Chapter 221: Goodnight, Quancheng

After a crisp *pop*, a thunderous roar followed immediately.

Blood plasma sprayed from between the fingers, jetting dozens of meters high.

"I... I made a mistake..." a choked voice rose from amidst the mangled flesh, utterly desperate: "I... made a mistake... it wasn't me... it was... it was..."

Boom!

The giant hand slammed down again, aiming for the Priest, showing no mercy.

Then again, and again!

Made a mistake? What mistake!

How could I possibly make a mistake?!

It's you I'm hitting, damn it!

The roaring was continuous, the ravaging endless, until the Priest's last shred of lingering spirit turned to nothingness and vanished entirely; only then did the blood-stained giant hand dissipate with a sense of regret.

With a flick of the bone wheel, a glob of sin-tainted spiritual quality, resembling thick phlegm, was spat onto the Priest's remains.

So you're the ones calling yourselves the Sin-Eradicating Cult, huh?

As the Evil Eye swept across, it glanced at those who had been retreating again and again without knowing when; a cold snort seemed to ring out, and the rift in the void opened once more.

Without a hint of attachment, the Wheel-Turning Holy King turned and departed.

He didn't pay the slightest attention to the exchanges and calls of the other Higher Sins.

Before leaving, still unsatisfied, he swung the bone wheel like an axe, cleaving down from the air.

It was as if he had kicked Quancheng itself; in the earth-shaking tremors, cracks appeared one after another on the pillars formed by the other Higher Sins.

What damn bad luck!

Sin-Eradicating Cult, don't let me see you under the Vortex again!

With that, he slammed the door and left.

Leaving behind only a chaotic sacrificial site amidst the earth-shaking tremors.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

Dead silence.

"What just happened?"

Ji Jue was dazed; just from being glanced at by that guy earlier, his hair had stood on end, and he had been ready to run.

"I have no idea."

Old Tang scratched his head, feeling as if it were all a dream: "It seems like after he was summoned, he beat him up, gave Quancheng a vicious kick, and then left?"

It was just absurd.

Although infighting is a specialty of you villainous characters, you don't have to be in such a rush to put on a show right in front of us, do you?

Or could it be that this Wheel-Turning whatever-it-is was beaten into vomiting by Mercury last time, developed non-aggression PTSD, and wants to learn from Old Tang and turn over a new leaf?

"..."

Tong Shan was the first to react: "Everyone, clean up the site and prepare to retreat."

A Higher Sin appearing and then leaving—with such a massive commotion, it was impossible for the Sin-Eradicating Cult not to react. Now that the uproar was still spreading, they had to maintain Quancheng's stability, but after the chaos, they would inevitably seek the root cause.

Staying here any longer would just be waiting for someone to come and harvest them.

Immediately, Xu Guan moved quickly, hauling out several bags to distribute; others pulled handfuls of ash—the remains of burned records—from the bags and scattered it everywhere.

By using a massive volume of event records to confuse everything that happened here, it was equivalent to injecting a large amount of garbled code into a document; even if they summoned people to analyze it carefully, by the time they found any traces left behind, it would already be too late.

Meanwhile, the siblings Ji Liu and Ji Xue were splashing gasoline and fuel everywhere, spreading the flames.

Everyone sighed while working; they had only been in Quancheng for a few days, yet their skills in destroying evidence were already catching up to the Sin-Eradicating Cult...

Ji Jue had long since plucked away the central intelligence and sealed it in mercury using solid alchemy—a central control intelligence with such a high degree of completion was best suited for controlling large equipment and complex systems; he could also use it as a reference when he built his own workshop in the future—and explosives had been planted everywhere; all it would take was the press of a button to give the search team that came knocking a surprise.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to reach out and wipe over the complex and massive altar in the underground vault.

An altar and ritual capable of supporting the descent of a Higher Sin couldn't be accomplished just by finding a place and drawing a circle; location, resources, and even time and artisans were indispensable.

Now that he had wiped it clean, if the Sin-Eradicating Cult could still pull out another Higher Sin to fill the spot in the short term, Ji Jue would have to give them a thumbs up and call them impressive.

Such a big thing, it must have a lot of good stuff, right?

Ji Jue rubbed his hands together and pressed down hard with both palms.

. ttkΛn. Co

Disintegration Art!

In an instant, dazzling rays of light appeared on the altar, which was already riddled with holes and on the verge of collapse from the struggle, and the sound of shattering was incessant.

Yet, Ji Jue's smile vanished from his face.

The altar, which looked unremarkable and integrated, revealed upon the application of the Disintegration Art that it was like an onion; after peeling away one layer, there was another, layer after layer!

Countless layers of spiritual quality circuits were interlocked and overlapped, forming a massive structure that Ji Jue had never anticipated; it was as if he had accidentally pressed a switch, instantly lighting up the galaxy.

Even more terrifying was that a creation of such scale had been formed in one go, its internal structure seamless; if it hadn't already been on the verge of collapse from external damage, he wouldn't have been able to make a dent in it at all, far beyond his reach.

