Forge a path to success.

Chapter 154 Behind the Door
three days later.

A long blast of the ship's horn drifted across the sea, and a red-painted bow rose on the horizon. The cruiser, hastily setting sail, entered the waters surrounding Jinye City, where a green-haired girl sat on deck, her expression filled with worry.

"The speed is at maximum, High Priestess," the middle-aged captain reported to her in a low voice. "We expect to land in 3 minutes."

"Thank you for your trouble. May the dragon bless you."

Qi Su reached out into the wind, feeling the complex and turbid air currents of the place. The restless magic of the Cataclysmic species, the damp air that marked the passage of demons, the putrid and stinking light of the dark moon, and the faint but definitely present mist of death... She even saw a smooth and flat ravine, which looked as if it had been bombarded by an immortal machine.

She herself thought the conclusion was crazy, but it seemed that all the heretics in the entire Shendong Realm had been to this island.

Qi Su sighed deeply, his worries causing him to question the meaning of his journey.

Three days ago at this time, Lady Youyou's divination suddenly turned ominous, the entire divination array stained deep purple, extremely sinister. Unfortunately, it was a crucial time for the city lord's ascension, and numerous heretics attacked from outside the city, leaving no one available to intervene. Forced to act temporarily, she hurriedly entered the shipping lane, boarded a ship, and rushed to provide support.

Qi Su herself knew that she had actually come to find out the ending. Three days was too long; either Chu Hengkong and the others had successfully defeated the enemy and survived, or they would have been reduced to ashes by now.

The dragon boat docked. The lighthouse that had guided the boat had been collapsed for some time, and the harbor was littered with the wreckage of stranded ships. The once bustling place was now deserted. Qi Su gazed at the desolate scene, a scene of utter devastation, and her heart sank even further. But she faintly heard a cry for help. Amidst the ruins stood a tall igloo, its roof adorned with a banner bearing the image of Lord Huilong.

She jumped off the boat, and a middle-aged man with some bald patches, wearing a shabby overcoat, ran out of the igloo.

"Do you know Guang Shi Qingye? Guli Bo?" Sethlen stammered, "Or Ji Huaisu... Chu Hengkong... Fan De..."

“I know the last three.” Qi Su ran over and showed his Level 3 Priest Certificate. “I am Qi Su, their friend.”

“Great! I’ve been trying to contact Huilong City, but there’s no signal… First it was the mayor, then it was Black Moon…”

Qi Su told herself she couldn't have any expectations, and she absolutely couldn't harbor any unrealistic fantasies. She mustered her courage.

"Where are they now?"

Sethlen lowered his head, looking so sad and confused.

"I don't know," he repeated helplessly. "I don't know."

He led Qi Su towards the center of the battlefield three days prior, recounting from his perspective the events that had unfolded in those few days. Chaos, stone demons, duels, the theft of the stone seeds, a torrent of misfortune, the knights' valiant rise, and then…

“I…I saw a dark-skinned man. His smile was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying,” Sethlen said. “He suddenly vanished, turning into a swarm of evil bats. The bats flew into the ground, and then…”

“They just disappeared,” Sethlen said sadly. “Even the small animals are gone.”

Anxiety was replaced by a different kind of fear. In just a few words, Sethlen sketched an image she had once heard of, a terrifying nightmare rooted in the hearts of all righteous people. If it really was that evil god…

Qi Su patted his cheeks, forcing himself to focus on more hopeful thoughts. The process Sethlen described seemed to be a transmigration ritual initiated after the infusion of power. Randomly traversing Dust Isles wasn't difficult in itself, but establishing a connection was necessary for targeted teleportation. This meant that there were hidden teleportation routes to other Dust Isles within Golden Leaf City, making support possible.

"Please take me underground."

Qi Su and Sethlen descended to the underground via the ice slide, only to find, contrary to her deduction, that there was nothing there. The knights' spirits had departed, and the black gate had vanished without a trace. Only the traces of past battles remained in the vast underground void, with the restless energy of the elements etched into the stone walls.

This is illogical. The Sea of ​​Illusions connects countless Dust Islands; the currents are always present, and a passage that is once established must be bidirectional. She only knows one method that allows one to go to a place but not leave it.

The fog of history.

Qisu recalled the past of the divine kingdom, and her legs went weak, almost causing her to collapse to the ground. At that moment, her staff swept away the dust from the ground, revealing a string of very faint numbers carved into the rock.

