May 20, 2024

Dragon & Tree - Part 4

"Open your eyes and take a good look around you." Mu raised her arm and wiped it in the air.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were totally "wiped" away by her hand, and tables, chairs, lamps, and the humans fallen all over the place, including us, suddenly floated in the air in a weightless state.

Looking up, there were black clouds rolling in from all directions, wave after wave, in an endless stream, covering the sky as an unbroken wall without seams or boundaries, rejecting any penetration of light. It turns out that what I saw in the sky that day was not a hallucination at all.

Lowering my head, the panoramic view of Fulong Mountain unfolded before my eyes - tiered mountain range, unique rocks, flowing water - yet all the elements that composed this tableau had only one color: black, varying in depth, with overlapping light and darkness, dividing and combining, presenting Fulong Mountain, the most familiar to me, in a completely unfamiliar appearance.

Standing in such a world, I felt like a faint star trapped in darkness, powerless and insignificant. If it weren't for Ao Chi's firm grip on my waist, I would almost have fallen from this position that was neither touching the sky nor touching the earth. Unrestrainable oppression, like a rope wound around my feet, continuously dragged me towards the boundless abyss.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mu was utterly proud of everything before her. "Not only here, but the entire world is the same at this moment - a never-before-seen harmony and unity. Master is quite satisfied with the power you all have contributed."

"We?"

I snapped out of the shock. When Mu said "we," was she talking about the demons they captured and the spiritual essence lost by Jiu Jue? This morning on the mountaintop, Jiu Jue and I mistook the time... I see, the sun's rays are completely blocked by this current "world."

Just as I thought of this, a wave of dizziness hit me again, stronger than before. In my blurry vision, raindrops-like black shadows fell from the sky, staining my hair, cheeks, and limbs. Burning pain, starting light but becoming heavy in an instant, erupted from every inch of my body, as if countless thin blades were cutting into my flesh bit by bit. My head became incredibly heavy, as if there was a hand digging hard inside, firmly set on prying open my skull.

I was sweating buckets, unable to stand. Even Ao Chi's arms couldn't stop me from sliding down uncontrollably. More and more points of light leaked out from my body, completely beyond my control.

"Shaluo! Shaluo!" He was half kneeling on the ground, holding me as I trembled uncontrollably all over with clenched teeth, and shaking me hard.

I tried to reassure him, but I couldn't speak. The agonizing pain of thousands of arrows piercing my heart was gradually shutting down all signs of life in me.

The black shadows continued to fall, like insects burrowing into every pore. The longer it went on, the worse the pain became.

Mu stroked the luminous body in the wheel and laughed, "The power of god Anubis, coupled with the high-purity 'nutrients' extracted from the spirits of a large number of demons, gives rise to the Swamp Shadows Kingdom. It is the tomb of sunlight and the paradise of the undead. All demons in the Swamp Shadows Kingdom will be affected by the power here; their spiritual essence will disperse, and they will have no way out, just like pitiful creatures trapped in a swamp. We have prepared for twenty years, waiting for the moment when the Three King Stars block the sun. There are 9883 demons in the world, and we needed to capture some of each kind, and that too quietly, without being discovered, which is quite troublesome, to say nothing of some low-level demons who have too little cultivation, and what can be extracted from them is too little. But you great demons are different. Just one is very effective. Haha."

Mu's tone was filled with the joy that has been suppressed for a long time and finally liberated. Although I couldn't quite understand most of it: what is this Swamp Shadows Kingdom and Three King Stars blocking the sun? I've never heard of these things.

"Swamp Shadows Kingdom?" Ao Chi's voice made my eardrums tremble. "You're saying you created the Swamp Shadows Kingdom?"

"Yes, even if it's just for an hour, it's enough to make those annoying and hypocritical demons disappear forever."

I couldn't see Mu's expression, but I could imagine how "joyful" she must look at this moment.

"If you obediently hand over your heart, the Swamp Shadows Kingdom will disappear immediately; this is Master's promise to you." She was arrogant, like a queen disdainful of everything. "But if you refuse, then it's a final farewell to your Shaluo, as well as your foolish demon friends, and even all the demons in the world."

Hand over... Ao Chi's heart?

Axis of Time… Key… Dragon Heart and Tree Body…

Ao Shuo's previous words, now scattered into disarrayed words, buzzed as they echoed in my ears.

He manipulated Mu to cheat away my real body, and now he's forcing Ao Chi to hand over his heart?

The pain that had been getting worse all this time unexpectedly made my thinking suddenly clear.

"Ao Chi! No! Don't admit defeat!" I grabbed him so hard that my nails almost pierced his flesh.

My eyes are obviously open, but why can't I see his face?

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