Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3902: A Strange Effigy

Many of the bones on the mound had been deliberately arranged. Others appeared partially embedded within the stone itself. As though someone had pressed them into soft earth before it eventually hardened. The sight carried an eerie, ancient and macabre beauty.

’Almost ceremonial.’ Lin Mu slowly surveyed the surroundings. ’Could this be the ritual site?’ The thought immediately surfaced as everything seemed to point toward it. The prisoners, the strange diary and of course the enormous gathering place. Lin Mu’s eyes gradually lifted higher.

Near the summit, a brighter glow spread across the darkness. It still originated from glowing moss. Only this time the quantity surpassed anything he had previously encountered. Large patches covered the upper rock face and their combined illumination resembled moonlight spilling into the underground world.

The summit remained clearly visible.

Lin Mu quietly began climbing and he carefully chose every foothold. Loose bones occasionally shifted beneath his weight. But each time that happened, he froze until everything became still once again.

His breathing remained steady and several minutes later, he reached the upper portion of the mound. A massive stone outcrop jutted outward near the summit and Lin Mu immediately slipped behind it.

The thick rock completely concealed his body. He slowly leaned toward one edge and carefully peeked beyond it.

His eyes widened slightly. ’People?’

Nearly a hundred prisoners stood gathered upon the summit. Some appeared thin enough for their bones to show through their skin. Others possessed muscular physiques despite the obvious malnutrition.

Many wore torn robes while several carried scars covering nearly every exposed inch of flesh. Every one of them stood perfectly still as no one spoke and no one moved. Complete silence dominated the gathering.

They all faced the same direction, toward the center.

Lin Mu’s current position prevented him from seeing what held their attention. He quietly glanced upward and saw that the top of the stone outcrop rose only another few meters. As such he carefully climbed.

Every movement remained slow and deliberate. His fingers found secure holds within the rock and eventually, his head rose just enough to overlook the gathering. His gaze shifted toward the center.

There... Stood a strange effigy.

It barely reached the height of an ordinary man. Its frame consisted entirely of bones carefully assembled together. Mud had been packed around portions of the skeleton until it resembled flesh.

The figure possessed four arms but only one leg. Its torso appeared profoundly unnatural. Instead of a single ribcage, two ribcages mirrored one another. One faced forward and the other backward.

But both connected to the same spine.

The structure looked grotesque and impossible, as though several creatures had been forced together into one malformed body. Lin Mu’s eyes slowly traveled upward and the head immediately captured his full attention.

Unlike the rest of the figure... The skull contained no bone.

Someone had carved it from a single piece of translucent crystal. Its craftsmanship surpassed everything else. Every curve appeared deliberate and every fang sharply defined.

Yet... The shape clearly belonged to no human.

Nor any beast Lin Mu recognized.

It had an elongated snout, curving horns, deep hollow eye sockets and rows of jagged teeth permanently exposed in a savage grin. The longer Lin Mu stared... The stronger one thought quietly formed within his mind.

"...A demon."

The crystal skull resembled the face of some ancient demon whose existence had long vanished from history.

Hidden behind the rocky outcrop, Lin Mu kept his breathing slow and steady while his eyes remained fixed upon the strange effigy standing at the center of the gathering. The crystal skull drew his attention more than anything else.

The longer he looked at it, the stranger it appeared.

At first glance, it resembled a demon’s head. Everything gave the impression of a creature that belonged to the Demon Race or one what was related to it. Yet... Something about it refused to fit together.

Lin Mu had encountered demons before. He had even spoken with one for an extended period: Karlia.

Ziran’s wife who was a member of the War Flame Demon Tribe.

Her appearance remained deeply etched into his memories.

Although she possessed many features that humans would consider unusual, there had still been a clear sense of harmony to her appearance. Her horns had followed elegant curves. Her facial proportions remained balanced.

Even her sharp teeth and crimson eyes complemented the rest of her features. She looked like a living race that had evolved over countless generations. The skull before him lacked that natural feeling.

It almost seemed as if different creatures had been merged together.

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes.

’The shape of the skull doesn’t resemble the War Flame Demons.’

He mentally compared it to every demon race he had ever studied.

Over the years, he had acquired countless records from sect libraries, ancient inheritances and ruined civilizations. Demons remained rare within a lot of the immortal Worlds, yet ancient texts still contained descriptions of many races that had once existed.

The Mountain Horn Demons, the Bone Fiend Tribe, the Thousand Eye Demons, the Blood Marsh Clan, the Sky Ravager Demons and the Abyss Horn Tribe. Several others surfaced in his memory one after another.

Each possessed distinct skeletal structures, unique horns, different numbers of teeth, and variations in their skull proportions. But none matched this skull, not even remotely. Lin Mu quietly observed the crystal carving again.

’Perhaps this isn’t actually based on a real demon.’

The possibility certainly existed as humans loved exaggerating stories. Many ancient sculptures represented mythical beasts that had never actually existed. Someone could easily have imagined what a terrifying demon should resemble before carving the crystal accordingly.

There remained another possibility.

’A forgotten tribe...’ The Demon race itself remained unimaginably vast.

Even Karlia admitted that countless tribes had risen and disappeared throughout history. Lin Mu certainly could not claim to know every race that had ever existed. Perhaps this truly depicted an ancient demon whose bloodline had vanished countless millennia ago.

For now there simply wasn’t enough information.