Forge a path to success.

Chapter 179 A Moment of Respite

In the heart of the desolate wilderness, in the city of nightmares.

Terrifying shrieks echoed from the dark, cold throne.

"Hahaha, ahahahaha! Unprecedented good news!"

"Finally, even Vaklo is dead this time! They truly are the new recruits I placed so high hopes on!" Vansalar covered his face and laughed wildly. "This wilderness... is welcoming dawn!"

It lavishly expresses its joy, praising the warriors' bravery and quick wit. That unusual yet utterly sincere demeanor would even frighten its adversaries. It's as if a spectator sitting on a high platform is applauding, their heartstrings tugged by the actors' every word and smile. The audience doesn't care about the characters' lives or deaths; they only care about the story's brilliance, watching their beloved heroic drama.

But Vansalar's laughter continued, yet it never removed its hand covering its face, so even in a room, its expression was not visible.

Looking out the window, Ye Xing saw that the dark sky had brightened a little, and dark drizzle was weaving through the clouds and falling to the earth.

He thought to himself, "So even the Demon King cries."

·
Inside the mural in the arena.

"Stop fighting, little knight! Stop your magic!"

The False Light lay upside down on the ground, emitting a weak, pleading sound. Nothing grew around it; it was a scorched wasteland. The shattered and mangled corpses of the glowing carcass lay scattered on the ground like mud, and charred demon corpses were everywhere.

Ji Huaisu took a few deep breaths, then, carrying the Shadow Blade, shouted, "Who else!"

"Aaaaaah..." The shivering ape lying on the ground tried to raise its hand in surrender, but it fell limply to its side due to lack of strength. The rotting dust on its back glared resentfully: "If this were back in the day!"

"What do you mean 'back then'?" Pseudo-Light asked weakly. "You weren't much stronger when you were first resurrected than you are now."

"I was saying she wasn't dead yet!" Fu Chen shouted, "I wasn't even this badly beaten up when I was fighting her father back then!!"

Ji Huaisu had originally planned to cut down these calamity-inducing creatures with one sword and quickly rest, but upon hearing this, he became anxious: "What do you mean?! You know my father?! How do you know who my father is?!"

"Isn't this obvious?" Fu Chen looked bewildered. "Your old man may not be anything special, but he's still somewhat well-known..."

"Shut up, you idiot!" Pseudo-Light hurriedly interrupted. "Haven't you noticed? This tone screams 'a long-lost only daughter embarking on a solitary journey to find her family with a clear conscience'! If you keep talking, you'll give them a clue! Guwa—"

Ji Huaisu leaped up and kicked the fake light to the ground. Fu Chen seemed to wake from a dream and used sand to make a big X: "Ha, crazy woman, you won't get any information from me!"

"I've already died twice and you're still such bastards! Tell me!"

"Hehehe, we absolutely won't say a word for you~" "If you're so unwilling to accept this, go find Lord Vansalal and interrogate him, ahahaha~"

The False Light and the Corrupting Dust dispersed with wicked grins, having dutifully stood their last post for the Demon King's army, and had garnered a huge wave of hatred for their Demon King. The Frost Ape wouldn't mind saying a few words to the newcomer, but it couldn't speak. The utterly conflicted ape could only give a thumbs-up, revealing a tough-guy smile.

"Aww!" (Special translation: Keep it up!)
"Say something! Stop yelling and talk to me! Don't just walk away like a veteran who's finished a mission, give a thumbs up and leave, okay? Are you some kind of gorilla, you bastard!"

Having given Mr. Han a good beating (and been badly beaten in return), he died contentedly. Silence returned to the painting, and Ji Huaisu, furious, ran her hands through her hair: "Damn it...!!"

"What's wrong, Sister Huaisu?" Qingye rushed over as if flying, carrying her own knife.

"It's nothing, I was just envious of your amazing figure," Ji Huaisu said sourly.

Qingye was taken aback: "Huh?! What reason do you have to be jealous of me?!"

"Yeah, I'm so envious. After all, I don't have the courage to fight alongside an adult male I've only known for a few days while wearing body paint..." Ji Huaisu felt a pang of envy for the second time.

"Wow, you're actually jealous of me? I misjudged you, Sister Huaisu." Qingye pretended to wipe away tears. "You just wait, I'll seduce Mr. Chu and get revenge on you later."

"You've grown quite bold, little girl," Ji Huaisu sneered. "I'll strip you of your armor."

"No! I don't want this one!"

Half-asleep, Vande suddenly looked up: "Who wants to skin me alive?"

"Nobody's calling you an idiot squid!"

Amidst the girls' laughter and chatter, the nightmarish mural slowly faded away. They emerged from the mural and returned to reality, discovering that the eastern wall of the arena had vanished. An empty chasm rose from the center of the arena, stretching for thousands of meters.

The environment around the battlefield underwent drastic changes, a result of the "pseudo-celestial collapse cannon" firing in just a few seconds. Not far from the end of the valley, Chu Hengkong rolled off Qingxia's back and lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

After the release of the Thousand Autumns Qi, a sense of weakness and pain surged forth as if in retribution. The flesh and blood lost due to the flattening had to regenerate as quickly as possible, and his already depleted strength was now completely exhausted. Qingxia looked down at him, her golden eyes blinking.

"Maybe you shouldn't use that breathing-holding evil technique next time? If you do that every time you fight, you're bound to die."

Chu Heng laughed in the air: "What evil magic? This is a righteous and legitimate method!"

"How could someone from a prestigious and righteous sect commit suicide every time they fight?" Qingxia asked.

"Originally, it was only used by point mass 3..." Chu Heng was speechless, "I'm not strong enough."

"So it turns out General Chu was just too eager for quick success!"

