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Chapter 1163: There's Something Very Problematic About You
"Young Master Wen, are you still busy? The food has been prepared. Overseer is here to take Miss Ya'er back. Why don't you let Miss Ya'er return for dinner?" An Sheng arrived outside the training room and pressed the video doorbell.
Before Zhou Wen could finish writing, he got Ya'er to open the door for An Sheng and company.
Ya'er opened the door and An Tianzuo and company looked inside. Indeed, they saw Qin Zhen standing there.
However, what puzzled An Tianzuo and company was that Qin Zhen and Zhou Wen weren't sparring. It didn't even look like they had sparred. Instead, Zhou Wen was standing in front of a table, writing. Qin Zhen was watching from the side, completely engrossed.
Does this punk know calligraphy? An Tianzuo was puzzled.
Writing beautiful words wasn't difficult for humans at their level and their level of evolution.
He didn't even need much practice. All he needed to do was take a look at some famous masterpieces and he could easily imitate the beautiful fonts.
However, a nice font didn't mean it was good calligraphy. One needed to fuse their thoughts into the words to form a unique style. Only then could it be called calligraphy.
An Tianzuo secretly glanced at it and realized that although Zhou Wen's words weren't ugly, they definitely weren't good.
Yet, such ordinary calligraphy left Qin Zhen engrossed as she stood there motionless.
Since it's not a problem of the text, it should be the content. An Tianzuo wanted to see what Zhou Wen had written, but Zhou Wen had already finished writing.
After putting away the pen, Zhou Wen picked up the notebook and handed it to Qin Zhen. "Take a look."
"Can... can I?" Qin Zhen didn't dare to take it.
She had watched the entire process. Although Zhou Wen wrote quickly and the content was too profound, Qin Zhen had only taken a few general glances in many sections and hadn't read them carefully.
However, just the content she saw made Qin Zhen understand that Zhou Wen wasn't giving her parts of a sword art, but a systematic introduction to the sword art. Furthermore, it had some of Zhou Wen's own experience and insights.
The value of this book made Qin Zhen hesitate.
"Of course. Sword arts are created for people to use. If you can learn it, take it," Zhou Wen said indifferently.
Qin Zhen looked at Zhou Wen and saw that his expression was the same as when he had given her the notebook. She couldn't help but feel a little dazed as she reached out to receive the Transcendent Flying Immortal notebook that Zhou Wen had written.
An Tianzuo also understood that what Zhou Wen had written was likely some kind of sword art. From Qin Zhen's solemn expression, he guessed that this sword art was no trifling matter.
However, An Tianzuo didn't know if the sword art Zhou Wen had written was his or was obtained from somewhere else.
An Tianzuo wanted to know, but he didn't ask.
However, An Sheng didn't have any qualms. He said with a smile, "Young Master Wen, are you very familiar with Sword Immortal Qin? Can you even study sword arts together?"
Before Zhou Wen could say a word, Qin Zhen said with a serious expression, "Adjutant An, don't joke around. How am I qualified to study sword techniques with Senior? Senior Zhou is my tutor. He taught me my sword arts."
With that said, An Tianzuo and An Jing looked at each other. Qin Zhen could be said to be one of the most outstanding women in Sunset College over the years. She could go down in history for the school.
Yet, she said that Zhou Wen had taught her sword arts, but they knew very well that Zhou Wen had been missing for five years. How could he have taught Qin Zhen sword arts?
However, An Sheng didn't care. His eyes darted around as he said to Qin Zhen, "Qin Zhen, since you learned your sword arts from Young Master Wen, you should be focusing on actual combat. Are you interested in joining the Sunset Army? On the one hand, you can protect everyone. On the other hand, you can also hone your sword arts..."
Qin Zhen didn't answer as she looked at Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen glared at An Sheng and said, "My sword art does focus on actual combat, and it's extremely risky in actual combat. You might lose your life if you aren't careful. It's best to follow your heart and not be affected by others."
An Sheng smiled without saying a word as though he hadn't seen Zhou Wen's glare.
Qin Zhen thought for a moment before looking at An Sheng and asking, "Can I go to the place that Senior went to in the past?"
"Of course, but it's very dangerous there," An Sheng said solemnly.
"I'm not afraid of danger," Qin Zhen said.
"Then it's settled. Sword Immortal Qin, Overseer has already prepared some food. Shall we have a meal with Young Master Wen?" An Sheng said.
Qin Zhen nodded slightly and agreed.
An Tianzuo was somewhat delighted when he saw Qin Zhen agree.
With Qin Zhen's talent, it was too wasteful for her to teach on campus. After she trained in the military for a few years, she would definitely be a mighty person who could hold her own in the future.
However, he had invited Qin Zhen to join the army several times, but he hadn't been able to succeed. Now, Qin Zhen had clearly joined the Sunset Army because of Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen hadn't even said a word, making An Tianzuo very displeased.
However, this didn't stop him from liking Qin Zhen. He had already thought of how to train her, how to make her truly become a female Sword Immortal on the battlefield, and not just a female Sword Immortal in the arena.
Although both represented excellent combat strength, there were still some differences.
At the dining table, under An Sheng's guidance, Qin Zhen told them what had happened between her and Zhou Wen. An Tianzuo and An Jing were stunned.
That punk really has good taste. Or was he lucky? He can actually produce a female Sword Immortal with just a crappy notebook? It must be luck. That punk might have only found her pretty... An Tianzuo couldn't accept that the person he thought highly of was someone Zhou Wen had unintentionally nurtured.
After the meal, An Sheng got someone to take Qin Zhen back, but Zhou Wen stopped him and pulled him to a corner. "It wasn't easy to find a successor for my sword art. I don't want to see her die."
"Young Master Wen, don't worry. Qin Zhen is talented, but she lacks the baptism of the battlefield. In the future, she will definitely become an existence like a war goddess. Overseer has long made plans for her. He definitely won't let such a person die in vain." An Sheng paused before saying, "Furthermore, in this world, with Qin Zhen's strength, it's only a matter of time before she enters the battlefield. It's better to do so earlier rather than later, don't you think?"
Zhou Wen naturally understood this principle. All he could do was sigh helplessly and say nothing else.
He, too, had no choice. He didn't know how long he could live.
An Sheng was right. Letting Qin Zhen enter the Sunset Army now, with An Sheng taking care of her and An Tianzuo's recognition, was better than being forced to participate in a battle in the future.
"Young Master Wen, I realize that there's something very problematic about you!" An Sheng suddenly sized up Zhou Wen and said in a strange tone.
Zhou Wen felt his hair stand on end from An Sheng's gaze. "Ah Sheng, don't spout nonsense. What problem can I have?"
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Chapter 1164: Bad News
"We are already so familiar with each other. Young Master Wen, just admit it honestly. My lips are sealed," An Sheng said with a wink.
"What do I admit?" Zhou Wen's heart skipped a beat as he thought to himself, Could it be that An Sheng has discovered the secret of the phone?
"You're actually a reincarnator, right?" An Sheng whispered.
"What's a reincarnator? Is it some level? Or a Guardian?" Zhou Wen asked in a daze.
"Stop pretending. A reincarnator is someone who has lived once and returned to the past. Young Master Wen, you are a reincarnator, right? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," An Sheng said.
Zhou Wen finally understood what An Sheng meant. He said, at a loss whether to laugh or cry, "Have you watched too much television recently? Have you been brainwashed by television?"
An Sheng smiled and said, "Young Master Wen, if you weren't a reincarnator, how could you do so many things that seem prescient?"
"What have I done that seemed prescient?" Zhou Wen was puzzled.
An Sheng listed them one by one. "After you became Wang Mingyuan's disciple, he entered the dimension and became an overlord of the dimension. You have a good relationship with Wang Mingyuan's disciples. Now that Hui Haifeng has become the president of the Federation, he has developed Mythical Serums. It's like he has a cheat code. Zhong Ziya might very well be the president of the Holy Spirit Association. That fellow, Liu Yun, has footprints all over Earth. He has entered countless mysterious dimensional zones and has stolen countless benefits. He's known as the number one thief.
"What's outrageous is that you have a good relationship with Li Xuan. Li Xuan is almost immortal now. Furthermore, he has an extremely good relationship with the Dugu family and has great influence. Feng Qiuyan and Ming Xiu both view you as their master. Now, they are known as the dual masters of swords and sabers. Their fame has shaken the Federation. They are the idols of young bladesmen. Even worse is that a random notebook you threw at her created a female Sword Immortal. Do you dare say that you aren't a reincarnator? You must have known that they had excellent talent long ago, so you established a relationship with them, right?"
"Ah Sheng, I think with your imagination, it's a waste of talent not to write novels." Zhou Wen didn't explain as he turned around and left.
In fact, Zhou Wen couldn't explain it. Thinking about it, he really did look like a f*cking reincarnator.
"It's just a joke. Young Master Wen, don't be angry!" An Sheng chased after him. He was indeed joking. How could there be reincarnators in this world? However, Zhou Wen's past was indeed like a bug in games.
Tsukuyomi sat in the stone pavilion in the yard with her phone in her hand, but she wasn't looking at it. Instead, she stared blankly at the moon in the sky and sat motionless for a long while.
Eventually, Tsukuyomi retracted her gaze and sighed softly. She muttered to herself, "Must I really leave?"
As she muttered to herself, Tsukuyomi switched on her phone and looked at Zhou Wen's number in the chat app. After clicking it open, she entered some words. Then, seemingly finding it inappropriate, she deleted them and wrote some words before deleting them again.
After repeating this process a few times, Tsukuyomi ultimately didn't send the message and locked the phone.
This is my life. Why do I have to do so much? Tsukuyomi put down her phone and stared blankly at the sky. She knew that she didn't have much time left.
In the middle of the night, an urgent message was placed on An Tianzuo's desk. An Tianzuo read it again and again with a heavy expression.
"Overseer, did something really happen in Netherworld City?" An Sheng rushed over in a hurry without even buttoning his clothes.
This was almost impossible for An Sheng. Even in a life-and-death situation, he would tidy himself up meticulously. He wouldn't be so flustered even if the sky collapsed.
An Tianzuo's expression darkened as he nodded slightly and said, "Missing. Everyone has gone missing. The people we sent found Netherworld City and saw where my mother and company had stationed themselves. However, there wasn't a single person at the camp. From the traces at the scene, I don't know why, but they entered Netherworld City."
"Did anyone enter Netherworld City to look for them?" An Sheng hurriedly asked.
"Yes, but they didn't see anyone," An Tianzuo said.
"That's impossible. Madam and the rest are already very familiar with the situation in Netherworld City. Even if they were forced to enter, it's impossible for them to die in such a short period of time..." An Sheng said in disbelief.
"There's indeed no one. It's as though they vanished into thin air," An Tianzuo said as he stood up and said calmly, "Make preparations. I'm going to Netherworld City. Also, don't tell An Jing about this."
After a pause, An Tianzuo added, "Don't tell that punk either."
"Young Master Wen knows Netherworld City very well. If he travels with us, the chances of rescuing Madam will be much higher," An Sheng said.
"His surname isn't An, nor is he my mother's son. He has no obligation to risk his life for us," An Tianzuo said.
"But..." An Sheng wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by An Tianzuo.
"No buts. Make the preparations. Do as I say and prepare everything as soon as possible. I have to set off before noon today." An Tianzuo waved his hand, gesturing for An Sheng to prepare.
"Yes." An Sheng could only leave to prepare.
After some hesitation, An Sheng finally went to Zhou Wen's yard and told him about it.
Zhou Wen's expression turned solemn after hearing the news.
Ouyang Lan and company had long figured out the situation in Netherworld City. Even if they were forced to enter, they should have been able to come out.
Even if they couldn't come out, it was impossible that they would die so quickly.
Now that they were nowhere to be found—either dead or alive—Zhou Wen thought of a terrifying possibility.
Could it be that they experienced all the punishments and saw the true Netherworld? Zhou Wen's expression changed.
He remembered very clearly what City Lord Netherworld had said. The Netherworld City he saw wasn't the real Netherworld City. Only by experiencing all the punishments could one enter the real Netherworld.
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"Ah Sheng, I need to make a trip. Help me take care of this place." Zhou Wen originally wanted to leave Ya'er behind, but to his surprise, Ya'er looked at him. Zhou Wen knew from her gaze that it was impossible to leave her here again.
"Young Master Wen, go to Netherworld City with Overseer. You can take care of each other," An Sheng said.
"No, I'm not going to Netherworld City. I want to make a trip to the South District," Zhou Wen said.
"South District?" An Sheng was slightly taken aback, unsure what Zhou Wen meant.
"If I'm not wrong, I have to find someone to save Sis Lan," Zhou Wen said.
"Who?" An Sheng hurriedly asked.
"Li Xuan." Zhou Wen knew that he had to find Li Xuan as soon as possible and get him to follow him to Netherworld City. If he wasted too much time, it would probably be useless even if he entered the real Netherworld.
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Chapter 1165: Myriad Elephant Valley
Earth had undergone serious dimensionalization. Even a Mythical expert wouldn't be able to travel from the East District to the South District as easily as they had done five years ago. Even if everything went smoothly, it would probably take more than half a month to make the trip.
Thankfully, Zhou Wen was proficient in spatial teleportation and had a spatial Calamity-grade expert, Tsukuyomi, by his side.
Zhou Wen's spatial teleportation ability wasn't enough to provide him with precise positioning from great distances, much less teleporting with Ya'er and company.
However, for the Calamity-grade Tsukuyomi, teleporting them to the Dugu family in the South District was just a matter of waving her hand.
As he didn't know where Li Xuan was, Zhou Wen had no choice but to make a trip to the Dugu family residence to find Worm Dugu and ask him where he was.
The Dugu family was known as the most cowardly family. Even their old residence was built directly in a dimensional zone. The large-scale break-out of dimensional creatures didn't affect the Dugu family much.
The dimensional zone where the Dugu family's old residence was was called Myriad Elephant Valley. There were no elephants there, but the valley was strange. Without the guidance of the Dugu family, even a Mythical expert might not be able to walk out and for the rest of his life would be trapped in Myriad Elephant Valley.
At that moment, a man and a woman were standing outside the Myriad Elephant Valley with a little girl, a golden eagle, and a white antelope. They were sizing up the stone monument outside Myriad Elephant Valley.
This entourage was naturally Zhou Wen and Tsukuyomi. The chick and antelope also followed. Zhou Wen wanted them to stay with the An family, but they refused.
Outside Myriad Elephant Valley stood a stone monument. On the left of the stone monument were the words: "Calling to the heavens and earth, none heed my call." On the right were the words "A life of solitude."
Zhou Wen looked at it for a long time and found it odd. It wasn't a couplet, nor was it a poem. It looked odd no matter how he looked at it.
If it's a life of solitude, it might be a name chosen because of superstition, but, when written in Chinese characters, the word "solitude" is written in opposite order from the Dugu family's surname. It shouldn't be a human name. Zhou Wen looked outside Myriad Elephant Valley for quite some time, but he didn't see anyone from the Dugu family.
However, Zhou Wen's eyes and ears were extremely sharp. He had long discovered that there were many strange creatures lurking around. There were Gu that resembled grains of sand and dimensional creatures that resembled grass.
The seemingly calm entrance to Myriad Elephant Valley was actually filled with killing intent. However, the strange creatures didn't attack solely because they hadn't received their master's orders.
"I'm Zhou Wen, a friend of Worm Dugu. I'm here to visit," Zhou Wen shouted at the valley.
"You are Zhou Wen from Luoyang's An family?" A voice sounded from the valley, but no one could be seen.
"I'm from Luoyang, but my surname isn't An. My name is Zhou Wen," Zhou Wen said.
"Why do you want to see our Second Master?" That voice sounded again.
"I have something to ask him." Zhou Wen was slightly taken aback when he heard the title Second Master. Then, he recalled that Worm Dugu was ranked second in his generation. Dugu Ge called him Second Uncle. Presumably, this Second Master was what juniors called him.
"What is it?" the voice asked again.
"I can only say it when I see Worm Dugu," Zhou Wen said with a frown.
"Second Master isn't home. Go back," the person in the valley said again.
"Where did he go?" Zhou Wen was somewhat depressed when he heard that. If Worm Dugu wasn't around, it would be even harder to find Li Xuan. He couldn't wait that long.
"I don't know," the voice in the valley said.
Since I can't find Li Xuan, I can only try to receive Netherworld City's punishment myself. Zhou Wen was somewhat depressed. He had tried Netherworld City's punishment. If he didn't use Great Brahma to cheat, Zhou Wen wasn't confident that he could survive all the punishments.
However, if he used Great Brahma to cheat, he wouldn't be able to open the true entrance to the Netherworld. Therefore, it was best if he could find Li Xuan. If he couldn't, Zhou Wen could only give it a try himself.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a bang. Turning his head, he saw a man covered in blood rush out of Myriad Elephant Valley and fall to the ground.
"Save me. I know where Second Master is." The man seemed to use his last ounce of strength as he shouted at Zhou Wen before fainting.
Zhou Wen immediately saw that the person's injuries weren't trivial. They weren't as simple as losing consciousness. He was about to die.
In his body, he could see many Gu drilling around. His heart and other organs were riddled with holes. It was already a miracle that he was still alive.
Zhou Wen originally didn't plan on crossing the Dugu family, but something was amiss about this whole thing. Furthermore, the person said that he knew of Worm Dugu's whereabouts.
Just as Zhou Wen was watching, swarms of worms suddenly flew out of Myriad Elephant Valley like black fog and swept towards the unconscious man.
Zhou Wen summoned the Bronze Sparrow Sword and made it fly over. Wherever the flames passed, large swaths of worms were immediately burned to death.
"This is a family matter for our Dugu family. I believe it has nothing to do with you?" the voice in the valley sounded again.
"Your Dugu family's matters are indeed unrelated to me, but he knows Worm Dugu's whereabouts. After he wakes up and tells me Worm Dugu's whereabouts, I'll hand him over to you," Zhou Wen said as he walked towards the unconscious man.
The man's condition was terrible. His body was almost shutting down from the Gu's bites. The only difference from a dead person was his breathing. He needed immediate treatment.
"He doesn't know Second Master's whereabouts. He just wants to use you to escape," the voice in the valley said.
"We'll know if it's true after asking." Zhou Wen stood in front of the man and began carving the Ancient Sovereign Sutra on the Wheel of Destiny.
In his present situation, ordinary healing abilities were useless. Even if he used the Rejuvenation Pill, he could only heal some wounds. However, the Gu in his body were still there. It was useless just to heal his wounds.
Only the Ancient Sovereign Sutra could heal this man under such circumstances and extract all the Gu in his body.
"It's not up to you to decide on the Dugu family's matters." Just as Zhou Wen was about to help the man, he saw another person rush out of Myriad Elephant Valley.
Zhou Wen took a careful look and saw that the person's face was covered in a black veil. His entire body was wrapped up, making it impossible to see his appearance. All he knew was that it was a man.
"Zhou Wen, I've heard of your name. You are indeed an impressive person. However, this is a family matter of my Dugu family. If you insist on interfering, even if our Dugu family is unwilling, we can only treat you as an enemy and dispose of you with all our might." At the moment the black-robed man appeared, a large number of Gu flew out with him. It was unknown how many of them there were. Furthermore, there were many types, not just one.
"If you trust our Dugu family, I can use the Dugu family's reputation to guarantee that this traitor doesn't know the whereabouts of Worm Dugu. He only wants to use you," the black-robed man said again.
Zhou Wen felt that the black-robed man's words made sense, but he didn't plan on returning the person. He had to personally interrogate him.
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Chapter 1166: God of Unkilling
Zhou Wen reached out to grab the man on the floor. The black-robed man didn't hesitate to order a large number of Gu to lunge at the unconscious man. Like a sandstorm, they were everywhere.
The characteristics of those Gu were completely different. If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely not be able to handle so many.
Before Zhou Wen could move, Chick let out a long cry. Countless Gu instantly fell from the sky. Although they didn't die, they lay on the ground trembling, completely ignoring their master's orders.
The black-robed man's pupils constricted as he urged the Gu, but it was completely useless. Even the Mythical Gu were trembling silently on the ground. No matter how he urged, there was no reaction.
The man in black bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. He wanted to use his Blood Essence to jolt the Gu, but the Gu remained motionless.
How is this possible? The black-robed man was alarmed.
Those Gu's lives were intricately connected to him. He had forcefully spewed out his Blood Essence and Essence Energy to stimulate his potential, making the Gu feel the threat of death. Usually, they would fight to the death. Even if they encountered their natural enemy, they would fight to the death.
However, no matter how he stimulated his body's potential, the Gu didn't move as he wished—they only trembled.
Zhou Wen had already grabbed the unconscious man by the collar and lifted him up.
"Zhou Wen, do you know that our Dugu family has worked with the An family for many years? Do you really want to destroy the trust and relationship the two families have built over the years because of a traitor's lies?" The black-robed man paused before continuing, "Furthermore, he has already been poisoned by all kinds of Gu. It's impossible for him to live on. Is it worth it to do all that for a person who's about to die? Hand him over to me. Our Dugu family will think of a way to contact Second Master. You just need to wait for a period of time."
"I've already told you that my surname isn't An. Furthermore, if the relationship is so easily severed, there's no point maintaining it." Zhou Wen looked at the man in his hand and continued, "Most importantly, I don't have that much patience."
With that said, Zhou Wen stabbed at the man's body with his other hand. His fingers that were akin to a sharp blade stabbed into the man's body with a resplendent glow.
His hand was like a blade as it slashed across the man's body repeatedly.
When the black-robed man saw Zhou Wen's actions, he imagined that he was going to personally finish off the unconscious man. He said with a smile, "Whoever understands the times is a great man. The Dugu family will remember your friendship. We will find Second Master as soon as possible..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his smile froze on his face. Then, his eyes were filled with horror.
Zhou Wen's final punch struck the unconscious man. The Gu that had drilled into his body were sent flying. Even the Brain Drilling Worms that had drilled into his brain were no exception.
The moment the Gu were blasted out, Chick spat out a golden flame that burned all the Gu to ashes.
The black-robed man clearly saw that Zhou Wen's attack had beaten the man into a pulp. There was no reason for him to continue living, nonetheless the man's injuries rapidly healed. In an instant, he was like a normal person. The wounds on his body were completely gone.
The unconscious man had already woken up. He landed on the ground and crawled up. He looked at his body in surprise and delight.
"Zhou Wen, my Dugu family is being besieged by a group of unknown people. Second Master and the rest are trapped in Myriad Elephant Valley..." the man anxiously shouted at Zhou Wen.
"Really?" Zhou Wen frowned as he looked at the black-robed man.
The black-robed man wasn't flustered at all. He said with a smile, "Don't tell me you will listen to a traitor spouting nonsense?"
"Does that mean the Dugu family is fine?" Zhou Wen asked.
"They're not exactly fine. It's just a matter caused by this traitor. We'll naturally be fine after capturing him," the black-robed man said.
"Zhou Wen, you must not believe him. He's not a member of our Dugu family..." the man said anxiously.
"Isn't your method too despicable? You want to incite Zhou Wen to become enemies with my Dugu family so that you can escape in the chaos? It's useless. You are also a member of the Dugu family, so you should know the means of the Dugu family," the black-robed man said indifferently.
The man was about to say something when Zhou Wen interrupted him and said, "Since the Dugu family is fine, I'll take him in to take a look. If he's a traitor, I'll personally hand him over to Worm Dugu."
"Alright, let's do that. I'll go in with you." The man was delighted when he heard that and hurriedly expressed his stance.
"Sure." The black-robed man agreed without any hesitation. He even looked at the man and sneered. "Unkilling Dugu, I'm afraid you are mistaken to use such means to sow discord between our Dugu family and Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen and Second Master are close friends. So what if you let him enter Myriad Elephant Valley?"
However, Unkilling Dugu said to Zhou Wen, "Zhou Wen, you have to be careful. Since he's letting us into the valley, there must be an ambush inside."
"Your name is Unkilling Dugu?" Zhou Wen didn't know who was speaking the truth or who was lying. However, he knew the name Unkilling Dugu.
This person was very famous in the Dugu family. His birth name wasn't this, but after condensing a Life Providence named God of Unkilling, he had the nickname Unkilling Dugu. Perhaps because the name of the God of Unkilling was too resounding, eventually, no one remembered his original name.
The God of Unkilling was indeed famous, but it was famous for being a crippled Life Providence. This was because with this Life Providence, Unkilling Dugu couldn't even kill an ant. His Life Providence destined him to never be stained with blood.
"Yes." Unkilling Dugu nodded.
"Your Life Providence is the God of Unkilling?" Zhou Wen sized up Unkilling Dugu and was somewhat suspicious. This was because the legendary Unkilling Dugu was likely in his forties or fifties, and this man looked to be in his thirties.
"Yes." Unkilling Dugu saw Zhou Wen's puzzlement and explained, "The Essence Energy Art I cultivate is somewhat special. It makes me look much younger than my actual age. Perhaps this is the benefit of not killing."
Zhou Wen nodded and didn't harp on Unkilling Dugu's identity. He looked at the black-robed man and asked, "Can we enter the valley now?"
"Of course, you can do so anytime. I still have to thank you for helping our Dugu family capture the traitor. Our Dugu family will definitely repay you. However, you have to watch over Unkilling Dugu. He's very sinister and he's cunning. Don't let him escape." As the black-robed man spoke, he made an inviting gesture before walking towards Myriad Elephant Valley.
"He can't escape." Zhou Wen gestured for Unkilling Dugu to lead the way.
Unkilling Dugu didn't hesitate. He gritted his teeth and walked towards Myriad Elephant Valley without any intention of retreating.
Zhou Wen followed behind Unkilling Dugu into Myriad Elephant Valley. Ya'er, Tsukuyomi, Chick, and the antelope followed.
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Chapter 1167: Unable to Tell the Truth
Translator: CKtalon
Myriad Elephant Valley looked like a valley from the outside, but after walking in, he realized that there was a sea of clouds in front of him. Continuous mountain peaks protruded from the sea of clouds. It was a magical scene.
