Chapter 401: Meddlesome

In just a few snaps of a finger, the roles of the fisherman and the fished, the backstabber and the backstabbed, swapped repeatedly, and everyone was dazzled.

Whether human or ghost, everyone had shown their stuff.

Only the Sower was getting beaten, and was still getting beaten!

Yet, the Harvester and the Guide could only watch all this happen.

Powerless.

Clearly close at hand, yet it seemed as far away as the horizon, always a step too late.

The existence of Pangpei and Ellis was like two walls without end, completely impossible to cross.

The stalemate between the Harvester and the Old Bureau Chief had not stopped for a single moment from the beginning until now.

The Blade of Inevitable Destruction remained stagnant.

Clearly, it was a strike that would inevitably destroy anything it pierced, whether it be a sage or a dragon, yet it could not take effect, held tightly by those two fingers.

Unable to advance, unable to retreat!

If the Harvester were to comment on the current situation, besides disgust, there was only disgust.

Too disgusting.

The old man, who looked like he was skin and bones, was actually no different from the incarnation of the entire present world, and that light, airy pinch hadn't even touched the Blade of Inevitable Destruction.

Instead, it acted directly on the underlying logic of the present world.

Making everything change continuously, or rather, stop changing.

———Heavenly Origin Deconstruction!

Beneath those two fingers, all the common sense, rules, and even processes that were once straightforward and clear were covered in a layer of mist amidst the many complex changes, becoming completely strange.

Rigid, mutated, dull, and sluggish.

At this moment, the death from the blade's edge could not be blocked.

Hmm, indeed.

All things have a cause and an effect; if the fruit of death is destined, then no one can save it, but what exactly is between cause and effect?

There has to be a process, right?

But now... this process, isn't it a bit too damn long?

It's as if, suddenly, the entire world has become a huge bureaucratic institution. Every underlying rule that was once extremely familiar and brotherly is sitting behind a window, coldly and lifelessly processing every flow and change.

Including everything happening at this moment.

No matter how one changes or understands it, one cannot adapt.

Your thing is non-compliant, so go back and redo it, redo it again, and redo it again and again...

The form format is wrong, the documents aren't complete, sorry, we're off work, come back tomorrow, you're in the wrong place, you need to go to Window 1, bring the proof first, how would I know...

But even after painstaking adjustments and adapting to all the changes, one eventually finds that this isn't handled here, and one needs to go to another department.

What? You came to handle this business? Then why didn't you say so earlier...

This sword strike didn't fail; it just hasn't finished the process!

Amidst the fury, it was as if the Harvester heard the incoherent muttering in his ear: "The principle is the principle; it's not that we don't do anything, we do, but doing it requires attention to method and approach..."

Will it ever end!

In comparison, Ellis's side was simple and crude, so straightforward it was moving, nearly making one shed tears.

No matter what Great Rift, Great Destruction, or Great Explosion, he took it all head-on!

A real man doesn't hide!

Come, stand firm, let's trade blows!

If you can't kill me, then I'm going to kill you!

More regrettably, not many people could actually kill him, especially on the battlefield.

As the 'Earth Guard', his theoretical defense had no upper limit, and even after combining with the Empire's Mandate of Earth Defense, he could simply be seen as the synthesis of the Empire's Nine Provinces and Ten Thousand Directions, half the present world.

Countless battle examples in history proved one point—to deal with such an opponent, one could only use special attacks; wanting to compare stats was simply a nightmare.

Unless you could blow up half the present world with one punch, it was fundamentally useless.

But even if you could blow up half the present world, haha, the lock was still there; no matter how high your stats were, even if they overflowed, you couldn't exert them...

The Guide obviously knew this well and was even too lazy to waste effort, dodging and weaving without losing a single hair, stimulating the opponent's mentality with a word here and there.

These two bastards, they look upright and honest, but actually, they're both playing dirty, and dirty to the core!

And Lord Tianlu, he had been playing dirty from the start!

He hadn't stopped at all!

What kind of good person uses a Heavenly Artisan, which can specifically target the enemy's nature changes for a kill, as a crutch after breaking their leg?

This was dirty beyond measure!

No wonder you could drag that broken leg and live until today without being beaten to death; it's already considered bold and daring!

For the situation to become like this, one could only say it was uncomfortable.

