Chapter 601: Contest

Beiernadai wore an Indite‑style women's shirt with a large lace flower at the neckline, over an indigo captain's coat patterned with flowers, paired with off‑white long trousers and boots that reached near the knees, and a triangular hat pierced with a feather; she looked just like the leader of a pirate ship.

A flicker of emotion surged in her eyes for a moment, then subsided, and she gave Bo Nuo Wa a calm, light laugh, saying:

"Long time no see; this should be our first meeting since my father's death."

Bo Nuo Wa nodded silently, his tone calm as if speaking to a familiar yet unknown stranger, and said, "The authorities have already placed a bounty of two thousand Ferkin on you."

"And then? Are you going to capture me and trade me to the church of the God of Steam and Machinery you worship for the bounty?"

Beiernadai replied in a very calm tone.

"Not today," Bo Nuo Wa shook his head.

Beiernadai let out a light laugh, then continued:

"What if I came today to stop you?"

Bo Nuo Wa fell silent, calmly staring at Beiernadai, making no further words or moves.

"Is this your answer?"

After a while, Beiernadai finally sighed; neither moved, and the two remained locked in standoff.

Within the magnificent, towering cathedral of black stone pillars, Yin Si Zangwei'er's classical feather pen seemed to sense danger, lifted on its own, and wrote word after word on the black cleric's robe: "Continuously on behalf of the True Creator, watching over the Pas Valley's Wu Luo Liu Si, granting some unknown factors, it happened to notice the anomaly here; therefore, at this moment, Wu Luo Liu Si's arrival here is reasonable!"

"Wu Luo Liu Si's arrival broke the sealed Bone Cathedral, allowing Al Tai En Si and Ai Rui Huo Ge, who had long been waiting at Beren's Port, to seize the chance and descend here."

As soon as the feather pen finished the first sentence, beams of light streamed in through the cathedral's high stained glass, coalescing into a purely ethereal, layered wing.

Beneath the wing, Wu Luo Liu Si, with silver long hair, was outlined; he wore a linen robe torn by a sword, his features delicate and soft, his gaze slightly vacant, and he held a strange crown riddled with rust and blood.

The moment Wu Luo Liu Si's figure appeared, the red‑angel demon inside Yin Si Zangwei'er sensed the "Conqueror" trait, an unbearable temptation for it; a fierce desire forced it to break free from the nether realm within Yin Si Zangwei'er.

Wu Luo Liu Si ignored the demon‑turned Mei Di Qi, and beneath his feet, within the layered wings behind him, a series of transcendent, mysterious circles emerged, merging into a flowing silvery river, linked head‑to‑tail like a ouroboros.

The Bone Cathedral briefly reverted to its original state of towering black pillars, and the surrounding starlit plaza became faintly visible.

The demon of Mei Di Qi·Suo Lun·Ai Yin Huo En was forced back into Yin Si Zangwei'er's body.

The starlight on the outer plaza surged instantly, flooding back into the Bone Cathedral like a tide.

Amid the twinkling starlight, countless mysterious three‑dimensional runes floated, outlining the shape of a dragon.

The dragon's massive, snarling head lowered, exhaling an invisible, transparent breath.

This is the Mind Dragon's unique "Mind Breath", a ranged, enhanced version of psychic pierce.

Star‑light infused with "Mind Breath" can directly stimulate and wound both mental and spiritual bodies, making the struck target feel as if struck by lightning, with the psyche tearing and the spirit seeming pierced.

Surrounded by increasingly rich, layered colors, Yin Si Zangwei'er fell into a daze, and his "Spirit Realm Traversal" was forced to cease.

Adam clasped the silver cross pendant at his chest with both hands as if praying, his face perpetually bearing a warm smile; the star‑light mixed with "Mind Breath" failed to affect him at all.

Wu Luo Liu Si likewise felt no effect; his luck was extraordinary, as the raging star‑light always, by various coincidences, avoided his position.

Amid the surging star‑light, a hundred‑meter‑tall cross fell from above, embedding heavily into the still‑forming center of the Bone Cathedral.

Endless light burst instantly, engulfing the swirling star‑light and all figures lingering within the Bone Cathedral.

In an instant, the Bone Cathedral reformed; within it, every pillar, every arch, every dome was inlaid with bones of various races, densely packed, their eye‑holes gazing at anyone who appeared inside.

On the cathedral's walls, windows, and doors, distorted transparent faces emerged, as if the sealed souls there were separating the Spirit Realm from the Star Realm!

Before the massive cross that fell from above, a vague silhouette stood, seemingly gazing at everything with compassion.

