Chapter 442: Strange Tales

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

This realization is like a virus that self-extracts, replicates, and spreads, flooding every thought process.

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

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

"The essence of the Abyss."

Bao Dachai squinted, savoring the pitch-black spreading on the tip of his tongue—young people these days are truly terrifying; why are they all so eager to push their strength toward the bottom of the vortex?

Hmm, but this purity—it’s practically 99% new, a rare treasure!

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

Even if consciousness dissolves and evaporates completely, as the master of this phantasm, as long as the soul remains, the opponent can reshape it like a mold; at worst, they could just delete the poisoned memories.

There should be something else, something even 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 dust and dirt, 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 come to his senses, felt his body go limp and slumped to the ground, sweating profusely: "Such a massive battle, it really scared me to death! These old bones are somewhat useless now... Don't worry about me, go check on the others."

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

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

From the very beginning, this was a premeditated attack. Taking advantage of the turmoil in the camp, 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 heavy.

However, the fortunate thing is... it is very hard to truly die. Even if blown to pieces, as long as one acts while consciousness remains, stitching and patching things up, and resting for a few days, one can be back to jumping around.

It’s just that, in Ji Jue’s view, this attack was a bit sloppy—internal rebellion aside, if they wanted to maximize the results, they should have had an inside-out coordination.

If I were the cult, I would have planted a few turncoats, and once the plan was set and the camp was in chaos with no ability to resist, I would have taken advantage of the fire to loot, brought a massive army to bear, 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 dust 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 fissure suddenly tore open, just like a broken display screen, and then, one after another, golden points of light emerged from the sky.

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

One rift after another appeared rapidly across the sky; with every sound of shattering, the mist shrouding the firmament dissipated a little more.

"The situation is not good."

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

The defense set up in this narrow gap of the phantasm was supported and borne by the collective consciousness of everyone in the camp. Originally, even with an angel siege, it would have been enough to hold for a while, but at this moment, when everyone was at their most dull and weak, it was essentially a mere facade.

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

First the loss of the main force, then the attack within the camp; under successive blows, even the most steadfast person would fall into panic and wavering...

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

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

"Tsk..."

In the nearly solidified air, Wen Wen’s expression shifted; 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 appeared!

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

Do not worry, do not panic; for now, you only need to protect yourselves, protect this spark, and that 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, his smile still bright: "Sister Wen, don't worry. At this critical juncture, it is time for everyone to pool their wisdom and efforts; perhaps others might have a way?

Right, Old Bao?"

Accompanied by stable, reassuring words, as his face turned, a cold gaze looked toward Bao Dachai, undisguised.

That's enough, you old codger!

At this juncture, if everyone wants to stick together, then those with money contribute money, and those with strength contribute strength. But if you still intend to slack off and watch the fun... then don't blame me for being impolite!

It’s hard to say for others, but the bottom line of a craftsman, a craftsman knows best. After all, the bottom line of a craftsman is that there is no bottom line.

Ji Jue didn't believe for a second that an old thing like Bao Dachai, who was used to doing Nirvana, stirring up wind and rain and air outside, would have no arrangements in his own lair?

If there were none, it only meant one thing: he never considered this place his lair at all!

Look at that dilapidated factory that would make a mouse cry; family, if this old thing had even a shred of heart put into his work, Ji Jue could eat that broken lathe on the spot!

As for whether there could be innocents, joke, can a craftsman 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 head as if he had suddenly remembered: "Look, people get forgetful as they age; I almost forgot, when I was helping build the Prism, I also conveniently dug out a [Rabbit Hole]!"

After a brief moment of silence, cheers erupted, endless and incessant.

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

Just as Ji Jue was puzzled, he saw the old codger rummaging behind his butt for a long time, then pulling out a tattered pocket like a magic trick.

The ragged canvas pocket was pulled open; it looked like a small pile, 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 swirling at the end, vaguely revealing another peaceful wilderness.

Without needing to be urged, people immediately began organizing the survivors to pack supplies, shovel companions into truck beds, and then hurry to relocate.

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

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 dreamlike, magical world.

It is said that there is a numbered Heavenly Work of the Gate of Eternity that is a living rabbit; as long as you follow it, you can go anywhere you want, reaching the heavens and the yellow springs, without any obstruction, which is nothing short of magical.

But the only drawback is that you cannot cage this rabbit, and it will never stop to wait for you...

"Strange Tale Alchemy?"

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

Like Fluid Alchemy, it is also a heritage of ancient alchemy, but for Strange Tale Alchemy, which focuses on the fields of Aether, Heart Pivot, and Mirror, Ji Jue knew absolutely nothing about it other than the name.

He had only heard that they 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 it to have the function of traveling through dreams.

"Not worth mentioning, just a little trick from the bottom of the box, like a magician's trick; once exposed, it doesn't work anymore."

Bao Dachai smiled slightly, still hunching his back, 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 actually made the old man, who had a playful look on his face, sigh for a moment.

Such courage made his own probing attempt seem small-minded.

At this moment, above the firmament, amidst the continuous sound of shattering, 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, pulled out that small crystal ball again, and threw it on the ground.

Then, he walked into the cloth bag.

Soon, the cloth bag left in place rapidly 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 side was pulling it.

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

The moment the crystal ball covered in cracks shattered completely, 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, blankly surveying their surroundings, until they discovered that the cracks above the firmament were still spreading endlessly, gradually covering everything in the camp.

No—

The angel wearing a golden crown froze for a moment, then shouted and roared, flapping its wings to rise, 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 phantasm snapped silently.

And then, the entire rift collapsed completely!

The bubble burst.

Countless angels instantly evaporated into nothingness amidst that void of destruction.

Only outside the rift, the commander-level general, as huge as a mountain, watched his subordinates dissipate like foam, and could no longer hold back, roaring in fury.

Recalling the promises he made before the Holy Throne before departing and the consequences of mission failure, he could no longer restrain his anger and fear, cursing out loud.

But soon, the voice came to an abrupt end.

Amidst the rumbling, the massive general suddenly knelt on the ground, prostrating himself, as if sensing something, trembling in terror.

And right above his head, in the firmament,

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

The general trembled, sweating profusely, "Ho, Holy God above, please allow—"

The giant Ether Eye closed coldly.

No longer looking.

A breeze blew, and the general collapsed like foam, rapidly dissipating and disappearing. Unlike his subordinates who were buried in the gap and could still wait for rebirth, he was completely and utterly annihilated, body and soul.

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

Gradually dissipating.

Gradually dissipating.