Chapter 605: Encirclement

Many demons have grown deformed reproductive organs; they huddle together in groups like an exaggerated flesh ball, mating heedlessly until their flesh and blood stick together, sprouting tree‑like branches, and they do not stop at all.

In the sky, deep within the dense black fog, oddly twisted branches are vaguely forming, gradually binding and assimilating the demon lord hidden at the deepest depth.

Deprived of the demons that extended from desire, the tentacles emerging from the ground writhe rapidly, coiling and striking from various directions at the red‑angel demon spirit, which is mired in self‑contradiction and fragmentation, attempting to snatch the "Conqueror" trait from it.

The snake‑like black tentacles, once they touch the red‑angel demon spirit's body, recoil uncontrollably, reverting to the state they were in seconds earlier.

This is the "Fate Cycle" from Wu Luo Liu Si! In the stature of the Primordial Witch, even after a single cycle their memory remains intact; the eyes at the tips of each snake‑like tentacle all open, gazing at the red‑angel demon spirit from various directions and angles.

The red‑angel demon spirit, caught in self‑contradiction and fragmentation, is petrified without resistance, its surface coated with a gray‑white layer.

"Fate Cycle" activates again, and the petrified red‑angel demon spirit recovers.

The tentacles rising from the ground shift their targets, some pulling toward Wu Luo Liu Si, others coiling toward the red‑angel demon spirit.

Within Ya Dang's woven nightmare, the red‑angel demon spirit's form nearly collapses; Suo Lun and Ai Yin Huo En's consciousnesses go mad yet become powerful, as if to tear the Flame Giant's body into three pieces, even if doing so would cause their own deaths.

At Wu Luo Liu Si's feet, a silver river slowly forms, its ends joining to encircle Mei Diqi·Suo Lun·Ai Yin Huo En in the middle, initiating the Fate Cycle and trapping him in endless cycles of self‑destruction, preventing his actual death.

Deeper in the dream, before the dragon‑postured Ai Rui Huo Ge appears a brass‑colored tome whose pages turn of their own accord, revealing an all‑seeing eye that scans the scene as if it can discern every secret.

Opposite them, Ya Dang becomes a giant composed of pure light, towering like a mountain; around them the dream continuously evolves, bringing forth one ancient, powerful creature after another, one cataclysm after another, each clashing and tugging at one another.

Within the dream, specks of brass‑colored glimmer dart about, tracing one mysterious symbol after another, continuously decoding this dream world.

In this process, glimmers repeatedly form pairs of phantom brass eyes that directly perceive weak points, creating eyes for those weak points.

Under the stare of those eyes, the dream woven by Ya Dang is not only shattered but constantly altered; they and Ai Rui Huo Ge achieve a subtle balance, neither able to abandon the other to seize 0-08. Lei Ke Dun, sighing, pulls back his gaze, looks toward the black fog tilting toward Pa Si He Gu in the sky, his expression changing little, noting that the "cosmic dark side" being influenced by the "Desire Mother Tree" was anticipated, and even if they had prepared beforehand, confronting Ya Dang would still produce various unforeseen events, steering matters toward an uncontrollable direction.

While scanning the sky, Lei Ke Dun's figure instantly becomes ethereal, fragmenting into a massive, pure stream of information that flows away toward the direction where Ke Lai En and others are besieging Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er.

In the outskirts not far from Bei Lun Si Gang, a bizarre creature with eight legs and its body covered in white feathers is recklessly unleashing its power, pulling the surroundings into a deep night, causing the insects and bacteria in the soil to enter an eternal slumber, dying little by little in their sleep.

Having absorbed the extraordinary traits of both "Night" and "Death", Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's own exceptional ability mutates, becoming bizarre and terrifying.

Boom—silver‑white lightning bolts cascade from the sky, forming a Thunder Forest that envelops the incomplete mythic creature that Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er has become.

Under the cover of the silver lightning, a silent, faint blue radiance slides beneath Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's feet, forming a modest "gate"; several thighs covered in coarse short hair and white feathers instantly plunge into it, and as the gate closes they are severed at the roots and transported outside the Thunder Forest.

Having lost four thighs, Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's body instantly loses balance, collapsing to the ground, inundated by the incessantly striking silver lightning.

Beyond the Thunder Forest, Lei Ke Dun appears silently; he looks up at the sky, and aided by the gray mist, his gaze pierces the barrier, meeting Ke Lai En's eyes above the mist.

He gives Ke Lai En a light smile and nod, then Lei Ke Dun bends to pick up the classical feather pen that Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er had clenched in his hand.

