In the ruins of the shipping containers, the Butcher maintained his Divine Servant Transformation form. His nightmare-inducing, half-human, half-Qilin appearance resembled that of an ancient deity. Unintentionally, he emanated a bloodthirsty, chilling aura.
He felt he had reached the pinnacle of his life, standing supreme and unrivaled.
He took seven steps forward, raised one hand to the sky.
"Heaven and Earth, only I—"
Before he could finish the sentence, his entire body erupted with blood, and he collapsed backward onto the ground.
The Divine Servant Transformation was undone. His Qilin Horn and scales began to peel away, decaying piece by piece, returning him to his human form.
A dark shadow flashed by; the Moon Princess landed lightly beside him, casting him a frosty glare.
"Idiot. That's what you get for showing off."
She snapped irritably.
His breathing and heartbeat were still present, though extremely faint. It was likely the aftereffects of the Divine Servant Transformation. Coupled with the use of the Ancient Divine Language, the backlash had reduced him to a severely injured state.
"This is true evolution! God-given power, elevating a life as lowly as an ant to greatness, even displaying the majestic stature of the Qilin Clan, and blending in the divine strength of the gods!"
The Scholar stumbled over, trembling as if a desperate wanderer in the desert who had discovered an oasis, or a devout believer witnessing a divine miracle, his eyes blazing with zeal: "Why couldn't I do this? With my talent, even if I had access to a full drop of Ancient God's Blood, I still couldn't achieve such perfect evolution. That ferocious form, those crimson vertical pupils, that unyielding armor of scales, the seamless contours of muscle—all so exquisite."
He stared at the unconscious musclebound man on the ground, muttering, "Such beauty!"
Moon Princess shot him a cold look. "So, are you bent?"
The Scholar was momentarily speechless. "No, Miss Moon Princess, that's not what I meant..."
Moon Princess snapped coldly, "Do you or don't you have Pharmacist Old Thief's secret medicine? Hurry up and give some to the Butcher."
The Scholar froze for a moment, then quickly rummaged through his pouch. "I have, I have! I snagged plenty from that old thief!"
Everyone worked for the same boss; they were supposed to be on the same side.
Except for that dimwit, Pharmacist Old Thief, they all knew who was truly in charge.
Especially after witnessing the miracles bestowed by the Qilin Venerable firsthand.
Pharmacist Old Thief was nothing but trash.
At that moment, a rustling sound echoed from the cracked fissures in the ground. An uncontrollable swarm of Gu Worms crawled up from the depths. They surged like an overwhelming tide of insects, skin-crawlingly dense.
Seated right at the center of this insect tide was Yan Wu's corpse.
The Gu Worms burrowed into his body, devouring flesh and blood.
"I suggest you leave immediately."
Lu Zicheng's exhausted voice emerged from the rear. "The battle you had with the Nightmare Master just now made use of ancient divine powers. The association will definitely sense it. If nothing unexpected happens… the Heavenly Person Realm will soon envelope the entire Forbidden Zone. When that happens, your kind of power will be unusable."
He paused. "And if you're discovered, they will inevitably hunt you down."
Moon Princess turned to face him, her icy, beautiful eyes watching him silently as she clutched her Gu Zheng tightly.
Her right hand gently brushed over the strings, as though ready to strike at any moment.
The Scholar hoisted the unconscious Butcher onto his back, retreating step by step.
"If I ask whether the person behind you is the Qilin Venerable, you obviously wouldn't admit it. Even though what you're doing is betrayal toward humanity's faction, being contaminated by the Ancient God's Breath leaves you no choice. I can understand that—but I cannot condone it."
Lu Zicheng's pale face softened as he spoke in a faint voice. "If I make it out alive, I'll definitely report your existence. So, if you don't want to risk exposure, you could kill me here."
As he uttered this, he pulled out his phone, smashed it on the ground, and then stomped on it until it shattered. "But I appreciate the help you gave me. I won't alert anyone about you right away. You have ten minutes to escape."
From the distance, Chen Qing, upon seeing the scene unfold, immediately bolted forward with her sniper rifle, running so fast that her high boots seemed ready to come apart.
Moon Princess remained silent for a moment before turning and speaking. "Let's go."
With that, she turned around and walked off.
The Scholar, carrying Butcher, said nothing and followed behind her.
Then, Lu Zicheng's voice floated from behind them, frail and barely audible. "Hey, the ones who captured Lin Yuan earlier and warned us about the existence of the Parasitic Gu—that was you, wasn't it? Why did you help us?"
Moon Princess didn't respond. Her slender, dainty figure flickered swiftly in the pouring rain.
The Scholar, however, halted. He turned back and said, "Don't probe too deeply. Don't attempt to glimpse that great entity. It merely asked me to relay one sentence to you... Break the cage, and freedom awaits."
In the dark night, lightning crackled across the skies, rain poured in torrents, and the world was shrouded in gloom.
Lu Zicheng watched them fade from sight, staggering as he moved to Yan Wu's corpse in the midst of the insect tide.
He removed the Sword Bag from his back and planted all of the blades into the ground.
With a shift in his crimson eyes, he opened his arms wide, unleashing an immense Qi Force from within.
Dozens of Ancient Blades trembled, and under the infusion of Qi Force, they detonated violently!
The blades erupted into countless fine fragments, surging like a whirlwind of razor-sharp shards. In a matter of moments, they tore through the insect tide, reducing the swarm to a blood-soaked mess.
Even Yan Wu's corpse was obliterated, scattering into a mist of blood.
Having finished his task, Lu Zicheng staggered backward and plopped down heavily onto the ground.