Chapter 326

Zhou Yun examined this small raven stopped in front of him.

This raven was covered in traces of decay, maggots were drilling in and out under its greasy feathers, fungi were growing layer upon layer on its skin, and there were a large number of herpes, polyps, and redness occupying it; even its eyes were in a blurry and turbid state.

It was hard not to suspect whether this raven was simply a moving corpse, but Zhou Yun knew that the soul of an old acquaintance was residing within it.

Margit, a leader of the Ashfold under-hive mutants along with Morge, was a Nurgle cultist.

Zhou Yun truly didn't expect that even after arriving at Macragge, he could still meet him.

Honestly, Margit and Morge brothers were a bit too outdated; the moment they popped up, they were targeted by Tigurius, followed by Mephiston and the patrolling Ultramarines; basically, they were watched all the way here.

Zhou Yun naturally knew the content of their conversation and knew their purpose.

Originally, Zhou Yun intended to let them throw themselves into the net, but he didn't expect these two brothers to be outdated for too long; they couldn't even do the small thing of finding him, so he could only let Mephiston and Xiang Xiang Leina catch them back.

As a result, Morge was directly killed by Xiang Xiang Leina... although there was the factor that Xiang Xiang Leina's values were a bit outrageous.

"The Grandfather invites you to visit His garden," Margit stood on the table in front of Zhou Yun, opening his beak that was black with a hint of green, and said.

He deliberately blurted out the reason for his arrival and deliberately lowered his voice to render the atmosphere, hoping to make Zhou Yun's mind chaotic.

"Hmm, and then?" Zhou Yun asked back plainly, as if he wasn't surprised at all.

"Aren't you surprised? This is the Grandfather's invitation, one of the greatest existences in the entire Warp!" Zhou Yun's attitude actually made Margit stunned for a moment; he even suspected whether Zhou Yun hadn't heard clearly who was inviting him.

"What's this? A while ago, Slaanesh also invited me to go and have fun with Him," Zhou Yun waved his hand and said.

"... What kind of joke are you making?!" Margit retreated two steps in horror.

"I just mentioned His name directly, and you see, nothing happened, right?" Zhou Yun said casually.

Actually, to prevent Morge and Margit from carrying Nurgle's virus, he had used the Adaptation Lamp on himself in advance.

Corruption transmitted through names, for Zhou Yun, had already been adapted to.

In fact, when chanting Slaanesh's name, Zhou Yun only felt a gentle gaze and didn't feel the existence of corruption at all.

"So, and then? What is the Grandfather's purpose? Why invite me to be a guest in Nurgle's Garden?"

Zhou Yun raised his eyebrows and looked at Margit in front of him, asking.

Nurgle invited him to visit the garden.

He was a bit confused; Zhou Yun had originally been selecting those props that could deal with the upcoming plague.

After all, the lamp that eliminates useless bacteria can only deal with bacteria; for the aspects of parasites, viruses, and fungi that the Grandfather is also good at, it is useless.

"The Grandfather seems to have determined that you are an excellent bacterial artist and is very interested in your technique of cultivating bacteria."

"He seems to have regarded the recent events in the material universe as a contest with you in the aspect of bacterial cultivation."

Bacterial artist?

Zhou Yun was stunned for a moment, then realized that Nurgle must have discovered those useless bacteria that Zhou Yun cultivated using the Random Bacterial Manufacturing Machine.

He couldn't help but twitch his mouth a few times; how exactly did those meaningless bacteria arouse Nurgle's interest?

Could it be that the Grandfather wants to grow hair?

"There is a mark of the Grandfather left in my body; you just need to—"

"Look in this mirror." Before Margit could finish speaking, Zhou Yun took out the Tracking Image Mirror from his 4D pocket and scanned Margit.

"What?" Margit asked blankly.

Zhou Yun didn't speak, just pointed lightly at Margit.

A faint, pale death intent seeped out from his fingertips—

"Wait!!" Margit let out a scream in horror.

But before he could finish speaking, his raven body died instantly, turning into pale sand and piling up into a small mound on the tabletop.

This was the power Zhou Yun obtained after devouring Ynnead, the power to bestow death upon things.

It's just that this power must be transmitted through Zhou Yun's flesh and the Crone Sword, and the more powerful the existence, the more it can resist this power.

