Chapter 637: Trapping a Deity

The girl was the first person to see through Chen Nian's monstrous shell and glimpse the fear in his heart.

Because of that, she was special to him.

It did not matter what motive she had for approaching him.

Special things were rare in this world, and even rarer for a monster like him.

He cherished her beyond measure.

It was not the way one cherished a precious romance, but the way a child cherished a long-awaited piece of chocolate, holding onto it, reluctant to take a bite.

Only, in the end, the chocolate melted.

Chen Nian looked down at Chen Mo beneath him. He said nothing, simply watching him in silence.

He knew Chen Mo would understand exactly what he meant.

Sure enough, under that calm gaze, Chen Mo's smile gradually faded.

He stared at Chen Nian, his eyes slowly revealing an unconcealable disbelief.

"That's impossible."

"That is absolutely impossible!"

He refused to believe that Chen Nian had long since seen through the grand scheme he was so proud of.

Chen Mo's voice rose a few pitches, his words spoken through gritted teeth.

"She came to me back then."

Chen Nian spoke softly:

"She said we should run away together."

"I wondered at the time—run away... why suddenly run away?"

"It might have been a trap, or a sudden impulse after she came to her senses, but I knew we could never make it out."

Chen Nian lowered his head. His newly regenerated face was dreadfully pale, but his gaze was as hard as steel.

"But I still said yes."

"Since she shed tears in front of me, I figured I shouldn't refuse. If she kept crying, her gaze would be drowned in tears, and those rare eyes that could see right through me wouldn't shine as brightly as they used to."

"She took an arrow. I dreamt of that moment many times afterward—her suddenly stepping forward and blocking it for me."

"Why? I wondered countless times, but I never found an answer."

"Some things simply don't have answers."

"There were too many possibilities. Even if I analyzed every single one, it would be hard to reach a conclusion."

"But you have to die, Second Brother."

Chen Nian said softly:

"Because she's already dead."

That was the reason Chen Nian wanted to kill Chen Mo. It was as simple as one plus one equaling two.

He could not articulate how deep his feelings for that girl were, or even describe how he felt about her. Perhaps everyone was right—he really was a monster.

But since the girl was dead, everyone who played a part in her death had to die as well.

"...Heh, hehe, hahaha!"

Chen Mo burst into laughter once more. Blood continuously gushed from his shattered throat, inexplicably resembling scattered rose petals.

"No matter what, you have my shadow on you. You can't win, Chen Nian."

"Even if you reach the summit on Advent Day, you'll never be able to shake off one fact: a huge part of the reason you made it to where you are today is because of me."

"You must be in agony every single second because of that."

Chen Nian didn't reply, watching Chen Mo in silence.

The corners of Chen Mo's mouth curled up.

"I know you."

The next instant, weird energy surged behind Chen Mo, forming a sharp blade that stabbed straight into his own chest.

His eyes gradually lost their light.

Chen Nian's expression remained tranquil.

"It truly disgusts me that I carry your shadow."

"But I can't be afraid."

"Don't be afraid, Monster Nian." In a daze, the girl appeared beside him again, patting his head like he was a stuffed toy.

In his trance, he returned to his final day with her.

"Let's run away together, Monster Nian, to a new place and start a new life, okay?"

The girl looked at him with an irresistible gaze, filled with both hope and pleading.

He should have refused, but he didn't.

In his dreams, he had gone back to that day countless times to shake his head at her.

But whenever he woke, the true memory of that day would resurface in his mind.

"Okay."

He had replied to her with that single soft word.

And on that very day, the girl softly departed from the world.

He always wondered what she had been thinking about on that day.

Perhaps that girl, who had specially picked out her favorite floral dress for the occasion, had envisioned their life in a new Domain the moment she heard his 'okay'. She might have dreamed of the two of them living the simplest, most ordinary days, far away from their unbearable pasts and that cold-blooded place.

Perhaps that was what she thought. Or perhaps not.

Chen Nian didn't know the answer.

He only guessed that because he had truly imagined it himself, countless times.

If the two of them had actually escaped Pure Blood City that day, what kind of life would they be living now?

Maybe they could have gone to Old Sin City together. Maybe they would have met all the right people. Maybe they would be living a good life right now...

"What a shame."

Chen Nian spoke softly. It was a true shame they never made it out.

Flames representing the power of his Bloodline flared to life in his palm, reducing Chen Mo's body to ashes.

