Chapter 43: 42. Burning Incense to Ask the Way

42. Burning Incense to Ask the Way

Li Jiahong did not know the identity of the towering giant beast that was currently wreaking havoc and devouring the city, but judging by the final dying words of that dead disaster-ancient he recalled, a syllable mentioned repeatedly in the other party's speech was "kuthuen"; perhaps this was the name of this Alien God that even the disaster-ancients revered.

"Kusuen," Li Jiahong recited silently, trying his best to imitate the pronunciation of that disaster-ancient, yet barely managing to address the ruler of that alien dimension this way after filtering out sounds humans could not produce.

Above the ruins, Li Jiahong called out the names of others, hoping so sincerely that in this city of ruins filled with death and cold silence, he was not the only survivor...

"He has finally encountered a fatal danger after all." Wei Jiang, dressed in red, seemed to sense something; he suddenly rose from his chair and said to Lin Ling, who was as composed as ever with a fake smile on his face.

Lin Ling slowly closed his book, shooed the black cat that was teasing a Stone Leek off the tabletop, and said leisurely, "Since you gifted him a Business Card, it is time for you to make your choice."

Wei Jiang let out a long breath and said calmly, "The good should not die easily; those of good nature who have earned my approval deserve long and prosperous lives."

"Hmm." Lin Ling nodded lightly. "Then do what you wish to do."

Wei Jiang bowed respectfully, then walked toward the shop's door, placing one hand on the red demon mask on the door; a red glow began to extend from his fingertips the moment they touched the red demon mask, spreading continuously, and the red light slowly outlined the shape of armor and battle robes on his body.

"Venerable One, I am off." Wei Jiang pushed the door open and stepped out.

Li Jiahong dug through the surrounding ruins, looking at one shocking corpse after another, their states of death terrifying; he suppressed his discomfort and continued to search for traces of living things.

Immediately after, Li Jiahong seemed to hear a girl's crying; he stopped his moving actions at once, listened carefully, and soon found the direction from which the sound came.

He struggled to dig through the broken walls and black stones, and finally saw a pair of huge fleshy wings.

Li Jiahong's heart shook; he moved the building debris pressing on the wings like a madman, and then saw a battered Guhuo Bird doing her utmost to protect a young girl; she knelt on the ground, using her wings and lower limbs to construct a space for the girl to survive.

Perhaps sensing Li Jiahong's arrival, the Guhuo Bird lost her final strength to hold on; her bloated form gradually withered, and the feathers on her body fell like dandelion seeds blown away, covering the crying girl like a blanket in the blink of an eye.

"Wife!" Li Jiahong, eyes red, held Jiang Gu in his arms as she turned back into human form.

Deathly energy surged on Jiang Gu's pale face; she smiled slightly and said to Li Jiahong, "Our child is already gone; among the children I killed with my own hands, one of them was our child...

Husband, you must take this child and live on..."

Having finished, Jiang Gu's body grew light, and in Li Jiahong's sorrowful and desperate eyes, the corpse in his arms turned into pieces of black-edged white down, riding the wind away.

While sobbing bitterly, Li Jiahong held the girl from the ground in his arms; he felt as if he were embracing the warmest and softest thing in the world, and muttered incoherently, "It's great... it's great... you're still alive... it's really... great."

And whether it was because Li Jiahong's tight embrace gave the girl, who had endured boundless terror tonight, great peace of mind, the girl who had been crying in shock quieted down, and after murmuring "Daddy," she suddenly leaned against Li Jiahong's shoulder and fell into a deep sleep.

"Li Jiahong!" Just as Li Jiahong held the girl and his belief in surviving slowly firmed up, another voice that brought Li Jiahong joy appeared; Yu Lianyun, who had also luckily survived somehow, discovered him and ran toward him secretly; other than being a bit tired and disheveled, she did not seem to have suffered any serious injuries.

Li Jiahong borrowed strength from Yu Lianyun and successfully climbed out.

"Where are Captain He and Agent Li?" Li Jiahong asked.

Yu Lianyun wore a bitter smile and shook her head. "I can't reach them either; in any case, the child has been found, let's hurry and escape this world."

Hearing this, Li Jiahong understood Yu Lianyun's subtext; it was likely that He Jia'an and Li Yingqi were in grave danger; the death of his wife and child had already dealt him a heavy mental blow, and at this moment, he could no longer grieve for anyone else; he only wanted to take the innocent child in his arms and get out, so he gritted his teeth and nodded, "Okay, let's go now."