And at this moment, accompanying the altar's collapse, what appeared before his eyes was a massive, unprecedented illusion.

From the smelting and gathering of massive materials, thousands of fragments were created one by one from the furnace, gathering and piecing together; finally, with a casual wave of a withered finger, countless amounts of sin-tainted spiritual quality flowed like a tide, gathering, and a complex structure that seemed naturally formed was completed in one stroke.

So magnificent, yet so effortless.

It was as if the creator couldn't be bothered to pour in any extra effort, just casually and perfunctorily finishing it all off. But even so, it was still sufficiently lofty.

So much so that, apart from the few details and theories he was involved in and had studied... he couldn't understand the other parts at all!

It was as if he had suddenly been reduced to an ant or a speck of dust, because a towering mountain with no visible end or peak had risen before him, and everything had become so insignificant.

Involuntarily, he trembled.

Yet the images carried within those countless essences did not stop, as if some passage hidden at the very bottom of the altar had been activated, and thus, following that secret connection, scenes from even further away were reflected in his eyes.

The darkness in the deepest part of Quancheng.

A layer of boundary membrane, resembling a Rift Realm, was bound within Quancheng by invisible chains; and inside the membrane was a massive ruin that had been billowing smoke and engulfed in flames for who knows how many years.

There was a broken, giant wreck, thousands of meters long, like a stranded giant whale, leaning against the ruins. From the rot and decay, steel skeletons and cables were exposed.

Amidst countless broken creations, there was a steel heart struggling to beat under the erosion of sin; it was so feeble, as if on the verge of collapse, yet it was still maintaining its operation. Massive amounts of spiritual quality were swallowed and exhaled within it, and the slightest leakage would stir up ten-thousand-foot waves in the darkness. Every impact made the ruins almost break free from Quancheng, but they were bound by shimmering chains, unable to be freed.

That was an engine.

Ji Jue subconsciously widened his eyes, wanting to distinguish it clearly.

But the image suddenly blurred and dissipated rapidly.

A hunched figure standing directly in front of the engine suddenly turned back, as if sensing something.

On that face, there was no hair, only wrinkles, so aged.

But what was most striking were those emerald eyes.

Indifferent and deep, like a dark cave leading to who knows where, yet in the deepest part of the cave, eerie flames surged, reaching the sky!

Just one glance.

In an instant, all perception dissipated.

Ji Jue stumbled back, drenched in cold sweat; under his feet, the final remnants of the altar fell apart.

Even though it was just a momentary glance from who knows how far away, he instinctively felt that if he were ever discovered by that old man, he would absolutely have no good end.

Even though he had never met him, he could definitely be certain that this was the artisan who had discarded the title of Master like a worn-out shoe, turned and plunged into the realm of stagnation and decay, and ruled the Profound...

Jianyuan!

But even so, he found it difficult to focus on that face; at this moment, the only image appearing in his mind was that engine that had appeared in the fleeting glimpse.

And even, on the engine, that logo he was so familiar with...

Ji Jue froze in place, looking down with difficulty at his wrist.

Sky Track!

There could be no other possibility.

In Quancheng, there was still the wreck of a Sky Track Group train?!

"Let's go."

Seeing that the cleanup was done, Tong Shan waved his hand.

But after taking two steps, he turned back in confusion, looking behind him; Ji Jue was still standing in place, not moving.

"Hey, repairman, don't just stand there like a fool," Tong Shan said. "Time is precious."

Ji Jue didn't speak.

He raised his head and looked into the corner of the vault.

Amidst the dust and rubble, that lonely dog... appeared out of nowhere, but it didn't have its usual enthusiasm and eagerness; it was timid, as if it had secretly hidden a bone or a can, or chewed on the bedsheets and been discovered.

Its eyes were lowered, and its tail was no longer wagging.

Standing in the corner, head bowed, its eyes couldn't help but secretly look at him.

After sniffing, it let out a silent whimper.

As if pleading.

Ji Jue closed his eyes, looked up at the sky, and sighed silently.

I knew that nothing good would come from getting involved with your bankrupt company, and I damn well knew that the dog president wouldn't just come to comfort employees for no reason—it wasn't to deliver benefits...

But what a massive mess you've left behind!

We haven't even signed a contract, why make things difficult for a temp like me?

"..."

Ji Jue didn't speak, retracting his gaze with an expressionless face.

The president lowered its head in disappointment.

Then, it heard Ji Jue's voice.

While walking, the young man kicked the incomplete corpse on the ground, flipped that strange face over, and suddenly asked: "Brother Shan, do you think I look anything like him?"

Tong Shan subconsciously frowned.

He had originally wanted to correct him—to use titles when working and plants when laboring—but then, he suddenly reacted, understood his meaning, and froze in place.

Subconsciously, he retorted flatly:

"No!"

Ji Jue shrugged, "But isn't this better?"

"I said, no!"

