Chapter 435

"The world is full of inequalities,"

The Bai Ma Mu Bei murmured to itself, driving its fingers deep into the cracks of the stone coffin lid and prying with all its might.

"only death,"

Her previous clothing had been shredded by sound waves; now, her upper body was bound only by a blood-soaked coarse cloth wrapped as a chest wrap. Her muscle definition was sharp and deep, as if carved by axe and chisel.

"awaits us all equally at the end."

Accompanied by a deafening boom, the collapse effect of reality distortion spread rapidly.

The asphalt pavement, along with the gravel beneath, first split into several pieces, then floated upward and exploded with a thud—but when it reached the foot of the Bai Ma Mu Bei, it seemed to strike an invisible wall, unable to advance an inch.

Thud!!!

The stone coffin lid finally opened, crashing heavily to the ground under gravity. A stench of decay and blood gushed forth, spreading and filling the air.

Inside the stone coffin was no legendary beast or pet, no hidden supreme imperial weapon—only the withered, horrifically mutilated corpse of a woman.

The Bai Ma Mu Bei's own corpse.

【Item Name: Reverse-Time Coffin】

【Type: Ritual Artifact】

【Quality: Epic】

【Effect 1: Fated Death. After permanent binding to an individual, the coffin will contain the corpse of the bound person at the moment of their future death. The bound individual may enhance all their stats, including base attributes and Qi value, as well as Sanity value, to reach the median between their current state and their future death state. Passive effect】

【Effect 2: Reverse-Time Embodiment. Open the coffin to summon the corpse of your future self at the moment of death, merging the two into one】

【Effect 2 Cost: 50% of total Qi value, 50% of total Sanity value, all attributes reduced by 5 points for the next 168 hours】

【Effect 2 Cooldown: 168 hours】

【Usage Condition: Level difference between current self and future self at death must not exceed 10 levels】

【Note: During the activation of Reverse-Time Embodiment, every minute increases the bound individual's instantaneous death probability in the next minute by 1%】

【Note: During Reverse-Time Embodiment, you may use all skills of your future self, but cannot use items or consumable skill scrolls. If the brain remains intact at death, there is a chance to read fragments of future memories. During use, the coffin cannot be moved, and the user cannot leave it more than five kilometers away】

【Note: Fated Death cannot be altered, unless you commit suicide beforehand or encounter powerful causal interference】

【Note: Even if I'm dead, nailed in this coffin, I'll still use these rotting vocal cords to shout from within my grave: "I think I can still be saved!"】

【Note: Look at this marble coffin, lined with Hainan rosewood, carved by palace master craftsmen. Not just the old man—I'd want to lie in it myself】

The corpse, highly decayed, its skull split open from crown to waist, stepped slowly out of the coffin.

Its eye sockets, teeming with maggots, silently met the gaze of the Bai Ma Mu Bei, which raised its palm without fear and clasped fingers with the corpse.

Shhh—

The present self merged with the future dead self,

Parts of the Bai Ma Mu Bei's skin rapidly decayed, tendons peeled away, revealing pale white bones.

The hazy emotions of her future death surged into her heart—intense fear, resentment, rage, sorrow. A thousand voices screamed in her ears; pain pierced straight into her soul from every part of her body.

The black-clad woman sensed the profound change in the Bai Ma Mu Bei; the pity in her eyes faded.

She solemnly raised both hands and slashed fiercely toward empty air.

Hum!

The ground, ceiling, and both walls of the corridor were forced by reality distortion to crush inward toward the Bai Ma Mu Bei.

This was not mere physical compression—it was spatial squeezing.

For any other player, only binary-tree digitization might allow escape under such conditions.

"Huh"

The Bai Ma Mu Bei slowly exhaled a breath reeking of decay, bent slightly forward, and delivered a simple, unadorned punch toward the ground. This punch was called: Flatten Heaven and Earth. Lv33 Martial Art.

An invisible force spread rapidly outward from the punch's imprint.

The collapsing space was violently repelled; the reality distortion effect was mercilessly suppressed.

"."

The black-clad woman's face betrayed unmistakable shock; she instinctively clenched her fists. Instantly, lightning, fire, and ice appeared out of nowhere, engulfing the Bai Ma Mu Bei.

The half-dead Bai Ma Mu Bei still stood in place, faint golden light shimmering around her.

Lv34 Secret Art: Indestructible Vajra Body.

She stepped forward, instantly covering a hundred meters; her seemingly decayed, fragile body smashed through wall after wall of reality distortion constructs, and her hand firmly seized the black-clad woman trying to flee.

The Bai Ma Mu Bei's dry hair stirred without wind; her eyes boiled with killing intent; torrents of demonic energy surged from within, forming hundreds of shadowy humanoid figures.

Lv35 Martial Technique: Thousand Strikes in an Instant · Instant Hell Kill.

Literally a thousand strikes in an instant—the binary-tree's hovering surveillance drone was shredded by the battle's residual waves,

its final recorded image showing the Bai Ma Mu Bei standing with her back turned atop a pit thirty meters deep, its bottom reduced to dust: the black-clad woman.

Lv35—that was the level the Bai Ma Mu Bei would reach at her future death. At her current Lv29, her Fated Death was no more than a year away, possibly as little as six months.

Knowing one's own doomsday in advance is a terrible thing.

Worse still, it cannot be avoided—changing fate requires greater strength, yet the stronger one becomes, the heavier the "causality" one must interfere with to defy heaven.

Heavy enough that even the top-tier Lv40 powerhouses, who seem like gods, cannot defy fate.

Seeming like gods, they are still not omniscient, omnipotent true deities.

The only good news: at least she now knew she wouldn't die in this secret realm.

"Hm?"

As if sensing something, the Bai Ma Mu Bei turned her head and saw the black-clad woman H stepping once again from the shadows.

"You should already be dead."

A full-power strike from an Lv35 melee transcendent carries a trace of the power of laws. The Bai Ma Mu Bei was certain she had killed the woman just now.

If she can resurrect, then why can the gray-green giant A, also an anomaly, be permanently erased?

"I'm different from A. I'm special."

The woman in black seemed able to guess what Bai Ma Mu Bei was thinking; her expression turned inexplicably bitter. "I am, hope."

Hope.

"…Understood. Come and fight."

Bai Ma Mu Bei nodded. The sudden surge in her strength let her see the woman in black's true nature more clearly. Unfortunately, Binary Tree's drone had already been destroyed, so there was no way to relay information to Master Pi Fu and the others.

No matter what, she still had to stall the woman in black—who could resurrect infinitely—as long as possible, to buy time for her other teammates.

——

At the same moment, the heavily armored truck that had passed the cinema, the stadium, the amusement park, and a whole series of building complexes finally couldn't hold out any longer and broke down with a screeching halt.

Everyone knew Bai Ma Mu Bei was staking her life to create an opportunity for them. Without a word, Blood Lion Roar dragged his sickly body that kept vomiting blood, jumped off the truck, and rushed to repair it.

Binary Tree and Changsun Yao downed bottle after bottle of blue-restore potions. Li Cheng also put on a mask and tinkered with Red Spider's brain, to see if he could save Spider Bro.

Gray Rain glanced over and saw her standing idle, scratched his head, and his hem transformed into the shape of a suona. He started blowing it—"doo doo doo."