Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 496 The Surge of Time Insects: A Twenty-Second Breakthrough

Time is not a river,
Instead, it devours.

Only lies that deceive time,

Only then can people temporarily walk on water.

—An Unknown Epitaph

"open!"

Xiao Jinyan gave a low shout, and a faint blue light pattern appeared on his palm.

The Voidwalker's power surged, his sword intent tearing through the air and carving a narrow crack in the tomb door.

The next moment, the tomb door shook violently, as if the stone statue had been split open, and dark dimensional ripples overflowed from the crack.

Ripples spread out, like water patterns, in the air, carrying an otherworldly fluctuation.

"go!"

He stepped in, and his figure, carrying a sword, was instantly swallowed up by the light and shadow.

Si Ming followed behind, his eyes calm and composed beneath the white clown mask. With a light step, he too disappeared into the ripples.

His eyes suddenly went dark.

The two emerged from the void portal and landed in a long and narrow tomb passage.

The walls of the tomb passage were so tightly fitted that it was suffocating, and the stone walls on all four sides gleamed with a cold, gray light.

Ancient patterns are faintly etched on the stone wall, but they have long since become blurred and indistinct, as if half of them have been worn away by the years.

The air was heavy and stifling, thick with moisture and decay.

Breathing felt like it was being suffocated; the flames flickered, but were dim and weak, as if they might go out at any moment.

Tick.

Water droplets seeping from the dome fell to the ground, their sound echoing in the empty space, growing ever more piercing.

Xiao Jinyan stopped in her tracks, her forehead beaded with cold sweat.

This scene was exactly the same as the one in his nightmare.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he recalled the time when he and his sister were almost overwhelmed by the Time Worms, and a chill ran down his spine.

"……careful."

He whispered a reminder, his tone revealing barely concealed nervousness.

"This place... almost cost me my life last time."

His fingers gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The tomb passage stretched as far as the eye could see, seemingly endless.

Something seemed to be waiting for them in the depths of the shadows.

Si Ming didn't speak, but simply raised his hand slightly. In the firelight, the smile on the white clown mask was bizarre and indifferent.

His eyes, however, were colder than the firelight.

"I know."

The voice was calm, as if it had anticipated the malice lurking ahead.

The tomb passage was silent.

Only the sound of their footsteps echoed slowly between the stone walls.

They proceeded cautiously, and in the firelight, the blurry patterns on the walls seemed to writhe like living things, as if they might transform into some unknown symbol at any moment.

At first, the footsteps were crisp and strong.

But gradually, the sound started to sound strange.

"Ta-ta-"

What should have been a swift and decisive moment has now been stretched into a lingering echo.

Xiao Jinyan frowned, lifted her foot, but found that her leg movement was a beat slower than expected.

He blinked.

But the blinking process seemed to be slowed down several times over; every inch of the opening and closing of the eyelids was heart-stopping.

Breathing became difficult, as if a heavy cloth was pressing down on my chest.

The air moved slowly, and even the flickering flames seemed to be playing in slow motion.

"This is……"

Xiao Jinyan suddenly looked up, a look of horror appearing in her eyes.

Before he could speak, a deep voice reminded him from beside him.

"We have fallen into a trap."

Beneath the white clown mask, Si Ming's voice was completely flat, as if everything was within his expectations.

Xiao Jinyan's breath hitched, her throat moved with difficulty, and her voice became hoarse:
"The merciless passage of time?!"

That was the nightmare he least wanted to talk about, yet it lingered in his mind.

Sure enough, the trap in the cemetery was triggered once again.

He gritted his teeth and almost roared as he asked:

"When? When did we trigger this?!"

Si Ming slowly raised his head, his gaze as calm as ice, looking at the endless tomb passage stretching ahead.

"From the beginning."

His voice was calm, yet it was all the more chilling.

"It was triggered the moment I stepped in."

"The mysteries of fate do not require elaborate rituals."

"Its condition is—entry locks the door."

As soon as he finished speaking, the darkness deep within the tomb passage seemed to tremble slightly, as if something was stirring.