As for the spot where Zhou Wen and company were standing, it was surprisingly the top of a mountain. Wherever they looked, they could see palaces in the sea of clouds. They looked like real existences, but also like mirages.
In the sky, there were three suns and seven moons. There were even mountain peaks that grew in the opposite direction, as though they were about to plunge into the sea of clouds from above, forming an extremely bizarre world.
Zhou Wen turned around and realized that the entrance to the valley had vanished.
The Dugu family's old residence was extremely mysterious, unknown to outsiders. Zhou Wen didn't know much about Myriad Elephant Valley, so he couldn't help but marvel at such a scene.
However, Zhou Wen didn't see the scene of the battle, nor did he discover any signs of battle. This was different from what Unkilling Dugu had said.
"The truth is obvious. You should now know who's lying, right?" the black-robed man said to Zhou Wen with a smile.
Unkilling Dugu hurriedly explained, "Zhou Wen, don't believe him. There's an all-encompassing taboo in Myriad Elephant Valley. Everything here is constantly changing. Everything is a superposition of reality and illusion. Be it the mountain peaks or the palaces, they are constantly switching between reality and illusion. Second Master and the rest are trapped in the old residence. The old residence is on Boundless Mountain. At this hour, it should still be in an incorporeal state, preventing us from entering. However, as long as we reach Boundless Mountain, we can see the ethereal Boundless Mountain and those people."
"Since you say so, I'll take Zhou Wen to Boundless Mountain to take a look. Let's see how long you can insist otherwise," the black-robed man said as he turned around and flew in a certain direction.
Just as Zhou Wen was about to summon his flying mount, he saw Chick flap its wings and immediately fly up. It grew bigger and bigger in midair, quickly turning into a golden cloud.
Chick chirped at Zhou Wen as though it wanted him to sit on its back.
Zhou Wen was delighted when he saw that Chick had such a transformation ability. He carried Ya'er onto Chick's back as Tsukuyomi and the antelope followed.
Chick glared at Unkilling Dugu when he wanted to come up.
Unkilling Dugu wasn't in the mood to fuss over this. He summoned an avian Companion Beast and followed.
After flying for a while, Unkilling Dugu suddenly shouted, "That's not right. The direction he's heading in isn't Boundless Mountain. That's..."
The black-robed man in front stopped and stared at Unkilling Dugu with a sneer. "So that's how it is. You want to use Zhou Wen's strength to rush into the Shinra Temple. What a good plan."
"Nonsense. The direction you are heading in is the Shinra Temple. Zhou Wen, this is the way to Boundless Mountain. You have to believe me," said Unkilling Dugu anxiously.
Zhou Wen watched the two of them argue, momentarily unable to tell who was speaking the truth and who was lying.
However, Zhou Wen was more willing to believe Unkilling Dugu. This was because up to now, they had not seen a second member of the Dugu family. If the black-robed man was telling the truth, why didn't a member of the Dugu family come out to help him explain?
As long as the other members of the Dugu family came out, they could naturally convince Zhou Wen. Although Zhou Wen didn't know them all, he knew a few important figures of the Dugu family.
"You keep saying that the Dugu family is fine. Then call the other members of the Dugu family out." Unkilling Dugu had clearly thought of this.
The black-robed man frowned and said, "Boundless Mountain is in an ethereal state. No one can come out."
"Are you going to tell Zhou Wen that you are the only one guarding the entire Myriad Elephant Valley today?" Unkilling Dugu said coldly.
The black-robed man hesitated for a moment before explaining to Zhou Wen, "Today is the day of our Dugu family's grand ceremony. Apart from me in charge of guarding the pass, everyone else is at Boundless Mountain. If you don't believe me, you'll know when you get there."
"Didn't you say that Second Master isn't around? Now, you're saying that they're all at Boundless Mountain?" Unkilling Dugu caught the flaw in the black-robed man's words.
"Second Master hasn't returned at all. It's naturally impossible for him to participate in the grand ceremony," the black-robed man said.
Zhou Wen saw the two of them exchange words. Although what Unkilling Dugu said made sense, he couldn't completely believe it.
"What kind of place is Shinra Temple?" Zhou Wen couldn't decide who to listen to.
"Shinra Temple is the most mysterious place in Myriad Elephant Valley. There are extremely terrifying dimensional creatures suppressed inside. It's a forbidden zone for my Dugu family. No one is allowed to enter. In the past, people from my Dugu family accidentally entered, but they were never to be found. He's luring us over because he wants to use the power of the Shinra Temple to kill us," Unkilling Dugu said.
Zhou Wen looked at the black-robed man who said, "Shinra Temple is indeed our Dugu family's forbidden zone. Outsiders are not allowed to enter. It's extremely dangerous inside."
"In that case, why did you say that Unkilling Dugu wants to rush into the Shinra Temple?" Zhou Wen asked.
The black-robed man answered, "Others will definitely die if they enter, but it's different if Unkilling Dugu goes in. If he enters, not only will he not die, but he will also obtain extremely terrifying power. We definitely can't let him enter."
"Others die if they enter, but I obtain terrifying power when I enter. Isn't that ridiculous?" said Unkilling Dugu.
"The matter is rather complicated. It's a long, complicated story. To put it simply, it's related to Unkilling Dugu's Life Providence. If he enters and obtains the power of the Shinra Temple, not only will our Dugu family be damaged, but the entire Federation will also be greatly affected. Therefore, we definitely can't let him succeed," the black-robed man said.
Zhou Wen really couldn't tell who was speaking the truth.
"Zhou Wen, he's stalling for time. Second Master and the rest are trapped in Boundless Mountain. If we are late, I'm afraid there'll be no hope," Unkilling Dugu said anxiously.
"Zhou Wen, I know that you have a good relationship with Second Master. If you are tricked by him and forcefully barge into the Shinra Temple, my Dugu family will be severely damaged. How will Second Master forgive himself?" the black-robed man said.
"What's suppressed in Shinra Temple? A dimensional creature? Guardian? Or is it something else?" Zhou Wen had no choice but to continue asking.
"I don't know. It is a secret of my Dugu family. Only the incumbent patriarchs know the truth," the black-robed man said.
"Your claims are full of flaws. Since only the patriarch knows the truth, how do you know that I will obtain immense benefits if I enter? You are clearly stalling for time. Zhou Wen, quickly save Second Master and the rest. It will really be too late if you delay any further." Unkilling Dugu wore an anxious expression.
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Chapter 1168: Shinra Temple
"Going anywhere is fine," Tsukuyomi suddenly said to Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen found it reasonable. With a Calamity-grade bigshot like Tsukuyomi with him, there was no danger to speak of no matter which route they took.
Furthermore, there was the antelope of unknown level beside him. With such a powerful lineup, it would be difficult for anything to happen.
However, Zhou Wen's character was different. He felt that the resolution of anything with force was the last resort. He had a nagging feeling that there was no way to resolve the problem with force. Once he failed, there was no way out. He didn't like that feeling.
Today was somewhat different. Zhou Wen didn't have the time to waste. He had to find Li Xuan as quickly as possible before taking him to Netherworld City.
"Let's head over there to take a look." Zhou Wen thought for a moment and finally chose the direction that Unkilling Dugu had mentioned.
Zhou Wen chose to head in this direction not because he believed Unkilling Dugu, but because in theory, if they were telling the truth, it either meant that the black-robed man was luring them to their deaths, while Unkilling Dugu only wanted to obtain strength. The latter was relatively less dangerous. In both cases, he would be tricked, but the latter was clearly safer.
"Zhou Wen, if he enters the Shinra Temple, the consequences will be unimaginable," the black-robed man said with a heavy expression. He knew that he couldn't stop Zhou Wen, so he could only continue, "If you have to go, it's best you imprison Unkilling Dugu."
"There's no need. Let's go." Zhou Wen shook his head. He had his own thoughts, so there was no need to imprison Unkilling Dugu.
"Let's leave quickly. I hope we can still save Second Master and the rest." Unkilling Dugu rode his bird and flew in the direction he had chosen.
"Zhou Wen, do you know what you've done?" the black-robed man asked with a frown.
Zhou Wen didn't say a word as he got Chick to speed up and followed behind Unkilling Dugu.
The black-robed man followed. Although he knew that he couldn't stop Zhou Wen, it was impossible for him to do nothing. All he could do was wait for an opportunity.
Under Unkilling Dugu's lead, the group flew through the sea of clouds, passing through various mountain peaks and palaces.
Some palaces were just illusions. They could directly pass through the palaces, but some palaces and mountains that looked like phantoms turned corporeal moments later. It looked magical and strange.
On many mountain peaks, the figures of dimensional creatures could be seen. However, in the illusory mountain peaks, the dimensional creatures couldn't rush out. The corporeal mountain peaks were circled by Unkilling Dugu. Clearly, he didn't wish to waste time.
After flying for more than an hour, the man in black, who had been silently following behind, suddenly said, "Shinra Temple is ahead. Now is the time. If we let him rush in, it will be too late to stop him."
"What's inside Shinra Temple?" Zhou Wen asked. He felt that even if the black-robed man wasn't lying, he had to be hiding something.
A palace appeared in the sea of clouds in front of him. Unlike the other palaces, this palace was inverted at the end of the sky above.
There were many mountain peaks hanging down from the sky in Myriad Elephant Valley, but there was only one inverted palace. Regardless of whether this palace was Shinra Temple, it was an extraordinary place.
At this point, seeing that Unkilling Dugu was gradually approaching the palace, the black-robed man hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't know much. I only know that there's a person trapped in Shinra Temple."
"A person?" Zhou Wen was somewhat puzzled.
"A member of our Dugu family. Furthermore, he's someone we can't let Unkilling Dugu meet. This is what the Patriarch said. There's definitely no mistake." The black-robed man looked at Unkilling Dugu and continued, "It's not too late to stop him now. Don't let him in."
Zhou Wen said to Unkilling Dugu, "The palace ahead isn't Boundless Mountain, right? There's no need to approach it. Let's circle around it."
"Alright." Unkilling Dugu agreed verbally, but he didn't change his direction. He continued charging towards the inverted palace.
At this moment, it was obvious that Unkilling Dugu had been lying. His goal was the palace.
Chick let out a long cry and spewed out golden flames at Unkilling Dugu.
Although Chick now looked like an eagle, it actually had a phoenix bloodline. It spewed out phoenix flames and Unkilling Dugu and his Companion Beast were swept into the terrifying golden flames.
The Mythical Companion Beast was burned to ashes. Even Unkilling Dugu was aflame and on the brink of turning to ashes.
Even so, Unkilling Dugu didn't die. With his body burning with phoenix flames, he suddenly sped up and transformed into a stream of light that rushed towards the inverted palace.
He can still live despite being burned to such a state. His ability is almost comparable to Li Xuan's. Zhou Wen looked at Tsukuyomi. With a Calamity like Tsukuyomi around, it was impossible for Unkilling Dugu to charge into the Shinra Temple.
However, to his surprise, Tsukuyomi had no intention of attacking at all. She only stood there and watched as the charred Unkilling Dugu tore through the door and rushed into the Shinra Temple.
Zhou Wen was somewhat puzzled, but he wasn't too surprised.
"It's over." The black-robed man sighed. Although he wanted to stop it, the speed that Unkilling Dugu had displayed at the end was something he couldn't stop.
However, the black-robed man also knew that it wasn't the time to blame Zhou Wen. Solving the problem was the priority.
"Zhou Wen, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to stop Unkilling Dugu later. You can't let him leave Myriad Elephant Valley. After the grand ceremony ends, our Dugu family will rush over to provide support. We are still about an hour away before the grand ceremony ends and Boundless Mountain materializes. I hope we can hold on until then," the black-robed man said.
"Don't worry. I'll naturally answer for the trouble I've caused," Zhou Wen said.
The man in black shook his head and smiled bitterly. He thought to himself, You have no idea how big the trouble you have stirred up.
However, since Zhou Wen was willing to stay behind to help, he didn't harp on the matter. He continued, "I don't know what kind of power Unkilling Dugu will obtain inside. You mustn't be careless. Prepare for the worst. If you have any means to deal with it, it's best you prepare immediately."
Zhou Wen nodded but didn't do anything. All he did was look at Shinra Temple.
Shinra Temple was pitch-black like ink. There were no signs of bricks at all, as though it was carved from a complete boulder. The appearance of the palace was ancient. It was only one floor, and it was squarish. It was somewhat different from ordinary rectangular palaces.
However, this palace had no signs or plaques. He didn't know why it was called Shinra Temple.
"Why is this place called Shinra Temple?" Zhou Wen asked the black-robed man.
"This is the center of Myriad Elephant Valley, the core of everything. That's why we call it Shinra Temple. If you want to ask me what's inside, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I've already told you everything I know. I only know that there's a terrifying creature trapped inside, and it's a member of our Dugu family," the black-robed man said helplessly.
As the two of them spoke, Tsukuyomi suddenly walked towards the entrance of Shinra Temple.
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Chapter 1169: Nameless Dugu
Seeing Tsukuyomi walk over, Zhou Wen led Chick and the antelope towards Shinra Temple.
When the black-robed man saw that Zhou Wen and company were about to enter the Shinra Temple, he hurriedly said, "Shinra Temple's taboo powers are extremely strong. If someone who has killed enters, they will definitely be injured by the taboo power. If they have killed plenty, they will probably be killed on the spot."
In this era, other than special people like Unkilling Dugu, who hadn't killed before? Even vegetarians had to hunt dimensional creatures.
Tsukuyomi acted as if she hadn't heard him and walked straight into Shinra Temple.
Zhou Wen had already engraved the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder. It was very difficult for the taboo power to have any effect on him. If needed, Zhou Wen could still use the power of the Heaven-Opening Scripture to protect Ya'er and Chick.
Ever since he had the scripture, the power of the Heaven-Opening Scripture could not only protect him, but it could also be used on others.
The antelope and Chick rushed in, looking even more anxious than Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen was puzzled. He didn't know why the two of them were in such a rush to enter, so he hurriedly followed.
After entering Shinra Temple, he saw Tsukuyomi, the antelope, and Chick inside. They weren't injured by the taboo power.
Even Ya'er, who Zhou Wen was carrying, wasn't injured by the taboo power. If it wasn't for Zhou Wen's Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder converting the taboo power into Essence Energy, Zhou Wen would have wondered if the taboo power mentioned by the black-robed man existed.
The black-robed man stood outside Shinra Temple, but he didn't dare enter. He looked inside and realized that Zhou Wen and company hadn't been injured by the taboo power. He couldn't help but be surprised.
What's going on with these fellows? Could it be that they have a special Life Providence like Unkilling Dugu? The black-robed man looked at Zhou Wen and company in surprise.
It was naturally impossible for Zhou Wen and company to have the God of Unkilling Life Providence. Apart from the antelope, who he had no idea if it had killed before, everyone else had definitely killed something.
Furthermore, an existence like Tsukuyomi was an existence that had triggered a calamity. The number of lives she had killed was probably uncountable. The number of sins she had committed far exceeded that of ordinary creatures.
However, Tsukuyomi was a Calamity-grade big shot. Since she had dared to enter Shinra Temple, she naturally had a way to deal with it. That wasn't something Zhou Wen could understand.
Zhou Wen could roughly guess that Chick wasn't affected by Shinra Temple's taboo power.
It had the bloodline of a phoenix, and the phoenix itself was a nirvana creature. It wasn't tainted by powers like karmic sinflames, so it was reasonable that the taboo powers of Shinra Temple were useless against it.
As for how the antelope did it, Zhou Wen had no idea, but he didn't find it strange.
The only thing that surprised Zhou Wen was that Ya'er wasn't affected. It looked like the taboo power hadn't descended on her at all. It was unknown how she had done it.
Ya'er had killed any humans before, so she shouldn't be unaffected.
Zhou Wen didn't think too much about it as he began sizing up Shinra Temple. He saw a seven-meter-tall stone furnace in the middle of the squarish stone temple which had an ancient design. There were patterns like the sun, moon, and stars engraved on it, but they were simple dots and lines. It looked very crude.
Chains extended out from the stone furnace, trapping a strange creature on the walls.
At that moment, Unkilling Dugu stood in front of the stone furnace and pressed his hand on the creature's body.
The creature had a human body, but it had a bull's head. Furthermore, it was far taller than the average person. It was probably nearly three meters tall.
Zhou Wen took a look and a Mythical figure immediately appeared in his mind. He thought to himself, Don't tell me this is Ox-Head of the Ox Head and Horse Face—guardians of the underworld?
Unkilling Dugu pressed his hands on Ox-Head's chest. It was strange. There was a strange force flowing towards Unkilling Dugu from Ox-Head.
The power suffused a demonic golden light. After it entered Unkilling Dugu's body, it made his body glow golden. Not only was his body changing, but it even began to condense golden armor that gradually enveloped his body.
Is that the power of a Guardian? That's not right. It's not a Guardian. It seems to have the aura of a human... Could it be... Zhou Wen looked at Ox-Head who was tied to the stone furnace and revealed a puzzled look.
To simultaneously have the power of a Guardian and the aura of a human, the only possibility Zhou Wen could think of was Wang Mingyuan and Zhong Ziya's situation.
"The creature tied to the stone furnace is from your Dugu family?" Zhou Wen turned to ask the black-robed man outside the hall.
The man in black shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen him with my own eyes. However, I think it should be him."
Clearly, the black-robed man wasn't too sure either. Perhaps he really wasn't lying.
At this moment, Unkilling Dugu, who was covered in golden armor, spoke. "That's right. He's from our Dugu family. Furthermore, everyone knows his name."
"Don't tell me he's that hero from the Dugu family?" Zhou Wen's heart skipped a beat as he blurted out.
Among the six heroes of the Federation, the only one who was still alive was the old hero of the Dugu family.
However, what was the difference between living and dying if this was the way he lived?
"No, our patriarch is still presiding over the grand ceremony at Boundless Mountain," said the black-robed man.
However, Unkilling Dugu sneered and said, "You are half right. He's our hero, but only half."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Wen asked in puzzlement.
"The so-called six heroes should be seven because our Dugu family has two heroes. Furthermore, they are twins. However, these twins are somewhat special. They basically don't appear in front of outsiders at the same time. Therefore, outsiders only know that my Dugu family's Nameless Dugu is a hero, but they don't know that it's untrue that Nameless doesn't have a name. It's just that they are two different people. They have their own names and no one can replace the other. That's why they used this name," said Unkilling Dugu.
The black-robed man's eyes were filled with shock. Clearly, he hadn't known of such a thing in the past.
"Since he's the hero of the Dugu family, why is he trapped here?" Zhou Wen asked.
"It's because he chose a different path and submitted to the Holy Temple. He obtained the power the Holy Temple gave him and even wanted to take the entire Dugu family with him. That's why he was imprisoned here by the other Nameless Dugu." As Unkilling Dugu spoke, the golden light on the ox-headed man's body weakened.
His extremely strong body began to shrink and quickly, it turned into a dried corpse.
As for the golden light over Unkilling Dugu's body, it intensified. A golden helmet appeared over his face. The helmet enveloped his entire head—in the shape of an ox head.
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Chapter 1170: Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light
"From the looks of it, his strength suits you very well," Zhou Wen said as he sized up Unkilling Dugu.
"You can't really talk about suitability. Apart from that old fart, I'm the only one from the Dugu family who can enter Shinra Temple. He has no other choice." Unkilling Dugu sized up Zhou Wen and company and said, "Thankfully, you aren't from my Dugu family. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to inherit Nameless Dugu's power."
Clearly, Zhou Wen and company weren't affected by Shinra Temple, leaving Unkilling Dugu very surprised.
If a single person wasn't affected, it could be said to be a coincidence. However, it was odd that so many people and pets weren't affected.
However, this didn't matter. Unkilling Dugu had already obtained what he wanted. Even though Zhou Wen and company had entered, there was no way for them to stop him.
Unkilling Dugu looked at Zhou Wen and said, "I still have to thank you for saving my life and helping me obtain true strength. After I become the owner of Myriad Elephant Valley, I will definitely repay you."
"Since that half of Nameless Dugu failed to become the master of the Dugu family and is still trapped here, do you think you can do what he didn't?" Zhou Wen said.
"He can't, but I can," said Unkilling Dugu confidently.
"I'm afraid I can't give you such a chance. I have to resolve the trouble I caused. I can't trouble others," Zhou Wen said.
"You're making things difficult for me. No matter what, I owe you. I don't want to kill you," said Unkilling Dugu with a sigh.
"Your debt to the Dugu family is greater for raising you. You don't seem to have any intention of letting them off. I'm nothing," Zhou Wen said.
"Indeed. Since you've chosen this path, you have no choice but to continue." Unkilling Dugu nodded slightly and looked at Zhou Wen. "It's still not too late for you to back out now."
Zhou Wen didn't say a word as he looked at Tsukuyomi and the antelope. Zhou Wen felt that the reason that the two of them had entered so eagerly wasn't just to destroy Unkilling Dugu.
Seeing Zhou Wen remain silent, Unkilling Dugu continued, "Boundless Mountain is about to corporealize. I don't have time to wait any longer. Since you aren't willing to back off, I can only send you on your way."
As he spoke, the golden light over Unkilling Dugu's body turned into a blinding light. The golden light seemed to be able to pierce into a person's soul, as though it was about to melt it.
The black-robed man's expression changed drastically when he saw the golden light. He loudly warned Zhou Wen, "Retreat quickly... That's the Soul-Washing Divine Light..."
"What's the Soul-Washing Divine Light?" Zhou Wen's body was bathed in the golden divine light, but he didn't sense anything special.
"Outsiders only know that Nameless Dugu is good at movement techniques, but very few people know that his strongest trait isn't his movement technique, but the Soul-Washing Divine Light. Those who are illuminated by the Soul-Washing Divine Light will have their memories wiped. No matter how strong your body is or how strong you are, if you don't have any memories, you'll be like a newborn baby. You will forget everything. It's useless even if you have a powerful body... Quickly retreat... Don't be illuminated by the Soul-Washing Divine Light again... You will completely lose your memories..." the black-robed man said anxiously when he saw that Zhou Wen still had no intention of moving.
Without waiting for Zhou Wen to say anything, Unkilling Dugu spoke. "This isn't the Soul-Washing Divine Light. It should be called the Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light. Nameless Dugu's original powers combined with mine produces an effect that far exceeds the original Soul-Washing Divine Light. Now, not only can this divine light wash away memories, but it can also wipe out one's souls, turning one's body into a soulless, empty shell... However, I'm indebted to you after all... Now, I'll only erase your memories... If you don't leave... the next step won't be as simple as erasing memories."
Zhou Wen felt that he really couldn't recall certain things, but it wasn't his present memory.
Zhou Wen looked at Tsukuyomi again. She was the one who said that any path was fine. It was impossible for her to do nothing and leave the trouble to him, right?
However, Tsukuyomi's eyes didn't look at Unkilling Dugu at all. She kept staring at the stone furnace.
The Ox-Head on the stone furnace had already turned into a dessicated corpse. It looked like it would turn to dust the moment the wind blew. It looked like everything had been passed down to Unkilling Dugu.
Tsukuyomi wasn't looking at the creature, but the stone furnace itself.
The stone furnace was ancient and the patterns on it were very crude. If it wasn't so big and in a mysterious place like Shinra Temple, Zhou Wen probably wouldn't have taken a second look at it.
However, Tsukuyomi seemed to be looking at it very carefully, as though she was observing the patterns inch by inch.
Seeing that Zhou Wen had no intention of retreating, Unkilling Dugu frowned and said, "In that case, don't blame me. Let me use the strongest Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light to send you away."
As Unkilling Dugu spoke, his eyes suffused a golden glow. The golden glow became brighter and brighter before finally turning into a blazing white color.
At the same time, his body gradually fused with the divine light. It was as though only the pair of eyes that resembled blazing lamps hung in the air as they stared intently at Zhou Wen and company.
"He has already reached the Terror grade... He's stronger than my family's old hero back then. Perhaps it's really as he said. That divine light might be able to wipe out souls. Quickly retreat," the black-robed man said in horror.
However, just as the black-robed man finished speaking, he suddenly saw Tsukuyomi beside Zhou Wen move. She walked in the direction of the Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light that illuminated the hall like it was daytime and walked towards Unkilling Dugu.
Unkilling Dugu was slightly taken aback when he saw this. However, he was still very confident in his Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light. He gathered all his strength and stared at Tsukuyomi with his blazing white eyes.
Back then, Nameless Dugu had relied on the Soul-Washing Divine Light to take his place among the six heroes. He had never encountered anyone who could match him. Back then, Nameless Dugu was only at the Mythical stage.
Later on, when he was trapped in the Shinra Temple, his strength improved further over time. He had already advanced to the Terror grade. Now, with the addition of his powers, Unkilling Dugu refused to believe that this once invincible divine light couldn't kill the young woman.
The Terror-grade Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light completely bloomed, turning into two beams of divine light that shone on Tsukuyomi.
The black-robed man outside felt his heart turn cold. He originally wanted to use Zhou Wen's strength to temporarily hold back Unkilling Dugu, but Zhou Wen had been too careless. The few of them had actually braved the attempt to withstand the Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light, but there was no doubt about the destined outcome.
However, in the next second, the black-robed man's pupils suddenly constricted as his mouth gaped open as though he had been petrified.
Unkilling Dugu's Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light shone at Tsukuyomi. With a wave of Tsukuyomi's hand, the Soul-Extinguishing Divine Light immediately vanished. As for Unkilling Dugu, his body was sent flying as he slammed into the stone furnace. His golden armor shattered.
Blood spewed out of Unkilling Dugu's mouth, but his face was filled with disbelief, finding what had happened utterly unbelievable.
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Chapter 1171: Free Benefits
"No way..." In a daze, the black-robed man stared at Unkilling Dugu, who struggled to get up to no avail. He found it unbelievable.
However, Tsukuyomi didn't care about Unkilling Dugu at all. Her gaze was still fixed on the stone furnace. Unkilling Dugu, who was staggering as he stood up, blocked her vision again. Her eyes focused, causing Unkilling Dugu's body to fly away and slam into a stone wall to the side. He smashed his head and died on the spot.
