Forge a path to success.

Chapter 326 Hiding in Seclusion (8)

The Void Shadow Spell: Deathwing of the Void is the most malevolent magic developed by Vansalal. Deathwing strips away "possibility" itself, leaving only inevitable destruction. These skeletal wings, which render all efforts and miracles futile, represent the despair at the very end of fear.

However, the same spell can have different meanings in the hands of different users. The forbidden spells that the Nightmare King used to poison the world can also be used to save lives.

Chu Hengkong leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, the wound on his chest gradually healing. A bright red heart pattern was appearing on the Deathwing's wing membrane, only to be erased by dark claw marks.

The instant Fridan threw his punch, he used the Deathwing of the Void to eliminate any possibility of dying from the attack. Fridan was thus momentarily stunned, and he used this opportunity to escape and hide several floors below. The fog in that enclosed space was a trap; escaping would inevitably lead to a demonic counterattack, so he could only maneuver within the Great Archives for the time being.

"It's been a long time since we've had a battle of this intensity; it's exhilarating!" Chu Hengkong laughed.

"I'm begging you, can you please be a little more cold-blooded? Don't fucking charge in, fighting it is a sure way to die!" Vande screamed. "This is different from before. Olek's little spirit fragment was only a 3-point particle, and Vansalal even reached a 2-point particle, but the spirit fragment that Fruidan sent this time is at least a 5-point particle! In terms you can understand, this is the level of the Unborn Blood Origin!!"

“Not at all. It’s a pure split spirit without a contractor,” Chu Hengkong calmly assessed. “If it had a contractor, we would all be dead by now.”

"Is there a difference?! It's just the difference between sudden death and beheading!!" Vande was frantic, then suddenly realized something. "You..."

It heard Chu Hengkong's voice. At this moment, the assassin was speaking in a normal manner. This ominous sign made Vande's eyes turn pale.

"Can't even the Qi of a thousand years be maintained..." it whispered.

"Deathwing was too exhausted; it's a miracle he survived."

Chu Hengkong remained calm, harboring no resentment towards this dire situation, for he was utterly unable to unleash his full power. Furuidan's abilities had stifled all his techniques, rendering both swordsmanship and secret arts useless. Fighting against a serious, high-quality opponent was futile; it was an unreasonable "level" beyond mere strength.

A purely psychological attack might have some effect, but relying solely on the reverse blade is a pipe dream. Similarly, getting support from Huaisu and Li Ke is pointless. But this is the Divine Tree's stronghold; reinforcements will arrive quickly. The most urgent task is to buy time…

"How long do you think it will take for Jing Sha's reinforcements to arrive?"

“If I were you, I wouldn’t expect that,” Vande said dryly. “Personally interfering in internal affairs is a ‘taboo’ for the Divine Tree. I’ve never heard of them directly intervening outside of external battlefields. Besides, the Fruidan are the Divine Tree’s natural enemy…”

"So we can only hope for the Divine Guard."

"Do you think the old man wouldn't have thought of this? The fact that it dared to show up means it's definitely holding back the first team!"

Chu Hengkong came up with an idea: "Then Fan De, you can help buy some time."

Van der was frantic: "How could I possibly buy myself time?! How could that old man be hypnotized?!"

"Use your second ability."

"What did you say? You..." Van der was taken aback. "Could it be..."

·
On the 256th floor, Furui Dan dispersed the smoke, reverting to his wolf-headed, human form.

The Deathwing of the Void is an attack that is almost impossible to defend against. It had known how troublesome this method was for a long time, and therefore was now extremely cautious, even hesitant. Furudan was filled with doubt because this was magic that should have been completely eradicated from the world.

—After all, the Nightmare King is completely dead.

Not long ago, that madman could still interfere with the mortal realm by possessing the Demon Slayer. But the wilderness is shattered, meaning that Vansalal, the lord of this layer of the Heavenly Prison, is doomed. The Void Wings have no chance of reappearing unless it passed them on to someone before its death…

“Vaklo Lockvar?” Fruidan pondered. “That rabid dog couldn’t use magic like that. So, was it Karsord who made the move…?”

Did Kalsord rescue Vansalal as the wilderness crumbled?
The mere appearance of this speculation struck it as absurd. Let alone the Lord of the Broken Heart, even the other supreme beings wouldn't stand idly by. The God of Funerals would likely unleash a direct attack from Eternal Time. But that was, after all, something Karsod… the Sorcerer Supreme was determined to accomplish, and so far, not a single attempt had failed.

Could it be that the Nightmare King is still alive?

The instant this thought arose, the shadows of the 256th floor flowed backward like water. Strands of shadow crawled across the walls and floors, converging into a murky pool at the end of the corridor. The chaotic mass of color beside Furudan suddenly swelled, forming gigantic claws. At the same time, a screech of bats rang out, and thousands of bat shadows burst forth, swarming around the withered, yellow-haired humanoid figure!
"It really is you, Vansalal...!"

Vansalar clapped enthusiastically, letting out his signature nauseating laughter.

"Oh my, it's been a long time! Isn't this our adorable little wolfhound, Fredan! Goodness, where have you been stirring up trouble lately?"

"He's spouting nonsense again," Furuidan sneered.

“Fruidan is a little puppy who’s afraid of being alone!” Vansalar sneered. “He’ll die of loneliness if he’s alone, he can’t survive without hiding in a group, and he can’t understand his own meaning without making a mess of his surroundings! What’s he doing this time? I know without even thinking. In short, he’s smashing up the sandcastles the kids built and laughing on the sidelines. You’re just running around day after day doing the same ridiculous things.”