Once it was done, Chen Nian turned around and took a deep breath. He looked at Tiger and Old Master Liu, his voice low.

"Let's continue."

...

...

"Three left."

In the dim, narrow space, Yan Jing smiled at the beautiful woman across from him.

Mo Xuan.

The Heavenly Prodigy of the Mo Family's current generation.

The youngest Tenth Tier in the Mo Family's history, and their second Tenth Tier ever.

"You're the third to last."

As if to prove he wasn't lying, Yan Jing took out a Train model and a Jade Pendant.

"I can't show you the Coffin. I have some history with the Fear Intent family, and that is their ancestor, after all."

Yan Jing said with a smile:

"And I can't bring that kid from the Chen Family before you either. I've already sent him to see a good friend. They should be having a pleasant chat right about now."

"But regardless, I'm not lying. You really are the third to last."

"So? Care to share your thoughts?"

Faced with Yan Jing's words, Mo Xuan's expression turned incredibly grave.

She looked at the Jade Pendant and the Train model in his hands, realizing that something was very wrong.

She wasn't too familiar with that old man, but she knew the Chief Conductor well.

She was a ruthless character.

And now, the most important item belonging to that ruthless character had fallen into the hands of the black cat standing across from her. That alone proved the black cat wasn't lying.

She took a deep breath as weird energy brewed within her.

The situation was disastrously wrong. She had to go all out.

But just then, a voice rang by her ear.

"This guy isn't an ordinary foe."

"We need to coordinate."

Hearing the Earth Saint's voice, Mo Xuan's eyes narrowed.

"The only ways to counter the Space Pathway are spatial control or time."

The Earth Saint sent a low telepathic message:

"You just need to lock him down for a single instant, and I can end this fight."

Hearing this, Mo Xuan shot a subtle glance at the dirt wall beside her.

Her weird energy then trembled slightly.

Across from her, Yan Jing seemed entirely oblivious to their exchange. He let out a lazy yawn.

Now was the moment.

Mo Xuan's weird energy suddenly erupted. Ink-black liquid overflowed from her palms, transforming into chains that shot out in all directions and plunged into the walls.

Ripples spread across the walls. In just a few seconds, the entire space was converted into a pitch-black Domain.

Mo Xuan looked at Yan Jing. An impenetrable layer of shadows clung to her, and her eyes were now entirely black. Inky weird energy draped over her like a long dress, stretching from her chest down to her calves. The hem of the dress fluttered and rippled, as if caressed by a gentle breeze.

"Fear!"

She thrust her hand forward. The next second, Yan Jing vanished from where he stood.

Almost simultaneously, streaks of dark light exploded from her palm, surging toward Yan Jing's previous position.

"He can't escape."

Mo Xuan said to the Earth Saint:

"Caught in my Domain, fear will hunt him down no matter where he goes. His only option is to constantly shift locations, but if he does that, he'll either burn through all his weird energy or be forced to flee this area entirely."

"He isn't leaving," the Earth Saint said coldly.

"I will kill him before it comes to that."

The Earth Saint hated Yan Jing to the very core. Earlier, Yan Jing had used a trick to swap places with him right in front of Chen Mo, forcing the Earth Saint to eat Chen Mo's punch head-on. The bloody hole in his chest still wouldn't heal, leaving him with no choice but to hide within the earth, afraid to expose himself.

With those words, he threaded rapidly through the subterranean layers, speeding straight for Yan Jing's location.

Elsewhere, Yan Jing strolled leisurely through layers of space, glancing across the dim surroundings as if he were on a relaxing hike.

He was in no rush to end this fight, because these people weren't the real main force.

What worried him were the Demigod Realm experts backing them.

Ever since the incident with the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom, the Demigods had made multiple moves. He had a feeling that some of them were losing their patience.

If he showed off too much power, he risked clashing with the Demigods ahead of schedule.

Mantou was currently at a crucial stage, and he refused to take any risks.

That was exactly why he hadn't used any of his true body's abilities or the powers of his other identities in this fight.

Taking out the Earth Saint would be simple.

The Divine Heart - Earth granted direct control over all earth-related elements within three tiers. With a single thought, all these earth layers the Earth Saint had manifested would become his to command.

Taking down Mo Xuan would be even easier.

Universal: Fear and Dread would lower his opponent's Fear Pathway capability by one Tier while raising his own Fear Pathway capability by one Tier.

One shift up and one shift down created a massive gap equivalent to two Tiers.

Killing Mo Xuan wouldn't even cost much weird energy.

