Chapter 326

The Father's garden thrives in chaotic profusion, embodying the chaotic essence of life—a convergence of decay, rebirth, and reproduction.

Boxwood trees with twisted branches bulged with pustule-like growths; their bark rotted away, exposing birch branches crawling with writhing crimson colonies, each hanging spore sacs that exuded a putrid stench.

Palm fronds swarmed with parasitic fungi, their veins swollen and blackened like ruptured blood vessels, entwined with rotting banana leaves dripping sticky, cloying slime, all shrouded in pervasive thick fog and clouds of buzzing flies that dimmed the garden's light.

In the unseen micro-world beyond Zhou Yun's gaze, even more rampant and twisted fungi, bacteria, and viruses no doubt festered.

A mortal standing here would be infected by hundreds of millions of diseases within moments, becoming nourishment for the thick fungal carpets and mossy lawns beneath Zhou Yun's feet.

But Zhou Yun entered the Nurgle Garden in the body of Pangu the Great Demon, a vessel whose resilience surpassed even that of some Chief Demons.

For caution's sake, Zhou Yun irradiated himself with the Adaptation Lamp.

This artifact enabled life to adapt to any natural, physical, or chemical environment, granting Zhou Yun complete immunity to the garden's extreme conditions for twenty-four hours.

Yet Zhou Yun remained wary—this was the domain of an Arch-Sorcerer of the Warp, teeming with countless Nurgle Demons, every inch of soil saturated with the Supreme Heaven's blessing; these servants of the Father grew stronger here than in the material universe.

The danger was obvious; Zhou Yun had prepared for Pangu the Great Demon to be killed once.

But according to Sanguinius and Xigaoqi's assessment, Pangu the Great Demon possessed all the properties of a demon—should he die, he could theoretically be resurrected, though it might require time, rituals, emotion, and faith to reconstruct his physical form.

Yet the situation still surprised Zhou Yun.

Rainfather Luo Getis surged forward like a freight train with the accelerator floored, transforming into a massive ink-green flesh-ball that barreled toward the Black Mo Hall, crushing Nurgle Spirits beneath him, flinging trees aside, and even carving a path for Zhou Yun.

As he ran, Rainfather Luo Getis bellowed: "The sack that eats demons has arrived!" "The sack that eats demons has landed in the Nurgle Garden!" "The Death God has entered the Grove of the Great Mouth!"

Zhou Yun's face twitched uncontrollably as he listened.

The tone of your voice—was it you who gave Napoleon his gastric ulcer? Was it you who brought the rain at Waterloo?

Perhaps due to Rainfather's influence, every Nurgle Spirit along the way fled from Zhou Yun like bacteria encountering antibiotics, trembling behind the swollen, split mouths of giant trees as he passed.

This made Zhou Yun regretful—he could have easily stuffed a few into his sack if they'd attacked.

But since they trembled and hid, he felt oddly reluctant to seize them himself.

Not just Nurgle Spirits—even other Nurgle Demons recoiled from Zhou Yun as if he were an antibiotic deity, avoiding him entirely.

What a pity—he'd hoped to bring them a bit of free trade.

But even Rainfather Luo Getis, the second-favored of the Nurgle Garden, had been reduced to this state; even without knowing Zhou Yun's identity, the Nurgle Demons instinctively sensed dread.

This left Zhou Yun exasperated—he hadn't come to cause trouble.

Since the Plague God showed interest in dialogue, Zhou Yun was willing to speak with him.

The plagues released by the Father had caused too much destruction to Ultramar; tools to combat plagues beyond bacteria were too costly, and tending to every planet was impossibly difficult.

If a negotiation with the Father could resolve this, it would be ideal.

Moreover, if the Father could be persuaded to sabotage Chaos's schemes, it would greatly aid Zhou Yun, Guilliman, and Sanguinius in returning to Terra.

Even with the Gate of Anywhere, Zhou Yun could not reach Terra directly due to the ten-light-year limit—he'd need thousands of intermediate stops across planets, a laborious journey with high risk of ambush.

This was one reason Zhou Yun had previously acquired the Webway map from Xigaoqi.

With the Webway map, relying on its blurred spatial concepts, he could reach Terra in just one or two jumps; more importantly, the Webway's safety vastly exceeded the perilous planetary stops across the galaxy.

Of course, this did not mean the Webway was absolutely safe.

The Eldar maintained it poorly; over the past ten thousand years since the collapse of their empire, vast sections had collapsed, some even invaded and occupied by Chaos Demons and their cultists.

For instance, the Chosen of Tzeentch, Ahriman, possessed the Codex of Labyrinths, allowing him to traverse the Webway freely; during the Battle of Cadia, he nearly annihilated the Eldar Death God army led by Iyvreni within the Webway itself.

