"And the sighs are exceedingly rare. When your perception was released, she sighed, and now that you’ve reached the second underground level, you’re even closer to her. It seems she might have taken a liking to you."
Zhou Xuan wasn’t too keen on accepting this kind of affection. Fortunately, the Mother Wall’s third sigh hadn’t occurred, and the two shifted the topic back to the research lab.
"Old Li, those Buddha’s mantras in the lab... they’ve come to life."
"Buddha’s mantras were alive to begin with."
The first time Li Chengfeng saw the Buddha’s mantra, it soared into the sky, only to be captured and brought back by the Painter.
"What I mean is, those Buddha’s fragments are growing... inside the corpses."
Recalling his recent discovery, Zhou Xuan said, "While I was in the research lab, I initially perceived... the connection between those corpses and the Bone Elders. The link has grown stronger, so I unleashed all my perception.
What I felt was that those Buddha’s mantras suddenly fell silent."
"That strange silence—it feels like a cat dancing wildly behind you. But the moment you turn around, it realizes you’re looking at it and immediately freezes, motionless.
In other words, the Buddha’s fragments inside those corpses have developed consciousness—at the very least, they understand what fear is."
"The experimental corpses turned into incubators for Buddha’s mantras? I’ll stop those experiments right away!"
Li Chengfeng was visibly shocked by Zhou Xuan’s findings. If these Buddha’s mantras were gaining consciousness so rapidly, it spelled disaster. Continuing the experiments would undoubtedly lead to even graver issues.
"Old Li, once you halt those experiments, arrange for me to experience the fusion characteristic as soon as possible. Let me help you evaluate whether the Bone Elders’ experimental path is the correct one."
"That would be excellent."
After speaking, Li Chengfeng hurried upstairs, taking two steps at a time.
Zhou Xuan paced back and forth in the corridor of the second underground level.
The Mother Wall let out another sigh.
The sigh was akin to a gentle, sharp blade, piercing through Zhou Xuan but leaving him entirely unharmed.
Following the source of the sigh, Zhou Xuan looked down at the ground and found that the tiles had softened slightly, rippling like waves.
He bent down, crouching as his hand lightly touched the ground.
Suddenly, a hand-shaped fleshy bud rose from the floor, softly clasping Zhou Xuan’s right hand.
A warm aura slowly flowed into Zhou Xuan.
"Do you want me to come meet you?"
The fleshy hand tightened slightly, as if affirming Zhou Xuan’s question.
"Later," Zhou Xuan replied. "I have some pressing matters to attend to here first."
Receiving this response, the Sighing Mother Wall didn’t insist further. The fleshy hand gradually retracted, and the tiled floor returned to its smooth, unbroken state.
"Young Master, the experiments have been halted. Shall we go experience the fusion characteristic now?"
"Old Li, the Mother Wall wants me to visit her. Where is she?"
"On the third underground level. Are you going now?"
"Let’s finish with the fusion characteristic first."
Li Chengfeng led Zhou Xuan to the Suture Cultivation Room on the second underground level. As they walked through the long corridor,
Zhou Xuan asked, "Old Li, does the Mother Wall harbor malice towards people?"
"It depends. If it’s the Bone Elders, she likely holds no malice. But for outsiders... her malice can be immense."
"Is her summoning me out of goodwill or ill intent?"
"Guiding you with her sighs isn’t malicious," Li Chengfeng said. "And even if it were, there’s no need to worry—we have ways to subdue her."
"You have ways to subdue the Mother Wall?"
"Of course," Li Chengfeng explained. "The Bone Elders must enter the Mother Wall’s body to comprehend the mysteries of flesh and blood.
Occasionally, the Mother Wall goes mad, killing the Bone Elders inside her body.
To pursue the mysteries of flesh and blood while reducing the Bone Elders’ mortality rate, they developed methods to control her.
Eventually, a long-term truce was established between us."
Hearing this, Zhou Xuan found the relationship between the Bone Elders and the Mother Wall increasingly perplexing.
The first Bone Elder, having emerged from within the Mother Wall, should have shared some semblance of a mother-child relationship with her,
the mother started murdering her offspring, while the offspring devised ways to counter their mother.
"What kind of mother and child are these? They guard against each other like enemies."
Li Chengfeng’s words only deepened Zhou Xuan’s curiosity about meeting the Sighing Mother Wall.
He began to wonder why the Mother Wall, with her complex and fragile relationship with the Bone Elders, would reach out to him in the first place.
"Young Master, we’re here."
Li Chengfeng had led Zhou Xuan to the door of the Suture Cultivation Room.
A massive stone gate separated the inside from the outside.
Li Chengfeng pounded heavily on the door,
and the sound of iron chains colliding echoed from within.
When the door finally opened, Zhou Xuan peeked inside and saw eight wrist-thick chains tethered to the entrance, pulled taut by a series of pulleys.
"Why does a laboratory need a door this reinforced?"
"This room was once used to store the Blood Well Human Brain. In case the brain acted out, the door was built exceptionally thick."
After entering the room, Li Chengfeng and Zhou Xuan saw a transparent glass tank already in place.
The tank was filled with blood-tinged liquid, where four Spiritual Communication Characteristics were submerged, connected by blood vessels. The blood wasn’t pure but appeared to be mixed with something else, its deep red hue resembling pomegranate juice.
"Young Master, shall I begin activating the Spiritual Communication Characteristic’s power now?"
Li Chengfeng sought Zhou Xuan’s permission before proceeding with the experiment.
Zhou Xuan gave a grand gesture, standing in front of the tank.
Wearing rubber gloves, Li Chengfeng accepted a small vial of highly concentrated acid from his assistant.
The viscous acid hissed and released thick white smoke as soon as its cap was removed.