The mission hadn't even started and they were almost dead; if they kept fighting, by the time the other sages arrived, I'm afraid only a gang-beating would be left.

At this moment, the only thing the Sower could do was...

Sever the wrist to save the arm!

Oh, the wrist was already severed.

But it's okay, he could sever it again.

The moment he realized the situation was hopeless, the Sower looked at Lord Tianlu one last time, said nothing, withdrew all his essence and soul, and completely abandoned this broken body.

Then, there was the terrifying explosion that engulfed everything!

Following his self-detonation, the Eye of the Great Sin erupted suddenly, spewing infinite pollution; the terrifying vibration spread throughout the present world, completely destroying the Rift Realm, and even the vortex was blown open with a crack.

And the Harvester and the Guide were nowhere to be seen...

Fortunately, the three people on the scene had long been prepared.

Seeing the Sower about to run, Lord Tianlu didn't entangle at all, instantly withdrawing and retreating, while Pangpei pointed his finger at the sky again and drew a line.

Instantly, everything from the explosion stopped completely in mid-air.

Holding the myriad phenomena.

Then, the image of Lord Tianlu appeared again, rapidly repairing the present world, pulling the chains and lines, locks and wedges, and repairing everything.

As for Ellis...

He pounced up, took a wave of self-detonation head-on, and after minimizing the losses, went to the side to smoke.

Couldn't help.

Watching the show.

"A rare victory."

Pangpei sighed with a half-smile, "As expected of Lord Tianlu, planning and strategizing, truly amazing."

"Just a coincidence." Lord Tianlu spread his hands, "Besides, doesn't it also rely on the cooperation of the two of you?"

"Cooperation is useless too."

Pangpei sighed and suddenly asked: "What about the Imperial Seal? Was that also your arrangement?"

Lord Tianlu asked back: "Do I have half a cent of a relationship with the Eternal Dynasty?"

Pangpei was silent.

He sighed helplessly.

"Look on the bright side, at least it didn't fall into the Sower's hands, right?"

In the dull atmosphere, he made a joke: "Look, his hand is still here."

But is it okay if it fell into Lu Changsheng's hands!

Pangpei wanted to spit a mouthful of old blood onto his face, but had nothing to say.

But with the Rift Realm destroyed like this, it would be hard to find any traces if one wanted to trace them.

Besides, there were the next actions... one wouldn't just leave the cracks in the present world alone and find an Aether Heavenly Human to search for clues inch by inch, right?

"Investigate."

He smacked his lips, threw in a candy to relieve the spreading bitterness: "Let's investigate the Sin-Tainted Cult first."

Maybe we can find something, right?

People always have to have expectations; one can't just watch the enemy operate in one's own backyard.

Old enemies haven't left, and new troubles are added.

These days are truly enough.

There are three Sages of Folly, and that's already troublesome enough.

Looking at this trend, I'm afraid there might be one more in the future...

Even though they had achieved such a rare victory, everyone couldn't help but feel depressed.

The future is going to be meddlesome.

Casting aside the probing and struggling before and after, the actual fighting time didn't even exceed three minutes.

But the aftermath was especially troublesome.

The Rift Realm was completely ruined; if left alone, after it completely disintegrated and lost its fulcrum, the present world's load-bearing capacity would drop by another large chunk.

There must be some support.

Fortunately, quite a few materials were left in the Rift Realm, as well as this giant serpent bone, and even a severed hand and countless blood sponsored by the Sower...

In just a few moments, a shadow of a Heavenly Pillar, as if real and illusory, rose from the ground, appearing from the sea tide, piercing straight into the sky, connecting to the dome, standing tall.

Soon, under Lord Tianlu's push, it completely sank into the space and disappeared.

Then came the repeated sweeping and cleaning to ensure there were no hidden worries.

After doing all this, Lord Tianlu clapped his hands, looked at everything returning to normal, and nodded slightly.

A perfect ending, even better than expected.

That kid didn't let down his hints and guidance after all?? In that case, that child A-Xian doesn't need to worry about anything anymore, right? As a teacher, one has to be reliable occasionally!

If he knew his teacher had been paying silently behind his back, wouldn't he be moved to tears?

Hmm.

Lord Tianlu's movements paused, he patted his head, and suddenly remembered: Uh, speaking of which, did I miss something?

