Chapter 445: Dream of Assimilation

"Hmm, let me think..."

Bao Dacai pinched his chin and pondered for a moment, "He's a child picked up by Miss Wen; I heard his parents died early, and the brothers were both infected with Dream Loss Syndrome and were dragged in together...

But his younger brother wasn't as lucky as him and was eaten."

"Eaten."

Ji Jue turned his head slightly.

"Ah, yes, literally, eaten."

The old man made a chewing motion: "Have you heard of the Feast Cult? An organization in the Central Plains, deep-rooted; among the branches below, there is one called the Great Food Cult, and in some places in the Thousand Islands, it is even regarded as a proper faith.

The doctrine and such, all talk about how all spirits were originally one, and after losing their faces, they were torn apart. So everyone must strive to fuse with each other, let the gods wake up from within their own bodies, anyway, it's that set of nonsense.

As for how to fuse, that depends on eating; people take this as a holy meal.

Eat to gain life, eat to gain power, eat to get the completion and eternal life of the soul."

Ji Jue's heart moved, and he suddenly asked: "Punabantu?"

"Yes, that's right, Punabantu is also their territory, mainly spreading among the natives and tribes; the most famous believer is Ekonzo, the general who killed the president and took the position himself; it is said that he died inexplicably later, but guess what?"

Bao Dacai clapped his hands and sighed: "He reincarnated!"

That spiritual plague that spread with Punabantu as the source was planned from the very beginning, including Ekonzo's rise to power...

Ji Jue was slightly stunned for a moment, then realized.

He finally understood why they wanted to expel the Chongguang Church's medical team and then suddenly changed their minds and wanted to detain them... I'm afraid it was because they were afraid they would notice some news and clues, right?

"Now that General is a saint in this Dream of the Yellow Millet, a dignitary high up in the Heavenly City."

The old man said slowly: "It is said that what he likes most is to personally find delicious ingredients in various parishes, conscript them, take them back, eat them slowly, and taste them carefully.

Eat once, eat again, until he gets tired of eating, eats them empty, eats until consciousness and self-nature are completely obliterated, and can no longer grow, leaving only an empty shell..."

The brothers who devoutly believed encountered such a person, yet thought they had encountered a savior and an opportunity, and were taken to serve the holy event.

One worked hard outside, praying endlessly, and one served devoutly inside, bathing in divine grace.

The bright future and beautiful dream they thought they had were completely shattered on the day of their reunion.

In the trash heap, that familiar empty shell.

In the foul-smelling leftovers, the broken empty shell made sounds over and over again, forgetting itself, forgetting others, yet still calling the brother's name.

Again and again.

Echoing at the end of the darkness...

"... Having encountered such a thing, just becoming what he is now, if I have to say, is already understandable."

The old man sighed, rolling the leaf cigarette in his hand, licking the paper leaf, sticking it together, and after lighting it, blew a light breath; the curling smoke surged, changing into various phantoms, dancing and dissipating.

He squinted his eyes and whispered: "It's clearly a dream bubble, why is it more cruel than reality?"

Ji Jue didn't answer.

Just lowered his eyes, staring at the fire in the furnace.

Black like night, red like blood.

In the silent surging, the fire had already given the answer to solve everything.

The heat has arrived.

"Please help me call him over."

Ji Jue paused and said softly: "Just tell him..."

"There is a gift from the devil that I want to give him."

A few minutes later, the dirty boy came to the chicken-foot house, his face still a bit bruised, seemingly having fought with someone again.

Looking at the strange scene in the chicken-foot house, he seemed a bit uneasy, and then seemed to gather his courage, stepped on the carpet roughly, leaving a few dirty footprints.

Looking coldly at Bao Dacai and Ji Jue.

As if ready to argue in the next second.

Bao Dacai, who was used to it, smoked his leaf cigarette, glanced at them, said 'you guys talk', and then went to lie down on the rocking chair on the side.

"Tsk, pretending to be mysterious..."

The boy put his hands in his pockets, looking at Ji Jue sideways: "What's the matter? Say it quickly, I have things to do."

"What things? Fighting?"

Ji Jue stood in front of the stove, asking without looking back: "Fighting with people in the camp, winning or losing, what can it change?"