Tsukuyomi ignored Unkilling Dugu's death. Her gaze remained fixed on the stone furnace as she walked towards it step by step.
As Tsukuyomi walked towards the stone furnace, the originally simple and crude stone furnace began to tremble.
The dessicated corpse that was tied to the stone furnace turned to ashes. The chains also shattered. The patterns of the sun, moon, and stars emitted a strange black aura.
Everyone was attracted by the sudden turn of events, but Zhou Wen felt for his mysterious phone.
The mysterious phone vibrated violently as though it was about to jump out. Zhou Wen took it out and secretly took a look. Indeed, the Dead Man Tree was stirring.
Seeing everyone looking in the direction of the stone furnace, Zhou Wen took out his phone and snapped a picture of Unkilling Dugu's corpse. Immediately, his corpse was stored into his phone and devoured by the Dead Man Tree.
A sprout finally grew from the Dead Man Tree that had been barren for a long time.
I never expected to benefit from nothing. Zhou Wen was delighted, but carrying Ya'er, he retreated with Chick.
There was a limit to Unkilling Dugu's strength regardless of how strong he was; however, the stone furnace's anomaly brought about unpredictable consequences. Zhou Wen didn't dare take risks considering how this wasn't in-game.
However, before Zhou Wen could leave the Shinra Temple, he heard a bang as the door closed.
Zhou Wen wanted to teleport out, but he found himself slamming into some spatial barrier and bounced back.
"Tsukuyomi, what's happening?" Zhou Wen had no choice but to turn to ask Tsukuyomi. She seemed to know what the stone furnace was.
Tsukuyomi stared at the stone furnace and said, "There's a powerful creature that doesn't belong to Earth in that stone furnace."
A powerful creature that doesn't belong to Earth? Could it be a creature from the dimension? Zhou Wen's expression turned solemn. To be called powerful by Tsukuyomi probably meant that it was not much weaker than her.
Boom!
Ghost aura spewed out from the stone furnace like a volcanic eruption. Accompanying it was a figure who rose from the stone furnace.
It was an extremely ugly man. He wore black armor and emitted terrifying energy. Even with Zhou Wen's present strength, he felt his heart palpitate when he sensed the man's strength. He had goosebumps all over his arms.
It wasn't fear, but a natural reaction to overwhelming power.
However, from the aura from his body, he was indeed somewhat different from the dimensional creatures born on Earth. His aura was somewhat similar to Ice Maiden's. It was very likely that he came from the dimension.
However, according to what Zhou Wen knew, dimensional creatures that descended on Earth would be suppressed by Earth's rules. It was impossible for them to maintain their Calamity-grade strength. Otherwise, dimensional creatures would have long invaded Earth.
"You actually dare disturb a king's slumber. Do you have any idea of the consequences?" The terrifying creature floated above the stone furnace like a god that looked down on all living beings as it enunciated each word clearly.
Tsukuyomi narrowed her eyes and looked at the dimensional creature. "This isn't the dimension. It's not a place you can call yourself king."
The eyes of the dimensional creature moved slightly as he sized up Tsukuyomi. He said coldly, "You have suffered a lot by staying on Earth, haven't you?"
"At least I don't have to hide like a turtle," Tsukuyomi said with a smile.
These words immediately infuriated the dimensional creature. Ghost aura erupted from his body like a tsunami.
Tsukuyomi emitted a faint moonlight that shielded Zhou Wen and company behind her. The moonlight constantly clashed with the ghostly aura before silently annihilating it.
Zhou Wen wasn't affected by the conflict behind Tsukuyomi, but he could still sense the horror of the clash between the moonlight and the ghostly aura.
He released Ice Maiden from the Chaos Bead and secretly asked her, "Ice Maiden, do you know who that is?"
Ice Maiden had been trapped in the Chaos Bead for ages. Although there was food and water inside that prevented her from starving to death, it was miserably boring. Just as she was about to berate Zhou Wen, she was alarmed by the dimensional creature she noticed from the corner of her eye. She didn't have the time to blame Zhou Wen as she whispered, "How is he still alive?"
"Who is he?" Zhou Wen hurriedly asked when he saw that Ice Maiden recognized the dimensional creature.
"Asura, the monarch of the Asura Clan, one of the Octokind," Ice Maiden said with a heavy expression. "What is this place? Why is he here?"
"Asura Clan's monarch? I remember you saying that among the Octokind, the monarchs of the Celestials and Dragons are the strongest. The others are weaker, right?" Zhou Wen felt a lot more at ease when he heard that.
Although Asura was strong, he was probably weaker than Di Tian, so he shouldn't be too difficult to deal with.
Ice Maiden read Zhou Wen's mind and curled her lips. "The Di Tian you defeated was only a Body Cleansing Stone avatar. It's hard to say how much strength he had. Furthermore, this Asura isn't the Asura of the present Asura Clan. He's the previous Asura. In ancient times, he once defeated Di Tian with martial strength. He also has another name—Not Heaven. Like Heaven, but Not Heaven."
Ice Maiden paused for a moment before saying, "However, in ancient times, his true body descended to Earth and participated in the terrifying divine battle. Legend has it that he had long died in battle. Why is he here? What kind of place is this?"
Zhou Wen felt that something was amiss when he heard that. He hurriedly explained the situation to Ice Maiden.
After Ice Maiden heard what had happened, her expression changed. After a while, she said, "Something's wrong. There's something wrong with this Not Heaven. Dimensional creatures will be suppressed by the rules on Earth. Unless they use the bodies of humans, they won't be able to unleash Calamity grade powers. However, he isn't attached to a human, but he can still release the power of a Calamity-grade. That leaves only one possibility."
"What possibility?" Zhou Wen hurriedly asked.
"He has given up on the dimension and betrayed it," Ice Maiden said.
"What do you mean?" Zhou Wen was puzzled.
"It's difficult to explain. All you need to understand now is that Not Heaven is already a traitor of the dimension. He definitely wouldn't dare let the terrifying existences of the dimension discover him. Therefore, for us who know that he's here..." Ice Maiden didn't continue, but her meaning was very clear.
Not Heaven was bound to silence them; he definitely wouldn't let them walk out alive.
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Chapter 1172: Demon God Transformation
Translator: CKtalon
Crack!
As the two of them spoke, Tsukuyomi took a step back and cracked the stone bricks on the ground.
The moonlight on her body dimmed significantly, but the ghostly aura on Not Heaven's body intensified. It occupied most of Shinra Temple and continued to suppress the moonlight.
The moonlight on Tsukuyomi's body was slowly shrinking under the suppression of the ghostly aura, causing Tsukuyomi's body to involuntarily retreat.
Is Tsukuyomi not his match either? Zhou Wen's expression changed slightly. He knew that what Ice Maiden had said was true. Not Heaven's strength was indeed terrifying.
Zhou Wen looked at the antelope. It always acted mysteriously and had unfathomable strength. It was very likely a Calamity-grade existence. If it provided its help, the two Calamities might have a chance of defeating Not Heaven.
However, Zhou Wen nearly exploded from anger. That fellow was standing even further back than he was. He even wanted to use his horns to slam open the door. If not for Shinra Temple's power imprisoning them here, it would have long fled.
Zhou Wen realized that the antelope wasn't reliable. It had charged faster than anyone when it sensed benefits ahead. Now that it had discovered danger, it also ran away faster than anyone else.
Seeing Tsukuyomi being increasingly suppressed to the point of slowly retreating, Zhou Wen knew that he had to do something.
He was only willing to use the Immortal Culling Sword as a last resort. The price of using it was too high, and it was very easy for him to be discovered by the dimension.
Asura had defected from the dimension while Zhou Wen's identity as Human Sovereign was a secret.
Apart from the Immortal Culling Sword, what other powers are useful? Zhou Wen thought to himself.
He had the power of a Terror-grade but the effects of Terror-grade powers were very limited in front of a Calamity-grade.
Although it wasn't the case that only a Calamity-grade could defeat a Calamity-grade, in front of the overwhelming strength of a Calamity-grade, a Terror-grade had no chance of approaching the other party.
Unless he could break through the Calamity domain and reach Not Heaven, Zhou Wen's strength was useless against him.
Zhou Wen took in the present situation. Even Tsukuyomi's Moonlight Domain couldn't break through Not Heaven's Calamity Zone, so it was even more impossible for him to rush over with his strength alone.
Since it's impossible to rush over, is there a way to help Tsukuyomi? Zhou Wen thought to himself.
Although Tsukuyomi's power isn't purely spatial, it definitely contains spatial powers. Can I transfer my power to her? It should be of some use, right? What if she's just lacking a little? Zhou Wen was considering how he could transfer his power to Tsukuyomi.
To transfer one's strength to others was a special technique—it wasn't something that could be done just because one wanted to.
Just the transmission of Essence Energy met with many restrictions. If one wasn't careful, not only would the transmission of Essence Energy fail to help the other party, it might even injure them.
Furthermore, Zhou Wen wanted to transmit spatial powers, making it even more problematic. Zhou Wen had never practiced such techniques in the past. After some thought, he couldn't come up with a good solution.
The nine Demon Blood True Dragons can freely transmit their powers amongst themselves because their powers are one. As for Tsukuyomi's power, it isn't purely spatial. There might be some time or other attributes. If I rashly transmit the power of Clown Mask or Singularity Universe, I'm afraid it won't be of any help. Instead, it will bring her harm. After some thought, Zhou Wen realized that this idea just wouldn't work. He had to find another way.
Zhou Wen's mind raced as he thought about how he could help Tsukuyomi.
Wait... What kind of creature is Tsukuyomi? I wonder if the replication ability of the Demon God Body is effective on her? Zhou Wen had a crazy idea.
The Demon God Body could scan dimensional creatures and turn himself into a dimensional creature. However, typically speaking, it could only turn into a dimensional creature of a lower level or something not much higher.
The difficulty of transforming into a demon was the lowest. It was worse for other races, so transforming into a dimensional creature was more troublesome.
In theory, Tsukuyomi was also a dimensional creature born on Earth. He should be able to scan and replicate her. However, her level was too high. Furthermore, she was most likely not a demon.
It's not realistic to completely transform into Tsukuyomi, but I can still give it a try. If I can achieve a certain level of assimilation and change my attributes to be like hers, I might be able to transfer my powers to her. Zhou Wen planned on giving it a try.
After being trapped in Fangzhang Mountain for a hundred years, Zhou Wen had done more research on the Demon God Bloodline Catalog. This was because he had a nagging feeling that the restrictions of the Demon God Transformation were too great. If he could lift the restrictions, he might be able to transform into any form at will, like the 72 Transformations in myths.
Zhou Wen had many ideas regarding the Demon God Transformation, but due to his circumstances, they were limited to ideas. He didn't know which ideas could be realized.
He would just have to give it a try and see how many of those ideas could be realized.
Zhou Wen stood not far behind Tsukuyomi. Now that Tsukuyomi was resisting Not Heaven with all her might, she naturally didn't have the strength to care about anything else.
Zhou Wen engraved the Demon God Bloodline Catalog on his Wheel of Destiny. At the same time, his body changed. His eyes became abnormally demonic as though they were glowing.
Zhou Wen stared at Tsukuyomi's figure which reflected onto his eyes.
Soon, Zhou Wen realized that things weren't as simple as he had imagined. Tsukuyomi's level was too high, and her vital state was too different from his. The Demon God Body failed to obtain any detailed information while scanning Tsukuyomi's body. All it gathered was some superficial information.
The information could only change Zhou Wen's appearance, making him look like Tsukuyomi, but it was useless. It was just a change in appearance that wasn't much different from an illusion. It had no practical use.
Zhou Wen made a few attempts, but none of them worked. The difference in life's natural order was too great, so it was impossible for him to scan and replicate it.
Just as Zhou Wen was feeling disappointed, he suddenly realized that the Demon God Eyes had passed through Tsukuyomi's body and obtained her data. Furthermore, it was extremely detailed.
Zhou Wen immediately understood that Tsukuyomi knew what she was doing and had taken the initiative to open up her body to him. Otherwise, even if she wasn't guarding against him, it would have been difficult for him to obtain her stats.
Zhou Wen was overjoyed as he circulated the Demon God Bloodline Catalog with all his might. His body gradually changed.
No... It still won't work... Although I have Tsukuyomi's data, it's still too much of a burden for me to replicate such data. Unless the Demon God Bloodline Catalog can improve further... Zhou Wen gritted his teeth and made repeated derivations. He also constantly changed the engravings of the Demon God Bloodline Catalog.
As the engravings deepened, the Demon God Chart that Zhou Wen engraved became even more demonic.
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Chapter 1173: You're Right
The Demon God Chart on the Wheel of Destiny increasingly resembled Zhou Wen, but Zhou Wen's body was becoming more and more like Tsukuyomi. This wasn't just a change in appearance, even his Essence Energy attribute was beginning to change towards Tsukuyomi's.
However, because Tsukuyomi's order in life was too high, Zhou Wen wasn't able to completely replicate it. He focused on replicating Tsukuyomi's Essence Energy attribute, so his body wasn't completely the same as Tsukuyomi's.
However, when the symbol on the Wheel of Destiny completely transformed into Zhou Wen's appearance, the Demon God Body instantly broke through some restrictions and transformed into a state identical to Tsukuyomi's. The two of them were like twins. Even Monkey Sun with his fiery eyes and golden pupils probably couldn't tell the difference.
Zhou Wen extended his palm and pressed it on Tsukuyomi's back, injecting his Essence Energy into her body.
Now, his Essence Energy attribute was identical to Tsukuyomi's. He directly injected it into her body like water entering the ocean. It directly fused with hers without causing any discomfort.
If Zhou Wen was only an ordinary Terror-grade, his Essence Energy would be useless at helping a Calamity-grade.
However, Zhou Wen had Slaughterer's massive amounts of Essence Energy and the Heaven-Opening Scripture's ultra-fast recovery of Essence Energy. The combination of the Essence Energy output and the fact that his body had turned into Tsukuyomi's Calamity body had quite an effect on the Calamity-grade Tsukuyomi.
Zhou Wen was far inferior to a Calamity-grade in every other aspect, but in terms of Essence Energy, he was able to be of some use.
Tsukuyomi's Moonlight Domain brightened significantly. Although she didn't turn the tides, she stabilized the situation. Not Heaven's ghostly aura didn't continue its domination.
"Interesting..." Not only was Not Heaven not angry, but he also sized up Zhou Wen with interest.
With Zhou Wen's support, Tsukuyomi only stabilized the situation. Furthermore, Not Heaven's Calamity Domain was constantly growing stronger.
"He seems to be able to use the power of this palace. There's no chance of defeating him here. Think of a way to rush out." Ice Maiden saw the problem and told Zhou Wen and Tsukuyomi.
Zhou Wen naturally noticed as well, but if he could escape, he would have long done so. Why would he wait until now?
Even Tsukuyomi couldn't rush out of a god-forsaken place like the Shinra Temple, let alone him.
As time passed, the ghostly aura once again suppressed the Moonlight Domain. As for Zhou Wen, he had to keep up his transformation and inject Essence Energy into Tsukuyomi. He was already at his limits.
"What's your name?" Not Heaven suddenly looked at Tsukuyomi and asked.
"Tsukuyomi." Tsukuyomi asked, "And who are you?"
"Not Heaven." Not Heaven reported his name and continued, "I've been asleep for too long. I never expected to encounter such a powerful creature the moment I woke up. How many existences like you are on Earth?"
"Why should I answer you?" Tsukuyomi said indifferently.
Not Heaven didn't get angry and continued, "Based on your strength, there should be quite a number of Calamity-grade creatures on Earth. If I leave the Shinra Temple, with you guys as cover, I might not be discovered. Therefore, there's no need for us to fight to the death."
"And then?" Tsukuyomi knew that it wasn't that Not Heaven wanted a truce. Otherwise, he could have stopped at any time, considering how he had already gained the absolute advantage.
"I want this human. You can take the rest away. Shall we end this?" Not Heaven pointed at Zhou Wen.
"No," Tsukuyomi said directly.
"I know what you want from him. Don't worry, I have a solution. Since he doesn't agree, we can also let the token do its job and let you complete the contract. You can stay on Earth without any restrictions," Not Heaven said again.
Zhou Wen's heart skipped a beat. He knew that the reason Tsukuyomi hadn't attacked him was because of the Heavenly Happiness Token. If Not Heaven could do what he claimed, would Tsukuyomi have any qualms about protecting him?
"That thing can't be contracted by force," Tsukuyomi said.
"Of course it can't be resolved by force. However, back when I was in the dimension, I once heard from an Apocalyptic existence that there's a way to reach a contract without the permission of the owner," Not Heaven said. "When the time comes, I'll get the person and you can take the token. We'll get what we need, so why fight with our lives?"
"What method?" Tsukuyomi asked.
Zhou Wen felt that things were going south. With Tsukuyomi around, he still had a chance of turning the tables. If Tsukuyomi allied with Not Heaven, he would probably die today.
Even if he could pull out the Immortal Culling Sword again, the single sword wouldn't be able to kill two Calamity-grade creatures.
"The method is a little complicated, but as long as you agree to withdraw, I can help you complete the contract and let you obtain that token," Not Heaven said.
This condition was extremely tempting. If Zhou Wen was Tsukuyomi, he really couldn't think of a reason to reject it.
Zhou Wen retracted his palm and left his transformed state, allowing his Essence Energy to recover. At the same time, he secretly held the Immortal Culling Sword. He was already prepared to give his all.
"What if I don't agree?" Tsukuyomi's words left Zhou Wen slightly taken aback.
Not Heaven said indifferently, "I doubt you will make such a choice. You have stayed on Earth for too long and your body has been severely damaged. There's no chance of you defeating me."
"That might not be the case," Tsukuyomi said calmly.
"If you forcefully break through the restrictions, you can definitely unleash all your combat strength. It's hard to say if you can defeat me, but if that's the case, you will definitely be forced to leave Earth in an extremely short period of time. When that happens, it's useless even if you have a token. This isn't what you want. You helped him because you wanted to borrow the power of that token to stay on Earth. Since this is impossible, is there any point in helping him?" Not Heaven smiled and said, "If you cooperate with me, you can stay on Earth without being restrained by him. There are only benefits, so why not? Could it be that you are really willing to leave Earth like this? I think you should know that doing so is almost a path of certain death. If you are willing to take that path, you won't have to suffer by staying by a human's side all the time, isn't that so?"
"You're right." Tsukuyomi nodded slightly and turned to look at Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen's heart tightened as he gripped the Immortal Culling Sword he had taken out. At this point, he could fight it out.
"In that case, give him to me. I'll help you complete the contract. We'll take what we each need." Not Heaven seemed to be confident of victory as he wanted to grab Zhou Wen.
Boom!
However, a terrifying force pushed Not Heaven back. Tsukuyomi's body glowed brightly as moonlight swirled around her. It constantly distorted space, making her look beautiful and demonic.
"You're right, but I don't like it," Tsukuyomi said coldly.
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Chapter 1174: It's Meaningless
"Do you know what it means to completely release the power of the Calamity domain here?" Not Heaven looked at Tsukuyomi in puzzlement. He really didn't understand why Tsukuyomi was doing this. It didn't benefit her at all.
Zhou Wen also looked at Tsukuyomi in puzzlement. He never expected her to choose to stand on his side under such circumstances.
"I know the consequences better than you." As Tsukuyomi spoke, the moonlight on her body became even brighter. The moonlight formed halos that sliced the space around her into many distorted domains.
In the domains, terrifying ghosts appeared. There was Yuki Onna, Hashihime, Daitengu, and Umibōzu, who Zhou Wen was familiar with. There were also many ghosts that Zhou Wen had never seen before.
Instantly, the entire Shinra Temple was filled with ghosts. It was as if it had become a Moonlit Ghost Domain.
However, Zhou Wen could tell that the ghosts weren't the real Yuki Onna or Daitengu. They were just illusions.
However, the illusions looked extremely real. The ghosts surrounded Tsukuyomi like they were escorting royalty as they majestically marched towards Not Heaven's Calamity Domain.
The Calamity Domain that could suppress the Moonlight Domain was now suppressed by the moonlight. As the Ghost Parade entourage advanced, the ghostly aura domain shrank even more.
The moment the illusory Night Parade of One Hundred Demons touched Not Heaven's domain, it immediately devoured the ghostly aura in his domain.
"Are you crazy? With such explosive strength, you will soon be expelled from Earth... Asura Battlefield..." Not Heaven didn't have the time to finish his sentence. Tsukuyomi's Ghost Parade was too ferocious. He had no choice but to deal with it with all his might.
Not Heaven's surroundings turned into an Asura Battlefield domain. There seemed to be countless terrifying Asura Battle Souls roaring and fighting inside.
While the two domains clashed, the power that erupted was unimaginably terrifying. As for the Asura Battlefield domain, it was being devoured by the Ghost Parade domain, becoming smaller and smaller.
Not Heaven's expression was extremely nasty. He used all his strength to withstand Tsukuyomi's domain, but the ghostly aura on his body weakened as he constantly retreated.
"Tsukuyomi, are you really not afraid of being expelled from Earth?" Not Heaven shouted as he tried his best to resist Tsukuyomi.
There was only a tiny area left of the Asura Battlefield domain around him, and it was just moments before it was completely devoured. Not Heaven used all his strength to barely hold on, slowing down the speed at which the domain was devoured.
The moonlight on Tsukuyomi's body became weaker and weaker. She was about to turn into light. She was like a goddess on the moon. Her clothes fluttered with moonlight.
Something's amiss! Zhou Wen looked at the extremely powerful Tsukuyomi and felt an abnormal power fluctuation.
A strange force gradually appeared on Tsukuyomi's body. It seemed to be pulling her body, pulling her into the endless void.
"Tsukuyomi, how do you use this token?" Zhou Wen took out the Heavenly Happiness Token and shouted at Tsukuyomi.
Zhou Wen had roughly guessed that the power that wanted to pull Tsukuyomi into the infinite void was the repulsive force that Not Heaven had mentioned.
Although Zhou Wen didn't know why a powerful existence like Tsukuyomi would die if she left Earth, he didn't wish for her to leave Earth.
The Heavenly Happiness Token was useless to Zhou Wen. If he could save Tsukuyomi and make her stay, he wouldn't mind using it now.
"There's no need." Tsukuyomi didn't turn around or take the Heavenly Happiness Token. She only said indifferently, "What will come will come. It's meaningless to take something that doesn't belong to me."
"You're mad." The Asura Domain around Not Heaven's body was about to collapse. He tried his best to resist Tsukuyomi, but the Asura Battlefield domain kept shrinking.
However, Not Heaven's eyes remained firm as steel as he stared at Tsukuyomi and said, "You have no chance. Before you defeat me, you will be expelled from Earth..."
Not Heaven wasn't being an alarmist. Tsukuyomi's entire body was about to turn into moonlight, and the force that was pulling her had already reached her head. It wasn't affected by her domain at all. Like a black hole that devoured everything, it wanted to devour Tsukuyomi.
"Tsukuyomi, this token is meaningless to me. If you need it, I can cooperate with you to complete the contract," Zhou Wen said again.
Tsukuyomi suddenly turned her head and smiled brightly at Zhou Wen. "If it's meaningless to you, it's meaningless to me as well. When it's meaningful, you can use it to find me."
Zhou Wen looked at Tsukuyomi, unsure what she meant.
In the next second, Tsukuyomi turned her head and infinite moonlight erupted from her body. Her entire body completely turned into light as the pure moonlight instantly shattered everything.
Moon—a pure moon. Under the moonlight, everything was purified.
The illusory Hundred Ghosts vanished in the moonlight. The Asura Battlefield also turned to ashes. Not Heaven let out a tragic cry as his body dissipated in the moonlight as though he had melted into it.
Boom!
The stone furnace in Shinra Temple was shattered by the moonlight and turned to dust.
Moonlight filled everyone's vision, but in the next second, the moon was devoured by the void and instantly vanished.
The moonlight dissipated and Shinra Temple returned to normal. However, there was no sign of Tsukuyomi or Not Heaven. Everything seemed so unreal.
"Tsukuyomi!" Zhou Wen held the Heavenly Happiness Token in his hand as he looked at the spot where Tsukuyomi had vanished with a complicated expression. His face was filled with puzzlement, perplexity, shame, and indignation.
He was ashamed for doubting Tsukuyomi, and he didn't understand why she had made such a choice. He had already agreed to cooperate with her to use the Heavenly Happiness Token, so why had she given up?
Zhou Wen still didn't fully understand Tsukuyomi's final words.
If an Essence Energy Art or Essence Energy Skill were placed in front of Zhou Wen, no matter how difficult it was, he could find a pattern to resolve it. However, there were some things that had no pattern. This was something Zhou Wen wasn't good at.
While Zhou Wen was still in a daze, he suddenly saw a stone furnace fragment on the ground. Ghost aura rose out of it as the Ghost aura gradually condensed into Not Heaven's body, allowing him to reappear.
He's not dead? Zhou Wen's expression changed drastically as he gripped the Immortal Culling Sword tightly.
Not Heaven's body walked out of the demonic aura again as he looked coldly at Zhou Wen and said, "Unfortunately, she failed to kill me. No one can save you now. If you are obedient, you can suffer less. Otherwise..."
Clang! Clang!
Before Not Heaven could finish his sentence, two hooves suddenly descended from the sky and struck his head, smashing him to the ground.
Not Heaven sprawled on the ground and was dumbfounded when he saw an antelope descend from the sky and shatter the stone furnace that emitted a demonic aura.
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Chapter 1175: Orphan
Clang! Clang!
Before Not Heaven could react, the antelope stomped down again. Not Heaven's head exploded as blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.
Zhou Wen was dumbfounded as he stared blankly at the antelope. He felt as though curses were running through his mind.
Not Heaven didn't revive this time. He could not be any more dead. With his death, the power that sealed Shinra Temple vanished and it returned to its original state.