Xiao Jinyan's throat was dry, and his hands were pressed tightly on the hilt of the sword, his knuckles turning white.

This time, he understood it better than before.

The traps of fate never make sense.

The moment you step inside, it's already destined that your time will no longer belong to you.

boom--

Suddenly, the tomb passage ahead shook violently, the stone walls shattered, and cracks spread rapidly like a spider web.

The next instant, all the branching roads opened up at once, like the mouth of an ancient behemoth.

A black torrent surged forth from the depths!
Insect swarm.

They crowded together, surging in.

It looks very much like a scarab beetle, with its carapace gleaming with a cold, silvery light.

On the back of each insect are etched twisted growth rings, like marks of time itself.

As soon as they climbed over the stone wall, patches of pale white marks immediately appeared on the wall.

In a mere instant, the hard stone turned into dust and drifted away with the wind.

This is not erosion.

Instead, time is swallowed up.

The swarm of insects roared, its sound like a flood bursting its banks.

But amidst that roar, there was also a low "click-clack," like countless gears turning simultaneously, emitting a cold whirring sound of "time peeling away."

The air was instantly compressed, and the entire tomb passage trembled.

"coming!"

Xiao Jinyan let out a low roar, his eyes turning red, and suddenly drew his sword.

At the same time, Si Ming reached out his hand, his eyes cold beneath the white clown mask.

"The Illusory Chessboard—unfolds."

boom--

Countless checkerboard-like light patterns extended through the tomb passage, their black and white colors intertwined, as if a chessboard had come to life.

Each chess square shimmered with an illusory light, forming a barrier that forcefully kept the surging swarm of insects at bay.

The black beetle pounced on the checkerboard, froze instantly, and then with a "snap," was cut in two by the checkerboard line.

—The block was successful.

"Slaying Karma Sword Domain!" Xiao Jinyan roared, and the sword light exploded.

In the void, ten thousand swords rang out in unison, and reflected swords emerged from the four walls of the tomb passage.

Countless sword shadows shot out, carrying terrifying killing intent, sweeping outwards.

The sword light flashed like rain, cleaving the swarm of insects in two!

The carapace shattered, and severed limbs flew everywhere.

Countless scarabs were instantly shattered, their fragments and silver ring-like patterns scattered throughout the tomb passage like a strange downpour.

boom! boom! boom!
The sword domain swept across, suppressing the swarm of insects, and the tomb passage temporarily regained its clarity.

Xiao Jinyan was panting heavily, his eyes filled with excitement and intensity.

"See! One sword strike is enough!"

With a swing of his longsword, the remaining swarm of insects in the sword domain shattered completely, and the broken shells fell like snowflakes.

However, the darkness ahead still churns.

The low humming of the insects did not disappear; instead, it became even more intense.

More Time Worms are pouring out from the depths of the side passage, like an endless torrent, threatening to completely engulf the entire tomb passage.

The tomb passage shook again, and swarms of insects surged out like waves, covering the walls and the dome.

The silver shells scraped together with a piercing sound, and the entire space seemed to transform into a beehive that devoured time.

Countless Time Insects frantically attacked the chessboard squares.

The black and white grid was pressed down and cracked inch by inch, the lines dimmed, and even the speed of extension slowed down.

"hiss--!"

Xiao Jinyan let out a low roar and manipulated the [Slaying Karma Sword Domain], causing ten thousand swords in the void to resonate.

The sword shadows still crisscrossed, but the speed at which they flew was clearly wrong.

The rain of swords, which was originally as fierce as a storm, now seemed to be stuck in the air, with each sword being dragged by an invisible force, moving so slowly that it was almost despair-inducing.

"what happened……?"

Xiao Jinyan's breathing quickened and her eyes widened.

The next moment, he suddenly realized what was happening, and his expression changed drastically.

"It's time! It's slowing us down!"

Si Ming looked up, and the white clown mask reflected a bizarre smile in the firelight.

His voice was deep and cold, cutting through the noise:
Time is not the enemy.

