The Eternal Sin-Chapter 33: A Crack in the Night Curtain.

The moon was already retreating, its light weak and thin, while drifting clouds slowly veiled and unveiled the waning crescent, as if reluctant to depart.

Tall ancient trees rose like pillars holding up the heavens. Their crowns overlapped and blocked most of the sky, leaving only narrow gaps where the moon’s final pale light slipped through.

The Jade Heart Plantation smelled of burnt earth and human blood.

Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, his breathing relaxed. Spiritual essence circulated slowly through his meridians, flowing like a river returning to its bed.

Two silver devil masked clones stood guard nearby. Between them lay Masked Cultivator Fifteen, slumped against a broken tree root.

Blood had long soaked the soil beneath his severed legs, turning the earth dark and sticky. His face was pale as paper, his lips cracked, sweat and blood mingling as his trembling fingers pressed a jade slip to his forehead.

Threads of knowledge flowed into the jade slip, one after another. Simple formation diagrams, rune fundamentals, structural logic, node linkages, even broken and incomplete formations. Years of understanding and decades of obsession were all transmitted piece by piece.

This was his last gamble.

As minutes passed slowly, the surroundings grew awfully quiet.

At last, Number Fifteen’s hand dropped. With what little strength remained, he flicked it forward, sending the jade slip arcing through the air.

Jiang Chen’s eyes opened at that exact moment. Without looking, he caught it and swept his divine sense through it. Layers of formation theory unfolded like interlocking chessboards.

He rose to his feet.

When Number Fifteen blinked again, Jiang Chen was already standing before him. Looking down, his pupils were pitch black, deep and unfathomable, like an abyss that swallowed all light.

"Good work," Jiang Chen said plainly. "Now tell me, what do you think I will do next? Kill you, or spare you?"

Fifteen met his gaze fiercely at first. Hatred, pride, defiance. All kinds of emotions burned together.

Then that fierceness slowly faded until, unexpectedly, he began to laugh.

It was a dry laugh, hoarse and weak, yet strangely free.

"Heh," Fifteen rasped, blood clinging to the corner of his mouth. "Who do you take me for? I walk the path of formations, not the path of divination. If I could see fate, I would not be lying here like a cripple."

He coughed harshly, blood splattering down his chin before continuing, "Do whatever you want. I have exhausted everything I have. Now I have lived true to my path. Kill me or not, I have no regrets."

His voice was not loud, but each word carried the weight of a mountain.

Jiang Chen stared at him for a moment. Then he too let out a light laugh before turning and walking away.

"Number Fourteen, kill him," He said indifferently.

One clone moved immediately while the other stepped closer to Jiang Chen and followed him into the shadows of the forest.

The clone seized Fifteen by the hair and forced his head upward, its hand feeling like iron clamped around his skull.

Fifteen closed his eyes. ’After all that, this is how my story ends...’

He sighed deeply.

The clone raised its hand, its fist curling as spiritual energy gathered.

Then the clone tilted its head slightly, gazing in the direction Jiang Chen had departed, even though he was already beyond sight.

After a brief pause, the clone loosened its grip and lowered Fifteen carefully to the ground.

Fifteen’s eyes snapped open as he stared in disbelief. Before he could react, the clone patted his shoulder twice, then turned and vanished into the forest at full speed.

For several breaths, Fifteen lay frozen.

Then realization washed over him.

"I... survived?" he whispered.

Joy surged violently through his chest. Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, mixing with blood.

’So this was the hope you spoke of.’ He laughed weakly.

Life was nothing more than a gamble on hope.

Winning and losing were never certain.

And so he had gambled.

Fifteen’s body finally gave out. He collapsed forward, then rolled onto his back, staring at the narrow strip of sky above. Stars blinked faintly as clouds drifted past.

"Heh... life truly is a gamble," he murmured.

But the smile on his face soon faded.

It was not over. If he stayed here any longer, he would still die. Without legs, without help, he would bleed out before dawn.

Only one path remained.

The formation. If he could reach it, if he could get his comrades out, if even one cultivator showed sympathy, he might live.

’Move now!’ He rolled onto his stomach and began to crawl, dragging himself forward with his arms. Each pull drained his strength. His shoulders ached. Each movement left streaks of blood smeared behind him. Roots dug into his flesh. Uneven stones scraped the skin from his palms.

Pain blurred his vision as time stretched cruelly, minutes feeling like hours. He cursed aloud between breaths, forcing himself onward.

"Move... damn it... move..."

Half an hour crawled by.

At last, faint spiritual fluctuations reached his senses.

The core area.

Only two or three hundred meters away.

So close.

Then his body betrayed him. Blood loss caught up and his vision darkened at the edges. The forest swayed like a drunken illusion.

It was no longer about will power. His body was shutting down.

Fifteen laughed bitterly. "To die... this close..."

Then he snarled inwardly.

’Enough! If you have strength to pity yourself, crawl!’ He bared his teeth and dragged himself forward again.

Ten meters.

Twelve.

Then darkness rushed in.

His consciousness slipped rapidly, and just before it vanished completely, a voice entered his ears.

"Damn it. I am completely lost."

A man cursed loudly.

"That spirit farmer bastard sneak attacked me. Scared me to death and I even dropped my map into the flames! What kind of dog shit luck is this!? Ah, what the hell am I supposed to do now?!"

