Chapter 14: And So, That Is the Reason

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After saying this, Bo Ren’s pale, handsome face suddenly lit up with a look of delighted surprise and exhilaration, as though he had just thought of something.

“So the rumors were all true. You’ve come here. Ha ha, how fascinating this world can be.”

The spell he had been preparing to take them both down with him dispersed from his hands. In an instant, Bo Ren retreated at tremendous speed. One illusionary fiend after another solidified in the void, while the monsters painted on the surrounding murals also came snarling to life, all surging toward their enemy together.

Ji Yaoguang did not pursue him. He merely watched in silence as Bo Ren departed. The moment the illusionary beasts drew near, fresh shoots naturally sprouted from their bodies, transforming them into nourishment for trees that thrust upward from the earth.

Lin Zhao had never witnessed anything on such a grand scale. Just imagine it: countless fiendish beasts surging in from every direction like a tidal wave, only to be ensnared by trees that twisted and grew, draining them dry until they crumbled into ash. The sheer style of making them vanish with a few casual words—

He found himself harboring a profound doubt.

Was this boss really meant to be a beginner’s village boss?

What beginner’s village could possibly defeat something like this?

At last, when the final tree had finished growing, silence descended upon the surroundings. The young man still stood quietly where he was, eyes lowered, as though lost in thought.

Lin Zhao was about to approach when he realized that his wrist was still attached to the chain. He immediately summoned a little Golden Crow to burn through it.

Soon, several crisp snaps rang out, and the chain broke. Lin Zhao glanced at the section of manacle still hanging from his wrist and could not be bothered to deal with it. Instead, he walked toward the young man in curiosity and finally stopped before him.

“Hey. You may have saved me once, but don’t think that means I owe you anything. Let me tell you, we have a very deep grudge between us.”

He hesitated.

“Still, you look like you’ve been beaten down to the last sliver of health this time. I won’t take advantage of you while you’re vulnerable, so I’ll let you off once. But next time, I’ll kill you without hesitation…”

While he muttered to himself, the young man opposite him finally managed to speak.

“Leave. Stay away from me.”

Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes and tested the words. “What did you say?”

The voice was so faint it was no louder than a mosquito.

The young man seemed to be enduring something. After letting out a muffled groan, he suddenly reached out and pulled Lin Zhao into his arms.

Lin Zhao was just about to bristle when he looked up and saw one of the other man’s strange violet eyes fixed upon him. Then came the sensation of all the witch-power and vital blood within his body being sucked dry. He only had time to let out a miserable cry before the young man abruptly flung him away.

The force was tremendous. Beneath the altar lay the vast mountain range inside the tortoise shell, and Lin Zhao could not even summon a totem before he became a meteor flying in the opposite direction. He shot through the air trailing light and slammed into the shell crowning the sky, punching a huge human-shaped hollow into it before ending up hanging upside down, firmly wedged in place.

Damn it! I’ll remember this grudge. Your name is Ji Yaoguang, right?

I’m not letting you off!

Lin Zhao seethed with rage, but then discovered that although he was in terrible pain, he seemed to be alive.

Struggling with all his might, he lowered his head and saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

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The altar’s former location had vanished completely. In its place stood a colossal tree that reached from earth to heaven. It was growing with violent speed, tearing open the tortoise shell and exposing the gray-black sky beyond. Purple sunlight poured down, making the world appear even more desolate and uncanny.

The enormous serpent skeleton coiled around the shell seemed to have been awakened. Half-wrapped around the tortoise’s back, it let out a terrifying hiss, winding around the great tree and biting at it. The two engaged in a fierce battle, entangling and attacking one another as vines, branches, and serpent bones flew in every direction. Even from a hundred miles away, Lin Zhao could feel the aftershocks of their struggle lashing his flesh painfully.

The surrounding shell, already petrified, was polished by the hurricane until it shone brilliantly.

For a while, Lin Zhao fell silent.

He was no longer very interested in fighting this boss. It would be better to leave as soon as possible and find somewhere inhabited by living people. The strange phenomena and ruins could all be left behind.

He felt somewhat dispirited. He had been running simulations for more than four years, yet this was still the extent of his ability. If it truly took him a thousand years to defeat a boss, what was the point of wasting his youth in this wretched place?

With that thought, he quietly waited for the witch-power within his body to recover. As long as he summoned a Golden Crow and let it burn him, he could restart the simulation.

He also warned himself inwardly that he had to be more careful next time. The simulator was not infallible, and this time he had very nearly capsized.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Lin Zhao finally felt a trace of witch-power return to his body.