Qingxia smiled mischievously, reminding him of those teasing girls in school. Although her appearance and figure were mature, her speech and thoughts were like those of a quirky and unpredictable young girl.

Meanwhile, Qingxia's wounds were healing rapidly, almost as fast as when he used the Undying Technique. She casually brushed her healing wounds aside and presented her bloodied fingertips to Chu Hengkong.

"Want me to lick it?" Qingxia asked. "Of course not!" Chu Hengkong exclaimed, exasperated. "Why ask such a question?"

"|`) You seem to care a lot, which is good for healing."

"I don't need it! Put away your overly high self-esteem, and you're not an egg anymore, so stop writing emoticons on your armor!"

“σ() woo~~~”

"No booing allowed!"

One must be calm and collected when speaking to centaurs; reasoning with them is useless. Chu Hengkong repeatedly reminded himself, trying to extricate himself from this quagmire of conversation. As he stood up, something dark fell out of his coat, and he realized that Vacklo's paintbrush was still on him.

He opened the manual and began to examine Vaklo's belongings. Qingxia also curiously peeked over to look at the spoils of war.

[The Twins' Paintbrushes]

[Rating: 5 (Faint handwriting)]

【Origin: Mysterious Realm of the Underworld - Spiral Tower】

[Effect: The favorite pen of "Twin" Vaklo Lockva. Greatly enhances the power and range of all shadow spells and reduces the casting time.]

Fear can be used as paint to depict distorted reality. The art of painting can exert influence on lower-dimensional existences.

Having lost its original owner's support, its connection to the user has weakened, and it cannot be used for long. Current usable uses: 2.

[Curse:]
1. This relic is a product of the paradoxical external path, and cannot be used by non-external life forms with a particle size of 5 or lower.

2. This relic has been corrupted by heretical forces. The holder will gradually be controlled by negative emotions and simultaneously learn the elemental magic of the Spiral Tower. Upon fully mastering a particular spell, the holder will be transformed into a Calamity.

3. This relic carries the blessing of "Nightmare King" Vansalal. If one completely submits to the Nightmare King, or demonstrates courage worthy of his approval, one can learn the Void Shadow Technique while retaining one's individuality.

[Longing: The Nightmare King gave him the Ghost-Slaying Pen and his name, hoping he could find pleasure in it.]

Lu Gui created many exquisite works and was hailed as the Demon King's personal painter.

However, it had absolutely no interest in painting.

I happily wield my paintbrush every day, hoping only to bring joy to the Demon King.

While the relic was of high grade, it was utterly useless to them. The paintbrush's bonus was entirely focused on "shadow magic," and since they weren't Cataclysmic beings, they naturally couldn't learn heterodox magic. The "reality distortion" effect could only be used twice, and required a high-quality heterodox spell to activate; hoping to use it for a last-ditch counterattack was futile. Not to mention the disgusting curse that continuously corrupted and transformed Cataclysmic beings…

Only after comparing them did he realize how useful Bessen and Olek's relics were. Compared to the creations of the Imaginary Demon, the Spiral Tower's specialties were far too niche. This pen was practically tailor-made for Vaklo; if Vaklo had fought with it, they would probably have been wiped out.

Chu Hengkong closed the book, his gaze lingering on the memory for a moment. This unwavering loyalty, unto death, reminded him of Du Muyan in the fire.

"...a guy you can't bring yourself to hate." He had mixed feelings.

“How could that be? It’s a creature that’s utterly detestable.” Qingxia rested her chin on his head. “Do you know how many warriors were executed by Vaklo? Do you know how many people died tragically on the battlefield because of it? You don’t know, you haven’t seen it, you’re just making these remarks because you were moved by the enemy’s bravery and blind loyalty. This is very unfair to us.”

Chu Hengkong was speechless for a moment. He hadn't expected the unreliable Qingxia to utter such an irrefutable argument. He waved his hand and put away his book: "You're right."

"I don't blame you. You can't empathize with a dead person you've never met." Qingxia turned her head away. "But you must remember, you absolutely must not empathize with someone who is not a Taoist."

Heretical paths are rubbish; regardless of their past characteristics, they deserve neither sympathy nor respect. Just kill them and forget about them, otherwise, one day you too will fall into their trap.

Qingxia spoke very seriously, even solemnly. Her golden eyes revealed a cold, ruthless edge, like a veteran who had become cold-blooded from countless battles.

Chu Hengkong nodded silently and turned to walk towards the arena. Qingxia followed briskly: "Aren't you going to ride me?"

He was genuinely taken aback by this statement: "...There's no need."

"Then let me carry you~"

"What's wrong with you?!"

Qingxia swiftly reached out and lifted the assassin high above her head, like a cub, and ran off joyfully. Chu Hengkong struggled desperately, but was unable to break free due to his severe injuries.

"Let go of me!" "Be careful your wound doesn't reopen!" "I can walk by myself!" "That's great! Want a kiss?" "I can't take it anymore! Can't you talk logically at all?!"

Qingxia moved with lightning speed, returning to the arena in just half a minute. The girls who had just emerged from the painting stared in disbelief. Qingye pointed forward, utterly astonished: "Mr. Chu... is like a trophy!"

"Your metaphor is more insulting than all of Qingxia's words and actions combined!" Chu Hengkong shouted.

Ji Huaisu was furious and immediately drew his Purifying Fire Greatsword: "You beast, put down my trophy!"

"Where is my citizenship?!"

The scene was chaotic and a complete mess. Ji Huaisu and Qingye gave chase, while Qingxia ran around the arena wildly. In this extremely chaotic atmosphere, a listless demon rolled to the ground with a thud, its eyes still blurry as it saw Chongming rushing over.

"So who are we going to fight next?"

"In my opinion," Chongming said, "there's no need to fight again for the time being."

(End of this chapter)