The roar of the collapsing secret passage had not yet faded when a strange sound of bronze bells suddenly rang out from outside the banquet hall. It sounded as if it came from the depths of the Ninefold Netherworld, every chime striking the hearts of everyone present like a heavy hammer. The guests, who had been slumped on the floor, suddenly began to convulse collectively.
Their eyes rolled back, black foam spilled from the corners of their mouths, and their bodies uncontrollably twisted into various bizarre postures—this was none other than the Soul-Snatching Bell of the Nether Palace, a sound that made people turn pale with fright. Shen Mingyue’s hand holding the jade hairpin trembled slightly, cold sweat soaking her palms, her nails almost digging the hairpin into her flesh. She watched as the crowd parted to the sides like marionettes, their movements stiff and mechanical, dragging long trails of blood across the carnage.
The overturned wine cups and dishes along the way mingled into a mess on the floor, wine and blood flowing together slowly, finally revealing an old man in black robes stepping across the pool of blood. He wore a bronze mask, the crimson gemstone embedded between his brows glowing with a demonic light. The ferocious ghost face carved on the mask seemed to be smiling a silent, savage grin, every line looking as though it had been outlined in fresh blood—it was none other than the High Priest of the Nether Palace.
Chapter 64