By then, the battle between the two powerful beings had gradually fallen silent as well. In the end, the serpent skeleton atop the tortoise shell had gained the upper hand. The great tree slowly withered, then burst into blazing flames.

Only then did the serpent skeleton slowly withdraw. It coiled itself back around the tortoise shell and, with surprising gentleness, lowered the shell’s overturned lid into place again.

The entire dome roughly returned to its former appearance.

Lin Zhao’s heart stirred. He summoned a Golden Crow, but instead of having it burn him to death, he endured the searing agony and flew toward the place where the tree had withered.

Perhaps he could loot the corpse?

Soon, the Golden Crow descended.

Among the broken branches and fallen leaves, Lin Zhao saw that the young man was still alive. He lay amid the tangled limbs, weakly coughing blood. When he saw Lin Zhao approaching, he spoke in a low voice.

“Quickly, kill me. Otherwise, I’ll turn into a monster as well.”

Lin Zhao froze, then said softly, “You’re the one asking for it.”

Seeing how much the other man was suffering, he placed a hand against his forehead. He was just about to ignite the flames when, at the instant of contact, he felt a heat source radiating from the young man’s skin. It was as though a faucet had been opened, washing over the Crow Feather Totem in his chest. Like fire meeting kindling, the totem began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The young man seemed to sense it too. He lifted his eyes slightly, looking astonished.

“How is this possible? You’re actually pure-blooded?”

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His expression became extraordinarily complicated in an instant. He seemed melancholy, and perhaps a little embarrassed, but in the end it softened into pure innocence and cautious entreaty.

“Um… could you not kill me just yet?”

Lin Zhao could not bear to withdraw his hand. At last, he said resentfully, “You’ve finally fallen into my hands. Why shouldn’t I kill you?”

The young man answered earnestly, “But I don’t even know you. Earlier, when I saw Bo Ren capture you, I came to save you.”

Lin Zhao said coldly, “How can you say you don’t know me? Didn’t you send your Ghost Face to a village…”

He suddenly remembered. In the later simulations, it seemed that he had always been the one to seek out trouble with that Ghost Face. As far as this boss in the current simulation was concerned, aside from secretly shooting him with an arrow earlier, Lin Zhao truly was a stranger.

But that was not how the matter should be described.

“Then why did you suck away my witch-power and send me flying to the edge of the sky?”

The young man gave a soft cough and replied helplessly, “The calamity’s corruption within me was extremely severe. By then, I could barely control myself. I didn’t dare let you remain beside me for too long, or you would have become an object of great evil as well.”

Lin Zhao looked at the fingers resting against the other man’s head.

“Then aren’t you worried about corrupting me now?”

The young man smiled faintly.

“You are pure-blooded. Not only can you resist the calamity’s corruption, you can absorb it and strengthen yourself with it. The corruption in my body has already been drawn away by you, so for the time being, there is no need to worry about mutation.”

Lin Zhao gave a disdainful snort and continued absorbing it for a while longer. Only when he felt that he had consumed every last scrap of kindling did he finally withdraw his hand.

“Hey, do you know how to get to somewhere inhabited by living people?”

The young man slowly sat up.

“I do. I’ll take you there. Also, my name is not ‘Hey.’ You may call me Yaoguang.”

…

Among the ruins of the forest growing within the tortoise shell, the young man named Ji Yaoguang began telling Lin Zhao about his past.

“What? You’re saying that of the twelve witch kingdoms from ten thousand years ago, only one remains?”

Lin Zhao was stunned.

“That is correct,” Ji Yaoguang said softly. “Although I am the Son of the Witch God, even my divine father did not know how the Great Calamity began. By the time he discovered that the Purple Sun was corrupting the earth, he had only enough time to protect a very small portion of the witch kingdoms. We spent nearly ten thousand years planting the World Trees, purifying the land anew, and establishing affiliated kingdoms. Only then did things gradually begin to recover.”

“Perhaps other witch kingdoms survived, but the calamity-stricken lands have cut us off from one another,” Ji Yaoguang said helplessly. “Over the past ten thousand years, the witch kingdom has sent countless warriors into the disaster zones in search of news of the others. Yet as far as we know, we have found only the ruins of three witch kingdoms in the south. You are the only living being I have ever found. That is why I wanted to save you.”

Thinking of how this boss had indeed never seemed to harbor any intention of killing him, Lin Zhao asked, “Then why didn’t you come looking for me?”

Ji Yaoguang was silent for a moment before replying in a distant voice, “If I had sought you out, I would have had to send you back to the witch kingdom. How lonely it is here, all by myself.”