Thus Zhou Yun hoped the Father might harass Tzeentch's side.

He glanced around; every Nurgle Demon nearby trembled in fear.

"Why are you all avoiding me? I've come at the Father's invitation!"

Zhou Yun raised his voice to the surrounding Nurgle Demons:

"Who will deliver my message?"

The Nurgle Demons immediately began whispering among themselves.

After a moment, one demon was forcibly shoved forward—evidently bullied and ostracized.

Zhou Yun regarded the timid demon approaching him with mild curiosity.

The Nurgle Demon had a bull's head, its entire body and face covered in pockmarks arranged in flower-like patterns.

It trembled as it reached Zhou Yun's side.

"Y-you really were invited by the Father?" the small Nurgle Demon asked, voice trembling with fear.

Its eyes held suspicion—as if wondering how someone invited by the Father could have terrified Rainfather into such a state.

"Go ask the Black Mo Hall—or ask Meng and Malkit," Zhou Yun said, frowning.

Communicating with Nurgle Demons always had this drawback—they were generally dim-witted and simple-minded.

The small Nurgle Demon froze at the names Meng and Malkit.

"I'll go ask—I know Meng and Malkit. We're close!" It nodded vigorously and turned to sprint toward the Black Mo Hall.

"Wait." Zhou Yun called out, unable to suppress his curiosity: "What's your name? You seem unpopular."

He noticed this Nurgle Demon was clearly ostracized—even bullied—within the Nurgle Garden, which should be rare among the same family.

"I am Pox. Long ago, I helped many worlds discover vaccines, so they hate me."

As it spoke, the small Nurgle Demon sprinted toward the Black Mo Hall.

So it was a demon born from Pox!

Zhou Yun understood—no wonder it was unwelcome in the Warp.

Humanity had created its first vaccine, the smallpox vaccine, from Pox, ultimately defeating the smallpox virus.

Pox Demon's ostracism was natural—it ranked alongside the Mold Demon in social standing.

Soon, Zhou Yun heard a squelching sound nearby.

The trees shattered by Rainfather Luo Getis's charge began repairing themselves; skull-roses, witch-bushes, and Great-Mouth Trees sprouted anew around him.

Zhou Yun saw a colossal, writhing snail approaching; its shell twisted like a tree, upon which perched a Nurgle Demon—skinny, muscular, holding a black iron shears, resembling a grizzled farmer or gardener.

The snail halted before Zhou Yun; the farmer-like demon leapt from its shell and bowed formally before him.

"Hail the great Doraemon. Lord Zhou Yun."

"I am Slimukos, Chief Gardener of the Father's Garden, Master of Life, Death, and Decay."

"Old Sour Seed!" a chorus of small Nurgle Spirits suddenly cackled.

Slimukos moved faster than even Pangu the Great Demon's body could react, snatching two giggling Nurgle Spirits by their heads and hurling them into the snail's mouth; the spirits were crushed with cheerful crunching.

Slimukos bowed again, formally apologizing, then continued:

"By my Master's command, I come to greet you, honored guest. Please ascend upon Mors's shell—I shall escort you to the Father's feast."

Slimukos, Chief Gardener of the Nurgle Garden—this Nurgle Demon was not a Great Unclean One, but rumor held him the first demon ever created by the Father, older than all other Nurgle Demons and even the Great Unclean Ones, and deeply beloved by the Father.

He tended every plant in the Nurgle Garden, capable of sowing seeds for all flora, even able to transplant fragments of the Nurgle Garden into the material dimension, creating miniature replicas.

Thus he earned the unique title "Great Planter," though he rarely left the Nurgle Garden, so his fame remained obscure.

Yet his personality was pragmatic and humorless, alienating him from other Nurgle Demons, earning him the mocking nickname "Old Sour Seed" from the Nurgle Spirits.

Incidentally, he, Kurgas, and Mortarion were all members of the Nurgle Garden's Depression and Loneliness Support Group.

Zhou Yun climbed onto the shell of the snail named Mors; Slimukos casually plucked a Nurgle Spirit from nearby and hung it before the snail's head.

The bound Nurgle Spirit seemed delighted, giggling merrily; Mors began to crawl forward.

But in the Warp, distance meant nothing—Zhou Yun saw the Black Mo Hall ahead suddenly swell, arriving at his feet in an instant.

"We have arrived. This is my Master Nurgle's lair and private dwelling—the Withered Mansion of Suffering and Joy—the Black Mo Hall."

Zhou Yun beheld the eternal, filthy green flesh-hill standing before the demonic palace, awaiting him.

(End of Chapter)