Chapter 213: Again, Somehow, Corrupted?

"It seems more than one Outer God has become involved in this matter," Adam said, watching Zhongli's mutated form: "His reality has been covertly altered."

"The Fallen Mother Goddess has no reason to abandon a vessel so perfectly aligned with her domain over the Earth," Amon said, pushing up his monocle with a smile.

"Did the transformation begin the moment the barrier was lifted? No…"

"It began when the Star Gate opened—another force slipped in through the Fallen Mother Goddess's infiltration."

"Hehe, it seems they reached some agreement. This situation is his final trump card."

The spear embedded in his chest had been utterly corrupted; sharp black shadow-claws gripped the root-like spear and tore it from his body.

"Strange… why do I have no memories of you?" The terrifying figure slowly rose from the iron-black Wang Zuo; his speech was excruciatingly slow, yet carried an influence that drove living beings into mad corruption:

"Miss Kelaien, Su Lin, Lu Mingfei…"

"I recognize you, but perhaps due to contamination, my memories have worn away…"

"I want to return to Liyue… the homeward path… where is it?"

His voice was low; everyone present felt the weight of his confusion and despair.

"Su Lin, could you come and purify this contamination for me? I think, with the power of the Source Fortress, it should be enough." The golden star at his head turned toward Su Lin, emitting a clear, pure spiritual aura, utterly unlike the dark, profound void.

Su Lin fell silent for two seconds, condensing light element into a long chain; he frowned, as if evaluating the feasibility of his next move.

"Zhongli" stood before the iron-black Wang Zuo, gripping the grotesque black spear of flesh-tendrils; he made no further move, as if still possessing reason, even capable of normal dialogue—he waited silently for his friends' response, hoping for aid.

But the messages in the chat group were entirely opposite.

Zhongli: "Don't… believe him."

Zhongli: "He's… buying time… while the Nest hasn't fully fused… kill me!"

Yet no one replied in the chat group; all were tense, pondering how to resolve the current situation.

Tick—

The small Source Essence began to melt; black viscous droplets fell into the void, and the chaos surrounding "Zhongli" intensified further.

"Seal him! Use the Chaos Sea and the Source Fortress to put him into slumber!" Miss Kelaien immediately devised a plan—he still had the Pale Mask provided by Bernadette, which could seal Zhongli into this world using the same method as Rosser.

Then, seek the waters of the Eternal Dark River to plunge Zhongli into eternal sleep; this way, at least they could buy time, waiting for an Old One from Earth to appear or seeking opportunity in other worlds.

No, no need to think so far—just wait for Lu Mingfei's "Grandpa" to awaken; Old Lu should have a way.

"Will you consider my earlier proposal?" Amon smiled faintly, casting a meaningful glance at Miss Kelaien.

Miss Kelaien hesitated—if Amon controlled the Source Fortress…

The moment this thought arose, Zhongli "looked" toward him; instantly, Miss Kelaien's spirit body above the Gray Mist felt something within him awaken!

Within seconds, Miss Kelaien's eyes darkened, shifting from brown to black; his eyelids lowered, and he "saw" a hazy, illusory dream.

The Spirit Worms on his body, once "quiet," suddenly went out of control, transforming into monstrous forms; within each monster, another "will" stirred awake.

Boom—

The mysterious space above the Gray Mist shook violently; the grand, majestic palace crumbled inch by inch; the ancient, weathered bronze long table was dented and shattered into fragments.

Vast, overwhelming Gray Mist engulfed Miss Kelaien entirely; he rolled and twisted, until, after being entwined with enough Gray Mist, the out-of-control Spirit Worms finally stabilized!

He pushed himself up using the high-backed chair's armrests, struggling to stand, terrified and bewildered by what had just occurred.

"Did the First awaken inside me?!"

Miss Kelaien faintly remembered that, in those fleeting moments, the Spirit Worms and Zhongli had resonated in a peculiar way—not total madness, but more of an instinct.

Aggregate!

They were all wrong. That was not a puppet manipulated by the Fallen Mother Goddess! The apparent Outer God contamination was merely a disguise; the essence was the ultimate instinct of aggregation.

It was the Original Creator!

Miss Kelaien once again controlled a puppet to return to the previous position; the earlier puppet had collapsed, and the fierce battle had already resumed!

