Chapter 817 - 367: Is It All an Illusion?

The chaos storm finally reached the sky above the Flesh and Blood Forest.

The direction of gravity began to shift randomly; Ron felt himself being pulled towards the sky at times, and pushed towards the ground at others.

Even more terrifying was the visual distortion; the scenes he saw began displaying multiple overlapping shadows, with the same object appearing simultaneously in different locations.

"This is the true power of the Innate Apostle..."

As Ron maintained balance amidst the chaos, he observed the storm’s operational mechanisms: "Direct rewriting of the fundamental rules of reality..."

He activated "Star Eater’s Ravings," establishing a more stable connection between his consciousness and the stars.

The indifferent force of the stars stabilized his mental state like an anchor, allowing him to maintain clear judgment in such extreme environments.

Uphemia’s situation was much worse.

Her blood demon had undergone evolution, but it still couldn’t completely resist the erosion of chaos.

The powerful blood demon started exhibiting strange transformations.

Its limbs were slowly melting, yet new ones were also growing out from its torso.

"No!" Uphemia desperately tried to stabilize the blood demon’s state through bloodline connections.

But her efforts seemed like a drop in the bucket under such intense chaos erosion.

"Stop the useless struggle!" Ron’s voice pierced through the chaos roar, reaching her ears:

"In a chaos storm, any forced control will only accelerate collapse! Let it naturally dissipate!"

Upon hearing this advice, a painful struggle flashed in Uphemia’s eyes.

This blood demon was a battle force she cultivated at great cost; simply abandoning it was truly unwilling.

But reason told her that Ron’s judgment was correct.

"I understand..." She gritted her teeth and actively severed the bloodline connection with the blood demon.

Once the blood demon lost its master’s support, it was completely devoured by chaos; its screams echoed in the storm, then gradually vanished unseen.

But just as Uphemia thought she was about to be swallowed by the storm too, a strong hand grabbed her wrist.

"Hold tight." Ron’s voice resounded with exceptional clarity amidst the chaos: "I will take you out."

Whenever encountering particularly dangerous areas, he could always perceive them in advance and find paths to circumvent them.

"How do you do it?"

Uphemia couldn’t help but ask:

"I’ve met many veterans who walk in the Abyss, but no one can adapt to chaos environments like you..."

"Observation, learning, adaptation."

Ron’s answer was concise and precise:

"Chaos may appear disorderly, but it actually follows higher-order rules. The key is to understand it with the correct perspective."

The two trudged on in the chaos storm, with the surrounding scenery constantly changing.

Sometimes, they would see scenes from other timelines—the same forest but in different states.

In some timelines, the Flesh and Blood Forest turned into a woodland made of crystals;

In some timelines, it was a desolate desert;

In other timelines, the entire area was covered by some enormous mechanical structure.

"These are all potentially existing parallel worlds..."

As Ron walked and observed, he gained a deeper understanding of the chaos storm’s essence:

"The power of the Innate Apostle not only distorts current reality but also briefly reveals other possibilities..."

This realization prompted a new evaluation of Nari’s abilities.

If one could learn this power, or at least understand its operational principles...

After a strenuous trek, the two reached a relatively safe area.

At this point, there was not much distance left between the fourth and fifth layers.

"Thank you..." Uphemia gasped, looking at Ron with a gaze filled with gratitude, "Without you, my outcome surely wouldn’t be favorable."

Although it wouldn’t lead to death in the Abyss, once thoroughly lost in the storm, the cost to find a way out would be significant...

Moreover, the loss of personal strength meant her status in "father’s" eyes would be lowered, which was her most feared outcome.

After all, if there was a No. 18 test subject, there might be a No. 19... her existence was not indispensable to the King of Blood.

"No need to thank me." Ron was unaware of the complex psychological activities occurring in the other party, simply responded:

"I just don’t want to waste a useful piece on the chessboard."

He pointed in a certain direction ahead:

"The passage to the fifth layer is over there; go complete your mission now. Remember, just create enough chaos, don’t overexert yourself."

Uphemia looked at the distance, then glanced back at the raging chaos storm behind her, and felt an indefinable emotion.

"What about you?" she couldn’t help but ask, "Where are you going?"

"I have my own matters to attend to." Ron provided no more explanations, "After completing the mission, wait for my message at the Observation Station."

After speaking, he turned and walked toward the center of the chaos storm, the dreaded whirlpool of death.

As Uphemia watched in shock, Ron’s figure disappeared into the twisted space, as if he had never existed.

"Monster..." she muttered to herself, then turned and flew towards the territory of the Blood Tear Duke.

......

"The rendezvous point is just ahead."

Elsewhere, Ron halted his steps, looking towards a relatively stable area.

A gigantic bone platform quietly stood amidst the chaos storm, like the final refuge in a tempest.

He slowly stepped onto this relatively stable area, each step allowing him to sense the subtle tremor transmitted from beneath the fossil.

These ancient giant beast remains, even after tens of thousands of years post-death, still emitted a certain characteristic of resisting chaos, as if even death couldn’t erase their will from when they lived.