"F*ck, if you could kill him, why didn't you... stomp down earlier..." Zhou Wen couldn't help but question the antelope.
The antelope glanced at him and said disdainfully, "Do you think he's that easy to kill? If Tsukuyomi hadn't severely injured him, I'm afraid all of you would have died here. It's only because he had been suppressed for so long that his strength was far from its peak."
"It wouldn't have been difficult to defeat him if you had joined forces with Tsukuyomi, right? Why did hold out, forcing Tsukuyomi to leave Earth?" Zhou Wen frowned.
"Isn't it the same? There's no difference. Anyway, Tsukuyomi had to leave. It's something that was bound to happen sooner or later. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not retaining her." The antelope curled its lips and walked out of the Shinra Temple.
Zhou Wen glanced at Not Heaven's corpse on the ground. It looked very similar to a human's corpse.
When Tsukuyomi was around, Zhou Wen had thought of all sorts of methods, hoping to escape her and let her leave Earth early. But now that she was gone, Zhou Wen felt a little odd.
When he walked out of Shinra Temple, he realized that there were already many people outside. They were likely members of the Dugu family. The leader was a person with white hair, but his face made it appear as though he was thirty. He was likely the hero of the Dugu family, Nameless Dugu.
Of course, this was only one of the two Nameless Dugu. Zhou Wen didn't know if he was the elder or younger brother.
Zhou Wen's guess was right. It was Nameless Dugu. He walked into Shinra Temple alone and took Zhou Wen to a secret chamber in the Dugu family.
"Brother Zhou, I believe you have already learned about my brother," said Nameless Dugu with a sigh.
"Yes, a little, but I'm not too sure of the details. Furthermore, I'm not interested in these things, so I won't shoot my mouth. All I want to know now is where Worm Dugu is." Zhou Wen made his stance clear.
Nameless Dugu continued, "Qianqiu and I were twins. It was an era of foolishness. In our village, twins were an ominous symbol, just like Gu. In a Gu container, only one poisonous bug can survive to the end and turn into a Gu. As long as a second one is alive, they will continue fighting. Therefore, when we were born, the elders in the family wanted to drown one of the babies."
"Perhaps he wasn't destined to die. The drowning baby was accidentally saved by someone and luckily survived." Nameless Dugu told a very long story.
Zhou Wen originally didn't care about the Dugu family's matters, but as he listened, he couldn't help but be attracted by the story.
He wasn't interested in the love and hate between the two brothers, but later, Nameless Dugu mentioned their entry into the Holy Land.
The two brothers had entered the Trajectory Holy Temple. Zhou Wen had also entered the temple and experienced many strange things there.
The Ah Lai that Li Xuan had taken in had come out of the Trajectory Holy Temple. However, there was no such person among the people who had entered the Holy Land.
The Dugu brothers' encounter in the Trajectory Holy Temple was equally bizarre. However, after they entered the Trajectory Holy Temple, they didn't see each other despite being inside.
Nameless Dugu only knew what he had experienced in the Trajectory Holy Temple. He had only heard what his younger brother had experienced later. However, he was unable to determine the truth.
However, ever since they had left the Trajectory Holy Temple, his younger brother no longer showed his true face to others. Furthermore, he had convinced Nameless Dugu to share the same identity—Nameless Dugu, one of the six heroes of the Federation.
Nameless Dugu was good at movement techniques, but not only was his younger brother good at movement techniques, he also had the ability to use the Soul-Washing Divine Light. He had even broken through to the Mythical stage.
Nameless Dugu originally imagined that his brother was talented, but he later learned that it was because his brother had signed some agreement in the Trajectory Holy Temple and obtained the help of the Holy Temple that he absorbed a Guardian to advance to the Mythical stage.
"After leaving the Trajectory Holy Temple, my brother's actions became weirder and weirder. Furthermore, many of the things he did were incomprehensible to me. I secretly paid attention to him. Later, I realized that he secretly nurtured many orphans." When Nameless Dugu said that, he wore a strange expression.
"What's so special about those orphans?" Zhou Wen asked curiously.
"In the beginning, there wasn't anything special. I thought that he only wanted to nurture a faction that belonged to him, so I didn't take it to heart. However, as those orphans grew up, I gradually discovered something extremely terrifying." Nameless Dugu's expression was extremely complicated. It was indescribable.
"What happened to those orphans?" Zhou Wen hurriedly asked. He was also very curious.
"Nothing happened to the orphans. They were very normal. The abnormality was with the Federation," said Nameless Dugu.
Zhou Wen was infuriated when he heard that. He thought to himself, Can't you finish what happened in one go?
Nameless Dugu continued with a strange expression, "In the beginning, I didn't pay too much attention to it. Later, the Federation developed very smoothly. Stabilizing our families and expelling those devils were many things that we needed to do. However, I'd never seen my brother use the orphans he raised. I found it odd. After spending so much time and effort to nurture so many orphans, it's definitely impossible for him to just keep them without doing anything. However, twenty to thirty years have passed. I've never seen those orphans appear. Don't you think it's strange?"
"Could it be that he has secretly sent them away without your knowledge?" Zhou Wen asked.
"That's what I thought too, so I went to take a look again. The orphans were still there, and not only had their numbers not dropped, but there were even more. Some of them had already grown up, while some were still children. The oldest were in their thirties or forties, and the youngest were only a few months old. When I saw the faces of the older ones, I was stunned." Nameless Dugu seemed to sink into his memories as he revealed a look of lingering fear.
Zhou Wen wished he could tear open the top of Nameless Dugu's head to see what was on his mind.
Without making Zhou Wen wait too long, Nameless Dugu continued, "Those few people's faces were very similar to many of the famous people in the Federation back then. I wouldn't just call it similar, but identical. Those people were top figures in the various fields of the Federation. Some were experts in certain areas, while others were Senators of the Senate..."
Zhou Wen felt his blood run cold when he heard that, but it also rang a bell.
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Chapter 1176: The Invisible Hand
"Those people just changed their looks, right?" Zhou Wen asked with an odd expression.
Nameless Dugu shook his head and said, "I thought so too at the beginning, but I quickly realized that it wasn't the case. Those orphans had those faces from the very beginning. They did not undergo any plastic surgery. They naturally had those looks."
"That's impossible..." Zhou Wen felt a chill run down his spine.
If it was plastic surgery, it would be understandable. It was simply producing certain people via operating.
However, if they hadn't undergone plastic surgery, how could Dugu Qianqiu be sure that they would look identical to a certain important figure when they grew up?
"I thought it impossible as well, but ever since then, I've been secretly paying attention to those orphans. I realized that as long as the orphan existed, I would be able to find a corresponding person of status outside. Even if they weren't to be found, they were bound to appear in the future. Among them, there were a few orphans who didn't have a corresponding person of status when they were young. However, when they grew up, there were people who looked like them who rose to prominence..."
Zhou Wen became increasingly horrified. He tried his best to think of a reasonable possibility. "Could it be that your brother raised twins separately and supported one of them to become a person of status while raising the other in the orphanage?"
"Among those famous people, there were many of them who were members of the six families. Do you think it's possible to obtain so many twins?" Nameless Dugu asked.
Zhou Wen thought for a moment and found it a little unrealistic. How could he get so many twins? Furthermore, all of them became famous eventually. Even an elite academy couldn't guarantee that everyone that passed through their gates would become elites, much less raise so many twins. It was too difficult to guarantee that all of them would become top figures in different fields.
However, other than that, Zhou Wen really couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation. To raise orphans from a young age and have famous people who resembled these orphans after they reached adulthood, there were only two possibilities. If they weren't twins, could it be that Dugu Qianqiu had the ability to predict the future?
Were the experts from the former principal's expedition team replaced by these orphans? The more Zhou Wen thought about it, the more he found it strange. He asked, "Among those orphans, was there an expert named Chu He..."
Zhou Wen recounted the situation regarding the experts in the expedition team, hoping to know if the expedition team had been replaced by the orphans.
"Probably," said Nameless Dugu after some thought.
"What do you mean probably?" Zhou Wen was puzzled.
Nameless Dugu sighed and said, "After I discovered this secret, I thought of a way to secretly restrain Qianqiu and imprison him. I wanted to know the details from him, but he refused to say a word. After I imprisoned him, I went to the orphanage, hoping to bring back the orphans, but I realized that the orphanage had been burned to ashes. The orphans were also gone. They were nowhere to be seen. No corpses were found, and I never saw them again."
"Your brother had been imprisoned in Shinra Temple ever since?" Zhou Wen asked after some thought.
"Yes, I didn't know what crazy things he was plotting, so I didn't release him," said Nameless Dugu.
"When was that?" Zhou Wen asked again.
"Forty years ago." Nameless Dugu gave a rough number.
Zhou Wen did some calculations. Among the experts, there were young professors in their twenties to their seventies. It was difficult to infer anything from the time.
"You never saw those orphans again?" Zhou Wen had too many questions on his mind.
"No. Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to recognize them," Nameless Dugu gave an odd answer.
Zhou Wen understood what he meant. If the orphans appeared as impersonations, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
"Your brother didn't say a word despite being imprisoned for so many years?" Zhou Wen wanted to get to the bottom of things.
"No, he didn't say anything. No matter how I tried to get it out of him, he kept mum. However, according to my observations, this matter has something to do with the Trajectory Holy Temple," said Nameless Dugu.
Zhou Wen felt that it made sense. All the anomalies had begun after Dugu Qianqiu returned from the Trajectory Holy Temple. There was no way Zhou Wen would believe that this matter had nothing to do with the Trajectory Holy Temple.
Nameless Dugu continued, "Later on, I also sent quite a number of disciples from the Dugu family into the Trajectory Holy Temple, but they didn't gain anything. Or perhaps they obtained something without my knowledge."
Zhou Wen knew what Nameless Dugu was worried about. He also didn't know if the Dugu family had such an orphan or if someone had long been replaced.
Zhou Wen found it terrifying just thinking about it. A person who had a very good relationship with his family and friends was suddenly swapped without anyone knowing. It was a terrifying idea.
Furthermore, the people who were replaced by the orphans were basically experts and top talents in various fields.
Just the thought of it sent a chill down Zhou Wen's spine.
Nameless Dugu mentioned a few more matters, some pertaining to Unkilling Dugu. He was a genius, a rare genius of the Dugu family. Unfortunately, his Life Providence was the God of Unkilling, so he could only remain ordinary.
However, geniuses were unwilling to be ordinary. That was why Unkilling Dugu had tried his best to resolve the problem of his Life Providence. For some reason, Unkilling Dugu learned of Dugu Qianqiu and even communicated with him. He took advantage of the Dugu family's grand ceremony to rush into the Shinra Temple to inherit Dugu Qianqiu's power.
Zhou Wen gained a rough understanding of all that had happened, but he became even more puzzled.
According to what Nameless Dugu had said, those orphans were nurtured by Dugu Qianqiu. However, Dugu Qianqiu had been imprisoned here for so many years. Who was controlling those babies behind the scenes?
Trajectory Holy Temple, Dugu Qianqiu, orphans, expedition team... What's the connection? Zhou Wen felt as though an invisible hand was secretly controlling everything.
The Dugu family used special means to quickly contact Worm Dugu. Thankfully, Li Xuan was with him.
Upon hearing that Zhou Wen was looking for him, Li Xuan said that he would rush back immediately and requested Zhou Wen to wait for him for two days.
However, Zhou Wen couldn't afford to wait. After asking where Li Xuan and company were, he used spatial teleportation to rush over.
Thankfully, it wasn't too far away. Even without Tsukuyomi, Zhou Wen could still teleport over with Ya'er and company. However, he needed them to enter the Chaos Bead first.
After meeting Li Xuan at the designated location, he realized that Li Xuan hadn't changed much. He still appeared frivolous, but he physically looked more mature.
"Old Zhou, it's been five years, but you still aren't as handsome as me." Li Xuan walked over and hugged Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen felt that Li Xuan's aura was very strange. It was different from the creatures he had seen in the past, but it wasn't purely human. However, he was certain that Li Xuan was very strong.
"I need your help," Zhou Wen said to Li Xuan.
"Let's go," Li Xuan said with a smile.
"It's very dangerous. It might cost you your life. Give it some thought," Zhou Wen said.
"Since you came to me, it means that I'm the only one who can do this, isn't that so?" Li Xuan said with a smile.
"I still have a backup plan," Zhou Wen said.
"Enough of that. It's not like I don't understand you. Let's go," Li Xuan said with a smile.
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Chapter 1177: Returning to Netherworld City
A strange ancient city stood in the sandstorm. Outside the ancient city's entrance was a group of soldiers. One of them was a cold-looking officer who was sizing up the ancient city with a heavy expression.
"Overseer, Charlie Team has already exited the city, but nothing was discovered." A soldier's report made the officer's expression turn colder.
After An Tianzuo arrived at Netherworld City, he had immediately sent four teams to explore it in batches. According to the experience and data he had obtained, three teams had successfully cleared Netherworld City, but they hadn't brought good news.
Although there were many of the living dead in Netherworld City—people who didn't even know that they were dead and were being tortured day after day—Ouyang Lan and the accompanying soldiers hadn't been found.
"Overseer, it looks like Young Master Wen is right. Madam and the rest might have entered the true Netherworld. We need to experience all the punishments before we can open the true entrance to the Netherworld," An Sheng said.
An Tianzuo glanced at the officers and soldiers behind him. At this point, there was only one possibility left.
However, the punishments in Netherworld City weren't something anyone could withstand. Even someone as powerful as him couldn't withstand all the punishments in a day.
Apart from the fact that his body couldn't withstand it, time was also a critical problem.
There were three ironclad rules in Netherworld City. Those who committed murder would die, and those whose feet left the ground would die. One had to kill one person every day they entered the city, or they would die.
There was an unresolvable contradiction, so one had to leave Netherworld City within a day. Otherwise, no matter how powerful an existence was, they would be killed by the taboo power of Netherworld City.
One had to experience all 239 punishments in a day. Even if one's body could withstand it, there wasn't enough time.
As powerful as An Tianzuo was, and he had countless capable people under him, no one could fulfill this condition.
"If Delta Team returns with nothing, we will enter the city," An Tianzuo said.
An Sheng whispered, "Overseer, should we wait for Young Master Wen? He's gone to look for Li Xuan. He should be here soon."
"There's no time to waste. Every minute we wait means one less chance of survival for my mom and the others," An Tianzuo said.
"But if Young Master Wen isn't around, I'm afraid we won't be able to withstand all the punishments in a day," An Sheng reminded.
"Commander Lu, you have already seen the punishments in Netherworld City. What are your thoughts about them?" An Tianzuo asked an officer from Charlie Team.
The officer was fair and chubby. He had a smile on his face as his eyes narrowed into slits. He looked harmless.
However, from his figure, he was at least two hundred kilograms. He was almost the shape of a ball. In this era, there weren't many people who could be this fat.
Commander Lu's name was Lu Bushun, or literally 'awry.' As for why his parents gave him such a name, it was not something outsiders would know.
Upon hearing An Tianzuo call him out, Lu Bushun moved his body and took a step forward. He raised his arm with great difficulty and gave a military salute. He widened his eyes and said, "Overseer, I've tried a few types of punishments. Those punishments can ignore the defenses of the body. Even a Mythical power can't withstand them. The only thing that's effective is a body's self-healing abilities. As you know, Overseer, this is my specialty. As long as there's enough time, it won't be difficult for me to withstand all the punishments."
An Tianzuo nodded slightly and looked at another young officer. "Jingyu, what about you?"
An Jingyu was a few years younger than An Tianzuo. He was an expert that had risen from the An family in recent years. He was extremely talented and his strength was temporal in nature, a rare power.
Although An Tianzuo had once had an unhappy relationship with the An family's elders, he was still the leader of the An family's current generation. He still spared no effort to nurture the youths who had a chance of success.
An Jingyu was one of the young members of the An family that he valued the most. He had brought him along this time.
Although according to the family hierarchy, An Jingyu should address An Tianzuo as Uncle, he could only salute obediently in military fashion. "Overseer, I've already tried. I can use time acceleration to accelerate the punishment. As long as Commander Lu can withstand it, I'm confident that I can make him suffer all the punishments in twenty-four hours."
An Tianzuo nodded slightly and didn't question further. He said to An Sheng, "Make the preparations. We'll enter the city once Delta Team comes out."
Since he was here, he was naturally prepared. He didn't come blindly.
It wasn't An Sheng's place to say anything else. He also knew that what An Tianzuo said made sense. Every minute wasted meant less hope for Ouyang Lan and company.
However, he had a nagging feeling that there was a huge problem with Netherworld City. If he could wait for Zhou Wen to come along, their chances would be higher.
However, now that they had reached the point of no return, they had no choice. This was because he didn't know when Zhou Wen would arrive. It was impossible for them to keep waiting.
An Sheng could only pray that Zhou Wen would arrive early, but Zhou Wen hadn't arrived by the time Delta Team exited the city.
An Tianzuo personally chose the candidates to enter Netherworld City with him. Including him and An Sheng, there were a total of sixteen people. These sixteen people might not be the strongest in the An family and the Sunset Army, but they each had their own unique abilities. They might be of use when facing different problems.
"Prepare to set off." An Tianzuo didn't wish to delay any further.
"Ah, Overseer, please wait. I've left something important in the camp. I'll go get it now. I'll be back soon." An Sheng smiled apologetically as he ran towards the tent.
What should I do? This is killing me. Why isn't Young Master Wen here yet? Inside the tent, An Sheng was like an ant on a hot pan. He knew that this trip was very dangerous. If they could wait for Zhou Wen, they would have a higher chance of survival.
An Sheng circled the tent a few times, hoping to stall for more time, but he heard An Tianzuo's voice from outside. "Adjutant An, if I don't see you in three seconds, you can forget about going."
"I'm coming!" An Sheng could only leave the tent with a bitter expression. As he walked towards An Tianzuo, he held his stomach and walked especially slowly as though he was in pain.
When he finally came close to An Tianzuo, An Sheng said, "Overseer, I need to relieve myself. I want to use the bathroom..."
"Go," An Tianzuo said indifferently.
"Thank you, Overseer..." An Sheng was delighted. He could stall for time again.
To his surprise, An Tianzuo added, "You don't have to come back if you go. Just return to Luoyang."
"Overseer, I don't think it's a big deal," An Sheng immediately said as he stood up.
"Can we leave now?" An Tianzuo asked An Sheng.
"As long as Overseer says so." An Sheng stood straight and answered without looking sideways.
"Let's set off." An Tianzuo glanced in the direction of the desert, but it was only for an instant. He quickly retracted his gaze and firmly walked towards the entrance of Netherworld City.
"Young Master Wen!" An Sheng followed An Tianzuo towards Netherworld City. Just as they were about to reach the door, An Sheng looked back and was immediately overjoyed.
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Chapter 1178: Saw Punishment
Translator: CKtalon
An Tianzuo and company turned around and followed An Sheng's gaze. Indeed, they saw Zhou Wen walking out of the desert with Ya'er in his arms.
Beside him was the grinning, cheeky Li Xuan. On the other side was a white antelope and a flying golden eagle.
He made it! An Sheng secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Zhou Wen quickly walked over. Although he and An Tianzuo thought little of each other, they shared the same stand when it came to saving Ouyang Lan.
"Why did you bring Ya'er here? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?" An Tianzuo frowned when he saw Zhou Wen carrying Ya'er over.
"She's the safest with me," Zhou Wen answered.
Their gazes met in the air. An Sheng had an illusion that there were sparks flashing where their gazes met.
"If anything happens to Ya'er, I won't let you off easily. Let's go," An Tianzuo said coldly before turning around and walking towards Netherworld City.
Everyone followed An Tianzuo through the gates of Netherworld City. An Sheng stayed behind him and waved at Zhou Wen, gesturing for him to follow quickly.
Zhou Wen and Li Xuan exchanged looks before walking towards Netherworld City.
Although Zhou Wen had already been to Netherworld City once and had cleared it countless times in-game, he was still somewhat nervous when he came here again.
City Lord Netherworld, who could toy with the dead, left a very deep impression on him. Even though he already had the power of a Terror-grade, he still found City Lord Netherworld extremely terrifying when he thought about it.
At the instant he entered the gates of Netherworld City, his body seemed to traverse spacetime. When he finished taking the step, he was already standing on the long street of Netherworld City.
An Tianzuo and company were nearby. The antelope and Chick were also standing on a stone slab. Everyone had a number on the stone slab beneath their feet.
As no one had moved, all the numbers were at 365. Even the antelope and Chick were no exception.
Due to the taboo power of Netherworld City, no one could use Companion Beasts. They could only rely on their own Essence Energy Arts and Essence Energy Skills.
If there were Guardians, they could also use the powers of Guardians. This had been confirmed through previous testing.
Most of the officers under An Tianzuo had advanced to the Mythical stage by using the Mythical Serum. Only two officers had contracted Guardians and were wearing Guardian armor. One of them was An Jingyu.
"Ah Sheng," An Tianzuo sized up the torture chamber beside him and said to An Sheng.
"Got it," An Sheng answered as a strange glow suffused his body. A halo spread out from beneath his feet, forming an area with a radius of about two meters around him.
An Tianzuo and company walked towards the halo which An Sheng had formed. When they were outside the halo, the number beneath their feet would change with every stone slab they walked on. However, when they entered An Sheng's halo, the number beneath their feet no longer changed.
Zhou Wen looked at An Sheng in surprise. This ability was clearly similar to his Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder. It was an ability that could restrain taboo powers.
However, An Sheng's ability was regional. It was likely some kind of halo.
Seeing the surprise on Zhou Wen's face, An Sheng said with a smile, "This is my Wheel of Destiny ability. It can temporarily block the taboo powers of Netherworld City. Young Master Wen, come over as well."
Zhou Wen held Ya'er's hand and walked over with Li Xuan and company. Chick and the antelope also entered the halo.
Within An Sheng's halo, not only did the number under their feet not change, but it also didn't trigger the ghosts of torture in Netherworld City. As long as they were inside the halo, they could walk around freely.
Everyone arrived in front of the first torture chamber. The torture chamber wasn't open yet. An Sheng looked at An Tianzuo before looking at Zhou Wen. "Time is limited. It's impossible for us to attempt two punishments. Who will bear the punishment here?"
"Of course it's me," Lu Bushun said as he wobbled his fat body forward.
"Let me do it," Li Xuan said.
"Commander Lu's body has infinite regeneration. Let him do it," An Tianzuo said.
"It's better to let Li Xuan do it. The power of these torture chambers is very special. Just a regeneration ability alone might not result in reaching the end." Zhou Wen had suffered quite a number of punishments himself, so he naturally knew how formidable they were. It wasn't just about a self-healing ability. Otherwise, he wouldn't have specially sought out Li Xuan.
"Young Master Wen, I know you are an extraordinary person. My strength can't compare with yours, but in terms of self-healing, I'm afraid no one will dare claim first place if I, Fatty Lu, claim second," Lu Bushun said with narrowed eyes.
"In that case, let's split up," Zhou Wen said as he looked at An Tianzuo.
An Sheng said, "Jingyu can only use Time Acceleration on one person. I'm afraid he won't be able to divert his attention."
"Just do your job. Don't worry about us. We don't need Time Acceleration," Zhou Wen said after some thought.
"If you don't use Time Acceleration, I'm afraid you won't make it in time, right? Although there's supposedly twenty-four hours, the torture chamber only opens once every hour. In fact, there are only twelve hours. There's not enough time to withstand 239 punishments in twelve hours," An Sheng said.
"I have my ways." Zhou Wen didn't explain further.
"Let him be," An Tianzuo said indifferently.
When the time came, the torture chambers opened. Li Xuan and Lu Bushun walked towards the first torture chamber at the same time. The torture chamber stated 'Saw Punishment.'
"You first." Li Xuan and Lu Bushun arrived at the door. Seeing that Lu Bushun had no intention of giving way, Li Xuan made way.
Lu Bushun didn't stand on ceremony as he entered the torture chamber. There was a steel saw with a wooden head in the torture chamber. The moment he entered, his body was chained to a log. When the saw landed, it began to slice his body into two.
Lu Bushun's expression remained unchanged. The saw pulled back and forth, sawing open his stomach and revealing snow-white fat. However, after the sawing, his flesh automatically healed at an unbelievable speed.
The saw moved back and forth from his body. It should have sliced his body into two, but after the saw finished one cycle, his body completely healed without any injuries.
What an amazing self-healing ability! Even Zhou Wen was surprised by Lu Bushun's self-healing ability.
After Lu Bushun came out, he gave Li Xuan a provocative look.
Li Xuan was amused as he gave Lu Bushun a friendly greeting. "Your self-healing ability is pretty good."
"It's alright." Upon hearing Li Xuan, Lu Bushun stopped provoking him.
"There's not much time. Continue." An Tianzuo didn't wish to waste a second as he urged Lu Bushun to continue heading to the next torture chamber.
Li Xuan walked into the saw torture chamber and with a flash, he was tied to a log. The steel saw also landed.
Others only saw the steel saw fly into the air, but Zhou Wen could tell that there was a white-robed ghost holding a saw on both sides of the steel saw. It directed the steel saw towards Li Xuan's body.
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Chapter 1179: Give it some Oomph
Translator: CKtalon
On An Tianzuo's side, many people looked over. They also wanted to know if Zhou Wen and Li Xuan could really handle the sawing.
After all, this type of torture that could saw a person into two wasn't something ordinary self-healing abilities could withstand.
Furthermore, they also wanted to know how Zhou Wen and company would resolve the problem of insufficient time.
After all, An Jingyu had used the Guardian's temporal ability to accelerate the saw's speed to finish the punishment quickly. Otherwise, the saw's speed wasn't fast. If the sawing was done slowly, it would probably take ten minutes for the punishment to end.
"Ah! It hurts!" Just as the saw touched Li Xuan's body, Li Xuan cried out when the saw tore through his skin.
"Ah... Ah... Ah..." With every slice, Li Xuan let out a tragic cry.
