, radiating an aura of dead imprints. Its skull was empty, save for crimson flames flickering in the eye sockets.
"What a fine body. Looks like luck's on my side today. If I claim this one, I'll be back into the ancient clan in just a hundred years." The giant skeleton snapped its bony fingers, and seals materialized in the sky overhead. With a casual sweep of its hand, endless swords poured out from those seals, hurtling toward Haochen with overwhelming power.
Haochen gripped his bone-piercing sword tighter and charged straight into the onslaught.
Boom! The impacts collided in a massive explosion. Haochen reeled, crashing to the ground as blood trickled from his mouth.
"My strength's fading steadily because I don't have enough dead imprint fragments. I can't keep this up." The thought raced through his mind as he dodged another barrage of sword waves.
"You won't slip away today. Give me your body, and I'll make it quick," the giant skeleton bellowed in a harsh, grating voice.
"Keep dreaming. Today, you'll be the first step in building my new power." Haochen evaded the falling swords, his hands moving with precise gestures. "Huang, Xuan, Di, Tian, condense!" he shouted, and the four characters fused into enormous, dominant dragons that rose up behind him.
"Origin imprints? That's impossible! How could a simple human wield Origin imprints? That would let him dominate the entire universe. No, I can't let that happen. If I kill him and take his body, wouldn't I be invincible in a few years." "This brat has to go," the ancient skeleton snarled, lunging forward.
"Go!" Haochen muttered under his breath, and the huge dragons barreled toward the skeleton all at once.
It dodged the first strike, but the second one hit home, smashing it to the ground. The bones flew apart in shards. Just as Haochen thought he'd won, a wild clatter rose from the scattered pieces. They began pulling together, reforming into two giant skeletons. Poisonous dead imprints pulsed from their frames. Crimson flames now licked along the bones, and dark runes burst upward, shaping a spectral giant bone palm woven from shadows.
"Die!" they roared, and the phantom palm came crashing down on Haochen, its weight forcing him to his knees despite his resistance.
"Aah!" He groaned under the crushing force. "This isn't cutting it. I need a way out, fast." But before he could think of anything, one skeleton drove a brutal fist into his chest. He flipped through the air, slamming into a tall, withered tree that toppled on impact. Blood poured from his mouth, hot and furious, but his strength was running low.
The hollow bead at his neck began to glow softly. "Kid, this approach won't work. Tap into your Origin power and absorb those dead imprints," Old Gu's voice rang in his ears from the bead.
Haochen shut his eyes, his hands blurring through quick seals. His aura surged out, runes flaring as a fierce dragon tattoo appeared on his forehead.
His eyes flew open, blazing with intensity. The skeletons sensed something off and wheeled around, linking up to form a devastating array. One held the formation steady while the other barreled at Haochen with hammering fists.
Haochen took a single step, his form flickering out of sight in a blur. He intercepted the fist in mid-swing, drawing on the dragon tattoo and the imprint patterns across his skin to start siphoning the dead imprints from the bones.
They thrashed to break free, but his hold was ironclad. "You little fool, you'll suffer for this," the skeleton rasped before it dissolved entirely into him. The remains crumbled to dust on the barren ground as Haochen gasped for air, worn out.
"That was too close. I almost didn't make it." He expelled some of the absorbed dead imprints in bursts. His body felt tougher now, more solid. "This trip's going to be rough." With that, he plunged deeper into the battlefield.
Before long, he stumbled upon an enormous skeleton, way bigger than the one he'd fought earlier. It was slumped against a tall, withered tree, like it was deep in some kind of trance.
The instant those empty eyes ignited with black flames, Haochen froze in place. An intense pressure bore down on him, holding him still. He tried to fight it, but nothing worked. The skeleton pushed itself up onto its bony legs.
It ambled over to Haochen and, with a single mighty swing, drove its skeletal fingers right into his gut. His thoughts blanked out, and his vision started to fade. Just then, Old Gu flicked his hand, shattering the illusion.
Haochen collapsed, gasping for air. What the hell was that? he wondered, spinning around to head in a different direction.