"It's a trap."

His tone was icy: "This is the essence of the 'Ruthless Years'—once you step into it, you are destined to gradually stagnate until the entire timeline is completely swallowed up."

The roar of the swarm of insects grew closer and closer, like an unstoppable tsunami.

From all directions, silver light surged, and countless writhing beetles in the darkness almost overwhelmed all vision.

The Sword Domain of Slaying Karma is struggling to survive, while the Chessboard Domain is rapidly dimming.

Xiao Jinyan's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he gripped his longsword tightly, his chest heaving violently.

"Si Ming, no!"

"If this continues, our time will be swallowed up!"

The voice was filled with terror, but it was more like a roar, venting all the resentment under the pressure of despair.

Si Ming looked up, his gaze falling on the depths of the tomb passage in the distance.

There, a glimmer of light.

Like the outline of another space, it appears and disappears at the end of darkness and the swarm of insects.

"did you see it?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable certainty.

"The answer lies in the tomb."

"If we don't break through, we will be gradually stagnated by this mystery of fate, and our timeline will be completely swallowed up."

Xiao Jinyan's eyes were bloodshot, the veins in his neck bulged, and he roared suddenly:

"Then hurry up and think of a solution!"

"The only thing that can deal with time is time itself!"

The swarm of insects roared, and the entire tomb passage trembled violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Countless beetles swarmed the chessboard, shattering the black and white squares and scattering the light.

Amidst this chaos and despair, Si Ming raised his hand, and the Book of Lies appeared in his palm.

The pages turned automatically, emitting a faint blue glow.

The eyes behind the mask were as cold as ice.

“…You are right.”

"The only thing that can deal with time is time."

With a flick of his hand, the Book of Lies suddenly appeared.

The pages turned silently in the gale, the words burning like flames, transforming into streaks of light.

The hissing sound continued, as if countless years were crumbling within it.

boom--

Flames exploded, completely igniting the pages, turning them into countless specks of light like grains of sand, which poured down from the sky.

The God of Fate chanted in a low voice, cold yet clear:
"A lie can become the truth—"

"A time traveler, wandering the river of time."

hum-

The sand and gravel coalesced into a band of light flowing backward, encircling the two of them.

The light surged and billowed, like a rushing river of time, flowing against the tide of years.

Instantly, the oppressive feeling in the tomb passage dissipated.

Their slow breathing returned to normal, and their heavy limbs felt light again, as if the immense burden that had been pressing down on them had been lifted off their shoulders in an instant.

The voice of the God of Fate rang out from within the band of light, steady and cold:
"Eternal Witnesses—can only allow us to go back in time and witness the past."

"But it cannot resist the erosion before our eyes."

"Only those who walk the time can move freely in the face of the calamity of time."

He paused, his eyes sharpening beneath the white clown mask.

"However, I can only simulate a part of it..."

"Twenty seconds!"

"In these twenty seconds, we disregard the standstill of time."

"But during this time, I can no longer use any secrets."

The band of light on the gravel shimmered against the current, separating the swarm of insects into two sides.

The voice of the God of Fate subsided, coldly sealing the deal with a single, decisive blow:
"The road ahead—is entirely up to you!"

"it is good!"

Xiao Jinyan gripped the sword hilt tightly, his eyes blazing with intense light.

Blood boiled in his chest, and a sword domain suddenly unfolded behind him.

He roared, his voice booming through the tomb passage:

"give it to me!"

boom--

The roar of the insect swarm and the light at the end of the tomb intertwined.

The sand and light surged against the current, and the two figures, one after the other, transformed into two swift shadows as they rushed straight towards the main tomb chamber deep within.

The low murmur of time and the roar of the insect swarm merged into the same rhythm, as if heaven and earth were waiting for this—a twenty-second life-or-death breakout.

Twenty seconds, but my heart beat forty times.

But it is the only window to fight against the passage of time.

If a sword can clear a path.
Lies can fool time.

—The Song of Insects Through the Years

(End of this chapter)