Pure, clear light transformed into countless chains, sealing the area; under the night sky, light elements arranged themselves in precise formulas; massive arrays, spanning the entire sky, rapidly ascended; infinite light elements surged from the Divine Realm.

The tides of the Chaos Sea, which embraced all colors, surged again from the void—the ocean that gave birth to all things, holding every secret.

On the earth, the once boundless desert of the Divine Abandoned Land was now covered by a colossal city of utterly distinct architecture—its buildings spanned thousands of years from before the Old Era to the present Fifth Era; the entire city was shrouded in mist, occasionally pierced by streaks of crimson blood.

Miss Kelaien instinctively stepped back; before such an assault, even a True God could not endure long—only hope for other resurrection methods.

But when the tide receded, the black, twisted figure stood firm like a reef, though its cosmic-dark silhouette appeared slightly dimmed.

Having learned from the previous lesson, Miss Kelaien did not let the puppet approach too closely; instead, he pressed his right hand against a pale metallic mask.

Mysterious three-dimensional symbols, resembling feathered serpents, continuously emerged from the mask, converging in midair into a tiny stream flowing toward "Zhongli."

Meanwhile, Su Lin fully merged his Divine Realm with the sky of the Divine Abandoned Land; heavenly music echoed throughout every corner; the crimson moon above was obscured, night replaced by the Divine Realm, its music composed naturally from light elements—calm and serene.

Beams of light, like Tyndall effect, pierced through the clouds and struck "Zhongli"—purest divine light, representing the very law of order as the foundational logic.

Since previously using chaotic energy for a surprise attack, the pure chaotic energy adhering to his Divine Core had not yet recovered, appearing a gray-white transparency.

Now, Su Lin's use of his Divine Core's power caused fine cracks to begin forming on the already fractured Divine Radiance Godhood.

As time passed, though the cracks did not multiply or widen further, the tendrils on "Zhongli" visibly curled into a bundle, slowly yet decisively withering away.

Adam's eyes shot forth lightning; a colossal, towering phantom of a Thunder Giant appeared, driving a hundred-meter-high cross into the Chaos Sea, which shattered into thick lightning serpents coiling around it.

Finally, the abstract, twisted "Zhongli" plummeted toward the "City of Calamity"; the feathered-serpent-like mysterious symbols swarmed around him like flies, drilling into his body.

The golden sun at his head seemed on the verge of extinguishing; the golden eye on his chest revealed a human-like expression of exhaustion, slowly closing.

There was no safer place in this world than the City of Calamity; if Zhongli were sealed within Lu Mingfei's Source Essence, even the awakening of the Primordial need not be feared!

Tick!

At that moment, another drop of Source Essence from the Nest merged into the void; "Zhongli" slightly shook off his drowsiness and hurled the black spear, woven from countless tendrils, toward the sky—toward "Su Lin."

Simultaneously, in his left hand, the celestial star—abstract as a child's doodle, writhing with tendrils—blazed with intense Jin Guang.

After the light faded, in the distant void, a "world" rippled like a water wave.

Originally flat, like a painted scroll, the world grew increasingly three-dimensional, increasingly real—until finally…

A world identical to reality was formed—every detail of sky and earth, every object, perfectly matching.

The only difference was that, in that world, the six-winged God of Light had half its head severed, and from its abdomen, a crimson infant, weeping blood, burst forth from a shattered divine core.

The "Amon"s of Mr. Error were engulfed in strange flames, their faces twisted, their bodies like charred, dead wood.

A colossal dragon, its entire body ablaze, bore massive blood wounds on its neck, head, and belly, while a horde of creatures with cyan-gray faces devoured its flesh.

"Adam" and "Clein" grew fleshy tentacles identical to Zhongli's, half their faces transformed into deep black shadowy silhouettes, the other half grinning eerily, gazing from another world into this one.

"High-Velocity Observer!" Su Lin, witnessing this, had confirmed the Fallen Mother Goddess's partner—the same entity that had altered Zhongli's state to conceal the truth.

This Outer God's power had been concealed until this most critical moment, when it shattered its disguise and erupted.

The world depicting the tragic ending grew ever more three-dimensional, hurtling swiftly from distant void toward reality, about to overlap with this world—but a boundless, illusory ocean severed it in the middle!

It was a plane forged by the High-Velocity Observer, whom had elevated it to merge with the true world.

When that moment arrived, those minute changes would be preserved by this world; the scene it depicted would surely become real!