He didn't even glance at Frudan's expression, disdainfully picking his ear with his little finger: "But speaking of which, why is it Jing Sha again? Didn't you used to cause trouble a little further away? What's going on? Let me guess..." *Crack, crack*, the sound of breaking bones rang out. Vansalal's head turned ninety degrees, tilting to reveal a mocking smile: "His spine was completely broken by Karsod, so he doesn't dare to run around anymore, right?! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

“You’re still the same as ever, unable to speak without belittling the existence of others.” Frendan raised his giant claw. “Why is that, Vansalal? Because deep down you already know your own madness, yet you subconsciously want to stand on the right side. A madman intoxicated by his distorted ideals, you are perfectly suited to be the representative of your Spiral Tower.”

Vansalar, holding his head, asked in surprise, "You old dog, why did you write such a long reply instead of taking action? Did you really get hit where it hurts?"

Furudan's pupils turned into purple dots of light, and its voice gradually became hoarse, like the howl of a giant wolf.

"You seem determined to start a war. But it doesn't matter, in fact, I'm more than happy to do so. I haven't exercised in a long time."

"No, no, you still have some backbone, don't you?" Vansalar spread his hands. "Angry? Ashamed? You want to tear me to pieces? Then let me see your courage!! Void Shadow Technique—"

"—Disorder and damage!!"

As Furudan dissipated into smoke, claw marks appeared from an invisible place. Unreservedly unleashing the power within its divided spirit, the chaotic demon's full-force attack shattered space within the battle zone, even slightly disrupting the flow of time. Its illusory wolf head, which had appeared "a moment ago," lunged forward, attempting to tear apart the mage's magic first—

However, the giant head of smoke bit into empty air. The blow from its giant claw shattered Vansalar, leaving not even a skeleton before it, only a wisp of smoke dissipating in the distance.

Furudan's gaze froze, and the shadow transformed into a tiny cockroach, waving its antennae as it spoke:

Happy April Fool's Day!

At this moment, the Chaos Demon finally realized what had happened. Having maintained its composure despite Vansalal's repeated provocations, it now felt genuine rage.

"Chu Hengkong, how dare you!!!"

·
Down several floors, Chu Hengkong, with a book in one hand and Fan De in the other, was running for his life. Laughter echoed from one of them, a kind of reckless madness.

"Well done, Vander!"

"Oh, not at all! Your facial expression imitation is also incredibly impressive!"

"Damn it, the biggest takeaway from that trip to the wilderness was learning how to play the Demon King! I never expected him to actually fall for it!"

“Of course it will win! That old dog and the Spiral Tower have never gotten along. The Sorcerer Supreme made his name by beating it up when he was young!” Vandal shouted.

"So they're still arch-enemies after all."

"Yes, so your trick is really underhanded. The more cunning and treacherous these kinds of people are, the easier they are to fall for this kind of trick. They've seen too much and know too much, which makes them hesitant and timid. Just think, if it were Ji Qiufeng, he would have punched us right through. We wouldn't have had time to waste talking!" Vande took a deep breath. "Alright, we can run now, but Furuidan is completely enraged! If capturing us before was just completing a mission, now it's probably a blood feud!"

"Since we're going to die anyway, isn't it better to play a trick on the old man first!"

"Dude, what you said actually makes some sense! Could you please use your clever little brain to think of a better way to proceed? I feel like I can't breathe!"

Vansalal was, of course, dead. The one who was dealing with Frudan was a fake created by Vandal using "Fear Manifestation." This signature spell of the Demon King was triggered by fear. Chu Hengkong's earlier brief appearance of Deathwing, which aroused Frudan's concern, just happened to meet the conditions for the spell's activation.

Now they finally had the strength to act again, but unsettling sounds came faintly from above, like the rumbling from deep underground before an earthquake. In just a few breaths, Chu Hengkong had descended to the 137th floor. As soon as he landed, he found that the smooth corridor in front of him had become as winding as ocean waves.

Space narrows, total length extends, and solid matter distorts simultaneously, transforming into unstable gas, liquid, or crystals. Chaotic forces extend with rage, enriching matter, destroying space, and turning the Great Archives' dusty layers into a chaotic, insane place.

Vande mustered its courage and turned around, seeing faint purple smoke billowing through the broken glass. It screamed, "Hurry, it's here!"

"Let's gamble on the second round now..." Chu Hengkong roared, "Hurry up and figure out what the use of your new book is, or we'll be dead before reinforcements arrive!"

He slammed Vande down onto the second large book, and at the moment of contact, the single eye on the page and Vande's eye simultaneously shone with a light that resembled the twilight at the transition between day and night.

Its gaze suddenly changed, and that clear voice, once again heard, rang out: "Take out my manual, Contractor!"

Without a word, Chu Hengkong pulled out the first large book. With a flick of his "Fan De" tentacle, the two identical books gradually overlapped. Chu Hengkong exerted all his strength to accelerate the fusion, and at the moment the purple smoke completely solidified, a transparent light emanated from his hand!
Frydane stood on the 137th floor, its gaze sweeping across the building, but all it saw were papers fluttering about, and the corridors were empty.

After the chaotic flow of information, Chu Hengkong stood against the wall, motionless. He felt his body had become something transparent, undetectable and untouchable.

Still shaken, Vande stammered, "I remember now, this is... invisibility!"

(End of this chapter)