Yu Lianyun's Tactical Night Vision Goggles were not yet damaged, and she could still see the recorded spatial coordinates, so she led the way in front, with Li Jiahong following closely behind.

Boom, boom, boom...

The earth shook again; Yu Lianyun and Li Jiahong only glanced at the source of the tremor and were instantly scared to death on the spot by the terrifying disaster-beast that was so huge it seemed to cover the firmament.

Kusuen, this ancient Alien God, destined to devour every winged monster in this dimension, now smelled the unique "fragrance" on Yu Lianyun; it wanted to seize Yu Lianyun without hesitation and swallow her into its mouth.

Facing the gradually approaching shadow of the giant claw, Yu Lianyun and Li Jiahong both felt immense despair, but the next moment, shadows flickered under Yu Lianyun's feet, and two pitch-black evil shadows, the Avatar of the Blessing, crawled out from the shadows and charged toward the giant claw of the disaster-beast without fear of death.

The giant claw of the Alien God Kusuen did not seem to be composed purely of flesh and blood; it contained unknown and mysterious ancient power, to the extent that the Avatar of the Blessing, which should not have been damaged by any physical form of attack, was actually touched by the other party's giant claw.

After the Avatar of the Blessing did its utmost to push the giant claw away by a certain distance, it suddenly dissipated; the disaster-beast's giant claw deviated from its trajectory and landed beside Yu Lianyun and Li Jiahong.

Although it did not strike the two directly, the intense wind pressure generated by the giant claw's downward strike still sent them flying.

Li Jiahong protected the child in his arms tightly and tumbled several meters away with Yu Lianyun.

Losing the protection of the Avatar of the Blessing, Yu Lianyun was unfortunately pierced through the collarbone by a sharp black stone while rolling, and her life or death was unknown on the spot.

And Li Jiahong was no luckier than Yu Lianyun; his tactical gear was already damaged, and his back, with large areas exposed, was now densely rooted with countless stone grains and sharp rocks, blood flowing out.

His arms lacked strength, so he could only let the sleeping child in his arms lean quietly against his body.

"To be able to die so ignorantly is also a kind of luck," Li Jiahong thought as he looked at the innocent child, then watched as Kusuen arrived beside them again, looking down from above; the huge shadow buried his hope of escape.

"Hiss." In the midst of despair, Li Jiahong suddenly felt a strong burning pain in his thigh; his right hand trembled as he pinched a crumpled red Business Card from his thigh pocket, discovering that the card was emitting red light and transmitting intense heat against his fingertips.

"Business Card?" Li Jiahong suddenly remembered the unique Business Card the clerk at that small shop had given him, his expression one of astonishment.

He saw the glowing Business Card suddenly shatter, turning into two streams of red light; one fell before his eyes and transformed into an Incense Burner, while the other gathered in his hand, turning into three sticks of Burning Incense.

"Li Jiahong."

Li Jiahong heard a voice from an alien space, transmitted into his mind across thousands of mountains and rivers, crossing alien time and space, and he recognized the owner of this voice: "Mr. Wei Jiang?"

"Recite with me." Wei Jiang said indifferently.

Li Jiahong did not doubt it; as if he had grasped the final hope, he held his breath and focused, following all of Wei Jiang's instructions.

Watching the evil demonic claw descend again, Li Jiahong's heartbeat accelerated; he repeated the unknown prayer transmitted by Wei Jiang, and the moment the giant claw was only a hair's breadth away from him, Li Jiahong had followed Wei Jiang to the last sentence, which was also the only sentence Li Jiahong clearly remembered what he was reciting.

"General Zeng... set off!"

Insert the incense!

Li Jiahong fiercely inserted the three sticks of Burning Incense in his hand into the Incense Burner; suddenly, a burst of red flame and thunder appeared on the flat ground, a patch of red floating light appeared beneath the incense-holding burner, and a divine light-arm grabbed a soft tentacle of the descending giant claw, stopping the powerful and heavy beast claw in mid-air.

The scorching temperature of the light made Li Jiahong, who was kneeling on the ground, feel a burning heat in his heart; he couldn't help but look up, only to see a warrior with a red demon mask painted on his face, a Red Gold-Edged Burning Incense Crown on his head, and dressed in Red Flame Armor, lifting the demonic beast claw with one hand, slowly emerging from the red light beneath his feet.

Chijiang's angry eyes flashed with golden light, the red light illuminated his red face, and fangs emerged from his mouth, stirred by his angry expression...