The officers couldn't help but frown. Although they knew that such a sawing would definitely be painful, Lu Bushun had endured it all without even letting out a grunt. It wasn't very manly to shout like that.
As Li Xuan hadn't entered the military and instead traveled around, he had spent most of his time in the South District. Therefore, they didn't know much about him. All they knew was that Li Xuan was the third scion of Luoyang's Li family, Zhou Wen's good friend and classmate.
Seeing Li Xuan scream so tragically, Zhou Wen comforted him. "Li Xuan, bear with it. It'll be fine in a while. I'll get them to saw faster so that you won't have to suffer for so long."
When An Jingyu and company heard Zhou Wen's words, they found it odd. What did he mean by asking them to saw faster? Was such a matter negotiable?
They originally imagined that Zhou Wen was only joking. He would probably use abilities similar to Time Acceleration or abilities with similar functions.
To their surprise, Zhou Wen stood outside the door and shouted into the torture chamber, "Saw faster."
If this works, why would I be needed? An Jingyu muttered. He didn't believe that this would work.
However, as soon as Zhou Wen said that, the steel saw that was pulling back and forth suddenly became like a connected electric saw. Its speed instantly increased.
However, despite the steel saw rapidly pulling back and forth, it couldn't split Li Xuan at the waist despite the tremendous amount of blood on the saw. It looked terrifying, but the saw just didn't go any lower.
Li Xuan cried out even more tragically, but his self-healing ability wasn't inferior to Lu Bushun's. When the steel saw stopped, he had already healed himself and cleared the round.
"It really f*cking hurts. It nearly killed me. Old Zhou, it'll cost ya!" Li Xuan gritted his teeth as he walked out.
An Jingyu and company looked at Zhou Wen and Li Xuan with odd expressions.
This matter was negotiable? An Jingyu's face was filled with puzzlement. He couldn't help but look at the second torture chamber and hesitate. Should he try Zhou Wen's method?
The second torture chamber was Oil Pot Punishment. There was a huge pot in the torture chamber, and the oil inside was atboiling point. Anyone who entered would probably be cooked instantly.
Lu Bushun had already been thrown in. The fats were sizzling and he was turning golden-brown. He even emitted a fragrance.
This punishment took at least ten minutes. An Tianzuo and company definitely couldn't wait that long, so they needed An Jingyu to use Time Acceleration to make the ten minutes pass quickly.
But now, An Jingyu was a little suspicious. Could he negotiate with the oil pot in the torture chamber and get it to fry Lu Bushun faster?
Since Zhou Wen could negotiate, there was no reason why they couldn't. If they could negotiate, he could save a lot of Essence Energy to deal with any subsequent problems.
If they really experienced all the punishments and entered the true Netherworld, they would definitely encounter many problems.
With this in mind, An Jingyu mimicked Zhou Wen's actions and attempted to shout into the torture chamber, "Fry him faster."
After he shouted, An Tianzuo and company stared at the pot of oil inside. They were also very curious if this matter was negotiable.
However, after waiting for a while, they realized that the pot remained the same. Nothing had changed.
An Jingyu's face couldn't help but turn red as he secretly spat in his heart. I must have been bewitched. There's no room for negotiation regarding such matters. It would be a miracle if the negotiation succeeded.
"An Jingyu, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and use Time Acceleration." Inside, Lu Bushun urged An Jingyu. The feeling of being fried didn't feel good.
Although Lu Bushun had been enduring it, the terrifying pain nearly made him crush his teeth to pieces from all the gritting.
An Jingyu hurriedly used Time Acceleration to accelerate the punishment time. After two minutes, the Oil Pot Punishment was completed. Lu Buyu was teleported out of the oil pot.
His golden-brown flesh had already recovered, but his forehead was covered in cold sweat. It looked like he had been in excruciating pain.
Just as he walked out, Li Xuan walked in slowly. As he walked, he said, "Old Zhou, you're really mean. You didn't mention any of these while we were coming over. This will definitely cost ya!"
"Definitely." As Zhou Wen spoke, he thought to himself, This isn't a problem. When it's time for the Wooden Horse Punishment, you can ask for as much as you want.
When Li Xuan entered the torture chamber, an invisible force immediately lifted his body and threw him into the boiling pot of oil.
"Ah!" Oil splattered everywhere as Li Xuan screamed tragically.
However, after a while, An Jingyu and company realized that Li Xuan's body hadn't been fried golden-brown by the oil pot. Apart from some red spots, there weren't many changes.
Li Xuan also seemed to realize that the temperature of this thing wasn't as high as he imagined. Therefore, he calmed down and leaned back against the pot. He placed his hands on the edge of the pot as though he was bathing in a bathtub.
Lu Bushun was dumbfounded. One had to know that the punishment here ignored defensive skills. One could only rely on their bodies to withstand it. After all, he had attained a Mythical body through the use of the Mythical Serum. Furthermore, his body was especially strong; yet, he couldn't withstand the frying and was nearly fried into crispy pork.
As for Li Xuan, he was completely fine and even had a bath inside.
How strong is this fellow's body of flesh and blood? An Jingyu and company were secretly alarmed.
"Old Zhou, get them to give it some oomph," Li Xuan shouted at Zhou Wen.
He wasn't showing off, but he wanted to use the Oil Pot Punishment to temper his body. The more his body endured, the stronger he became.
"Give it more heat," Zhou Wen shouted.
If this works, I might as well go home, An Jingyu thought.
However, with Zhou Wen's words, the flames under the pot suddenly intensified, nearly enveloping the entire pot. The temperature in the pot rose sharply.
An Jingyu's eyes nearly popped out. The other officers were also dumbfounded.
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Chapter 1180: Repeated Punishments
"Faster," Zhou Wen continued.
Time was limited, so there was no time for Li Xuan to slowly temper his body.
From the point of view of the average person, the Oil Pot Punishment seemed to obey Zhou Wen's orders as though time was being accelerated.
However, An Sheng was naturally different. He could see some ethereal creatures—white-robed ghosts that were carrying out the punishments.
When he first saw them, they were slowly throwing in chopped wood that ordinary humans couldn't see into the fire. However, when they saw Zhou Wen, the two white-robed ghosts immediately trembled in fear. At Zhou Wen's order, they quickly added more wood to the bottom of the pot.
It was the same in the saw torture chamber. This left An Sheng very surprised, unsure how Zhou Wen had done it.
It was indeed right to wait for Young Master Wen to come. With him and Li Xuan around, the chances of safely rescuing Madam Lan are much higher. I hope Madam Lan and company can last until we arrive, An Sheng thought to himself.
A minute later, Li Xuan, who had completed the Oil Pot Punishment, came out. As An Jingyu and Lu Bushun had been watching Li Xuan , Lu Bushun hadn't entered the third torture chamber to be punished.
"If you aren't going, I'll go in first." Li Xuan smiled at Lu Bushun before entering the third torture chamber—Nail Chamber.
There were 108 foot-long steel nails in the Nail Chamber. One had to have all the nails nailed through their bodies to complete the punishment.
After Li Xuan entered, his limbs were immediately confined to the wall. Then, a nail flew towards his left hand. On the other side, a hammer slammed into the back of the nail, smashing through Li Xuan's palm.
"Ah!" Li Xuan let out a tragic cry and couldn't help but curse. "It f*cking hurts!"
"Just bear with it." As Zhou Wen consoled him, he told the torturing ghosts to be faster.
Nails flew up one after another as the hammers brandished repeatedly, rapidly stabbing into Li Xuan's body. Li Xuan kept screaming in pain.
In just a minute, all 108 steel nails were nailed into Li Xuan's body. One of them was nailed to his manhood, causing Li Xuan's face to turn green from the pain.
Thankfully, although he screamed miserably, none of his injuries looked serious. His injuries automatically healed and there were no signs of any injuries when he came out.
Zhou Wen couldn't help but be envious. Although he had some self-healing abilities, he was far inferior to Li Xuan.
Without any time to daydream, Zhou Wen and Li Xuan continued heading for the next torture chamber.
"Overseer, do we continue?" An Sheng asked carefully.
Zhou Wen and Li Xuan were faster than them. If they could pass all the punishments, there was naturally no need for Lu Bushun and company to continue.
An Tianzuo looked at Lu Bushun. Before he could say anything, Lu Bushun took the initiative to request an order. "Overseer, although Li Xuan's self-healing ability is strong, he might not be stronger than me. Furthermore, it's hard to say if he can withstand all the punishments with the way he is. If he fails, we won't have the time to do it ourselves. Please let me continue."
After Lu Bushun said that, he looked at Li Xuan's back with eyes filled with determination.
"Alright, let's continue." An Tianzuo nodded slightly.
"Overseer, don't worry. If things don't go well, I will definitely not embarrass our Sunset Army." With that said, Lu Bushun walked towards the Nail Chamber.
Li Xuan and Lu Bushun suffered tortures at the same time, experiencing the torture chambers one by one.
The two of them had terrifying self-healing abilities. Others would experience tortures that spelled certain death every time if they were in their shoes, but the latter made one attempt after another. Their bodies didn't suffer much damage.
The only difference was that Li Xuan kept crying out in pain, but Lu Bushun endured it quietly from beginning to end. No matter how painful the punishment was, he didn't grunt.
Everyone watched as they walked down the torture chambers one after another. When the torture chambers closed, the two of them had experienced almost thirty punishments. However, every time they came out, their injuries were almost healed. People believed that there wouldn't be any major problems and that they would definitely be able to withstand all the punishments in a day.
However, Zhou Wen knew very well that things weren't as simple as they imagined.
The physical damage of the punishments here was only one aspect. Another aspect was the soul and psyche. Furthermore, such damage would constantly accumulate, eventually causing a mental breakdown. Li Xuan and Lu Bushun's abilities to recover physically were fine, but it was still a question if they could last to the end.
However, Zhou Wen was still very confident in Li Xuan. Although this fellow looked frivolous on the surface, his perseverance far exceeded that of the average person.
Back when he was in extreme rage, Li Xuan had managed to hold back from killing Li Mobai. Zhou Wen believed that he could hold out.
As the torture chamber would open again every hour, Zhou Wen and company stood on the long street to rest.
While Zhou Wen was resting, his eyes subconsciously glanced at the torture chamber behind him. It was the Wooden Horse Punishment torture chamber. According to his current progress, Li Xuan should enter the room in the next hour.
"Old Zhou, shouldn't you do something considering my great sacrifices?" Li Xuan said to Zhou Wen.
"What should I do?" Zhou Wen asked.
"I don't lack anything but a useful Companion Beast. My requirements aren't high. Just get me a Terror-grade Companion Beast." Li Xuan was actually joking. He wasn't even taking himself seriously.
"Alright." Zhou Wen agreed immediately.
"Really? You have a Terror-grade Companion Egg?" Li Xuan was slightly taken aback before he laughed, believing that Zhou Wen was joking.
A Terror-grade Companion Egg wasn't something that could be obtained easily.
Ignoring the fact that the Terror-grade dimensional creatures were in the terrifying dimensional zones, it wasn't easy to kill them. Even if one could kill them, they might not have a Companion Egg drop.
"Don't worry about it. I'll definitely get you a Terror-grade Companion Beast. However, we have an agreement. You have to help me complete this trip through Netherworld City," Zhou Wen said.
"Why? Don't you have confidence in me? Why are you using this trick to encourage me?" Li Xuan said unhappily.
"Just tell me if you can complete it." Zhou Wen knew that as long as Li Xuan could complete the trip, he would definitely do so. He also wanted to take this opportunity to give Li Xuan a Companion Beast.
"There's definitely no problem," Li Xuan said confidently.
Lu Bushun and company found his words unbelievable. Li Xuan's tragic cries were still ringing in their ears.
"Alright, give me your hand," Zhou Wen said.
"What? You want to read my fortune?" Li Xuan extended his hand and looked at Zhou Wen in puzzlement, unsure what he was up to.
Zhou Wen pressed his hand on Li Xuan's hand and circulated the Sky-Stealing Sun-Swapping Art.
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Chapter 1181: Already Sullied
Translator: CKtalon
In Singularity Universe, a star was destroyed. At the same time, a Companion Beast on Zhou Wen's body was transferred to Li Xuan. A strange mark appeared in Li Xuan's palm.
The symbol was the Planet Devourer's symbol. It was the Companion Beast that Zhou Wen had planned on transferring to Li Xuan.
Li Xuan hadn't raised any questions and came without a word when he requested his help. However, this trip was just too dangerous. No one knew what was in the true Netherworld and what dangers there were.
Zhou Wen had transferred the Planet Devourer to Li Xuan, hoping that he would have more self-protection abilities. If anything happened to him in the real Netherworld, he might be able to use it.
Of course, this was only the worst case scenario. With a Calamity bigshot like the antelope around, there might not be any danger even if they reached the true Netherworld.
"Holy sh*t, a Terror-grade Companion Beast?" After Li Xuan obtained the Planet Devourer, he also obtained some information about it. After learning of the Planet Devourer's level and abilities, he immediately looked at Zhou Wen in surprise.
He wasn't only surprised that Zhou Wen had really given him a Terror-grade Companion Beast, but he was also surprised that Zhou Wen had given him a hatched Companion Beast. Such an ability was completely unheard of.
If hatched Companion Beasts could be transferred at will without paying any price, the Federation would have long been in chaos.
When An Jingyu and company heard Li Xuan say that, they found it unbelievable. They imagined that Li Xuan was joking.
After all, they had never heard of casually gifting hatched Companion Beasts. Furthermore, it was a Terror-grade Companion Beast.
"Why are you giving me this? Take it back," Li Xuan said with a frown.
"I only know how to give it to others and not take it back. If you don't want it, why don't you give it back to me?" Zhou Wen said with a smile.
"Fine! You are rich and have what it takes to be willful. It's a waste not to take it," Li Xuan said.
"You can't take it for nothing. You have to help me complete this trip no matter what," Zhou Wen said seriously.
"That's nothing," Li Xuan said with a smile.
Li Xuan didn't summon the Planet Devourer. All he did was test it in its glove state without activating the Devourer ability before putting it away.
An hour later, the torture chambers opened again. Li Xuan strode to the next torture chamber and muttered, "If there's such a good deal next time, remember to get me again."
"Sure, I'll definitely look for you," Zhou Wen replied with a smile.
They cleared one torture chamber after another. Although Li Xuan cried out tragically, he managed to hold through them all. Finally, he arrived in front of the Wooden Horse Punishment torture chamber.
Li Xuan looked inside and his expression changed when he saw the wooden horse with horns on its back. Just as he was about to retreat, Zhou Wen kicked him into the wooden horse room.
"Holy sh*t, Zhou Wen, you tricked me... Ah..." Li Xuan's cursing suddenly stopped. Then, there was a tragic cry and dead silence.
"Quickly finish it." Zhou Wen didn't look inside and covered his eyes with his hand as he shouted.
A minute later, Li Xuan limped out. His eyes were filled with tears as he wore a look of despair as though he was a maiden who had been defiled by a hundred men.
His lips trembled as he held his buttocks with one hand and pointed at Zhou Wen with a trembling finger. After a while, he said, "F*ck you."
Zhou Wen lowered his head and whispered like an old monk, "Ahem, form is emptiness and emptiness is form. Everything else is fleeting. It doesn't exist. It doesn't exist."
"F*ck your not existing. My first time is gone just like that. I feel that I'm not pure anymore. I'm already sullied..." Li Xuan looked up at a 45-degree angle as though he was holding back his tears.
"Don't worry. No one saw it. I covered my eyes," Zhou Wen said with a fawning smile.
"Cover my ass! The gap between your fingers was bigger than the Grand Canyon," Li Xuan said angrily.
"Ahem, aren't you able to heal yourself? It's fine. You're completely fine now. Let's forget about the past. It won't affect anything anyway," Zhou Wen said carefully.
"Shut up." Li Xuan glared at him. "Be honest. Are there such punishments further on?"
"Probably... Perhaps... There's still... some... I guess..." Zhou Wen stammered.
"F*ck it, I quit," Li Xuan said angrily.
"You've taken the Companion Beast. Didn't you say that there's definitely no problem? Didn't you say that it'll be alright?" Zhou Wen said.
Li Xuan's lips moved, but he didn't say a word for a while. Finally, he said hatefully, "Blame my luck for getting in too deep. Tell me honestly, how many more such punishments are there?"
"About three... four... five... six... seven... eight..."
"How many?"
"Nine."
"Zhou Wen, screw you. You will die a horrible death."
Despite cursing, Li Xuan could only bite the bullet and walk to the next torture chamber.
An Tianzuo and company were curious as to what torture chamber it was that nearly made Li Xuan fall out with Zhou Wen. As their progress was much slower than Zhou Wen and company's, they hadn't seen the situation inside the Wooden House Punishment torture chamber.
When they walked over to take a look, their expressions immediately changed. Their expressions when they looked at Lu Bushun became odd.
Lu Bushun's face was also somewhat pale. He felt his throat go dry. His lips quivered, but he didn't say a word. All he did was gulp.
"Let's head over now." In the end, it was An Tianzuo who gave the order. He led the others over, leaving Lu Bushun and An Jingyu in front of the Wooden Horse Punishment torture chamber.
Lu Bushun closed his eyes and gritted his teeth before charging into the torture chamber.
In an hour, Li Xuan could withstand more than thirty punishments, while Lu Bushun could do about twenty plus. The main reason was that An Jingyu's Time Acceleration wasn't as effective as Zhou Wen's words, so Lu Bushun was a little slower.
After suffering more than half the tortures, everyone could clearly sense that something was amiss with Lu Bushun.
Although his body looked like it had recovered, his expression was ugly. His expression was extremely grotesque as his body seemed to tremble slightly.
"Commander Lu, there's no need to force it," An Tianzuo said to Lu Bushun.
Lu Bushun looked at Li Xuan in front of him. Although Li Xuan kept screaming, he still persisted. Furthermore, his condition didn't seem as bad as Lu Bushun's.
"Overseer, don't worry. I can still persist. I won't embarrass our Sunset Army." As Lu Bushun spoke, he strode towards the next torture chamber.
However, when Lu Bushun came out, he became even more beaten.
How did he persist all this time? Lu Bushun already knew the horror of consecutive punishments. Every time he was tortured, he felt as though he had entered hell. The pain had exceeded the limits of what humans could endure. Furthermore, as the number of punishments increased, the pain continued to increase.
Now, whenever Lu Bushun looked at a torture chamber's door, he felt a kind of forbidding horror. It was as though it wasn't a door but the entrance to hell.
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Chapter 1182: The Last Torture Chamber
Zhou Wen realized that there were fewer of the living dead in Netherworld City than the last time he came. He didn't see Chu He either.
Could it be that Chu He's soul has already dissipated and can no longer be revived? Zhou Wen knew that the living dead in Netherworld City would constantly revive and repeat a life of torture.
However, every time they died, a portion of their memories would be erased.
Now that Chu He had vanished, it was highly likely that he was completely dead and had no chance of reviving.
"Ah!"
Just as Zhou Wen was observing, he heard a tragic cry. However, this time, it wasn't from Li Xuan, but Lu Bushun.
Zhou Wen turned his head and saw that Lu Bushun wasn't in the torture chamber. He had already arrived outside, but he was slumped there with his two hands covering his head. His body trembled violently as he let out a horrified cry.
"Old Lu, are you alright? You are already out." The officer who had a good relationship with Lu Bushun immediately pounced forward and shook his hand.
Gradually, Lu Bushun recovered. His eyes focused again as he became angry.
He stopped screaming and his body stopped trembling. However, his hand still trembled involuntarily.
"Overseer, I'll rest for two minutes before we continue," Lu Bushun said as he struggled to stand up.
"There's no need to continue. Rest," An Tianzuo said.
"Overseer, I can do it. I just need to rest for a while," Lu Bushun hurriedly said.
"That shall be all. It's an order," An Tianzuo said expressionlessly.
"Yes, Overseer." Lu Bushun saluted and had no choice but to stop.
In fact, Lu Bushun knew very well that it was very difficult for him to continue. Even if he continued experiencing the tortures, he probably wouldn't be able to last more than a few chambers before he went crazy.
Looking at Li Xuan again, he realized that he had already exceeded him by more than twenty torture chambers. Although he could hear Li Xuan's tragic cries, Li Xuan still persisted. He showed no signs of Lu Bushun's situation.
An Tianzuo glanced at Lu Bushun's chamber. It was the 134th torture chamber. There were still more than a hundred chambers from the 239th torture chamber, but Lu Bushun was at his limits. The difference was just too great.
And ahead, Li Xuan happened to come out of the torture chamber. He was still bickering with Zhou Wen, showing no signs of Lu Bushun's situation.
"The Li family's three brothers aren't simple. Unfortunately, the Li family's eldest brother died too early. Otherwise, the Li family would definitely have been a hegemon," An Tianzuo said with a sigh.
"Li Xuan and Young Master Wen have an extremely good relationship. The Li family will likely help Luoyang in the future. This is a good thing," An Sheng said.
"That depends on whether we can return alive." An Tianzuo also knew that there would be great danger this time.
"With you and Young Master Wen around, we will definitely be able to return alive," An Sheng said firmly.
An Tianzuo didn't say a word as he looked at Zhou Wen and Li Xuan in front of him. Whether they could enter the true Netherworld now depended on them.
Li Xuan entered the torture chamber again. Although he was still chatting and laughing, Zhou Wen could sense that he was under immense pressure.
Being tortured repeatedly was different from being tortured by a random punishment. The damage to one's mind and soul constantly accumulated. Even if one rested for an hour, it was impossible to expel all the buildup.
He could only rely on his psyche and beliefs to persist. There was no other way.
Li Xuan's screams were still tragic, but it additionally chilled the hearts of those who heard him.
Zhou Wen knew that he was truly in pain, and it was the kind that was produced when he was close to his limits.
There are still 23 torture chambers left. The torture chambers will open another three times today. Adding to this instance, there's more than enough time. Let's see if Li Xuan can last to the end. Zhou Wen counted the remaining torture chambers.
"Do you want to rest for a while? There's still plenty of time," Zhou Wen asked after some thought when he saw Li Xuan come out.
Li Xuan shook his head. He wasn't injured, but his face was pale. However, there was a strange red flush on his pale face.
"Continue," Li Xuan said as he walked to the next torture chamber.
An Tianzuo and company had already rushed over. When they saw Li Xuan being tortured, their hearts skipped a beat.
Even a veteran soldier like Lu Bushun couldn't withstand the pain of the punishments. He had long broken down.
The fact that Li Xuan could last until now had already impressed them. However, Li Xuan's situation seemed to be worsening. They were somewhat worried if Li Xuan could reach the end.
When Li Xuan came out again, he nearly fell to the ground.
Zhou Wen was quick to react and went forward to help him up.
Li Xuan wasn't injured and he still had strength left, but his mind was in a terrible mental state.
"How many torture chambers are there left?" Li Xuan asked again.
"Twenty-two," Zhou Wen answered.
"Continue." Li Xuan pushed Zhou Wen's hand away and walked in.
This time, the torture chamber was the torture of the hot pillar. After Li Xuan entered, he was tied to the iron pillar with his hands and feet hugging it. His face and body were stuck to it.
Sizzle!
White smoke rose from Li Xuan's body and a burnt smell accompanied it. In an instant, Li Xuan had lost his human form. Just looking at him made one's legs go limp, much less Li Xuan, who was being tortured. It was difficult to imagine how much pain he was in.
But now, Li Xuan stopped screaming.
Zhou Wen ordered the punishment ghosts to speed up, but the torture of the hot pillar needed one to endure it for ten minutes. Even if the punishment ghosts wanted to speed it up, they couldn't do so.
"Lend him to me. Any condition is fine." Zhou Wen came in front of An Tianzuo and pointed at An Jingyu.
He wasn't good at accelerating time, so he could only seek help from others to accelerate Li Xuan's torture.
"This is my family's business to begin with," An Tianzuo said before ordering, "Jingyu, cooperate with them to complete the remaining punishments."
"Yes." An Jingyu quickly stepped forward and used Time Acceleration on the hot pillar.
However, Time Acceleration could only accelerate time, but it couldn't shorten it. Li Xuan still suffered the same pain.
As time accelerated, a black carapace suddenly appeared on Li Xuan's body and quickly enveloped him.
Zhou Wen's heart tightened when he saw the carapace on Li Xuan's body.
Li Xuan's Life Soul and Wheel of Destiny were unique. Other people's Life Souls and Wheel of Destiny were separate, but his was one. It was somewhat similar to Zhou Wen's situation, but it wasn't completely the same.
The carapace could be said to be his second life. The appearance of the carapace meant that Li Xuan was indeed reaching his limits.
After the carapace appeared, Li Xuan's condition improved significantly. After enduring the punishment of hot pillar, he walked straight to the next torture chamber.
He was in a much better state. He went to the torture chambers one after another without any hesitation.
One couldn't see his expression under the carapace, but one could tell from his trembling body that he was enduring the pain with all his might. He didn't even dare say a word, afraid that he would lose the grit the moment he opened his mouth, losing the courage to continue the journey.
Seeing that there was only one torture chamber left, Zhou Wen and company were extremely nervous. The last torture chamber's door had the words "Dream Punishment."
Zhou Wen looked into the room, but he didn't see the white-robed punishment ghost. All he saw was a white-haired old woman sitting inside.
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Chapter 1183: Thousand Year Dream
What punishment is Dream Punishment? Zhou Wen frowned slightly. Apart from the white-haired granny, the stone table, and the stone bench, he didn't see anything else in the room.
There didn't seem to be any danger, but Zhou Wen felt that something was amiss. He held back Li Xuan, who was about to enter the torture chamber.
"What?" Li Xuan's voice was somewhat hoarse.
Zhou Wen could sense his body trembling slightly. It was an uncontrollable spasm, not because of the damage to his body, but because of the psychological pressure.
Although Zhou Wen hadn't attempted all the punishments in the past, from his attempts, he knew that the mental pressure and damage were immense. Even Zhou Wen suffered immense pressure despite his tenacity—and that was when he hadn't attempted all the punishments.