Qi Su lunged forward, staring intently. The numbers emitted a faint glow from her touch.

·
Beyond the myriad dust islands lies the sea of ​​illusions.

The vast, empty sea stretches endlessly, with images and relics floating among the waves. The dark moon is reflected on the surface, rising and falling with the cradle's pull.

At high tide, the sea carries countless illusions and relics to the dusty island; at low tide, it carries the longings of countless lives back to the ocean. For countless long years, will and spirit have circulated in this simple way within the tides, witnessing the rise of countless powers and the fall of countless legends.

Now, another group of phantoms yearning for recognition have surfaced, ready to ride the waves forward in search of their destined contractors. For inferior, ignorant, and naive demons to grow stronger, this is the only way: gamble on luck, fight against fate, and pray for good fortune to come their way.

As for those great demons transcending the abyss, those at the top of the food chain, they have their own methods to extend their tentacles. However, the Sea of ​​Illusions is too vast, and the feedback from the split spirit will always arrive a little later…

A little later.

"--impossible."

Crossing the turbulent surface, through the shallow waters still touched by light, we continued deeper and deeper, until we reached the almost dark, frigid depths. That was the domain of ancient behemoths, a deathly silence that reigned year-round. Here dwelled demons of all ages, some enormous, some as small as dust, some indistinguishable in their grotesque forms, some twisted and malevolent, never interacting with one another, each guarding their own territory.

This rule, which had existed for millennia, was shattered in a fleeting moment. The voice of the ancients emanated from the depths, manifesting as a raging torrent in the ocean. The colossal creatures tried to escape but could not escape their predetermined fate; the great demons caught in the throes were instantly annihilated, vanishing into nothingness.

Nothing survives in the wake of a raging torrent. After being weakened by the ocean, it will sweep across the entire turbulent world, engulfing the fate of countless lives.

The colossal entity that unleashed the torrent, the true form of the Demon of Doom, lurked in the shadows, controlling its emotions. Everything the split spirit experienced was faithfully reflected back to the original: his defeat, the knight's resurgence, and the self that was ripped away at the last moment… that neglected bewitching gaze...

"Twilight..."

It knew that look; since the existence of the Shrouding Realm, only one demon had ever wielded such power. But what it had witnessed firsthand was that the Library had long since…!
Olek no longer hesitated, and extinguished its intention to meet the king. It would handle this matter personally, and would not allow any other being to interfere. It set off, rising to the surface, its incredibly massive body surging towards the sea. Many audacious demons, seeing the disturbance at the bottom and wanting to devour the fragments of the Ancients, had barely submerged when they were swept up by the aftershocks of Olek's actions, turning into fresher, less ancient corpses.

The more patient and intelligent demons, however, only cautiously descended to devour the remains long after misfortune had left the ocean. Ambition, always the first to act, seized the oldest pieces of carcass and chewed them greedily. Domination, a step slower, used its tentacles to gather large swaths of remnant spirit and suck them up.

"Lord of Misfortune is in a bad mood today," Ambition gazed into the distance.

“Something big must have happened. It acted personally, and that was a long time ago!” the ruler said breathlessly, a fat demon. “You know… oh, another generation has died, you probably don’t know… the last time the calamity struck was during the Great War!” “You mean the War of Heavenly Prisons?”

"What other event could it be?" The ruler grew increasingly frightened as he spoke. "I think this turbulent realm is about to descend into chaos again!"

"Chaos is good." Ambition actually finds it delightful. "Only in chaos can you have the opportunity to climb up!"

It devoured the large chunk of corpse first, then turned and bit off the head of the ruling demon. The second wave of demons, arriving slightly slower, arrived quickly; it quietly left the place of trouble and disappeared into the shadows.

On the upper level of the illusory sea, the turbulent currents swirled into eddies. The lowly demons, hoping for a lucky break, met their worst misfortune: Olek's ascent shattered all their attempts to land. It rose from the whirlpool, its movements suddenly slowing.

A pure white bolt of lightning cleaved through the void, opening the warp portal and illuminating the cold, powerful steel humanoid!

The Divine War General, Eternal Calamity, flew out of the folded space and hovered above the sea. At its fingertip was a beam of electrical signals solidified by an energy field, like a constantly roaring electric insect.