At this moment, the Bone Cathedral housed three additional figures compared to before: A Meng, dressed in a crisp tailcoat and top hat; Lei Ke Dun, cloaked in a black classic wizard's robe, holding a miniature golden‑kettle‑style oil lamp; and Ai Rui Huo Ge, appearing as an elderly man in a gray‑white robe with dark‑gold hair and a beard. Yin Si Zangwei'er's expression twisted in pain, crimson blood constantly oozing from him, as the demon of Mei Di Qi·Suo Lun·Ai Yin Huo En once again forced its way out of his internal nether realm, peeling away from him bit by bit.

The demon's face twisted grotesquely, with a crimson fissure sprouting on each cheek, like two new mouths.

The three mouths kept opening and closing, emitting a hoarse, uncontrollable voice: "I smell iron and blood, great serpent, give me that 'Conqueror' trait now."

"If I can regain Sequence‑One power, we can cooperate with that eye monster and the lizard monster to turn the tables on A Meng and Adam."

While he spoke, the classical feather pen that Yin Si Zangwei'er had tightly grasped broke free and flew toward Ai Rui Huo Ge.

The pen vanished abruptly in midair, then reappeared in A Meng's hand.

"It seems you all want this pen; why not bid for it—highest bidder wins?"

A Meng joked with the crowd, then tightened his right hand, applying a slight pressure; the feather pen struggling in his grasp instantly froze.

Silently, the Bone Cathedral was again shrouded in a veil of hazy starlight, obscuring Lei Ke Dun, Wu Luo Liu Si, Ai Rui Huo Ge, and Yin Si Zangwei'er.

Simultaneously, from the cracks and starlight, eye after eye sprouted, exuding madness, disaster, and ominous aura, opposing the Bone Cathedral.

Within the hazy starlight, a gray‑white dragon silhouette appeared.

Its gray‑white scales bore one complex, three‑dimensional mysterious symbol after another, extending inward into flesh and outward into the surrounding void, as if weaving something beyond the real world; merely seeing it drove one's mind into chaos, thoughts twisted, the spirit saturated with myriad seemingly innate impulses, yearning to tear or destroy itself.

Silver‑white light simultaneously erupted amid the hazy starlight, penetrating the bone‑inlaid skulls and sealed souls surrounding the Bone Cathedral from various directions and angles, sparking intense chaos.

This chaos, stemming from destiny‑level upheaval, is hard to halt or end.

The disorder caused gaps in the Bone Cathedral's seal between the Star Realm and Spirit Realm, and under the gaze and analysis of the "Eye of Secrets", Lei Ke Dun exploited these gaps.

Around him, star after star materialized, densely packed and dazzling.

These stars shed beam after beam of radiance, converging into a grand Light Giant Pillar that enveloped the entire Bone Cathedral, gradually dismantling and shattering it.

A pale‑gold vertical pupil suddenly appeared before A Meng, and an invisible mental storm swept the surroundings, briefly plunging A Meng into a daze.

Adam glanced toward A Meng but made no move; around him, a silver‑white river looped head‑to‑tail, encircling him in the middle, forming a wondrous fate cycle.

Wu Luo Liu Si continuously reinforced and altered this fate cycle, making it hard for him to break through.

Seizing the brief stalemate, Lei Ke Dun rubbed the golden‑kettle‑shaped wishing lamp with his right hand and whispered:

"Return 0-08 to Ai Rui Huo Ge's hands."

Golden water spilled from the spout, coalescing in midair into a twisted golden silhouette.

The lamp deity floated in midair, assuming a spectator's pose as it surveyed the surroundings, then looked down at Lei Ke Dun and said lightly, "That is the first wish!"

After speaking, it turned its gaze to A Meng and Ai Rui Huo Ge, who were battling on the mental plane, extended a hand forward, and grasped forcefully in midair.

A Meng lifted the monocle perched over his right eye, turned his head toward the lamp deity, attempting to steal its thoughts and actions.

His theft unsurprisingly failed, and the lamp deity's attempt to transfer 0-08 into Ai Rui Huo Ge's hands also failed.

A Meng cheated the rules, swapped positions, and let 0-08 reappear in the hands of Yin Si·Zang Ge Wei Er.

Having just gotten 0-08 back, Yin Si·Zang Ge Wei Er, without the slightest hesitation, wrote a new line of words on his black clergy robe: 'A Er·Tai En Si and Wu Luo Liu Si's destruction of the Bone Church has made it no longer intact; Yin Si·Zang Ge Wei Er happened to be on a 'loophole'; because of mutual restraint, no one noticed this small detail; Yin Si·Zang Ge Wei Er forcefully broke out of the Bone Church, carrying 0-08, escaped the center of the storm—this is a very reasonable development!'

At the moment the final exclamation mark fell, Yin Si·Zang Ge Wei Er's body spontaneously lunged toward the nearby stained-glass window.

In silence, the glass window shattered, and the mournful, icy gale wrapped around Yin Si·Zang Ge Wei Er's figure, rushing out of the Bone Church.

(End of chapter)