Chapter 442: Strange Tales

Condense the 'death' one has felt, experienced, undergone, and realized into a spiritual quality crystal, then catalyze it and inject it into the enemy's perception.

This realization is simply like a virus that can decompress, replicate, and spread on its own, filling every process of thought.

In the instant of interpretation, the experience of death has already been repeated dozens, hundreds, thousands of times.

And within that absolute void, any consciousness will gradually dissolve, evaporate, and disappear without a trace.

"The essence of the Absolute Abyss."

Bao Dacai squinted his eyes, savoring the touch of pitch-black spreading on the tip of his tongue—young people these days are truly terrifying; why are one or two of them using all their strength to push toward the bottom of the vortex?

Hmm, but this purity is practically 99% new, straight from the Great Sin itself; a rare treasure!

However, even though one question was resolved, more questions emerged from his heart.

Even if consciousness dissolves and evaporates completely, as long as the opponent, the master of this phantasmagoria, still has their soul intact, they can reshape themselves like a mold; at worst, they can just delete all the poisoned memories.

There should be something else more crucial.

Something that touches more upon the essence and true marrow of the Dream of the Yellow Millet...

"Old Bao, are you alright?"

Yu Shu, covered in dirt and grime, finally climbed up from the ground and asked with concern upon seeing the dazed old man.

"Ah, I'm fine, I'm fine, thanks to Miss Wen and Mr. Ji!"

The old man, having regained his senses, felt his body go limp and collapsed onto the ground, sweating profusely: "Such a huge battle, it really scared me to death! These old bones of mine are somewhat useless... Don't worry about me, go check on the others quickly."

At this very moment, in the camp, there was wailing everywhere, and the scene was one of total devastation.

Everywhere were severed limbs and remains, fragments of heads and flesh; survivors were few and far between, with barely one in ten remaining.

From the very beginning, this was a premeditated attack; taking advantage of the camp's recent setbacks, they first gathered everyone together, then detonated bombs, revealed their true forms, and slaughtered at will...

If not for Ji Jue, even if Wen Wen had reacted quickly, the losses would likely have been devastating.

However, the fortunate thing is... it is also very hard to die. Even if blown to pieces, as long as one does it while consciousness remains, one can stitch oneself back together, and after resting for a few days, one can continue to be lively.

It's just that, in Ji Jue's view, this attack was a bit sloppy—internal rebellion aside, if one wants to maximize the results of the battle, one should at least have had an inside-outside coordination.

If I were the cult, I would have snuck in a few turncoats, and after confirming the plan, when the camp was in chaos and had no ability to resist, I would have taken advantage of the fire to loot, brought the army to the border, and completely wiped out the entire camp...

Then, he heard a crisp cracking sound.

"It's bad, Big Sister, it's bad!"

A terrified shout rang out, and a young man covered in dirt ran back from outside the camp, stumbling: "Outside, outside, there are so many... so many..."

There was no need for him to say more.

Above the firmament, a crack suddenly burst open, just like a broken display screen, and then, one after another, golden specks of light emerged from above the firmament.

A magnificent gate appeared out of thin air within the clouds, and hundreds, thousands, an endless number of angels rushed out from it, diving toward the rift valley where the camp was located.

One rift after another quickly appeared on the firmament, and every time the sound of shattering rang out, the mist covering the firmament dissipated by a fraction.

"The situation is not looking good."

Bao Dacai took a crystal ball out from his bosom, watching as fine cracks appeared on it one by one, "Commander, the 'Prism' can no longer hold on."

The defense set up in this narrow gap of the phantasmagoria was jointly supported and borne by all the consciousnesses in the camp; originally, even with an angel siege, it would have been enough to hold for a while, but at this moment, it happened to be when everyone was at their most dull and weak, making it practically non-existent.

In the deathly silence, the survivors who heard this all turned pale, falling into panic and terror.

First the loss of the main force, then the attack within the camp; under successive blows, no matter how firm a person was, they would fall into panic and wavering...

After all, once dragged back, one would likely be thrown into the Border Prison to be burned for thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Yet, at this moment, even suicide was not an option.

"Tsk..."

In the near-solid air, Wen Wen's expression changed; she gritted her teeth and raised the long spear in her hand toward everyone: "Don't worry, everyone, today is different from the past; the decisive power has already appeared!

In the days to come, we no longer need to hide and dodge; one day, the great cause of counterattacking the Heavenly City will be achieved in our hands!

No need to worry, no need to panic; as you are now, just protecting yourselves and protecting this spark is enough.

As for the rest, leave it to me to..."

'I will break through and cover the retreat'—such words could not be spoken.

It was Ji Jue.

He suddenly reached out and pressed her shoulder, still smiling brightly: "Sister Wen, don't worry. At this critical juncture, it is exactly the time for everyone to pool their wisdom and efforts; perhaps others might have a way?

Right, Old Bao?"

Accompanied by stable words that put people at ease, as his face turned, a cold gaze looked toward Bao Dacai, without any concealment.

That's enough, you old fogey!

At this critical juncture, if everyone wants to stick together, then those with money contribute money, and those with strength contribute strength. But if you still plan to slack off, fish in troubled waters, and watch the show... then don't blame me for being impolite!

It's hard to say about others, but the artisan's bottom line is what the artisan knows best. After all, the artisan's bottom line is that there is no bottom line.

Ji Jue didn't believe at all that an old thing like Bao Dacai, who was used to doing Nirvana, stirring up wind and rain and air outside, would have no preparations at all in his own lair?

If not, then it only meant one thing: he never considered this place his lair at all!

