Evil God 37

Shibaliwu Gorge 13

“Chen Yu, don’t push yourself too hard.”

Chen Yu was straining to maintain the Deep Sea Domain, when a pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind to support him.

Immediately after, a familiar voice spoke right beside his ear: “If you keep using your ability, your contamination value will exceed its limit.”

“Captain Duan?”

Chen Yu turned his head. “How did you get up?”

“I came here to protect you,” Captain Duan said, “not to be protected by you.”

“But…”

Before he could finish, pain struck the [unauthorized copy]back of his neck. A numb sensation radiated from the point of impact; Chen Yu’s head suddenly felt heavy and his legs gave way.

A wave of dizziness dragged his consciousness down into the darkness.

Just before everything faded, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Xiao Sheng attacking Cheng Mo without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hmph! You think you can stop me?”

“You’re asking for death!”

These were the last sounds Chen Yu heard before losing consciousness.

*

Captain Duan was moving through the darkness toward a specific location.

His pace wasn’t fast, he was even staggering slightly, and blood dripped from his body. His ragged breathing made it sound as if every wound were struggling to draw air.

Yet, he did not stop.

He knew where Wen Li was, just as Wen Li knew where he was.

Guided by that pull stemming from knowledge, he soon spotted the man.

Wen Li was situated within a patch of darkness; he was still wearing his tour guide uniform and looked rather disheveled.

He was covering his eyes with his hands, and a brown fluid was seeping continuously through his fingers. It was knowledge that had materialized into a substance as thick as brain matter.

His eyes were completely blind, yet he remained fully aware of everything around him.

As soon as Captain Duan approached, Wen Li turned his head.

“Oh… Captain Duan?” Wen Li’s voice was unhurried. “And where are your other two clones?”

“They are doing what they need to do.”

“So, what brings Captain Duan to see me alone?”

Captain Duan did not answer immediately.

He stared at the brown liquid trickling through the gaps in Wen Li’s fingers. In that instant, a torrent of knowledge regarding the Divine Realm, Xiao Hundun, and the words the director had once spoken flooded into his mind.

The information pierced his skull like countless sharp needles; the pain made him clutch his head and stumble.

Yet, he did not retreat; instead, as if drawn by some unseen force, he took another step forward.

“Do you intend to take me down with you?” Wen Li’s calm voice came from the darkness.

“If possible,” Captain Duan pressed against his temples as he struggled to steady himself, “it would be my honor.”

No sooner had Captain Duan spoken than a rustling, peeling sound echoed through the darkness. The sound of his skin sloughing off his body in chunks.

“What about Old Mo?” Wen Li asked.

Captain Duan could no longer hold ​Read on​himself upright; his knees slammed onto the ground. “I am currently with him.”

“Old Mo is formidable; your clones won’t be able to hold him off for long.”

“I know,” Captain Duan panted, “but he cares deeply about you.”

Wen Li let out a soft sigh.

He knew that Captain Duan was right. Old Mo had been constantly anxious about this operation to retrieve the evil god, and particularly concerned for Wen Li’s safety, which made him hold back significantly when it came to taking action.

But he had no intention of continuing this conversation. “You’re no worse than Old Mo.”

Wen Li shifted the topic: “After being battered by the Torrent of Knowledge for so long, you’ve somehow managed to cling to your humanity. You must have seen those memories from the time when Chao was sleeping, right? The timing of Chen Yu falling into Xiannu Lake was so coincidental; didn’t you feel the hand of fate in it?”

“Fate, you say?”

Captain Duan braced his hands against the ground; under the onslaught of knowledge, even speaking had become an immense struggle. “That’s the director’s business. It has nothing to do with me.”

Wen Li gave a derisive snort.

“Nothing but a thief of fate.”

In the span of those few words, the sound of footsteps approached from the darkness behind them. Cheng Mo appeared just a few meters away. The moment he saw Captain Duan, his pupils contracted, and the very next instant, the power of the earth crushed down upon Captain Duan like the weight of Mount Tai.

“Aaaargh!!!”

The weight bore down on his mortal flesh, forcing an agonized scream from Captain Duan; yet, in that life-or-death moment, the thoughts flashing through his mind were entirely unrelated to the pain.

–Since Cheng Mo has made it here, that means Xiao Sheng has been dealt with?

–How long did Xiao Sheng manage to stall him? A few minutes? Or just a few seconds?

–When I left, Xiao Sheng had rushed out and latched onto Cheng Mo like a koala. True to form, Xiao Sheng would have let that bruise on his forehead spread, infecting his entire body until his features were twisted and distorted. All to ensure Cheng Mo couldn’t gain even a single step on him… If Xiao Sheng knew his all-out struggle had bought only those few seconds, he’d be filled with frustration.

–And what about Xiao Zhuo… how is she doing?

–She should be far away with Chen Yu by now.

–That’s good… that’s good…

Fragmented thoughts kept pace with the ceaseless torrent of knowledge flooding his mind. Finally, under the final surge of this intellectual deluge, Captain Duan abandoned all resistance. He allowed the myriad forms of knowledge to completely shatter his mental threshold.

Immediately, a blinding white light exploded in the darkness. Like a miniature sun, it illuminated the pitch-black void until it was as bright as day.

A shockwave of energy radiated in all directions; wherever it passed, space twisted and shuddered.

Only a few meters away, Cheng Mo stared at the blinding light in horror.

“Wen Li–!!!”

Before he could even finish the words, the white light swallowed everything.

*

The sound of wind whistled in his ears.

