All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

Inside the earthen house, the candlelight flickered, casting the light on Yao Guang's solemn face in and out of view.

Wen Yan lay on the bed, her body burning hot, her breathing so weak it was almost invisible. Dark red blood was still seeping from the wound on her chest, mixed with the black sap of the withered tree, emitting a strange, putrid stench.

Wen Xuyan stayed by the bedside, holding Wen Yan's cold hands tightly. His eyes were red and tears streamed down his face silently. He didn't dare to breathe, afraid of disturbing his unconscious brother, and afraid that his brother would stop breathing completely in the next second.

Without any hesitation, Yao Guang strode to the table, took the pulse gun from his waist, and placed it heavily on the rough wooden table.

"Click-click-click"

The crisp sound of dismantling was particularly jarring in the deathly silent earthen house; each sound seemed to strike Wen Xuyan's heart.

His movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation. As his fingers flew across the screen, the pulse gun's parts were disassembled piece by piece. The metal components gleamed with a cold, icy light, intertwining with the white candlelight and conveying a sense of resolute determination.

As a top scientist in the Human Alliance, he knew the pulse gun he had modified like the back of his hand. The position of every part and the connection of every interface were engraved in his mind.

What he needed to do was disassemble the core energy device of the pulse gun and the high-precision sight, and assemble them into a small laser knife—only in this way could he accurately cut and separate the Nianhui in Wen Yan's body without damaging his meridians.

As more and more parts were disassembled, they covered the entire wooden table. The cold metallic touch eased Yao Guang's tense nerves a little, but the sense of crisis in his heart did not diminish at all.

Wen Yan's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and his convulsions became more and more frequent. The high fever was almost burning through his body. If it was delayed any longer, even if they could find Nian Hui, it would be too late to save him.

"Faster...faster..."

Wen Xuyan murmured softly, his voice hoarse and filled with endless pleading. His eyes were fixed on Yao Guang's movements, and even his breathing became cautious.

Yao Guang didn't speak, but quickened his movements. His fingertips turned white from the force, his eyes were focused and firm, and fine beads of cold sweat had already seeped from his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the cold parts, making a soft sound.

Ten minutes later, with the final "click" sound, a small and exquisite laser knife was finally assembled.

The knife is entirely silver-white, with the core energy device of the pulse gun at the handle. The blade is made from a high-precision cutting component and is currently emitting a faint blue light, exuding a sharp and cold aura.

Yao Guang picked up the laser knife and gently pressed the switch on the handle. With a soft "hum," the blue light on the blade instantly became dazzling, and a slender and sharp laser beam extended from the blade, enough to easily cut any hard material.

"Are you ready?"

Yao Guang turned to look at Wen Xuyan, his tone low and decisive, his eyes filled with a hint of solemnity—he wasn't entirely confident, especially in this world corrupted by evil gods, where anything could happen.

Wen Xuyan nodded vigorously, wiping away her tears. A hint of determination appeared in her eyes. She reached out and pressed her hand tightly on Wen Yan's shoulder, her voice hoarse: "I'm ready, Yao Guang. Please, you must save my brother."

"I'll try."

After Yao Guang finished speaking, she no longer hesitated, slowly walked to the bedside, and leaned down to look at Wen Yan on the bed.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He held the laser knife between his fingers and slowly approached the wound on Wen Yan's chest. His eyes were extremely focused, and even his breathing was adjusted to the most even state.

But just as the laser knife blade was about to touch the black fluid from Wen Yan's wound, a sudden change occurred!

An extremely strange and chilling power suddenly erupted from Wen Yan's body, spreading along the laser dagger to Yao Guang's fingertips, and then sweeping across his entire body!

It's spiritual pollution!

The spiritual pollution is even more intense and terrifying than Yao Guang had anticipated!

He felt a loud "buzz" in his mind, as if countless steel needles were piercing his nerves. Countless cold and eerie whispers echoed wildly in his mind, dense and persistent.

"Give up...you can't save him..."

"Join us...and sink into darkness with us..."

"Eat his flesh and blood...absorb his energy...and you will become stronger..."

The whispers grew increasingly piercing and dense, like countless people screaming wildly in his ear, or like his own inner voice, constantly tempting him to give up resistance and succumb to despair.

Even more terrifying is that the suppressed power of anger within his body is now stimulated by mental pollution, causing it to surge wildly again, echoing the whispers in his mind and assaulting his sanity together.

"Eat it all...eat it all..."

Under the double attack of the seduction of anger and the pollution of the mind, Yao Guang's eyes instantly turned a deep blood red, his aura became violent and chaotic, and his fingertips began to tremble uncontrollably.

The laser knife in his hand also shook violently, the blue light flashing on and off. The blade, which was originally aimed precisely at Wen Yan's wound, now deviated from its direction and almost pierced Wen Yan's heart!

"Yaoguang! Watch out!"

Wen Xuyan turned pale with fright and cried out. He instinctively tried to reach out to stop her, but he was afraid of disturbing Yao Guang, so he could only stand there, his hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes, his nails digging into his flesh, from which fine beads of blood seeped out.

Yao Guang gritted her teeth, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. She used all her strength to control her trembling hands and to suppress the whispers in her mind and the anger within her body.

His forehead was covered in a dense layer of cold sweat, which slid down his cheeks and dripped onto Wen Yan's chest, mixing with Wen Yan's blood and chilling him to the bone.