So in Zhou Yun's view, this thing is actually useless, at most used to deal with cannon fodder at close range.

On the contrary, another ability—the ability to resurrect individuals whose souls have not yet returned to the Warp, that is, those who died but didn't die long ago and those who died but didn't completely die—made Zhou Yun feel more useful.

Hmm, especially when dealing with the Thousand Sons.

"My Lord, do you not intend to keep the appointment?" Mephiston asked softly.

Zhou Yun just adjusted the mirror in his hand; the scene in the mirror changed and condensed on Margit in Nurgle's Garden.

"Father God, I failed," Margit said full of apologies; his head hung low, not daring to look at the Grandfather's magnificent figure.

That figure was like a mountain range piled up with layers of flesh and blood; in Margit's lowered eyes, he could only see a bit of the shadow it cast on the humus ground.

The sound of stirring the cauldron sounded, and a gentle, kind voice mixed with the buzzing of flies sounded:

"Failed? No, no, no, my lovely child, you did very well."

"Remember? The task I gave you was to convey my invitation to him; you did very well."

"It's just that he might not like me very much, so he refused my invitation; this is my fault, not yours."

Saying this, the Grandfather hummed a little tune, and the sound of stirring the cauldron became clearer and clearer; he continued to say to Margit in a grandfatherly voice:

"I want to give you two brothers a reward; this is what you deserve!"

"I will brew a new pot of soup; when I finish, you and your brother can drink some."

Margit bowed to the Grandfather full of gratitude.

Not because the Grandfather was going to bestow a gift on him and his brother, but just because of the Grandfather's love.

It was precisely because he wanted to repay this kindness that Margit gathered his courage and asked: "Why exactly... did you invite Zhou Yun to be a guest?"

"Because I am very conflicted; I don't know whether I should stop Guilliman from returning to Terra."

The Grandfather sighed lightly, his tone carrying a bit of distress as he said:

"Stopping a child who has just recovered from going to see his father—is this too heartless?"

"But little Mortarion always begs me, begs me to hold back Guilliman's pace."

"Sigh, so I want to have a chat with Zhou Yun, this excellent peer, to discuss the technique of making bacteria, and also discuss the matter of the two children, Guilliman and Mortarion."

"Margit, child, if it were you, how would you decide?"

The Grandfather asked Margit gently.

"Perhaps I would let Guilliman go back; if he is like the legends, he would surely save more lives from the hands of the other four gods who do not cherish life."

Margit was referring to Tzeentch, Slaanesh, Khorne, and the Emperor.

"I am not so sure," Nurgle said a bit melancholically: "Perhaps he can save many humans, but besides humans, there are many, many lives he doesn't care about."

Listening to the melancholy in the Grandfather's words, Margit was anxious for a moment; he hurriedly used his brain, wanting to solve the problem for the Grandfather.

"Why not see what the Lord of Change is doing?"

Morge, who had been staying to the side repairing his soul trauma, suddenly spoke ignorantly.

Nurgle, Margit, and the Nurglings playing nearby all looked at Morge, who had suddenly spoken, in unison.

"I mean, as long as we see what the Lord of Change is doing, we will know how to act, right?"

Morge gestured and said:

"As long as it's what the Lord of Change supports, we oppose it!"

"As long as it's what the Lord of Change opposes, we support it!"

"Anyway, those blue-haired guys won't do anything good; doing the opposite of them must be a good thing!"

The filthy air of Nurgle's Garden was silent for a moment, and then the Nurglings playing nearby couldn't help but applaud.

Margit gasped for his brother's world-shaking wisdom, and the Grandfather also fell into a bit of thought.

Zhou Yun, who was peeking at this scene through the Tracking Image Mirror in the material universe, couldn't help but applaud for Morge.

Morge belonged to having grasped the underlying logic of the Chaos Gods.

Tzeentch and the Grandfather just happened to occupy two opposing parts of the Warp.

One is stagnation, one is change; one lingers on the past, one longs for the future; one is harmonious and friendly, one is ambitious.

Unless an event that endangers the entire Chaos occurs, most of the demands of Tzeentch and Nurgle are in conflict.

And the vast majority of demons in Nurgle's Garden agreed with Morge's statement; it's just that they hadn't found the right language to express it before.

"I have to consider it," the Grandfather nodded heavily: "I have to consider it."