The final target, the Mechanical Emperor, would likely be the most troublesome of the bunch.

But even so, Yan Jing didn't think it would be too much of a hassle.

His true focus remained entirely on Mantou in the distance.

As for this fight, he was treating it like a casual walk while walking the dog.

The next second, an earth spike thrust out from the side, stabbing right at him.

But it only pierced through an afterimage.

It was a phantom Yan Jing had left behind who knew how long ago.

Watching the illusion shatter, the Earth Saint let out a furious roar.

The ground trembled, and space violently shuddered.

...

...

"I'll lock onto his location,"

Tiger said:

"Then you two coordinate just like we planned and drag him out."

"We need to practice a few times first. Once we've got the routine down, we'll call that boy over and make our move," the Old Man said, his expression solemn.

"We'll likely only get one shot at this."

Right now, he was wearing a thin, lightweight mechanical exoskeleton.

On the arms of the exoskeleton were multiple microscopic mechanical tentacles, completely invisible to the naked eye, coated in a dense layer of weird energy.

This was a custom surgical exoskeleton Chen Nian had rapidly developed on short notice.

Its greatest advantage was a synchronization rate of nearly one hundred percent.

Furthermore, it pushed neural simulation to a profound level.

But this also brought about a severe problem.

It placed an astronomically high demand on the operator.

If the operator harbored even the slightest stray thought, the exoskeleton would execute one—or perhaps hundreds—of micro-movements based on that thought. During the "surgery," such a mistake would be absolutely fatal.

Moreover, a single muscle twitch or heavy breath could cause those invisible electronic tentacles to vibrate, thereby injuring the patient's body.

Chen Nian pulled a portrait from his pocket and gently shook it.

The portrait depicted a figure identical to Mantou. She lay horizontally before them, her eyes tightly shut, her brow slightly furrowed.

This was the portrait Yan Jing had left behind.

The three men exchanged glances, and Chen Nian gave a nod.

"First surgical trial, begin."

As he spoke, several golden threads of Fate sprouted from the center of Tiger's brow. They began tracing patterns in the air, pointing out the correct direction.

It was an extremely delicate process. A few seconds later, the drawn Mantou suddenly scrunched her brow in pain. From the center of her forehead, a hand reached out, tearing right through the portrait's head.

The entire portrait violently collapsed.

"My bad. The scrying was detected."

Tiger wiped the beads of sweat pouring frantically down his forehead.

He hadn't been this nervous in a long time. Those short few seconds felt like surviving a severe illness.

"It's fine. Again."

Chen Nian pulled out the portrait once more.

Then...

The group began a frantic series of trials.

Second trial: failed at seven minutes and eighteen seconds. Cause: Tiger's scrying fluctuations.

Third trial: failed at eight minutes and forty-one seconds. Cause: Tiger's scrying fluctuations.

Fourth trial: failed at nine minutes and seven seconds. Cause: Tiger's scrying fluctuations.

...

...

Seventeenth trial: failed at fourteen minutes and nine seconds. Cause: emotional fluctuations from Tiger during the final moments of scrying.

...

Thirty-first trial: failed at thirty-one minutes and four seconds. Cause: mental fluctuations from Old Master Liu.

...

Thirty-seventh trial: failed at thirty-one minutes and seventeen seconds. Cause: a muscle twitch in Old Master Liu's pinky finger.

...

...

Forty-first trial: failed at thirty-three minutes and fourteen seconds. Cause: exoskeleton overheating.

...

...

Forty-seventh trial: failed at thirty-three minutes and sixty-seven seconds. Cause: restricted exoskeleton sensitivity.

...

...

Fiftieth trial, fifty-first trial...

Time flew by. Everyone was drenched in sweat.

Yet their eyes blazed with intense focus. They looked almost possessed, utterly oblivious to the outside world.

"I know what to do. I'll switch to a weaker Fate path. If I coordinate with the Fate vessel over at the Path of Destiny, I can disguise this scrying as a natural descent of Fate," Tiger muttered, getting up to contact the people at the Path of Destiny.

"I need to practice a fist routine. Once I'm done, neither of you speak to me. Treat me like I don't exist."

The Old Man stood up.

Clink, clink, clink—clang, clang, clang—

Tools danced in Chen Nian's hands as he endlessly modified the exoskeleton.

No one knew just how insane the undertaking currently unfolding in this cramped room really was.

Right here, these three men were attempting to trap a Deity.