The more he resisted, the more intense the mental pollution became, the more jarring the whispers in his mind grew, and the more violently he shook the knife in his hand, making it impossible for him to stabilize it.

He could clearly feel his mind being devoured little by little, his reason being worn away bit by bit. If this continued, he would not only fail to save Wen Yan, but might even lose control and harm Wen Xuyan and his sister!

"No...we can't do this..."

Yao Guang muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and weak. He suddenly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his agitated mind, but the whispers in his mind did not diminish at all; on the contrary, they became more rampant.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes. The bloodshot in his eyes faded a bit, and a hint of determination appeared in his eyes. He knew that in order to stabilize his hand and complete the surgery, he had to find pure ash and use its power to temporarily suppress the mental pollution and anger within his body.

Only purified ash can neutralize the strange energy within Wen Yan's body and temporarily resist the erosion of mental pollution.

"I need a new ash."

Yao Guang slowly put down the laser knife in his hand, his voice low and hoarse, with a hint of weariness and helplessness in his tone: "Right now, I am affected by mental pollution and cannot act steadily at all. Only purified ash can save Wen Yan."

Wen Xuyan's face instantly turned deathly pale, his eyes filled with despair: "New Nen Ash? But... but all the Nen Ash we collected before was taken away by the immortals!"

How could she forget that the immortal had just appeared and taken away all the ashes that the villagers had painstakingly collected, leaving not a single trace behind?

Meanwhile, the withered forest outside the village was now occupied by those frenzied dead trees, which had become incredibly vicious, attacking anyone who approached them. The villagers suffered heavy casualties, and no one dared to take another step closer to the withered forest.

"I know."

Yao Guang's tone was heavy. He was well aware of their current predicament, but this was the only hope to save Wen Yan, and also the only hope to save himself. "But we have no other choice but to go back to the withered forest and collect new ashes."

Just then, the door of the earthen house was suddenly pushed open, and the village chief staggered in, leaning on a withered wooden cane. His face was covered in blood, his clothes were tattered, and there was a deep wound on his arm from which black blood was constantly seeping out. He looked disheveled, and his eyes were full of sorrow and despair.

"Don't go... whatever you do, don't go to the dead forest..."

The village chief's voice was hoarse and weak, and his breathing was rapid. He almost fell to the ground as soon as he walked in. Yao Guang subconsciously reached out and supported him.

"Village chief, what's wrong?"

Yao Guang frowned and asked in a serious tone. Seeing the village chief's disheveled appearance, his unease grew stronger.

The village chief leaned against Yaoguang, panting heavily, his face contorted in agony. Tears mingled with blood, streaming down his cheeks. "It's all...it's all over..."

"Those dead trees... those dead trees became more and more ferocious, they attacked the villagers wildly, many people... many people were killed by the dead trees, some had their bones broken by the branches, some had their blood sucked out by the thorns in their bodies, and some... some were entangled by the dead trees and devoured bit by bit, leaving not even a skeleton behind..."

His voice trembled, and every word he spoke seemed to be uttered with immense pain. The bizarre and terrifying images kept replaying in his mind, making him tremble all over.

"We've sent over a dozen young, strong villagers to try and collect the ashes, but... they all died in the dead forest, not a single one survived..."

The village chief's tone was full of despair and helplessness. He had struggled in this world for so long and had seen countless deaths and despair, but he had never felt so helpless as he did now.

Those withered trees, as if completely awakened by an evil god, became incredibly frenzied. They were no longer static trees, but monsters that devoured life, turning the entire forest of withered trees into a living hell.

Wen Xuyan's face turned even paler, his body trembled slightly, and the despair in his eyes was almost overflowing—even a dozen or so young and strong villagers could not return alive from the dead forest, so how could the two of them possibly have successfully collected the Nian Ash?

But when she thought of Wen Yan lying unconscious on the bed, and her brother's weak breathing, a resolute look appeared in Wen Xuyan's eyes. She raised her head, looked at Yao Guang, and said firmly, "I'll go, Yao Guang, I'll go with you to the withered forest to collect Nian Ash."

Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, even if she is swallowed by withered trees, she cannot give up. For her brother, she must fight with all her might, and she must seize even the slightest hope.

Looking into Wen Xuyan's determined eyes, Yao Guang felt a strange surge of emotion. He knew that Wen Xuyan had always been a girl who appeared weak but was resilient inside. For Wen Yan, she was willing to give everything.

"it is good."

Yao Guang nodded slowly, her tone decisive: "Let's go together. Be careful, try to avoid those dead trees, and come back immediately after collecting a small amount of Nian Ash. Don't linger."

He knew that the withered forest was a death trap, and they could not afford to be careless. They had to act quickly, or they would become food for the withered trees.

Looking at the two resolute expressions, the village chief sighed softly, his eyes filled with pity and helplessness: "You...you must be careful. Those dead trees are too ferocious. Once they target you, it will be difficult to escape. If all else fails, give up immediately and don't throw your lives away in vain."

"We understand, Village Chief. Please stay here and keep an eye on Wen Yan for us."

After Yao Guang finished speaking, he turned around, picked up the laser knife on the table, and quickly assembled the remaining pulse gun parts into a simple pulse gun—although it was not as powerful as before, it could still be used for defense.

Without any hesitation, Wen Xuyan picked up a thick, withered wooden stick from the corner of the wall and held it tightly in her hand. This was her only weapon, and the only thing she could rely on to protect herself and her brother.