Gu Qing Shan didnât pay much attention to what was happening.
When Xiao Die was standing next to him, his four swords also appeared from the void of space and stood guard around him.
With this level of protection he was able to temporarily ignore everything on the outside world and focus completely on invading the wraithâs Thought Sea to analyze the soul-reaping Life Talisman in his head.
The world had been completely erased, turned into emptiness by the wind.
And then, the Hitman Guildâs master broke through the barrier and fell among the enemy ranks, causing them to also go insane.
None of it affected Gu Qing Shan.
But that wouldnât be the same for everyone else.
A golden glow appeared on the body of Fei Yueâs father, Hong Yi Jue.
âMove away!â
He shouted, then took out a Life Talisman from his sleeve and tossed it forward.
The Life Talisman turned into a flare and was quickly burnt away.
Pop pop pop pop pop popâââ
The heads of the big shots who went insane abruptly exploded at the same time, killing them all.
There werenât many people left on their side.
After a few moments, the Head of the Grand Library rushed forward, clutched Hong Yi Jueâs collar, and angrily shouted:
âHong Yi Jue, we had the formation, why did our side still suffer heavy casualties!?â
Hong Yi Jue coldly looked at him, answering: âHe was carrying the power of an Unlivable Apocalypse on his body, no formation could defend against that. Also, do you want to die as well?â
The big shot hesitantly loosened his hand and slowly backed down.
The Bounty Hunter Guildâs master stared blankly at the headless corpses around him.
âDead... theyâre all dead...â
He muttered in shock.
Originally, he thought that by joining the old City Lordâs side, combined with the Wraith realmâs support, they would be able to defeat their opponents without much trouble.
And yet, it was their side that suffered the great casualties before anything even began.
If he didnât happen to stand a bit further away, his head would have exploded from Hong Yi Jue triggering the Life Talisman inside his soul.
Is this the outcome of pledging our allegiance to the wraiths?
The wraiths are actually just using us as fodders, arenât they?
...Laughable.
How laughable!
Suddenly, the Bounty Hunter Guildâs master felt immense regret.
Hong Yi Jue breathed heavily for a bit, then suddenly turned towards the void of space and shouted at Fei Yue: âDaughter, do you still not understand? Do you want everyone here to die before you agree to get married to the wraiths?â
Fei Yue witnessed everything that happened through the screen of light, staring blankly at the scenery outside Void City and muttering to herself: âThatâs impossible, so many expert Combatants of the void, thereâs no way that the wraiths donât care about them at allâ
Hong Yi Jue coldly scoffed, then shouted: âExpert Combatants? We are indeed a bit powerful, but you donât know the truth of this world at allâ
Fei Yue paused.
She looked closely at Hong Yi Jue, seeing a clear sense of fear that flashed through his expression.
Heâs afraid.
Afraid of what?
For the very first time, Fei Yue felt uncertainty.
The situation was truly too mysterious and confusing, normal people wouldnât be able to understand what was happening at all.
The blind nun stood by Fei Yue and spoke to her in a whisper: âIt seems the situation is much more complicated than what we had imagined. Fei Yue, can you tell us something that we donât know about yet? I might be able to use my [Living Beings Clear Mind] technique to help you see through the origin of this problemâ
While she spoke, an eye opened above her head that stared into the void of space, while her closed eyes began to weep tears of blood.
ââat a time like this, the blind nun was no longer worried about conserving her strength and fully unleashed a clear mind technique that surpassed even Space and Time.
Seeing that, Fei Yue answered: âBefore my mother died, she used her soul to place a Destiny Shackle on my bodyâ- until the day I get married, as soon as anyone tries to force me to use my Fate techniques or steal my Fate abilities, they will die with meâ
The blind nun was startled and asked: âWhy did she do that?â
Fei Yue blankly replied: âBecause she was also helpless to win against those enemies, having no choice but to use this method to temporarily guarantee my safetyâ
The blind nun remained silent for a short moment before continuing: âI understand now, the wraiths need this power of yoursââ theyâre in a desperate need to use your Fate abilities to complete a certain thingâ
âNo one else is able to achieve this, only your Fate abilities could complete this featâ
Everyone was shocked, unable to help themselves turning towards the blind nun.
The blind nun wiped the tears below her eyes and continued: âAfter so many years, the wraiths can no longer remain patient, so they brought your father here in order to force you to make the final decisionâ
Fei Yue didnât say anything.
She seemed to have understood everything.
The Ominous Demon Towerâs master couldnât help but ask: ă What choice? ă
The blind nun replied: âTo let everything in Void City be destroyed, as well as for Fei Yue to witness her father and everyone else die in front of her eyesâ
âOr what?â
âOr Fei Yue must immediately agree to the marriage, then use her Fate abilities for the sake of the Wraith realmâ
âââ-only then, would the wraiths let everyone here goâ
Everyone was completely speechless.