"You care too much."

The boy frowned, impatient, glancing at his side profile; Ji Jue didn't take offense, indifferent as before, and even the arc of the corners of his mouth slightly raised hadn't changed.

As if gentle.

Hypocritical, pretending...

He wanted to say that, but before it came out, he got stuck. For some reason, looking at this person who seemed like he would fall over if he swung twice, he was faintly afraid, but the more afraid he was, the more he wanted to prove his courage in vain.

Glaring.

"I hit if I want to hit, so what? Why so much nonsense."

"Then go hit, finding what you want to do is also quite good." Ji Jue picked up the tools, turning them in the furnace fire, unhurriedly: "Finding a way to escape the nightmare is even better, it's just, can you really forget? Those things you want to forget."

For a moment, the boy's face flushed, his fists clenched subconsciously, glaring, but stiffened in place, as if hesitating, or as if... afraid.

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Hmm, indeed." Ji Jue nodded, omitting the suffering that had nothing to do with him indifferently, just asking: "Speaking of which, what was your name again?"

None of your business, sick in the head, go pretend to be cool, I'm leaving, not playing with you!

But when the words came out, he spasmed, gritted his teeth, and squeezed out an answer from between his teeth: "Yan, Yan Fei."

"Hmm, hello, Yan Fei."

Ji Jue finally turned back from the furnace, smiling, introducing himself: "I am Ji Jue."

Yan Fei's lips were tightly pursed, looking straight at him, but unwilling to speak anymore.

Then, he heard his voice.

As if an echo from hell, so distant, and cold.

"Do you want to take revenge for your brother?"

Those wounds covered by mud and forgetting were roughly ripped open again; pain, resentment, hatred, like blood, flowed out again, drowning everything, making him suffocate, forgetting to think.

Instinctively clenching his fists, stepping forward, wanting to swing his fists to smash that hypocritical smiling face.

But he saw Ji Jue's eyes.

In the pure pitch-black, as if burning with scarlet flames, in the scorched earth burned to nothing, only ashes rose and fell, just like hell; at this moment, the pitch-black hell reflected his face.

Small as dust.

He stiffened, froze, unable to breathe, trying hard to open his mouth, once, and again, but what came out was only a confused and blurry sound.

Like a dying wail.

Yet it made Ji Jue couldn't help but smile.

The fire tongs that had gone into the raging flames were lifted up, slowly pulled out, and from the burning wind that hit his face, the scorching red gold cup appeared before him.

In the scorching gold cup, it was filled with dreamlike red.

The blood and soul of the angel of the wheel and the giant tree, pain and despair, and even everything, were all here!

"Then drink it, Yan Fei."

A distant voice came, bringing the revelation from heaven, telling him: "This will be the first drop of blood shed by the Holy Spirit, right in your mouth..."

In a trance, Yan Fei subconsciously wanted to take a step back, but before that, he had already stepped forward involuntarily, holding the scorching gold cup, as if holding his own life, soul, and even everything, even though his flesh was sizzling in the burning of the gold cup.

He drank it all in one gulp without thinking!

Pop!

The empty gold cup fell to the ground and shattered into powder.

At that instant, a scream rang out, from his shell, soul, consciousness, just like swallowing a ball of fire, burning everything; he collapsed to the ground, screaming.

But there were three screams.

As if three people were filling his body, making wails, but gradually, his expression became ferocious like a glutton, devouring wantonly.

Those other two voices all disappeared in the wailing.

Even his own voice was completely gone.

His throat had been burned by iron slurry, his esophagus and stomach had turned into charcoal; he collapsed on the ground, dying, his right hand suddenly fell off his shoulder, and the flesh and blood that didn't belong to him were flicked away.

The remains spasmed and surged in pain.

The sound of metal rubbing rang out.

From above his skull, one sharp iron thorn after another pierced through, entangled with each other, fell off, and turned into a thorn-like iron ring, hanging high.

Behind, under the broken flesh and blood, white bones appeared, but steel grew on the white bones, iron crystals proliferated, extended, constituting sharp bones; in the flow of silver light, flesh and blood formed, and on the flesh and blood, iron-gray metal feathers grew again.

Steel wings suddenly unfolded, so huge, covering him completely.