However, even if the pressure was greater, Zhou Wen was likely able to withstand it. However, his recovery ability wasn't as strong as Li Xuan's. It was impossible for him to withstand all the punishments in such a short period of time.
"This torture chamber is the last torture chamber. I don't think it's that simple. It might be very dangerous," Zhou Wen said.
"We'll know if it's dangerous after I enter. Anyway, we have to clear this round. There's no need to think too much," Li Xuan said as he walked into the Dream Punishment Chamber.
Zhou Wen knew that Li Xuan was just saying that to make things appear fine, but he felt uneasy when he looked at the white-haired granny.
There were a total of 239 torture chambers on the long street. The other 238 torture chambers were filled with ordinary punishment ghosts. Only this room had a white-haired old lady. From this, one could tell that this torture chamber was definitely not simple.
However, just as Li Xuan had said, even if he knew that there were risks, he had to clear it.
After Li Xuan walked into the torture chamber, he wasn't directly placed on torture equipment like before. He could still move freely as though he was outside.
"What punishment is this? Do you want me to sleep here and have a dream?" Li Xuan said to the white-haired granny.
Zhou Wen and An Sheng suddenly realized that something was amiss. This was because only they could see the torture ghosts from before. Others couldn't see them, but now, Li Xuan could see the white-haired granny.
"Can you see the white-haired granny inside?" An Sheng immediately asked Lu Bushun and company.
"I can see her. Your question is weird. Are we not supposed to see her?" Lu Bushun asked An Sheng in puzzlement as the others looked at him.
Zhou Wen and An Sheng exchanged looks. They knew that there was indeed a huge problem with this torture chamber.
An Tianzuo also looked at An Sheng, wanting to know what he meant. Just as An Sheng was about to say something, the white-haired old lady inside suddenly moved. Everyone's eyes were immediately attracted to her, so An Sheng didn't say a word.
The white-haired granny took out a tea bowl and a teapot from somewhere. She placed the tea bowl on the stone table in front of her and slowly poured water to fill it.
The tea in the bowl was a jade-green color, as though it had been soaked in bamboo leaves. However, there wasn't a single tea leaf inside, much less a bamboo leaf.
"One dream in a thousand years; one dream for a thousand years. Drink this bowl of Thousand Year Dream. If you can walk out of it alive, you will be able to see the real Netherworld," the white-haired old lady said in a strange tone that made one feel uncomfortable.
"You mean that I'll sleep for a thousand years after drinking this bowl of tea?" Li Xuan asked.
"It won't take that long since you don't have that long of a lifespan. Even if you do, you would starve to death before being able to sleep for a thousand years," the white-haired old granny said with a smile.
"My body is fine. I don't need to sleep that much. Can I wake up early?" Li Xuan asked again.
"No. Even if a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal descends to the mortal world and drinks this bowl of Thousand Year Dream, he will definitely sleep for a thousand years. Not one second more, not one second less," the white-haired granny said.
"There's no solution?" Li Xuan frowned.
"There's one." The white-haired granny's answer surprised everyone.
"What?" Li Xuan asked.
"One dream for a thousand years; one dream in a thousand years." The white-haired granny repeated what she had said with a smile.
"Li Xuan, come back." Zhou Wen's expression changed as he called Li Xuan out.
An Tianzuo and An Sheng's expressions changed. Clearly, they understood what the white-haired granny meant.
One dream for a thousand years meant that this single dream would last for a thousand years. When the white-haired granny said that there was a solution, it was implying the first half of the sentence.
Since he could have one dream in a thousand years, he could also spend a thousand years in a dream but only spend a day or less in reality.
From the sound of it, having one dream in a thousand years was much easier than having a dream last a thousand years. After all, it was only a thousand years in a dream. In reality, he wouldn't starve to death or be injured. It didn't seem dangerous.
However, that wasn't the case. To spend a thousand years in a dream, ignoring what kind of dream it was, just a thousand years was enough to make one's will collapse.
Zhou Wen had been trapped on Fangzhang Mountain for only a hundred years. He had relied on his powerful willpower and focus on cultivation to last for a hundred years.
However, that didn't mean that Zhou Wen was having a good time. If it hadn't been for his extreme focus, he would have gone crazy from being imprisoned for a century.
Li Xuan clearly understood what the white-haired granny meant and asked, "One dream in a thousand years... How long is this dream?"
"Take the 238 prior punishments as one cycle, and one cycle lasts a day. If you want it long and have a long dream, it can be long. If you want it short, it can also be short. It all depends on your will," said the white-haired granny.
"Li Xuan, come back. There's no need to continue. Sis Lan and company definitely wouldn't have been able to clear this round. It's impossible for them to have entered the true Netherworld," Zhou Wen's expression changed as he said to the white-haired granny.
The white-haired granny had already made it very clear that suffering all the prior punishments in the dream was only considered a day. Then, how many times would he have to suffer in a dream that lasted a thousand years? Zhou Wen was momentarily unable to do the math, nor did he wish to.
No matter how resilient Li Xuan was, he had to suffer all the punishments once a day for a thousand years. To experience a thousand years like that would give a normal person a mental breakdown.
"Let's end it here," An Tianzuo said.
Although there were various signs that Sis Lan and company had indeed entered Netherworld City, they hadn't seen them in Netherworld City. It was highly likely that they had entered the real Netherworld. He wanted to enter no matter what.
However, such punishments weren't something humans could withstand. An Tianzuo wasn't willing to see Li Xuan die for nothing.
However, Li Xuan had no intention of leaving the torture chamber. He looked back at Zhou Wen and said, "Since Sis Lan and company have entered Netherworld City, there's no other possibility. They must have entered the real Netherworld. Since we're here, we have to go in and take a look regardless."
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Chapter 1184: Li Xuan's Terror Transformation
Zhou Wen's figure flashed as he teleported into the Dream Punishment Chamber, hoping to pull Li Xuan out.
In the past, when he activated Great Brahma, he could do whatever he wanted. Even the punishment ghosts had to obey him, but this time, it was different.
Zhou Wen was repelled by a force, preventing him from rushing into the torture chamber.
"One dream in a thousand years—living an additional thousand years longer than others is a good thing. It's not something one can even beg for, so I lucked out," Li Xuan said as he reached out to pick up the tea bowl.
"Li Xuan, don't be silly. There's no need to do this. We can think of another solution." As Zhou Wen spoke, he condensed his strongest Terror power, hoping to rush in to stop Li Xuan.
However, for some reason, this torture chamber was completely different from the previous torture chambers. His Terror powers couldn't penetrate it at all.
"Old Zhou, don't be anxious. I'll be out in a jiffy. If I don't come out in time, wait for me outside," Li Xuan said as he drank the bowl of Thousand Year Dream without leaving a single drop.
"Nice tea." Li Xuan licked his lips. Just as he finished speaking, he collapsed to the ground and fell asleep.
"Let him out." Great Brahma appeared behind Zhou Wen as he attempted to order the white-haired granny to release Li Xuan.
However, the white-haired granny remained unperturbed. She sat there calmly and looked at Li Xuan who was sleeping on the ground.
An Tianzuo frowned as An Sheng shook his head with a bitter smile. Although one's body wasn't injured in the dream of a thousand years of torture, the mental pressure was enough to make any steel-willed human collapse.
An Sheng and An Tianzuo were people with extremely powerful wills, but even they didn't dare claim that they could definitely withstand the torture.
Although the white-haired granny said that the Thousand Year Dream could be short if one wanted to, they didn't have much time left in Netherworld City. If Li Xuan didn't come out in time, even if he could withstand the Thousand Year Dream, his body would be killed by the rules of Netherworld City.
What can I do? Zhou Wen regretted inviting Li Xuan over.
Zhou Wen tried a few times, but he failed to charge into the Dream Punishment Chamber. He had already used several Terror-grade powers. Since the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder and Great Brahma were useless, the rest were even more useless.
Zhou Wen looked at the antelope. At this moment, he could only rely on this Calamity-grade fellow.
When the antelope saw Zhou Wen look at it, it immediately turned its head to the side and pretended not to see him.
B*stard. Zhou Wen was somewhat helpless. However, from the antelope's appearance, he knew that the white-haired granny in the Dream Punishment Chamber definitely had a terrifying background. She was definitely a Calamity-grade existence.
"Come on... Come on... Hehe... All together..." Just as Zhou Wen was feeling worried, he suddenly heard Li Xuan's voice.
Zhou Wen hurriedly turned his head and realized that Li Xuan wasn't awake. Instead, he was talking in his sleep.
However, seeing the wretched smile on his face and the lascivious voice, it didn't look like he was suffering torture in a dream.
"Harder... Harder..." Li Xuan cried out in pleasure.
Lu Bushun and company stood outside as they stared at the sleep-talking Li Xuan with a strange expression. They questioned what kind of dream he was having. Was it really as the white-haired granny had said—a torture?
What the hell is this fellow dreaming of? Zhou Wen looked at Li Xuan and felt that he wasn't dreaming of torture.
However, it didn't take long before Li Xuan's face began to sweat. Not only was he sweating, but he was also heating up. His carapace mask was red as white smoke constantly emitted from his head.
"Didn't you say that it was just a dream? Why did his body become like this?" Zhou Wen stared at the white-haired granny, prepared to use the Immortal Culling Sword.
"The brain of any creature has its limits. Under normal circumstances, the brain can only think about one thing. However, in the Thousand Year Dream, he's making time pass too quickly in the dream. Time in reality is too slow, and this results in his brain needing to complete the thought processes that should have taken years, even decades, or centuries in an extremely short period of time. It's already very rare that his brain didn't explode," the white-haired granny said.
"Why didn't you say so before?" Zhou Wen asked with a sullen expression.
"If you need others to explain everything to you without thinking for yourself, what use is your brain?" the white-haired granny said indifferently.
Li Xuan's carapace helmet was about to turn into flames. Zhou Wen knew that he couldn't wait any longer. Otherwise, even if he could save Li Xuan, his mind might end up fried.
Just as he was about to draw his sword, he suddenly saw Li Xuan's carapace flash with a strange light.
With Li Xuan's head as the starting point, points of light flowed out like a data stream, instantly flowing through Li Xuan, turning his entire body into data points of light.
This power is... Zhou Wen was slightly taken aback as he found the power somewhat familiar.
Soon, Zhou Wen recalled why it looked familiar. Although this power had Li Xuan's original attributes, it also had another creature's attributes.
Alpha! Zhou Wen immediately realized what had happened.
Back then, the Guardian, Alpha, who resembled a nanomachine had possessed Li Xuan. In order to preserve his life, he had contracted Li Xuan in a strange manner.
One of the reasons Li Xuan could advance to the Mythical stage was because of Alpha.
The power that erupted from Li Xuan's body, other than his Strength stat, was Alpha's Strength stat. However, the two powers had already fused.
Li Xuan's body seemed to turn into a data stream. His entire body seemed to be formed by countless glowing points of light, making him look extremely illusory and unreal.
With Zhou Wen's vision, he could clearly see that Li Xuan's body couldn't be called a human body. The cells in his body seemed to have turned into nanomachines.
It was impossible for the human brain to handle so much work in such a short period of time, but now, Li Xuan's entire being was like a super-brain, rapidly processing all sorts of data streams.
As the digitalization of his body sped up, Zhou Wen also felt the power fluctuations of the Terror grade.
Is he advancing to the Terror grade? Zhou Wen looked at Li Xuan in surprise and delight. He didn't know if Li Xuan could survive the Thousand Year Dream after advancing to the Terror grade.
In the eyes of Lu Bushun and company, Li Xuan, who was glowing, was gradually turning transparent before completely disappearing as though he had turned invisible.
"Terror transformation?" An Jingyu looked in horror at the spot where Li Xuan had vanished and finally couldn't help but shout.
Currently, there weren't many humans who could reach the Terror grade. Most of them were humans who had contracted Guardians, and had raised the Guardian to the Terror grade.
Humans who advanced to the Terror grade on their own were very rare, even if they used the Mythical Serum.
Li Xuan was clearly different from the people who had contracted Guardians. His body was undergoing Terror transformation, not simply letting the Guardian undergo Terror transformation.
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Chapter 1185: River of Forgetfulness Soup
Translator: CKtalon
Zhou Wen could see Li Xuan in his Terror form as the data stream on his body constantly shimmered like a smart-brain that was rapidly processing calculations.
Although Zhou Wen didn't know much about Li Xuan's Terror transformation, it didn't seem like the effects of the Thousand Year Dream on him were that intense.
After about half an hour, the rapidly flowing data over Li Xuan's body finally stopped. His sleeping body also woke up.
After escaping the Terror transformation, Li Xuan's body landed heavily on the ground.
"Does that count as me clearing the Dream Punishment? Do I need to do it again?" Li Xuan asked the white-haired granny.
However, when he looked over, he realized that the white-haired granny was gone.
Zhou Wen and company didn't notice when the white-haired granny had vanished either.
"What's going on? I guess I cleared it?" Li Xuan walked out of the torture chamber.
Boom!
Just as Li Xuan walked out of the torture chamber, he heard a loud bang. The door at the back of Netherworld City slowly opened, revealing a path that led outside.
Zhou Wen found it odd that he hadn't seen City Lord Netherworld. The City Lord Netherworld he met previously had completely vanished. He hadn't appeared from beginning to end.
Furthermore, as the door to Netherworld City opened, there was no desert scenery outside. Instead, a bridge appeared.
The stone bridge led into the distance, but there was no end in sight. Yellow smoke beneath the bridge churned, and nothing beneath could be seen.
At one end of the stone bridge sat the white-haired granny from the Dream Punishment Chamber. However, there was no stone table in front of her. There was only a huge pot. There seemed to be something boiling in the pot, but the steam was billowing above it as well. It was impossible to tell what was being cooked.
"Don't tell me this is the legendary Bridge of Helplessness and Granny Meng Soup?" Lu Bushun's expression turned odd when he saw the bridge and pot.
In fact, when they saw this scene, the others also had the same thoughts as him.
The legend of the Bridge of Helplessness and Granny Meng's soup was known by everyone in the East District.
Legend had it that after a person died, they would turn into a ghost. If a ghost wanted to reincarnate, they had to drink a bowl of Granny Meng's soup and wash away the memories of their previous life. Only then could they undergo reincarnation as a pure soul.
In the Six Paths of Reincarnation for the Three Realms, all living beings had to drink such a bowl of soup when they reincarnated. It was obvious how magical and strange Granny Meng's soup was.
After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, it would be the true Netherworld. It wasn't a place where the living were supposed to go.
At this point, even if hell was ahead, Zhou Wen and company could only take the risk.
An Tianzuo led his men towards the stone bridge. Zhou Wen and Li Xuan exchanged looks before heading towards it.
"The path to the Underworld must be taken without any lingering memories. If you wish to step onto the Bridge of Helplessness, you have to drink a bowl of River of Forgetfulness soup," the white-haired granny said when An Tianzuo and company approached the stone bridge.
"Since this is really the River of Forgetfulness and the Bridge of Helplessness, this soup should be the Granny Meng Soup that can make people forget their past lives, right?" An Jingyu asked.
"I only know the River of Forgetfulness Soup, but I don't know what Granny Meng Soup is," the white-haired granny answered calmly without any change in expression.
"Aren't you Granny Meng?" Lu Bushun asked.
"I'm only a bridgekeeper. All I know is to watch the bridge and sell soup. I've long forgotten my name." The white-haired granny still had the same expression as before, as though it all had nothing to do with her.
"Then, will drinking your soup make people lose their memories?" Lu Bushun asked again.
"Yes," the white-haired granny answered.
"Can we cross the bridge without drinking soup?" Unwilling to give up, Lu Bushun asked again.
"Yes." The white-haired granny's answer surprised everyone.
However, the white-haired granny continued, "As long as you die, you can cross the Bridge of Helplessness without drinking the River of Forgetfulness Soup."
"Overseer, it looks like we can only force our way through," Lu Bushun said softly to An Tianzuo.
"We mustn't," Zhou Wen said.
Although he had never seen this white-haired granny, who claimed to be a bridgekeeper, attack, from the antelope's reaction, her strength was definitely at the Calamity grade. Furthermore, this was her territory. If they really fought, it was unknown how many people could survive, much less talk about saving Ouyang Lan and company.
"You forget everything when you drink the soup. What can we do if we don't barge in?" Lu Bushun asked Zhou Wen.
Zhou Wen walked in front of the white-haired granny and sized up the Bridge of Helplessness. He couldn't see anything. All he could see was billowing yellow smoke. It was unknown how deep the River of Forgetfulness was.
"May I ask if a group of humans came here about ten days ago?" Zhou Wen asked.
"I forgot. I only sell soup and don't look at their faces," the white-haired granny answered expressionlessly.
"Then did you sell any soup ten days ago?" Zhou Wen wasn't anxious as he asked after some thought.
"Yes." The white-haired granny finally answered Zhou Wen's question.
"Can you tell me how many bowls you sold that day?" Zhou Wen asked again.
"Eight bowls," the white-haired granny answered.
"That's right. It should be Madam Lan and company. According to the clues and information, there should have been eight who retreated into Netherworld City," Lu Bushun said happily.
An Tianzuo and An Sheng jolted. Madam Lan and company were likely still alive, so this was naturally good news.
"Did all of them drink the soup?" An Tianzuo asked.
"To cross the Bridge of Helplessness, they naturally have to drink the River of Forgetfulness Soup unless they're dead," the white-haired granny answered.
"Is it possible to drink the River of Forgetfulness Soup without losing your memories?" An Tianzuo asked again.
"There's the Three-Lives Stone in the River of Forgetfulness. If you can engrave your name on the Three-Lives Stone, you won't lose your memories of your past life even if you drink the River of Forgetfulness Soup," the white-haired granny answered.
"Where's the Three-Lives Stone?" Lu Bushun hurriedly asked.
"In the River of Forgetfulness." The white-haired granny's answer disappointed everyone.
It was unknown how big or deep the river with the billowing yellow smoke was. They also didn't know what the Three-Lives Stone looked like. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Young Master Wen..." An Sheng looked at Zhou Wen. It seemed a little difficult to find the Three-Lives Stone now. If possible, it was best to barge through.
However, Zhou Wen had previously said that they couldn't barge in, so An Sheng wanted to seek his opinion.
"Let's search for it." Zhou Wen looked at the River of Forgetfulness, hoping to find the legendary Three-Lives Stone.
The legendary Three-Lives Stone was something that recorded one's past and present lives. However, it looked different from the legends.
Lu Bushun and company looked at An Tianzuo. They ultimately followed his lead.
"Find the Three-Lives Stone." An Tianzuo glanced at Zhou Wen before looking at the River of Forgetfulness.
"Overseer, we can use Companion Beasts here. Let me give it a try," an officer said.
Zhou Wen and company also realized that this place was different from Netherworld City. There was no taboo power that prohibited flight and Companion Beasts.
An Tianzuo nodded as the officer summoned a huge silver eagle. Under his control, the eagle flew towards the River of Forgetfulness. Just as it touched the yellow smoke in the river, it was suddenly yanked into the yellow smoke. Then, it vanished. The eagle symbol on the officer's body also vanished.
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Chapter 1186: River of Forgetfulness
The officers under An Tianzuo made a few more tries, but the outcome was the same every time. No matter what kind of Companion Beast it was—regardless of its attributes or type—as long as it approached the River of Forgetfulness's smoke, it would immediately plummet into the river without a trace. It wouldn't even cause a ripple.
It was useless for the Companion Beasts to attack the River of Forgetfulness. They all vanished the moment they entered the river. It was unknown how deep the River of Forgetfulness was.
It was impossible to even enter the River of Forgetfulness, much less search for the Three-Lives Stone in the river.
Zhou Wen and Li Xuan also summoned some low-level Companion Beasts and made them attempt to approach the River of Forgetfulness. However, just like An Tianzuo and company's attempts, no Companion Beast could survive in the River of Forgetfulness.
Zhou Wen listened attentively and used Great Brahma to strengthen his senses. He looked into the River of Forgetfulness, but he didn't discover anything.
"Overseer, let me give it a try." An officer stood up and saluted An Tianzuo.
Zhou Wen and Li Xuan glanced at the officer and saw that he was wearing a military uniform and a military coat. He wore a gas mask and a military cap.
Zhou Wen and Li Xuan had some impression of this officer because his attire was very odd. They didn't know what he looked like or what his name was.
"Are you confident?" An Tianzuo asked the officer.
"I noticed something. I can give it a try," the officer answered.
"Proceed." An Tianzuo nodded slightly.
The officer saluted slightly before walking towards the River of Forgetfulness. However, to Zhou Wen's surprise, he didn't summon his Companion Beast. Instead, he walked towards the River of Forgetfulness himself.
He walked very slowly. It could be described as being very careful, but for him to step into the River of Forgetfulness was clear madness.
Previously, when they used Companion Beasts to scout a path, a Mythical Companion Beast had been sucked into the River of Forgetfulness without any resistance. For the officer to walk in alone was no different from suicide.
The moment the person stepped out, his military uniform seemed to be pulled by some powerful invisible force. It was ripped from his body and dropped down into the River of Forgetfulness along with his military boots, military cap, and mask.
As for the officer's body, it floated above the River of Forgetfulness without falling.
However, Zhou Wen and Li Xuan were alarmed when they saw the officer's appearance.
The officer's body no longer looked like a human's. There was no flesh or blood on it. What they saw was a humanoid gray smoke. As he moved, the smoke ebbed, making him look extremely strange.
Zhou Wen knew that this officer wasn't a monster. He had only used the Mythical Serum created from a special dimensional creature. His body had mutated to a higher level, allowing him to be in such a state.
The smoke-like officer's feet had now stepped onto the River of Forgetfulness, but he wasn't sucked down. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
"What dimensional creature's Mythical Serum did this person use? How interesting," Li Xuan said as he looked at the officer in surprise.
An Sheng explained, "That's Commander Jia Nong of 413 Task Force. The Mythical Serum he used was created by a strange Mythical creature that broke out of Chess Mountain. His body mutated severely, but he also obtained a very special Mythical power. From the looks of it, his strength can restrain the power of the River of Forgetfulness."
"Overseer, I'll go down and take a look." Jia Nong realized that things were as he had guessed. The River of Forgetfulness's strange power was useless against him, so he sought An Tianzuo's permission.
"Safety first," An Tianzuo said.
"Yes," Jia Nong answered and was about to fly down the River of Forgetfulness.
However, he suddenly saw yellow smoke billowing in the distance of the River of Forgetfulness. It was as though something was burrowing beneath. Furthermore, the churning fog was approaching Jia Nong at an extremely fast speed.
Jia Nong assumed a battle stance, but An Tianzuo suddenly shouted, "Jia Nong, return!"
Upon hearing An Tianzuo's order, Jia Nong retreated and left the River of Forgetfulness.
At the instant he retreated, the yellow smoke exploded where he was standing. A blood-colored palm extended out.
Just one finger of the blood-colored palm was more than a meter long. The huge palm seemed to be condensed from blood. With a grab, a terrifying sonic boom sounded in the air.
After grabbing nothing, the blood-colored palm quickly retreated to the River of Forgetfulness and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Jia Nong felt a lingering fear. Although his body wasn't afraid of ordinary physical attacks, the blood-colored palm had only swiped against his body once and had melted much of the gray fog over his body. If he had really been caught, he would probably have vanished into thin air.
"What was that?" Li Xuan wrinkled his nose as he smelled a strong scent of blood.
No one could answer him because no one knew the answer. The white-haired granny guarding the bridge might know the answer, but she didn't say a word.
Finding the Three-Lives Stone was more difficult than they had imagined. Currently, the only person who could enter the river was Jia Nong, but he couldn't withstand the blood-colored hand.
Lu Bushun said with a strange expression, "Legend has it that the River of Forgetfulness is the dividing line between life and death. There are countless wraiths lingering between life and death in the river. As those wraiths can't cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness, they can't reincarnate. They can only wander in the River of Forgetfulness forever. If a living person comes to the River of Forgetfulness, they will pull them down to replace them. From there, they can escape the restrictions of the River of Forgetfulness and obtain the chance to reincarnate. Was that blood hand from before a kind of legendary wraith?"
"What you said is a scapegoat in myths. You can obtain a chance of rebirth by finding a substitute to replace yourself," An Sheng said.
"Yes, a scapegoat. Could that bloody hand be that thing?" Lu Bushun nodded.
"I don't know, but from the looks of it, we can only think of a way to resolve it if we want to find the Three-Lives Stone," An Sheng said as he stared at the river.
"Commander Jia, only you can enter the river now. I can only request you make another trip to lure it out," An Tianzuo said to Jia Nong.
"Yes sir." Without any hesitation, Jia Nong entered the River of Forgetfulness again.
This time, he was rather careful, but he couldn't sense the blood-colored hand ahead of time. It was only when An Sheng warned him that he could escape in time.
When the blood-colored hand appeared, Lu Bushun and the other officers immediately attacked it. Essence Energy of different attributes struck the blood-colored hand, scattering it.
However, in the blink of an eye, the scattered sanguine aura condensed again, turning into a blood-colored hand that drilled back into the River of Forgetfulness.
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Chapter 1187: Three-Lives Stone
Everyone was dumbfounded to see their attacks rendered ineffective.
An Tianzuo frowned and said, "From the looks of it, the blood-colored hand is something like a scapegoat. It has an extreme Yin attribute. It's very difficult for ordinary strength to really injure it. Only the most extreme Yang forces can do so."
"Unfortunately, Miss Jing didn't come. Her Essence Energy Art is extreme Yang. It's the nemesis of these Yin creatures," An Sheng said with a sigh.
"Although I've long expected to encounter such a creature, the Yang-type Companion Beasts we prepared aren't enough to kill the scapegoat. If there's no other way, I'm afraid we won't be able to go down the river to find the Three-Lives Stone," Lu Bushun said gloomily.
"Commander Jia, can I trouble you to lure the bloody hand out again? Let me give it a try," Zhou Wen said to Jia Nong.
