This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 205 The Horror Story of the Transcendent Demon - End
Well, compared to the grotesque aesthetic of the Sky-Crossing Demon, which is so straightforward it's almost crude, this desolate plain made up of wriggling fingernails exudes a more unsettling, inhuman chill.

Gammadosia stared at a particularly lush clump of grayish-white "grass" at her feet, her consciousness sinking into quicksand, her thoughts gradually stagnating and dissipating.

Perhaps in the fraction of a second before she was completely annihilated, she finally realized...

Choosing to invade this place was the worst decision she had ever made in her long demonic career.

—And also the last decision.

……

The suffocating sense of confrontation on a spiritual level receded like the tide.

In mid-air, the distorted faces on the four-cornered lampstand heads quickly blurred and faded, eventually disappearing completely like stains erased by an eraser.

Sometimes, choice is more important than effort—Gammadosia shouldn't have dragged Nie Weiyang into the mental battlefield. Ultimately, this was a major intelligence blunder, a misjudgment of the target's mental strength.

As a master of mental power, Du Kongmo was too confident.

Without the support of Gammadosia's consciousness, the remains of the Sun God, which had been forcibly stuffed into the statue, could no longer maintain their form and rolled out of the broken lampstand base like mud.

Its spiritual form visibly shrank several sizes, becoming thin and transparent, barely able to maintain its basic shape.

As it departed, the gray spirits that were still lingering and howling on the battlefield seemed to have lost their last anchor, letting out long sighs that were both relieved and wistful. Their figures gradually faded, turning into wisps of smoke and dissipating into the morning air.

However, on this devastated battlefield, a fleeting, brilliant color appeared in a strange way—countless tiny points of light drifted out from the sun's withered spirit body, like fireflies swimming against the current, briefly intertwining and flickering in the air.

Nie Weiyang frowned. In the rapidly dissipating specks of light, he saw blurry, pained faces flash by.

Men, women, old, young—some he'd only met once, some he had no recollection of, and some he felt a strange sense of familiarity with. He even saw a few faces belonging to Langcheng, and a few vaguely resembling people from his old city.

In the flashes of light, the terrified and helpless faces of Mei Wan and Mei Yan appeared briefly; they were entangled with a middle-aged couple, and it seemed their entanglement would extend all the way to the Netherworld—

These are the remnants of believers' souls, devoured by the Sun God and not yet fully digested, who are now finally freed.

Just as the chaotic scene was about to disappear, Nie Weiyang suddenly narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on two fleeting afterimages of souls.

“Fu Kesi?” He grabbed them, his voice low and filled with disbelief and confirmation: “And… Zhen Jiankang?”

One of the faces bore a striking resemblance to Fu Nian; it belonged to Fu Kesi, one of his few friends from his teenage years.

The dusty scenes in the corner of their memories were forcibly unearthed—when they were all still teenagers, the four of them had a brief, not particularly close, interaction on the school playground.

Although it was usually Fu Kesi and his two friends who caused trouble, Nie Weiyang was only occasionally dragged into it.

Back then, Fu Nian always looked at the three of them with a complicated expression, occasionally glancing at Nie Weiyang, while Nie Weiyang himself didn't look at anyone, his attention only on his supplementary textbooks and his never-ending homework. The so-called walk home from school together would often end without hesitation at the first intersection.

Looking back now, it seems we were never really on the same page from the start.

Picking up those moments from the past, they are as pale as faded photographs.

Just like now, Nie Weiyang frowned, unable to understand why Langcheng's living conditions were now considered top-notch in the new world, and he, Nie Weiyang, was no longer around as a 'stimulant'.

Why would Fu Kesi be so foolish as to believe in such a cult? And even end up being devoured by it?
He's also a rare defensive class!

This is simply... illogical. It's like you're already sitting in a safe house, but you insist on opening the window and jumping into the floodwaters outside.