The voice was filled with irritation. But to Fifteen, it sounded like heavenly music.

With the last thread of strength in his throat, Fifteen forced out a sound.

"Help..."

The word barely escaped and the irritated voice stopped.

Footsteps rushed over.

"Hey! Hey! Stay awake!"

Hands grabbed him as a pill was crushed and bitter powder shoved into his mouth.

"Swallow it quickly. Do not sleep. Hey, you hear me!"

Warm energy spread through his chest.

’...A vitality pill.’

Fifteen’s thoughts drifted.

’Must be a kind-hearted person...’

Before darkness claimed him completely, Fifteen caught one last glimpse of his rescuer.

Dark clouds obscured the figure, while a silver mask reflected faint moonlight.

On it was engraved a number.

Twenty.

...

The formation barrier shimmered faintly, layers of light folding over one another like overlapping sheets of flowing water.

Despair poisoned the air inside.

Many masked figures sat slumped on the ground. A few could no longer restrain themselves and sobbed quietly, faces buried deep in their sleeves as they tried to smother sounds that would only shame them further. However, most were silent. Their eyes were hollow, and silence was all they had left.

The Golden Demon masked cultivator leaned back against the formation barrier. The cold surface pressed into his spine, yet he felt nothing. His eyes were dull and unfocused, staring into emptiness as his thoughts drifted.

’At most one more hour before the concealment array around the Jade Heart Plantation will collapse. When that happens, the sect will surely notice. Patrols and Elders will arrive. Everything will be dragged into the light. And there will be no room for excuses.’

His jaw tightened as he could almost see it play out in his mind.

’Senior Brother Sun will also be implicated. His name will be dragged through mud and filth. At best, he will be expelled. Worst case... he is executed as an example.’

He lowered his head slightly, the golden mask casting a shadow over his eyes.

’And you, Elder Brother... you are probably already dead, aren’t you? Your Buddha mask was burnt. That means you must have fought him. Was it painful... when you died?’

His fingers unknowingly tightened around the hilt of his sword. A faint ache spread through his chest, though it did not hurt as much as he had expected. Perhaps despair had already numbed him.

’Since it has come to this... dying does not feel so terrifying anymore. I only regret that I could not avenge you.’

His eyes closed briefly. When they opened again, all warmth was gone. He looked over the broken masked figures scattered within the formation.

Everyone looked miserable.

’Loyalty truly is a heavy thing. Forgive me, brothers. My hands are tied by loyalty.’ A bitter, mocking smile curled beneath his mask.

Before the concealment array surrounding the plantation broke, he would have to kill them himself. Then he would follow them in death.

’It is inevitable anyway. They are going to die anyway once we are caught. At least let them not betray and add misery to the hand they were under in their final moments.’

A small breath escaped his lips.

’But for now... let them live.’

He turned his gaze away, unable to watch them any longer. At that moment, a cultivator near the center of the formation swayed violently.

This was the cultivator Jiang Chen had previously dragged out when testing the hand seal. His clothes were soaked in blood. His breathing was shallow. His vision came and went like a flickering candle.

He blinked hard.

Something moved in the distance.

His brows furrowed as he squinted.

’No... impossible.’

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked again.

The figure was still there.

Even closer.

His heart pounded painfully.

’This has to be a hallucination.’

He shook his head again, but doubt lingered. Unable to trust himself, he tugged at the sleeve of the cultivator beside him.

"Senior Brother... look over there. Do you see that?"

The man beside him raised his head sluggishly, his eyes unfocused at first. Then suddenly, his pupils shrank.

His mouth opened wide.

"A person... someone is coming."

The shout broke the dead silence like a stone thrown into stagnant water.

"Someone is coming."

The words spread instantly.

Those slumped on the ground struggled to lift their heads. Those who had been silent turned toward the direction of the shout. Even those crying stopped abruptly.

The Golden Demon masked cultivator frowned and pushed himself upright, his gaze turning toward the distance.

A figure emerged through the burning fields.

At first, it was only a silhouette, distorted by smoke and heat. Then the details sharpened.

A silver mask. Dark clouds clung tightly around the body. On the figure’s back was another person, limp and half dead, both legs severed and wrapped crudely in bloodstained cloth.

A collective breath was drawn.

The figure broke into a run, and within seconds, he stood directly before the formation barrier.

Jiang Chen skidded to a halt, staring at the carnage inside with wide, bewildered eyes.

"What in the world happened here?"

He looked at the barrier, at the blood, at the despair etched into every face. He scowled, his brow furrowing behind the silver mask.

"Wait... don’t tell me, are you all trapped?"

Murmurs spread inside the formation. Some cultivators stared at him in disbelief. Others began to tremble, hope and doubt clashing violently within their hearts.

Jiang Chen straightened and waved his hand in a casual manner.

"Do not panic," he said loudly. "This is nothing serious. I know a little about formations. I will quickly find the nodes and break you free."

The cultivators stared at him as if he were a mirage. The Golden Demon masked cultivator, in particular, felt his heart thudding in his ears.

Jiang Chen puffed out his chest slightly.

"I, Jiang Chen, will save you all!"

The words rang clearly within the formation.

Then Jiang Chen froze.

"Ah... crap!"

He scratched his head awkwardly.

"I just said my name."

Silence filled the formation.

And the night watched quietly, hiding its teeth behind drifting clouds.