The sound of sharp friction was continuous.

And when the iron wings unfolded again, the thin and broken boy had disappeared without a trace.

Replacing him was a slender giant over three meters tall, covered in steel and metal; metal covered his face like flesh, replacing flesh, forming a new body.

On both sides of his face, six eyes slowly opened, bursting with shrill red light.

Roaring loudly.

Waves with substance spread, rolling and sweeping, disturbing all directions, turning the entire wooden house into a mess.

And in the center of the storm, Ji Jue smiled, appreciating the monster before him, full of joy, watching quietly, until the steel giant slowly knelt on the ground.

Offering only the remaining reverence and only dignity to him.

Prostrating in worship.

Just like, meeting a god!

"It seems you have made your choice, Yan Fei."

Ji Jue reached out and pressed his head, as if baptizing him.

Under that palm, the steel monster quickly dissipated, returning to the boy's appearance again.

"No matter whether it is hatred or courage that inspires you, it doesn't matter.

The only path left for you is one; step on this path, and there is nothing in this world worth you bowing to, whether it is a god or a devil."

"Today, I give this power to you."

He leaned over, lowered his head, and whispered in the boy's ear one last time: "From now on, in the rest of your life, the only thing you need to do is one thing.

—Take revenge on those who created hell, until you cut them all down!"

Revenge, until death.

So cruel, but at that instant, the boy who woke from a dream couldn't help but smile, laughing wildly, dancing with joy, two lines of blood tears winding down from his face.

Like a scar, piercing through joy and pain.

In the corner of the workshop, the old man watched all this quietly, for a moment, squinting his eyes—in the observation of Strange Tale Alchemy, he saw again...

Something flowed from Yan Fei to Ji Jue's hand, winding around the phantasmagoria power opened by the awakening, melting into the flames.

At this very moment, when he looked at Ji Jue and penetrated the appearance of the shell, he finally perceived that terrifying gravitational force...

Like a black hole.

Just existing here, it was constantly eroding this Dream of the Yellow Millet, expanding its own range.

That appearance was practically like... taking away someone else's dream!

No, rather than taking away, it's assimilation!

Yes, how could one forget this?

But in the end, this kind of out-of-spec phenomenon was too rare; even if seen, I'm afraid one would only doubt one's own eyes.

The erosion and assimilation of Heart Pivot by Metamorphosis...

Indeed, this guy before me, Heart Pivot, Ether, and Mirror, have absolutely no compatibility at all, but I ignored the connection between the supreme goods.

The entanglement between Metamorphosis and Heart Pivot.

The flow between desire and ideal, the entanglement between divinity and beastliness, sometimes repelling and opposing, sometimes complementing each other.

Both originate from the soul, both come from nature; one seeks inward, stepping toward the heights with arrogance or humility, one expands outward, embracing everything with greed or restraint.

Just as pure ideals are easily corrupted in the soaking of desires and distracting thoughts, determination that has not been lost and shattered in the phantasmagoria also possesses unparalleled attraction to this phantasmagoria.

When Heart Pivot dissolves Metamorphosis, Metamorphosis can also, conversely, assimilate Heart Pivot.

Just as I see at this moment...

Making others willingly offer their dreams, their desires, and their souls with both hands!

Some people, as long as they exist, will constantly attract others to gather toward them; when a determination and spirit appear, it is enough to assimilate all ambitions and desires, turning everything into a part of oneself!

"Distorting and deforming the angel's power and then bestowing it on others?"

In the long night, the old artisan sighed: "You really don't waste anything, the means are brilliant..."

After all, the so-called angel, the so-called god-given power, isn't it something born from everyone's dreams and fantasies? Since that's the case, compared to that god who intends to monopolize all dreams and fantasies, this kind of means is more pleasing to the eye.

"It's just, in that appearance, rather than calling it an angel, it's better to call it a devil, right?"

"Then call it Devil Armament."

Ji Jue stared at the flickering lights in the camp and suddenly smiled: "Being a king in hell is also quite good."

After all, what else can be lost in hell?

Gathering the demonic crowd, forging armament.

The long, long bitter journey has just begun...

Crossing this fall of nine days and nine nights, we will eventually return above the clouds! ===== CHAPTER 446 =====