It was only now that they understood the wraithâs intentions.
To make Fei Yue see her father and the Void City that she had personally built up to this point be completely destroyed.
Extreme cruelty and ruthlessness.
But this was the wraithâs ultimatum, they were forcing Fei Yue to make a choice.
The blind nun appeared sympathetic and continued: âIf they cannot have Fei Yue, the wraiths are willing to let her die, rather than letting her powers serve othersâ
The blind nun lightly touched Fei Yueâs shoulder and said: âChild, you have sufferedâ
Suddenly.
Two more black dots appeared out of the empty void of space.
These black dots only stayed in the air for a second before they dropped down in front of everyoneâs eyes.
They then jumped, one of them landing at the foot of the man who carried a 50-meter blade on his shoulder.
The other landed in front of a beast-headed human-bodied Combatant standing next to him.
As everyone looked at them, they saw the two dots open up, turning into a pair of small green snakes.
These green snakes were smaller than the black snake from before, but they each had five heads.
The man with the blade couldnât help but speak: âA strange snake?â
The beast-headed Combatant next to him also couldnât help but wonder: ă How did these things appear here? ă
The man didnât move at all, but a series of blurred images suddenly appeared from the blade on his shoulder.
The beast-headed Combatant also casually threw a punch.
The two small green snakes instantly disappeared just as they were struck.
A split second laterââ
The snakes reappeared on their bodies, lightly bit them, then vanished again.
A sense of indiscernible terror descended upon them.
âDamn it!â
The man abruptly snapped out of it and cursed in regret.
ă AARRRGHHââ ă
The beast-headed Combatant had already begun shouting in madness.
He had gone insane.
Seeing that, the manâs gaze displayed the resolution to die, he suddenly tossed his blade away and rushed forward to grab the beast-headed Combatant.
âEveryone, farewell!â
The man shouted.
At the very next moment, their figures disappeared in front of everyone.
It all happened in the mere blink of an eye.
Before the rest could even react, the two of them had already been bitten and disappeared.
The blind nun appeared full of sorrow and muttered:
âThey... to not spread death and madness to us, have diedâ
ă Where did Cracked Blade take Tree Beast? ăthe Ominous Demon Towerâs master asked.
Fei Yue took out a small glowing stone.
The glow of the stone slowly faded away, then suddenly broke.
âCracked Blade had a personal worldâ
Fei Yue looked at the stone and answered without changing her expression: âThat world had just been destroyedâ
Everyone was completely silent.
The mere omen of the Great Flood had easily eradicated two Combatants, and casually destroyed an entire world.
The blind nun took out a white handkerchief and wiped the blood tears from her eyes.
Her eyes then scowled, as if she was suffering some sort of pain.
The group then heard her explain: âIâve seen through a bit of this Apocalypseââ it uses the power of Causality to trigger destruction. As soon as it falls into our vicinity, it will trigger a Causality ability to force us to attack it, then fall into madnessâ
A male voice refuted: âThat isnât the caseâ
Everyone looked back, only to see that it was Crow.
His eyes were reddened: âYouâve all forgotten, this is merely the omens before the Great Flood, the preliminary fluctuations of an Unlivable Apocalypse. Once it fully erupts, it would not be as weak as thisâ
ââyou call this weak?
Everyone couldnât help but think that.
But they certainly couldnât refute the fact that this was indeed only an omen of the Great Flood.
The wraiths are somehow able to manipulate the Great Flood.
If they had the ability to manipulate an Apocalypse, is there anything that the wraiths cannot do?
Which world within this infinite void would be able to go against them?
Everyone slowly fell into despair.
In the screen of light hovering in the void of space, Hong Yi Jue opened his eyes wide, looked at Fei Yue, then shouted:
âDaughter, do you still not get it? This is irresistible power!â
âMy daughter, I no longer have another death-immunity talismanââââ
Hong Yi Jue was practically begging as he shouted:
âItâs merely working for the wraiths; canât you see that clearly? Or do you want us all to die within this Apocalypse?â
Fei Yue coldly replied: âMother had already predicted the results of me working for the wraiths, and you know full well what that is!â
âResults...â
Everyone heard Hong Yi Jueâs weak voice filled with nothing but stifled emotions: âRegardless of the results, even getting to enjoy life one more day as a wraith is still better than dying immediately!â
He threw the talisman in his hand away, his complexion completely ashen:
âOver the past years, Iâve enjoyed a lot of things, but all of them come with a certain price. I need to marry you into the Wraith realm, if I fail to do that, the wraiths will definitely take my lifeâ
âThis is already the last chance, daughterâ
âWhether everyone dies together, or live another day as you become a female ruler of the Wraith realm, everything depends on your decisionâ
âEven if you hate me, you cannot simply watch as everyone in Void City loses their life in this Apocalypse!â
Fei Yueâs figure was slightly trembling.
