Chapter 799: Status

Opening my eyes is chaos, closing them, I see nothing of the human world.

The truth of the Ninth-Stage Death Realm is that all things are the flesh and blood of ancient gods.

In the pitch-black world, grotesque things disperse and reassemble before Chen Yan's eyes.

Like crushed pigment being splashed once more onto a canvas of twisted dimensions.

This is a world that cannot be described in words, yet it is filled everywhere with malice and evil.

Chen Yan's pupils bloom with golden-red flames that appear as if they are about to extinguish.

Carving out a scorching narrow path that only one person can pass through in this world of malice.

If not for the fact that Chen Yan could perceive Li Zhiyi and the other two in the outside world, he would have long since lost his sense of time and direction.

What surprised Chen Yan even more was that the flow of time in this world was clearly different from the outside.

As time slowly passed, even Chen Yan was reaching his limit.

His body had long since been thoroughly eroded by malice.

Now, the only thing he could hope for was for Li Zhiyi to devour the Blood Brand and create the third realm of the new Will Path as soon as possible to break through.

He never regretted coming to this world.

After all, even if this physical body and consciousness were to die, Li Zhiyi and the other two could still summon a brand-new Chen Yan back.

This is the real world.

Knowing it sooner is always better than realizing it too late.

Sss...

At Chen Yan's eyes, the last wisp of the power of will was completely devoured and extinguished by the malice.

Chen Yan hung his head, instantly feeling the viscous, cold malice drill completely into his body.

Everything was about to end completely.

Chen Yan froze his body; he had reached his limit after all.

Yet, at this very moment.

Within the twisted world of malice, a touch of green light appeared in the depths of Chen Yan's eyes.

In the twisted, indescribable world, this scene of clear green was so special and difficult to describe.

A sensation of being stared at by many eyes struck at this very moment.

Through the blur, Chen Yan heard a voice that belonged only to humans.

"There is someone left behind by their companions; he doesn't seem to be dead yet."

"Forget it, he can't hold on."

"No, he isn't dead..."

"You are wasting our last resources by doing this."

"I... I have my own share..."

Chen Yan hung his head, squinting as he watched that touch of green drawing closer.

Whoosh...

He clearly felt the entire world surging forward like a giant wave.

And that touch of green was like a lone boat upon a pitch-black ocean, getting closer and closer to him.

Until at a certain moment, Chen Yan's pupils instantly constricted.

A massive green leaf floated like a green island upon the viscous, twisted malice, its veins transformed into paths, with small huts of black mud scattered upon it.

The bottom and edges of the green leaf had the charred blackness that only comes from being eroded by malice for many years.

But those familiar patterns...

Endless astonishment flashed through Chen Yan's eyes.

This was something he would never misidentify, no matter what.

That is a leaf of the Saint-Breaking Tree.

How is that possible?

Chen Yan had always believed that the Saint-Breaking Tree belonged to him alone, and that he was the only person in the entire world to possess the Saint-Breaking Tree.

Yet now, he was actually seeing a leaf of the Saint-Breaking Tree in this world of malice.

Even if this leaf had been scorched black by the malice, even if this leaf was extremely massive, enough to even support houses.

But this is a leaf of the Saint-Breaking Tree.

That sense of familiarity simply could not be faked.

Chen Yan just watched as the massive leaf slowly sailed toward him.

"Get on!"

A woman's voice rang out.

Chen Yan looked upward; a woman with messy hair and buck teeth was using a rope...

To be precise, it was a tentacle extending from her sleeve that she whipped down.

Chen Yan grabbed the tentacle and was brought onto the leaf.

In an instant, the malice in the surroundings decreased significantly.

Quite a few people—or to be precise, creatures—were surrounding Chen Yan, looking him over.

The buck-toothed woman who had extended the tentacle to Chen Yan was also among them.

The bodies of these creatures were all more or less twisted and deformed.

One of the buck-toothed woman's arms was a pitch-black tentacle.