Look at that dilapidated workshop that would make a mouse cry; family members, if this old thing had even a fraction of his mind on his work, Ji Jue could eat that broken lathe on the spot!

As for whether it's possible there are innocents, are you kidding? Can an artisan have innocents?!

"Cough cough, oh my, that's right, that's right!"

The old man was dazed for a moment, then nodded decisively: "Hey, Commander Wen, you are still too impatient; actually, I had prepared for this long ago."

He slapped his forehead, as if he had suddenly remembered: "Look, people get forgetful as they get older; I almost forgot, when I was helping to build the Prism before, I also happened to dig out a 【Rabbit Hole】!"

After a brief moment of silence, cheers rang out, one after another.

The members, who had originally looked like dead ashes, were now incredulous, shouting with wild joy, dancing and gesturing, as if they had survived a desperate situation.

Just when Ji Jue was puzzled, he saw the old fogey rummaging behind his butt for a long time, then pulling out a tattered bag like a magician.

The tattered canvas bag was pulled open; it looked like a small stack, but after being unfolded, it was unimaginably large, and inside it was pitch black, just like a mountain cave, with eerie rainbow light and mist at the end, and one could faintly see another peaceful wilderness.

Without needing to be urged, someone immediately began to organize the survivors to pack up supplies, shovel their companions into the truck bed, and then quickly transfer.

It was obvious that they had run away countless times; everyone present was fast and coordinated, and in just a few short minutes, the mountain of supplies was stuffed into the last few trucks that could still run, and they drove into the darkness inside the bag.

Soon, after passing through the darkness, they arrived at a brand-new area.

They waved excitedly toward this side.

In fairy tales, when an innocent girl chases a rabbit holding a pocket watch, she jumps into a rabbit hole, and when she climbs out again, she has arrived in a magical world like a dream.

It is said that there is a numbered Heavenly Work of the Gate of Eternity that is a living rabbit; as long as one follows it, one can go anywhere one wants to go, from the highest heaven to the lowest hell, without any obstruction; it is nothing short of magical.

But the only drawback is that you can't keep this rabbit, and it will never stop to wait for you...

"Strange Tale Alchemy?"

Ji Jue looked at the old fogey beside him, finally realizing.

Like Fluid Alchemy, it is also a heritage of ancient alchemy, but for Strange Tale Alchemy, which focuses on the three realms of Ether, Heart Pivot, and Mirror, Ji Jue had absolutely no understanding of it other than the name.

He had only heard that the other party could use absurd legends, stories, and strange tales as materials to fuse and create incredible works.

The creation of the 【Rabbit Hole】 was likely derived from interpreting that legend.

However, Ji Jue didn't expect that it actually had the function of traveling through dreams.

"Not worth mentioning, just a little skill at the bottom of the box, just like a magician's trick; once exposed, it's no longer effective."

Bao Dacai smiled slightly, still hunching his waist, and gestured toward the rabbit hole:

"Mr. Ji, please?"

"Then let's go."

Ji Jue took one last look at him and walked in without hesitation, which instead made the old man with a playful look feel a moment of emotion.

Such courage actually made his own probing move seem small-minded.

At this moment, above the firmament, amidst the continuous shattering sounds, the prism covering the camp was rapidly disintegrating and falling apart, and the large camp had already become empty.

He looked back one last time, thought for a moment, felt his body, and then took out that small crystal ball and threw it on the ground.

Then, he walked into the cloth bag.

Soon, the cloth bag left in place quickly shriveled, shrank, and returned to its original size, and then, the mouth of the bag turned inward and rolled up, as if someone on the other end was pulling it.

After shrinking to the limit, with a 'pop', it disappeared without a trace.

The moment the crystal ball covered in cracks completely shattered, the angels in the infinite radiance descended from the sky, searching the entire camp, but other than ruins, they found nothing.

Oh, and there was the crisp sound of crystal shattering...

In the deathly silence, all the angels looked at each other, looking around blankly, until they discovered that the cracks above the firmament were still spreading endlessly, gradually covering everything in the camp.

Not right—

The angel wearing a golden crown froze for a moment, then shouted and roared, flapping its wings and rising, wanting to rush out of the crack above the firmament.

At that very instant, the last crisp cracking sound rang out.

Pop!

The pillar supporting and maintaining this gap of the phantasmagoria snapped silently.

And then, the entire rift collapsed completely!

The bubble burst.

Countless angels evaporated without a trace in that void of destruction.

Only outside the rift, the commander Heavenly General, as huge as a mountain range, watched his subordinates dissipate like bubbles, and could no longer hold back, roaring in fury.

Recalling the guarantee he made before the Holy Throne before leaving and the consequences of the mission's failure, he could no longer restrain his anger and fear, and cursed out loud.

But soon, the voice also came to an abrupt end.

Amidst the rumbling sound, the huge Heavenly General suddenly knelt on the ground, prostrating himself, as if sensing something, trembling in terror.

And right above his head, on the firmament,

A black line spread silently, and then, it opened to both sides, turning into a blood eye that filled the entire firmament, looking down coldly.

The Heavenly General trembled, sweating profusely, "Ho, Holy Spirit above, please allow—"

The giant eye closed coldly.

It no longer looked.

A breeze blew by, and the Heavenly General quickly collapsed like a bubble and dissipated, unlike his subordinates who were buried in the gap and could still wait for rebirth; he was completely destroyed, body and soul.

In the empty wilderness, only a contemptuous sneer echoed above the firmament.

Gradually dissipating. ===== CHAPTER 443 =====

gradually dissipating.