Void City...
She clenched both her fist and her teeth tightly: âIn the past, Mother was able to fight against the wraiths for an entire day without losing, but you insisted on not leading Void City against the wraithsâââ
âFather, you used to be a renowned great Combatant within the void, why do you not have even a little bit of desire to resist them? Is it because you already knew that the wraiths had an Unlivable Apocalypse in their hands?â
She loudly questioned him.
Hong Yi Jue paused for a bit, then showed a strange expression.
In front of everyone, he opened his mouth, then slowly closed it, then abruptly opened it again.
His appearance looked a bit laughable, but Hong Yi Jueâs expression was filled with despair as he was breathing heavily, not at all trying to make fun or joking.
It was as if he had something stuck in his throat, unable to speak.
Fei Yue was confused by that.
Everyone else also felt it was strange.
Regardless if he did or not, couldnât he just answer straight?
If the old City Lord was truly bending to the hidden strength of the wraiths, that would only better help the wraiths strike fear into them without resulting in any other consequences, so why is Hong Yi Jue so hesitant to speak?
The blind nun suddenly said: âEven as a top Combatant of the void, he has become extremely frightfulâ
This comment caused everyone to fall silent.
Carefully observing the old City Lord, they were indeed able to see that his body was trembling nonstop.
At that moment, both sides fell into an unusual stalemate.
...what exactly is a Combatant of his caliber afraid of?
Under such circumstances, what choice will Fei Yue make?
Everyone had such thoughts, then couldnât help but pull their gazes back to look at Fei Yue.
At this point.
This extremely pivotal moment, only a single person wasnât paying any attention to Fei Yue.
Gu Qing Shan.
ââif Gu Qing Shan had been constantly paying close attention to the situation, he might have been able to notice something from Hong Yi Jueâs expressions just now.
This wasnât related to any sort of Thaumaturgy or his level of power.
In reality, Gu Qing Shan had already fought against the wraiths in many worlds, he had witnessed the wraiths taking over a Huang Quan realm fragment, he had seen the Divine Skill [Lead The People][1], and he knew about the fact that the wraiths had planned for countless years in order to enter the Inner Plane.
He had fought against Cang Wu Zhang, personally faced Red Wraith in the Saint Spirit world, and even saw through the Sacrificial Dance how the Wraith Lord fought against the Eternal Abyss, then desperately ran away.
ââif Gu Qing Shan was able to see Hong Yi Jueâs unusual expression and committed his full attention to ponder these matters, he might have been able to reach one or more unbelievable conclusions.
Unfortunately, Gu Qing Shan was currently in a state of absolute focus.
ââ-he had both his eyes closed, currently doing everything he could to reverse-engineer the structure of this Life Talisman.
And so, everyone only saw a flare talisman flying in front of Hong Yi Jue from an extremely far distance.
Hong Yi Jue received the talisman, then his expression became completely bitter.
âWhat authority, what treasure, what bullshit power, theyâre all nothing but fireflies that canât compare to the shine of moonlight, and itâs time for us to face our final destinyâ
He waved the talisman and infused his power into it.
The talisman suddenly lit up.
An old voice resounded from within the talisman:
[City Lord Fei Yue, we recognize your power, and as long as you are willing to work for the Wraith realm, everything can be negotiated]
[We have waited for you for a very long time, which cannot continue any longer, because... certain events are about to occur]
[We cannot allow your power to exist outside of the Wraith realmâs grasp, I hope you can understand]
[In consideration of your father and daughterâs deep relationship, I will give you one last incenseâs worth of time]
[After this incense burns out, you will choose to either get married or to face the Unlivable Apocalypse]
[City Lord Fei Yue, I hope you will make the proper choice]
The talisman burst into flame, then quickly burnt away.
Silence.
There was nothing else but the absolute silence within this void.
Fei Yueâs gaze passed through everyone.
The entire Void City is about to be destroyed... and the only outcome for everyone is death.
Countless years of preparations, and this is the result?
Fei Yue rubbed away her tears at the corners of her eyes.
She took a deep breath, then resolutely spoke: âI... am willing...â
Suddenly, a voice cut her off.
âAh? Seems like a lot has happenedââ Fei Yue, first undo your Fate technique!â
Gu Qing Shan opened his eyes and shouted in a low voice.
[1] [Lead The People] was a puppeteering skill that gave perfect control over corpses up to Deific King level, part of the Divine Skill combination that summoned a bunch of coffins full of corpses