Having obtained 0-08, Lei Ke Dun immediately begins writing on his own sleeve:

"Under the influence of the Doom, the 'Spiritual Plague' on Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er erupts; maintaining his incomplete mythic creature form, he immediately loses control and all reason."

"The Doom Talisman that Ke Lai En previously used contained the will of the Night Goddess; under the influence of pathway sequence 0, Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's condition keeps deteriorating. Even though he has already lost control, he still grows drowsy, may fall into sleep at any moment, and die little by little in an eternal slumber."

"Given the various coincidences and the influence of fate, this development is entirely logical!"

As the final punctuation falls, Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er, still in his incomplete mythic creature form, suddenly gazes blankly; myriad emotions and thoughts sprout in his heart, swelling continuously, making even normal thought difficult.

Above the gray mist, Ke Lai En notices the words Lei Ke Dun wrote with 0-08; he immediately brandishes the Sea God's Scepter, causing the surrounding wind sounds to split—half becoming sharp and piercing as if to stab spirits and harm the mind, the other half deep and heavy like thunder, intimidating the heart.

Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's darkened eyes show pain; his sharpened, elongated teeth bear semi‑transparent faces that begin to struggle, the nature spirits he sealed within the teeth writhing in agony under the wind's influence. The white feathers sprouting on his body start shedding, exuding faint yellow oil; where his four legs were removed, stark white bones grow out, replacing the original thighs.

Each of the four newly formed white‑bone thighs bears a bird skull, its eye sockets ablaze with pallid flame, as if a brand‑new consciousness has been born there, stemming from the various mad consciences split from Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's mind.

Boom! Boom! Silver‑white electric serpents dart out repeatedly; seizing Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's weakened state, Ke Lai En repeatedly summons lightning from the gray mist via the Sea God's Scepter.

The dazzling silver‑white glare prevents An De Sen, Lun Na De and others from opening their eyes, let alone daring to locate the exposed incomplete mythic creature form of Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er with the naked eye.

As emotions and thoughts burgeon, the increasingly uncontainable Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er, driven by survival instinct, drags his charred‑scarred, clumsily moving body to evade lightning; his frantic instinct compels him to kill the few weak insects daring to besiege him.

"Death! Death! Death!"

From his wolf‑like lips bristling with sharp fangs, he continuously utters fragmented whispers, akin to the 'Necromancer's' 'Words of the Dead', yet tainted with the madness and corruption of an incomplete mythic creature.

That sound can bypass the protection of flesh and blood, resonating directly within spirits, hard to shield against.

An De Sen and Dai Li both clutch their heads with both hands, half‑kneeling in pain; their exposed skin gradually turns pale, sprouting age spots that betray decay and death.

Lun Na De looks puzzled at Dai Li and An De Sen; suddenly he hears nothing, as if he has entered a silent world.

"Stop standing there; I stole your hearing. Quickly thrust the scissors in your hand into Yin Si·Zan Ge Wei Er's body; with his current luck, a single strike will activate the scissors' special property."

Pa Lie Si's voice suddenly echoes in Lun Na De's mind.

After a brief daze, Lun Na De immediately regains composure, murmuring softly, "I can't pinpoint his location; he remains in an incomplete mythic creature form."

"Old man, do you have any method?"

"Old man, old man?"

Lun Na De's tone grows increasingly urgent, but Pa Lie Si does not respond further.

From his distant watch, Lei Ke Dun again spots A Meng's trail; he has not yet left Bei Lun Si Gang!

Lei Ke Dun's body once more becomes ethereal, breaking into successive streams of information that surge toward where A Meng appeared.

At the northernmost dock of Bei Lun Si Gang, silently, a swirl of colors spreads, as if an invisible brush sketches hues, rendering A Meng's silhouette.

He pinches a single lens eyeglass in his right hand, now bearing several cracks, though the layer of mist covering it has already vanished.

Placing that shattered single‑lens eyeglass back over his right eye, he looks up at the pitch‑black night sky and intones in a deep voice:

"Night."

Amid the massive, pure information currents, Lei Ke Dun's body reassembles; he stands dozens of meters away, gazing thoughtfully at A Meng, saying, "Night? So you didn't go back to repair your glasses, but were locked in a little dark room by the Night!"

A Meng turns his head toward Lei Ke Dun, snorts and says:

"Thanks to the two drops of 'Eternal Dark River' water you gave me, otherwise I wouldn't have escaped the secret world the Night created so easily."

As the two speak, the rampant influence that was polluting the surrounding 'cosmic dark side' ceases.

(End of Chapter)