Looking at the scene presented in the mirror, Zhou Yun touched his chin and pressed the detective hat that he always wore on his head.

"My Lord?" Mephiston asked Zhou Yun's plan again.

"I intend to visit the Plague God's garden; after all, it's a famous scenic spot in the Warp."

Zhou Yun smiled and said:

"But I won't use the door He opened, nor will I use this body to go."

Mephiston raised his eyebrows slightly and asked: "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember that I have a corrupted Warp engine in my pocket?"

"That was brought out from Ashfold; to deal with Ka'Bandha, you modified it into one leading to the Blood God's domain."

"I now need you to help me change it back, and re-guide the Warp rift on it toward Nurgle's Garden."

"My Lord, you seem to have once again treated me as some blasphemous wizard who opens doors to the domains of evil gods at will."

Mephiston said with some helplessness:

"However, your request is very simple; I think I can do it easily."

In Nurgle's Garden, Father Rain, Rotigus, was strolling by the side of the pus lake in Nurgle's Garden; it moved its chubby body, shaking the willow branch in its hand, continuously summoning corrupt yet lush rain to fall, making the fungus carpet around the lake even more lush.

It is the Generous One, it is the Sacrifice of Rain, it is the messenger of abundance, it is the incarnation of the Great Grandfather's generosity, prosperity, and fecundity.

Whether it is the Warp or the real universe, it will respond to all who pray for life and bring abundance to them.

Hornbeam leaves stretched, fungus carpets oozed mucus, and foul-smelling maggots shuttled under Father Rain, Rotigus's feet, making it laugh out loud.

A day in Nurgle's Garden is truly wonderful.

No skeleton army of the Cursed One to disturb, no bird-men of the Lord of Change cackling, no weirdo in silver power armor setting fires, no pocket that eats demons lying on the boundary between the real and material universe.

What a wonderful day, what a wonderful Nurgle's Garden; praise the Grandfather!

But suddenly, Father Rain, Rotigus, stopped smiling and looked not far away in a bit of confusion.

The Warp there shook for a while, revealing the curtain separated between the Warp and the material universe.

Then the curtain tore after a slight shake, unfolding a channel connecting the real and material universe.

Father Rain, Rotigus, leaned forward curiously and looked into the channel.

Could it be that the poor people on some planet encountered a famine and needed its help?

Then Father Rain, Rotigus, saw a sturdy human holding a ball-and-stick, stepping out of the rift in one stride, standing on the soft and sticky mycelium lawn of Nurgle's Garden.

His steps were so powerful that they squeezed the maggots parasitic at the roots of the mycelium, letting thick yellow slurry ooze from the ground.

But these slurries seemed to be separated from this human by an invisible tiny film, causing no image to him.

Father Rain, Rotigus, examined him curiously; it always felt that this human in front of it was a bit familiar.

Not familiar in appearance, but familiar in smell; it's a bit like... it's a bit like...

Like hollow and lonely death.

Father Rain, Rotigus's gaze fell on the white pocket on his stomach—

"Run away!!!!"

"The pocket that eats demons is here!!! Everyone run away!!!"

Father Rain, Rotigus, roared in horror and scrambled toward the black magic mansion where the Grandfather lived.

Zhou Yun controlled the Giant Great Unclean One, looking at the Nurgle Great Unclean One who was running away in a daze.

Looking at the appearance... oh, that's Father Rain, Rotigus.

Zhou Yun, who was a Chaos and alien enthusiast in his previous life, quickly identified the identity of that Nurgle Great Unclean One, and then scratched his head a bit strangely.

He didn't enter Nurgle's Garden with his main body, but for the sake of safety, he used the Giant Great Unclean One.

But Nurgle invited Zhou Yun after all; to show politeness and avoid misunderstanding, he molded the appearance of the Giant Great Unclean One to be similar to his main body, even the pocket on his stomach was replicated, just the body size was much larger.

Did he look scary in any way? Zhou Yun examined himself strangely and couldn't help but shake his head.

It's a pity; among the Great Unclean Ones he liked most in his previous life was Father Rain, Rotigus; its design was very good. If there was a chance, Zhou Yun would like to invite it to sit in his pocket and act as a collection.

Forget it, business is more important.

Zhou Yun's gaze looked toward the black magic mansion of Nurgle in the depths.

(End of chapter)