Fortunately, Adam had formed a boundary through the Chaos Sea, dividing the two worlds and preventing that ending from arriving.

As if mocking their struggle, the crimson hue symbolizing the moon's outline vanished entirely from beyond Earth's moon, leaving only a black moon fused with the deep cosmos.

The Fallen Mother Goddess abandoned the part of herself that had awakened, surrendering it entirely to the Original Creator!

From within "Zhongli's" body and the soon-to-melt primal essence, the Fallen Mother Goddess's final will and power slithered out like a serpent, gazing upward at Su Lin—then, after a flash of crimson light, vanished.

Within Su Lin's avatar, upon the shattered divine core, a positive blessing was felt—the Fallen Mother Goddess's sacrifice! An entity of Former Day rank sacrificed its power and will, transferring the power of "Life" to Su Lin through the cosmos.

A faint thread of crimson glowed like a firefly—but this was no cause for joy; this crimson force would likely become the catalyst guiding the world toward that ending after the overlap.

As the Original Will further revived, "Zhongli's" gaze turned to Adam, then to Clein within the Gray Mist Palace at infinite heights—next moment—

The Chaos Sea and the Source Vault resonated simultaneously; Clein and Adam both sensed the Original Will stirring faintly toward awakening, the primal essence responding to Its desire to reunite!

Gradually, the Chaos Sea ceased its drift through illusion, steadily returning to reality and converging toward the point centered on Zhongli, while the world depicted by the High-Velocity Observer would descend soon.

Except for Adam and Lu Mingfei, all others stood frozen as if suppressed; a faint illusory bloodline appeared on Su Lin's Divine Light avatar's face, and illusory flames began forming around Amon.

Above the Astral Plane, those terrifying giant faces pressed against the transparent barrier, staring fixedly, like carrion birds awaiting a feast.

The High-Velocity Observer was among them; through the power manifested on Earth, it exerted full influence to achieve its goal, harboring little expectation for this attempt—merely a trial. If it yielded results, so much the better; if not, the only loss would be the Fallen Mother Goddess's.

Within the chat group, Zhongli continued speaking: "Killing me now is still timely."

Clein chuckled bitterly; while resisting the convergence, he stepped into reality and glanced around, spotting Amon lounging casually.

"Have you decided? Fate is yours, the Source Vault is mine." Amon's lips curled in a smile, as if unsurprised by Clein's appearance: "Then I won't have to worry about the Source Vault's original owner awakening."

"If I just go out and claim the Unique of the Fool, I'll instantly become a Former Day. You know—distance is no problem for me."

"Adam and I won't hold out here. You may leave too—if you're willing to abandon your friend."

"You two are quite close, aren't you? They even came to this world to fight for you."

Amon's words eroded Clein's heart; in truth, when Clein sought Him out, he had already decided to forsake the Source Vault.

Now, speaking these words merely accelerated the scale's tilt, urging Clein to decide quickly.

Amon adjusted the monocle on his right eye socket and said:

"You needn't fear I'll renege. I said you'd become my Chosen One—you may retain a Class One Unique."

"Hmm, perhaps I can even help you become a Class Zero across pathways. Don't worry about losing control—because of the Divine Light's Redemption, hehehe. After I become a Former Day, I'll study this 'Divine Light' power thoroughly. Then I'll be this world's God of Light."

Amon, seemingly chatting idly, kept offering chips—but all were superfluous; Clein was merely resisting convergence.

Finally, as Amon's lips split into a grin, Clein slowly spoke: "I am willing to…"

In the Veil of Heaven World, Ye Zhetian could no longer watch. He had seen the current situation through Lu Mingfei's twelve-hour continuous livestream and wished to apply to enter Clein's world, then dump the mess onto his own "Above Sacrificial Dao" self.

But he suddenly froze, for a voice echoed from within the livestream.

"The mortal realm…"

The familiar voice rang out across the world once more.

Clein widened his eyes, gazing at the six-winged figure atop the heavens—Su Lin's true body stepped forth from the historical fissure beside his avatar.

His gaze lorded over all things; he spread his arms, and golden great swords ignited beside him, his voice solemn and cold:

"Again, defiled!"

Visible to the naked eye, the world about to merge with reality suddenly halted—even the melting "Mother Nest" froze in place.

On the starry barrier, those terrifying giant faces vanished without a trace.

End of chapter