The Eternal Sin-Chapter 31: Let the Monkey Dance.

Everyone looked on with bated breath as Jiang Chen began forming the hand signs before the formation node.

His movements were by no means fast and could even be called slow. Anyone with eyes could see his awkwardness, yet no one made light of him, because this was hope. Even a clumsy, half-assed hand sign was hope!

At last, Jiang Chen pressed his palm against the formation node. His fingertips buzzed faintly as spiritual power flowed into the node.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

"Did it fail...?" someone asked worriedly.

Then a beam of light erupted from the formation barrier, crashing through the air like a celestial pillar. It shot directly toward the ground where a cultivator lay heavily injured. The light wrapped around him, lifting him gently before he was pulled free and spat beyond the barrier, landing unsteadily on the green grass.

For a single breath, the onlookers were paralyzed by disbelief.

Then joy exploded. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"...It actually worked!"

"The heavens have mercy! We are going to live!"

Laughter, sobbing, and broken shouts surged together within the formation.

The rescued cultivator was the weakest of the group, the most injured from previous battles. He struggled to sit up, his legs quivering violently. Blood bubbled at his lips as he coughed, scattering droplets.

"Th-thank you... I owe you my life..." he stammered between coughs.

Jiang Chen quickly crouched beside him, supporting him with one hand under his arm and the other around his shoulders. "Take it easy. You’re safe now."

The masked cultivator was so moved he almost knelt in gratitude, but his eyes widened in alarm as he shouted, "Behind you–!"

The warning arrived a moment too late. One of the two silver devil masked cultivators forcefully shoved Jiang Chen from behind, catching him completely off guard and sending him straight into the formation barrier, which offered no resistance.

As he pathetically tumbled inside, his hand instinctively gripped the weak cultivator he had been assisting, dragging the poor soul back into captivity with him. Both men landed roughly on the ground, sending dirt flying as the previously rescued cultivator groaned in pain.

A deathly silence fell over the formation as the masked cultivators froze like funeral statues. Then a volcano of rage erupted in every corner.

"You! You! You! What the fuck?!"

"Dog-brained idiot! You’ll doom us all!"

"Screw you and your ancestors!"

"Why...?! Why would you do this?!"

Curses flew like arrows, but the two silver devil masked figures outside ignored the outrage entirely, bending down to loot corpses scattered from earlier battles.

Their blood-stained hands tore through pockets and pouches with mechanical efficiency, utterly unconcerned with the shouts of the living.

Inside the formation, despair seeped back into the hearts of the trapped cultivators. Shoulders slumped and hope faded as the reality of their situation sank in again.

Jiang Chen roared, his eyes red with fury. "Treacherous dogs! Where is your conscience?! How dare you do this to me!"

He smashed his fists into the barrier again and again.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

He continued cursing, "Fuck you! You think you can hold me here? I’ll tear this barrier apart and butcher you limb by limb! I will kill you! Kill you! Kill you until nothing remains!"

The Golden Demon masked cultivator looked at his ’elder brother’ and let out a weary sigh. He stepped forward and placed a steadying hand on Jiang Chen’s shoulder. "Elder brother... perhaps... this truly is the end of our path."

"Shut up!" Jiang Chen, still acting as the Buddha-masked cultivator, shrugged off the hand forcefully and continued to assault the barrier. "Do not speak such humiliating words! It is only over when we give up! I refuse! I will fight until my last breath!"

He continued punching with the same ferocity, Heavenly Tiger Fist after Heavenly Tiger Fist.

"You think I’ll stop? You think I’ll allow this to happen? I will not! I cannot be the reason my junior brother dies! Not until my bones shatter and my blood runs dry! Not while I still draw breath!" Jiang Chen bellowed with determination.

The Golden Demon masked cultivator felt a warmth touch his heart.

’To have an elder brother like this... the heavens truly have favored me.’ He sighed with emotion.

Although he knew resistance like this was futile, he did not have the heart to stop his elder brother. He instead drew his blade and joined Jiang Chen, striking at the formation in tandem.

"If you will not give up, elder brother, then I, as your younger brother, will not either! We were born as brothers, so we fight as brothers to the end! Even if death comes, we face it without regret, as brothers should!" His voice carried far and wide.

"Let the heavens witness us!" he cried. "Let death come if it dares! We will not bow! We will fight forever!"

The trapped cultivators stared in silence. Some clenched their jaws. Some felt heat behind their eyes. The image of elder and younger brothers standing side by side, united in the face of death, moved them deeply.

Outwardly, Jiang Chen looked just as moved.

Inwardly, he laughed coldly.

’A monkey dancing in my palm, how foolishly emotional. Hehe, come on, little monkey, dance harder.’

Outside, the two silver devil masked cultivators finished looting and walked back toward the formation.

Curses erupted once again.

"Scoundrels! You dare return!"

"Greedy bastards! What more do you want!?"

"Even among corpses, your eyes see only wealth!"

"May you reincarnate in a prison!"

Jiang Chen raised a hand, the slight curl of his fingers commanding silence. "Have you dogs finished picking through the trash? Hmph! You are not my subordinates, correct..? Truly despicable."

His eyes glinted beneath the golden mask. "I don’t care who you really are. But if it is wealth you want, then you fools have missed the real prize."

Jiang Chen pointed directly at the purple ring on the Golden Demon masked cultivator’s hand, who flexed his fingers openly, understanding his elder brother’s intent.

A sliver of possibility crawled back into the hearts of the trapped cultivators as they also grasped Jiang Chen’s intent.

The two figures outside exchanged glances.

Jiang Chen spoke persuasively. "There is no hatred that cannot be reconciled. So let us make a deal. We hand you the resources stored inside this ring. It contains all the treasure of this place. In exchange, you release us, if you have the ability to do so without breaking this barrier. What do you say?"

The two masked cultivators stepped aside to confer quietly. One appeared interested, the other hesitant. Inside, the trapped cultivators’ hearts leapt with hope.

Jiang Chen let out a deep sigh and turned to the Golden Demon masked cultivator. "I hope they agree... This might be our only chance."

He looked down at the ring and lamented bitterly. "It is not often I give up what I have worked for so diligently. It truly pains me... to give up hard-earned wealth like this. But what other option do we have? Brother, let me see what we are losing. Or perhaps it is better not to see it, so I will not feel as much regret later. That is, assuming the road does not end here for all of us."

Even though Jiang Chen said that, his hand was already outstretched.

The Golden Demon masked cultivator gave a small, resigned sigh. "It is frustrating indeed. But no price is too high if we live to see another day."

He placed the purple storage ring directly into Jiang Chen’s palm.

"Yes, you are right," Jiang Chen said, his lips curving behind the mask as his fingers closed tightly around the ring.