A man standing beside her had two heads, and one of those heads had no facial features, possessing only a mouth lined with circles of teeth.

There was also an old man with black slime flowing all over his body, and a woman with a cluster of pustules growing on her neck.

The only tall woman who looked normal also had a black hole about one centimeter in diameter, covered in tentacles, in the center of her forehead.

Before Chen Yan could speak, the tall woman spoke first, saying with disgust:

"I don't sense a single shred of Qi and blood; this is just a complete waste."

"Bailing, you brought him up, so you are responsible for him; don't drag us down."

The tall woman frowned deeply, then waved her hand:

"Everyone disperse, there's nothing to see, it's bad luck."

As she waved her hand, the rest of the people all scattered.

Someone looked at Chen Yan as they left.

"At this rate, he won't live for long."

"It's a miracle he's lived until now."

Soon, everyone left.

At this moment, Chen Yan was still exuding malice like black fire, which did not attract the attention of these people at all.

He looked around; this was truly a village built on a leaf.

And these people...

Chen Yan looked at the buck-toothed woman beside him.

This was a creature between the human race and the Ancient Divine Beasts.

It was just that Chen Yan did not expect the malice of this world to be so terrifying, and even the rules to be twisted, that there would actually be humans who could avoid being completely transformed into Ancient Divine Beasts.

Chen Yan looked at his feet; the dark green ground still had the veins of a leaf.

It was because of this leaf.

This leaf blocked most of the twisted rules and malice from the outside world.

Saint-Breaking Tree...

Only at this moment did Chen Yan realize that he seemed to have never truly understood the Saint-Breaking Tree.

"Don't mind them."

At this moment, the buck-toothed woman looked at Chen Yan and said:

"Are... are you hungry?"

Chen Yan nodded.

This physical body of his had not practiced hard-body cultivation or Qi and blood, and had always been forcibly supported by the power of his will.

Now, hunger was normal.

Chen Yan had originally wanted to clearly perceive the real world before this physical body and consciousness died.

Therefore, Chen Yan did not care about hunger.

But the appearance of this Saint-Breaking Tree leaf now gave Chen Yan new ideas.

"Alright, follow me." The buck-toothed woman walked toward a dilapidated house.

Chen Yan followed closely behind.

As soon as they entered the room, the buck-toothed woman rummaged through a black cloth bag hanging behind the door and found a black chunk emitting faint malice.

Chen Yan did not know what it was, but he still took it and stuffed it into his mouth.

In an instant, an indescribable texture and taste assaulted Chen Yan's mouth, but Chen Yan's will was so powerful that he only chewed twice before swallowing it into his stomach.

"Is it good?" the buck-toothed woman asked, licking her lips.

"Mm." Chen Yan nodded.

"You rest first..." the buck-toothed woman said, but the next moment, her expression froze, and she slowly turned toward Chen Yan.

Upon arriving on the leaf, Chen Yan gained a moment of rest, and in this short time, his Immortal Will was born within him once again.

At this moment, Chen Yan unleashed 【Imperial Decay - Saint Condensation Primordial】.

"What world is this?"

Chen Yan began to ask.

And the buck-toothed woman spoke in a daze:

"Evil Realm."

Evil Realm.

Chen Yan asked again:

"Why do you live on a leaf, and what kind of leaf is this?"

"Leaf, what is a leaf?" The buck-toothed woman showed a look of confusion:

"We were born living on this; going outside means death..."

Chen Yan pursed his lips; the buck-toothed woman had no concept of a leaf at all.

Soon, Chen Yan continued to ask.

And the buck-toothed woman could not even realize that Chen Yan was questioning her, and she said everything she knew.

Soon, Chen Yan understood the origin of this world.

Evil Realm.

In the words of the buck-toothed woman, they had lived in the Evil Realm for generations.

One day in history, their ancestors were separated from their relatives and came to this world.

The ancestors were influenced by malice for generations and became the Tainted-Blood Human Race.