"Of course." What Zhou Wen and Li Xuan had done was enough to make Jia Nong and company respect them. Therefore, Jia Nong didn't think too much about it. He immediately asked An Tianzuo for permission before heading down the river.
Perhaps angered by the previous attack, the moment Jia Nong entered the river, the blood-colored hand rushed out unexpectedly.
As it was too sudden, An Sheng didn't have the time to warn them. Just as everyone was alarmed, they suddenly saw a golden light flash.
Before the blood-colored hand grabbed Jia Nong, the golden beam pierced through the blood-colored hand.
A golden monkey appeared behind the blood-colored hand. It opened its mouth and sucked in the blood mist that formed the blood-colored hand. Like red milk tea, it was sucked into the monkey's mouth. The blood-colored hand couldn't resist at all.
The remaining portions of the blood-colored hand wanted to escape back to the River of Forgetfulness, but it was too late.
Two earrings on the little monkey's ears shattered one after another, turning it into a dark-gold behemoth. Golden light shone everywhere over its body. Wherever the golden light went, it dispersed the yellow fog over the River of Forgetfulness, revealing a huge blood-colored ghostly shadow.
The blood-colored ghostly shadow was neither human nor ghost. Lurking in the river, one of its palms had been severed.
Truth Listener roared and rushed above the fleeing blood-colored shadow. It opened its mouth and swallowed it as though it was slurping jelly.
That's... the Companion Beast that fought Di Tian... Human Sovereign... Could Zhou Wen be Human Sovereign... An Jingyu suddenly jolted when he saw Truth Listener transform. He thought of something unbelievable as he widened his eyes and couldn't help but look at Zhou Wen who was standing by the River of Forgetfulness.
It wasn't just An Jingyu. Everyone who had seen Truth Listener fight Di Tian recognized it. After all, Truth Listener's appearance and battle had been too shocking.
That was a terrifying existence that could withstand a Calamity-grade creature. Even five years later, no human had such a Companion Beast.
"No wonder. So that's how it is. It's no wonder that in Netherworld City, even the torture tools in the torture chambers have to obey Young Master Wen's orders. So Young Master Wen is Human Sovereign... I never expected..." Lu Bushun said in delight.
The way everyone looked at Zhou Wen changed. If it was only respect before, now, their eyes seemed to be filled with worship.
To be able to fight alongside Human Sovereign made them feel honored.
"Adjutant An... Is Young Master Wen really... that person?" Lu Bushun wasn't sure as he whispered to An Sheng.
"If you think so, so be it. If you think otherwise, so be it," An Sheng said ambiguously.
Lu Bushun was somewhat depressed. He felt his heart itching to know the answer. Meanwhile, over the River of Forgetfulness, Truth Listener had already shown its might.
Truth Listener charged into the River of Forgetfulness. Wherever it passed, the yellow smoke was melted by the golden light from its body. Scapegoats appeared one after another.
However, Truth Listener was extremely effective against dimensional creatures like scapegoats. As long as the scapegoats approached it, they would immediately be devoured. It was like a god incarnate.
The scapegoats that originally made people feel terrified now gave off a weak and pitiful feeling.
After Truth Listener charged around for a while, it suddenly discovered a strange stone erected by the riverside where the smoke dissipated.
The stone was thirty feet tall and stood alone near the riverbank. However, it was different from ordinary river rocks. The stone was red in color and its form resembled a baby in swaddling clothes. The stone emitted a faint red glow.
Previously, it had been hidden by the yellow smoke and scapegoats in the river and couldn't be seen. Now that it was right in front of everyone, they immediately felt that it was extraordinary.
"Is that the Three-Lives Stone?" Li Xuan asked as he sized up the strange stone.
No one could answer him. No one had seen the legendary Three-Lives Stone before, so they naturally couldn't tell if it was real or fake.
"Overseer, let me give it a try." Jia Nong sought An Tianzuo's permission.
An Tianzuo nodded slightly as Jia Nong flew towards Three-Lives Stone.
With Truth Listener there, the surrounding yellow smoke and scapegoats didn't approach. Jia Nong successfully arrived in front of the strange stone. He extended his smoky fingers that swiped at the Three-Lives Stone.
The white-haired granny had said that as long as they could leave their names on the Three-Lives Stone, they wouldn't be affected by the River of Forgetfulness Soup.
However, Jia Nong's finger failed to leave any marks on the strange stone.
Jia Nong condensed his strength again. This time, he used all his strength. The gray smoke converged into a sharp blade and slashed at the strange stone. The strange stone remained unharmed. It didn't leave a mark.
"Let me give it a try." An Jingyu wanted to use his temporal powers to leave a mark on the strange stone.
He pointed at the strange stone. Although it was only a single point, countless fingers seemed to point at the same spot.
This move of his was called Water Droplet Penetration. It used the power of time to turn the attack of a single tap into a continuous attack. With An Jingyu's present ability, he had actually repeated the same tap more than three hundred times.
However, despite such continuous attacks, the Three-Lives Stone remained unmoved. It didn't leave any imprints—not even a fingerprint.
Although they had found the Three-Lives Stone, they couldn't leave their names on it. It was no different from not having found it.
Everyone looked at An Tianzuo and Zhou Wen. They suspected that Zhou Wen was Human Sovereign and felt more respect for him. They couldn't help but think of him when they encountered problems.
Zhou Wen and An Tianzuo had no intention of making an attempt. Instead, An Tianzuo walked back and arrived in front of the Bridge of Helplessness. He asked the white-haired granny, "Ma'am, how can one leave their name on the Three-Lives Stone?"
The white-haired granny said coldly, "The Three-Lives Stone is about three lives. One naturally has to have a past and present life to leave a name on it. Without a past and present life, it's naturally impossible to leave a name on it."
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Chapter 1188: Leaving Names
Translator: CKtalon
"Do humans really have past lives?" Zhou Wen frowned inwardly. He didn't believe in reincarnation.
Zhou Wen had always felt that it didn't matter if someone died. There wouldn't be anything like a previous life or next life.
"We'll know once we give it a try." Li Xuan was intrigued. He ran to the Three-Lives Stone and made an attempt, but like An Jingyu and company, he failed to leave a mark on it.
"It's indeed a lie. How can I not have a previous life? I must have been an emperor in my previous life with a huge harem," Li Xuan muttered hatefully.
An Tianzuo also got the remaining officers to give it a try, but just like An Jingyu, none of them could leave a mark on the Three-Lives Stone.
Everyone felt that it was very likely that they had been fooled by the white-haired granny. However, when it was An Sheng's turn, his finger sank in upon gently touching it. This was different from the previous attempts in which the Three-Lives Stone was extremely hard and undamageable by any weapon. It was now like sand.
An Sheng was slightly taken aback before he casually wrote down his name.
After An Sheng finished writing his name, his finger left the Three-Lives Stone. The name on it flashed with golden light before disappearing.
"Does this count as a success?" Everyone looked at the Three-Lives Stone and An Sheng in surprise.
An Tianzuo also went up to give it a try, but like the other officers, he failed to leave any marks on the Three-Lives Stone.
"That doesn't make sense. Isn't it said that all creatures can be reincarnated? Why is Adjutant An the only one with a past and present life, while we don't? We aren't any less real than Adjutant An. Why is he the only one with a past and present life?" Lu Bushun grumbled.
"It doesn't matter if he has a past or present life. What matters is how we cross the Bridge of Helplessness. Only Adjutant An can leave his name on the Three-Lives Stone. We can't just let him go alone, right?" An Jingyu said.
An Tianzuo frowned at the thought. Clearly, he couldn't accept such an outcome.
"Young Master Wen, do you want to give it a try too?" Lu Bushun asked Zhou Wen.
Lu Bushun was eager to know if Zhou Wen was Human Sovereign or if he just had a similar Companion Beast.
The others also looked at Zhou Wen, wondering if he could leave his name on the Three-Lives Stone.
Although reincarnation was said to be ethereal and unreal, many people still hoped that there would be a next life. It could be considered a form of spiritual sustenance.
Zhou Wen thought for a moment and walked towards the Three-Lives Stone with Ya'er in his arms. He also wanted to know if he could leave his name on the Three-Lives Stone like An Sheng.
Zhou Wen extended his finger and pressed it on the Three-Lives Stone. Everyone's eyes were drawn by his finger.
However, when Zhou Wen pressed his finger on it, the Three-Lives Stone didn't react at all. Clearly, he didn't have a past life.
Just as Zhou Wen was about to retreat, Ya'er extended her finger and pressed it on the Three-Lives Stone. However, the hard rock turned extremely soft under Ya'er's finger. Soon, Ya'er wrote the word "Ya'er" on the Three-Lives Stone.
Could it be that reincarnation really exists in this world? Zhou Wen felt odd when he saw this.
Ya'er was half-human and half-ghost, but when she first born, it was said that she was the reincarnation of a Gu God.
Now, she had managed to engrave her name on the Three-Lives Stone. This made one's imagination run wild. Why was she able to engrave her name? Could she really be the reincarnation of a Gu God?
In the end, only An Sheng and Ya'er left their names on the Three-Lives Stone, but it was impossible for them to cross the bridge to save Ouyang Lan. Everyone was somewhat vexed.
Despite knowing that Ouyang Lan and company might be ahead, they couldn't walk forward no matter what.
"From the looks of it, the only way is to storm through by force." Lu Bushun rubbed his fists in eagerness.
Everyone returned to the white-haired granny. Zhou Wen knew that it was impossible to barge in. He looked at her and asked, "Apart from leaving our name on the Three-Lives Stone, is there no other way to cross the Bridge of Helplessness without losing our memories?"
"No," the white-haired granny answered firmly.
Everyone fell silent as Zhou Wen pondered for a moment before suddenly turning around and walking towards the Three-Lives Stone.
Even the antelope didn't dare offend the white-haired granny; therefore, it was almost impossible for them to barge through. They might as well think of a solution regarding the Three-Lives Stone.
Previously, Zhou Wen had only casually pressed down, so it was understandable that he hadn't left any traces.
Now that he was at the end of his tether and he was bent on crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, he could only turn his sights back to the Three-Lives Stone again.
As he circulated Terror-grade power, he struck the Three-Lives Stone, but the outcome was the same. Even Terror-grade power couldn't deal damage to the Three-Lives Stone.
Zhou Wen switched to several different Terror powers and used all of them, but none of them worked.
Demon God Body, Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, Clown Mask, Singularity Universe, and Great Brahma's powers were useless.
How can I satisfy this condition of having a past and present life? Zhou Wen frowned in thought.
Lu Bushun and company were somewhat alarmed when they saw that Zhou Wen was still unable to leave a mark on the Three-Lives Stone despite all his efforts.
If even Zhou Wen couldn't do it, there was probably no hope.
I don't believe it. Can't I leave a mark on it? Zhou Wen began carving Sword Pill on his Wheel of Destiny.
Soon, a sword pill appeared in Zhou Wen's palm. He reached out to grab it, and it immediately transformed into a sword.
Clang!
Zhou Wen held the sword transformed from Sword Pill and slashed at the Three-Lives Stone, but things remained the same.
However, Zhou Wen had no intention of stopping. He continued slashing at the Three-Lives Stone again and again. He seemed to treat the Three-Lives Stone as a blade tester as he constantly slashed at it.
However, no matter how terrifying Zhou Wen's strike was, it couldn't leave a mark on the Three-Lives Stone.
Indeed, it's just a Companion Beast of the same species. From the looks of it, Young Master Wen isn't Human Sovereign. Seeing that Zhou Wen hadn't even cracked the Three-Lives Stone's surface after slashing at it for so long, Lu Bushun began to doubt his previous judgment.
Human Sovereign's slash at Di Tian was an extremely dominating force. Although the force Zhou Wen was dishing out was powerful, it wasn't as powerful as Human Sovereign's. Furthermore, the weapon in Zhou Wen's hand wasn't the legendary sword.
Unbeknownst to them, the Immortal Culling Sword couldn't be used casually.
Zhou Wen didn't care what they thought as he continued slashing at the Three-Lives Stone. At the same time, he engraved the Sword Pill on his Wheel of Destiny again and again.
He gave all his ideas a try. Not only did he push his sword techniques closer to perfection, but he also made Sword Pill begin to change.
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Chapter 1189: Incomplete Sword Pill
Although Sword Pill was in the form of a sword, its essence was a Qi Refinement technique. It was a technique that absorbed the Heaven and Earth energies for its own use.
In ancient times, Qi Refinement warriors pursued Qi Refinement to strengthen themselves to reach the ethereal realm of immortality.
Although he had never heard of any Qi Refinement warrior reaching the realm of immortality, it was an extension of humanity's pursuit of life.
Zhou Wen condensed his energy into a sword. Instead of saying that he was practicing his sword art, it was better to say that he was converting his beliefs into a sword.
My mind is on the sword. Life and death are separated by a thought. I only wish for my thoughts to be free in this life. What has my next life got to do with me? Zhou Wen engraved the Sword Pill repeatedly, hoping to draw it into the shape of a sword.
At that moment, what Zhou Wen was drawing wasn't a sword, but his beliefs. The sword was akin to him as a person—his heart. The more resilient his heart was, the sharper the sword.
I'd rather be average in an aboveboard manner than compromise my values. The sword that Zhou Wen had drawn was just and moderate; its blade was straight, in the most traditional East District sword style. The sword was like its owner, and this sword was a reflection of Zhou Wen.
However, the sword engraved on the Wheel of Destiny failed to help Sword Pill advance to the Terror grade.
What's missing? What's missing? Zhou Wen reflected on himself. In his hundred years of meditation, he had spent relatively less time on the Qi Refinement Art and Sword Pill.
It wasn't because Zhou Wen didn't like using swords, but because the Qi Refinement Art was too monotonous. Just practicing and comprehending summarized the essence of this Essence Energy Art.
However, with his body trapped, Zhou Wen could only hypothesize without actual practice. Without being able to practice, he lacked the most basic step, making it very difficult for him to take the next step forward. Thus, Zhou Wen hadn't spent too much time on Qi Refinement.
Zhou Wen slashed down again and again, carving the Sword Pill over and over again. The Sword Pill he drew was somewhat different every time, but none of them could stabilize the Wheel of Destiny. Clearly, he hadn't truly found his Sword Heart.
What's my Sword Heart? Killing? Protection? Acting recklessly? None of them seem to be the case. Zhou Wen realized that he didn't seem to understand himself.
He failed again and again. It had been a long time since Zhou Wen had failed like this. The previous few Essence Energy Arts had successfully completed a Terror transformation, making him feel a little smug. He felt that he would achieve the remaining few Essence Energy Arts in just a matter of time.
Does it still not work? The Sword Pill that had been engraved on the Wheel of Destiny vanished again, leaving Zhou Wen somewhat disappointed.
Sometimes, the hardest thing to understand wasn't one's opponent, but oneself. This was because one could see others, but not oneself.
Before a mirror appeared, no one knew what they looked like. It could be said that they were their most familiar strangers.
A mirror reflects the body; whereas a person reflects the heart. I haven't met a person who can let me see myself for who I am. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to condense a true Sword Heart... Zhou Wen's mind raced.
He knew where his flaws were, but he had no intention of giving up. He wanted to take another path.
Since I still don't understand my heart, can I use other methods to replace it? Zhou Wen thought of the Immortal Culling Sword.
Back when he slew Di Tian with a single strike, he had personally experienced the terrifying sword intent of the Immortal Culling Sword. No one understood the concepts and beliefs in that sword better than him.
As Zhou Wen recalled the Immortal Culling Sword, he continued carving on the Wheel of Destiny.
Lu Bushun and company watched Zhou Wen slash the Three-Lives Stone countless times, but none of them left a mark. Instead, the sword condensed in his hand shattered again and again. They had lost hope.
"Overseer, can we think of a way to cross the Bridge of Helplessness without passing it?" Lu Bushun said as he sized up the River of Forgetfulness.
An Sheng shook his head and said, "Legend has it that the River of Forgetfulness is the boundary between the two worlds. It's no longer a matter of distance from the world of the living to the world of the dead. If we could cross the Bridge of Helplessness without taking it, there wouldn't be so many wraiths trapped in the River of Forgetfulness."
"But we can't continue like this. Young Master Wen's sword art is so powerful, yet he can't leave a mark on the Three-Lives Stone. I'm afraid we won't be able to take this path," Lu Bushun said with a sigh.
"Overseer, why don't I go over and take a look first?" An Sheng suggested. He wanted to cross the Bridge of Helplessness to find Ouyang Lan and company.
"Wait a little longer," An Tianzuo said as he looked in the direction of the Bridge of Helplessness.
Lu Bushun and company were somewhat puzzled. They didn't know what An Tianzuo was waiting for, but An Tianzuo's words were military orders. They didn't dare ask further and could only continue waiting.
Meanwhile, the sword transformed from the Sword Pill in Zhou Wen's hand increasingly resembled Immortal Culling Sword.
The more Sword Pill resembled Immortal Culling Sword, the more illusory it looked to others. It was so indiscernible that it was close to vanishing.
Clang!
A strange sword hum alarmed the talking Lu Bushun and company. Everyone turned their heads and saw Zhou Wen standing in front of the Three-Lives Stone bare-handed. There was a foot-long sword mark on the indestructible Three-Lives Stone.
Following that, they saw Zhou Wen move his palm in the air as though he was holding an invisible sword.
As Zhou Wen moved his palm, the fragments scattered from the Three-Lives Stone as sword marks appeared. Soon, Zhou Wen's name was engraved.
The strokes of the two words were like a sword's edge. Every stroke was filled with terrifying sword intent. Just looking at the two words made Lu Bushun and company feel a chill run down their spines as they subconsciously took half a step back.
What a terrifying sword intent! After snapping to their senses, everyone realized that it was only the sword intent contained in the words.
Zhou Wen's name was forcefully engraved on the Three-Lives Stone. It didn't vanish like An Sheng and Ya'er's names. It was unknown if engraving a name in such a way was effective.
"Ah Sheng, I'll cross the bridge with you." Zhou Wen retracted the Terror form Sword Pill and secretly glanced at the information on his phone.
Terror transformation: Incomplete Sword Pill (S-grade)
Although there was something wrong with the name, it was within his expectations. After all, this Terror form Sword Pill was based on the Immortal Culling Sword, not his own Sword Heart.
If it wasn't because he didn't have the luxury of time, Zhou Wen wouldn't have chosen this path. It was safer to advance to the Terror transformation stage with a Sword Heart he could call his own.
"Overseer, why don't Young Master Wen and I head over to take a look?" An Sheng requested An Tianzuo's permission again.
"Does engraving a name like that count?" An Tianzuo didn't answer An Sheng as he asked the white-haired granny.
"Just leaving a name would do," the white-haired granny said calmly.
An Tianzuo turned around and walked towards the Three-Lives Stone. As he walked towards it, a strange figure appeared behind him.
It was a white humanoid armored creature. He floated behind An Tianzuo with a device similar to a rocket launcher behind him. He held a sword in one hand and a Gatling-like weapon in the other. He looked like a modern robot.
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Chapter 1190: Stepping onto the Bridge
Translator: CKtalon
Da! Da! Da!
The Gatling-like weapon swept crazily at the Three-Lives Stone as blue flames spewed out from its muzzle. When the bullets struck the Three-Lives Stone, they drilled in. Rows of bullets dotted out the words 'An Tianzuo.'
"Old Zhao, you are in charge of commandeering this area. Everyone, stay put and wait for our return." As An Tianzuo spoke, he walked towards the Bridge of Helplessness.
"Overseer..." Lu Bushun and An Jingyu wanted to say something, but An Tianzuo stopped them with a wave of his hand.
"It's an order," An Tianzuo said as he walked to the Bridge of Helplessness.
As he walked, the robot-like creature had already transformed into armor that enveloped his body.
"What's that?" Zhou Wen looked at An Tianzuo in surprise.
When the armor enveloped his body, An Tianzuo's figure had already vanished from the eyes of ordinary people. Only Zhou Wen could still see him. Without a doubt, this was the result of his Terror transformation.
However, An Tianzuo himself didn't undergo Terror transformation. Instead, the transformation came from the robot-like creature that was in the form of an armor.
If it was a Guardian, it would be understandable. However, it wasn't a Guardian. There was no Guardian's aura.
In fact, Zhou Wen had seen An Tianzuo use something similar in the past. It was likely his Life Soul, but this Life Soul was very different from before. This difference wasn't completely due to the Terror transformation. There seemed to be other factors mixed in.
Could it be that An Tianzuo didn't use the Mythical Serum, but allowed his Life Soul to fuse with something similar to the Mythical Serum? Zhou Wen guessed, but he wasn't able to verify his guess.
"Overseer, I'll go first. You can come up later." An Sheng hurriedly ran over, hoping to step onto the Bridge of Helplessness before An Tianzuo.
However, a spoon stopped them. The white-haired granny held a bowl of soup in her other hand and said expressionlessly, "You must drink the River of Forgetfulness Soup before stepping onto the Bridge of Helplessness."
Without any hesitation, An Sheng took the bowl and glanced at the billowing yellow smoke in the bowl. He raised it to his mouth and swallowed all the yellow smoke.
An Tianzuo looked at An Sheng from the side without stopping him. Zhou Wen, on the other hand, was extremely nervous.
An Sheng waited for a while and after confirming that he hadn't lost his memories, he said to An Tianzuo, "Overseer, I'm fine. My memories are still intact. Overseer, I'll step onto the bridge first. You can step onto the bridge when I reach the opposite bank without any problems."
With that said, An Sheng stepped onto the Bridge of Helplessness and carefully walked towards the opposite bank.
Every few steps An Sheng took, he would turn his head and shout. However, Zhou Wen and company could only see him open his mouth without hearing anything. It was merely a short distance, but it was as though an invisible barrier had screened his voice.
The Bridge of Helplessness was an arched bridge. When An Sheng reached the highest point of the bridge, his body suddenly vanished as though he had stepped into another world.
When An Tianzuo saw this, he picked up a bowl of River of Forgetfulness Soup and downed it in one gulp. He turned to look at Zhou Wen and said, "Don't risk Ya'er's life. Leave her here."
With that said, An Tianzuo walked onto the Bridge of Helplessness.
Zhou Wen didn't let go of Ya'er. Although An Tianzuo said it for Ya'er's sake, Zhou Wen still believed that it was safer to keep Ya'er by his side.
Zhou Wen reached out to get the River of Forgetfulness Soup, but to his surprise, his hand was blocked by the white-haired granny's spoon.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Wen asked with a frown.
An Tianzuo also stopped and looked at the white-haired granny. Lu Bushun and company also surrounded her.
"You don't have to drink it," the white-haired granny said expressionlessly as she retracted her spoon.
"I can step onto the bridge without drinking the soup?" Zhou Wen looked at the white-haired granny in puzzlement. Lu Bushun and company were also puzzled.
"Yes," the white-haired granny answered.
"Why?" Zhou Wen asked.
"There's no reason. You can choose not to step onto it if you don't want to." The white-haired granny still had that dead expression as though nothing was worthy of her being moved.
Zhou Wen was somewhat depressed. If he had known that he didn't need to drink the River of Forgetfulness Soup, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to leave his name on the Three-Lives Stone.
"What about her?" Zhou Wen pointed at Ya'er in his arms.
The white-haired granny didn't say a word as she handed over a bowl of River of Forgetfulness Soup.
Ya'er looked like a child, but her soul wasn't. Without waiting for Zhou Wen to say anything, she took the River of Forgetfulness Soup and drank it in one mouthful.
An Tianzuo didn't immediately continue forward. He watched Ya'er finish the River of Forgetfulness Soup without losing her memories before turning to walk to the other side of the bridge.
"If there's any danger, head back," Zhou Wen said to Li Xuan.
"Don't worry. I'll run faster than anyone if there's danger," Li Xuan said with a smile.
"Then I'm relieved." He turned around and carried Ya'er onto the Bridge of Helplessness.
To his surprise, not long after Zhou Wen went up the bridge, the antelope and Chick followed. The white-haired granny glanced at them and didn't stop them or get them to drink the River of Forgetfulness Soup.
Chick landed on Zhou Wen's shoulder as the antelope slowly followed behind him. It looked like it was on a vacation as it occasionally looked at the River of Forgetfulness under the bridge.
Zhou Wen was somewhat surprised. He never expected the antelope to follow him. He had no idea what it was up to.
Seeing Zhou Wen walk on the Bridge of Helplessness with the bird and antelope, Lu Bushun and company's expressions turned odd.
Lu Bushun couldn't help but run to the bridge's end. He squeezed out a smile on his fat face and asked the white-haired granny, "Well, Granny, if they can cross the bridge without drinking the River of Forgetfulness Soup, can we do the same?"
The white-haired granny ignored him and tapped the bowl with her spoon. The meaning was obvious—if he wanted to step onto the bridge, he had to drink the soup first.
"That's not fair. Why do we have to drink the soup when they can choose not to?" Lu Bushun deliberately said in an unhappy manner. In fact, he wanted to get the reason from the white-haired granny.
The white-haired granny rolled her eyes and smashed the spoon in her hand on Lu Bushun's head, smashing his body into the mud. Only his head was exposed like a radish planted in the ground.
"Do you think it's fair now?" the white-haired granny asked coldly.
"It's fair. It's very fair." Unable to move, Lu Bushun could only squeeze out a fawning smile and nod.
Zhou Wen walked onto the Bridge of Helplessness and looked into the River of Forgetfulness. The scenery he saw was different from the scene from the bank.
Under the bridge wasn't a bottomless abyss, nor was there any billowing yellow smoke. There was only a small river below. The river water was clear, and it wasn't deep. However, beneath the bridge were piles of bones that covered the riverbed. It was like hell.
From the outside, it looked like there was no end to the bridge, but when he really stepped onto it, he realized that it wasn't very long. Zhou Wen didn't walk far before he reached the top of the bridge. Taking a step forward, the scene in front of him changed again.
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Chapter 1191: Six Realms
Translator: CKtalon
Zhou Wen had heard many ghost stories from his grandfather since he was young. Many of them were about the Netherworld.