The rustle of fabric mingled with the sound of rapid footsteps, and the warmth of a body pulsed against him in rhythm with the running.

Chen Yu kept his eyes closed, his brows furrowed; he felt miserable.

His body was pinned within a narrow space, his hands and feet immobilized, and his eyelids felt as heavy as if weighed down by massive boulders… He had no control over anything; he could only struggle to move his eyeballs.

He eventually managed to open his eyes.

What met his gaze was a darkness even deeper than that of his dreams.

Xiao Zhuo was running through this chaotic gloom, clutching him under one arm while carrying Xiao Hundun in the other.

She moved with astonishing speed; the surrounding pitch-black mists rushed past them like the wind.

Chen Yu could sense that they were drawing closer to the surface of Xiannu Lake. The oppressive weight of the darkness was fading as they ran; soon– whether in two minutes or two hours, he couldn’t tell –he would once again feel the chill of the lake water… the temperature of the orderly world.

“Put me down!”

Chen Yu immediately began to struggle. “I can’t just run away like this; Captain Duan and Xiao Sheng are still back there…”

“Stop wriggling.”

Xiao Zhuo grumbled with dissatisfaction, “Stop wriggling around! For a girl like me, that counts as harassment!”

“…Then put me down!”

“Stop struggling.” Xiao Zhuo cut him off. “This isn’t your business; it’s our decision.”

“What do you mean it’s not my business?! We’re in this together! You have to respect my wishes!”

“No need.” Xiao Zhuo’s tone was firm. “We only need you to survive.”

Even as she spoke, Xiao Zhuo continued to run at full speed. Chen Yu stopped wasting his breath on words and struggled even harder, yet no matter how he twisted and turned, he couldn’t break free from her slender arms.

In the rush, Chen Yu glanced at Xiao Hundun.

The six-month-old infant was being carried in Xiao Zhuo’s other hand. He swung back and forth in the pitch-black darkness like someone on a swing set; the baby’s eyes were shut, as if he were fast asleep.

He prepared to summon the Deep Sea Domain, but Xiao Zhuo cut him off before he could.

Xiao Zhuo said, “Look, even Xiao Hundun is on our side.”

Chen Yu frowned.

After running for who knows how long, the surrounding darkness began to fade. A glimmer of light pierced through; the water’s surface seemed to be within reach.

Chen Yu could even feel the ripples coming from above the water. Just a little further, and they would emerge from Xiannu Lake and return to the beautiful Shibaliwu Gorge.

But just then, Xiao Zhuo’s speed suddenly slowed.

Her breathing grew rapid, and her body began to tremble slightly. At first, Chen Yu thought she was simply exhausted, but he soon realized something was wrong. Xiao Zhuo’s body was undergoing a strange transformation. The girl’s slender frame suddenly began to swell; her clothes stretched taut until the fabric groaned and tore under the strain.

“Xiao Zhuo?!”

“It seems the time has come,” Xiao Zhuo said calmly.

She finally slowed her pace and put Chen Yu down before placing Xiao Hundun into his arms.

“I’m sorry…I can’t take you all the way to the surface.”

With that, she stepped back and her figure dissolved once more into the surrounding darkness.

“Xiao Zhuo!” Chen Yu immediately tried to stand up.

“Don’t come any closer!” Xiao Zhuo stopped him with a loud command.

Her voice had begun to change; the sound echoing in the darkness sent a wave of panic through Chen Yu.

The swelling dark silhouette came to a halt, then turned. The next moment, a flash of white light exploded in the distance, briefly illuminating her body as it underwent its grotesque transformation.

Much of Xiao Zhuo’s face had melted away; her features were twisted and distorted, rendering her almost unrecognizable.

Her massive body had ballooned; dense clusters of small black blisters bubbled up across her skin and burst with a gurgling sound.

The scene was familiar.

In those last moments, Xiao Zhuo looked back at Chen Yu.

Then, before fully transforming into a monster, she raised a hand that had already morphed into a sharp claw and plunged it into her own heart.

With a wet sound, the claw pierced her chest, mimicking exactly what Fang Xun had done in his dream.

After that fleeting moment of blinding light, darkness reclaimed the surroundings.

Chen Yu was rooted in spot, his mind blank. His head rang as if he had been hit by a heavy object.

It wasn’t until Xiao Zhuo’s swollen body exploded in the dark and dissolved into a pool of foul sludge that slowly flowed to his feet, that he snapped back to reality.

Immediately following, a ground-shaking rumble came rolling in from the distance.

The sound was distant, like a peal of muffled thunder, yet also like a cry of agony. Perhaps it was only an illusion, but amidst that rumbling, Chen Yu seemed to hear Cheng Mo’s anguished cry.

Something was about to happen.

Or rather, it had already happened.

Xiao Hundun moved in his arms. He lifted his small head to gaze at Chen Yu with round, wide eyes.

Chen Yu gently patted his back and smoothed out the creases in his clothes. He spoke softly: “You know I can’t just leave like this.”

Xiao Hundun tilted his head.

Chen Yu’s voice was calm, like a pool of deep water, yet beneath that surface lay something burning hot.

“I know you understand.”

He met the gaze of the little evil god: “Help me this once; I’m going to kill them.”

The little evil god blinked; then, in his mouth split into a wide grin, and he began to giggle.

The malicious laughter churned the chaotic darkness surrounding them, identical to the sound he had made the day he was born.

And amidst that hair-raising cackle, Chen Yu heard for the very first time a clear and childish response:

“Okay.”