Tong Shan was furious, raising his voice: "I am the captain, I make the decisions."

"But I'm a contractor, and the kind that hasn't even signed a contract," Ji Jue laughed, looking at him: "Besides, you also know that this is clearly better, right?"

Thus, Tong Shan fell silent, speechless.

But in this all-too-brief time, there was ultimately no time for him to delay.

He had to make a prompt decision.

Suppressing a weary sigh, he asked one last time: "Have you decided?"

"Yeah." Ji Jue nodded, taking off the odds and ends on his body, one by one, and throwing them into the toolbox, "There are some things I want to see, I must go.

As for the artisan, having Lu Feng is enough, right? Besides, maybe I can find news about his aunt."

"..."

Tong Shan suddenly asked, "What about identity verification?"

Ji Jue shook his head indifferently: "The central hub is right there, is it impossible to change it however I want?"

"What about the sin-tainted aura?" Tong Shan frowned.

Ji Jue grinned, reached back and pulled out the bone knife, the sin-tainted aura appearing from within his soul, as if natural: "Do you think I don't look like a sin-tainted one?"

"What about the face?" Tong Shan asked.

"As for the face shape, don't worry, plastic surgery is very simple."

Ji Jue brandished the bone knife, stabbing it into the face, correcting the shape of the cheekbones and chin; regardless of the pain or anything else, his hands and fingers were incredibly steady from start to finish: "As for whether the face is similar... it's already been burned once, burning it again is fine."

Thus, Tong Shan didn't speak again.

A silent sigh.

He swallowed his disappointment, regret, anger, and even unwillingness.

Just as Ji Jue said, perhaps this was the best way; besides, he no longer had time to waste.

"... Bear with it."

After putting away the flagpole, Tong Shan took out a box, unscrewed the lock with stiff fingers, and took out a pen that looked unremarkable.

It looked light and not worth mentioning, but once it fell into his hand, it made Tong Shan's palm tremble, unable to support it.

His rebirth form appeared, his skin pale as paper, but a large amount of ink-black blood seeped out from the cut on his wrist, all of which was absorbed by the pen until, finally, Tong Shan stumbled, unable to stand steady; the pen finally stopped its hungry gluttony, leaving a thin veneer of face for the user, but it didn't hide the slightly mocking spiritual quality fluctuation.

Then, the nib of the pen swept across Ji Jue's face, bringing a stinging pain as if his soul were being burned, penetrating everything.

Ji Jue convulsed and struggled, but he was firmly fixed in place by telekinesis, unable to resist.

Until the brand-new events were written from the tip of the pen, completed, and covered all the old ones... From this moment on, the central hub's records, the soul's verification, the past recorded by the flesh, and even the shallow memories were all replaced; the Chosen One named Ji Jue disappeared, replaced by an apprentice of the Profound artisan.

"Praise the Stagnation and Decay!"

Ji Jue grinned, a fanatical smile, just like a true follower of the sin-tainted, without a single flaw.

"When necessary..."

Tong Shan paused, but ultimately said nothing; saying anything was useless.

Just a self-deprecating sigh.

"Consider it me owing you."

"Just each taking what they need, why care?"

Ji Jue took off the watch on his wrist, looked up, opened his mouth, and swallowed it into his belly with a gulp; then, he stabbed the bone knife into his body, merging with it and disappearing without a trace.

Finally, he put on a tattered black robe.

"Let's begin."

Ji Jue handed over the toolbox, looked at Tong Shan one last time, and smiled in farewell, "Be quick, don't delay me 'turning over a new leaf'!"

Tong Shan closed his eyes.

He raised his hand.

——Boom!

Ten seconds later, Tong Shan departed, the squad disappeared into the darkness of Quancheng, and immediately after, an explosion soared into the sky, the central hub was damaged, the bank collapsed, and flames spread.

Half a minute later, a fierce light descended from the sky, an invisible hand slapped down, and all flames were instantly annihilated.

One figure after another descended from the sky, identified the situation, and pursued into the darkness in a towering rage; unfortunately, it was already too late.

Soon, a second and third wave of people arrived; after patrolling the ruins, they scattered into Quancheng. When the last wave arrived, the giant hand lifted slightly.

Immediately, countless rubble and broken walls rose and were tossed aside.

And whatever was still of value was recovered, loaded onto vehicles, and taken away.

And just in front of a crevice in the ruins, someone suddenly froze, turned back, and waved to their companion: "Hey, come over, look at this!"

In the corner of a floor slab, a charred figure lay, seemingly an apprentice of an artisan. Both legs were broken, the face was covered in blisters, and he reached out a hand, struggling to grope, before having no more strength.

"Huh? Still breathing?"

The leader pinched his chin and clicked his tongue in wonder: "He's a lucky one; call those artisan people over, take him away!"

Thus, in the ruins, the dying survivor seemed to smile slightly, reaching out to pat his empty chest, that void of air.

He closed his eyes in peace.

Goodnight, Quancheng. ===== CHAPTER 222 =====