He had heard plenty of stories about Yama's Hall, Lord Yama, the judges, and small ghosts, etc. In Zhou Wen's impression, he would be at Fengdu City after crossing the Bridge of Helplessness.
Fengdu City was also the legendary Ghost City. Legend had it that the ten Yama Kings lived in Fengdu City.
There was an earlier Ghost Thearch, Lord of the Earth, who also lived in Fengdu City. However, in myths and legends, his residence was called Ghostly Capital.
Regardless of which legend it was, one should be able to see some legendary eminences and a ghost city after crossing the Bridge of Helplessness. However, the scene Zhou Wen saw when he stood on the Bridge of Helplessness was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
There was no Fengdu City or Yama Palace—not even a small temple.
On the other side of the Bridge of Helplessness, there were only six huge doors. On them were the words "Devas Realm," "Asura Realm," "Hell Realm," "Hungry Ghost Realm," "Animal Realm," and "Human Realm."
An Sheng and An Tianzuo were standing in front of the six doors, as though they were hesitating about which door to enter.
Zhou Wen walked over with Ya'er in his arms. An Sheng and An Tianzuo weren't too surprised when they saw Chick and the antelope coming over. In the past five years, Chick and the antelope had exhibited many strange phenomena when they followed An Jing, who was impersonating Zhou Wen.
Furthermore, when Zhou Wen hadn't been around, An Sheng had been in charge of taking care of them. With An Sheng's meticulousness, how could he not discover the strangeness of the antelope?
Seeing Zhou Wen walk over, An Sheng said, "These six gates should be the legendary Six Realms of Rebirth. Legend has it that ghosts will reincarnate when they enter, but it doesn't say what will happen when living people enter."
Zhou Wen thought for a moment and said, "If this is really the land of the six realms of rebirth and existence, with so many creatures dying every day on Earth, this place would have long been filled with ghosts. How can it be so quiet? It's probably just a dimensional zone."
An Sheng nodded slightly. "Although that's the case, since there are six paths, it's very likely that there's a taboo power that corresponds to the six realms of rebirth and existence. We have to be wary of that. Furthermore, we don't know which door Madam and the others entered. If we try them one by one, it will waste too much time."
Zhou Wen sized up the six doors and said, "In theory, entering the Mortal Realm door is naturally the most normal choice."
"She would not choose the Human Realm," An Tianzuo, who had been silent all this while, suddenly said.
"Why?" Zhou Wen was puzzled.
An Tianzuo didn't answer. An Sheng hurriedly explained, "Madam's personality is somewhat different from ordinary people. If it were an ordinary person, they would definitely choose the most reliable Human Realm. However, if it were Madam, she would definitely think of something else. Perhaps she would think an obvious hint like the Human Realm is a trap, and choose another door."
"Of course, this is only an example. In fact, Madam might go one step deeper. With her personality, the possibility of her choosing to enter the Human Realm is indeed very low," An Sheng added.
Zhou Wen thought for a moment and felt that what An Sheng said made sense. From the looks of it, Ouyang Lan was indeed an unpredictable person.
The first time Zhou Wen went to her place to eat, she had hoodwinked her daughter. Zhou Wen was truly alarmed back then.
"Then which door would Sis Lan choose?" Zhou Wen sized up the other five doors.
His understanding of Ouyang Lan was limited. He really couldn't guess which path she would choose.
"This... Didn't I just say that Madam has a unique personality? It's really difficult to guess which path she took," An Sheng said helplessly as he spread out his hands.
An Tianzuo suddenly said, "Although her personality is strange and unique, she's definitely not the type to act rashly without any reason. She will definitely choose a path that we can guess."
An Sheng looked at An Tianzuo and asked, "Overseer, in your opinion, which path would Madam choose?"
"I'm thinking about it," An Tianzuo answered.
An Sheng looked at the doors and said, "I doubt it would be the Beast Realm. Madam is someone who loves beauty, so it's impossible for her to have any desire of becoming another creature. The Hungry Ghost Realm and the Hell Realm are collectively known as the Three Evils with the Beast Realm. They aren't great candidates either. I believe the chances of Madam choosing them aren't high. The remaining Devas Realm and Asura Realm seem to be possible. Typically, ordinary people would choose the Heaven Realm that legends foretell good fortune, but with Madam's personality, she might also choose the Asura Realm."
"What kind of place is the Asura Realm in legends?" Zhou Wen only knew the name of six realms, so he didn't understand it in detail.
"The Asura Realm is a fiendish path. Typically, when one sinks into the fiendish path, it refers to the Asura Realm. However, the Asura Realm is also listed as one of the Three Goods. The reason is very complicated. I don't understand it in detail either," An Sheng explained.
An Tianzuo looked at the door of the Asura Realm and said, "Asuras spread across the six realms. There's Deva Asuras in the Devas Realm, Human Asuras in the Human Realm, Hell Asuras in the Hell Realm, and Hungry Ghost Asuras in the Hungry Ghost Realm. Asuras are different across the different realms. The only similarity is that Asuras are warlike. It's the same no matter which realm they are in."
"Ah Sheng, you're right. With her personality, she most likely chose the Asura Realm. Furthermore, she can only choose the Asura Realm," An Tianzuo said as he walked towards the door of the Asura Realm.
"Why?" An Sheng asked in puzzlement.
Although the possibility of Devas Realm was smaller, it wasn't impossible.
An Tianzuo said without turning his head, "That's because she doesn't have a good impression of things with the character 'tian' after watching a particular battle1 in the past. She even wanted to change the 'tian' in my name, so she definitely wouldn't choose the Devas Realm."
"Which battle? Why don't I know?" An Sheng asked.
However, An Tianzuo didn't answer him as he walked through the door of the Asura Realm.
Zhou Wen was also somewhat curious as to which battle made Ouyang Lan dislike the character "tian."
"Young Master Wen, let's go in as well." When An Sheng saw that An Tianzuo had vanished, he called out to Zhou Wen and immediately rushed through the Asura Realm's door.
Just as Zhou Wen was about to follow him in, he suddenly felt a force pulling at his clothes, pulling him to the other side.
Looking down, he saw the antelope biting the corner of his shirt and pulling him to the other side.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Wen asked the antelope.
The antelope wrote a few words on the ground with its hooves. "Ouyang Lan didn't enter the Asura Realm. Follow me."
"How do you know that she didn't enter the Asura Realm?" Zhou Wen didn't believe the antelope as he stared at him and asked.
"Why do you think Ouyang Lan entered this place?" the antelope asked in return.
"She was forced to enter after encountering danger," Zhou Wen answered.
"Since she knows that there's danger and knows that you will definitely come to save her, she will guess that An Tianzuo will think that she entered the Asura Realm. If she enters the Asura Realm, it's very likely that you will face the same danger. What do you think she would choose?" the antelope said.
"You mean that in order to prevent us from being in danger, she would do the opposite and take a path that An Tianzuo would never think of?" Zhou Wen immediately understood the antelope's intentions and couldn't help but look at the Devas Realm.
An Tianzuo had said that Ouyang Lan hated the character "tian." It was impossible for her to choose the Devas Realm. If the antelope's deduction was right, Ouyang Lan had most likely entered the Devas Realm.
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Chapter 1192: Deva
Although this was only the antelope's guess, Zhou Wen felt that it made sense. Since An Tianzuo and company had entered the Asura Realm, it was a form of double insurance if he headed for the Deva Realm.
The antelope led the way into the Deva Realm as Zhou Wen followed, carrying Ya'er as he led Chick.
The Deva Realm's door was like water. The moment Zhou Wen's body touched the door, he sank in and arrived in front of a huge mountain.
How big could a mountain be? In Zhou Wen's imagination, the largest was an existence like the Himalayas.
But the mountain in front of him gave Zhou Wen the feeling that there was no end or peak. Looking left and right, he couldn't see the land beyond the mountain. Looking up, he couldn't see the top that penetrated the clouds.
Then, Zhou Wen realized that he was actually very far from the mountain. It was only because the mountain was so huge that it gave an oppressive feeling, making him feel like he was at its base.
With a thought, Zhou Wen used teleportation to arrive near the mountain. However, despite doing so several times, he was astonished to discover that the mountain remained so far away. It was as though he hadn't approached it in any way.
"Walk over." The antelope wrote on the sand.
Zhou Wen nodded and carried Ya'er forward. After walking for a short distance, he suddenly saw a figure fly over.
"A Fairy?" Zhou Wen sized up the figure in the air—an extremely beautiful woman. Her clothes fluttered like an otherworldly fairy, but she had the aura of a dimensional creature. She was somewhat similar to the Fairies Zhou Wen had seen before.
There was a strange glow over the Fairy-like woman's body, making her skin look moist and crystalline like milk.
"It's a Deva." The antelope wrote on the ground.
"You've really been here before?" Zhou Wen asked the antelope.
The antelope didn't answer, but the female Deva had already flown over. Before Zhou Wen could decide what to do, Chick spat out a golden flame and burned the female Deva to ashes.
An Essence Energy Crystal dropped from the sky and landed in the sand.
Zhou Wen picked up the Essence Energy Crystal and looked at it on his phone. He realized that it was a 64-valued Essence Energy Crystal. Clearly, the female Deva had been at the Mythical stage.
The group continued walking forward and soon saw a few more Devas. There were men and women among them. All of them were extremely handsome, and they were Mythical creatures.
Unfortunately, Chick thought nothing of the beauty. It spewed out golden flames and burned all the Devas it saw to death. Two more crystals dropped. One of them was an 80-valued Constitution Crystal, allowing Zhou Wen to boost his stats.
Although he had advanced to the Mythical stage for quite some time, his stats hadn't maxed out. Up to now, only one of his stats had reached 81 points.
"These Devas are clearly at the Mythical stage. Why do they look so weak?" Zhou Wen asked the antelope in puzzlement.
Although Chick was very strong, those Devas were at the Mythical stage after all. It didn't seem reasonable for them to be burned to death without any resistance.
The antelope curled its lips and wrote on the ground, "Weak? In a while, you will know if they are weak or strong."
When Zhou Wen asked again, the antelope didn't say anything else and walked towards the mountain.
Along the way, they encountered a few more Devas which were burned to death by Chick. These Devas weren't the fastest nor were they strong. They lined the bottom of the Mythical stage, similar to the Mythical fake immortals in Deer Terrace Pavilion, only weaker.
Zhou Wen previously hadn't managed to come close to the mountain despite teleporting several times, but he was now getting closer and closer to the foot of the mountain. Just as he was about to reach the foot of the mountain, he suddenly saw a red-dressed female Deva surrounded by red flowers.
After discovering Zhou Wen and company, the female Deva flew over. Chick spat out a golden flame without any mercy.
However, this time, Chick's flames failed to burn the female Deva to death. She actually dodged Chick's flames.
Chick flapped its wings angrily and rushed forward to spew out more golden flames.
However, the female Deva's movement technique was outstanding. She danced in flight, dodging all of Chick's flaming attacks.
When she danced, the red glow over her body flowed like petals. It looked extremely beautiful. When Chick rushed over, it touched the red light petals, causing the petals to automatically vanish like bubbles.
The female Deva only dodged without counterattacking. She didn't seem to take the initiative to attack.
After watching for a while, Zhou Wen became more and more puzzled. This female Deva's movement technique was very good, and even on par with Zhou Wen's former Transcendent Flying Immortal movement technique, but Chick's movement technique and speed were higher than female Deva's. With them both being at the Mythical stage, it didn't make sense that Chick failed to finish her after so long.
However, the truth was that the female Deva easily dodged all of Chick's attacks, making Zhou Wen frown.
This was no longer a matter of movement techniques or speed. Zhou Wen had already noticed that the female Deva had strangely dodged Chick's attack several times in virtually impossible situations.
Chick looked like it was about to succeed several times, but still failed. Its ferocious nature was immediately triggered. It raised its head and let out a long cry as golden light emitted from its mouth. Golden flames spewed out like a tidal wave, turning into a surging sea of flames that enveloped a large area, burning the female Deva to ashes on the spot.
Unfortunately, the female Deva didn't leave anything behind.
How strange. Do the Devas here not hurt people? Zhou Wen frowned in thought.
From the battle just now, the female Deva hadn't launched any attacks from beginning to end. It wasn't that she hadn't had a chance, but it was as though she had no intention of attacking. This was the first time Zhou Wen had seen such a dimensional creature.
"She has already attacked. It's just that you didn't see it. If it were any other Mythical creature fighting her, this wouldn't be the situation you're seeing." The antelope wrote on the ground.
She's not at the Terror grade. There's no reason why I can't see her attack. Even if she is at the Terror grade, I should be able to see her... Wait... Could her attack be the red light over her body? Zhou Wen immediately understood that there was definitely something wrong with the red light. It was only because Chick's physique was too strong that it hadn't been affected.
"This is just the beginning. The fun lies ahead." After the antelope finished writing, it headed for the mountain.
Before long, he saw another Deva that emitted a red glow. However, this time, it was a man. Chick went up to fight again.
Just like before, the Deva dodged the attacks that certainly should have hit several times. It infuriated Chick to spew out a sea of flames, burning the Deva to ashes.
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Chapter 1193: Devas' Ability
Translator: CKtalon
Although Chick still wielded the absolute advantage, it was very odd that Chick, who was nearly invincible among its peers, found it so difficult to deal with a Mythical creature.
Although there weren't many Devas here, they weren't rare. The glowing-red Devas weren't a rare species, so Zhou Wen was somewhat surprised that they could fight Chick to such an extent.
Zhou Wen had already noticed that the problem lay with the Devas' movement technique. After plenty of observation, Zhou Wen still couldn't figure out what the strange movement technique was.
As he walked up the mountain path, he quickly saw another glowing-red Deva appear. Chick no longer had its previous spirit. Although the expenditure was nothing to it, fighting glowing-red Devas left Chick somewhat depressed. It no longer charged forward eagerly.
Zhou Wen wanted to figure out what was going on with the glowing-red Devas' movement techniques, so he summoned two Golden Battle God Halberds and made them fly towards the glowing-red Deva in a pincer attack.
The Golden Battle God Halberd was extremely sharp. Its offensive strength was rather good among Mythical creatures, but they were just too clumsy. The two Golden Battle God Halberds failed to touch the Red-Flow Deva in their pincer attack.
At the same time, a strange scene happened. In the battle, red rust appeared on the Golden Battle God Halberd's golden body. Furthermore, the red rust increased, making the two originally golden divine weapons look like scrap metal that had been thrown in a pile for years.
Is this the glowing-red Deva's ability? Zhou Wen's heart palpitated. He had never seen such an ability. Thankfully, Chick could resist this power; otherwise, the outcome would be unimaginable.
Clang!
A rusted Golden Battle God Halberd smashed at the glowing-red Deva, but it missed him. Then, it failed to stop in time and smashed into the mountain wall beside him. The Golden Battle God Halberd snapped and Zhou Wen lost a Mythical Companion Beast.
Holy sh*t, what's going on? Zhou Wen widened his eyes. After all, that was a Mythical creature. To shatter from smashing into a rock was somewhat bizarre.
Now, Zhou Wen finally understood what the antelope meant. It wasn't that these Devas weren't strong, but their strength was different from ordinary dimensional creatures.
"What kind of power is this?" Zhou Wen retreated a distance to ensure that he wasn't affected by the red glow before asking the antelope.
He was ultimately at the Mythical stage. Although he had the strength of the Terror grade, he hadn't reached the Terror grade. It was best to be careful. Before figuring out what the strange power was, Zhou Wen didn't wish to be touched.
Clang!
Before the antelope could answer, the other Golden Battle God Halberd broke due to the excessive rust. It made Zhou Wen feel the pinch of losing two Mythical Companion Beasts.
Although it was relatively easy to have Golden Battle God Halberds drop, and Zhou Wen still had two of them on him, their skills were still pretty good. No one would complain about having too many of the necessary skills in a combined attack.
After the Golden Battle God Halberds died, the glowing-red Deva flew towards Zhou Wen again. Now, looking at the red glow that appeared to be dancing like flowers over her body, Zhou Wen didn't find it beautiful. He felt horrified.
Not daring to let the glowing-red Deva approach, Zhou Wen summoned Banana Fairy. She blew out a gust of Supreme Yin Wind, freezing the glowing-red Deva in midair before she slammed into the mountain wall. Her body was reduced to ice shards and she died on the spot.
A Companion Egg that suffused a red glow dropped. Zhou Wen was delighted as he hurriedly picked it up and incubated it.
A Mythical Companion Egg wasn't enough to delight Zhou Wen. However, with this Companion Egg, he could know what stats and skills a Deva had. It would be of great help to his future plans.
Zhou Wen refused to believe that there wasn't a Terror-grade Deva in a place like this. If he could figure out what the abilities a Terror-grade Deva had before encountering one and the way to restrain them, the danger would be greatly minimized.
With the injection of Essence Energy, the glowing-red Deva Companion Beast transformed into a red stream of light that rushed into Zhou Wen's body, forming a picture of a Fairy on his shoulder.
Although Zhou Wen had already received some information from the Fairy, he still looked at the mysterious phone's data. He was more used to getting direct data.
Crimson Deva: Mythical
Life Providence: Deva Blessing
Life Soul: Crimson Body Glow
Wheel of Destiny: Lesser Deva's Five Signs of Decay
Strength: 63
Speed: 78
Constitution: 62
Essence Energy: 71
Talent Skill: Fairy, Luck, Fortune
Companion Form: Deva Robe
After Zhou Wen had studied all the abilities of the Crimson Deva, he finally understood why Chick had failed to hit her so many times.
Not only was a Crimson Deva's movement technique good, but what was even more terrifying was that it had powers like Luck, Blessings, and Fortune. Although these abilities didn't seem to have any offensive power, their effects were definitely terrifying.
As for the Wheel of Destiny ability—Deva's Five Signs of Decay—became even more ridiculous when combined with abilities like Luck and Fortune.
Deva's Five Signs of Decay could make an enemy unlucky. Not only would they be unlucky, but they would also age and perish.
With the enemy becoming unlucky, while they enjoyed good luck and fortune, it was obvious how difficult it would be for an opponent to hit them.
Although this Crimson Deva isn't strong in combat, these skills and abilities are really strong. If skills like Luck and Fortune can be transferred to a combat pet, it will be even better. Zhou Wen finally understood why a Crimson Deva could sometimes dodge attacks in an unbelievable manner. It wasn't because their movement techniques were good, but because their opponent was unlucky while they were very lucky.
The only pity was that the Luck and Fortune skills of a Crimson Deva were only effective on themselves and wouldn't affect the people around them.
Everything else is fine. No matter how lucky she is, she won't be able to dodge area-of-effect attacks. However, this Deva's Five Signs of Decay is somewhat troublesome, Zhou Wen thought to himself.
Legend had it that Deva's Five Signs of Decay was an ominous omen before the death of a Deva. It was also divided into a Lesser and Greater Deva's Five Signs of Decay. Now, it had become the Wheel of Destiny ability of a Deva.
Just the power of the Lesser Deva's Five Signs of Decay was strange enough. If he encountered a Greater Deva's Five Signs of Decay or a Terror-grade Deva, perhaps a single Deva's Five Signs of Decay would plague them with bad luck. They would be unlucky and die without knowing why.
What kind of power can crack the Deva's Five Signs of Decay? Zhou Wen carefully ran through the list of Companion Beasts he had.
Among the few at the Terror grade, Banana Fairy likely didn't have a promoting and inhibiting relationship with Deva's Five Signs of Decay. Ice Maiden was about the same. Jade Rabbit and the Seven Seas Dragon King were most likely going to be inhibited.
There didn't seem to be any power that could restrain the Deva's Five Signs of Decay. Truth Listener was the one most likely to inhibit it.
Among Zhou Wen's few powers, perhaps only the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder was useful.
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Chapter 1194: Terror Deva
Zhou Wen planned on experimenting on a Crimson Deva to see if Truth Listener and Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder were of any use.
It was better to try it on a Mythical Crimson Deva than a Terror-grade Deva.
He continued walking along the mountain path, hoping to find another Crimson Deva. However, after walking for a short while, he saw a female Deva emitting a lotus-like golden light flying towards him.
As he hadn't seen the gold-glowing Deva enter her Terror transformation, Zhou Wen didn't know if she was at the Terror-level. He hesitated without charging forward. Instead, he summoned the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General and made it charge at her.
Zhou Wen wanted to give it a try. He wanted to see if the attributes of Deva's Five Signs of Decay, Luck, and Fortune were effective against the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General, a Companion Beast filled with negative powers.
In any case, the Jinxes Master skill was a sore point for Zhou Wen. He wouldn't feel the pinch even if the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General died.
The Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General charged forward, brandishing the Demonic Spear to stab at the gold-glowing Deva. Like the others, she did not attack; she only circled around the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General and dodged its attack.
However, the golden lotus flower that emitted from her body fused into the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General's body upon contact. It was probably the same as the ability of the Crimson Deva. It had the effects of the Deva's Five Signs of Decay, but it was unknown if it was the Lesser or Greater version.
After a while, Zhou Wen revealed a look of pleasant surprise. Not only was the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General unaffected by the gold-glowing Deva, but the demonic purple flames in its body became even more exuberant due to the infusion of the golden lotus.
From the looks of it, not only can the Deva's Five Signs of Decay not bring misfortune to the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General, but it will also accelerate his strengthening. Zhou Wen observed for a while and found the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General becoming stronger and stronger. The gold-glowing Deva was in a sorry state from the pursuit, with several wounds over her body.
Her Deva's Five Signs of Decay didn't have much effect on the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General. Luck and Fortune skills didn't seem to be of much use either. They were completely restrained by the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General.
Before long, the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General slew the gold-glowing Deva with his spear. Unfortunately, nothing dropped.
The gold-glowing Deva's speed and strength were stronger than the Crimson Deva, but it was still within the range of the Mythical stage. It hadn't reached the Terror grade.
Knowing that the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General could also restrain Deva's Five Signs of Decay, Zhou Wen felt much better. He charged forward with the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General and later encountered several Crimson Devas and gold-glowing Devas.
After experimenting, Zhou Wen found that although Truth Listener's Evil Annihilation was effective against the Deva's Five Signs of Decay, it couldn't completely eliminate it.
As for the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, it could perfectly restrain the Deva's Five Signs of Decay. As long as he activated the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, the Devas didn't pose any harm to Zhou Wen.
This put Zhou Wen at greater ease. Even if he encountered a Terror-grade Deva, he would be invincible against them.
However, along the way, Zhou Wen didn't discover any clues related to Ouyang Lan. This made him suspect if Ouyang Lan had come to Deva Realm.
"Were we wrong? Did Sis Lan predict that An Tianzuo would have the same thought process as us, so she did the opposite and went to the Asura Realm?" Zhou Wen said after some thought.
The antelope looked at the mountain path ahead and wrote on the ground, "It's also possible. However, we are already here. Don't you want to go up and take a look?"
"You are the one who wants to go up, right? What's up there?" Zhou Wen felt that the antelope might not have taken this path to save Ouyang Lan from the beginning.
The antelope seemed to know that it had to say something. It wrote, "There's something on the mountain that can help Chick complete a Terror transformation. Even if the person you are looking for isn't there, this trip won't be for nothing."
"What is it?" Zhou Wen continued asking.
"I'm not sure if that thing is still there. Let's go up and take a look first." The antelope refused to say anything as it continued walking with its head lowered.
Zhou Wen thought for a moment and followed. He wasn't sure if Ouyang Lan had come to Deva Realm, but since he was already here, he decided to continue his search.
As Zhou Wen walked, he carved on the Wheel of Destiny, maintaining his Terror form to deal with any unexpected situations.
With the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General leading the way, he killed quite a number of Crimson Devas and a few gold-glowing Devas. A skill crystal dropped from a Crimson Deva.
Zhou Wen didn't immediately absorb it. Instead, he put it away and continued on the path.
It was unknown how high the mountain was. Zhou Wen estimated that they had already climbed a few thousand meters, but they still couldn't see the peak. It was difficult to imagine how huge the mountain was.
Clang!
The Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General killed another gold-glowing Deva and a Companion Egg dropped.
Zhou Wen was delighted as he picked up the Companion Egg and hatched it. The Companion Beast he hatched was called Golden Deva.
The Golden Deva's attributes were very similar to that of Crimson Immortal. The only difference was that its Life Soul was called Golden Body Glow. The other attributes were basically the same.
Even the Wheel of Destiny was the Lesser Deva's Five Signs of Decay. The Greater Deva's Five Signs of Decay that Zhou Wen had expected didn't appear.
He continued on his way and when he arrived at a platform, Zhou Wen's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. He saw a divine altar on the platform. Sitting on it was a Deva. The Deva was clearly different from the previous ones.
The glow over his body was black. Furthermore, without using the Wheel of Destiny, he couldn't be seen.
Terror-grade Deva! Zhou Wen's heart palpitated. He originally wanted the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General to return, but to his surprise, it charged forward as though it could see the Terror-grade Deva.
The Devas from before didn't seem to attack, but the black-glowing Deva was different. Just as the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General charged over, he threw a slap.
A black beam tore out of his palm and instantly struck the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General, sending it flying back. He slammed into the mountain wall, and his fiend armor caved in.
When Zhou Wen saw this, he hurriedly retracted the Fiend-Armored Tiger Soul General. Although he had the urge to kill it at times, he couldn't stand seeing it suffer serious injuries.
After condensing the Sword Pill, Zhou Wen used the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder and used Clown Mask to teleport. He arrived behind the black-glowing Deva and slashed at his head.
Unfortunately, the black-glowing Deva turned his body in a seemingly prescient move and dodged Zhou Wen's strike.
Zhou Wen's heart palpitated, but he didn't stop. As he constantly teleported, he thrust out Sword Pill again and again. Every strike was extremely bizarre, making it impossible to dodge.
Strangely, no matter how fast Zhou Wen's teleportation was or how accurate his strike was, it was dodged by the black-glowing Deva. It was as though he could predict the future. He could dodge any of Zhou Wen's attacks ahead of time. No matter how fast the sword was, it was difficult for it to injure him.
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