The days of being friends and classmates are too distant, and the feelings have long since faded. However, the matter of returning to the sect cannot be ignored. Nie Weiyang frowned, holding Fu Kesi's spirit in one hand, searching for his memories.

“…” A moment later, he opened his eyes and almost couldn’t help but sigh.

There are three types of people who join the Returnist sect: those who are desperate to survive, those who have been exposed to drugs spread by other Returnist believers, and those who are unable to make a living outside the sect or are dissatisfied with their less-than-ideal lives.

Fukushi was the second type. He accepted the cigarette offered to him and paid the price for it.

Nie Weiyang released his grip, sending the broken spirit into the Netherworld, and looked at the Sun Lord.

The sun completely dissipated, falling to the ground with a 'thud,' leaving behind only a solid core enveloped in the soft glow of gray spirit energy. It was a crystal-clear black stone, gleaming with a lustrous blue-purple light.

Nie Weiyang remained vigilant and did not attempt to enter the Bone Sacrifice Court. He did not even use his spiritual power to touch the stone that resembled the Netherworld Crystal, lest he make a wrong move.

He simply deflected it with his spear.

[[Netherworld Crystal·Imitation Star Stone Type]-
Components for mass-produced biorecycling systems.
Produced by ■■■■■■, counterfeiting will be prosecuted.
• Feeding with intelligent creatures (spirits) will allow the same type of ore to be multiplied. Multiplied ore cannot be multiplied a second time.

Proliferation cycle: 30 standard day-night cycles = 1.2 standard volume units.

Purchase Notes: Using this engineering component requires the consumption of biological intelligence; the component itself must be strictly protected.
-
This engineering component complies with the 4105th version of the [Interstellar Civilization Code of Ethics] protocol. If you have any concerns, please contact us via ■■■■■■■■■■.

It's this kind of thing again...!!

After confirming he was safe, Nie Weiyang glanced at his health bar, which was now down to one-fifth. He rubbed his head, which was still dizzy from his severe injuries. The golden spear picked up a crystal and tossed it into his hand, along with a bit of starlight from the falling object.

Yes, these invaders are naturally also bosses, and the rewards are even more generous. This shows that the entity behind *New World* is quite vengeful.

He tossed the crystal into his backpack, not having time to examine the fallen items closely, but simply turned around, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

The first light of dawn was faint, but the stars were still shining brightly in the sky.

The roar of tanks and the treads of infantry fighting vehicles rolled across the land. At least 20,000 to 30,000 black-robed cultists fled in disarray like ants whose nest had been destroyed, under the onslaught of the steel torrent and the advance team.

They were shrouded in howling gray spirits, but those spirits were rapidly fading away with the demise of the Sun Lord, losing their tangible harm. The main force had completely surrounded Xunshan and broken into the outer ring area.

The situation is under control.

Nie Weiyang walked towards the Chaos Refuge on the edge of Xunshan.

On the way, he saw Commander He Kang directing the troops. He raised his hand from a distance as a greeting: He Kang had said before setting off that he expected to be back in early April to celebrate his son's birthday.

It seems that the prediction didn't come true. Not bad at all.

But just as that thought flashed through his mind, something unexpected happened!
The shadows at the edge of the forest suddenly surged, and a faint light appeared—not the dawn, but the cold glow of stars! The light shone from the gaps in every leaf and the corners of every shadow, weaving and coalescing into countless sharp rays that silently shot towards the crowd below the mountain!

Chaos erupted instantly!

Under the cover of this sudden light, a very faint shadow emerged from the air behind He Kang.

A long, narrow knife, gleaming with starlight, silently and precisely pierced He Kang's back.

The blade pierced through his chest, splattering crimson blood. The sharpness and focus in He Kang's eyes had not yet faded before they were replaced by an unbelievable stillness.

He looked down at the glint of cold light emanating from his chest.

Behind him, a small, thin figure appeared and then vanished in an instant!

(End of this chapter)