Chapter 372: Real or Fake

Chapter 372: Real or Fake

In short, the sensations appearing outside Lily’s body were a serious issue. She was a Corpse Puppet, a being similar to a Jiangshi. Could anything simple stir such feelings in her? She also said the thing she sensed was important to her… What could be important to her and stir sensations she shouldn’t have, besides a Soul!?

Other things… Zheng Yichen thought she would never change unless he was about to die. Even the matter of him dying had a reason. After all, the power that maintained her existence was personally filtered by Zheng Yichen. If he kicked the bucket, it would be normal for Lily to sense it.

Holding Lily, Zheng Yichen ignored the stares of passersby and started running. Although this Alchemical Avatar wasn’t combat-type, if it really sprinted, it could break Earth’s hundred-meter record to a despairing degree. While dashing, Zheng Yichen quickly scanned the surroundings and took out the Magic Weapon Summoning Book to notify a certain woman to come assist him.

This was no joke. Lily’s Soul was once taken by the Undying Witch, along with everyone from her former home. Now this strange sensation appeared. Besides the Undying Witch finding this place, what other reason could there be? He didn’t think the Undying Witch would spit out Souls she had harvested.

Since she did this, there must be a reason!

Revenge? Or something else?

“Holy moly… Made it back safely?” Seeing his hideout in Kaja getting closer, Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but mutter. But the next moment, his face stiffened. He looked around in surprise and confusion at the now desolate area, even nearly exclaiming—was this the legendary Barrier!?

No, now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. The problem was he was less than five hundred meters from his hideout but trapped here. What could be more annoying than this? He regretted buying a house in a somewhat remote location. But even if it was a ‘Barrier,’ once he touched its edge, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Zheng Yichen cautiously glanced around, his running steps pausing slightly. From the barren ground, two withered, skeletal hands emerged, firmly grabbing the Alchemical Avatar’s legs. The bionic muscles of the legs withered, then recovered under the effect of the Fixation Potion. Zheng Yichen pulled out a glowing Magic Arms from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book and severed the two withered hands.

The attribute-counter effect was quite obvious. These skeletal claws clearly couldn’t match the power of this Magic Arms. But then, Zheng Yichen felt his scalp tingle seeing the ground ahead covered with claws…

His mouth twitched slightly. He thrust the Magic Arms named Radiant Brilliance into the ground. Burning Light Element power spread across the ground, coating the bleak gray earth with a faint golden hue. The hands emerging from below turned to ash under the Light Scorch. Zheng Yichen then reached for the floating Magic Weapon Summoning Book and grabbed a handful of Radiant Brilliance. These weapons scattered, stabbing into the ground around him. Weren’t they talking about domains?

He might not have one, but he could create one. In fact, if he wanted, he could unleash an infinite version of Meteor Fall or Storm Style… With Radiant Brilliance paving the way, Zheng Yichen regained mobility and immediately charged forward. But after just two steps, all the Radiant Brilliance Projections stuck in the ground shattered into fine specks of light.

“…”

Zheng Yichen hesitated. Should he use a High-Level Magic Soldier? He chose Radiant Brilliance over the more effective Holy Spirit Hammer to avoid revealing anything to the Undying Witch. Right now, others were still playing in the Low-level Magic Weapon stage. If he used High-Level Magic Soldiers, especially a bunch of them, it would be peculiar enough. And that was assuming the Undying Witch already knew he was a dragon. If he brought out a bunch of hammers… Were Witches idiots?

Obviously not. Doing so might directly reveal Zheng Yichen as the Creator.

If others found out, he could silence them. But if the Undying Witch, a being hard to kill and an enemy, knew, he’d be in trouble.

Taking a slight breath, Zheng Yichen quickly pondered countermeasures. He was about five hundred meters from his hideout in Kaja. That distance wasn’t too far, but not too close either. Irene’s Alchemical Avatar was permanently stationed at the hideout. Annie came every now and then, sometimes staying for half a month. As for Dan Marina… he had sent her a message, but she hadn’t responded yet.

He frowned, looking at the hands reappearing on the ground. Zheng Yichen took out another Radiant Brilliance Projection but didn’t thrust it into the ground to avoid it being eroded and destroyed by the underground force. He moved carefully. The Undying Witch hadn’t shown herself yet. Zheng Yichen guessed she might also have reservations, not opting for a direct attack but using a covert method to secretly eliminate him…

Perhaps disgusted by the Magic Arms Zheng Yichen summoned, or for other reasons, the Undying Witch changed tactics. A black shadow appeared ahead of Zheng Yichen, quickly taking shape and gaining color. What made Zheng Yichen dumbfounded was that the shadow was another Lily.

The Lily held by Zheng Yichen tightened her grip on him upon seeing another herself, not daring to look directly at the other Lily. It felt to Zheng Yichen like… a fake meeting the real thing, where any action or argument was futile. Worse, the Lily he held seemed to be the ‘fake.’

“This is the girl’s true Soul. I can give her to you,” the ‘Lily’ spoke, but the voice was the Undying Witch’s.

“What’s the price?” Zheng Yichen gently patted the trembling Lily in his arms. If not for this situation, he wouldn’t have known Lily could be so fearful of her own ‘Soul.’ Even though she had broken free from the Undying Witch’s control, the fear remained. It was like a mouse seeing a wild cat—regardless of breed, it was an innate fear.

The methods of a Witch were truly plentiful. Even for things that escaped control, there were additional backdoors prepared.

“Take the real one. Give me the fake,” the Undying Witch stated bluntly. “Or I’ll take her myself.”

“…Tsk.” Real or fake… Even if the Soul opposite was real, Zheng Yichen leaned more toward the one he held in his arms. But if the real one truly had no issues, it was even more frustrating!