"72 hours, 32 minutes, and 8 seconds before standard time, an Imperial soldier who was about to die sent a distress signal. Due to interference from the First Abyss, the signal failed to be transmitted, and by the time my adjutant detected the reaction, its coordinates had been completely obliterated," the Eternal Calamity said. "Within 10 minutes of the signal reception time, an anomaly was detected in the 'Colorless Layer' of the Sea of ​​Illusions, and the Delusional Demon 'Misfortune' rose to the surface."

“Get out of my way, or die,” Olek said. “I’m only giving you one chance.”

The Eternal nodded humanely and began the official written record.

"The delusional illusion 'Misfortune' has shown strong hostility. In order to retrieve important information from the singularity, a temporary experiment is requested."

It approved the request using its own permissions: [Agreed]

“3000/11/30，11:42:09。开始对W-001号妄想幻魔‘厄运’进行第三次直接接触试验。”

The fierce battle began, triggering a raging tsunami. The lower demons were unable to perceive the battle on the surface; drawn by the corpses, they rose to the surface, only to perish in the aftershocks of the massive clash. New demons rose again, devouring, dying, growing, endlessly repeating the cycle of life and death, endlessly cycling alongside the thoughts of the Submerged Realm.

·
After an unknown amount of time, Chu Hengkong woke up.

The campfire illuminated the cramped cave, offering a little warmth to the lost travelers. Sparks danced in the air, brushing past the knight's small nose. Chu Hengkong realized he was lying on the ground, and someone had tossed them a blanket.

He turned his head immediately, bumping into Ji Huaisu's forehead in the process. His partner cried out in pain, and he breathed a sigh of relief. As he stood up, he noticed that their hands were still tightly clasped, and he felt a little embarrassed.

He used his tentacles to pull Vande out of his pocket. It took the beholder almost half a minute to open his eyes.

"Are we home?" Vande asked blankly.

A man's low chuckle came from around the campfire.

Near the cave exit, a gloomy, gaunt man sat leaning against the cave wall. He was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, even his face was covered by strips of cloth, like a survivor who had just been rescued from a fire.

Chu Hengkong picked up the blanket from his body and greeted the man, "Thank you. May I ask who you are?"

"Where is this?" Van der asked as well.

The bandaged man remained silent, his gaze never wavering.

Chu Hengkong abandoned any thought of negotiation. If such a person didn't want to talk, even a thousand words wouldn't get him to open his mouth. Ji Huaisu woke up angrily, clutching her forehead, and looked around, her face full of confusion.

"what's the situation?"

"I don't know," Chu Hengkong said. "Let's go out and take a look."

He pulled Ji Huaisu up and crouched down as they walked out of the cave. It was pitch black outside, and they instinctively squinted, trying to adjust to the nighttime environment as quickly as possible.

But still, nothing can be seen.

There is no light outside the cave.

Ji Huaisu released a spark of pure fire, using it to illuminate the surroundings. Then, a pale desert appeared, and a desolate wind blew across the dead land, carrying with it the rustling sound of armor rubbing against each other.

A hunched and frail old soldier walked through the desert, using a tattered military flag as a cane. He saw a firelight, and tremblingly reached out his hand; the light illuminated his pale, desperate face.

"The 34th counterattack has failed. The Knight's Pillar has been extinguished!" he cried hoarsely. "There is no more light. There is no more hope. Run! No matter where you come from!"

The old soldier's life ended with that shout. He couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed into the sand. Several black birds swooped down like lightning, snatching his withered body. Their wings were black bones; as they took flight, the thunderclouds in the sky churned, and lightning bolts fell like giant trees amidst the thunder, illuminating the gray world in a flash!
There was no light, no fire. Beyond the pale desert lay jagged stone trees, vast plains littered with weapons and corpses, and steep mountains piercing the sky. Above the mountain peaks hung a dark full moon, its shadowy light bathing the ancient castle atop the summit.

"Are you kidding me..." Vande's voice trembled, "Are we... facing the First Abyss...?"

"Where is this?" Ji Huaisu turned around and asked, "Sir, may I trouble you to ask where this is?"

Behind them, the man in the cave spoke for the first time.

"This is a wilderness named after despair, a dead land dominated by fear. The territory of the Nightmare King, the domain of the Demon Slayer Lord."

"The Nightmare City of Halvera".

　(Golden Leaf Brawl - End)
　　(Volume 2, incomplete)

　　(Next chapter: The Desperate Wilderness arc, a full-fledged serial!)
　　(5-day break to recharge, serialization resumes next Thursday~)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)