Following that, five Continent-Bright Cities were established within the Evil Realm; because of these five Continent-Bright Cities, the Evil Realm was able to stabilize, and they, the Tainted-Blood Human Race, would not die.

However, the Evil Realm is becoming increasingly dangerous, the malice is becoming increasingly intense, and large numbers of Tainted Blood humans are dying.

Just when the Tainted Blood humans were all about to die, the Pure Lands appeared.

They are simply patches of green leaves; as long as they live upon the Pure Lands, the Tainted Blood humans can survive.

And, every ten thousand years, a new City Lord appears in each Continent Bright City.

Within the Evil Realm, there are powerful Evil Void Ancient Divine Beasts, and some Evil Void Ancient Divine Beasts can even step onto the Pure Lands to devour the Tainted Blood humans.

Even so, the Tainted Blood humans have stubbornly survived.

Aside from ordinary Tainted Blood humans like the Buck-toothed Girl, many Tainted Blood humans have become lackeys of the Evil Void Ancient Divine Beasts to survive, becoming Law Enforcers.

Grass will grow into Immortal Grass in a world filled with immortal Qi.

In a world filled with malice, it will become a Grass of Malice.

It might be loathed, it might be shunned.

But it, it just wants to live.

Chen Yan fell silent.

Through the words of Bailing, that is, the Buck-toothed Girl, he could understand.

The time flow ratio between the Evil Realm and the outside world is ten to one.

And those living in the Continent Bright City she spoke of should be the five clan leaders who become the Continent Brights every thousand years in the outside world.

So, the Continent Brights live in the Evil Realm.

The reason the Evil Realm and the outside world have not mixed together is perhaps because of the Continent Brights.

Chen Yan discovered that not only Bailing, but the other Tainted Blood humans living on the Pure Lands also have very strong strength.

Bailing is at the Sixth Rank, and Chen Yan had previously seen a Creation Realm expert.

It is just that, while the cultivation realms of these Tainted Blood humans are real, because their physical bodies are severely polluted by malice, they are unable to unleash the strength of their true realms.

"Where are you all going?"

Chen Yan asked; he could see that this patch of Jing Tu was drifting toward a specific direction.

"I don't know..."

Bailing's answer made Chen Yan pause.

Bailing continued:

"It is the Master of Arrays who is moving."

Chen Yan's pupils constricted slightly.

The Master of Arrays!

The Master of Arrays is actually in the Evil Realm.

Chen Yan has already met the four Martial Dao Masters of Blood Qi, Horizontal Refining, Elements, and True Intent.

Only the Martial Dao Masters of Thought Power and Arrays are ones Chen Yan has only heard of.

He did not expect to hear the name of the Master of Arrays here.

Bailing continued:

"We originally lived in Ji Continent; three years ago, the Continent Bright City of Ji Continent suddenly issued a message that the national destiny of Ji Continent had been destroyed, and perhaps there would be no more Continent Brights in the future.

We could not continue to stay in Ji Continent, so we came to Chen Continent, only to find that there had been no new Continent Brights in Chen Continent for ten thousand years.

Therefore, the Master of Arrays continues to lead us to set off in another direction..."

Bailing revealed a look of pain:

"I also don't know where we are going..."

Chen Yan was dumbfounded.

He did not expect the migration of Bailing and the others to actually be related to him.

Three years in the Evil Realm is more than three months in the outside world, which was exactly when Chen Yan launched his surprise attack on Ji Continent.

Chen Yan did not completely exterminate the Ji Lord, but the national destiny of Ji Continent was indeed destroyed by Chen Yan.

What the Master of Arrays said is quite fitting.

It is just that when they arrived in Chen Continent, they discovered that the Continent Bright of ten thousand years ago in Chen Continent had not appeared, so they could only continue to migrate.

One cannot blame the Master of Arrays for knowing too slowly; in such a twisted, chaotic world, information between the two continents is simply not shared.

"How can I see the Master of Arrays?" Chen Yan continued.