Ah, right, just now when the Sower self-detonated, the Rift Realm shattered, and the crack opened, it seems something fell into the vortex...

Seems to be called... what was it?

Forgot!

Lord Tianlu sighed regretfully, then remembered: Before that guy fell, he seemed to have asked him for help, waving his hands and shouting.

Wanted him to pull him up.

Unfortunately, he was too slow to react and didn't make it in time.

After all, I'm just an old dog waiting to be slaughtered, it's normal to have omissions, right?

Just like that, he clapped his hands, patched the last crack, and turned to leave.

Without taking a single cloud with him.

Nor taking a dog.

Fend for yourself, kid!

Only Ji Jue remained beneath the vortex, hanging on the edge in the darkness, on the verge of falling; seeing this last glimmer of light dissipate, his heart turned completely cold.

In the moment before he passed out, he only had time to gesture with a middle finger.

"Lord Tianlu, I fuck your..."

Snap!

The vortex closed and disappeared completely.

The wind was calm and the waves were quiet, the sea was wide and the sky was clear.

It was as if nothing had happened...

"Ah, Big Brother fell down!"

By the seaside of Yacheng, at the Tide Workshop, the metal bird Xiao Jiu Gloria, jumping on the table, screamed in shock, flapping its wings in panic,

"He went to a very, very deep place, almost can't see him anymore!"

"So dark, so scary..."

"Ah, he smashed into something very high, smashed through several layers..."

The little bird screamed in terror: "He was caught by a very scary old grandpa!

Will he be eaten?"

"......"

Behind the table, Ye Xian was silent, slowly closing the newspaper; clearly, a hidden danger and worry had finally been resolved, but her expression showed no hint of a smile or joy, becoming increasingly gloomy.

That dog Lord Tianlu!

What unnecessary thing is he doing again? And he even involved her student!

And that dog Ji Jue...

She shouldn't have had even a shred of expectation for him!

Last time, she told him to keep his tail tucked and behave for a while, and he nodded so readily; as a result, it's only been a few days?!

Good news, Ji Jue finally agreed not to do irrelevant things; with her watching, it should be fine.

Bad news, he suddenly slipped out from under her nose to dig up a sacrificial temple...

Good news, Ji Jue really didn't use the Ye family's banner.

Bad news, he went to use the Sin-Tainted Cult instead...

In just half an hour, Ye Xian felt her blood pressure had been tortured, her vision going black again and again, and her heart couldn't hold up. In the end, seeing all this settle, she actually felt nothing but exhaustion.

A long sigh.

"Should have just cleaned house directly..."

Fortunately, it's not too late now.

Let's just consider it better late than never.

She picked up the teacup, finished the last bit of tea, slowly stood up, and lifted the box from under the table.

After dusting off the top, her expression gradually became solemn.

"I'll be right back."

But before she could leave, she heard a voice from the sofa.

In front of the TV, Ye Chun suddenly turned her head, looked at her, and suddenly suggested: "How about I go this time?"

"...... You?"

Ye Xian frowned subconsciously, gradually becoming solemn: "Are you sure?"

"No choice, Auntie, you already made the old grandpa very unhappy last time, right? If you go again, we might end up fighting.

If I go, at least I can ease things up, right?"

Ye Chun thought for a moment, shrugged: "Old people like to be stubborn and care about face; they hate it most when someone makes them lose face.

If a child acts cute, even if something happens, it won't matter."

"It's not time for you to be in charge yet." Ye Xian shook her head decisively.

"We'll have to deal with them eventually, right?"

"......"

Ye Xian was silent.

For a long time, she gazed at the young girl's eyes and expression, wanting to say something, but felt helpless, leaving only a sigh.

"Fine."

She put down the box, "As you wish."

"Then I'll be right back."

Ye Chun put down the potato chips, put on her coat, changed her shoes, finally turned back, and waved at her aunt, "I'm leaving; if it's too late, don't save dinner for me."

Ye Xian just waved her hand.

Her expression was unreadable.

And so, Ye Chun pushed the door and went out.

Amidst the crisp sound of the bell, the door slowly closed.

Under the afternoon sun, the space outside the door was empty, and her figure had disappeared.

Only the little bird on the table tilted its head blankly.

Why...

Did Big Sister fall down too? ===== CHAPTER 402 =====