Desperate Stage

“Sui Ming!” Bai Luoxia cried out in alarm.

She knew Sui Ming’s curse resistance was formidable, yes, but against The Hanged Man’s abyssal corruption, any resistance was meaningless.

And now, he had died right before her eyes.

A potent sense of contrast washed over her, like a friendly neighbor who was there yesterday suddenly being gone in an instant.

Things had changed, people were gone, but she still had to look forward and face this bottomless fear.

“Oh my, it seems I’ve accidentally killed your little friend.”

“My, my, I do apologize.”

The young woman’s fair face was twisted with fury, her brow furrowed, the grip in her hand tightening.

“I’ll make you pay in blood!”

“Come on, then, if you can!”

The play upon the stage began.

Countless tendrils of flesh twisted and danced to the rhythm of calamitous thoughts.

The scene was so grotesque that even Bai Luoxia felt a chill.

With a kick, Bai Luoxia’s figure clashed with The Hanged Man’s.

Chains collided with ropes of flesh and blood, like a symphony from hell.

Crimson waves churned endlessly, and writhing insect eggs blotted out the last vestiges of light.

At this moment, the only thing that still shone was the chain in Bai Luoxia’s hand.

She landed a punch on The Hanged Man.

He gave a hideous grin, and countless tendrils of flesh shot towards Bai Luoxia!

Azure light flashed, and the flesh was torn to shreds, blood spraying everywhere.

“So… so disgusting,” the girl said, looking at the blood on her hands as a wave of nausea washed over her.

“Disgusting? This is the blessing of the Abyss.”

“You should feel honored.”

“Now then, please enjoy the play of fate.”

[Illusory World—The Past]

The tide of flesh churned once more until it had swallowed everything.

All began to reshape and coalesce, like the great rain that had once destroyed the world.

Despair was about to begin.

Bai Luoxia’s consciousness returned to the past.

The scenery around her shifted constantly until a magnificent and grand city appeared before her eyes.

It was Mingxi City as it once was, the beautiful capital of Bai Luoxia’s memories.

A little blue-haired girl ran outside the city, her innocent face identical to Bai Luoxia’s.

And behind her were two phantoms that no longer existed.

“Is that… Father… Mother?”

The former king and queen of Mingxi City, and also Bai Luoxia’s biological parents.

“Xia, it’s time to come back. Dinner is ready,” the blue-haired woman called out.

“Coming, coming!” the little girl laughed.

A family of three sat together, eating happily.

In contrast, she could only stand alone, silently watching their happiness from afar.

The scene shifted again.

This time, it was the bottomless Abyss.

Maddening mana surged, and not a single beam of light could penetrate this place.

A nest of darkness, the cradle of despair, the source of madness—this was the Abyss Battlefield.

Countless powerhouses had laid down their lives here, all for the sake of this world’s continued existence.

Here, supreme status meant nothing.

Immense power was merely the capital needed for survival.

Wealth was nothing more than useless metal.

Bai Luoxia saw her parents again, but… in such a scene.

The blue-haired woman’s blade pierced the man’s heart.

The man’s expression, even in death, was utterly ferocious.

Those corrupted by the Abyss must be slain on the spot, lest they return to the mortal realm.

And those who slay the corrupted cannot return either, to prevent the spread of the corruption.

This was tantamount to announcing both their deaths.

At that moment, the blue-haired woman’s gaze turned to Bai Luoxia.

She then gripped the girl’s shoulders tightly.

“Why! Why must I endure this endless darkness! Why!”

“Why are you the only one who gets to be spared from this! To not suffer this torture, while I must spend a hundred years here! Barely surviving in this hopeless place! Why!”

“I… I…” Bai Luoxia stood frozen, the chains in her palm slowly falling to the ground.

“Why, Bai Luoxia! Why!” the woman screamed, shaking the girl’s shoulders frantically.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Then, the scene changed once more.

In the center of an endless sea of fire was the one scene the young woman was most unwilling to face.

The person she trusted most had personally killed the one she relied on.

Everything she had was lost in that fire.

The innocent Bai Luoxia had died long ago.

What was born in her place was the iron-willed and ruthless [Decree Princess].

Once again, the yellow-haired youth swung his blade down at the blood-soaked middle-aged man.

Scalding blood splattered, staining the young woman’s despairing face, becoming an indelible mark.

“No! No!” the girl cried out, her heart tearing apart.

The face that had kept a smile even at the moment of death now became reality again, manifesting from the dream.

“I’m sorry… Xia… It seems it’s time for me to go.”

“No… don’t go! I…”

Sui Ming expressionlessly raised his blade, and then brought it down!

Blood gushed out, taking with it the last remnants of the girl’s sanity.

“No… no… don’t… I’m begging you… I.”

As the girl broke down, the illusion around them gradually dissipated.

A familiar figure appeared where the vision had been.

“Oh my, it seems I’ve come out on top after all,” The Hanged Man, wearing Xiste’s skin, said with a smile.

He then reached out a hand towards Bai Luoxia.

Mimicking Xiste’s tone, The Hanged Man said with a sinister look, “Xia, shall we go together?”

The girl raised her head in despair.

Seeing that familiar figure, she slowly took his hand.

“And now… the main event begins!” The Hanged Man looked at the now completely controlled Bai Luoxia, his face beaming with endless joy.

“My, my, what a delicious sight,” an ill-timed voice came from below the stage.

“You’re… still not dead?” The Hanged Man was somewhat surprised.

“Of course not. I still have a reason I must live, after all,” Sui Ming said with a sigh.

The Hanged Man looked at Sui Ming’s rapidly soaring mana level, a sense of astonishment washing over him.

Unconsciously, the youth had already reached [Gold Vein] Tier 1?

Wasn’t he just at the [Mortal Dust] level a moment ago?

Why…

The Hanged Man then noticed the reduction of the abyssal corruption in the surroundings and seemed to understand everything.

“So… you’re a monster just like us! Sui Ming!”

“NONONO, I’m not a bastard like you.”

“I’m just an ordinary young master who wants to live a peaceful life.”

“But… I heard wailing. I heard despair.”

“I just don’t want anyone to fall into despair. That’s all.”

“Ha? That’s your reason? Isn’t that… a bit too absurd?”

“How about this? I can allow you to join us.”

“With abilities like yours, your potential shouldn’t stop here.”

“I’m afraid with your power, you could even replace one of the top three Apostles.”

“Don’t you dislike this girl? I can even give her to you.”

“Then you can make her do whatever you want, be your s*ave, anything, as long as you…”

Bang!

Sparks flew as a bullet shot through the air.

The supersonic force was instantly unleashed upon The Hanged Man’s body, piercing through his chest.

“I think it’d be better if you just shut that mouth of yours forever.”