"You cannot see him," Bailing said:

"The Master of Arrays lives on a very distant Jing Tu; every patch of Jing Tu is connected, and we are all being moved by him."

Linked by iron chains.

Chen Yan thought to himself.

One person migrates, and it drives all the Tainted Blood humans of Ji Continent to migrate.

For the Tainted Blood humans of Ji Continent, the Master of Arrays is the only guide.

"The Master of Arrays is an existence that possesses Status; to see him, one must be at the Eighth Rank."

Chen Yan frowned:

"Status?"

"Yes, the elders say that Blood Qi has the Status of Blood Qi, Horizontal Refining has the Status of Horizontal Refining, and malice also has the Status of malice," Bailing said:

"This is a power that can only be grasped after reaching the level of the Master of Arrays.

The Status of malice is... Devouring."

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes.

This is indeed a new theory.

A status of malice... the aura of an Ancient God?

Regarding the mysteries of the Eighth Rank, Chen Yan had long understood them, but he had never heard the term "status" before.

A so-called status is something that could only possibly exist at the Ninth Rank.

Chen Yan had once possessed the aura of an Ancient God, and through analyzing it, he had even delved into and created the god-level grand array, 【Eternal Calamity Reversing Blood】.

The function of 【Eternal Calamity Reversing Blood】 was to devour all things; it could even consume Ancient God Beasts to convert them into energy for oneself.

Tracing the source, if the aura of an Ancient God is indeed a status of malice, then calling it "devouring" is quite fitting.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan's heart stirred slightly.

He had delved into and created 【Eternal Calamity Reversing Blood】 through just half of an Ancient God's aura; what if he were to master even more of it?

"Where can one find a status of malice?" Chen Yan asked.

"In the Tide," Bailing said, a look of terror appearing on her face:

"Every year, the Evil Realm stirs up a Tide, and those who cannot withstand the Tide... will die.

Soon... it is coming soon."

"A Tide?" Chen Yan continued to ask.

Bailing shook her head, a look of agony appearing on her face:

"My father and mother both died in the Tide, and I am going to die too..."

She recalled memories of extreme pain, and turbid tears flowed from her eyes.

The golden light in the depths of Chen Yan's eyes gradually faded.

Bailing quickly recovered from the state of being controlled by 【Royal Decay-Holy Condensation Primordial】.

"I... I, sorry..." Bailing wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, not knowing why she had just thought of her parents.

"What is your name?" Bailing changed the subject and asked.

"Chen Yan," Chen Yan said.

"As expected... a person from Chen Province," Bailing said:

"You were abandoned by your companions, weren't you?"

Chen Yan nodded.

"You rest for a while, I'm going out... to take care of something," Bailing said, continuing to warn him:

"Do not open the door for anyone else besides me; it hasn't been safe lately."

PS: One chapter.

After the surprise attack on Ji Province, everyone can probably tell that Dongzi is having a bit of trouble writing.

Actually, I had already outlined the plot, but I overlooked an important issue.

That is, even though everyone knows that Li Zhiyi and the other two are the protagonists, they cannot relate to them.

Even I cannot relate to them.

The plot has serious problems, but if I just let myself slack off and write like this, I have no emotion while writing; I can't cry, I can't laugh, it's simply torture.

I believe that the state of writing a book is when you laugh or cry while writing, or when you become a villain and cackle "jie jie jie."

I have always written books this way, and once I lose that state, I have to ask myself if I've gone wrong.

If I continue to write according to the original plot, perhaps I won't be able to escape the fate of a rushed ending.

So I thought for a long time about creating a new plot in the real world, which originally wouldn't have had much of a story—that is, the Evil Realm.

But then the problem arises again: one protagonist with three clones, plus the schemes of Ancient God Beasts, and the chess match between people like the Lord of Blood Qi and the Lord of Hardened Body.

Hiss, how many story arcs is this going to be?

The most difficult writing experience of my life has arrived, and I brought it on myself.

It's been getting more and more explosive, and only now has it gotten a little better.

My apologies to everyone who wants to vent.